==Summery
Trying to make a mod that jazzes up the original art-work and adds some new elements that I think might complement the original design. This is all very pie-in-the-sky, I'm probably never going to put in the time for this.
===FAQ
Regarding active file-sharing (have a couple of pm (sorry I'm often logged out)), firstly there's actually not a lot to this all (There is very little existing sprite work (for the battlemap) and some stuff has been lost), secondly I'm not really rushing to release my half-baked stuff into the wild atm. I will maybe chuck some resources here for sharing
-TBC-
===Setting
1998, an ocean is speculated to exist on Europa, human cloning is banned, TVs and computers have huge CRT displays, mobile phones and gameboy colors are a thing, internet is slow, technologically things are improving.
It is 1999, Yugoslavia & NATO are in conflict, Congo erupted into one of the bloodiest conflicts the year before, the Second Chechen War has just started (Putin now in power), China is rounding up the Falun Gong (soon for organ harvesting), intelligence services and gangs wage a shadow war (the CIA looking to track down bin Laden for a US embassy bombing).
As humanity focuses on tearing itself apart, it fails to look to stars, but in the stars something has taken notice of us.
(idea monthly history round-ups?? news articles)
===Faction (Concepts)
Wyrm(Snakemen): Serpentine(xcom2-esk), Slugs/Fiends(ufo-esk), Defiler (Chryssalid-esk)
Weapons: Slugmen can drop (slugling)eggs on death,
Summery: The Serpentine rule over the slug-men slaves, the Defilers are a parasite brought over from their homeworld.
Kratonians(Mutons): Chieftan, Warrior, Beserkers, Thralls (workers), Cyberthrall (floaters), Pit-tooth (Triscene), Waste-Horn (Reaper)
Summery: Kratonians killed their own planet, famed galatic merceneries, hunters and gladiators, but many are sworn to the bidding of the Uniter, who is in contract with the Eldritch Red-Seers.
Weapons: Auto-Shotguns, Blades,
Tasoth (Gill Man lore combined): Tyrant, Fighter (regular), Spawnling, Spawn & Hatchlings
Weapons: Javalins(ranged on land, melee in water)
"Deep-Ones" (now 2x2 Lobster Men not divers): Goliath,
Summery: Only fight in the depths, Guard end-game elements
Wielders of the Rousing LightCult Diver, Cult Submarine (small explorer), Cult Dreamer, Cube Construct (Deep-one Ambassador)
Summery: Want to cause the end of everything, the end-times, lead by a burning-bush-esk entity
Red Seers (Ethereals)
Eldritch (Ethereal), Children of Faith (power-ranger teens), Chosen Mercs (mix of aliens), Human Thralls (psi-zombies)
Summery: Want to stop the end of everything, would prefer to rule earth, may burn it clean, don't want to risk triggering the end times. Maybe less common, to stop escalation into psi-research, also with timed explosives they drop so they're harder to capture alive
Toliet Thoughts:
Spoiler:
Core Changes (less likely)
Fatigue/PTSD System (using Mana-System or alternative) would give a reason to rotate people out other than wounds.
Amputees & Scars, each soldier starts in a phase like a zombie, on "death" they move to a second phase like the Chrslid only it is a random impaired phase. (very unlikely to bother with this) Once "healed" they come crudely augmented with a prosthetic, they can can be augmented with a simple or advanced augmentation from a running-blade to a robo-foot.
Reduced Throw, broadly reduced strength outside of power-armor.
Maybe less actionpoints per turn for all, as it can feel silly having units dance around each other, or more reaction fire for everyone?
Lower Inventory (Remove most backpacks (You're a rapid-response team, you're not hiking in))
Flying Power Armor replaced with flying Personal Armor (make it a trade off, less economic and more risk based)
Base Escape not Defence?? You cannot hope to defend a base forever against an orbiting foe you need to get out of dodge.
Alien Deployables (Using new Spawning)
Alien weapon that launches scattered proximity mines would make people feel more powerless maybe than straight up killing a target
Alien spider-egg-sac like weapon would be terrifying, scattered spawning of tiny spiders.
Alien-leech thrower, both explosive and biting
Player Deployables (Using new Spawning)
Player deployable Turret, a static shooting civilian.
Player Hologram deployable, creates target/bait for aliens
Player deployable dogs, as civilians to keep from feeling like just another human agent
If TFTD expanded content included...
No backpack slot, replaced by air-tank
"Shallows" missions the default armor allows you to float(fly) in "Depths" missions you are in a weighted suit and movement is restricted.
Most enemies float
Merge the concept of "Gill Man", "Aquatoid" & "Tasoth".
Make a "Lobster Man" less cartoonish.
"Deep One" & "Calcinite" replaced by human-traitors and "Sectoids" in suits.
You basically can't throw anything underwater
Spoiler:
AETOS (You (XCOM)) the eagle of Zeus, Anti-ExtraTerrestrial-Operation-Service, an orbiting object fell into Area-51 where it was taken for analysis, it was thought to contain a relay to Mars, the probe contained organic material, it was alive, after years of study the probe was asking to be taken to our leaders, it was taken before the UN council, it engaged in a conversation, it demanded surrender, the council refused, the probe relayed the refusal, and sent back a response, and started shooting council members.
-Possible Mission defending Council-
One year later a barrage of shots hits major urban areas, and observable military targets, the world is thrown into chaos, and in desperation the UN is indefinitely granted total power.
A number of probes were also sent, some infiltrate and undermine the earth's economy, others simply carry out assaults.
A larger mass approaches earth's orbit
UN Forces (Civilian) [Medium]
Note: The targeting of all earth's national militaries triggered a pact you can choose to support (Unlocks; UN Lasers, UN Adv-Alloys, ect, on market).
Note 2: Support will leak out into traitor factions such as Advent.
Advanced UN Trooper: (Unlocks when you share technology) A trooper in UN cyan, armed with laser rifle and advanced-alloy armor.
UN Trooper: A trooper in UN cyan, armed with an assault-rifle and helmet.
Advent Cultists [Low Priority]
Cultist Member: Members of the cult of Advent, swamped in brown, symbolising their lowly status.
Cultists of Red Cloth: The warriors of the cult, they police the meetings, and occasional inserections.
Cultists Speaker in White: The men who claim to have spoken with the Eldritch. (Hat with Eldritch eye)
Cultist Martyr: A man in motley with a strapped on IED
Transhumanist Protesters [Lowest Priority]
Note: It is bad to shoot down protestors, as they are only guilty of being misled
Instigating Protester: Protesters that came for a fight, they have gas-masks and sticks.
Emboldened Protester: Protesters caught up in the violence, they chuck stones and throw punches, but little else.
Emboldened Protester with sign: Protesters with signage conveying things like; "Love thy Neighbor signs", "Give talk a chance", "Change", etc.
Rage/Spice Dealers [Low Priority]
An addictive hallucinogen (Stella-X/9D/Spore), and the powerful steroid (Rage/Zulu/Amber), appear on markets, rarely concentrated, often cut with conventional drugs...
Zulu is thought to be manufactured in West-Africa, it is then shipped to Mexico and distilled with Crystal-Meth to form an amber-crystal...
"The Mexican Laboratory" is an underground facility run by gangsters come death cultists of "Santa Muerte"...
"The West African Distribution Facility" is run by Shaka, he maintains an army of child-soldiers...
The Facility is where the product is taken, they grow crystals on the splines of the living...
The shipments of Spore are equally nefarious and come from Advent, they use human cadavers to feed the psychedelic mushrooms
Thoughts: Zombie like addicts could be featured, drugs could be used to upgrade troops (perm/temp)
These drugs could be made synthetically (by xcom), but it's much harder than growing them on human livestock, as the organisms tailor themselves to their host.
Some of the drug pushing is made to undermine the economy of earth's resistance, a little like China's opium crisis undermining their efforts at resisting the british.
Mantoid [Medium]
Note: A flying xeno baring passing resemblance to a mantis or locust, fairly intelligent if short-lived creature, fairly erratic species by human standards.
Mantoid Swarm: A dangerous and ravenous swarm of insects hard to kill without a broader projectile
Mantoid: A drone in the middle of its lifespan, it projects a corrosive acid towards its foes
Mantoid Carrier: A female Mantoid that will cling to a foe and explode, spawning a Mantoid-Swarm
Mantoid Gelded: A rare form of Mantoid less prone the the suicidal urges of other Mantoid, they will often rid themselves of most of their anatomy, but they are still by nature driven towards the preservation of the Mantoid race
Kratonian [Higher]
Kratonian Chieftain: A leader of his tribe
Kratonian Long-Tusks: Elites of the tribe
Kratonian Grunts: Standard Troops
Kratonian Thralls: Fallen warriors, often challengers punished with the conversion. Only in this state can a Kratonian control himself enough to fly.
Kratonian Bloodluster: Gladiatorial-esk berserkers, affected by a mental-disease the Kratonians sought fit to retain
Deep-Ones [Medium]
Notes: I'm thinking a lobsterman would be way way cooler if he was a 4 tile beasty, and that they held the key to the final mission.
Deep-One Ancient: Huge monster with an energy-shield, uses shotguns, explosive slugs, and claws
Deep-One: Huge monster that uses shotguns, explosive slugs, and claws
Red Bio-Drone: An exploding jellyfish
Blue Bio-Drone: A mind-controlling jellyfish
Slogutis/Wyrm [Medium] (Snakemen)
Notes: Snakemen are a little generic, I'm thinking in my take they'll be depicted as blind, perhaps with bat-like ears, and then that can be tied into them being much weaker to sonic damage.
Slogutis Matriarch: Breaths fire, attacks with tail
Slogutis Drone: Similar to now but cosmetically different, maybe uses a polearm (ties in with guarding a queen)
Slogutis Drone (Fertile): A sneaky variant that on death releases offspring.
Slogutis Offspring: A nasty snake-like beast that spills from the corpse of its father.
Geminae [Higher]
Notes: I'd like to make them appear smaller than Sectoids, they eat till they throw up an egg-sack, the embryo takes DNA from what they eat.
Geminae Ethereal: Geminae that are psionically gifted
Geminae Soldier: A Geminae in a light alloy power-suit
Geminae Drone: The majority, they use pistols, or light variants of rifles
Geminae Egg Sack: Pops on proximity releasing the following...
Geminae Hatchling: A smaller, but well developed drone, only armed with its claws
Thanks to everyone that has commented so far, i'll hopefully have something up
soon eventually.
