when you have researched psionics, it can train psionic abillities
Another prerequisite for the lab you finally get sounds reasonable here - if the idea is to hold onto scientists longer as well. Besides, it makes sense that besides capturing and interrogating two of the main alien species with Psi ability, that you would also need some bit of technology in the tree along the way.
That sounds like a good idea. Maybe psionics can itself go beyond basic panic or mind-control functions...
Yea, maybe precognition(sp?). A higher TU usage option here where once successful, it could highlight (by waypoint/action overlay on the map) what that alien unit's intentions were/are going to be for its next turn in the future.
A waypoint is fairly straightforward - you know what the intended destination would be of the unit when it moved for its forthcoming turn.
The action waypoint overlay could be over or next to one of your units or an obstacle and could mean an attack on a unit, or in the case of an obstacle, its intention to aggressively do something about it (or just hide behind?).
The problem or con for this ability is that it can't possibly factor in every detail with regard to unintentional actions by other aliens or others of your units who decide to somehow disrupt the specified alien's actions during its turn. The ability would only highlight the enemy unit's intentions, not what it may or may not eventually do if its path was disrupted (through weapon fire, noises etc.)
I was reminded of what someone said of Chryssalids not too long ago, about how it could be going after a target in the orginal game, then another unit of yours who'd fire on it would make it change direction and charge them instead. If this was extended to units reacting to noises and other things on the battlescape, this could introduce changes in pathfinding behavior enough so that this new ability couldn't be relied on 100% of the time.
Truthfully, this sounds more like an extention of the mindprobe functions, yet it takes something like the Psi Amp to really discover enemy intent.
Anyway I thought I might sketch out a possible tree for this (for after you get alien containment)...
- Sectoid and/or Ethereal
|
|_- Mind Probe
...|
...|_-Alien Entertainment
......|
......|_-Psi Lab
.........|
.........|_-(extra research here for each type of ability)
Ok, so not much of a tree so much as a flight of stairs. Maybe where things could branch off is where the differences in combat and non-combat applications is. Some between or in parallel with mindprobe and entertainment and below that as well as what's below psi lab.
Edited by Snakeman, 21 May 2006 - 07:22 AM.