Play as the Alien Menace

[Sectoid1985]

Has anyone every attempted, or thought of switching the game so that you play as the Aliens?

Start with an offworld base equipped with Small and Medium scouts, and you have to scout earth for base locations and hunt out XCOM Bases, each month you can attack one city for a terror attack. As you build bases on earth you get bigger and better craft, and access to new alien races but you still select which race you attack with.

You could have it that your supplied by mars the better you do, the more equipment and materials you get each month rather than money.

I have no idea if this is even possible, but could be a fun switch to the usual game.

Anyone even know how to start?

[7Saturn]

Sure someone has: https://www.moddb.com/games/ufo-the-two-sides

[Sectoid1985]

Nice one thanks

[NotCIAAgent]

I was going to suggest something similar, but rather than an offworld base, a group of defecting Sectoids (the weakest of the alien races, to keep the challenge up) on Earth bases fighting both the X-Com and Cydonia to break free and claim a planet just for them. It is easier to implement, as it would use already available resources (Alien Bases, on Earth, X-Com crafts and models).

A more complex, although interesting idea, would be to change how the alien invasion would work, you being the general serving a somewhat reluctant alien empire, trying to do your best with your starting limited resources and forces to prove them it would be a great idea to commit to an invasion to Earth. Maybe that would require to ramp up the technological level of X-Com and whatever other earth based factions you would face to give some semblance of a challenge.

[nadir-1648]

It occurs to me that this is possible, at least to some extent, through modding. You still get stuck with UFO:TTS' staging area approach, no off-world operations for you, but this can be done. And, unfortunately, you can't get your UFOs intercepted. Yet.

Incidentally, has the dust ever settled over TTS? I know it died, but I'm not entirely clear on the details.

[NotCIAAgent]

Well, with enough lore re-adaptation, you could make such a game possible, though you could hardly call it an UFO experience through the lenses of the aliens.

Let us work with the idea that we are a bunch of fleeing Sectoids, Hybrids or any similar lowly race with some end game potential (sectoids are, at least, psychics). You are fleeing from the empire, and decide to establish a base of operations on Earth. However, that will not be 1999 X-Com earth. Maybe it will be in the future (say, Apocalypse future) in which X-Com is hardened and well prepared for an alien invasion. Maybe it is in the future in which X-Com failed and humanity is on its way towards uplifting, as in XCom 2.

Regardless, you will start off weak, taking down supply ships and the such to get money and material in to upgrade your base and hopefully build another one (or not, in case of a single base game sounds more interesting for the proposal), all the while the alien empire mostly ignores you, until you become enough of a problem for them to go and knock on your door.

Basically it would be something between Piratez (guerrilla game) and XCom2 (minus base mobility).

[Dioxine]

Basically it would be something between Piratez (guerrilla game) and XCom2 (minus base mobility).

XCOM2 is far more guerilla than Piratez Maybe you should play as alien forward force? You establish bases and carry out operations against local population. You need science (engineering?) and manufacturing since you've arrived in a small craft, and need to build up your potential. Your ships don't get intercepted because you have superior cloaking and speed (especially if the mission is set in Earth's past). Sectoids are a good choice I think.
However majority of your attacks would be ground attacks and as it is, it takes tons and tons of ruleset coding to force the game to support such mission structure in any sensible way. Also there is no option for bombardment

[NotCIAAgent]

Cue why I advocate for doing this in the future, taking down supply and transport ships and the such, bending the game more towards Piratez. Or you could just do that while the other aliens are invading earth, effectively allowing you to play the good old X-Com game with slightly different rules.

[Solarius Scorch]

Cue why I advocate for doing this in the future, taking down supply and transport ships and the such, bending the game more towards Piratez. Or you could just do that while the other aliens are invading earth, effectively allowing you to play the good old X-Com game with slightly different rules.

Probably not what you've envisaged, but you can as well make a mod for Piratez that changes your soldiers into Sectoids. Well, the equipment, descriptions and some tech tree parts would have to be changed.

[Arthanor]

And there is even already a faction of "feral sectoids" in XPiratez canon!

[NotCIAAgent]

I feel like Piratez might have too much of a post apocalyptic vibe for what I had in mind but, can't deny, it is a pretty good idea and most of the work is already done.

Just gonna need how to mod first. That's the first thing to do.

[Solarius Scorch]

Don't worry, it's probably the easiest game to mod I've ever seen.

Still a lot of work, though. I suggest you start with something small, like a new weapon.

[Slaughter]

How about Apoc Aliens vs Sectoids? You can't all-out invade because your fleshy puppets don't last long in Earth's alien atmosphere. You have to infect nations, corporations, factions etc with Micronoids, but these damn grey jumpsuits and aliens both keep showing up and killing your guys with bullets and plasma.

Earth is not big enough for two alien dominators.

Would prob need new mechanics to handle micronoid infection right tho - Pandemic meets X-COM?

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[Solarius Scorch]

How about Apoc Aliens vs Sectoids? You can't all-out invade because your fleshy puppets don't last long in Earth's alien atmosphere. You have to infect nations, corporations, factions etc with Micronoids, but these damn grey jumpsuits and aliens both keep showing up and killing your guys with bullets and plasma.

Earth is not big enough for two alien dominators.

Would prob need new mechanics to handle micronoid infection right tho - Pandemic meets X-COM?

That's actually an interesting idea. It made me think of a similar one: you are the Sectoids, but you work for the Micronoid empire. Well not wilfully, of course; you are a pariah caste, and they only tolerate you because you can survive on Earth.

So you are sent to Earth to conquer it or something, and you are closely supervised to ensure your loyalty and eagerness. And you do as you are told, but at some point also start thinking about turning against your masters...

[Slaughter]

That works too.
Either way I think that to make aliens work you have to consider what makes then work and tick. So:
Resources:
- Elerium: Power Source for everything we see the aliens use (wouldn't surprise me if Cydonia uses fusion reactors or so, tho. Hydrogen is cheap, Elerium is expensive). This would be the main resource, the equivalent is money for X-COM. Actually maybe more important - X-COM can get money elsewhere, the Sectoids only get Elerium from out of the solar system - mining in The Frontier?

Elerium could come from the wider empire/superiors, which has to be kept happy and convinced the Earth infiltration plan works. Or they cut your supply and you have to use crap guns and fusion power plants.

Nutrients - The clone armies need to be fed. Sure, aliens can and should build hydroponics and vats and such, but there's a planet full of biomass close by, so...

DNA - Needed for bio-research and making/enhancing units?

Money could be a resource too - for dealing with humans and human agents. Maybe Sectoids pay people in gold? Otherwise I don't see what stops them from creating digital money somehow.

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