I was reading one of Kaki's posts and it hit me hard, it hurt.
You know those weird scenarios when you're over a million in debt, the counsel begins the process of shutting you down just as you're getting your manufacturing projects running in full strength to pay them back, but by then it's too late. Game Over, try again.
What if you can continue playing after the Counsel tries to close you down when you have enough power to self-sustain yourself? What if you can tell them to go screw themselves? Or tell them kindly to walk away, because you can handle yourself from here on without them.
Imagine an option to continue onto the GAME OVER screen... or continue playing without officially being recognized by the world powers.
So by continuing to Command, as soon as you leave the final Council Monthly Report, you're told that the Council has frowned upon your decision to stop them from dismantling everything you worked hard to achieve with their money, because they're obviously going to want it all, to spread it amongst themselves to attempt to fight off the aliens, while backstabbing each other and so on, you know how it goes.
This is an onion layer of new gameplay being introduced. The Council is now your enemy as well. They will attempt to force you out by harassing your plans to save humankind. The Council is possibly operating as a secret organization within World Governments themselves, and so they have their own privately funded armies of agents and black suits who will infiltrate you within, attempt to assassinate X-COM operatives during live recovery missions, ect.
Eventually the Council will feel it is time to attack your known bases, the bases that were built while they were funding you. They will attack you when you reach a certain point score, when they see you as a rowing threat.
These kinds of base defense missions will involve Special Military Forces and consist of 2-parts like TFTD. even with basic weaponry at first, these special forces are the best of the best with rocket launchers ready, throwable explosives, high Reaction.
1st part of the Mission is defending your underground base. After you clear them from your base, the 2nd part begins, on the surface. The Military created a Forward Outpost Base (FOB like PR hehehehe) near you, so you'll have to wipe them out to be certain. After you complete this mission, they may take a very long time before attacking another known base. Next time with some alien tech as the Secret Counsel begin to sell out to the aliens just to get rid of you, because they're so egotistically, selling there own souls to the aliens for what...?
Since you no longer have to appease the Council with positive scores, you still have the option to defend terror-sites or avoid them. Just remember, you recruit differently nowadays and defending Terror-Sites with give you favor with the regions nearby gaining you a few more operative recruitment options! High Reaction/Accuracy baby.
I can see the Council as being or becoming like the secretive group from the X-Files, The Syndicate. A ruthless brutal group in charge of different parts of the world. They'd be pretty ticked off if you went against there demands. They're gonna want to shut you down even if you're doing well, because these kinds of men, they wouldn't like to see YOU become greater then they are as a group. So it's obvious they go to the aliens with secret pacts for an advantage against the rebellious X-COM.
