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

[Grampy_Bone]

Ha, this is basically Terror from the Deep, plus headcrabs from Apocalypse.

I also like how it has per-bullet damage and the ability to free-aim and shoot through walls.

 

[Jasede]

Those are great things but they come in one ugly package.

 

[jazzotron]

Does the enemy respond to noise independently etc. or is it the pod activation + free move of nuXCOM games.

 

[ArchAngel]

Does the enemy respond to noise independently etc. or is it the pod activation + free move of nuXCOM games.

All enemies are active on the map, they just don't know about your presence there from round 1 and do their own thing instead. Once they are alerted they will change their priority to murdering you.

 

[Grampy_Bone]

So far the whole "pod" concept doesn't seem to be a thing, but the cover system and map design in general feel a bit more haphazard and less polished than nuXcom. it also has those very large movement distances so enemies can pretty much close from across the map in a single round.

Still it seems like they took the framework of nuXcom but ditched the retardo simplification. Hmm, let me manage my own action points between movement and shooting? What a concept.

 

[holla_cabezas_de_mierda]

Does anyone else find the UI kind of ... "phonelike"? I got annoyed just playing the tutorial. Huge windows, huge text, most of the interface is mouse only, and can't remap the keyboard? I have no idea if the game itself is even fun yet as the UI is pushing me away.

its obviously for retarded couch gamers to sit on their smelly fart sofas and play with their controllers

 

[holla_cabezas_de_mierda]

Does anyone else find the UI kind of ... "phonelike"? I got annoyed just playing the tutorial. Huge windows, huge text, most of the interface is mouse only, and can't remap the keyboard? I have no idea if the game itself is even fun yet as the UI is pushing me away.

I talked about game made for tablets/phones. Basically what I said about new developers who grew up with cell phones and can't imagine proper interface, that applies to Phoenix Point as well.

also the generic looking apples, airplanes, "guy running" to indicate an exit etc...used for the UI is fucking horrible and reminds me of being at an airport or a baseball stadium looking for a toilet and is very jarring and not at all immersive. Not sure WTF they were thinking.

 

[Xeon]

Is there any benefits to helping out independent havens? Do they also offer special research and units I mean. I restarted to try and be as neutral as possible while also trying to helping out everyone to try and max their rep and have access to all their research. But the independent haven I found wants me to help a prisoner escape from Anu so that probably will cost me a lot of reputations if I accept.

 

[Yaar Podshipnik]

The more I play PP, the more glaring is the fact that this is not a finished game, and that people making it don't really care much about it. Compare and contrast to Xenonauts 2, which is not released yet and looks better already.

• both games have plenty of art that looks placeholder - except X2 is not released yet, and those placeholders are clearly labeled as such
• both games don't allow you to rebind controls
• PP gives better indication of whether you're in cover or not, ala nuxcom. In X2 you have to judge this by yourself. imo PP is better in this regard, it's nice QOL.
• Both games have nice, rotatable 3d maps and soldiers
• you can't zoom in X2, which is a shame, as the art looks nice (but that prob saves the devs for having to do too much details). You can zoom in PP but why would you, everything is so fucking hideous.
• PP is nuxcom style AP, X2 is good old ufo:eu style
• PP displays nicely on the ground how far you can move and still fire, this is a very nice QOL feature that X2 lacks
• PP also indicates at which enemies you will be able to shoot at from your destination. Another QOL that should be implemented in x2
• you can deploy way more soldiers in x2, so the whole thing feels more like ufo:eu meat grinder
• you can move multiple soldiers at a time in x2, while in PP you have to wait for the movement animation to finish before you do anything with another soldier
• maps in x2 feel much bigger than in pp
• no direct-fire (VATS-style) in X2
• in X2 you have your familiar research tree progression, while in PP it seems you're stuck at same level forever, and only get lots new research when you ally with a faction
• PP aliens are quite original, x2 not so much

So, tl;dr X2 lacks some really nice QOL features, but feels more polished and labour-of-love than PP. PP is more to the riff of nuxcom, while X2 is firmly ufo:eu thing. PP is hidious, X2 looks very nice and stylised. Here's a brief let's play of 1st mission in X2, so you can see some art:

Spoiler

Mind, I love tactical games but I really suck at them.

Whole thing on imgur: https://imgur.com/a/CvB8Bnw

 

[Falksi]

Sounds like I'll wait until they release an expansion in a year or so which actually makes it a full game worth playing.

 

[Spockrock]

some people in this thread are either delusional or just don't care about XCom in general.

if you need to scratch that XCom itch, PP is absolutely worth playing. it's not a bad game, it's just not much better than XCom Apocalypse, when it should be. this should have been the true XCom 4 -- the Dreamland Chronicles we never got, but it seems Gollop decided to play it safe and instead focus on making a solid basic multiplatform XCom game first. if this game does well, I'm sure he will make an expansion or a sequel that takes chances with basic concepts.

personally, I think this game is better than the two Firaxis games, and it's better than Xenonauts, FWIW.

 

[Yaar Podshipnik]

I'm not saying the game is bad (read my long post earlier in the thread). I'm saying this game feels unpolished and incomplete. It's certainly fun to play (so far), with my biggest gripe being not with the mechanics but with UI and art style (not the quality of the execution of the style, the style itself). Gameplay trumps graphics, and gameplay in PP is quite nice, X-Com 1 from firaxis on release level.

 

[ArchAngel]

The more I play PP, the more glaring is the fact that this is not a finished game, and that people making it don't really care much about it. Compare and contrast to Xenonauts 2, which is not released yet and looks better already.

• both games have plenty of art that looks placeholder - except X2 is not released yet, and those placeholders are clearly labeled as such
• both games don't allow you to rebind controls
• PP gives better indication of whether you're in cover or not, ala nuxcom. In X2 you have to judge this by yourself. imo PP is better in this regard, it's nice QOL.
• Both games have nice, rotatable 3d maps and soldiers
• you can't zoom in X2, which is a shame, as the art looks nice (but that prob saves the devs for having to do too much details). You can zoom in PP but why would you, everything is so fucking hideous.
• PP is nuxcom style AP, X2 is good old ufo:eu style
• PP displays nicely on the ground how far you can move and still fire, this is a very nice QOL feature that X2 lacks
• PP also indicates at which enemies you will be able to shoot at from your destination. Another QOL that should be implemented in x2
• you can deploy way more soldiers in x2, so the whole thing feels more like ufo:eu meat grinder
• you can move multiple soldiers at a time in x2, while in PP you have to wait for the movement animation to finish before you do anything with another soldier
• maps in x2 feel much bigger than in pp
• no direct-fire (VATS-style) in X2
• in X2 you have your familiar research tree progression, while in PP it seems you're stuck at same level forever, and only get lots new research when you ally with a faction
• PP aliens are quite original, x2 not so much

So, tl;dr X2 lacks some really nice QOL features, but feels more polished and labour-of-love than PP. PP is more to the riff of nuxcom, while X2 is firmly ufo:eu thing. PP is hidious, X2 looks very nice and stylised. Here's a brief let's play of 1st mission in X2, so you can see some art:

You are wrong in some of these points.

• both games have plenty of art that looks placeholder - except X2 is not released yet, and those placeholders are clearly labeled as such

It is not placeholder, it is just kind of ugly.

PP is nuxcom style AP, X2 is good old ufo:eu style

Not true. PP uses same system as old UFO, it is just that all actions are put into groups of 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% of your max TU. Old UFO has a bit more variation and you could have 40% and similar kind of actions. I don't see this as a problem, it makes it more usable for new players while still allowing free movement and other stuff.

in X2 you have your familiar research tree progression, while in PP it seems you're stuck at same level forever, and only get lots new research when you ally with a faction

You get some new items that you can research from your own tree like grenades and shotguns. Maybe more later.

 

[Trash Player]

PP is nuxcom style AP, X2 is good old ufo:eu style

Not true. PP uses same system as old UFO, it is just that all actions are put into groups of 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% of your max TU. Old UFO has a bit more variation and you could have 40% and similar kind of actions. I don't see this as a problem, it makes it more usable for new players while still allowing free movement and other stuff.

This is a very misleading statement. PP has a more fluid action economy than XCOM's essentially move-and-attack one but isn't really a simulationist system like the UFOs and the cargo cults are.
You use superhero powers to gain extra actions and such afterall.​

 

[Grampy_Bone]

Pretty much every game nowadays has the last 20-30% shaved off and packaged as DLC. It's the stupid "Minimum Viable Product" consultant culture.

Doesn't make it defensible but that's how it is.

 

[Black]

that people making it don't really care much about it.

Why would they, they already got both the Fig and Epic money.

 

[Galdred]

that people making it don't really care much about it.

Why would they, they already got both the Fig and Epic money.

I doubt it is enough for retirement.

 

[Alienman]

Maybe if you retire Saddam style in a hole.

 

[PhantasmaNL]

 

[ArchAngel]

PP is nuxcom style AP, X2 is good old ufo:eu style

Not true. PP uses same system as old UFO, it is just that all actions are put into groups of 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% of your max TU. Old UFO has a bit more variation and you could have 40% and similar kind of actions. I don't see this as a problem, it makes it more usable for new players while still allowing free movement and other stuff.

This is a very misleading statement. PP has a more fluid action economy than XCOM's essentially move-and-attack one but isn't really a simulationist system like the UFOs and the cargo cults are.
You use superhero powers to gain extra actions and such afterall.​

Perks that give you abilities on top of everything is another layer and nothing to do with base TU system. Perks also cost Willpower which is a new think in PP (new for both Xcoms).

 

[fantadomat]

From what i have seen the game is fine.

 

[DeepOcean]

There are a few things I heard so far that I like, multiple bases, faction choices, enemies just don't wait for you forever, multiple squads per map, you actually need to load ammunition and guns on your dudes, so far, this seems like an attempt of fixing the worst popamole weaknesses of XCOM without completely going 100% homage like Xenonauts. The bad stuff seems like bugs, repetitive maps and lack of content but this can be fixed with time. Seems like a solid base for a decent X-COM clone that after a few patches and the directors cut edition will become decent enough to play.

Yeah, it is a glitchy, bug ridden X-COM clone that will be fixed and seems to be decent enough but what I'm really wanna know is why should I play this? I mean, sure, they took Firaxis XCOM and turn it somewhat less popamole, that is something, but how isn't this just another X-COM clone? Is this just a total conversion mod for XCOM? I mean, I was excited as fuck as I followed this game on the begining, read all the short stories (really well written by the way) and got excited by how they described the thing being a desperate struggle to fight against a Cuthulu alien virus, the game seemed like a horror themed desperate struggle against the unknown.

Last time I was truly terrified with a X-COM game was with Terror from the Deep and I wanted that again, this seemed so cool with enemies coming from the ocean and you having to both defend on land and eventually hit places on the ocean floor with enemies that mutated on a creepy way to match your skills and guns but then things deteriorated and in the end the game looked more and more like a XCOM total conversion . I mean, I know the argument of people that are desperate for more XCOM games but I'm not that impressed after Open X-COM, Xenonauts, Firaxis XCOM and other clones. I expected a X-COM inspired game with something unique not just a total conversion with improved mechanics for Firaxis XCOM.

How is the campaign progression of this game? Does it get anywhere near to what was promised on kickstarter?

 

[Grampy_Bone]

Dude sounds like a whiner.

Couple valid points--
-Bad tutorial - I agree, the tutorial has you doing dumb things like intentionally taking fire so it can show you how to use med packs.
-Unwinnable missions - agree, this is frustrating and should be fixed
-Crashes and bugs. I haven't seen them but that sucks.

Retarded idiocy:
-My guy got shot and can't fight anymore - welcome to xcom. Don't get shot
-Enemies have mind control - welcome to xcom. kill those guys asap
-Wah my dudes are generic with no tragic backstory or romance options wah wah wah - welcome to xcom, don't get attached to anyone

Potential valid complaints:
-slow animations. Fixable
-Lack of high-end research. He didn't play all the way but it does look like they cut some high end weapons to make them DLC, which is lame

Verdict: git gud, welcome to xcom.

 

[ArchAngel]

Eh I got into easy raid area for resources mission vs aliens and I lose two guys.. Fucking Crab man showed up with super heavy armor and headcrabs managed to jump on two of my men.
This was a B team and didn't have good items yet. Also the game fucked me with wrong description, I took the perk that says PDW weapons get +20 damage but idiots meant +20%.. so I was surprised that I could not do shit vs 30 armor

Now I am switching back to pistols and snipers..

 

[geno]

I accidentally discovered a cheap way to earn exp for 1 soldier. If you load a ship just with a vehicle and one unit and you get ambushed while exploring, just enter the vehicle with your unit and finish the mission: my solider gained 4 levels in a single mission with this trick. Probaly it will fixed in the next patch.