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[Seriphyn]

The first game is practically unplayable by today's standards IMO. Personally I have longed moved on from the 1990s-style 'long investment' game type...might be some people's fancy still but eh...

I just want to have fun...and the game is fun, and challenging! Not your cheap fun certainly.

[Myyona]

I do not see the reason why to cut it short, really.

They could have adjusted the size of combat zones, number of encounters and so on for the game to last for about a week of intensive gaming and people would still play through it.

Or maybe that is irrelevant marketing wise, because the moment you pay for the game; revenue ticks in. Whether you then get two hours or two months of entertainment out of the game, it does not provide any additional profit to the company. They might as well keep production costs low and limit the content.

Btw.:

Personally I have longed moved on from the 1990s-style 'long investment' game type...might be some people's fancy still but eh...

EVE Online?

[Seriphyn]

I don't play EVE Online...well... <_<

What you said though...they intend to release mod tools for the game, no? So we might see stuff from that hopefully.

Making maps should be a simple affair too. In fact, the game is screaming for an easy-to-use map editor, since it's all on squares.

[Myyona]

Btw. here is an anecdote:

When I played the original XCOM: UFO game I remember I thought: "This game is great, it just needs a bit more fire". That was before I knew what 'incendiary' meant.

I hope this new XCOM game will have similar surprises.

[Shaalira]

BTW, Ironman or not?

ofc


What I dislike about this game is that it leads you right to the campaign solution.

[spoiler]In the original, there was no one holding your hand and walking you from one overriding objective to another.  There was only an escalating threat which ramped up indefinitely until you found out how to end the alien invasion at the source.  Unless you paid attention to briefings and autopsy reports, no one was going up and tell you that capturing a psionic-capable alien and interrogating them would reveal the existence of Caledonia.  And no one was going to tell you to reverse-engineer an alien space ship, put together a vessel capable of interplanetary flight, load up a squad with air-tight battlesuits, and launch your attack.

The original game would just continue indefinitely until the attacks ramped up to the point where you were overwhelmed on all fronts and died.  This game is a little too linear in its stages.

I also miss setting up multiple bases and having to defend those bases from alien attacks.  It was a cool experience when you loaded the stage and the layout matched your base design, and all the random recruits you had in the barracks flooded out to fight.  It was even more harrowing when the aliens attacked your base at the same time that your veteran, well-equipped troops were out on sortie.[/spoiler]

[Shaalira]

Btw. here is an anecdote:

When I played the original XCOM: UFO game I remember I thought: "This game is great, it just needs a bit more fire". That was before I knew what 'incendiary' meant.

I hope this new XCOM game will have similar surprises.

I was disappointed that the intelligent pathing grenade launchers didn't make it in.    I enjoyed launching them around the corner, then setting up waypoints so that it veered around the street and zipped right into a window.

Of course, it wasn't as much fun when an alien shot one that zipped right up the docking ramp of your landing craft right as you were trying to get everyone onto the ground safely.

[Myyona]

[spoiler]
Aye, I was so looking forward to the base attack. One of my "fondest" memories from the original game was having my base attacked early on in one of my first playthroughs and the aliens killing everybody.

I am equally disappointed about the lack of attacks on alien bases (except the one). In the original game, the aliens would establish presence and you could derive from the level of alien activity, or supply UFOs going to the location, that they must have established a base there.

Again I am extremely annoyed that people cannot produce simple engaging game mechanics in this day and age, because the "overhead" demand on such mechanics visual wise explodes the budget.
[/spoiler]

[Seriphyn]

Hm, with those particular aspects in mind, I wonder if they could have pulled that off to this current standard? I think that age is just gone in terms of mainstream releases. You'll only get that through indie or downlow developers these days. There's no way the multi-million dollar market of multi-million players would have accepted anything that wouldn't give you a sense of forward direction, unlike the older games from the 1990s. Then there's the paradox of the producers assuming the market is more ADD than we actually are...who knows?

Heh, if they remade Transport Tycoon for this era, they would definitely have some 'campaign' mode to hold your hand.

[Seriphyn]

I also have this particularly badass-ly timed screenshot

[Victoria Stecker]

For those interested, Steam is running a sale with all of the previous x-com games for $15. I'm very tempted.

[Seriphyn]

Anyone else think the deployment music is totally awesome? Topped off when the Skyranger pilot in his all-American radio voice goes "LZ in sight, prepped for landing!" or some such.

[Ken]

Apparently there were some additional options that were originally intended to be shipped with the game on release but didn't make it in.  They can be enabled through a little bit of .ini tweaking.  Check it out: http://xcom.nexusmods.com/mods/7

(WORKS) Damage Roulette: Weapons have a much wider range of damage

New Economy: The funding offered by individual council members is randomized

(WORKS) Not Created Equally: Rookies will have random starting stats

Hidden Potential: As a soldier is promoted, their stats will increase randomly

(BUGGED) Red Fog: Any wounds taken in combat will degrade a soldier's stats for that mission

Absolutely Critical: A flanking shot will guarantee a critical hit

The Greater Good: The secret of psionics can only be learned by interrogating a psionic alien

(BUGGED. GAME UNWINNABLE) Marathon: The game takes considerably longer to complete

Results Driven: A country will offer less funding as it's panic level increases

(WORKS) High Stakes: The rewards granted for stopping alien abductions are randomized

(WORKS) Diminishing Returns: The cost of satellites increases with every one that is built

The Blitz: The aliens will target a larger number of cities every time they launch an abduction attack

More Than Human: The psionic gift is extremely rare

[Seriphyn]

Interesting how there are already mods for the game...only a matter of time before we see really good stuff.

[lallara zhuul]

The odd bit is that the amount of cash you get from a nation lowers as their panic increases...

Isn't it the opposite in real world when it comes to military threats and spending?

[Ken]

The odd bit is that the amount of cash you get from a nation lowers as their panic increases...

Isn't it the opposite in real world when it comes to military threats and spending?

Maybe, but I think "panic" in XCOM is meant to represent the level of alien success/unchallenged alien activity in a given country and the amount of civic unrest (and alien infiltration) present there rather than the level of seriousness paid to the situation by the local government.  More "panic" means the government assesses that XCOM is unable to defend the country and their money is better spent trying to tackle the problem themselves rather than funding what many in said government must then see as an international boondoggle.