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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Andor" data-source="post: 6439653" data-attributes="member: 1879">Here's what I've got for a skeleton. It doesn't include the resolution system although it refers to it. It also doesn't include the synergies that are the point of joint projects but it think it shows the direction I'm thinking. I'm curious to hear your thoughts.Projects: At the strategy level work is done by projects. A Project uses resources, takes time, and generates a benefit. It may involves a success check. It may be subject to interference or attack by the enemies of X-com. Project:    Sample Project    Department    Joint Project: (Y/N)Resource    Scientists/$/Etc.    Benefit     TextCost    Hours/$/Etc.    Stake    TextProject:    Alien Weaponry    Science Dept.    Joint Project: NResource    Scientists    Benefit     Unlocks Future ResearchCost    150 Man-Hours    Stake    No RiskProject:    Workshop    Training/Logistics    Joint Project: Y EngineeringResource    $/Engineering    Benefit     Space for up to 25 engineers to workCost    $100/400 Man-Hours    Stake    No RiskProject:    Cell Hunt    Intelligence    Joint Project: NResource    Agents    Benefit     Discovers Enemy Cost    150 Agent-Hours    Stake    Loss of AgentsEach action at the strategic level is a distinct project, with the exception of budget disbursement and upkeep. Each project should have a name, a resource, a cost, and a benefit. A Project may also have a stake, which is a potential downside to the project, if a project has a stake then it will either depend on a mission or an outcome roll. For example a combat mission stakes the lives of the soldiers sent out to fight. Likewise a PR project may stake the good reputation of X-com leading to a loss of influence points if it fails.Generally each project will cost the normal resources of the department, such as scientist or engineer man-hours. There may be additional resource costs such as $, alien alloys or influence points. Engineering projects in particular often need additional resources. There are two basic categories of Project, Standard and Unique. Standard projects are those defined by the game such as researching the normal tech-tree, building normal base-structures, and developing standard training protocols. Unique Projects are defined by the players in cooperation with the GM and provide whatever benefits they agree to as modified by the project outcome roll. All unique projects should define a stake which can be lost, at a minimum the resources pledged to the project will not be recovered if it fails. Unique Project example: 6 months into the alien war losses are starting to mount, particularly due to mind-control incidents from Sectoid Commanders and Ethereals. After the Buenos Aries Incident Gary wonders if it’s possible modify their weapons so that they can’t be used against X-Com by a mind-controlled soldier. The GM thinks about it between games and at the next session says there are two ways they can try to modify their weapons, one is by adding an IFF system so the guns can’t be fired at X-com operatives, the other is by adding a safety system which monitors the user and locks down the weapon if it detects mind-control. The players ask what the upsides and downsides of the two systems are and the GM says more information will cost them a 40-man hour research program to investigate the possibilities. Gary is strapped for scientists so Susan asks if her engineers can work on the project as well. The GM says sure as long as there is at least one scientist on the team.  Gary peels two scientists off the Firestorm research team and Susan puts in 3 engineers and they run a 1 day crash research program as a joint project.Project:    Research MC Safety    Science    Joint Project: Y EngineeringResource    Scientists    Benefit     InformationCost    16 hours    Stake    16 hours Project:    Research MC Safety    Engineering    Joint Project: Y ScienceResource    Engineers    Benefit     InformationCost    32 hours    Stake    24 hoursSince it’s a joint project both Gary and Susan have to roll for Project Outcome.  The GM decides that since an IFF system is existing technology he’ll apply Susan’s engineering success to that half of the information and have Gary’s roll apply to the more cutting edge mind-control detection system. Susan rolls a normal success but Gary rolls a complication. He informs the team that an IFF system would be easy to build but could potentially be manipulated by the aliens, but that they don’t know enough about Mind Control to even guess what telemetry could pick it up. He says that idea is stalled until an X-Com trooper develops the Mind Control ability. Gary puts his two scientists back to work in the Firestorm project and Susan and the GM and Susan discuss a new project to develop the IFF system. She suggests it shouldn’t be that difficult a project since both IFF systems and electronic gun locks are off-the-shelf technology. The GM counters that they haven’t been combined into a single system yet, and that the quicker the project is the easier it will be to hack. Susan doesn’t want to build guns that refuse to shoot aliens so she bids 400 man-hours for the project. The GM says that will be fine, but adds that the stakes should include the potential death of a soldier during live-fire testing unless they want to try it out in the field untested (IE with a hidden success roll.) Susan winces, and proposes that it be resolved as a standard damaging attack rather than an auto-kill. The GM agrees and adds a $50 cost for testing and supplies. The Commander okays the expenditure and deducts it from the base funds.Project:    Firearm IFF    Engineering    Joint Project: NResource    Engineers    Benefit     IFF Safety SystemsCost    400 hours    Stake    400 man hours, $50, one possible attack on a volunteer.Susan assigns 10 engineers to the project and 10 days later rolls for the project outcome and gets a brilliant success. The GM tells her that an IFF system can now be added to any X-Com weapon at the cost of $1 per weapon, and that the IFF signal can be added into their existing comm gear without cost or weight, and because of the brilliant success also allows half the man-hours invested to apply to any future smart-gun project. He also secretly notes that if the aliens manage to capture an x-com weapon in the field or succeed in suborning an engineer or scientist that they will then be able to spoof the IFF signal for a single mission.</blockquote>

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