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XPiratez / Think's Think Tank & Suggestions
« on: April 22, 2016, 09:30:47 am »
***Please Note!***
These suggestions are made without me having any real knowledge of coding and/or their feasibility, this post is primarily meant to brainstorm some ideas and maybe inspire some for Dioxine, the wonderful creator of this mod. All suggestions made here are subject to change if a better alternative or idea comes up. Constructive criticism and discussion is encouraged. Remember, we are all here to make this mod as enjoyable as possible.
Suggestions (changes to current mechanics/gameplay):
A.
Mad Mansions - These missions have great potential I think, having massive battles with a vastly outnumbering enemy faced against your relatively weakly armed and armored gals has the potential for being very fun, but I also think that Mad Mansion missions could use some refinement (after all, this is its first implementation).
Changes:
1. The map
The current map for these mission types really doesn't feel like a mansion, it feels more like a wide-open urban environment, with many things placed far away from each other and many repeating rooms or repeating tones. I think the map types could use a little more diversity, primarily, make the physical mansion size a little smaller, and fill in the excess space with some more green forested and grassy plains or whatever terrain fits the location of the mansion, this on its own would make these maps more aesthetically pleasing. But don't stop there, make some alterations to the layout as well, in my perfect world there would be a few layers to the Mansion, the outer edges, which are composed of forest/snow/desert terrain, this wildland would be separated by a large wall, similar to the one we see Dark One (?) bases are guarded by, having some guard towers would also add to the high-security feeling. Beyond the wall there would be a lot of windows (makes the mansion feel more open, and creates a contrast of open-ended combat and close-quarters) and fancy dining rooms on the first floor (similar tile structure to those seen in many of the luxurious apartment complexes in terror missions) on the second floor is where most of the loot can be found. On the second floor the loot is divided into 4-ish sub-categories: A bank, which is filled with various monetary valuables (such as gold bars, money bags, credit chips, rare minerals etc.), a living quarters, which is filled with the upper-class bedrooms and baths (security forces living quarters could be located on the first floor) this would be the section you would want to visit for capturing high-profile targets from whatever faction's mansion you are raiding. The 3rd section would be a kitchen, where you can find various meats, beers, wine, alcohol and ingredients (Fried reaper, apples, wine etc.). And last but not least there could be an armory, which would have various different weapons which could vary depending on the faction you raided (flamethrowers for Church mansions, for example) these sections would contain some low-end and some high-end weaponry (that being some advanced lasers, customized weapons and so-forth) and you would want to raid this section specifically if you are looking for more advanced weapons or weapon documentation. These sections could all meet up at the middle of the second floor where the staircase is connected, the hope is that if you are raiding these areas with low-mid tier equipment you will be forced to make the decision of what you want to get before being slaughtered, it could create some interesting moments like "well, if I went to the bank I could pay off my debt with all the valuables there, but the LQs have some VIPs I could kidnap and extort technology from, but going to the armory would give me more advanced weapons." And then from there you would have to decide based upon what you want the most. That's it for my ideas on the map, but I would like to say that the small garden in the middle of current mansions sort of fits the theme I am aiming for here.
2. Tile diversity
This is sort of an extension of the last, but it is important to point out that mansions should probably use some more tile diversity, the grey look they currently have is not attractive and doesn't make you feel like you are robbing a rich person's home. It is a small thing to mention, but important nonetheless.
3. Evac placement
I have just one simple thought on this, move the evac location so your vessel, whatever it may be is placed outside the proposed wall and becomes the new evac location, this would generate a little more panic if you are dashing your gals into your ship while under fire from guard towers and security detail, and I think it would make for some very fun challenge and excitement.
4. Loot diversity
So far in my one Mad Mansion mission I have found little loot of use to me, as I could only find some apples, meat and cutlasses, all of which became way obsolete years ago (besides apples) and I feel if Mad Mansions are to be worth the risk, they should give some very serious rewards (think Gauss, laser, plasma, gold bars, hellerium, armor, alcohol, electronics and other valuable materials, while also having some less technical rewards that may be useful anyways)
That's it for now on this subject, I would love to hear your ideas to see what the general consensus on these missions are.
B.
Air Combat
This has always felt a little dry, and the additions X-Piratez has added to the original formula is refreshing and enjoyable, although I think we can still improve upon the air game
Changes:
1. Air Combat Tactics
In Vanilla you had a few window-dressing options for how to engage the UFO, and their impact on the combat was pretty marginal, unfortunately this also crosses over into XP, but I think we can help make this area a little more interesting. If we were to say, make each option (Passive, Standard, Aggressive) drastically different in how they make your ships perform we could encourage the use of different engagement tactics throughout the battle. Are you facing a heavily armed ship and need to dodge a few shots before returning back into the kill? Making each mode different in how they act (basically exaggerating the dodge and Nerfing the attacking on Passive, and vice versa for Aggressive) would encourage the use of critical thinking and changing up your tactics while in battle. Maybe you decide to use one of your ships as bait while the others go in and deal all the heavy damage. This would allow for smarter thinking to give the player an edge over a foe that otherwise might barely edge out a victory, and I think it would benefit the strategic map.
2. More boosters
What I mean by this is more of the thruster/hyperwave targeter/shield type systems, and make them available to a broader category of weapon platforms (like heavy). I find that these systems can really make the combat more interesting, and having more, some dedicated and other multirole boosters would certainly spice up the combat. Suggestion: Limit boosters to only one buff but increase its impact, for example take the thruster and split it into two separate boosters, the nuclear thruster and maneuvering thruster, the nuclear thruster gives an extra 1000mph speed, while the maneuvering thruster gives 30% dodge. This way you can create some more interesting booster combos to help out your ships.
Some random booster ideas:
- Cruise Engine: + 5 acceleration
- Cooling vents: +40 mileage
- Autoloader: - 2 second reloading (doesn't apply to Gat Laser)
- Extra pylons: Carry 30% more ammunition
Just some ideas, please suggest more!
3. Tiered boosters
Again, a continuation of the above, but have tiered boosters, for example if you could have some simple boosters like better engines, targeting computers etc. available at the beginning of the game, but only offer a small bonus, it could help combat the initial push to get better craft, and make the transition a little smoother. At the same time, it benefits air combat diversity early on.
That's it for Air Combat!
C.
Enemy Hideouts
1. This one is a little bit smaller but basically I think that enemy hideouts could use a tileset change, currently they feel too alien, if they had a look more alike to what our own bases look like, and if they varied, no matter how small from faction to faction, it would certainly make them a lot more replayable and pleasing to traverse.
D.
Weapon customization
1. This is something that I don't even know if it is possible, but if it was it would be very interesting nonetheless. Basically, it acts much like boosters for aircraft, but it would be a slot section right next to your weapons, which only these certain attachments could fit onto. Certain attachments could increase damage, increase accuracy, decrease fire time, increased ammunition capacity, the list goes on, but it would increase the longevity and creativity that many weapons would have, which is always a good thing in my case. These would only work on guns and the slot number would vary for different guns (3 slots for rifles, 2 for SMGs, 1 for handguns)
E.
Research
1. Nearing the mid-game there are several issues with a lack of research topics, and it generally takes a long time to find a new one, this can be solved by several different ways. The first is to introduce more research topics, with a greater chance of finding a new one per mission. The second option is to introduce some blueprints for very valuable weapons that you can find several of to construct a complete blueprint, which you can then use to research a topic of your choice (more blueprints = more valuable topics). What this would do is give a common item you can find in most UFOs (would be very abundant in Bases, less so in ships, and little-none in terror missions). The third option is to introduce a reusable research option available to the beginning of the game called "Experiment" which would take a long time to research (30-ish days for 4 Brainers) and the reward would be a new research option that is in your same tech level, so there is essentially no possibility that a low-tier player would get instant access to lasers or plasma weapons. This would effectively always give you a way to progress, even if you absolutely hit a wall, and would also solve much of the "hunt for that one item" syndrome currently experienced. It may be difficult to implement, but it would be beneficial to the overall game. Research topics actually provide a crucial part of X-Com's cycle of play, where you go to the battlefield, research, and manufacture, rinse and repeat. Many people don't realize it but research provides much of the incentive to continue playing the game, because the hope of better gear to use and fight others with is a very addictive cycle, and with an absence of research the game grinds to a slow crawl, and the player loses a lot of interest.
***Suggestions End***
Think's Lil' Wishlist:
Basically thins I think would be neat but don't need to be added at all.
[Laser Sawed-Off Shotgun]
- 32x8 damage *laser*
- 135% accuracy *auto* / 26% TU *auto*
- 150% accuracy *snap* / 22% TU *auto*
- accurate range cap: 6
Laser in a shotgun. it is pure awesome, what more is there to say?
[Flashboom]
(it is a flashbang, essentially removing all enemy TUs in a radius as well as removing a chunk of energy, reactions and accuracy)
[Tinkerer]
A really rough idea, but basically it would be a weapon that could fire a ton of weird junk, with varying different levels of power. This weapon would be useful to clear out your inventory as well as being fun to use (probably would be a powerful, one-shot weapon)
[Laser Revolver]
Following in the path of my other interim laser suggestions (essentially making a class of Laser Tommy type guns) it is an improvement of the Ol' Revolver
- 35 damage *laser*
- 70% acc *snap* / 18% TU
- 110 acc *aimed* / 32% TU
Now it is time for me to sleep (curse you human biology) but I hope you all find something inspiring here, and please share your own ideas down below. Remember that we are here to have fun and help.
Edit 1: Grammar + 1 new thought
These suggestions are made without me having any real knowledge of coding and/or their feasibility, this post is primarily meant to brainstorm some ideas and maybe inspire some for Dioxine, the wonderful creator of this mod. All suggestions made here are subject to change if a better alternative or idea comes up. Constructive criticism and discussion is encouraged. Remember, we are all here to make this mod as enjoyable as possible.
Suggestions (changes to current mechanics/gameplay):
A.
Mad Mansions - These missions have great potential I think, having massive battles with a vastly outnumbering enemy faced against your relatively weakly armed and armored gals has the potential for being very fun, but I also think that Mad Mansion missions could use some refinement (after all, this is its first implementation).
Changes:
1. The map
The current map for these mission types really doesn't feel like a mansion, it feels more like a wide-open urban environment, with many things placed far away from each other and many repeating rooms or repeating tones. I think the map types could use a little more diversity, primarily, make the physical mansion size a little smaller, and fill in the excess space with some more green forested and grassy plains or whatever terrain fits the location of the mansion, this on its own would make these maps more aesthetically pleasing. But don't stop there, make some alterations to the layout as well, in my perfect world there would be a few layers to the Mansion, the outer edges, which are composed of forest/snow/desert terrain, this wildland would be separated by a large wall, similar to the one we see Dark One (?) bases are guarded by, having some guard towers would also add to the high-security feeling. Beyond the wall there would be a lot of windows (makes the mansion feel more open, and creates a contrast of open-ended combat and close-quarters) and fancy dining rooms on the first floor (similar tile structure to those seen in many of the luxurious apartment complexes in terror missions) on the second floor is where most of the loot can be found. On the second floor the loot is divided into 4-ish sub-categories: A bank, which is filled with various monetary valuables (such as gold bars, money bags, credit chips, rare minerals etc.), a living quarters, which is filled with the upper-class bedrooms and baths (security forces living quarters could be located on the first floor) this would be the section you would want to visit for capturing high-profile targets from whatever faction's mansion you are raiding. The 3rd section would be a kitchen, where you can find various meats, beers, wine, alcohol and ingredients (Fried reaper, apples, wine etc.). And last but not least there could be an armory, which would have various different weapons which could vary depending on the faction you raided (flamethrowers for Church mansions, for example) these sections would contain some low-end and some high-end weaponry (that being some advanced lasers, customized weapons and so-forth) and you would want to raid this section specifically if you are looking for more advanced weapons or weapon documentation. These sections could all meet up at the middle of the second floor where the staircase is connected, the hope is that if you are raiding these areas with low-mid tier equipment you will be forced to make the decision of what you want to get before being slaughtered, it could create some interesting moments like "well, if I went to the bank I could pay off my debt with all the valuables there, but the LQs have some VIPs I could kidnap and extort technology from, but going to the armory would give me more advanced weapons." And then from there you would have to decide based upon what you want the most. That's it for my ideas on the map, but I would like to say that the small garden in the middle of current mansions sort of fits the theme I am aiming for here.
2. Tile diversity
This is sort of an extension of the last, but it is important to point out that mansions should probably use some more tile diversity, the grey look they currently have is not attractive and doesn't make you feel like you are robbing a rich person's home. It is a small thing to mention, but important nonetheless.
3. Evac placement
I have just one simple thought on this, move the evac location so your vessel, whatever it may be is placed outside the proposed wall and becomes the new evac location, this would generate a little more panic if you are dashing your gals into your ship while under fire from guard towers and security detail, and I think it would make for some very fun challenge and excitement.
4. Loot diversity
So far in my one Mad Mansion mission I have found little loot of use to me, as I could only find some apples, meat and cutlasses, all of which became way obsolete years ago (besides apples) and I feel if Mad Mansions are to be worth the risk, they should give some very serious rewards (think Gauss, laser, plasma, gold bars, hellerium, armor, alcohol, electronics and other valuable materials, while also having some less technical rewards that may be useful anyways)
That's it for now on this subject, I would love to hear your ideas to see what the general consensus on these missions are.
B.
Air Combat
This has always felt a little dry, and the additions X-Piratez has added to the original formula is refreshing and enjoyable, although I think we can still improve upon the air game
Changes:
1. Air Combat Tactics
In Vanilla you had a few window-dressing options for how to engage the UFO, and their impact on the combat was pretty marginal, unfortunately this also crosses over into XP, but I think we can help make this area a little more interesting. If we were to say, make each option (Passive, Standard, Aggressive) drastically different in how they make your ships perform we could encourage the use of different engagement tactics throughout the battle. Are you facing a heavily armed ship and need to dodge a few shots before returning back into the kill? Making each mode different in how they act (basically exaggerating the dodge and Nerfing the attacking on Passive, and vice versa for Aggressive) would encourage the use of critical thinking and changing up your tactics while in battle. Maybe you decide to use one of your ships as bait while the others go in and deal all the heavy damage. This would allow for smarter thinking to give the player an edge over a foe that otherwise might barely edge out a victory, and I think it would benefit the strategic map.
2. More boosters
What I mean by this is more of the thruster/hyperwave targeter/shield type systems, and make them available to a broader category of weapon platforms (like heavy). I find that these systems can really make the combat more interesting, and having more, some dedicated and other multirole boosters would certainly spice up the combat. Suggestion: Limit boosters to only one buff but increase its impact, for example take the thruster and split it into two separate boosters, the nuclear thruster and maneuvering thruster, the nuclear thruster gives an extra 1000mph speed, while the maneuvering thruster gives 30% dodge. This way you can create some more interesting booster combos to help out your ships.
Some random booster ideas:
- Cruise Engine: + 5 acceleration
- Cooling vents: +40 mileage
- Autoloader: - 2 second reloading (doesn't apply to Gat Laser)
- Extra pylons: Carry 30% more ammunition
Just some ideas, please suggest more!
3. Tiered boosters
Again, a continuation of the above, but have tiered boosters, for example if you could have some simple boosters like better engines, targeting computers etc. available at the beginning of the game, but only offer a small bonus, it could help combat the initial push to get better craft, and make the transition a little smoother. At the same time, it benefits air combat diversity early on.
That's it for Air Combat!
C.
Enemy Hideouts
1. This one is a little bit smaller but basically I think that enemy hideouts could use a tileset change, currently they feel too alien, if they had a look more alike to what our own bases look like, and if they varied, no matter how small from faction to faction, it would certainly make them a lot more replayable and pleasing to traverse.
D.
Weapon customization
1. This is something that I don't even know if it is possible, but if it was it would be very interesting nonetheless. Basically, it acts much like boosters for aircraft, but it would be a slot section right next to your weapons, which only these certain attachments could fit onto. Certain attachments could increase damage, increase accuracy, decrease fire time, increased ammunition capacity, the list goes on, but it would increase the longevity and creativity that many weapons would have, which is always a good thing in my case. These would only work on guns and the slot number would vary for different guns (3 slots for rifles, 2 for SMGs, 1 for handguns)
E.
Research
1. Nearing the mid-game there are several issues with a lack of research topics, and it generally takes a long time to find a new one, this can be solved by several different ways. The first is to introduce more research topics, with a greater chance of finding a new one per mission. The second option is to introduce some blueprints for very valuable weapons that you can find several of to construct a complete blueprint, which you can then use to research a topic of your choice (more blueprints = more valuable topics). What this would do is give a common item you can find in most UFOs (would be very abundant in Bases, less so in ships, and little-none in terror missions). The third option is to introduce a reusable research option available to the beginning of the game called "Experiment" which would take a long time to research (30-ish days for 4 Brainers) and the reward would be a new research option that is in your same tech level, so there is essentially no possibility that a low-tier player would get instant access to lasers or plasma weapons. This would effectively always give you a way to progress, even if you absolutely hit a wall, and would also solve much of the "hunt for that one item" syndrome currently experienced. It may be difficult to implement, but it would be beneficial to the overall game. Research topics actually provide a crucial part of X-Com's cycle of play, where you go to the battlefield, research, and manufacture, rinse and repeat. Many people don't realize it but research provides much of the incentive to continue playing the game, because the hope of better gear to use and fight others with is a very addictive cycle, and with an absence of research the game grinds to a slow crawl, and the player loses a lot of interest.
***Suggestions End***
Think's Lil' Wishlist:
Basically thins I think would be neat but don't need to be added at all.
[Laser Sawed-Off Shotgun]
- 32x8 damage *laser*
- 135% accuracy *auto* / 26% TU *auto*
- 150% accuracy *snap* / 22% TU *auto*
- accurate range cap: 6
Laser in a shotgun. it is pure awesome, what more is there to say?
[Flashboom]
(it is a flashbang, essentially removing all enemy TUs in a radius as well as removing a chunk of energy, reactions and accuracy)
[Tinkerer]
A really rough idea, but basically it would be a weapon that could fire a ton of weird junk, with varying different levels of power. This weapon would be useful to clear out your inventory as well as being fun to use (probably would be a powerful, one-shot weapon)
[Laser Revolver]
Following in the path of my other interim laser suggestions (essentially making a class of Laser Tommy type guns) it is an improvement of the Ol' Revolver
- 35 damage *laser*
- 70% acc *snap* / 18% TU
- 110 acc *aimed* / 32% TU
Now it is time for me to sleep (curse you human biology) but I hope you all find something inspiring here, and please share your own ideas down below. Remember that we are here to have fun and help.
Edit 1: Grammar + 1 new thought