User:Freighttrain/Ideas Regarding an Aliens-based MMO Shooter

( Updated as of 04/10/2020 )

Contact e-mail : freighttrain@email.com

The Cold Iron Studios' untitled Aliens online shooter is allegedly going to have some similarities with Destiny (which I don't know what is like) though they can't go wrong with the features I list below.

I am looking to generate discussion on ideas for this game in the comments and may add any feasible examples to this list:

Quick references

 * Comprehensive USCM Arsenal
 * Dictum on Xenomorph Hive Dynamics
 * Comprehensive Xenomorph Classification System
 * Yautja Clan Hierarchy and Comprehensive Clan/Faction Listing
 * Comprehensive Yautja Arsenal

Human Military Factions

 * Factions:
 * USCM
 * PMC
 * Mercenary
 * UPP (AI only)
 * Free to play but limited to one USCM character with no career progression to PMC or mercenary.
 * Cosmetic options like those seen in Aliens: Colonial Marines (2013) are available for microtransactions.
 * Proper utilisation of squad based tactics and AI with similar realism to the Project Reality mod for Battlefield 2.
 * Career based progression as a USCM soldier with much later options for discharge/transfer to Weyland-Yutani PMC, mercenary etc.
 * Weyland-Yutani PMC and mercenaries in particular have much more freedom of mission choice etc. such as access to shady but lucrative missions.
 * PMCs and mercenaries will also have access to greater flexibility in squad composition as well as equipment such as Apesuits, 360˚ Motion Trackers, Hunterbuster Sentry Guns and combat androids, which can wield the M90 Minigun as an anti-personnel weapon.
 * USCM progression focusing on branching out and eventually specialising in different roles such as rifle team → gun team → medic etc. → sergeant (at this rank one can choose to bring personally favoured primary weapons (instead of only sidearms (e.g. Vasquez's pistol) and unique weapons (e.g. Hick's shotgun) being available for custom loadouts to ranks below sergeant) into battle instead of this being dictated by rifle/gun team etc. strictures), eventually leading to vehicle drivers/pilots.
 * Career progression as a soldier also leads to equipment etc. upgrades for your squad/platoon, making more of the USCM arsenal available.
 * Wide range of mission objectives such as recon, rescue, extermination, scientist escort, royal jelly harvest and interdiction (mercenary).
 * Some USCM missions may be interrupted by UPP (always AI) soldiers or mercenaries (human players or AI) etc. part way through leading to conventional warfare and other mayhem where the players (or AI mercenaries) on the mercenary team essentially 'invade' the USCM players mission usually with no prior warning for the marines in a similar fashion to the multiplayer feature from the Dark Souls franchise (I haven't played any of those games). Later expansions featuring the Yautja would also allow Yautja individuals or hunting parties to 'invade' human military players in their missions.
 * Part of this will have to do with a team of mercenary players gaining intel on a lucrative or sensitive mission to be undertaken by a team of USCM players (or USCM AI team), and then interdicting it under corporate or private orders or for personal interest, depending on the context etc., though this type of mission will typically be along the lines of sensitive data/material/personnel retrieval and royal jelly harvest.
 * Missions at the behest of employers such as Grant Corporation and Alphatech Hardware Inc. allow access to unique equipment, weapons and vehicles manufactured by them such as the Z-110 ANCW suit, Shivas and LAVs with permanent access to a piece of used equipment being granted depending on mission success, with further opportunities to gain access to more of the equipment in subsequent missions for those employers.
 * USCM rifle platoon force organisation:
 * Platoon commander and android
 * Section A: (12 men)
 * UD-4 (or variant) Dropship — Pilot and Warrant Officer
 * M577 (or variant) APC — Driver and Section Sgt.
 * 1st Squad — Rifle Team and Gun Team (one marine with an M314 Motion Tracker)
 * 2nd Squad — Rifle Team and Gun Team (one marine with an M314 Motion Tracker)
 * Section B: (12 men)
 * UD-4 (or variant) Dropship — Pilot and Warrant Officer
 * M577 (or variant) APC — Driver and Section Sgt.
 * 1st Squad — Rifle Team and Gun Team (one marine with an M314 Motion Tracker)
 * 2nd Squad — Rifle Team and Gun Team (one marine with an M314 Motion Tracker)
 * Composition of Rifle Teams:
 * One marine with an M41A Pulse Rifle (or derivative), can also have an M314 Motion Tracker (one M314 per squad)
 * One marine (can be a Hospital Corpsman i.e. a medic) with an M41A Pulse Rifle (or derivative) or M240 Incinerator Unit
 * Composition of Gun Teams:
 * One Marine with an M41AE2 Heavy Pulse Rifle of M56 Smartgun (or derivative)
 * One Marine with an M41A (or derivative) Pulse Rifle, can also have an M314 Motion Tracker (one M314 per squad)
 * Missions in certain environments or with certain objectives may require the use of special weapons not mentioned above, this is called organic support weaponry and can include sniper rifles (including anti-materiel rifles and railguns), anti-tank weapons and MANPADS, placed explosives or even prototype and exotic (DEW, sonic etc.) weapon systems, any two of these can be stowed in the APC in addition to four UA-571 Sentry Guns, smaller special issue weapons such as CN-20 cannisters, G2 grenades as well as special ammunition will be counted as a separate stowage to the organic support weapon.

Preliminary Outline of Online Play

 * A single marine character can function as any member of a rifle or gun team, this is for random matchmaking.
 * Matchmaking will put a player in with a team consisting of ideally other human players, but will fill in empty spaces with AI teammates.
 * Players can opt to join together and create their own unique sections or platoons, this kind of play will reward those players with bonuses such as increased exp. gain or more interesting missions.
 * Such a section or platoon can even vote (if the opportunity arises) to leave the USCM and form a mercenary organisation, though this would likely require all voting in favour of it. The transition from a USCM platoon/section to a mercenary organisation will need a more in-depth explanation regarding team nomenclature and other carryovers etc.
 * Player-created sections and platoons can be partially filled out with AI teammates, when AI teammates are killed during a mission they are not treated as 'soft deaths' like with human players whose characters do not die, but are replaced with a new AI teammate and a log entry is created with the date/time/location/cause of death of the KIA AI teammate.
 * AI teammates will also earn exp and progress in the same way as human players, though their gained skill point assignments and combat role/equipment etc. is determined by the highest ranking human member of that sction/platoon.

Armour

 * M3 --> M4X

Small arms

 * M4 --> M4A3 --> M4A4
 * 88 Mod 4 --> VP70M --> VP78
 * M41A --> M41A/2 --> M41E
 * M37A2 --> ZX-76
 * M4RA --> M42A --> M44

Light weapons

 * M56 --> M57 --> M59/B
 * M5 --> M6B --> M83 --> M83A2 --> M83AM --> M78
 * UA 571-C --> UA 571-D --> UA 571-F

Xenomorph XX121

 * Xenomorph hive structure and creatures generated using well thought-out and realistic templates.
 * Xenomorphs will be an exclusively PvE faction until enough gameplay data has been collated, then in a later expansion a player will be able to create a Xenomorph Queen character for the development and control of a hive TBS/RTT style which can be featured in the missions of USCM etc. players. A big part of this may include how inconspicuous a Xenomorph Queen player is in constructing a hive during the initial stages so as not to alert the USCM etc. before a hive is capable of effectively defending itself, this can also lead to secondary Queens being spawned which the player will also be able to control in addition to their primary Queen and these secondary Queen can stowaway on starships and begin secondary hives elsewhere in the galaxy that come under the control of the same player.
 * Development of the Xenomorph Hive while it is not under attack might be best implemented as something like turn-based strategy style gameplay, until the hive is attacked which is when the RTT/FPS gameplay would be used.
 * The Xenomorph Queen player in addition to commanding Xenomorph Warriors etc. RTT style will also be able to at any time choose any individual Xenomorph and control them from a 1st or 3rd person perspective. Though possible later gameplay additions such as the use of psychic disruption technology by players of human military factions would interfere to some degree with both the RTT and 1st/3rd person control of the Xenomorph Queen player, though they would still be able to control the Xenomorph Queen itself in 1st/3rd person without any interference.

Yautja

 * And of course later expansions featuring the Yautja and the ability to play as one featuring a similar progression system as a USCM etc. character but based on the Yautja ranking/caste system and other aspects of Yautja clans/society etc. and would be more focused on the development of athleticism/resilience/stealth/sensory etc. skills as rank increases as well as the eventual option for solo hunt missions.

Other

 * Dynamic pertinent galaxy map featuring original locations and also those from all official media.
 * Wide range of environments allowing the use of more USCM vehicles etc. such as their tanks.
 * Various environments may feature natural hazards in the form of terrain, flora and fauna etc.