KickStarter Phoenix Point - the new game from X-COM creator Julian Gollop

[7h30n]

I've just started playing this after it sat on my HDD for a very very long time. Aaaand, is it just me or is this game's battlescape art style wrong on so many levels? The environments just look so kinda bland, as well as the soldiers and enemies. But the worst offender is the UI, it just looks so darn unreadable, paired with some strange control choices (probably due to having gamepad support).

Well, at least the intro cinematic/slide show and the music in general feel like they have just the right touch of horror in them, it's amazing!

 

[geno]

But the worst offender is the UI, it just looks so darn unreadable, paired with some strange control choices (probably due to having gamepad support).

Weird thing is that the UI from the alphas was better (aesthetically, it worked the same)

 

[vmar]

Finally decided to buy this since I've been in the mood for some alien killing and im pleasantly surprised. I kind of ignored this game after all the shit at release so I don't know exactly what's changed but I put a couple hours into PP and am having a great time. Definitely an improvement on nuxcom in every way it seems.

Are the dlcs mandatory or is it ok to do a first playthrough with just the base game?

 

[7h30n]

I'm doing the first playthrough with all the DLCs, it's not that overwhelming, actually I did my first playthrough... I just lost on Hero difficulty. And here I thought I can take any Gollop's game on Hard without playing it before :D

My verdict is that the combat systems are good and the game is indeed an improvement over nuXcom in every way. It's just the game has some really iritating design decisions, first and foremost being the UI and art design, but there are other gameplay related ones too. For example, scavenger missions are rather boring and stealth isn't very clear. I also don't find the environment destruction as reliable as in the original X-Com. It seems they tried to implement different material properties w.r.t. penetration of bullets and similar, but it just does not work as well as in Silent Storm and yet it's not as gamey (in a good way) like in X-Com. Overall, the game is halfway between new and old X-Com, which is a bit of a shame. I feel like the original X-Com is more snappier and fun to play, while Silent Storm and Jagged Alliance provide much better implementation of some systems appearing here. Oh, and there's no forest burning or generating enough smoke through all the fires you caused to KO enemies trapped in it

I can't yet speak of the balance, I've started another playthough on Veteran (Normal) this time. What I've noticed is that you quickly encounter enemies with heavy armor and you really need to focus your tech upgrades to deal with that (i.e. weapons with high Shred damage). Enemy variety is good, but judging by the comments it looks this may be the DLCs main improvement.

PRO TIP: You can equip any soldier with anything, you just have to disable item filtering in the equipment screen.

 

[vmar]

This game actually owns and I'm losing sleep playing it. Thinking about restarting on a harder difficulty and maybe even buying all the dlcs cause normal is cake so far.

 

[Visperas]

Can't you change the difficulty midway?

 

[ArchAngel]

Can't you change the difficulty midway?

No, you choose it at campaign start

 

[ArchAngel]

This game actually owns and I'm losing sleep playing it. Thinking about restarting on a harder difficulty and maybe even buying all the dlcs cause normal is cake so far.

DLC2 brings in some tougher enemies. DLC1 only brings in bad AI enemies with tank like armor.

 

[Thorgeim]

I had this game since the beginning but got annoyed really quickly... did they sort out most of "issues" now? Like cover system being very shite - squares showing cover but you cant move there because there is a 2mm of tree or w/e, or step out of cover inconsistency ... then soldiers basically having no personality at all, nuXcom was quite good at this, even old Xcom had relatable soldiers somehow, not sure what it was but PP soldiers just didnt interest me at all. I also hate the line HP bar insetad of old dots/bars but i can see thats still there, the whole thing just looked VERY bland and UI made it look like a mobile budget game.

 

[ArchAngel]

New UI is coming by end of month so you can wait for that

 

[Thorgeim]

ah interesting thanks thats good to hear, will make me give it a go again.

 

[Daedalos]

Is there miniguns, mechs and exoskeleton suits? JUST TELL ME

 

[ArchAngel]

Is there miniguns, mechs and exoskeleton suits? JUST TELL ME

There is a normal minigun and acid shooting minigun. No mechs but you can have self driving vehicles during combat. There are kind of exoskeleton suits but also you can replace whole body parts with mechanical version that give you different abilities, immunities and stats.

 

[anvi]

Yep a mini gun with a few varieties, like each race has their own version of each weapon, and some do different things. Like with the sniper rifles, one race's is longer range, one is shorter but does more damage, and one race is a sniper stun rifle that is great for capturing enemies. You also get addons like exoskeleton stuff, I had a shoulder mounted rocket launcher that was really good, a jet pack which really helped make the game worth playing, and other stuff like a radar hat and one that removes the smoke some aliens spew out. There are some leap boots which go short distances too.

 

[downwardspiral]

haven't played it since launch. Did they tweak the game so it is not encouraging player to skip random mission to avoid enemy progression ?
Or is it still like previously where random mission should be avoided unless necessary?

 

[ArchAngel]

haven't played it since launch. Did they tweak the game so it is not encouraging player to skip random mission to avoid enemy progression ?
Or is it still like previously where random mission should be avoided unless necessary?

This was fixed at start of summer. Enemies now progress with time depending on difficulty you chose, your actions have an effect but it is small. At the same time, training facilities still give you XP but you get less skill points from leveling up and the rest you get by successfully finishing missions.

 

[Alienman]

Is equipment still relegated to difficulty? I don't want HP bloat, but I don't want my soldiers to come fully decked out either

I'm hoping this is changed for the Steam release.

 

[ArchAngel]

Is equipment still relegated to difficulty? I don't want HP bloat, but I don't want my soldiers to come fully decked out either

I'm hoping this is changed for the Steam release.

You can now hire soldiers in two ways. You can recruit those offered directly to your base, they only cost food and always come with no equipment and mutations/cybernetics. Other way is like at release, you go to Havens and hire them from there. The level of equipment they come with depends on difficulty. Higher difficulty, less equipement.

 

[kreight]

So this game has a steam page now. I took a peek at the forums there and I saw the developer saying there will be more DLC coming. Steam release is labeled as 'Year one'.

 

[downwardspiral]

haven't played it since launch. Did they tweak the game so it is not encouraging player to skip random mission to avoid enemy progression ?
Or is it still like previously where random mission should be avoided unless necessary?

This was fixed at start of summer. Enemies now progress with time depending on difficulty you chose, your actions have an effect but it is small. At the same time, training facilities still give you XP but you get less skill points from leveling up and the rest you get by successfully finishing missions.

Thanks. I can't do brofist.

Tried the game, it is more enjoyable than the initial build.
Also is there a way to tell if my overwatch will cover the corner or not?
Sometimes they fire at enemy in corner sometimes they don't.
Also active shooting in corner sometimes you can peek your head out sometimes you can't.

 

[ArchAngel]

Only movement activates overwatch. OW is kind of unpredictable due to how maps are designed

 

[anvi]

The red cone is also hard to read. It seems to be the white area inside the cone rather than the cone itself. And yeah it is all a bit flakey, but raining infinite grenades on stuff helps ensure victory

 

[Infinitron]

 

[Infinitron]

https://phoenixpoint.info/blog/2020/11/2/arkham-update-v18-patch-notes

ARKHAM UPDATE (V1.8) - PATCH NOTES
Our latest patch is a big one! With help from our community of players and in-game telemetry, we’ve packed the Arkham update with plenty of improvements and modifications. Arkham is out on Wednesday, November 4, 2020.

Geoscape

• Improved aircraft selection UI
  
• Added Phoenix base selection functionality
  
• Reworked personnel screen
  • Vehicles are shown along the soldiers
    
  • Soldiers and vehicles are divided by the location they are at
    
  • Added basic stats for each soldier and service record
• Character equipment and training screens are merged and information for stealth, accuracy and perception is added
  • Dismiss of soldiers is now accessible only from this screen
• There is a new tab in personnel screen showing the soldier memorial
  
• New game over screen with gameplay statistics
  
• Factions can now attack Phoenix bases when at war with Phoenix
  
• When New Jericho is attacking a Pandoran base now you can join in the attack and you will encounter some of their soldiers in battle
  
• Ancient Guardians: expanded list of resistances
  
• Project Glory now researchable after the first mention of the ancient civilization in the main story
  
• Bionic Fortress: increased deployment
  
• DLC 1 and 2: a number of missions have rewards increased

Tactical

• Visual upgrade of the tactical UI
  • Portraits are now showing hit points along with will points and action points
    
  • Advanced information about weapons can be activated from the gameplay options

Other

• Controller scheme rework - complete rework of Tactical and Geoscape controller scheme, there is no longer a free cursor in the game
  
• New neutral haven special mission

Spoiler

Bug Fixes

• Fixed a hang when evacuating from an Ancient Site defense mission.
  
• Fixed an exploit where players could scrap items that were already scrapped thus gaining infinite resources.
  
• Fixed an issue where some evacuation points on Anu maps would appear floating in the air.
  
• A materials reward is now present in the Victory briefing screen after capturing an Ancient site.
  
• Disabling an enemy unit's equipment/weapon will trigger its flinching animations.
  
• Fixed an issue where boulders were blocking an evacuation zone on some Scavenging maps.
  
• Fixed an issue where Triton enemies could spawn inside some environmental props on Scavenging maps.
  
• Fixed an issue where the player's units couldn't use ladders on some New Jericho maps.
  
• Fixed an issue where vehicles couldn't move on some New Jericho maps.
  
• Fixed an issue where a Pure soldier's shield would remain in the air after the unit gets killed.
  
• Fixed an issue where a string of text appeared while aiming a Chiron enemy's Agile Leg body part.
  
• Fixed an issue where The Exalted could overcharge her Will Points above her maximum value of 28.
  
• Fixed an issue where the Dazed animation would sometimes appear on the ground.
  
• The Hatching Sentinel's electrical visual effects can no longer be viewed before discovering the enemy.
  
• The Status - Psychic Ward ability should appear only once in the character info section.
  
• Fixed a hang when a Heavy damages its own Fury-2 launcher while shooting with it
  
• Fixed an issue where players couldn't save their game when loading an autosave
  
• Mind control can't be used by targets that are Dazed anymore
  
• Fixed an issue where the players were receiving notification for Timed Missions expiring when they weren't revealed yet
  
• Jet Jump can no longer be used in some Alien Nest missions
  
• Fixed the fence at the start of the Prisoner of Ice mission from blocking vehicles
  
• Poison stacks will no longer be reduced upon loading saves where units have been poisoned
  
• Fixed an issue where units entering cover in a specific corner of an Anu building would kill them
  
• Sentinels can no longer enter their Preparing state when under the effects of Daze
  
• EMP grenades now deal damage and disable Spider Drones
  
• Fixed an issue where vehicles could deploy in buildings on certain Haven Defense missions
  
• The Neural Disruption ability will now disable the Siren's Mind Control ability
  
• Fixed an issue where the Priest's Radiant Hope aura was still in effect after being evacuated

 

[ArchAngel]

It is not as a big of a UI overhaul as many (including me) wanted but they said they got more UI improvements on the way for future patches.