The Thing arc

[khade]

I think that's what I meant.  I agree it looks pretty difficult for minor benefit, at best.

[Dr.Crowley]

Wow, this looks like a really special event!

[krautbernd]

As for "the thing" not showing up as hostile on the map:
Does zombification work with non-melee type weapons? Would it possible to equip a civilian unit with a timed explosive that zombifies them when it explodes and kills them (would probably require "hot grenades" enabled)? That way non-hostile units might be able to "spawn" hostile entities.

[Solarius Scorch]

As for "the thing" not showing up as hostile on the map:
Does zombification work with non-melee type weapons? Would it possible to equip a civilian unit with a timed explosive that zombifies them when it explodes and kills them (would probably require "hot grenades" enabled)? That way non-hostile units might be able to "spawn" hostile entities.

Zombifying works with ranged weapons, but explosives? Probably not. Still, an interesting idea.

[Vangrimar1]

Perhaps it will be a variant of turning civilians into monsters after a certain number of moves. In armor conditions, you can set a gradual loss of health and turn into another unit after death. But I do not know if this will work with civilians.

[Solarius Scorch]

It should work. Thanks for the ideas!

[krautbernd]

Or have them start with an unconscious unit in their inventory? That would probably carry the risk of the "original" thing being easily re-stunnable, but once it wakes up it would probably zombify any nearby (civilian) units.

[Meridian]

Or have them start with an unconscious unit in their inventory?

Not supported.

[krautbernd]

Not supported.

[Vangrimar1]

The idea of ​​working with health, the civilians are perfectly excelled in monsters. You can realize something like alien eggs, out of which the aliens hatch. I wonder if it's possible to add wounds through the armor. Then in the theory of the infected one can be cured.

[Vangrimar1]

Ready variant of the infected civil.

 - type: INFESTEDCIVF_ARMOR
    spriteSheet: INFEST_CIV_FEM.PCK
    corpseBattle:
      - CIVF_CORPSE
    frontArmor: 0
    sideArmor: 0
    rearArmor: 0
    underArmor: 0
    drawingRoutine: 4
    deathFrames: 18
    damageModifier:
      - 1.0
      - 1.0
      - 1.0
      - 1.0
      - 1.0
      - 1.0
      - 1.0
      - 1.2
      - 1.6
      - 1.0
    builtInWeapons:
      - STR_INFESTED_FEM_CORPSE
    recovery:
      stun:
        healthCurrent: 0.01
        health: -0.075
      health:
        flatHundred: -0.05
        stunNormalized: -0.1
    loftempsSet: [ 5 ]

[Solarius Scorch]

Thanks for all the new contributions!
I hope to start working on this after the next release.

EDIT:

I'm sorry it takes so long, I'm pretty swamped with various features...
Before I start, can I please get an outline how these units are supposed to work? Which one transform into which, and maybe what should they do (in general)? I've seen the movie and the sprites, but it's better to ask than to misunderstand.

[Vangrimar1]

Thank you for not forgetting this direction. By transformations: 1st stage - a “normal” person, with a knife or a firearm. Balanced behavior. Stage 2 - full-fledged infected, aggressive behavior, melee. Stage 3 - spider's head, trying to escape. If there are dogs, something like that can be done with them.
Considering that thing is terrible first of all because it is not known who is a friend and who is an enemy, you can use the mechanics of "infected civilians" as an alternative to the mission timer. For example, we have a base of polar explorers with one infected dog and several civilians. The task is to kill the dog as quickly as possible and do not allow it to infect everyone (the analog is the village of the crisalids). At the same time, some civilians are initially infected and after a few turns themselves turn into thing.

[Solarius Scorch]

OK, thanks. So all the units can infect civilians?
(Unfortunately the target indicators will tell you everything...)

[Vangrimar1]

Not necessary. Initially, the monster is only one on the map. An example of an infected civilian I cited above. The whole joke is that he is NOT displayed as an enemy, but turns into him only after death. Thus, if you set a condition for loss of health in the settings of your armor, then this will start as a timer. For example, a civilian 10 health, each turn, he loses 2 health. Thus, in five moves, he will turn into a monster. Visually, the loss of health is not displayed, it is difficult to understand who is infected and who is not.