Xcom

[Zoraptor]

to you, yeah. but I'm with Gorth on this one, they removed one thing I liked the most about XCom - base management. and with it, I assume, the financing from different countries depending on your performance over their territories.

That's essentially been its problem with me too. It started out sounding great and they did a very good job of not immediately alienating (ohoho) the existing fans which was their largest mistake with regards to the fps* but the more information and detail that comes out about it and the more that has been fundamentally changed or excised the less appealing it sounds.

 

*I always thought that if they wanted to do an xcom fps first they should have piggybacked Bioshock's success. As it was they annoyed most existing fans enormously while getting no brand recognition and making a game that looked like Bioshock's 50s retrofuturism.

[Hurlshort]

Wait, you guys do realize you are still managing a base, right? You just don't build more than one, but the one you do is fairly complex. Here is what the article I linked earlier said about it.

 

It

[BobSmith101]

I'm really surprised at the skepticism here, it seems like a best case scenario for Xcom fans. You've got Sid Meier's studio at work here.

 

Hopefully there will be enough fans picking it up at release, I'd hate to see the first mainstream game with TB combat and a strong strategic element in the last decade bomb.

 

With Jagged Alliance going the whole real time pausing route, it's really my only hope.

 

You can't really compete with nostalgia.

 

I think people are missing the bigger picture here though and I agree with what you said eariler. If the game does not sell , then it just confirms what developers think about TB games being over.

[Gorth]

I think people are missing the bigger picture here though and I agree with what you said eariler. If the game does not sell , then it just confirms what developers think about TB games being over.

I wouldn't want the game to fail because it doesn't meet my expectations. On the other hand, I wouldn't want it to succeed on false expectations from those who grew up with the originals either. I did a bit of the legwork and read the linked to posts and the media. I don't understand the point of re-releasing a game if all you do is taking away from it? Adding explosions, confusing "jump all over the place Michael Bay camera" doesn't make up for the lack of good tactical displays, "interactive" environment that you can use or destroy if necessary, basically most features besides TB that made x-com games what they were. It's possible those things are going to be there, but then they've made the mistake (IMHO) of not emphasizing those features.

 

As I said, not a desire to see it fail. Just my own fail to see the point.

[sorophx]

wait, they aren't implementing destructible environments?

 

Wait, you guys do realize you are still managing a base, right?

yeah, but it's only one base I wonder how it will affect the Geoscape

[Undecaf]

wait, they aren't implementing destructible environments?

 

I thought they were.

 

 

Someone has made a summary of the features known so far (dunno when it's last updated though), that says that walls and covers are destructable, but roofs and ground are not:

http://forums.2kgame...tion-Summarized

Edited July 25, 2012 by Undecaf

[Spider]

Civ V was a big step back from Civ IV, as far as empire building is concerned. The first Civ game I've regretted buying.

 

I disagree. While Civ IV with expansions was way better than CIv V, Civ IV without them (especially Beyond the Sword) wasn't that much better than Civ V is. And the new expansion adds a lot to the game. It's not the game fully expanded Civ IV was yet, but it's definitely closing in. Specifically the implementation of religion in the new exansion is much, much better than the one in Civ IV.

[WorstUsernameEver]

wait, they aren't implementing destructible environments?

 

Of course they are.

[Undecaf]

In case someone has missed it, here's 15 minutes of narrated gameplay (showcasing destructible environment among other things).

[BobSmith101]

In case someone has missed it, here's 15 minutes of narrated gameplay (showcasing destructible environment among other things).

 

Thanks for posting that it was very interesting. It looks like they have picked up a few things from Valkyria chronicles with regards to troop types. I also think that having one base might actually be a good thing. It was not too difficult to overwhelm the aliens by having a lot of research and engineering running at the same time on different bases. I think having to make real choices between what you can research and build will not only make it better and harder , but also balance things up from the other direction as well. IE not overwhelming a new player with having to run multiple bases.

[Zoraptor]

If the game does not sell , then it just confirms what developers think about TB games being over.

I'm less than convinced that developers think that, it's more of a marketing/ management thing to make sweeping generalisations about whole genres. In any case any remake is almost certainly a lose/ lose situation so far as classics go- albeit far less so for xcom than something like the recent Syndicate remake. Bottom line is, if it fails then it's proof there's no market but if it succeeds then it's proof that classics only succeed when 'reimagined' to broadly comply with a set of mass market appeal 'modern' criteria. If Syndicate had succeeded we wouldn't get a 'proper' Syndicate out of it further down the line, you'd just get fps sequels and more classic brands refurbished for it. Chances are that if xcom succeeds they'll look at the bits they changed as being the reason it sold, not the bits that stayed the same.

 

Considering 2k was originally starting with an fps reboot just like Syndicate, rather than a quasi faithful adaptation, I'm not that keen on cutting them much slack.

[Majek]

If this doesn't sell then there will be even more pressure on the indies to deliver. :/ I think i'm going to go preorder this now.

[Morgoth]

If this doesn't sell then there will be even more pressure on the indies to deliver. :/ I think i'm going to go preorder this now.

If this doesn't sell then it's simply because it sucks, period. Indie kickstarter games like Wasteland 2 and Shadowrun will just continue to do their own thing, regardless of XCOM's success.

There's always going to a (small) crowd interested in TB tactical games.

[Hurlshort]

The Civilization series has shown that a turn based series can achieve mainstream success.

 

I'm starting to sound like a broken record, but it is huge that the only developer with a successful TB franchise is handling Xcom. Trust is Firaxis.

[Malcador]

I'll wait and see how the game is then I'll buy it.

[Morgoth]

I'll wait and see how the game is then I'll buy it.

 

Genius. I shall do the same.

[sorophx]

The Civilization series has shown that a turn based series can achieve mainstream success.

the focus in Civ games isn't on TB combat though, since you can finish the game without warring with other countries => never seeing combat. with XCom it's different, combat is the game's main attraction

[Spider]

The Civilization series has shown that a turn based series can achieve mainstream success.

 

I'm starting to sound like a broken record, but it is huge that the only developer with a successful TB franchise is handling Xcom. Trust is Firaxis.

 

I'm with you here Hurlshot. This is my most anticipated game this year (and frankly most anticipated game in many years). Definitely a day one purchase for me (something I rarely do these days).

Edited July 27, 2012 by Spider

[Cantousent]

I'll probably have to buy this one. I'm going to wait a few days to see what folks here say and then, reading on and between the lines here, I'll see if it's worth a shot. I don't always agree with folks on this board, but I do have a good feel for how the biases fall.

[zero_or_more]

I'm in the 'optimist crowd', I'm thinking about pre-ordering the game.

 

The way I see it is that a lot of people either want an exact remake - just play the old one, sometimes I do - or didn't play the old game too much maybe..? But things like 'you'll have a single base', afaik in the original most people had one 'major' base mostly in Europe, and built the rest of the bases only for radar coverage and hangars - which is exactly how it will be in the new game, at least the last time I read.

 

Or I either reserved TUs for shooting after moving, or if I wanted to move fast, I didn't - the TU-less mechanic they have is pretty similar in theory. Or I had someone with 100 sth accuracy crouching on top of the vessel with a rifle, so an aimed shot could hit any alien he has LoS of - but not necessarily see - so basically he was a sniper, while more 'raw' soldier were more assault guys, also 'rear commanders', specialized MCers...

 

Also the old one isn't perfect either, screening for psy-strength was a chore, or the can't have more than 256 items or what limit.

 

So the new mechanics make sense in a lot of ways even when compared to the old game, but we need to see them 'in practice' to really judge if they managed to nail the mood of the original...

 

Like pacifist aliens throwing weapons away and pondering the values of life while turning their backs on you...

 

 

Still I get the feeling I'll like this even if it's not a so called 'spiritual successor'.

[sorophx]

The way I see it is that a lot of people either want an exact remake - just play the old one

You see, the original wasn't a perfect game. While the sum of its features made for one hell of a game, the interface, for example, I hated. it was very confusing and difficult to figure out back in the Internet-less days. not to mention the graphics are really outdated, and while I would play it on a handheld, I don't want to have to look at those sprites on my 19" monitor.

 

man, I'd kill for a completed Dreamland Chronicles

[Hurlshort]

I'm pretty sure Dreamland Chronicles was a mess. The Gollop brothers are geniuses in their own right, but big teams and heavy duty 3D engines are not their forte.

[Humanoid]

I barely played the original (rounds to zero), and long after the the initial release, so I suppose it's a blessing that I'll come to this instalment with no preconceptions. In the past I may have taken the cynical view to developers revisiting old classics, but these days I fully welcome it - fear of not living up to past results is a crappy reason to not do something.

 

 

I expect it has better than even odds to be my game of the year, given the only 2012 release games I will be purchasing are this and ME3 (Gods and Kings doesn't count).

[Hurlshort]

http://www.joystiq.com/2012/07/30/exploring-the-unknown-parts-of-xcom-enemy-unknown/

 

More information on the game. Looks like the air combat game is the same, and it sounds like rocket launchers will be doing a lot of damage like the original.

[zero_or_more]

This game is going to have multiplayer?

Well now I'm a bit worried. Multiplayer balancing can be the bane of singleplayer gameplay...

 

Just browsed around for a bit of info and it looks like an hour of gameplay in this video? That's way too much spoiler for me, might be good for the undecided though...