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[juicyb]

YESSSS SEQUEL TO MY 2012 GOTY! WOOOT WOOOOOTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

 

[jonnyp]

Still looks to be missing all of the atmosphere which made the orginal games great. First Firaxis one was a massive, boring disappointment.

 

[HP_Wuvcraft]

The narrative in all the X-Com/XCOM games merely exists as a framework for you to create your own narratives in each playthrough.

Yeah, that only works for so long, though.

 

[Nzyme32]

The narrative in all the X-Com/XCOM games merely exists as a framework for you to create your own narratives in each playthrough.

This is exactly what Firaxis love to do, and for pretty much most of the games they make it works brilliantly, with the probable exception of CivBE where that framework simply isn't well built enough for that to happen, in my opinion

 

[Grimsen]

Yeah, that only works for so long, though.

You're right. It works for so, so long.

 

[jay]

Still looks to be missing all of the atmosphere which made the orginal games great. First Firaxis one was a massive, boring disappointment.

Yup. The original is one of the scarier games I've played.

 

[Shake Appeal]

Yeah, that only works for so long, though.

Over 200 hours for me, and I haven't even played Long War!

 

[Gozer the Gozerian]

There better be a level set on a farm.

I don't care if it's a future farm with hover tractors, just give me a farm

 

[Shake Appeal]

There better be a level set on a farm.

I don't care if it's a future farm with hover tractors, just give me a farm

It's not X-COM/XCOM until you find a sectoid hiding behind a hay bale in the back of a barn.

 

[HP_Wuvcraft]

You're right. It works for so, so long.

Oh, you.

 

[CosmicQueso]

Still looks to be missing all of the atmosphere which made the orginal games great. First Firaxis one was a massive, boring disappointment.

Hyperbole, party of 1 - your table is ready. Hyperbole party of one

 

[Valnen]

Like I said earlier, there is very little likelihood of moneyhatting or anything like that, and they do this out of their own volition relating to the game. Your assumption is that there is no gameplay or technical reason, which no one can know till tomorrow and is not something you can work out from the few screenshots available right now. I'd take a stab that if it isn't one of those, it will be the use of paid mods akin to CS:GO perhaps. It seems really clear that Soloman loves Long War, so it is possible they want to create that kind of stuff, perhaps tied to very frequent updating and iteration, building packs of content out of community mods / maps / weapons etc. Maybe they'll have events or an on going story to fit in with all those things, who knows.

What you can be sure of, is that if there is no reason to hold it from other systems - they will put it on other systems. There is nothing to stop them

Edit: Actually in terms of mechanics, I just made a random bullshit one up - imagine if the maps were much larger, there are no squares or limits to movements or actions but there are time constraints. So, say there is an alert status, perhaps the game will give you and the opposition 5 secs per turn for the entire match. By design, even with a mouse and keyboard, your choices are limited, as is your movement, and actions, but at least you could do them. To compensate for a controller, you would have to rebalance the entire game, change or even remove that kind of mechanic, and you are getting into the territory of actually forcing a change on what the game can be

I'm not worried about moneyhatting so much as I'm disappointed in console gamers not giving turn based games the love they deserve.

 

[Jintor]

It's not X-COM/XCOM until you find a sectoid hiding behind a hay bale in the back of a barn.

cruise line closetsssssss

 

[FStop7]

I'm down for more XCOM but if the RNG still causes a significant number of misses with max hit chance and enemies get a free turn whenever you find them I think I'll pass. Those two issues were immensely upsetting in the first game and became progressively worse as the enemies became stronger.

90% chance to hit on 4 shots, all misses.

The quoted percents were such crap.

And the free move on finding the aliens was straight out AI cheating.

 

[HK-47]

Yeah, that only works for so long, though.

For about 600 hours I'd say.

 

[HK-47]

90% chance to hit on 4 shots, all misses.

The quoted percents were such crap.

And the free move on finding the aliens was straight out AI cheating.

Swing and a miss on two pitches there. The RNG was accurate and the free move was necessary. Why should you get free exposed shots on the aliens?

 

[Qassim]

I can't really think of any gameplay reasons it can't work on consoles either, being turn based. So if it's not for technical reasons, and not for gameplay reasons...It's probably just for market reasons, and that's so disappointing now that we're actually starting to see turn based games on consoles again.

Whilst this isn't specifically about XCOM, a game being turn based doesn't automatically mean it's suitable for a controller. Gameplay mechanics, menu systems, general UI design to support those gameplay mechanics and design can still be a pain to use on a controller, even if you're not rushing to do those actions, and trying to make them not a pain to use can have its effects on the game design.

There are plenty of turn-based PC games that wouldn't work well on a controller, it being turn based doesn't stop it from being frustrating and unintuitive, not all turn-based games are the same, either.

 

[Aaron D.]

There better be a level set on a farm.

I don't care if it's a future farm with hover tractors, just give me a farm

Reminds me of that Steam 2013 Holiday Sale badge.

 

[Reebot]

Swing and a miss on two pitches there. The RNG was accurate and the free move was necessary. Why should you get free exposed shots on the aliens?

You don't get a free exposed shot. So I dunno why you're asking that.

Free move sucked. It made most movement options pointless; I don't think I have to argue that removing viable moves in a turn based strategy game isn't the best idea. Hopefully its out this time.

Also the RNG was, in my limited testing, literally inaccurate. As in I actually wrote down the percentages displayed and saw if they lined up with the results - they didn't.

 

[PfantzyPantz]

HYPE! Everything about this is so exciting, oh mama

 

[HK-47]

You don't get a free exposed shot. So I dunno why you're asking that.

Free move sucked. It made most movement options pointless; I don't think I have to argue that removing viable moves in a turn based strategy game isn't the best idea. Hopefully its out this time.

Also the RNG was, in my limited testing, literally inaccurate. As in I actually wrote down the percentages displayed and saw if they lined up with the results - they didn't.

If they didnt get the free move they'd generally be sitting out in the open. The free move lets them get into cover, which the player does anyways as a matter of caution. Also I dont know how it ruined movement options.

 

[smashism]

Seriously my most played game of the last few years. AAA titles come and go, but this always somehow creeps its way back into my rotation. I don't know what we did to deserve this, but I can't really express how hyped I am.

Hype levels at all time high over here.

 

[Reebot]

If they didnt get the free move they'd generally be sitting out in the open. The free move lets them get into cover, which the player does anyways as a matter of caution. Also I dont know how it ruined movement options.

That's not a free exposed shot though, thats me finishing my turn.

Problem was you could never safely (and I'd argue smartly) do anything that exhausted even one of your units unless you had enemies onscreen. Its kind of a weird inverse of what you'd normally think. The best strategy was to slowly creep forward piece by piece, but you don't have to change any plans. You're just doing them slower. In the long run, this doesn't effect the position/use of any character - its not a strategic element. Its just killing the pace.

Its notable this mechanic doesn't go the other way. If the aliens stumble across you, their turn continues uninterrupted. It comes off as compensating, a cop out in which the game doesn't have to ensure aliens are realistically moving between cover themselves, since they'll always have an extra-legal move to position.

Game is at its highlight when its a tense back and forth between the two forces, not when I have to constantly wait out enemies I know are just around the corner.

 

[Nzyme32]

I'm not worried about moneyhatting so much as I'm disappointed in console gamers not giving turn based games the love they deserve.

Sure but that is yet another thing we don't really know yet. For all we know there might be some pseudo-rts/turn-based gameplay going on in xcom 2 on Pc, yet there could be a separate xcom game specifically modified and rebalanced for the consoles with a slightly different name and similar approach to the previous game. Any thing is possible right now with so little information

 

[davepoobond]

Also the RNG was, in my limited testing, literally inaccurate. As in I actually wrote down the percentages displayed and saw if they lined up with the results - they didn't.

i dont understand how you would do this without having a category for each individual %age and tried enough times

That's not a free exposed shot though, thats me finishing my turn.

their health wasn't balanced for you to take a shot/grenade at them huddled around, which is why they do the scramble. you can easily see that just by playing.

Problem was you could never safely (and I'd argue smartly) do anything that exhausted even one of your units unless you had enemies onscreen. Its kind of a weird inverse of what you'd normally think. The best strategy was to slowly creep forward piece by piece, but you don't have to change any plans. You're just doing them slower. In the long run, this doesn't effect the position/use of any character - its not a strategic element. Its just killing the pace.

Its notable this mechanic doesn't go the other way. If the aliens stumble across you, their turn continues uninterrupted. It comes off as compensating, a cop out in which the game doesn't have to ensure aliens are realistically moving between cover themselves, since they'll always have an extra-legal move to position.

XCOM is at the disadvantage in the conflict and it makes you feel the same way by having to "move slow" vs. them not having to. At least IMO.

 

[epmode]

And the RNG was, in my limited testing, literally inaccurate. As in I actually wrote down the percentages displayed and saw if they lined up with the results - they didn't.

The RNG was tested for real a few times. Over thousands of samples, the actual percentages matched the stated percentages. This is one summary: https://sinepost.wordpress.com/2012/11/11/is-xcom-truly-random/

 

[FunkyPajamas]

You're right. It works for so, so long.

Let's get a room.

 

[Reebot]

i dont understand how you would do this without having a category for each individual %age and tried enough times

That's exactly how I did it. Full disclosure, I rounded to the nearest five, I think (this was years ago). I vividly remember shots claiming to hit above the 90% mark not landing at least 9/10 times. I don't remember how low it was, but it wasn't particularly close to that mark either.

Of course, this could all be bad luck on my part. Its not like I did a year long rigorous study.

XCOM is at the disadvantage in the conflict and it makes you feel the same way by having to "move slow" vs. them not having to. At least IMO.

I see what you're saying and actually agree somewhat. I like the feeling of being the disadvantaged force against overwhelming odds. Problem was, it didn't evoke that feeling, but rather kept reminding me I was playing a game.

I couldn't shake having to constantly remind myself of the meta-game. Because it was such an arbitrary restriction that existed outside of the normal rules (as in, the ones shared by both teams) it ruined the overall feel, and reduced it back to being a game instead of a deeper experience. I liked it best when that aspect dissolved away and X-com really pulled me into the life or death tactics.

The RNG was tested for real a few times. Over thousands of samples, the actual percentages matched the stated percentages. This is one summary: https://sinepost.wordpress.com/2012/11/11/is-xcom-truly-random/

Well, that's that. Looks like I was wrong.

 

[Jawmuncher]

Damn seeing this I REALLY wish we were playing as the other faction and stomping the resistance.

 

[Sciz]

Damn seeing this I REALLY wish we were playing as the other faction and stomping the resistance.

The good news is that someone could mod that in.

 

[Jawmuncher]

The good news is that someone could mod that in.

Would be a amazing to see the effort put in for that.

 

[Falk]

Damn seeing this I REALLY wish we were playing as the other faction and stomping the resistance.

Probably gonna be a mod in the first week.

edit: twice beaten once shy

 

[Fragamemnon]

Yeah, that only works for so long, though.

XCOM is a grown man's way of playing soldiers vs. aliens with virtual plastic action figures like a seven year old. I still get surprised by the way things play out on virtually every mission.

Give me crazy emergent narrative and heroic feats and heroic fails any day over shitfest console gamer cutscene 'push forward for the feels' total garbage.

edit: +1 for farms. I hope they find a way to get a barn in one of the cities.

 

[Baalzebup]

That's not a free exposed shot though, thats me finishing my turn.

Problem was you could never safely (and I'd argue smartly) do anything that exhausted even one of your units unless you had enemies onscreen. Its kind of a weird inverse of what you'd normally think. The best strategy was to slowly creep forward piece by piece, but you don't have to change any plans. You're just doing them slower. In the long run, this doesn't effect the position/use of any character - its not a strategic element. Its just killing the pace.

Its notable this mechanic doesn't go the other way. If the aliens stumble across you, their turn continues uninterrupted. It comes off as compensating, a cop out in which the game doesn't have to ensure aliens are realistically moving between cover themselves, since they'll always have an extra-legal move to position.

Game is at its highlight when its a tense back and forth between the two forces, not when I have to constantly wait out enemies I know are just around the corner.

Actually, many of the mechanics are skewed in your favor, especially if you consider the alternatives. For example, the bolded. If indeed, aliens that you had not activated as of yet stumbled upon your squad, they did what they did, took their free move as well and continued the turn 'till all their actions were spent. The thing that they didn't do was shoot your totally exposed ass from there to Sunday, since no alien attacks on the turn they are activated. This is the most noticeable with really fast units, especially the chrysalids. They might run right up to your guys on their free move, or even their first non-freebie move, but they wouldn't facerape your whole squad.

If there were no "free move" for the aliens, you'd have to expect the entire enemy force to be fully active and then you'd have situations like in the original games, where your first "sighting" of an alien might be plasma fire from elements that you had never even seen, or indeed, never even had a chance to see before they burned a hole in one of your lads.

Or one of the chryssalids would just burst from behind a corner and make a lunch of your forward scout before any of your guys even raised a gun.

 

[Reebot]

If there were no "free move" for the aliens, you'd have to expect the entire enemy force to be fully active and then you'd have situations like in the original games, where your first "sighting" of an alien might be plasma fire from elements that you had never even seen, or indeed, never even had a chance to see before they burned a hole in one of your lads.

Or one of the chryssalids would just burst from behind a corner and make a lunch of your forward scout before any of your guys even raised a gun.

I don't have any experience with the original game, but I think I'd actually prefer that system. I'll have to give it a try and see.

 

[nortonff]

Are they still using UE3?
Looks great by the way....

 

[TokiDoki]

Absolutely loved the previous Xcom especially the atmosphere during night time . Here to hope they kept that .

 

[-tetsuo-]

That trailer made me way more hype than I anticipated. I am now super hype. Holy shit.

 

[Jintor]

The free move is fine given the context of the existing systems but as an overall metric it actually made fog of war exploration bad which seemed contrary to all expectations. Even Long War can't path around this because trying to explore for new ground or find new cover became inordinately risky, especially since you couldn't, say, sneak up on high ground and ambush opponents or something like that.

I'm excited to see what new systems they have that will get around this problem. I put like 150-200 hours into XCOM and I love it, but I know where it's got its problems.

I'm wondering if unit weight will be different. One of there reasons in OG X-COM you could just throw rookies into a thresher maw was because they were so cheap and relatively expendable, but given the way units accumulate experience and especially abilities in XCOM, losing even a single unit could be absolutely disasterous. Maybe they'll tie abilities more to gear?

 

[Baalzebup]

I don't have any experience with the original game, but I think I'd actually prefer that system. I'll have to give it a try and see.

I'll eagerly await reactions from your first Snakeman terror mission during the night. Edit: This is the expected result:

 

[7DollarHagane]

pretty bold move to go pc exclusive.

I wonder if it'll last or if they will end up doing a console version later that compiles some of the best mods and community content.

 

[Reebot]

I'll eagerly await reactions from your first Snakeman terror mission during the night. Edit: This is the expected result:

I expect it causes more than a few sudden total defeats, but (on paper) I'd prefer it. Seems more cohesive.

 

[Crayten]

pretty bold move to go pc exclusive.

I wonder if it'll last or if they will end up doing a console version later that compiles some of the best mods and community content.

Bold? The PC version outsold the 2 console versions combined by multiple times.

 

[7DollarHagane]

Bold? The PC version outsold the 2 console versions combined by multiple times.

I bought it there too but not many multiplatform games that get a PC only sequel.

 

[Bluth54]

Bold? The PC version outsold the 2 console versions combined by multiple times.

Did 2K ever say how the console versions sold? I see Enemy Unknown's estimated PC sales figures on SteamSpy are around 2.6 Million which is pretty good.

I've been thinking of replaying EU, this may get me to do it. Cool to see it's PC only and the design wont be restricted by the consoles.

 

[Resident4t.]

XCOM is a grown man's way of playing soldiers vs. aliens with virtual plastic action figures like a seven year old. I still get surprised by the way things play out on virtually every mission.

Give me crazy emergent narrative and heroic feats and heroic fails any day over shitfest console gamer cutscene 'push forward for the feels' total garbage.

edit: +1 for farms. I hope they find a way to get a barn in one of the cities.

Are you like a master strategist by now?

 

[Fragamemnon]

Are you like a master strategist by now?

I've done two Impossible Long War campaigns but generally play on Brutal as I find it more fun.

I'm really not exaggerating when I say that Long War XCOM is one of the best strategy games ever made. It's insane what a team of three or so people working part time starting with little more than UE engine decompile/recompile tools have done with the game.

 

[Bluth54]

Are you like a master strategist by now?

If aliens invade we know who to call to lead the humans.

 

[mr teaspoon]

PC-only is breaking my heart.

 

[Raven77]

I just felt the need to post this:

Xcom (2012) main theme:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkWtthtbQQ8

Sends shivers down my spine every damn time I hear it. Even my wife, a non gamer, will ask what game I'm playing when she hears this theme come up because "thats really good music". Damn right.