XCOM "Last Stand" Mode after Council Termination

[RSSwizard]

The impression I got was XCom facilities were "Deep Underground Military Bases" otherwise known as D.U.M.B.s. Which are another piece of black-ops-lore.

No bunkerbuster cruise missile is going to penetrate a quarter mile of solid earth (or more!). And the Xcom access doors are basically a series of airlocks so dropping a Thermobaric weapon close to the entrance isnt going to nix them with overpressure either (like it might do to taliban cave complexes).

Ground assault has no problem with this because they just cut the doors with thermite (or aliens got their own non-inventory-item plasma cutter to do the same job). Thats why they come in through the Access Elevator or the Hangar.

Reminds me of some episodes of Stargate SG-1 where the Goa-uld invade earth and attack Cheyenne Mountain. They have a mothership sitting on top of the mountain but they have to send jaffa down the access points, and with their tech they have no problems cutting or blasting through the doors. Then well, we get a classic XCOM-esque Base Defense scenario (but they lose because they are vastly outnumbered and out-gunned).

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Construction of the base facilities is probably more an issue of paying for the things that are going to be put in them, rather than the digging and tunneling of them (which would cost millions, and is probably provided by other black ops budget funds that the player never sees or touches). Somebody else does the digging for you.

Building Time for the construction is probably 5 Days + 5 Days per Square. Then additional time for however long it takes to procure and install the equipment that is being put in them. At least that formula looks to be accurate for most of the facilities.

[Solarius Scorch]

Construction of the base facilities is probably more an issue of paying for the things that are going to be put in them, rather than the digging and tunneling of them (which would cost millions, and is probably provided by other black ops budget funds that the player never sees or touches).

Must be the same budget that pays most craft-related costs.

[Dioxine]

No bunkerbuster cruise missile is going to penetrate a quarter mile of solid earth (or more!). And the Xcom access doors are basically a series of airlocks so dropping a Thermobaric weapon close to the entrance isnt going to nix them with overpressure either (like it might do to taliban cave complexes).

No Xcom Craft would penetrate a quarter mile of rock (or more) when trying to get airborne.

[RSSwizard]

@Dioxine
Actually that was the impression I got, that there is a huge huge shaft above each Hangar which the aircraft lifts off through.

This is why all of the Xcom aircraft have VTOL. Skyrangers and Interceptors do not take off and land like normal planes even if they can. And all of the hybrid craft can do it implicitly.

Also notice that when you send an aircraft off on an interception mission, there is a few minutes where the plane just sits there hovering over the base before it starts moving. Determined primarily by its "Acceleration" stat I think. If the plane had to vertical takeoff its way up a 300-600 meter shaft that would take a few minutes I think.

Then up at the surface its like some james bond or batman setup where there's an external hangar hatch camouflaged to look like normal scenery. Plane comes out, takes off like a bat out of hell.

[Dioxine]

@Dioxine
Actually that was the impression I got, that there is a huge huge shaft above each Hangar which the aircraft lifts off through.

This is why all of the Xcom aircraft have VTOL. Skyrangers and Interceptors do not take off and land like normal planes even if they can. And all of the hybrid craft can do it implicitly.

Also notice that when you send an aircraft off on an interception mission, there is a few minutes where the plane just sits there hovering over the base before it starts moving. Determined primarily by its "Acceleration" stat I think. If the plane had to vertical takeoff its way up a 300-600 meter shaft that would take a few minutes I think.

...what? What have you been taking, man? I want that too... Crafts accelerating up a quarter-mile shaft, barely larger than their wing-span... Hell, even thrice as wide, makes little difference... See what's the problem here...? KA-BOOOM!

...not to even mention that such a huge shaft is far more than a guided bomb needs, the US airforce managed to incinerate many (mostly civilian) bomb shelters throwing a guided bomb from a plane down *elevator* shafts, few metres across.

Oh yeah and excavating such a shaft would take many months to even years, depending on (hugeness of) machinery used. Just sayan.

Yeah except these three little things your logic is sound.

[Voiddweller]

...what? What have you been taking, man? I want that too... Crafts accelerating up a quarter-mile shaft, barely larger than their wing-span... Hell, even thrice as wide, makes little difference... See what's the problem here...? KA-BOOOM!

...not to even mention that such a huge shaft is far more than a guided bomb needs, the US airforce managed to incinerate many (mostly civilian) bomb shelters throwing a guided bomb from a plane down *elevator* shafts, few metres across.

Oh yeah and excavating such a shaft would take many months to even years, depending on (hugeness of) machinery used. Just sayan.

Yeah except these three little things your logic is sound.

A well-concealed diagonal shaft with rails for acceleration can provide a safe takeoff for planes :3 But knowledge about X-COM bases location and supply lines control is a much more dangerous weapon than any bunker buster. Not to mention that aliens may have a planet buster weapons as well To survive after counsil disassembly X-COM will have to abandon their bases and switch to guerilla tactics. All that can be affordable as command center is couple of submarines, assuming aliens won't bother to hunt them down... They might even have to give up an idea of any military solutions, and switch to covert operations, assasinations, provocations and sabotage.