XCOM EU Mod to increase strategy and fix the anti-realism of Xcom combat

[Levgre]

I have played a lot of strategy/FPS, including the granddaddy combination of the genres, the Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six series.

 

Xcom seemed really fun to me at first. Then I got sick of all the lame, unexpected things happening which by and far determined my success. Therefore learning the quirks of the game was much more important sound, consistent strategy.

I tried some mods and they did little/nothing to alleviate what I see as the greatest problems in the game.

 

So I have a number of ideas on how to improve the game, I think not just in my own vision, but making it a more fun, in depth, turn based tactical shooter.

 

1. Basic (real life) soldier skills should be available to all XCom soldiers. These are the foundations of modern squad-based warfare, and without them you get a strategy as close to say Battle Mech, as you do to say real life, or Rainbow Six shooting games.

 

a. All soldiers start with suppressing fire. This is a core foundation to modern squad based combat, one of the main facilitators of flanking/teamwork. Without it, aggression on the battlefield is extremely limited. How is this kept balanced?

 

Have class paths that improve suppressing fire, so it can start lower (still has to be useful from beginning).

More reloading, either drop assault rifles down to 2 shots, or have suppressing consume 2 ammo, if possible? Ammo upgrades could therefore be more useful.

 

b. XCom soldiers should be able to hit more than the broad side of a barn. If you have pretty clear shot against an enemy, even if they are far away, it should be a near guarantee to hit. Closer up, it should be a guarantee. How is this kept balanced?

 

Give 'big' penalties on accuracy while shooting at a distance, against an enemy behind cover. Thus while you have better shooting, you are more restrictions on when you can shoot.

 

Have accuracy/movement penalties when a teammate is hit could help.

2. To balance the now arguably more 'super soldiers', increase the cost of new recruits drastically. XCom has things completely backwards. In RL modern warfare, skilled soldiers are much more expensive than most equipment, other than some vehicles/ships etc. The estimated cost of training a Navy Seal is 1 million dollars, or more. Even give them a small upkeep cost, which increases with rank. SHIVs should be cheaper (and less poten) than soldiers.

Also give soldiers longer recovery times from injury, as I see in some mods. However, I don't think they should get fatigue between missions, as a realistic amount would be too small to be of impact.

Another realistic addition, balancing super soldiers, is have every would require a med pack use to stabiize (stop taking bleeding damage). Medpacks do not heal any damage, as ofc you cannot instantly make wounds disappear on the battlefield.

This will make medics even more pivotal, because while everyone could carry packs to heal themselves, you will likely require more packs overall and the 3x is hugely efficient for inventory. Perhaps medic could also get an upgrade where the recipient heals 1 damage?

3. Balance away the willing un-discovery of enemies as a core strategy. Right now, you want to conserve movement/sight because knowledge of your enemy, is your enemy, as supposed to your ally. I'm not sure how you'd offset this in the game mechanics, but here are some ideas.

a. Have ai hunker down if they are a certain distance away. Just because you revealed them, doesn't mean they saw you (like with a vison grenade thing).

b. Reduce movement speed, so they can't close gaps so quick once they are discovered. Sight then means you could get some extra shots (give Xcom guys superior range?) The movement decrease would also have to apply to Xcom soldiers for balance, although I think with sprinting they have an excess of mobility anyways.

c. Some sort of bonus for Xcom soldiers for a more revealed map? Either in will, defense, or marksmanship. The formula could lbe based on how many of the current enemy groups are visible.

4.It would also be nice to give the aliens some capabilities that are actually unique/separate from the human Xcom soldiers. Much of the time they just seem to be similar units in a different skin. However I think I will need to play the game more to get ideas on this, beyond perhaps buffing some of their special abilities.

Anyways, I am fully programming flash games right now, so I don't really have time to learn to mod Xcom. However if a group of ppl/anyone want to take up this mantle, I would put time into testing or give as much input as desired towards making XCom a more true-to-life, strategic, and fun tactical shooter.

Edited February 18, 2014 by Levgre