Think's Think Tank & Suggestions

[The Think Tank]

***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

[legionof1]

Small thing to note there are 3 laser shotguns already. A pistol and rifle size after nuclear laser tech. Then a heavy weapon version in the microwave cooker. Some have auto fire mode 2.

[The Think Tank]

Small thing to note there are 3 laser shotguns already. A pistol and rifle size after nuclear laser tech. Then a heavy weapon version in the microwave cooker. Some have auto fire mode 2.

I am aware of that, the niche that a Sawed-off Laser Shotgun would fill could be somewhat similar to that of the Laser Tommy, essentially an interim laser weapon that you can produce pretty early on. A LSO would also be exceptionally useful even later as a sidearm. I think it would certainly have its place.

[legionof1]

AH i misunderstood the intent. Reasonable idea

[Cheshire]

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)

 You might have been unlucky, in the three missions I attempted there were many cash bags/money purses, personal computers (that you can disassemble in electronics), various outfits, treasures chests containing gold and gems (though I got none in the last mission I attempted), a lot of various alcohol bottles... Weapons and hellerium wouldn't fit IMHO, that's not the kind of things you'd particularly expect to find in a luxury mansion (vs. a smuggling UFO or a military base for instance).

[The Think Tank]

You might have been unlucky, in the three missions I attempted there were many cash bags/money purses, personal computers (that you can disassemble in electronics), various outfits, treasures chests containing gold and gems (though I got none in the last mission I attempted), a lot of various alcohol bottles... Weapons and hellerium wouldn't fit IMHO, that's not the kind of things you'd particularly expect to find in a luxury mansion (vs. a smuggling UFO or a military base for instance).

You would probably find some weapons for security, and a high-end sidearm with the occasional paranoid politician. But I do understand your point.

[Loengrinn]

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.

I really like this one.  This is the problem I have, that it's very unclear what the next "research objectives" are and without intimate knowledge of the tech tree, you have no idea what to go after next to make progress.  I've actually ran into this particular issue on more than one occasion.  Granted, the obvious solution is to capture enemies with prejudice, but that's not always a good or even feasible idea.  Not without huge risks that could very possibly not be worth the payoff.

I don't know how I feel about the weapon/air combat booster ideas.  I'm not saying they're bad, they're quite good conceptually, but I feel like each weapon should specialize itself, not the boosters.  And the different vessels fill different niches themselves, without needing specific boosters to differentiate them.  Your suggestions would definitely add the ability to make a very specialized vessel, like say taking the Barracuda and giving it the dodge boost and make an almost unhittable target for the enemies.  But if you look carefully thru the bootypedia and the wiki it becomes very clear that each ship fulfills a very specific role.  Maybe a bigger focus on the weapons on the ships?  I don't know what other items are available as you get farther, but all I have is the 10% acc boost and the speed boost items for vessels, so even this may be a moot point.

As I've said I'm not terribly far into the game, so I can't exactly comment on the rest to much degree, but it all sounds pretty good in theory at least.  Regardless of necessity, the biggest problem you would run into is viability via coding for all these things.  Although the devs are pretty smart, so I would actually bank on them knowing of way to implement your suggestions, instead of my usual "I don't think that's possible" view of things.

[Dioxine]

Well, the problem rather is, I don't even understand most of it.

[Meridian]

I really like this one.  This is the problem I have, that it's very unclear what the next "research objectives" are and without intimate knowledge of the tech tree, you have no idea what to go after next to make progress.  I've actually ran into this particular issue on more than one occasion.  Granted, the obvious solution is to capture enemies with prejudice, but that's not always a good or even feasible idea.  Not without huge risks that could very possibly not be worth the payoff.

In vanilla, the research tree is rather small and one can remember it completely after playing once or twice.

In PirateZ, I doubt that even Dioxine remembers everything.
And because of few (sometimes even many) prerequisites for each research topic... I think it is safe to say that it is impossible for a human being to even figure out how the research tree looks like.

Some modern games (e.g. newer civilization games), give you a preview of the entire tech tree directly in game. Regardless of whether that's a plus or minus... in PirateZ it is impossible to do.... and yes, I've tried... and failed miserably. There's too many dependencies... you simply cannot draw a tech tree diagram readable to a human being.

Now, there is an excellent TechTreeViewer on the web: https://techtreeviewer.byethost9.com/
Instead of the whole tech tree... it displays only a selected topic and one or two levels of dependencies... which is very usable, and I am indeed using it now with great success in my own campaign. Makes the progress a lot easier.

I can imagine building a similar tech tree viewer (in text mode, not graphical) directly in game, but it would require non-trivial effort.

@Dioxine: what's your opinion... would you like to see such a tech tree viewer directly in game... or is it a too big spoiler and goes against your design intentions?

[Dioxine]

Not to a full extent, no. That'd kill the whole try and error thing. But what could help?
- Some sort of improved 'research progress' message. Maybe custom set? A player should be informed, in very rough terms at least, how much is a research topic advanced, roughly (maybe an ability to set % of progress thresholds via ruleset, with custom string at each threshold, something like 10% researched translating into 'barely started' etc).
- Some switchable setting to show all researches which have at least 1 preq (or 50%+ preqs) already completed? So you could review ALL preqs for it when you click on it? Say a button in the lab 'show prospective techs' and when you click it, a list is displayed in red or yellow. Just a rough idea, idk if it's not too much info (no place for a surprise) or is it even worth it. But it could be helpful.

[Arthanor]

I like the idea of browsing potential projects. Something like if you have all dependencies already researched, available for research at the moment or available through interrogation, the project will be visible in the prospective projects list and you see what you need to do to get it.

Dependencies that can be fulfilled by interrogations would instead list units that can give the tech when interrogated.

So the brainers would be like: "if we complete these two project and talk to either X or Y knowledgeable person, we'd be able to look into making this kind of thing happen"

Going much beyond that is risking to be too spoilery.

[Dioxine]

The list of units to interrogate is a bad idea; usually it'd be a long list, mostly people you've never met, plus most of interrogation boons can be procured from other sources as well. Better not go there, unless interrogation itself is the prerequisite.
I'd add a flag of 'key subject' to some researches too. It would block displaying a tech in the preview list until a key subject is researched (these key subjects would be things like higher studies: no sense in displaying that you can research x if that x requires higher studies - an end-game tech).

I won't hide the fact that'd I'd rather see new gameplay features than this one, which is more of a debug tool than a real feature IMO.

[Meridian]

I won't hide the fact that'd I'd rather see new gameplay features than this one, which is more of a debug tool than a real feature IMO.

Well, I am hearing cries for more features like this... which doesn't mean I will do them all.
For example, "damage calculator"... for all the confused new players, who have no idea how good or bad the fuso knives or the spear actually are.

If it was vanilla, I would probably not even consider it... but in case of piratez... my reasoning is a bit different, based on my own experience.
I played vanilla maybe 30 times or so, it doesn't take long to finish it.
PirateZ, no matter how much I like them, I will probably play only once... because it just takes too long (and there's other TC's I want to play too).
And since I'll play only once... well I don't want to "roam aimlessly in the dark".

I assume there are more players who feel something similar.

[legionof1]

Im kinda with Merdian, the mod as fabulous as it is takes an absolutely massive amount of time to finish a play-through. Replay potential is very high but the time investment pushes back. Even in the strategy/tactics field this is a long haul. Worth the trip in every way, but am i willing to keep making the trip? I really dont know.

[The Think Tank]

I kind of agree with that, after I finish my current playthrough it is unlikely that I will play the mod again for quite some time, I will probably wait for quite a few more updates, however, if we were to make the dependencies for certain research topics more flexible, it would likely shorten the campaign but increase replayability at the same time (no need to wait for that ONE single ship with the Academy Medic, or so forth).