Sorting Out The Facts About The Aliens

[Astyanax]

As Azrael said, we have some clues of the backstory (like the overmind ability to control other species and that), but we dont have an "Official" History about that... with those constrains you can write your backstory and we will choose later the one that fits the best for The Story of Xenocide Aliens.

 

Please Azrael, can your team write a simple list in the Wiki of the "Already known facts" about the aliens so everybody can write based on that. BTW I want to personally oversee it before publication.

 

Greetings

Red Knight

Well, I thought I'd take a stab at this, but since my understanding of the Xenocide world might be slightly off, I've posted it here, partly for discussion, partly to put everything in context for myself.

 

Alien Fact:

- Aliens are mind-controlled by an Alien Overmind.

- The Aliens come from elsewhere through space-flight, an ability that has since been impaired/lost in some ideas. Possibly, the Overmind originated on Earth long, long ago (Bruenor's Ammonite Origins)

- The Overmind is currently based on Thanatos (on Mars, right?).

- The mind control is accomplished via brain implants (Alien Breeding) or colony implants (tzuchan's backstory). Perhaps both can be accomodated: the implant can be organic in nature, too.

- Humans can be mind-controlled in the same way if they are brainwashed/implanted (Alien Infiltration)

- The Overmind desires the subjugation of humanity, not its destruction. (Az's Alien Goal)

- The Aliens have a high degree of skill in bioengineering (many texts allude to genetic alteration of Aliens)

- The Aliens have a high degree of skill in technicals, though (imho) they do not seem to innovate, or cannot innovate as well as humans can. Perhaps the technology was stolen/assimilated. This might work well with the idea that "the Overmind wants humans as slaves due to their high potential" (Az's Alien Goal, Chmmr's backstory)

- Humans can only get/salvage Xenium from the Aliens.

- First recorded Alien activity (alien abductions) in 1961 (Az's Alien Goal, Alien Abduction)

- First UFO shot down in 2011 (Az's Alien Goal)

- Aliens attack in 2012, destroying satellite defenses and some major earth military installations (Az's Alien Goal)

 

 

Other working ideas

- The Overmind is colony-based (tzuchan's backstory) or an artificial brain (Chmmr's backstory)

- An explanation for why the Aliens don't attack at full strength and/or why they get stronger as the game progresses:

--- 1) Overmind has sustained from damage; it's mental functions are impaired, but resource gathering helps it recover it's full abilities (a post of mine in Az's Alien Goal, Facehugger's backstory)

--- 2) The Overmind presumably faces resource deficits as the game progresses, the stepped up attacks are a sign of desperation (Az's Alien Goal)

--- 3) The "Overmind" is the Ethereal race, wanting to supplement the Ethereal genome by assimilating other life (Deimos's backstory)

--- 4) The Overmind starts off with only the Greys and basic tech, it uses its bioengineering and science skills to develop increasingly advanced Alien strains and technologies (a post of mine in Chmmr's backstory)

- The Overmind is in a war against another Alien race, the Vaaish (tzuchans's backstory, Facehugger's backstory)

- Another Overmind (ship?), the Cthulu, lies dormant at the bottom of the Earth's oceans (tzuchan's backstory)

- The Overmind may be trying to wipe out humans to save the T'leth, aka the Atlanteans (Arky's posts in Ammonite Origins)

 

I'm sure there's plenty of ideas that I've missed. Help me! :wink1:

[kafros]

Concerning their ability to invent new stuff, maybe these aliens are just war-drones, and genetically-mentally programmed to implement their existing abilities in order to upgrade their outpost and then capture earth.

 

And, why not implement the idea of "renegade" aliens? (Damn, it looks like UFO:AM... :\ . Something similar maybe?)

 

They could also be a "supply" or "outpost" mission that... "left of space route 66" and lander here . Or maybe their propulsion reactor malfunctioned, and our system was the nearest one.

[[Blehm 98]]

Kafros, if the aliens were just on a recon or a harvest mission, then the overmind probably wouldn't accept defeat from the humans which had just several years ago been the best source of genetic material and genetic experiments that didn't fight back, and now suddenly aliens are getting killed. And don't forget, the aliens were winnng the war, they would have won eventually, cydonia(thanatos) was a last ditch strike against the aliens at their hearts(or indeed brain, or little ammonite thingies)

 

So why would the aliens need to develope new technology if everything says they have no need

[kafros]

Maybe you are right. If project thanatos is a last try-last hope mission, then just change my thoughts accordingly. I steel have the "EU mood", where everything seems sweet and I feel like having the upper hand in everything ^^

 

I do hope that Project Xenocide will make feel I am lost forever under the alien havoc ^^

[[stewart]]

For what it's worth ever look at this.

[Astyanax]

Yeah, I skimmed over that thread (I referred to it as "Deimos's backstory" in #3 under the working ideas), but I had to make it very brief because I was trying to compress and catalog everything.

 

If you see anything I've missed (especially Alien Facts), please please please post!

 

Of course, there's still time to write new backstories, too.

Edited June 20, 2005 by Astyanax

[[stewart]]

I was refering to . . . ahem . . . . my backstory posted in the thread. <_>

[Guest Azrael]

Wow, I'm being overthrown! well, that's what happens when you're away for too long

[Guest Azrael]

Ok, I'll try to do something useful for a change , some minor corrections here (in red)

 

Alien Facts:

- Aliens are mind-controlled by an Alien Overmind.

- The Aliens come from elsewhere through space-flight, an ability that has since been impaired/lost in some ideas. Possibly, the Overmind originated on Earth long, long ago (Bruenor's Ammonite Origins).

- The Overmind is currently based on Thanatos (on Mars, right?).

- The permanent mind control is accomplished via brain implants (Alien Breeding) or colony implants (tzuchan's backstory). Perhaps both can be accomodated: the implant can be organic in nature, too.

- Humans cannot be mind-controlled in the same way if they are brainwashed/implanted (Alien Infiltration)

- The Overmind desires the subjugation of humanity, not its destruction. (Az's Alien Goal)

- The Aliens have a high degree of skill in bioengineering (many texts allude to genetic alteration of Aliens)

- The Aliens have a high degree of skill in technicals, though (imho) they do not seem to innovate, or cannot innovate as well as humans can. Perhaps the technology was stolen/assimilated. This might work well with the idea that "the Overmind wants humans as slaves due to their high potential" (Az's Alien Goal, Chmmr's backstory)

- Humans can only get/salvage Xenium from the Aliens.

- First recorded Alien activity (alien abductions) in 1961 (Az's Alien Goal, Alien Abductions)

- First UFO shot down in 2011 (Az's Alien Goal)

- Aliens attack in 2012, destroying satellite defenses and some major earth military installations (Az's Alien Goal)

-----------

 

Known Facts (these are the ones that are known at the very beginning of the game)

- Aliens regularly steal cattle from locations far from heavily populated areas for reasons yet unknown.

- The so-called Alien Abductions are real, and from 2011 onwards, these have been occurring more frequently, as if the Aliens didn't care for stealth anymore, or as if they needed something with urgency.

- Scans of planetary surfaces of Solar planets has not revealed any Alien building of any sorts, so the possible location of the Alien Base remains completely unknown.

- Combat engagements between Alien forces and human military have resulted in utter defeat for the humans. The Aliens were seen wielding strange weaponry far superior to any of human-making, advanced heat-based pistols and rifles.

- Aerial combats have proven that standard human aircraft is highly inadequate for UFO-downings. Special Craft has been developed for X-Corps.

- Sattelite grid was destroyed, causing panic around the world, possibly creating an advantage for the Aliens.

- Different Alien species have been seen, ranging from short grey humanoids and reptilian creatures to robotic units.

- Some evidence supports the fact that the Alien forces might have had an established presence since WWII, possibly from before.

- Previous International Special Combat Force failed miserably after being wiped out by an Alien attack on the main base.

- X-Corps' location remains unknown even to the funding countries, and without the sattelite grid, it's impossible to know.

- Xenocide Base lies underground to prevent the possibility of an aerial strike.

[Exo2000]

Alien Facts:

- Aliens are mind-controlled by an Alien Overmind.

- The Aliens come from elsewhere through space-flight, an ability that has since been impaired/lost in some ideas. Possibly, the Overmind originated on Earth long, long ago (Bruenor's Ammonite Origins).

- The Overmind is currently based on Thanatos (on Mars, right?).

- The permanent mind control is accomplished via brain implants (Alien Breeding) or colony implants (tzuchan's backstory). Perhaps both can be accomodated: the implant can be organic in nature, too.

- Humans cannot be mind-controlled in the same way if they are brainwashed/implanted (Alien Infiltration)

- The Overmind desires the subjugation of humanity, not its destruction. (Az's Alien Goal)

- The Aliens have a high degree of skill in bioengineering (many texts allude to genetic alteration of Aliens)

- The Aliens have a high degree of skill in technicals, though (imho) they do not seem to innovate, or cannot innovate as well as humans can. Perhaps the technology was stolen/assimilated. This might work well with the idea that "the Overmind wants humans as slaves due to their high potential" (Az's Alien Goal, Chmmr's backstory)

- Humans can only get/salvage Xenium from the Aliens.

- First recorded Alien activity (alien abductions) in 1961 (Az's Alien Goal, Alien Abductions)

- First UFO shot down in 2011 (Az's Alien Goal)

- Aliens attack in 2012, destroying satellite defenses and some major earth military installations (Az's Alien Goal)

-----------

 

Known Facts (these are the ones that are known at the very beginning of the game)

- Aliens regularly steal cattle from locations far from heavily populated areas for reasons yet unknown.

- The so-called Alien Abductions are real, and from 2011 onwards, these have been occurring more frequently, as if the Aliens didn't care for stealth anymore, or as if they needed something with urgency.

- Scans of planetary surfaces of Solar planets has not revealed any Alien building of any sorts, so the possible location of the Alien Base remains completely unknown.

- Combat engagements between Alien forces and human military have resulted in utter defeat for the humans. The Aliens were seen wielding strange weaponry far superior to any of human-made weaponry, namely advanced plasma-based pistols and rifles. Plasma is the fourth state of matter that is incredibly hard to achieve and requires great temperatures, pressures and energies to produce.

- Aerial combats have proven that standard human aircraft is very inadequate for UFO-downings. Special Craft has been developed for X-Corps.

- Sattelite grid was destroyed, causing panic around the world, possibly creating an advantage for the Aliens.

- Different Alien species have been seen, ranging from short grey humanoids and reptilian creatures to robotic units.

- Some evidence supports the fact that the Alien forces might have had an established presence since WWII, possibly since even before then.

- Previous International Special Combat Force failed miserably after being wiped out by an Alien attack on the main base.

- X-Corps' location remains unknown even to the funding countries, and without the sattelite grid, it's impossible to know.

- Xenocide Base lies underground to prevent the possibility of an aerial strike.

 

More minor corrections, in red.

 

"Heat-based" suggested "laser" to me, and if I remember right, Plasma is the fourth state of matter beyond gas. I dunno how to describe it, but it's very hard to achieve. And no, it's not the stuff in your blood. That's completely different.

Edited June 21, 2005 by Exo2000

[Guest Azrael]

Alien Facts:

The Aliens were seen wielding strange weaponry far superior to any of human-made weaponry, namely advanced plasma-based pistols and rifles. Plasma is the fourth state of matter that is incredibly hard to achieve and requires great temperatures, pressures and energies to produce.

The player doesn't know it's plasma until it's researched. Plasma is heat-based weaponry.

 

- Aerial combats have proven that standard human aircraft is very inadequate for UFO-downings. Special Craft has been developed for X-Corps.

Please don't correct words out of personal choice, we are not proofreading, we are discussing. This text won't go to the x-net.

 

established presence since WWII, possibly since even before then.

Again.

 

"Heat-based" suggested "laser" to me, and if I remember right, Plasma is the fourth state of matter beyond gas. I dunno how to describe it, but it's very hard to achieve. And no, it's not the stuff in your blood. That's completely different.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Stuff in my blood?

[Moriarty]

well, you know, as in blood plasma? the stuff you can donate? the "what's left of blood when you subtract all cellular components" plasma?

 

well, plasma is heat-based... in a way. it is also a fourth state of matter... in a way. I guess thee is enough right (and wrong) in both descriptions to make them equally usable.

[Exo2000]

It could be heat based, but it's also obviously -not- a laser, and heat-based infers lasertech (though laser is beams and plasma is bolts) to me.

 

Moriarty knows what I mean. Retake your biology, Azrael!

[Guest Azrael]

Plasma is heat-based weaponry in all ways. Laser and plasma are both heat-based weaponry. About plasma in my blood, I don't know how it relates to this

[mikker]

I mistook plasma as in blood plasma as well, oncce opon a time.

[Astyanax]

I was refering to . . . ahem . . . . my backstory posted in the thread. <_>

Oops, sorry stewart! :Blush: I inadvertently skipped past the attached .txt file in your post. I know your post pre-dates others, but in some ways, it feels like a fusion of tzuchan's and Chmmr's backstories, and at the same time, providing some good detail and a link between X-Com 1 and X-Com 2. I read quickly through your backstory, but I'm still a bit confused about how the Overmind came about- was it due to the large population? How did it become a physical entity (e.g. the Martians killed the local brain)?

 

 

Wow, I'm being overthrown!  <_ well that what happens when you away for too long src="%7B___base_url___%7D/uploads/emoticons/default_smile.png" alt=":)">

Nah, there's no coup in the making here. I'm just procrastinating on my writing...

 

Humans cannot be mind-controlled in the same way if they are brainwashed/implanted

Umm... isn't the goal of the Overmind in the Alien Goal CT to assimilate humans? If humans can't be mind controlled, how would they be eventually assimilated?

[mikker]

Umm... isn't the goal of the Overmind in the Alien Goal CT to assimilate humans?  If humans can't be mind controlled, how would they be eventually assimilated?

 

There is one good reason why they need humans without mind control: Vaaich. They disrubt psi waves, meaning that their main attack is to hurt through very offensive psi. If humans are NOT mindcontrolled, this would essentially prove useless. So the overovermind get a wildcard that may break the defence and the BORG SHALL RULE!

[Astyanax]

There is one good reason why they need humans without mind control: Vaaich. They disrubt psi waves, meaning that their main attack is to hurt through very offensive psi. If humans are NOT mindcontrolled, this would essentially prove useless. So the overovermind get a wildcard that may break the defence and the BORG SHALL RULE!

Sounds like someone wants to write a new backstory, hmm?

 

I mistook plasma as in blood plasma as well, oncce opon a time.

Eww... those Aliens really do have organic technologies!

 

(by the way, I love your sig image. )

Edited June 23, 2005 by Astyanax

[kafros]

Az, it's high time you opened a new poll:

 

Which "Xenocide scenario" do you prefer? :

1) Deimos'

2) tzuchan's

3) Chmmr's

4) Stewart's

5) A good mix of them

6) They all suck, find something else!

Edited June 24, 2005 by kafros

[red knight]

That is why I asked for this in the first time... but what we should do as the next step will still have to be discussed in a Senior meetings.

 

Greetings

Red Knight

[Guest Azrael]

Az, it's high time you opened a new poll:

 

Which "Xenocide scenario" do you prefer? :

1) Deimos'

2) tzuchan's

3) Chmmr's

4) Stewart's

5) A good mix of them

6) They all suck, find something else!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

It's not yet time for a poll. I will when it's due.

 

That is why I asked for this in the first time... but what we should do as the next step will still have to be discussed in a Senior meetings.

 

Greetings

Red Knight

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I agree, I've been waiting for more feedback on this, if we don't get more, I'll take this as definitive.

[Guest Azrael]

Humans cannot be mind-controlled in the same way if they are brainwashed/implanted

Umm... isn't the goal of the Overmind in the Alien Goal CT to assimilate humans? If humans can't be mind controlled, how would they be eventually assimilated?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Yes, but not as easily as the Alien races are, the purpose of assimilation is to be able to mind control the Humans. If Humans were as easily mindcontrolled as Aliens, the Overmind would just do that instead of sending attack forces. I discussed that problem in Alien Infiltration, where it was suggested the idea of Humans kidnapped being brainwashed and used against us.

[Astyanax]

Ok, that makes sense. I was worried a bit about consistency with the Alien Infiltration CT.

 

A couple things from the known facts list:

- Scans of planetary surfaces of Solar planets has not revealed any Alien building of any sorts, so the possible location of the Alien Base remains completely unknown.

This is of course my opinion, but this sounds a bit weird. First, do humans have scanning technology? I would say humans either do not have it, or their capacity to scan was wiped out during the initial Alien attack because humans don't seem to have an adequate ability to detect UFO's flying in even Earth's atmosphere...

 

Perhaps it could be better said that radio telescopes and other EM detectors have not yet picked up any trace of the Aliens within 1 AU, although the Aliens might have some other means of communication?

 

- Previous International Special Combat Force failed miserably after being wiped out by an Alien attack on the main base.

I think this could be expanded; maybe make it so that >95% of the armed forces and facilities on Earth were destroyed in the initial Alien strike. The Aliens had been on Earth for a long time observing humans- I'd figure they would try to make the most of that information. Also, this would make the X-Corps truly the humans' last chance against the Aliens- world governments have little military infrastructure and cannot mount a large scale operation against the Aliens. That's why the X-Corps must fight with small, highly-trained groups of soldiers instead of hundreds or thousands of troops.

 

One other thing I was thinking about: maybe we could also say that the the first Alien attack on Earth was brutal and devastating, but ever since that attack, Alien activities have been on a far smaller scale. This could be because of some limitation the Alien Overmind is facing, depending on the backstory. This would explain why the X-Corps even has a chance, why the Aliens don't just follow an X-Corps ship back to base and utterly destroy it, and why the Aliens don't attack with their best units, ships, and technologies.

[Guest Azrael]

Ok, that makes sense.  I was worried a bit about consistency with the Alien Infiltration CT.

 

A couple things from the known facts list:

- Scans of planetary surfaces of Solar planets has not revealed any Alien building of any sorts, so the possible location of the Alien Base remains completely unknown.

This is of course my opinion, but this sounds a bit weird. First, do humans have scanning technology? I would say humans either do not have it, or their capacity to scan was wiped out during the initial Alien attack because humans don't seem to have an adequate ability to detect UFO's flying in even Earth's atmosphere...

 

Perhaps it could be better said that radio telescopes and other EM detectors have not yet picked up any trace of the Aliens within 1 AU, although the Aliens might have some other means of communication?

I meant satellite scans, like the Mars Global Surveyor.

The inability to detect UFOs in Earth's atmosphere is due to: 1)Inadequate radar systems (hence the need for the NEUDAR facilitie) 2)Complete obligeration of the sattelite grid.

 

- Previous International Special Combat Force failed miserably after being wiped out by an Alien attack on the main base.

I think this could be expanded; maybe make it so that >95% of the armed forces and facilities on Earth were destroyed in the initial Alien strike. The Aliens had been on Earth for a long time observing humans- I'd figure they would try to make the most of that information. Also, this would make the X-Corps truly the humans' last chance against the Aliens- world governments have little military infrastructure and cannot mount a large scale operation against the Aliens. That's why the X-Corps must fight with small, highly-trained groups of soldiers instead of hundreds or thousands of troops.

95%? I think that's a bit too much, that would bring the consequences that I stated in my Alien Goal, employement of nuclear weaponry. And the need for small squads instead of whole batallions, I think it's because housing an army would easily bring the Aliens' attention, while housing a limited amount of personnel would not. Also, the Aliens are attacking in small strike teams, so it's much more effective to fight with small squads of highly trained operatives than a large mass of 'standard' soldiers.

 

One other thing I was thinking about: maybe we could also say that the the first Alien attack on Earth was brutal and devastating, but ever since that attack, Alien activities have been on a far smaller scale.  This could be because of some limitation the Alien Overmind is facing, depending on the backstory.  This would explain why the X-Corps even has a chance, why the Aliens don't just follow an X-Corps ship back to base and utterly destroy it, and why the Aliens don't attack with their best units, ships, and technologies.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

What first attack? you mean the attack on the sat. grid? that's an spatial attack, I don't think having the aliens make a large attack would be... logical, I explained that point in the Alien Goal text, the reason is not to force the humans to make use of the nuclear armament that could potentially make the world useless to them.

As to why they don't follow X-Corps craft back to base... beats me, it's as illogical as to why once the Aliens discover the location of a base, they don't 'call' the Overmind the tell it "they are THERE" and then swarm with hundreds of ships

[[Blehm 98]]

Well, i always thought that the aliens don't find humans as enough of a threat to actually waste ships on, as i stated before, and they find toying with the human bases and watching them function as fun, until the base does to much then they decide to exterminate it to stop them from killing clones of themselves. They don't want humans doing too much

[mikker]

I don't see it more of a 'not a thread' as a 'potential ally', however, in order to convince humanity that they should join them, they would have to cause fear in the population. By making terror sites. Nothing big for the Overmind: send in a single ship, and kill a few people, then leave again: the mass hysteria following in it's wake is enormous. That's why there is an extreme penalty if you ignore them.

 

However, they only have limited resources: they need to harvest Earth to get enough building material to build more ships to take over Earth.

 

But with the Vaaich and all, it would be logical that the Underovermind would want to enmass an armé consisting of a race not mind controlled.

 

But that's just my view

[Astyanax]

I meant satellite scans, like the Mars Global Surveyor.

Ohh, this makes more sense.

 

95%? I think that's a bit too much, that would bring the consequences that I stated in my Alien Goal, employement of nuclear weaponry. And the need for small squads instead of whole batallions, I think it's because housing an army would easily bring the Aliens' attention, while housing a limited amount of personnel would not. Also, the Aliens are attacking in small strike teams, so it's much more effective to fight with small squads of highly trained operatives than a large mass of 'standard' soldiers.

Hm, now that you mention it, 95% is kind of high- and you're right, we don't want the world leaders going for their nuclear "red buttons". The easiest way is to eliminate the possibility of nuclear weapons. You could say that most of Earth's nuclear arsenals were also destroyed in the initial Alien attack using their extensive intelligence (this would explain why humans don't use nuclear weapons against Alien Bases, for instance), but that would also imply that the Aliens have an extensive level of infiltration in world governments (perhaps too much for the existing story?). As a result, the Xenocide Project must be kept secret from all but the handful of people, lest it be attacked prematurely.

 

Sorry for digressing- back to the point. Aside from the nuclear weapons question, I totally agree with the clandestine nature of the X-Corps and the small squads vs. small squads concept.

 

What first attack? you mean the attack on the sat. grid? that's an spatial attack, I don't think having the aliens make a large attack would be... logical, I explained that point in the Alien Goal text, the reason is not to force the humans to make use of the nuclear armament that could potentially make the world useless to them.

Hm, I forgot about the Aliens not wanting to force the humans' hand idea in the Alien Goal CT... Er, maybe disregard my previous comment. :Blush:

 

As to why they don't follow X-Corps craft back to base... beats me, it's as illogical as to why once the Aliens discover the location of a base, they don't 'call' the Overmind the tell it "they are THERE" and then swarm with hundreds of ships

Perhaps there's some limit to the mind control ability and resources? Only the Overmind would know for certain.

 

Well, i always thought that the aliens don't find humans as enough of a threat to actually waste ships on, as i stated before, and they find toying with the human bases and watching them function as fun, until the base does to much then they decide to exterminate it to stop them from killing clones of themselves.

I dunno, I just don't get the "cat and mouse" feel of the Alien endeavors, imho. Once the humans become a decent threat, why don't the Aliens send hundreds of battleships to destroy some bases, then continue toying with humans, ad nauseam?

 

For an alternative to Aliens toying with humans, you could always make it so WE are toying with the players: after blowing up the Alien brain, the screen flashes, "You've just completed the Alien Attack simulation X-15b!"

 

I don't see it more of a 'not a thread' as a 'potential ally', however, in order to convince humanity that they should join them, they would have to cause fear in the population. By making terror sites. Nothing big for the Overmind: send in a single ship, and kill a few people, then leave again: the mass hysteria following in it's wake is enormous. That's why there is an extreme penalty if you ignore them.

 

However, they only have limited resources: they need to harvest Earth to get enough building material to build more ships to take over Earth.

If I recall correctly, this is all already mentioned in Az's Alien Goal CT. The only thing different is that the Aliens are taking two approaches to get humans to join them- the overt approach (via terror sites), and the covert approach (Alien infiltration).

[Guest Azrael]

95%? I think that's a bit too much, that would bring the consequences that I stated in my Alien Goal, employement of nuclear weaponry. And the need for small squads instead of whole batallions, I think it's because housing an army would easily bring the Aliens' attention, while housing a limited amount of personnel would not. Also, the Aliens are attacking in small strike teams, so it's much more effective to fight with small squads of highly trained operatives than a large mass of 'standard' soldiers.

Hm, now that you mention it, 95% is kind of high- and you're right, we don't want the world leaders going for their nuclear "red buttons". The easiest way is to eliminate the possibility of nuclear weapons. You could say that most of Earth's nuclear arsenals were also destroyed in the initial Alien attack using their extensive intelligence (this would explain why humans don't use nuclear weapons against Alien Bases, for instance), but that would also imply that the Aliens have an extensive level of infiltration in world governments (perhaps too much for the existing story?). As a result, the Xenocide Project must be kept secret from all but the handful of people, lest it be attacked prematurely.

 

Sorry for digressing- back to the point. Aside from the nuclear weapons question, I totally agree with the clandestine nature of the X-Corps and the small squads vs. small squads concept.

There is still one problem, which we discussed earlier in Alien Goal, that it was if the Aliens took out our nuclear weapons, then why don't they just swarm with troops and overrun us? I thought that fear of nuclear usage would be the best explanation.

 

What first attack? you mean the attack on the sat. grid? that's an spatial attack, I don't think having the aliens make a large attack would be... logical, I explained that point in the Alien Goal text, the reason is not to force the humans to make use of the nuclear armament that could potentially make the world useless to them.

Hm, I forgot about the Aliens not wanting to force the humans' hand idea in the Alien Goal CT... Er, maybe disregard my previous comment. :Blush:

Oh , disregarded.

 

As to why they don't follow X-Corps craft back to base... beats me, it's as illogical as to why once the Aliens discover the location of a base, they don't 'call' the Overmind the tell it "they are THERE" and then swarm with hundreds of ships

Perhaps there's some limit to the mind control ability and resources? Only the Overmind would know for certain.

That would be one short game

 

Well, i always thought that the aliens don't find humans as enough of a threat to actually waste ships on, as i stated before, and they find toying with the human bases and watching them function as fun, until the base does to much then they decide to exterminate it to stop them from killing clones of themselves.

I dunno, I just don't get the "cat and mouse" feel of the Alien endeavors, imho. Once the humans become a decent threat, why don't the Aliens send hundreds of battleships to destroy some bases, then continue toying with humans, ad nauseam?

 

For an alternative to Aliens toying with humans, you could always make it so WE are toying with the players: after blowing up the Alien brain, the screen flashes, "You've just completed the Alien Attack simulation X-15b!"

No comments

 

I don't see it more of a 'not a thread' as a 'potential ally', however, in order to convince humanity that they should join them, they would have to cause fear in the population. By making terror sites. Nothing big for the Overmind: send in a single ship, and kill a few people, then leave again: the mass hysteria following in it's wake is enormous. That's why there is an extreme penalty if you ignore them.

 

However, they only have limited resources: they need to harvest Earth to get enough building material to build more ships to take over Earth.

If I recall correctly, this is all already mentioned in Az's Alien Goal CT. The only thing different is that the Aliens are taking two approaches to get humans to join them- the overt approach (via terror sites), and the covert approach (Alien infiltration).

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Both approaches work complementary. Terror Missions work to scare the population, and Alien Infiltration are more successful the more scared the pop is.

[[Blehm 98]]

, the attack simulation would be funny though

I like that idea