Cunctator

I know that some of the things I'm going to mention are already included in some mods, but it won't hurt to include them in original version. There are things I would personally like to see the same way they are now and those are: 1. The lack of tanks and weapon platforms. In squad based tactical games tanks come in two varieties - totally useless (see X-COM: UFO Defense and X-COM: Terror from the Deep) or totally overpowered (Silent Storm). In the first case it just takes research time, in the second it unbalances the game too much. 2. Idea of various bases and no base building, like in X-COM. (I mean, in XCOM you were part of an organization that expands its power and BUILDS new bases. In UFOAM you CAPTURE them and have time only to make some minor changes). Things I'd like to change: 1. Add cloaking devices/armors whatever, so that the scouting missions would really be scouting missions. 2. You see only the parts of the research tree you have researched or ready to research. (Kind of annoying to see names and amount of aliens you are going to face ) 3. Machineguns would be nice (normal ones, like M60 or RPD, not ueber powered gattling guns) 4. Silenced weapons (with less damage/lower rate of fire, but their fire will less likely attract other alien attention - would be great for scouting or base attack missions) 5. NORMAL Flamethrowers, I mean their range was some 30-50 meters already in WWII and the technology has advanced (although no armies use them in regular battles anymore). 6. Personal shields like aliens have. It would be nice to see your men in normal human armor BUILT from alien materials with shields etc. and not the ALIEN looking tights. 7. Adding morale would be nice. It was really fun to see your Terminators panicking when they were controlled/uncontrolled by aliens. 8. It would be nice if you really had to defend your base, not clear out the aliens that have already breached the perimeter. I mean why aliens always get the chance to fight my squad above ground, but I don't. 9. Special skill Machineguns/Heavy weapons or whatever the name that is required to use MG's and Collapsible weapons etc. Leaving Marksmanship only to snipers and Launchers to bombardiers. 10. It would be nice if you could enter the buildings, but seeing how large the mission areas are and how long it takes already to find a sole alien in it would probably be best if you could just climb on rooftops, crates, various other objects. It could give your snipers (and the alien ones too) advantage in spotting enemies (and make you even more cautious when fighting in urban or mountain areas) 11. Various ammunition - explosive, incendiary, armor piercing etc. 12. Several choppers, so that you can send two or more squads on missions at the same time (I mean I finished my game with a 6 men team of super soldiers and about 10 losers who took part only when they had to replace a wounded soldier - makes the idea of recruiting new soldiers quite useless after you have full team). 13. Better AI - aliens make ambushes (I mean, why don't they ever wait around the corner with all available firepower ready), use grenades and cover etc. 14. More mission with specific objectives - scouting missions (seeing every alien without setting off the alarm), defense missions (defending a specific object), more gather information missions (like area 51), bombing missions (blow up specific objectives), patrols (you send a chopper to patrol some territory and get a mission if he sees any aliens), rescue special characters (rescue of a scientist adds to research speed, engineer to production etc.), missions to capture a specific type of alien (like: capture a living baloonfish), place bugs/cameras in different places (to monitor alien movement around and in their bases and crafts etc.)

First of all, let's state that I'm talking about unmoded game, cause some of the mods make the game experiece change very much. First of all i'd like to disagree with some of you who said that heavy armor + big bad guns rock. Usually they don't for your guys are sitting ducks for aliens that tend to use microslug/psi whatever and warp the heavy armor doesn't protect you from. And the weapons weight so much that even a guy with superheroic speed and strength get quite slow (if you don't want all your teammates work as packmules). And the most important drawback about these guns is that it requires marksmanship as a special trait (I mean who on earth would give a gattling gun to a sniper). The laser and plasma weapons are also quite if not completely useless. Using alien weapons in general has never proven worthy in UFOAM, if not trying to make special victories (like finishing the game only with laser pistols). Only good thing about them is ammo, but even then it's not worth the trouble. BUT there are weapons that really make aliens feel sorry for coming to this planet 1. MP7 is good. Even after the burst fire accuracy bug was fixed it still is the best MP in-game. But because of the short range MP's are really good only in indoor missions (and it makes sense to me). 2. Steyrs are really good for they have great overall stats and can deal massive amounts of damage if given to the right soldiers. 3. Sniper rifles ARE good, especially with a sniper with heroic+ in markmanship. 4. Super Striker is the best in base defence missions (i have already defeated 4 alien attacks on my bases with just two guys with superstrikers). 5. Shotguns - well noone can survive a cloud of lead. CAWS and Neosted, combined with MP7's make all alien base and craft missions quite easy. So, stick to the real existing weapons (or prototypes). Real men use lead to kill their enemies.

2004. former UN Headquarters 01.01.2004. 16.27 The hall was as light as any hall meant for the delegates of all nations in the light of twenty or so candles would be. In the center of the room sat a tall bald man. By his side was a young frightened woman that tried to write down everything that was being said in the hall. Around these two people were the left delegates of different countries that were now discussing a plan of action. Everyone new that hell had broke loose in the streets and most of the people that were outside as well as the ones that were inside houses without a conditioning system were killed in the first 10 to 15 minutes the spores started to fall from the skies. Everyone was sure that the spores were artificially generated only no one knew who had released them into the atmosphere. Terrorists proved to be not guilty as well as any country officially admitted to have any connections to this Armageddon. "It would have been much easier if the Cold War was still going on. Then we could blame USSR for everything starting from stock market problems and ending with ozone holes. And everyone was happy for there was always an enemy. But now we know for sure that Russia has nothing to do with the spores for it had suffered as much as every other country. I thin I should start to believe in an alien invasion, like in old cheap movies" "Would you like to start the meeting," the secretary asked "Yes, announce the beginning of the meeting" Secretary and the few delegates that were close enough to hear the leader of the UN speaking sat still and the meeting began. The bald man shook off the feeling of hopelessness and fear and started to talk He told that according to specialist debriefing the Earth had lost 98%-99% of all life forms and those strange dark clouds had been the cause of the terrible tragedy. But most important he advised as that because of the terrible casualties of human lives the idea of countries was irrelevant and that all humans that are left should join a new organization that should be called the Council of Earth that would lead humankind out of the new dark ages. This Council would consist of delegates of all former countries. The proposal of the creation of a new government was accepted very fast and the bald man was elected to be the leader of the CoE for he was the author of the idea. When the newly created council was about to end it's meeting and everyone was about to leave a guardsman rushed in the hall. He was as pale a man in the dark can be and was breathing heavily. "There is something strange going on out there, the soldier cried, the dead are melting and merging themselves with one another. We have already seen about three kinds of these monstrosities. Vile piles of human flesh that walk the streets. One of them tried to enter this building and one of the guards was killed before we could stop him" The bald men felt the weight of the world on his soldiers. As the leader of the CoE he was now responsible for every living human on Earth and it was his duty to organize the protection of civilians against this new threat. The meeting was renewed and after some discussions all the members of CoE signed a pact that said that new military force should be created to deal with the new threat. They also agreed that everyone that was left alive and was familiar with weapons and fighting tactics should be called to this new military force. The meeting ended and the bald man sat back heavily in his chair. The responsibility for a whole planet was now in his hands. 01.02.2004. 12.37 A month had passed since the creation of the CoE and so much had already been done. The military force that was created by the first order of the newborn council had been created and had proved to be an effective fighting force against the hordes of mutants that were now called transgenants. The mutants tended to learn very quickly and as soldiers died in the battles against them they armed themselves with scavenged weaponry. After they had realized how convenient it is to use human weapons in battle they started to use old military facilities as base camps. The humans were always low on ammo and weapons so it was a struggle between the two formations of who would take the base first and after the base was taken who will manage to keep it. But now a new threat had appeared. Soldiers had been reporting about strange beings that use fast flying ships that were usually referred to as saucers even if they had no visual resemblance to a saucer. Most of those ships looked liked insect heads or starships from old space war movies and were piloted by creatures that looked like cliché aliens. Once or twice the CoE forces had managed to down these "saucers" and were usually met by laser and plasma gun fire for the technology of the so-called greys or reticulans was far more advanced than human one. Although human soldiers with their assault rifles and MP's were a serious opponent to these aliens. But the meeting wasn't called because of the aliens, it was old news no one was really interested in it. This meeting was called because one of the soldier squads, the so called Phoenix Company had discovered data on some Project Dreamland that made it clear that the government of the US had known about the aliens on Earth for a long time. The delegates of the US were accused for hiding such valuable information, although it was clear that the diplomats had not been aware of this. The bald man asked for silence and said that an international group of scientists should be created to study these files to see if they are of any value in the fight against aliens. As well as he reminded that the members of CoE bear no responsibility for the sins of the old countries. 05.03.2004. 12.38. Once again the CoE was called because of a strange discovery. Fighter pilots had discovered a strange flesh like material all over the southern part of India and the soldiers sent to retrieve some samples reported about seeing strange creatures that seem to live only on this strange looking material that was called Biomass. No one knew what it was or what was its purpose, but they knew that it grows really fast and by their calculations will cover the Earth within six months if nothing is done. The bald man was shocked - the aliens had proven even more resourceful than they had thought of all the time. They had discovered a way to grow new soldiers without using the dead bodies of spore victims, but using this strange flesh like mass itself. 15.03.2004. 13.00 The group of scientists that had been working, researching the reticulans had made a major breakthrough on 14.03.2004. and an urgent meeting was called again to discuss the situation. In the beginning of march the Phoenix Company (the same that uncovered Dreamland Files in Area 51 had found documents related to reticulans in an old Russian base. But the most helpful discovery in research of reticulan society and biology was provided by the old greys, the ones that were rescued by the already mentioned Phoenix Company. By combining these both files, alien autopsies, "old grey" stories and various other data the scientists had created an almost full picture of reticulan society and life circle, as well as they had discovered the most important secret the purpose of their attack on Earth. The leading scientist Mr. Thomas Rabali, a former professor of biology in the University of Cairo was reading the debriefing of their research: "Reticulans are but one race of alien species that live in the Universe. Long time ago they were glorious space researchers with brilliant scientists that created various machines for moth war and civil duties. But even then the society wasn't happy they were relying on a strange form of democracy that gave all males equal rights, comparing to women or so called queens that had higher social status. But some of the males were unhappy and the queens started to compete with each other and a civil war broke loose. For many decades queens and their "hives" fought with each other until the reticulant society had been divided in two battling groups and two alliances were created. The so called "old greys" remained the same society of scientists with the equity of all working males, while the other side rebelled against such order and created a strange form of aristocracy where descendants of the so called Motherqueen (the queen that had started the power struggle) had higher social status and were generals and head scientists in their society. Some queens that had been closer to the throne of Motherqueen had become the creators of a class of officers and scientists, while the lowest class of queens provided the rebels with foot soldiers and pilots. The war raged on for many decades until the rebels had been almost fully destroyed. The Motherqueen then launched a terrible plan - the rebels retreated to a distant world and their saboteurs destroyed all the Jumpgates. The space exploration had ended once more for even the reticulans were not brilliant enough to recreate the Ancient technology of Jumpgate creation. After the destruction of Jump gates the old greys were scattered all along the galaxy and each system advanced differently. Some aliens had also remained on Earth where they had been researching the progress of native beings for quite some time. As they had rules of never showing themselves or interfering in the activities of locals, the old greys remained unnoticed for centuries. Before the war one of the research bases was stationed on the Moon, where most of the examples taken from the Earth were researched and monitored. After the war one of the rebellious queens had retreated to this base. Most of the scientists had been destroyed and the ones left were working as slaves in the weapon factories. After the rebellious greys had established their base on Moon they had also become an object of interest for the old greys that kept monitoring their activities for hundreds of years. The rebels were always afraid of the old grey fleet finding them and were working all the time on new super weapon projects that could help them to repel the expedition of old greys. But as much as they tried they didn't succeed, they advanced the old weapons a bit, but never managed to create new ones. Once a sample of a strange organic material was found on the surface of Sedna. It was slowly growing and had some form of telepathic abilities. The reticulans stared to research this strange phenomenon and soon realized what potencies such a fast growing mass would give. The first experiment took place on Mars, but failed because it lacked organic tissues to feed on and the temperature was no right for Biomass to grow (it still remains a mystery what the strange creature had been feeding on in Sedna). A theory was formed that Sedna was the "old Moon" or the "moon before Moon"; old chronicles of China and other countries speak about. And that it had been drawn away from the Earth by some mysterious force and replaced by the Moon we know. The giant shards that fell from those two spheres created many of the gulfs, for example the Gulf of Mexico. After years of work reticulans became skilled genetic engineers and using the ability of Biomass to listen to telepathic signals, they managed to create a virus that would turn dead bodies of any animal and human alike, into a machine that listens to simple telepathic orders and are controlled via earthnodes that grow on Biomass. They found out that the Biomass creates self-sufficient spores and throw them out in space, where they can survive even the lowest temperatures. For thousands of years these spores can drift the Universe, until they come in the atmosphere of a planet that has all the conditions needed for the growth of Biomass. The spores had a side effect of killing any living organism they find. Reticulan engineers combined spores with the virus and got the ultimate biological weapon of destruction they could dream of, because entire planets could be wiped out with it. Now they had the ultimate weapon to make their revenge on the old greys, the only thing they needed was to test the spores and after that to get them to the worlds controlled by the old greys. Earth was chosen by the reticulans to test their biological weapons and they showered the virus-infected spores into the atmosphere. But the experiment wasn't that successful. First, the spores didn't kill all the Earth's living creatures, second, the virus created terribly mutated monsters that roamed the countryside, but were very hard to control and were quite dangerous to reticulans themselves. That's why no soldiers ever met reticulans and transgenants fighting side by side. Third thing was that the earthnodes didn't listen to the reticulans any more. Professor Rabali finished his report by saying that now Earth has three separate enemies that all fight with each other - the reticulans, the transgenants and the biomass.

About annoying things ... there are some, but not the thing you mentioned. 1. Motion sensors in games come in two varieties in one case they are uber weapons, showing everyone and everything, making an alien hunting mission a walk in the park, and the other is that they give so little information, that you have no use of them. 2. Lousy weapons - you are just a field commander of a small unit of a big army fighting against aliens (remember about other teams, though i'm not quite sure of where they are stationed when I have conquered all the Earth ) And in the beginning noone gives super weapons to a rookie team, it's quite logical to me. BUT there are tings in UFOAM thad DO annoy me: 1. When taking over an enemy base you have a two phase mission with an above ground combat. Wouldn't it be logical to fight against aliens above ground first (like the objective of the first phase would be not to let the aliens reach the lift and ONLY if you fail, you fight inside the base). 2. In real life there are no best rifles, best pistols etc. They all have some advantages and disadvantages. Like AK-47 that is very reliable, but suffers from decreased aimed range and is heavy. Or M4 that is light and shoots fast, but the bullets are less likely to penetrate various obsticles etc. But in most of the games the later you get the gun, the better it is. I mean, looking at today's armies, most of them use M16's, M4's and AK's and their modifications, not Steyr AUG's or H&K G3's. And the usage of other guns can be explained usually by the thing that every country tends to use weapons they produce in their national factories.