Turn-Based Tactics Phantom Doctrine - "tactical Cold War conspiracy thriller" by Hard West devs

[xmd1997]

New gameplay videos! Gotta say the game looks a hell of a lot more better looking compared to the Gamescome demo we saw last year. Hopefully, the final release will look and feel even better.

Strategic map and base gameplay.


Tactical mission gameplay.

 

[razvedchiki]

i hope the close ups when you shoot are optional.

 

[karoliner]

This looks really really good.

 

[Alienman]

That clue thing looks really interesting.

 

[Kacper Szymczak]

How do you plan to prevent that feeling building up in players in this game?
In Hard West, playing again same content was completely pointless as too many things were the same in next playthrough including on how to best do missions. Good Xcom like games were always games that you could play 100 times and feel like you almost got a new experience and new challenges to overcome.

Can't speak for the devs, of course, but there are many more variables that can be randomized than hit% and damage.
Level parameters, AI, mission goals, enemies, ... I'd kinda expect that.

Exactly that.

So for example:

• every campaign stage (a stretch of gameplay from 1 story mission to the next) defines groups of enemies that can appear; these are fed to the level and are placed at randomly selected patrol paths, ensuring the sneak-through path varies
• cameras are enabled/disabled at random (while maintaining a given ratio of danger)
• camera and laser switches are spawned at random (from a given set of positions)
• enemy agents may or may not appear (that's not random, but rather fed from the world map strategic enemy AI; you may wait until they're all in the place, or try to attack when all enemy agents are out doing other stuff somewhere else)
• if enemy agents are present, they'll become suspicious if you take out guards and start checking the spots where guards don't respond; they'll clear loot containers and reenable cameras as they go
• these very same agents could have been subject to brainwashing (by you) and that's the moment this is utilized
• your own agents might have been brainwashed and can turn on you - for example, when combat starts - and that usually messes up your plan quite interestingly
• the languages agents know affect the ability to distract enemies/civilians (and the languages that work on a given mission depend on where it takes place)
• loot and secrets are distributed at random across containers
• the level of preparation to level varies and affects the agents you can take, the ability to place supports (snipers etc), use disguises, reveal fog of war

These are the key modifiers, but there are more. Even in heavily narrowed down and scripted demo mission we presented the replayability was quite decent (ie. I'm still surprised by the new challenges that occur). So, compared to Hard West levels which were indeed very narrowly defined puzzles, this is way more organic and sandboxy.

 

[Kacper Szymczak]

i hope the close ups when you shoot are optional.

Definitely, yes. Thanks for the reminder, will make sure we didn't forget that checkbox.

edit: aight, there it is:

 

[LESS T_T]

 

[Infinitron]

 

[Freddie]

This looks like D1P but...

For a cost you can change their appearance, sex and even make them a false passport

Oh, fuck no.

Seriously though, hope this turns out to be as great as it appears.

 

[Kacper Szymczak]

For a cost you can change their appearance, sex and even make them a false passport

Oh, fuck no.

Seriously though, hope this turns out to be as great as it appears.

I'm gonna tell you a secret. Like, red pill - blue pill sort of secret.
Ready?

Ok, here it goes.
The new identity thing is character customization in a nice gameplay-relevant wrapper
Thing is: usually in games with customizable characters, you customize once, and that's it, you're done.
So having your agents get their identities compromised is mainly a way to give you a reason to get back to that customization screen.
The re-customization is totally skippable, btw. That is: when you click new identity is generated ie. a new portrait, nationality, name & surname, but you can just click revert and you get back to what you set previously and it still counts as new identity.
So there you have it. Now you're in the conspiracy (would insert illuminati logo here, but it's not in the forum emojis )

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Oh, fuck no.

Not really a big deal, this might even be handy from a pragmatic perspective of an agent runner.

EDIT: oh bugger, ninja-ed.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

The re-customization is totally skippable, btw. That is: when you click new identity is generated ie. a new portrait, nationality, name & surname, but you can just click revert and you get back to what you set previously and it still counts as new identity.

Wait what?

 

[Kyl Von Kull]

Now you're in the conspiracy (would insert illuminati logo here, but it's not in the forum emojis )

Well they’d hardly advertise on their own website.

I am very excited for your game.

 

[thesheeep]

The re-customization is totally skippable, btw. That is: when you click new identity is generated ie. a new portrait, nationality, name & surname, but you can just click revert and you get back to what you set previously and it still counts as new identity.

Wait what?

Yeah, that's a bit weird.
Should at least be a new name.

 

[Kacper Szymczak]

Yeah, that's a bit weird.
Should at least be a new name.

Yeah, well, forcing any customization options on the player would probably be weird too, so in case of doubt we usually go for the more approachable way.
More often than not immersive mechanics go against convenience, and crossing the line between cool emulation of reality and mundane simulation of reality is a shortcut to an unplayable game. So given the fact that devs tend to make games too hard (many reasons here) I prefer to make things easier/more approachable/up to the player, whenever we have doubts.

 

[thesheeep]

Yeah, that's a bit weird.
Should at least be a new name.

Yeah, well, forcing any customization options on the player would probably be weird too, so in case of doubt we usually go for the more approachable way.
More often than not immersive mechanics go against convenience, and crossing the line between cool emulation of reality and mundane simulation of reality is a shortcut to an unplayable game. So given the fact that devs tend to make games too hard (many reasons here) I prefer to make things easier/more approachable/up to the player, whenever we have doubts.

But we're talking about fake identities here (seemingly including surgery ), are we not?
There's always the real name (player picked) and the fake identity. I wouldn't want to have my char's real name taken away, but I don't see a reason to stick with the fake one if it is too hot. It is a disguise, nothing more.

Everyone has seen enough spy movies to know that you can't just stick around without changing anything about yourself.
New passport, new haircolor, new name, etc.

To just be able to stick with the same fake identity as before seems very weird and at least slightly immersion breaking.
I think forcing players to change something about a character's fake identity after the old one is getting too hot would add to the game. I'd even argue it would add to the connection one feels towards a character.

 

[Freddie]

For a cost you can change their appearance, sex and even make them a false passport

Oh, fuck no.

Seriously though, hope this turns out to be as great as it appears.

I'm gonna tell you a secret. Like, red pill - blue pill sort of secret.
Ready?

Ok, here it goes.
The new identity thing is character customization in a nice gameplay-relevant wrapper
Thing is: usually in games with customizable characters, you customize once, and that's it, you're done.
So having your agents get their identities compromised is mainly a way to give you a reason to get back to that customization screen.
The re-customization is totally skippable, btw. That is: when you click new identity is generated ie. a new portrait, nationality, name & surname, but you can just click revert and you get back to what you set previously and it still counts as new identity.
So there you have it. Now you're in the conspiracy (would insert illuminati logo here, but it's not in the forum emojis )

Well, I suppose it's not that easy on forums to know if someone is serious or not, especially in Codex of all places, so let me clarify, I was kidding. :D

Thanks for clarification, but this has looked like Day One Purchase for me from the beginning. Hope all goes well.

 

[Jarpie]

At least doesn't have that ugly overblown "HDR" style what Hard West had, which was very off-putting.

 

[xmd1997]

New gameplay video, showcasing how capturing enemy spies and evacing works.


As cool as those cutscenes are will we be able to skip them? Seems like they'll get old after a while.

 

[ArchAngel]

That music reminds me a lot of Hard West, some parts of it sound very similar or same.
I would rather they based music on popular spy movies happening in that era.

 

[Alienman]

When the cop got shot it sounded like the pain sound soldiers do in Silent Storm.

 

[veevoir]

That music reminds me a lot of Hard West, some parts of it sound very similar or same.
I would rather they based music on popular spy movies happening in that era.

So basically.. hire a Lalo Shifrin knockoff. After all he was THE man for good spy/thriller music in 70s-80s. Including Mission Impossible theme.

 

[Infinitron]

Here's another magazine article from last year:

 

[ArchAngel]

I hope this game releases at a different time than BT or PP, I don't want to choose which one to play first. I want to play them all !

 

[GarfunkeL]

Hard West was good and this looks damn interesting.