Brilliant stuff Paul !! always reminds me of the PC game "X-COM" where you had a squad of troopers/marines men and women,who were protecting the earth from alien invaders.
It was a tactical game,where the player had to equip each character and then send to where the ufo had been bought down.It was a turn based game,the early games had very blocky graphics,but the sense of tension was stunning.You could hear the little aliens moving around,then when it was there turn a single shot would ring out,and a man would fall.
What was great about the game,you could recover alien weapons.equipment and have scientists research it,then turn it on the alien,brilliant !!
I've had an X-COM type game in mind for some time, with no specific timescale to put it together.
I've already painted a bunch of Copplestone Future Wars Troopers for use as X-COM forces. I won't go for a wide variety of weapon types (as in the original game), just a mix of small-arms, combat shotguns, support weapons and snipers.
I'm gradually acquiring a variety of miniatures to use as the aliens forces. So far I have:
Copplestones Hunter Aliens (with Ainsty Inaps as shielded versions)
Copplestone Biomechanical Alien (Actually been painting it today!)
Copplestone Greys (for conversion to an Alien medical examination/abduction team).
Griffin Greys.
Black Scorpion Aliens (Leader & armed versions)
I will likely add more over time.....
I have a GZG small flying saucer, may buy the Pegasus saucer & intend to scratch-build a big saucer.
For civilains I can use my Geezers civvies. A bit out of place in some situations, but an easy solution.
Terrain-wise I will keep the games Earth-based.
I can already do Temperate, Desert, Jungle & Urban (well 1970's London

)environments already. The only one I'd look to add is an Arctic/Antarctic setting, which will likely be a white cloth with ice formations etc added (Ice Station Zebra?)
Rules-wise I have various ideas, but nothing concrete written as yet. The game would likely have players as X-COM squads with the umpire(s) controlling the aliens. This allows for some of the hidden movement & suspense of the original game. The eventual intention would be to run it as a mini-campaign with players able to capture/research Alien technology to aid their cause in future missions.
