XCOM EU New game mechanics and concepts

[morro123]

Hi guys,
these are a couple of concepts for a mod/dlc/sequel of XCOM i've been pondering about. I am not a modder but from what i've been reading i realize almost none of these ideas are really moddable at the moment. But, you know, someone at some gaming company might luckily read it and hide some new functionalities in the code just for we hardcore fans of XCOM to unlock them (yeah right). More probably, any of you could implement any of these given time.

Game mechanics.>
Each time I played old dear Xcom UD and recently Xcom EU I felt that the initial tension of the game vanished after reaching a certain point. Later in the game, money from sales and technological achievements make decisions and missions quite easy even in the hardest levels, and you could go gaming endessly just to get the perfect team to overrun the aliens in the final battle.
I dont believe thats the way an alien invasion is supposed to be. Instead, tension should increase over time and things became more difficult as the story unfolds. Technology should allow only to barely survive or, at the best, give you a small edge, and you should never be in control of the situation.

Of course, if the game achieves this by making the aliens cheat on you, then is not really compelling for the player. Also, while many mods seem to do a commendable job trying to give a new balance to the game, i feel there is something missing.
In my opinion, if you lay a good strategy, the game should reward you with a "window of opportunity" when you can take the aliens at their base/ship/whatever and win the war. If you get too lazy, you never reach that point and the proyect is terminated. If you wait for too long, the aliens reinforces and it becames increasily more difficult to take them, and if you miss the opportunity completely, they simple overpower you and you're doomed. Careful balance is required to achieve this, so the player really never feels he has succeeded until he ends the final battle.<br />

Economy concepts.
1. Infiltration technics. Countries may abandon the proyect if they became infiltrated to a certain amount, even if they don't panic. Some special events may trigger this (VIP capture failure, failed Infiltator UFO interception, etc). Infiltration levels will affect country funding and council satisfaction. (Contrary to panic, infiltration may only be visible via funding, thus not easily asessed if you have not granted sattelite coverage)<br />
2. Basic Diplomacy.
2.1. Fullfiling request grants you not only bonus but also a better council grade. Not doing so, on the other hand, will hurt funding levels.
2.2. Success or failure in certain missions will impact funding levels not just panic, persistent success in a country will increase funding and so on.
3. More countries likein XCOM UD!
4. NGO. XCOM Apoc introduced several NGO revolving around a futuristic city-planet. As i feel Slingshot proves, there is room in XCOM EU storyline to introduce criminal organizations, weapon dealers, military industries, and financial companies in the game, with their own agendas and behavior towards XCOM. Diplomacy and gray market may also apply to them. Easiest way to do it might be through missions, though you can never discard trying to get some funding from shadowy organizations selling them those alien artifacts.
5. Facilities prices may vary depending on several factors (number of engineers, price and availability of materials provided by certain countries, etc)
6. Gray Market.
6.1. Prices may change according to the following price components: a) demand; b) time (decreases the price when the new item lacks novelty, war strain); c) council grades; d) others.<br />
6.2. Store room (new facility alla XCOM UD) limited capacity requires player to sell unused items!<br />
6.3. Interest in some items may drop overtime and you may not be able to sell them; a way to avoid excess funding later in the game.
7. Variable prices in all items aquired from the world (interceptors, missiles, pilots, scientists, engineers, etc).<br />

Resarch concepts
Research is a vital/fun part of the game and I personally found it always pretty shallow and dissapointing. In XCOM EU it is specially lacking any depth at all.
One research system I am really fond of is the one used in the Hearts of Iron series: imagine Lockhhed, Boeing, Sikorsky or Douglas researching ufos with their best researchers and labs: much more believable than xCOM "hiring"; anonymous scientists and making them work in standard labs. We could still let Dr. Vahlen have their interrogations, though.
Other ideas:
1. Essential: more than one research goal at a time.<br />
2. Scientists or research companies with their own strenghts and weaknesess (biologists tend to research ufo navigation a lot slower than aerospace engineers).<br />
3. Additional Research requirements: tools developed by the foundry/bought ($ req)/mission<br />
4. Special scientist required for non essential research: only available via mission<br />
5. Interrogations may fail.<br />
6. Randomise some parts of the research tree.<br />
7. Weapon development may fail needing to conduct new research on weapons/weapon fragments<br />
8. Psi research: mind controlling without any resarch? innate mindfray abilities? honest?<br />
<br />
Other concepts:<br />
Tactical concepts have been discussed a lot, and there are plenty of good ideas about it everywhere.<br />
I may only add that a serious training/experience system is in order. Come on, how could have squaddie Flores learned to create a telekinetik field from just mindfraying his opponents or learn to snipe twice per turn after caring for cover? Simplicity is not always good when you're trying to replicate the way humans get better at what they do.<br />
Additionally, perks (f.e.: based on behaviour in the field) could add a good amount of replayability and a lot more character development for your meatbags. You tend to become seriously attached to your (now) fewer than ever soldiers (even if you went iron and they keep failing ther 99% pointblank shots), so it's a pity not to put more effort in giving them more personality.<br />
Finally, about the interception phase, i found pretty interesting the development that the team of Xenonauts is doing for their game. As we know, interception is downright depressing in XCOM EU but was really never much better in XCOM UD.

Well, just drop a comment if any of these ideas mean sth to you</p>

[Edit 1]
Interrogation Strategic Mini Game

-----------------------------------------<br />

General Concept: Each alien is different. Different interrogation techniques (IT) works por each of them. You must research them. Once researched, you must apply them correctly. For that, you may need to reshape your alien containment (v.g., foundry proyects).<br />

Appropiate IT leads to bonus on research and new options. Wrong IT may result in subject termination. Very wrong IT may result in interrogated aliens misleading you (failed research based on wrong info).<br />

All IT applies stress to the interrogated subject. Too much stress results in the subject's decease. Tactical combat is important since a healthy stunned alien  sustains more stress than a near-death subject. Risking a 70% stunning chance should pay on the interrogation mini game.<br />

Stronger aliens requires the combination of advanced IT. Thus, you need to research more advanced stunning techniques to perform a capture without reducing the subject's health too much so they can endure the stress of the many techniques combined.<br />

Inadequate alien containment may result in the alien trying to escape imprisonment and alerting their masters before being terminated, which may lead to an xCOM base invasion.

 

[Edit 2]

New Mission Types
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Lab Evac: Aliens planted a bomb in a Council science lab. There is no time to disarm it, find all personell and evac 2/3 of them before the device goes off. Aliens will drop by to delay you and kill the scientists.

VIP Kidnapping: XCOM secret agents uncovered alien infiltrators during a VIpolitical meeting. Infiltrators killed the agent, kidnapped the VIPs and called for reinforcements. Stop the incoming aliens, find the infiltrators, kill them and rescue the civilians before the place gets swarmed with x-rays.

Nuclear plant assault: insufficiently protected nuclear plant was assaulted by the aliens. Help the defenders stop them from getting inside the control room and starting a shutdown sequence and also stop the heavy mechanized aliens from making permanent damage to the core protection.

Mech mayhem: set your SHIVs to stop the heavy mechs the aliens throws at you in a massive assault to a military complex before the defenders (and you) are overwhelmed.

Covered ops: save your unarmored and pistol-only armed soldiers from being roasted in an operation where they have to find alien terrorists among a civilian busy airport.

Cult of Sirius is back: get inside the building of a pro-alien organization, avoid killing the armed and hostile civilians by just stunning them and decimate the powerfull psi-aliens housed in the place.

Behind the lines: with the help of an anti-alien organization, get inside a country that has left the Council and rescue many defecting scientists or

Behind the lines 2: with the help of an anti-alien organization, get inside a country that has left the Council and set a bomb to destroy a supply cargo area granted to alien forces in terms of a secret alien pact.

more to come...

Edited March 14, 2013 by morro123