The title says it all, but it’s a crazy idea I had. I don’t know if you guys have everything worked out on level design but what if you had some levels that you don’t have aliens so it’s simple to complete. However what makes it scary is waiting for the aliens show up but they never do. Don’t know if you’d thought about it and/or implemented it and/or rejected it but thought I’d share.
1 Like
Sometimes there will be only faction guys. 
Hard to say if they can be considered “bad”. 
I meant enemies in general. Just to add to the uncertainty. Because if we’re not even sure if there’s an enemy we need to find… It might add tension. Or just be boring. I dunno just tossing my ideas out there so the devs can see.
It would be the latter.
2 Likes
XD
Sounds like an awful idea to be honest. Having you participate in a mission without gameplay, sounds like a waste of time, I bet it would feel off (did something break?) first time you do it, and become really annoying later on. Ideally, tension will be present when exploring maps with mist and enemies.
Alternatively you could occasionally have no enemies start on the map. So if you finish quickly with your objective you don’t have to fight them…
1 Like
There will be stealth mechanic in the final game, though the exact nature of it is not yet clear. That’s where we get the option to complete missions without a fight.
It is not a bad idea… a mission where you sweep the area collecting loot from the supply crates as you search the area…I do agree with Mechasarian that it may be boring… but the survival of the game/life is getting loot.
I’m gonna have to side with Wormerine & Mechasaurian on this one, missions without enemies would overall be too boring and a time waster. Although I wouldn’t be opposed to being able to stealth entire missions without a fight.
And as already stated we don’t know yet if stealth will be involved enough to make this possible or if stealth will be more used to sneak around the battlefield to out flank/position enemies.
I’d think that it should be possible as I recall before that missions would have dynamic objectives based on what the players after… but it’s been a while sense I’ve heard these rumblings and that may have changed.
I’m not sure if there will be missions without fight. But I suppose that stealth except obvious flanking may be useful in alien bases where you want to approach final target and kill it (if there won’t be second objective “… and escape”) or in assasinate missions - there is such mission type mentioned on game’s main page.
I remember in “XCOM long war 2”, it was possible to reach an objective without alerting enemies. I loved this possibility as it would make for a shorter mission, no casualty (hopefully you take soldier(s) that can do the job - shinobi).
In PP, it would be great for certain types of missions to simply stay hidden, do objective and run off. Or kill enemies one by one without them noticing you.
For example, in scavenging missions, aliens would only start destroying the crates once they see you. After all, they didn’t just happen to arrive at the same moment you did (what an unlucky coincidence), they were there until now and not destroying resources. Did they see manticore arrive and realized that they have resources to destroy ? So if you can sneak, you can kill the aliens one by one without them destroying resources. Since the aliens share some hive mind, you would have to kill them in one blow to stay uncovered.
I have high hopes for infiltrator unit and stealth missions, no matter if some missions will be designed for stealth only (i.e. you have to send only infiltartor units to play specific missions), or stealth options would be naturally available in any kind of mission. I am a big fan of both options.
There could be missions where you even can’t make the noise or alert your enemies or even kill anybody.
Stealth gameplay also worries me a bit since I know itmplementing this isn’t a piece of cake: it’s like another game in a game which requires tons of work and careful management. I’d love to see Phoenix Point has much more evolved stealth gameplay elements than XCOM 2.
This reliance on stealth is what made me bounce away from LongWar2.
Not, that I don’t like stealth missions conceptually - Invisible Inc. alone is one of my favourite titles in recent memory. But stealth missions require good stealth gameplay to be worth having. Unfortunately, XCOM2 concealment wasn’t built for that, as it’s purpose was to accelerate player movement; not to provide stealth gameplay.
If PP were to have no combat missions: it would need proper systems to accomodate it.
I would love if the “steal it (tech/item/etc.) from a faction” is an actual mission, and you might do it without alerting them (or planting evidence of that other faction doing it) so there is an option for no diplomatic penalty… But I’m not sure if it should be in the game (at all, it’s not quite the same as the usual combat-focused gameplay) at release or polished further for a post-release update/dlc…
I like the idea of adding tension but a mission where you end up doing nothing would make me think, ‘You dragged me through loading screens and equipment menus for this?’. If you collect resources, then you might be glad you went but it’d feel like the game was throwing you a freebie.
As others have mentioned, I’d prefer the idea of stealth missions. If you play well, you might collect resources and escape before the enemy know you’re there, or, if you mess up, then all hell breaks loose and you have to escape with whatever you’ve got.
It could be stealth where you avoid enemies or where you kill sentries silently, or a mixture. Perhaps if you alert the enemy, you have x turns to kill those in the immediate area before they escape for reinforcements.
So, you have the tension of wondering whether there’ll be a full on battle but also the chance to have an ‘easy mission’ and feel the rewards were well earned.
I wouldn’t want them to be common though.
Maybe add in a few item farming missions. Like opening crates that spill extra equipment or even vehicles. Adding complexity to the economics and alternatives to just manufacturing or buying items.
It could be interesting to have a mission type that starts with no enemies on the map, but where they’re going to come at some point, and potentially in numbers, so you only have a few turns to raid the map for goodies and get out (or find a defensible position).