XCOM EU Multiple Skyrangers

[Snarks]

This is probably a tall order request, but would it be possible to have multiple Skyrangers so that the player can handle multiple abductions at the same time? Specifically, if it's possible to force the player to send different soldiers on each Skyranger to force even more decision making on the player's part.

[Cornflower]

I second that. It would be a good idea. Just make the Skyranger expensive enough, so it takes some effort to build one.

[Gazzzz]

Specifically, if it's possible to force the player to send different soldiers on each Skyranger to force even more decision making on the player's part.

Actually, there is no decision at all if you can handle every incursion simultanously. Soldiers aren't very expensive and you can steal the alien's weapons soon enough. Lose a rookie by running him up to the sectoid to stun it? Totally worth it if it works.

 

The multiple choice thing is in there specifically because there was no decision involved in the original game. It was just straightforward work.

 

You can't balance the elimination of a game mechanic with higher cost.

Weapon production/selling in the OG eliminated the importance of funding... completely. So just make everything 3x as expensive, right?

[amblingalong]

Specifically, if it's possible to force the player to send different soldiers on each Skyranger to force even more decision making on the player's part.

Actually, there is no decision at all if you can handle every incursion simultanously. Soldiers aren't very expensive and you can steal the alien's weapons soon enough. Lose a rookie by running him up to the sectoid to stun it? Totally worth it if it works.

 

The multiple choice thing is in there specifically because there was no decision involved in the original game. It was just straightforward work.

 

You can't balance the elimination of a game mechanic with higher cost.

Weapon production/selling in the OG eliminated the importance of funding... completely. So just make everything 3x as expensive, right?

 

The typical response to people making mods you don't like is not to download them. Personally, I think it's a great idea, if you make constructing Skyrangers fairly expensive and also bump up the number of abduction sites that are simultaneously offered (from 3 to 5, perhaps). The fact is I beat the game on Classic with 6 soldiers I used for 95% of the missions. I had no depth in my lineup at all. This would force you to do that.

[Sepherose]

Specifically, if it's possible to force the player to send different soldiers on each Skyranger to force even more decision making on the player's part.

Actually, there is no decision at all if you can handle every incursion simultanously. Soldiers aren't very expensive and you can steal the alien's weapons soon enough. Lose a rookie by running him up to the sectoid to stun it? Totally worth it if it works.

 

The multiple choice thing is in there specifically because there was no decision involved in the original game. It was just straightforward work.

 

You can't balance the elimination of a game mechanic with higher cost.

Weapon production/selling in the OG eliminated the importance of funding... completely. So just make everything 3x as expensive, right?

 

I actually have to disagree here to a point. I personally like the idea that you have to leave some people behind so to speak in regards to where you choose to take a mission. But, at the same time, the big thing with being able to have multiple transports in the original was that the missions could be completed by the aliens before you arrived, or you could run out of fuel. So you were still forced to sacrifice places in the original, the mechanic was simply different and a bit more chaotic. So in the end, I think being able to accommodate one extra Skyranger is not asking too much.

 

As for the cost not being good enough to offset, then why not research times? If I recall, weren't there some techs in the originals that could take up to 5 or 6 weeks to research? Then, even if you are getting the alien gear, you are still hard pressed to actually do anything, and it is a struggle until you do get those research pieces done. Not having the gear available to you can still lead to mission failure or the need to abandon the site, which can raise panic in a major way.

 

In the end I do not think that OP wants to eliminate the mechanic, simply alter it in a balanced way, and that much in theory is possible.

 

EDIT: I apologize if my post seems a bit jumbled, I have not had coffee yet...

Edited October 15, 2012 by Sepherose

[Snarks]

Don't get me wrong, I have no intentions to remove the choice mechanic behind multiple alien abductions. I just think that it's too extreme and forces the player to deal with panic by satellites and doing plot advancement missions. This is supposed to be a way for the player to counter the alien attacks on a strategic level. If you think about it, the costs involved with scaling up your XCom operations are the additional Skyrangers, potential Foundry/OTS upgrade, and the extra soldiers and their corresponding equipment since each squad needs their own set since everyone is being deployed simultaneously. That's a lot of resources the player has to invest and it creates a tradeoff between getting something like Titan armor or getting more soldiers and equipment. That's the kind of decision making I was thinking could add an extra layer of complexity. Plus, it would give the player an incentive to have more than just the six man commando colonel squad. In my current classic ironman game, I have a 6 men colonel squad with 3 backups that deals with everything. Taking any low rank soldiers is just a liability at this point. Edited October 15, 2012 by Snarks

[Soulzityr]

Don't get me wrong, I have no intentions to remove the choice mechanic behind multiple alien abductions. I just think that it's too extreme and forces the player to deal with panic by satellites and doing plot advancement missions. This is supposed to be a way for the player to counter the alien attacks on a strategic level.

 

The reason for multiple abductions/can only take on one is to have a time constraint mechanic. It's SUPPOSED to push you through to progress the storyline rather than sit on a story arc and "farm". Like it or not, the panic levels are NOT meant to be handled. As time goes on, panic is SUPPOSED to rise. Having the ability to send 3 skyrangers to deal with 3 abductions at the same time means at a very early onset, panic will pretty much never rise, or rise very slowly. That's why I'm against a mod like this. It kind of ruins the strategic level of the game.

 

While I agree having high cost can compensate for this to some degree, I still feel that once you achieve this, it makes the game at the strategic level too easy. The strategic layer is difficult BECAUSE of the time restraint provided by the extreme panic levels.

[PepprmintButler]

While I agree that balancing additional Skyrangers with mere costs would kill the panic mechanic and most of the strategic layer with it, I could totally get behind it with some solid modding of how the missions are dealt - increasing the number of sites to 4-5 in abduction mission is a good one, upping the chance of simultaneous ufo spottings, etc.

That would need to be part of the alien progression (ie start with 3 sites and increase mid-game) with the additional ranger needing research and funding to get.

[Snarks]

I have to disagree that the panic mechanic necessarily forces progression and prevents "farming" because satellites already let you do that. It's almost the end of the first year in my second game and I've got satellite coverage on every nation, preventing any more abductions. I haven't even assaulted the alien base yet and my entire squad is equipped with Titan armor while panic is low overall. Multiple Skyrangers is supposed to let you have an alternative to the satellite spam.

 

At the current moment, there's not much when it comes to choosing your squad. I want to be in the position where I have to decide where to distribute my veterans and the scarce equipment. Having the aliens scale up their attacks is also a great complementary idea.

 

Anyways, it's not that I don't appreciate the constraint. I think it's good for creating the intense immersion. However, the player needs to be able to advance and get past that stage. It's part of mastering the game, and I would rather handle panic through more combat missions than satellites which just stops abductions altogether. But all this is besides the point, mods are supposed to change the way the game functions and the goal behind this idea is to encourage using more troops and offer more ways for the player to master the game.

Edited October 16, 2012 by Snarks

[Monglor]

The idea that you could just breeze through multiple attacks with multiple Skyrangers seems off to me. If I have three Skyrangers and can thus confront three attacks, that demands a hell of a lot of troops. Eighteen just to fill the ships. There will be losses, short term through injury, not to mention three times more deaths. A greater number of rookies will have to go into service, much more high end equipment will need to be built, instead of having a single very powerful team you'll have to spread resources much, much thinner. I think it would make the business of putting a combat effective team into the field much harder than it is now. It would also make SHIV units actually useful.