X-COM Firaxis - XCOM: Enemy Unknown + Enemy Within Expansion

[Gakkone]

you absolutely can lose the game if you screw up too badly.

Wow, this game sure is going to stand out.

 

[Infinitron]

Oh fuck screenshots http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/01/09/xcom-remake-screens-details-worries/

wtfff

GAY HIPSTER ALIENS IN A FOREST

 

[Art Vandelay]

It that doesnt look popamole,i don't know what does


edit:god i hope this one delivers...

 

[Drakron]

They are MiB, and that is HARDLY new (been part of the Alien mythology for quite a while, especially after the MiB movies).

Also:

The screens I just find confusing. They don’t much evoke X-COM in either aesthetic or interface, but then I didn’t want a straight retread anyway. The use of 3D terrain (terrain! This is like 2002 all over again) and cover is promising on a tactical level.

My thoughts exactly ... I have no idea WHAT exactly I am looking at but it seems they are at least using cover and terrain, the fact this looks like I need to RTFM its a plus ...

 

[Infinitron]

I guess they look gay because they're going for a Half-Life G-Man "non-human wearing human skin" aesthetic?

Or it just because the game isn't finished yet?

Anyway, base looks ubercool so at least there's that

 

[Drakron]

I guess they look gay because they're going for a Half-Life G-Man "non-human wearing human skin" aesthetic?

And we all know that G-man was ORIGINAL CHARACTER DO NOT STEAL!

Oh and there is this:
http://www.qsl.net/w5www/meninblack.html

(Not using wikipedia entry)

Of course bitching about it is typical newfag Codex, not I am accusing you of that but when the Dur Dur Brigades Strikes with their OBVIOUSLY MISSING THE POINT its annoying.

 

[Hellraiser]

Fucking vulcans are invading the planet, are you a bro enough dude to stop them from spreading their faggotry?

 

[Vault Dweller]

Q: Is this going to be dumbed down for the "wider console audience"?

A: Firaxis is undeniably streamlining aspects of the game and removing no small amount of micromanagement, but from what I've seen I wouldn't call it "dumbing down" the game so much as getting rid of tedium and uninteresting mechanics.

...

Nice.

 

[Black]

I can only pray to the Maker that they mean stuff like equipment distribution on skyranger, it wasn't exactly the high point of the game.

But god-damn, I would've never guess it's X-Com looking at those screens.

 

[Hellraiser]

Wouldn't call it dumbing down? Well that guy sure is an optimist, I would suspect that they payed him to write that but it lacks the typical corporate double-speak and marketing/PR bullshit. So he's just delusional and in denial. Can't wait for all the "journalists" from such "respectable" sites like gamespot and IGN to kick the bullshit spewing campaign into high gear. They should provide us with an endless torrent of bovine fecal matter stating how X-Com has been improved.

 

[Jaedar]

Removing tedious game mechanics is good.

x-com just doesn't have any, which means they must be referring to removing good mechanics.

 

[Cassidy]

What is wrong with giving a shit about this and replaying the real UFO: Enemy Unknown instead?

Because doublespeak bullshit followed by most likely disappointment or at best mediocrity is what awaits. Remember that Firaxis already fucked up with their own Civilization series to adapt it for consoles.

 

[Marobug]

Hum...they did ? I was pretty sure civ 5 was pc only. The only console game they did was civ revolutions or something and it was a console exclusive.

 

[made]

Looks like a Civ5 mod with shitty console UI. No ty.

This reminds me, how did Ufo:ET turn out in the end? I remember following it while it was in beta but never ended up playing the finished thing. YT vids look very promising.

 

[Morgoth]

tedium and uninteresting mechanics.

This is basically everything you have to know about VD's design philosophy.

 

[Black]

Looks like a Civ5 mod with shitty console UI. No ty.

This reminds me, how did Ufo:ET turn out in the end? I remember following it while it was in beta but never ended up playing the finished thing. YT vids look very promising.

Extraterrestrials? I think there is an LP of it here on the Cockdex.

 

[Average Manatee]

Xcom is a great game and all but there was certainly a lot of tedious and uninteresting stuff. About half of it can be fixed with various mods but the other half pretty much requires a new game. Ship to Ship combat, shit (make the pun yourself). Needing to find the last unarmed alien and searching for hours, shit. Every mission after getting Blaster Bombs or Mind Control, shit. Grinding 30 missions to find one that has an alien commander who you need to finish the game, shit. Finicky as fuck LOS checks, shit.

I'm very gullible, but I'm going to operate under the assumption that at least one of the guys in the "I love Xcom" video actually enjoyed Xcom. In any case, even a subpar but playable TBS by codex standards would be a massive incline to '12 gaming and hopefully encourage publishers to support non-FPS games.

Screen shots look pretty ugly though.

 

[Marobug]

Looks like a Civ5 mod with shitty console UI. No ty.

How so ?

 

[Vault Dweller]

tedium and uninteresting mechanics

This is basically everything you have to know about VD's design philosophy.

Sick burn, old chap.

 

[Vault Dweller]

Xcom is a great game and all but there was certainly a lot of tedious and uninteresting stuff. About half of it can be fixed...

Fixed. Not cut. I hope you see the difference.

Ship to Ship combat, shit (make the pun yourself). Needing to find the last unarmed alien and searching for hours, shit. Every mission after getting Blaster Bombs or Mind Control, shit. Grinding 30 missions to find one that has an alien commander who you need to finish the game, shit. Finicky as fuck LOS checks, shit.

Ship to ship combat was a simple and abstract feature. It worked, but like any secondary feature it could be developed further. Searching for hours for the last aliens? Not in the first game which had smaller and more manageable maps. Same goes for the key aliens.

I'm very gullible, but I'm going to operate under the assumption that at least one of the guys in the "I love Xcom" video actually enjoyed Xcom.

You're very gullible indeed if you think that it matters.

 

[Average Manatee]

Fixed. Not cut. I hope you see the difference.

Ship to ship combat was a simple and abstract feature. It worked, but like any secondary feature it could be developed further. Searching for hours for the last aliens? Not in the first game which had smaller and more manageable maps. Same goes for the key aliens.

Xcom with all of those problems removed would be a better game. With some of them improved to the point that they were worthwhile it would be an incredible game, but I'll be just fine with "a bit better than Xcom".

You're very gullible indeed if you think that it matters.

The developer attitude towards developing a game has no bearing on its quality? By that logic Bethesda's next game surely has a 50/50 chance of being the next Arcanum, right?

 

[Spectacle]

I don't know how to spell it out but the similarities in (bad) art style are there. If you look at the clipart looking icons in Civ 5 after playing Civ 2 or Alpha Centauri it's enough to make one weep.

Firaxis just seems to full on suck when it comes to art style of any kind these days. They make the Toddler look like Fellini.

It's like they can't decide between realistic and cartoony graphics, so they try to do both at the same time.

 

[Infinitron]

Finding the last alien on the map:
Good solution: Alien is scripted to go berzerk when it's a sole survivor. It'll violently throw itself at your forces, going out in a blaze of glory (maybe try to nuke the entire area like the Predator?)
Bad (most likely) solution: Quest compass on all aliens

 

[Infinitron]

Far-fetched solution: Aliens actually try to slip out of the area and infilitrate the local communities. Maybe the cops might find them before they cause too much trouble. X-COM SWAT?
Don't let too many escape or they'll form an underground alien cult on Earth. Or maybe a UFO would come to pick them up. ET phone home!

 

[Vault Dweller]

Xcom with all of those problems removed would be a better game.

These so-called problems will be removed, Bethesda-style. We couldn't fix spears, so we removed them. And levitation was unbalanced, so we removed it too. And spell making. And...

With some of them improved to the point that they were worthwhile it would be an incredible game, but I'll be just fine with "a bit better than Xcom".

They are not talking about improving anything. They are talking about streamlining (making the game dumbfuck-friendly) , removing micromanagement, and getting rid of mechanics that would puzzle the aforementioned dumbfucks (goes hand in hand with streamlining).

The developer attitude towards developing a game has no bearing on its quality?

Not as long as developers have to sell features to publishers and keep them happy. What keeps them happy, you ask? Games that appeal to goatse-wide, casual audience. Games that have the complexity of Bejeweled.

By that logic Bethesda's next game surely has a 50/50 chance of being the next Arcanum, right?

Since Arcanum sold fuck all, I don't think we have to worry about it.