New XCOM game

[Nemo0071]

I know it's just personal taste, but when I played X-COM for the first time a few years ago (I was kind of having a retro campaign on DOSBox at the time), I loved one part of it and hated the other.

 

I loved the whole strategic "base building + allocating funds & resources + research + intercepting UFO's around the globe" thing, but the TB combat just didn't "click" with me. I don't have anything against TB combat in general as long as it's well-designed and well-executed, mind you.

 

Maybe it just wasn't dynamic enough to keep me interested, maybe it lacked a proper, easy-to-use UI, maybe it was that thing someone mentioned, "taking too long to find that last alien on the encounter". Whatever the reason, it just got annoying after some point and caused me to drop the game altogether. A game I loved otherwise and still want to go back to.

 

My point is, as everyone knows, FPS genre is the thing right now. That is to say, it's much easier to make AND sell an FPS game with decent quality nowadays.

 

So, if they manage to implement a good squad-based FP combat and also keep the strategic elements I mentioned above, it would be a blast (for me). If not, it would be "meh". All in all, I think it's better to try than not.

 

 

I'll probably try out UFO: Extraterrestrials in a few days. I wonder if they managed to make TB combat a bit more.....enjoyable.

[Gorth]

Maybe it just wasn't dynamic enough to keep me interested, maybe it lacked a proper, easy-to-use UI, maybe it was that thing someone mentioned, "taking too long to find that last alien on the encounter". Whatever the reason, it just got annoying after some point and caused me to drop the game altogether. A game I loved otherwise and still want to go back to.

Jagged Alliance 2 handled that somewhat better by being real time when not in contact with enemy forces. When getting a visual on the enemy it switched to tactical combat. That would have been nice on some of those X-Com missions

[Deraldin]

Maybe it just wasn't dynamic enough to keep me interested, maybe it lacked a proper, easy-to-use UI, maybe it was that thing someone mentioned, "taking too long to find that last alien on the encounter". Whatever the reason, it just got annoying after some point and caused me to drop the game altogether. A game I loved otherwise and still want to go back to.

Jagged Alliance 2 handled that somewhat better by being real time when not in contact with enemy forces. When getting a visual on the enemy it switched to tactical combat. That would have been nice on some of those X-Com missions

 

Yeah, but how often did you actually see any of the enemy in X-Com? You shoot one alien and suddenly you're taking fire from all corners of the map, far beyond your visual range.

[Gorth]

Maybe it just wasn't dynamic enough to keep me interested, maybe it lacked a proper, easy-to-use UI, maybe it was that thing someone mentioned, "taking too long to find that last alien on the encounter". Whatever the reason, it just got annoying after some point and caused me to drop the game altogether. A game I loved otherwise and still want to go back to.

Jagged Alliance 2 handled that somewhat better by being real time when not in contact with enemy forces. When getting a visual on the enemy it switched to tactical combat. That would have been nice on some of those X-Com missions

 

Yeah, but how often did you actually see any of the enemy in X-Com? You shoot one alien and suddenly you're taking fire from all corners of the map, far beyond your visual range.

1) Don't stand out in the open, it attracts enemy fire

2) Enemy is in hiding? Remove his hiding place. Area bombing is your friend.

3) Tanks. Need more tanks.

 

I mostly got ambushed by aliens on night missions. Don't really remember it being a problem during day time. X-Com 3 is still my favourite though. Enemy hiding in residential area? Strategically placed demolition charges does what it says on the tin (i.e.

)

[Nemo0071]

Maybe it just wasn't dynamic enough to keep me interested, maybe it lacked a proper, easy-to-use UI, maybe it was that thing someone mentioned, "taking too long to find that last alien on the encounter". Whatever the reason, it just got annoying after some point and caused me to drop the game altogether. A game I loved otherwise and still want to go back to.

Jagged Alliance 2 handled that somewhat better by being real time when not in contact with enemy forces. When getting a visual on the enemy it switched to tactical combat. That would have been nice on some of those X-Com missions

 

Yeah, but how often did you actually see any of the enemy in X-Com? You shoot one alien and suddenly you're taking fire from all corners of the map, far beyond your visual range.

Good point. Bad memories.

 

As much as I would've liked to provide some kind of positive criticism in hopes of having the slightest impact on that game, what's done is done (loong ago). And if the new game is going to be an FPS, the most I would expect (and definitely hope for) is a damn fine FPS, with the strategy elements intact.

 

@ Gorth

That sounds a lot like the original Fallout games, in which that system worked pretty good for me.

[Bos_hybrid]

Xenonauts developers hope to keep the true spirit of X-Com alive

[Hurlshort]

Xenonauts developers hope to keep the true spirit of X-Com alive

 

No screenshots and a December release date? Unlikely.

[WorstUsernameEver]

Xenonauts developers hope to keep the true spirit of X-Com alive

 

No screenshots and a December release date? Unlikely.

 

Who knows? Maybe they learned from Bethesda's PR department.

[Morgoth]

There is the first preview of the game in a French CanardPC magazine. Someone over TTLG who got it, posted a short summary:

 

- No world map : There's a USA map (with a 50s' style) for selecting the missions.

- Research & production : yes.

- Base management : yes.

- Team management : yes.

- Choice of the next missions : yes.

- No control of your teammate during the mission (in the demo, this may change)

 

It seems like you can goof around in your base between the mission (in first person view).

 

EDIT :

 

- The demo was running on an XBox360.

- You play as the chief of operation of the base between the mission.

- The choice of the played mission will impact the game.

- In the demo, lots of area of the base were off limits.

- During the missions you can take photos (research ?).

- The game is due for release in a little more than a year.

[Oner]

I called it! I called it!

You all owe me ice cream.

[Nemo0071]

Nice. that's exactly what I was hoping for. And if they let you control your team (by way of radio commands, maybe? like in Operation Flashpoint but more user-friendly) it would be perfect.

 

Also, even though I liked the all-around-the-world feel of the original, it's common sense that the USA-only and mission-only things will allow more specific design, rather than the "generic encounter map".

 

 

Btw I played UFO:ET for a while and it's been great so far. I can recommend it to the die-hard fans of TB X-Com. I'm still looking forward to this FPS with high hopes though.

 

Oh, one last thing. UFO:ET doesn't take place on Earth, just some fictional Earth-like planet. So, no Florida or Tokyo base for me... But other than that it's basically X-Com with better (and unfortunately a bit more "colorful") graphics & UI.

[Malcador]

Hm, that doesn't sound -too- bad.

[Gorth]

*Weeps pitifully*

 

[cronicler]

Firstly, I think there hasn't been a truly "new" TB game that had balanced and good Strategic, Tactical and Logistical layers.

 

Old X-Com games (Ufo and TFtD) were beautiful and innovative for their time but their tactical sucked due to interface clunkiness.

X-Com Apocalypse had a better handle on tactical and logistical sides but megacity 1 alone was a bit too small. (And no I hated the cheesy RT)

JA2 had and probably still has (with 1.13) one of the the best tactical combat; rt untill someone (you or the enemy) spots another). However it's logistics was a mess and Strategically you didn't do much.

 

Among the "second" generation (so to speak) Silent Storm and it's spin offs combined the capabilities from the first gen titles on the tactical layer; Decent interface, good physics, destructable envirolments. Too bad these games didnt have "any" strategic or logistical layer (beyond ammo/medicine/tool trio)

 

The first 2 After* games had nice strategic and logistic layers (base/research/world map actions) and they even improved those a bit with other (regular) earh forces being active participants instead of damsels in distress with being able to solve some of the random missions on their own if you delegated missions to them or if your teams were too far away. However their character development system and the RTwP combat systems sucked big time. And you were limited to an active roster of 10 or so soldiers. No redshirt army in other words.

 

Afterlight (the 3rd game) further refined its Strategic and Logistic layers but it also limited you in some areas (1 pre-located main base, extremely idiotic diplomacy, weird resource system and a truly stupid outpost / territory system). The horrible character system was still there but at least they managed to get the RTwP to feel better.

 

UFO:ET was basically X-Com 1 with newer graphics and interface but despite being the same it wasn't as enjoyable as the old games. Hard to explain.

 

 

 

Anyway enough with the TB Squad games.

I really hope they rip off from "brothers in arms" games for the new game's squad system. That games squad / tactical order system would be beautiful under X-Com hood.

[Walsingham]

Anyway enough with the TB Squad games.

I really hope they rip off from "brothers in arms" games for the new game's squad system. That games squad / tactical order system would be beautiful under X-Com hood.

 

Agreed 100% I love the interface system, and I'm a huge tactics nerd. Point. 'Shout'. Genius.

[Morgoth]

Someone over the 2K forums got the OXM June issue and has written down some details:

 

XCOM OXM Cover Story June 2010 48-55:

 

-It all starts in a secret underground base beneath an air force hangar somewhere in the US.

 

-This hangar is your home, and it’s the center of your team’s operations. We’re not quite sure how Carter ended up in the FBI trailing unexplained phenomomena-2K AU guys would only say that the agent has a “checkered past”.

 

-It’s clear from a quick lap around the facility (run by brilliant Dr Goldberg) that something at the Bureau buzzing.

 

-A team of people in one glass-walled corner are busy listening to radio transmissions, searching for intel that might be useful in your mission.

 

-In another area tech expert Malcolm Quinn-the Q to your James Bond-is busy assembling your next gadgets in his search lab, aided by a team of engineers.

 

-In the planning room, meanwhile, it’s time to take the intelligence you’ve acquired and decide your next move. Which lead your should pursue? Something strange is a foot-something not of this earth. Carter is seeking evidence of extraterrestrial activity, be it biological or elemental-the latter referring to Elerium, a potent energy source that powers the entire underground facility and is sought by the US govt for the use of weapons apps.

 

-Examining the large US map on the wall, we have the option of heading to Wichita, Kansas; Bangor, Maine; or Flagstaff, Arizona. 2K promises that each mission will offer a range of choices of where to go and because the game unfolds in quasi-real time, picking one mission might cause you to miss out on others. In gaming terms that means the leads in towns you pass up might go cold by the time you return from the location you do visit.

 

-This setup should diversify the campaign experience, giving you and your friends completely different stories to share about your play-troughs. In our demo, we made our way to the Grand Canyon State to check out reports of “swarming insects’-a hint that our precious Elerium was nearby.

 

-You will be joined in all missions by fellow FBI agents. In Flagstaff for example Agents Jonas and Frank tag along. Though 2K claims that the agents presence is part of a tactical-management angle meant to hearken back to the original X-COM strategy games, we didn’t see the ability to issue any sort of squad orders-like basic “go there” commands, for example-in our demo. But the game is still very early in development.

 

-Nor did 2k Au provide any further details about your pals, like the possibility of leveling them up or whether they will simply be replaced by two more generic grunts in the next mission if they happen to be killed.

 

-For now though it’s FBI cohorts Frank and Jonas providing the extra eyes and ears as we park our boat like cruiser at the end of the residential zone’s cul de sac. Working our way back up the street on foot, we make our first strange observation; the streets are completely empty. Where is everyone? It’s sunset sure, -Northern Arizona’s gorgeous early twilight sky is rendered beautifully by the same Unreal Engine 3 tech that powered Bioshock-but hardly late enough for any sort of curfew to have kicked into effect.

 

-Pulling out the in-game map and notepad to see our mission goals and decide our next move, the 2K AU crew take advantage of this quiet time to tell us you ‘ll be able to leave a mission anytime you want.

 

-The level zones are huge, but if you want to poke your head into just one house, find a bit of intel, and go home unscathed, you can do that. The tradeoff, though, is that you lose out on other potential intelligence hidden around the area, and crucially, you’ll miss any opportunities to gather precious Elerium. Eventually clarifies lead designer Ed Orman ominously, “You do have to leave no matter what. “

 

-In the quaint Flagstaff neighborhood, Carter and Co come across a rather impressive two-story house halfway down the street. According to the mailbox in front the Sweeter family live inside. But, clearly, something’s gone sour. A dark grayish black trail of….something leads from the front yard into the back through the gate.

 

-All is quite in the backyard except for some odd sounds-foreign noises made even more eerie silence permeating the entire neighborhood-and the continued trail of residue running up the side of the white house. A red lawnmower lies on its side. Still running, its exposed blades remain spinning, ready to slice and dice anyone-or anything-that gets too close. Here, we receive our first look at XCOM’s unique array of gadgets.

 

-Dr Goldeberg really outdid himself; in Carter’s left hand is a Petrie dish containing what appears to be a living, nebulous sample of the black, inky residue that led us to the Sweeter’s backyard. It’s as if someone captured Spider Man’s Venom in a glass sphere. Plugged into the dish are electrical leads connected to a battery-fed compass in Carter’s other hand.

 

-As we move closer to the trail of goo the electronically stimulated contents of the dish vibrate wildly. Because the substance wants to combine with itself whenever possible, the gadget ends up guiding you closer and closer to the source of the gooey material.

 

-We move through the backyard toward the opposite side. The black stuff begins to react even more violently, leading us straight over and through a doghouse to a grassy patch behind some bushes in the back of the property. On a different day we’d stop to admire the scenic view of the valley below, just as a man standing there was doing, camera in had. But this isn’t that day; the man with the camera lies dead next to his tripod, coated in black nastiness. Ironically it is now our job to photograph him to document the incident for Goldberg, Quinn, and crew to study for precious intel.

 

-With the goo compass spastic and the trail of horror getting worse it’s obvious we’re close to something. Heading towards the home’s side entrance we finally glimpse it; a big black glob of goo. You quickly put away your compass for a loaded shotgun. You and your two pals unload pellet blasts into the extraterrestrial substance. It shrieks and breaks into smaller-but-still-very-much alive pieces and immediately starts to reform. A good ol-fashioned lead diet, it seems, is only going to slow down this alien invader, not stop it.

 

-Your man carter plunges his hand into his pocket to pull out another Goldberg contraption.: the Blobatov (aka a goo grenade rigged to catch fire when shattered), The dichotomy of its visual appearance is almost laughable: a clear glass sphere containing a radically advanced alien substance, rigged up as a grenade with primitive analog 50s’ era switches and misc hardware. Still, it proves satisfyingly effective when you throw it into the goo. The orb shatters, the goo ignites, and the entire tar like mass evaporates in a flash of fire and ear piercing, terrorizing shriek o what must be pure pain.

 

-One blob is down, but we still have to fine Elerium before we flee Flagstaff. Our sense of dread intensifies as we move through the house. In these close quarters and tight hallways, we’d have a difficult time dodging the goo if any of it leaps out at us here. We follow a slime trail upstairs and discover the nursery, complete with mutilated mom and no baby. There is no Elerium either.

 

-With Frank and Jones at our back we move back downstairs and toward the front door. Remember how we’d come in through the side? A wise decision as three blobs ambush us in the living room! One gloms onto Frank. He tries to pull it off, but at the end of the battle we find his body lifeless beneath an end table with a knocked over lamp on his head. Carter and Jones manage to fight off the springy alien tar with shotguns and Blobatovs, but not before being dragged to the brink of death in the process. Still in search of Eleriu, we move outside and head up the street; that’s when the vortex appears in the sky and the Titan monolith shows up.

 

--Jones by our side, we streak in the opposite direction, our health’s low, ammo scarce, and a giant stone alien death ray is on our tails…but we still have options. We could leave now with our lives intact, but returning to the base empty-handed after everything would be a waste. We turn into one more backyard.—if only to shake the Titan from our trail—and we see it on a random back porch: Elerium.

 

-Looking like Mayan relic designed by Frank Loyd Wright, the element’s nearly within our grasp, save for the swirling goo shield protecting it. We blast the goo with our shotguns, reluctant to risk bombing the Elerium with a Blobatav. Three blobs vacate the Elerium block and attack, and after another fierce battle and a few more Blobatav-induced immolations we finally collect what we came for. But where’s Jones? Is he dead or alive? Not out of the woods yet the Titan is cresting over the roof of the house like the morning sun, resuming its quest to vaporize us. We’ve come so close to death we can feel the hairs on the backs of our necks singe, but as described earlier, we make it to the care and escape.

 

 

 

But where’ll XCOm take us next? Some weird animal killings were recorded in Bangor, Maine, and we didin’t get to check them our before heading to Arizona. If the case is still active we have some investigating to do.

 

 

-As intense as it is, the Flagstaff incident is merely one of XCOM’s grab-bag missions. Orman suggests that every mission you go on will play differently.

Edited April 30, 2010 by Morgoth

[HoonDing]

Looking like Mayan relic designed by Frank Loyd Wright

The mind boggles.

[Morgoth]

But it has black goo! How original is that?

[HoonDing]

Been there, done that. Call of Cthulhu.

[Aegeri]

But it has black goo! How original is that?

 

It was so good in the X-Files the first time and they both have "X" in the title so it should work again!

[Purkake]

Oh hey guys, what's all this about?

 

...

 

[Hurlshort]

That actually sounds pretty great.

[Morgoth]

That actually sounds pretty great.

Absolutely. You have your base, can research for better weapons, can choose your missions in any order... At least it isn't a linear corridor shooter.

 

Plus it seems 2K is aiming for tension rather than raw firepowah a'la bioshock.

[Slowtrain]

I see the hype machine is all ready sucking people headfirst into its gaping maw.

[Amentep]

I see the hype machine is all ready sucking people headfirst into its gaping maw.

 

Like a blob of black goo...