XCOM 2

[Darkpriest]

We'll see. I like to have a few real world reports before I spend money. Real people, not reviewers and game sites.

You can always check streamers. I have Beaglerush as my go to place for xcom goodies and man i am more hyped since he started streaming the review version on monday.

[Hurlshort]

I expect it to be as enjoyable as the first one.  

[Gorgon]

Took the plunge and pre-loaded the whole 25 gigs, now it's updating 25 gigs. In fact it's taking longer. 

 

As if anyone needed evidence that there is no point to preordering other than sales. 

[melkathi]

Yeah, been unpacking for 45 minutes now.

The pre-load is like cake...

Edited February 4, 2016 by melkathi

[Humanoid]

Supposedly the physical release is more or less a complete install and the download component is minor. Don't think I'll get my copy in time so I can't verify, but it's nice to see not all publishers are jumping on the pathetic approach of including only a token fraction of the game on disc. Fallout 4's single single-layer 4.7GB install disc comes to mind, or better yet, MGS5's install disc which contained a grand total of 9 MEGAbytes of data.

Edited February 5, 2016 by Humanoid

[melkathi]

Supposedly the physical release is more or less a complete install and the download component is minor. Don't think I'll get my copy in time so I can't verify, but it's nice to see not all publishers are jumping on the pathetic approach of including only a token fraction of the game on disc. Fallout 4's single single-layer 4.7GB install disc comes to mind, or better yet, MGS5's install disc which contained a grand total of 9 MEGAbytes of data.

 

Dawn of War 2 that had the Steam installer

Edited February 5, 2016 by melkathi

[Heijoushin]

Installed XCOM 2 and got 2 hours in this morning! Can't wait to get back after work and continue customizing my squad(^_^)

[Gorgon]

Manual saves are updated to include soldier deaths, not complaining just, what's the point of having manual saves if that's the case. At least there appears to be a lot of autosaves to fall back on. 

 

It looks gorgeous. 

[Heijoushin]

The timer is a bit harsh though. I played on rookie this morning, and you only get 8 turns for the first level. They're definitely not pulling their punches!

[Gorgon]

Lost a whole squad because I missed the arbitrary time limit one tile from the extraction zone. That's just stupid. No explanation given other than 'you ran out of time'.

[Heijoushin]

Lost a whole squad because I missed the arbitrary time limit one tile from the extraction zone. That's just stupid. No explanation given other than 'you ran out of time'.

 

Starcraft 2's last campaign also suffered from too many "arbitrary time limits". I wish they wouldn't resort to timers when they're trying to make something difficult. A game can be difficult without a timer. 

[Humanoid]

Bomb Disposal missions in the previous game were infuriating for the same reason. It's telling that Long War, which made just about everything else in the game harder, actually made bomb missions easier. They're not easy as such, but they're now in line with the difficulty of other mission types, as opposed to the extreme outlier that it was previously.

[melkathi]

Central keeps shouting at you that enemy interceptors are inbound,and that your pilot will have to pull out or be shot down

[Darkpriest]

Lost a whole squad because I missed the arbitrary time limit one tile from the extraction zone. That's just stupid. No explanation given other than 'you ran out of time'.

 

is that one of the missions within advent city centers where Central command tells you during the mission that interceptors are inbound fast and you need to extract within the time window or the mission is a bust because your small bird will be blown out?

[Vaeliorin]

Actually got squad wiped in one of the timed missions because I had 3-4 troops in front of me and had 3 more drop in behind, and the enemies had so much movement that I couldn't get to any cover that didn't end up with me flanked after their turn (yes, I savescummed, I'm evil.)  I'd had to rush forward because I only had a few more turns to hack the objective.

 

I miss the Restart Mission button...was that a Long War only thing? I can't remember.

 

Conversely, on the only extract the VIP mission I've had so far, I finished it with 5 turns left.

[melkathi]

My extract VIP mission I barely made it to the evac zone. My ranger and grenadier had been covering the retreat and needed a full dash on the last turn to reach the rooftop evac. My mistake for choosing the "safe" evac point

[Vaeliorin]

I'd actually killed all the aliens before I even reached the evac point. I spent two turns safely making my way up on top of the building where it was, and when I got the end mission screen, it turned out I didn't need to be careful about it at all.

 

That said, there seem to be a lot more enemies early in the game who can really screw you over. Sectoids are basically worthless, but Stun Lancers and Vipers are serious pains, and when an Advent Commander marks you and basically causes every enemy to attack the same soldier, it can turn out pretty painful if you've got multiple pods activated.

[melkathi]

The extraction point makes a lot of difference. I had one on the roof of a tall building behind my squad. So I dashed the VIP there, knowing the route to be safe. But it meant that I had to slowly fall back with the squad while ADVENT pushed towards me. Had I selected the extraction point near to ADVENT's drop zone, I could have flanked them, taken them out and strolled up for the evac.

[Vaeliorin]

Wait, you had multiple options of extraction point? I've only run one extract mission, but I'm fairly certain it only had one extraction point. I'll have to check the next one I get.

 

I advanced aggressively, flanked Advent at every opportunity (which were few and far between because of the direction they kept falling back didn't afford me much cover that could be reached without dashing, and I expected more enemies) and ended up takimg them out pretty easily given the number of flank shots I missed (so far it feels like flanking has been nerfed to me, as I've commonly ended up with flank shots that were only 60%-70% chance to hit, whereas they always seemed much higher in EU.)

 

That reminds me, does anyone know how to see the continent bonuses? I know they're random now, but I wasn't seeing them listed anywhere.

 

Oh, and if anyone's squeamish, you might not want to watch the autopsy cutscenes. They seem a lot more gory/disturbing than the EU ones (particularly the sectoid one, of those I've seen so far.)

[Gorgon]

 

Lost a whole squad because I missed the arbitrary time limit one tile from the extraction zone. That's just stupid. No explanation given other than 'you ran out of time'.

 

is that one of the missions within advent city centers where Central command tells you during the mission that interceptors are inbound fast and you need to extract within the time window or the mission is a bust because your small bird will be blown out?

 

Ok so the skyranger is shot down and you are caugth in the city trying to escape, that sounds like the best part of mission. When you end a mission prematurely because of a gameplay feature, in this case the timer, that's just bad design. Specifically when there is a disconnect and it doesn't feel like it should end. 

 

It's like when you have to reload a babysitting mission because the target died, or the stealth missions in Ascreed where you 'die' when you are discovered. No, no no. Those things are results that you (game designers) were to lazy to show me. 

[Darkpriest]

IF i recall correctly these troops should be considered MIA/Captured and that can trigger a rescue type of operation for some of them. Skyranger bolts to not get shot down as that would mean GG. Soldiers on the ground have no chance of escaping the Advent Hub place... hence the timer.

 

You have plenty of time to deal with it and even if failed you can potentially rescue someone. Same as in case of running away and leaving behind a soldier under a mind control etc.

[melkathi]

Wait, you had multiple options of extraction point? I've only run one extract mission, but I'm fairly certain it only had one extraction point. I'll have to check the next one I get.

 

 

I got chatter from Central saying that our extraction point was no longer viable and I'd have to secure a new one. The game gave me three waypoints. 1st was near the VIP location but also right behind the ADVENT reinforcement flare. 2nd was a short distance behind enemy lines, which would have meant my squad would have had to shield the VIP while he dashed past. 3rd was a distance back, closer to my entry point, but also high up and with the ladders on the far side of the building - so safest, but needed more turns to reach.

Basically it was 1st point - 1 turn dashing. 2nd point - 2 turns dashing. 3rd point - 3 turns dashing.

The moment I extracted from one, the other options went poof

I chose the safest option which did result in one ADVENT officer surviving.

Edited February 5, 2016 by melkathi

[melkathi]

Whoah! Just got my first mission without a timer!

Going to save it for later. I want to savor it

[ShadySands]

http://www.pcgamer.com/how-to-tweak-xcom-2-ini-files-for-fun-and-danger/

[melkathi]

Bah!

Watched that Blacksite mission too many times in previews. When

the reinforcements dropped in, my squad was sitting around their spawn point in overwatch

 

 

 

 

Edited February 5, 2016 by melkathi