Research Codenames (EU2012)

Each Research project has a specific codename which is based either on the original game or a scientific or sci-fi subject. A list of codenames and their references may be found below.

Project Codename	Codename description
Alien Nav Computer Lighthouse	Building used for ship navigation.
UFO Power Source Waterfall
New Fighter Craft Skylance
Plasma Cannon Snapdragon
EMP Cannon Ion
Fusion Lance Godfinger
Alien Materials Looking Glass	A mirror. Also the name of Lewis Carrol's Through The Looking Glass, the sequel of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
Carapace Armor Thorax	The human chest.
Skeleton Suit Rictus	A spasm of the facial muscles that causes them to grin caused by tetanus or poison.
Titan Armor Golem	Stone figure from Jewish legend that would turn alive to fulfill its creator's wishes.
Ghost Armor Nightshade	Plant.
Archangel Armor Icarus	Legendary Greek figure who built a pair of wings for himself but fell down to Earth after getting too close to the Sun.
Psi Armor Witchwood
Sectoid Autopsy Roswell	Alleged 1947 UFO crash siteand the alien Gray bodies recovered.
Thin Man Autopsy Viperus	Reference to the original game's Snakeman (viperus = viper, a snake)
Floater Autopsy Crimson Cape	Reference to the original game where Floaters had red capes.
Muton Autopsy Nero	Roman emperor with a reputation for tyranny [[1]].
Chryssalid Autopsy Ridley	Ridley Scott, director of several sci-fi movies, including Alien and Prometheus.
Drone Autopsy Arachnid
Cyberdisk Autopsy Enigma	A riddle.
Sectoid Commander Autopsy Rosetta	Rosetta stone - discovered by Napoleon's troops it Egypt, it later allowed for the first translations ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs.
Berserker Autopsy Anaconda	A large South American snake who kills its victims by crushing them.
Heavy Floater Autopsy Montezuma	Aztec emperor.
Muton Elite Autopsy Imperial
Sectopod Autopsy Halcyon	A family of birds [[2]].
Ethereal Autopsy Aether
Interrogate Sectoid Roanoke	Roanoke colony - one of the first colonies in North America, the colonists disappeared after a few years.
Interrogate Sectoid Commander Voynich	Voynich manuscript - a 15th century book written in a undeciphrable language containing hundreds of hand made drawings.
Interrogate Thin Man Masquerade	Masquerate = deception, Carnival
Interrogate Floater Goalpost
Interrogate Heavy Floater Dreadnaught	Dreadnaught = naval battleship of the early 20th century
Interrogate Berserker Rubicon	"To cross the Rubicon" - Roman saying attributed to Julius Caesar meaning 'no turning back'
Interrogate Muton Tempest
Interrogate Muton Elite Gomorrah	Sodom and Gomorrah, the two biblical cities destroyed by God because of their sins
Interrogate Ethereal Rosetta
Arc Thrower Spark	Can be a reference to the legend of Prometheus, who stole a spark of fire to give mankind.
Weapon Fragments Sagaris	Ancient Persian blade weapon.
Beam Weapons Sunray
Precision Lasers Lightwire
Heavy Lasers Penumbra	Dark side
Plasma Pistol Jacamar	Bird
Light Plasma Rifle Corvid	Bird
Plasma Rifle Kestral	Bird
Plasma Sniper Osprey	Bird
Heavy Plasma Kingfisher	Bird
Alloy Cannon Avocet	Bird
Guided Fusion Launcher Tunguska	Located in Siberia, in 1907 there was a massive explosion on the area caused by a meteorite, or as some claim, by a UFO exploding upon crashing on Earth.
Xeno-Biology Mobius	French sci-fi creator, responsible for on the Alien movie.
Outsider Shard Novato
Hyperwave Communication Tachyon	Hypothetical physical particles mentioned on the original game.
Ethereal Device Skylight
Experimental Warfare Skunk Works	Skunk Works is the departament of the Northrop aerospace company responsible for designing advanced top secret planes such as the SR-71 and B-2 stealth bomber.
Elerium E-115	Reference to the atomic number of Elerium mentioned on the original game.