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XCOM: Enemy Unknown |OT| Neo GAF is Under Alien Control

haven't dug through the bulk of this thread yet, but is there any pulse on how well this game has done sales-wise?


I would love, love, to see Firaxis make another XCOM, but use TERROR FROM THE DEEP as the main inspiration. I need my underwater aliens!


inset3_10_0819_xcom.jpg



Bring on the Gillmen!!!
 

McNum

Member
Hmm, question about the
Blaster Launcher
.

If the Heavy had Shredder Rockets, does that become
Shredder Blaster Projectiles
? Thinking of making a Rocketman Heavy to go along with my Suppression Heavy.
 
I love this game and think they did a fantastic job with "fan management" and PR up to release, but this DLC sounds underwhelming and the fact that they're charging $5 for the elite soldier pack is insulting.
 

Rentahamster

Rodent Whores
Hmm, question about the
Blaster Launcher
.

If the Heavy had Shredder Rockets, does that become
Shredder Blaster Projectiles
? Thinking of making a Rocketman Heavy to go along with my Suppression Heavy.

Yep. I used to prefer suppression, but I converted to the "blow shit up" school of thought. Destroying cover from a distance is just way too useful. It means I don't have to flank as much anymore to get a high % shot.
 

Sentenza

Gold Member
I love this game and think they did a fantastic job with "fan management" and PR up to release, but this DLC sounds underwhelming and the fact that they're charging $5 for the elite soldier pack is insulting.
I'm honestly disappointed with the idea to add more linear and story driven missions.
I was hoping to see future DLCs and expansions more focused on improving the "sandbox" part of the campaign, which is honestly also the most lacking portion of the game.
 

Ketch

Member
So I failed my first attempt at Classic Ironman. Things were going well too.

It was that damn VIP mission... things started going to shit when I blew up all the cover with my heavy rockets and grenades... and then my support panicked and merkd the VIP. Mission was already failed, and then I had no cover to move up to and the aliens just sat there in the fog behind high cover waiting for me, for like 4 turns... it was a bloodbath.. everyone died.

Next mission was a terror mission where I lost 5 of 6 dudes to chrysalides and cyberdisks, but I beat it, saved 7 of 18 civilians.

Next mission was the alien base, bringing out heavy plasma and titan armor for the first time and everyone still died. Last turn was my sniper dumping pistol rounds into a berserkers face at point blank range while he was surrounded by 3 other muttons... picture blackhawk down except with giant bloodlusting alien brutes instead of poor people.

Ended up back at HQ with 2 dudes left in the barracks, both snipers, and 1 credit left to my name. Just said F it and started over.

Are heavies not popular? Rockets are too good.

I love my heavies, holo targeting +suppression = enemy get's -30 aim and can't move while everyone else in your squad gets bonus aim against them. Double bonus. Plus with rockets, you can throw a scope on your heavy without giving up the function of the grenade.
 
Aka let's put out all these weird DLCs and only then give them mod tools!
Yeah. They're just making sure not to diminish the rewards of DLC cash. Which I'm okay with buuuuut Civ5 has sublime mod support. Would love to see the same system implemented.
 

Ketch

Member
I'm don't want to be defense force, just realistic force. But from what I've seen out of Jake Solomon (on GB, and all the other preview coverage), I really don't get the feeling that they are trying to "get away with" taking your money (except $5 for the elite pack is too much, don't buy).

To me, it sounds more like they didn't plan for mod support, where as the DLC has been in the pipeline for awhile... so this stuff is planned, on a schedule, people already assigned: it's gonna happen. Mod support was not planned, not on a schedule, nobody's assigned to it.. so naturally it's going to come out after the DLC... or at least NOT before the first DLC.

Also, I will buy this DLC, but I wish it was more then just some council missions... probably just coming out first because it was the easiest to do... I'd really like some more developed multiplayer, and just extra modes in general. Replay function, Skirmish vs PC, maybe some kind of endless mode.

The idea of a "hero" character is really not appealing to me. The heroes in this game are supposed to happen naturally through the way the game plays out, not dictated to you by a story mission.

Also, more story in general is not appealing to me. Find away to add the varied objectives into the standard play through without shoe-horning more "story" in please.

Edit: I revise my statement to say "I will buy this DLC, as long as there is a way to toggle it on/off in game" If I don't want to do it, I won't be happy with the mission just sitting there in the situation room waiting for me to take it on.... ehh, now I am conflicted. Why release lame DLC Firaxis? I want to give you my money, but you are making it difficult.
 

Firebrand

Member
Something seriously wonky with the network code in this. Aside from getting stuck in an "unable to connect" state in the multiplayer menu (fixed by entering the squad editor), quite often my Steam (not Internet) connection dies when I'm playing multiplayer.
 
Are heavies not popular? Rockets are too good.

I don't usually use more than one Heavy, I feel like all the other classes justify having multiples while once you get a fully upgraded Heavy with Shredder + Dual Rockets + multiple Grenades, you really only need one explosive powerhouse. But yeah, that one Heavy on my team wrecks shit up, or at least causes massive damage allowing my other guys to mop up the kills after.
 
Well finally beat the game. Enjoyed every second minus the graphical errors(models and backgrounds wouldnt load;disappearing shivs, etc.). The ending was fairly bittersweet and kinda cinematic. Example
my wifes avatar was my chosen one and my avatar was an assault in ghost armor and run and gun ran up the middle and used rapid fire , killed the final ethereal and the cutscene that played was more poignant because the other character pushed out was myself and my sister. Yeah serious family affair.
Absolutely loved the game ready to dive into second playthrough. And that dlc announcement im looking forward to it but its a little underwhelming.
 

Jintor

Member
The missions will be offered via the shadowy Council in the single-player campaign. In fact, it will be the first Council mission offered in a new game, though players can choose to tackle it at any time once it is offered. Incidentally, starting a new game will be the only way to access the Slingshot missions, though the rewards may be worth it (more on that in a bit).

Fuck goddamnit

My LP
 

Purkake4

Banned
This is one situation where a straight up map pack would be awesome. Ditch the story and just slap together another 10 map templates.

Also, I heartily approve of a Terror From the Deep remake.
 

Shouta

Member
Are heavies not popular? Rockets are too good.

Rockets are pretty indispensable for heavier firefights if you ask me. Destruction of cover plus it softens, if not outright kills, enemies which allows you to clean up with the other classes. Sniper benefits very much from this like Renta pointed out.

I've been considering focusing more on Heavies than Assaults in another run but I'm playing Valkyria Chronicles 3. It's kinda making me wish they did more with the base they have right now. For such a big game, it's kinda lite.
 

gryz

Banned
Yes and no, it fixes many problems of original, but add new ones and simplify too much. Its awesome game, but they needed at least half a year more and less focus group testing to make it classic game

care to elaborate on the problems? I've been gaming on PC for 20 years and this game seems pretty incredible to me. first time I've played a game for 8 hours straight without stopping in a long time.
 

Jintor

Member
There's not as many options at the strategic layer as a lot of people would like [it's a lot more controlled, single-directional upgrade path now] is my main beef. Some people aren't cool with the discovery mechanics but I'm not one of them.

Also it's buggy as shit right now for some people.
 

Shouta

Member
There's not as many options at the strategic layer as a lot of people would like [it's a lot more controlled, single-directional upgrade path now] is my main beef. Some people aren't cool with the discovery mechanics but I'm not one of them.

Also it's buggy as shit right now for some people.

Yeah, from an option standpoint, it's a pretty limited game. 3 weapons for each class, limited item selection, skill trees only have 2 skills per level, not much in the way of terrain effects outside of height, and a bunch of other things. The combat is pretty solid but it's kind of lacking in flavor, I guess.

Base-building is like boring and useless after awhile too.
 

Zeliard

Member
Base-building isn't dynamic enough. I want to try out those bonus options that didn't make it into the game that randomize things a bit and keep base-building from containing one optimal path. Hopefully they'll add them in.
 

Rentahamster

Rodent Whores
care to elaborate on the problems? I've been gaming on PC for 20 years and this game seems pretty incredible to me. first time I've played a game for 8 hours straight without stopping in a long time.

The problems only really manifest themselves once you've played through the game mulitiple times enough to have figured out an optimal strategy.

The first few times through, there is enough stuff you don't know to make the game appear more dynamic than it really is.

That being said, it's still a magnificent game, and even after multiple playthoughs there are still some things that can pop up that'll keep you on your toes.
 

KKRT00

Member
care to elaborate on the problems? I've been gaming on PC for 20 years and this game seems pretty incredible to me. first time I've played a game for 8 hours straight without stopping in a long time.

One of the problems
http://i.imgur.com/ToVQQ.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/c2Hdx.jpg
How is he not flanked?

Overwatch failed to activate 4 times yesterday, good luck playing Impossible with such bugs :)
Alien spawns are ridiculously stupid at times, like yesterday i was on a mission and was moving my squad on edge of the map and i met 3 sectoid groups in 5 moves.
Window visibility is sometimes dodgy, and there is almost no point in supermarket that isnt transparent from the inside and that means, that You cant effectively cover behind the supermarkets walls
Aliens accuracy is not balanced at all.
Whole 'aliens has a move after discovery' is bad gameplay mechanic.
 

gryz

Banned
The problems only really manifest themselves once you've played through the game mulitiple times enough to have figured out an optimal strategy.

The first few times through, there is enough stuff you don't know to make the game appear more dynamic than it really is.

That being said, it's still a magnificent game, and even after multiple playthoughs there are still some things that can pop up that'll keep you on your toes.

ah so it's the typical gaf, "after playing this game for 300 hours I decided that it wasn't very good"
 

Rentahamster

Rodent Whores
Overwatch failed to activate 4 times yesterday, good luck playing Impossible with such bugs :)

Are you sure it was a bug? Overwatch doesn't activate unless an alien makes a move after already being within your vision. If an alien stops movement on the exact tile on the edge of your vision, overwatch will not trigger.

That's why moving to the corner of a building does not trigger fire from an overwatching alien around the corner.
 
Overwatch failed to activate 4 times yesterday, good luck playing Impossible with such bugs

Whole 'aliens has a move after discovery' is bad gameplay mechanic.

Overwatch is not good to begin with, and won't work if enemies are out of line of sight or move behind full cover before shooting you.

Aliens move after discovery because most of the time they are sitting out in the open and it would be too easy to mop them up with some free shots. It's only a problem with Crysalids and Berserkers. Because they run straight for your squad and end up within killing distance at the start of their turn. Which does make it slightly unfair.

Are you sure it was a bug? Overwatch doesn't activate unless an alien makes a move after already being within your vision. If an alien stops movement on the exact tile on the edge of your vision, overwatch will not trigger.

I've had this screw me over me several times as an alien moved along the side of the building and got a free shot at the soldier peeking through the one of the corners of the doorway.
 

Jintor

Member
Yeah, from an option standpoint, it's a pretty limited game. 3 weapons for each class, limited item selection, skill trees only have 2 skills per level, not much in the way of terrain effects outside of height, and a bunch of other things. The combat is pretty solid but it's kind of lacking in flavor, I guess.

I don't really agree with this on a tactical level; things like map cover steadily being destroyed, fires changing positioning availability and line of sight keep it interesting. Added complexity isn't always the greatest option and here I think the design decision to keep it relatively constrained is a good one. But I wouldn't mind experimenting with other things (proxy mines! Sentry turrets!) with mod tools...
 

Doomshine

Member
I think my game just crashed...or something. It's been on the "ship returning" load screen for 5 minutes now. I had just finished a UFO landing mission. PS3 version.
 

KKRT00

Member
Someone put this together at another forum I visit

http://i.imgur.com/x50qZ.jpg
Yes, i know how it works and when You look at it, there is one tile difference to the complete 90 degree, but come on, he was clearly exposed, but instead he got full cover ...
Alien in this situation would have 100% chance to hit You.

--
Are you sure it was a bug? Overwatch doesn't activate unless an alien makes a move after already being within your vision. If an alien stops movement on the exact tile on the edge of your vision, overwatch will not trigger.

That's why moving to the corner of a building does not trigger fire from an overwatching alien around the corner.

Two aliens run at close range to my soldiers and it didnt activate, one time it was a corner, so it could be ok, but 4th time it was wide open and soldier had to see him.
 

Shouta

Member
I don't really agree with this on a tactical level; things like map cover steadily being destroyed, fires changing positioning availability and line of sight keep it interesting. Added complexity isn't always the greatest option and here I think the design decision to keep it relatively constrained is a good one. But I wouldn't mind experimenting with other things (proxy mines! Sentry turrets!) with mod tools...

I was pretty annoyed with what seems like uniform defense bonuses based on cover and how a lot of things were destroyed pretty easily. Adjusting to new cover is good but it just doesn't feel like I'm doing much after awhile because it becomes pretty routine. Adding a bit on top to give you a bit more to consider would benefit the game without getting too heavy, like say being able to target cover directly or shooting floors in certain situations that will make your opponents fall to the lower level and take damage, etc. Obstructions that could be manipulated would be somewhat interesting as well to give stages a unique feel. It's not like you'd need to have a new system in place but giving some more rewards for creative thinking and play would be pretty fun.

Plus, line of sight is somewhat inconsistent. I wish they would've shown it in a more transparent manner so I know what my soldiers were looking at.
 

Jintor

Member
Some kind of way to create your own cover might be interesting, for instance, or even more ways besides explosives to deliberately manipulate the battlefield.
 

Varna

Member
DLC sounds awful. Just add more shit to the main game. All those second game options sound fantastic. Especially that marathon mode. I was just talking to someone about how great it would be if it took 10 years to win the war.
 
Some kind of way to create your own cover might be interesting, for instance, or even more ways besides explosives to deliberately manipulate the battlefield.

Felt like the Outsiders were a missed opportunity in that regard. The whole materialization aspect of them would've been a great way to justify a deployable cover item.
 

Astery

Member
The Slingshot DLC sounds kinda lame to me. A pre set hero? Chinese Triad squad what?
I want Kiryu-Kai, not this random stuff out of no where. For the record, I am Chinese and an expert on my own culture.
 

Jintor

Member
In general I thought the two new-new alien types (besides the drones) were wasted, especially once you stop seeing outsiders almost completely after a bit.
 
I think my game just crashed...or something. It's been on the "ship returning" load screen for 5 minutes now. I had just finished a UFO landing mission. PS3 version.

No one seems to acknowledge all the bugs, especially on the PS3 version.

I've had one save file "break" (game freezes every skyranger landing).
I've had one random lock-up where I can't save or do anything it's stuck in a solider move phase that cost me an hour or so of work.
And another bug where all the overlay stuff from the base is pasted over the cutscenes.

It's broken.
 

Doomshine

Member
No one seems to acknowledge all the bugs, especially on the PS3 version.

I've had one save file "break" (game freezes every skyranger landing).
I've had one random lock-up where I can't save or do anything it's stuck in a solider move phase that cost me an hour or so of work.
And another bug where all the overlay stuff from the base is pasted over the cutscenes.

It's broken.

Hmm, haven't encountered any of those yet. The most annoying bug that I've had more than once is my heavy not getting into cover when he should be.

Anyway, I quit out of the loading screen and loaded my latest autosave, worked fine after that.
 
I think my game just crashed...or something. It's been on the "ship returning" load screen for 5 minutes now. I had just finished a UFO landing mission. PS3 version.

It does this a lot. It also hangs sometimes at the end of actions and during alien activity. My camera sometimes fucks up too and drags to one side. It's definitely one of the buggiest games i've played this year.
 
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