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

[Zboj Lamignat]

I don't want to be the smug hindsight guy, but the moment they made that survey and asked about things like pod/los-activated enemy placement with straight face was the final threshold for realizing what this project is about (hint: not making a spiritual successor to the original UFO games).

 

[TemplarGR]

I don't want to be the smug hindsight guy, but the moment they made that survey and asked about things like pod/los-activated enemy placement with straight face was the final threshold for realizing what this project is about (hint: not making a spiritual successor to the original UFO games).

All crowdfunded nostalgia-bait projects are only about: Making money by exploiting your nostalgia. 90s kids and teenagers now grew up and miss their childhood, let's sell them some indie garbage and get their money, they have jobs now, they won't mind.

 

[Grotesque]

except this one did its early access on Epic and got paid in advance.

When will Epic learn that paying for exclusivity for the first year is like paying from their own pocket the beta-testing and balancing for the game?

 

[TemplarGR]

When will Epic learn that paying for exclusivity for the first year is like paying from their own pocket the beta-testing and balancing for the game?

When you become sober. That means never.

 

[ArchAngel]

except this one did its early access on Epic and got paid in advance.

When will Epic learn that paying for exclusivity for the first year is like paying from their own pocket the beta-testing and balancing for the game?

When they take enough of the market share from Steam.

 

[samuraigaiden]

except this one did its early access on Epic and got paid in advance.

When will Epic learn that paying for exclusivity for the first year is like paying from their own pocket the beta-testing and balancing for the game?

People love buying broken games on launch.

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

except this one did its early access on Epic and got paid in advance.

When will Epic learn that paying for exclusivity for the first year is like paying from their own pocket the beta-testing and balancing for the game?

When they take enough of the market share from Steam.

Have they taken any market share?

 

[Zboj Lamignat]

The moment they stop paying upfront to the developers and giving games away for free all the "epic is really great" sentiment will cease and the market share will largely go somewhere else. This is a pretty short sighted strategy for both the devs and epic. Gamers are just caught in the crossfire, as per usual.

 

[Grotesque]

When will Epic learn that paying for exclusivity for the first year is like paying from their own pocket the beta-testing and balancing for the game?

When you become sober. That means never.

 

[samuraigaiden]

The moment they stop paying upfront to the developers and giving games away for free all the "epic is really great" sentiment will cease and the market share will largely go somewhere else. This is a pretty short sighted strategy for both the devs and epic. Gamers are just caught in the crossfire, as per usual.

It's not shortsighted, it's a smoke screen. Epic's main business is the Unreal Engine. People often forget to factor it in when talking about their digital store strategy, as if the Epic store existed in a vacuum. Their strategy is multilayered and their success won't be measured exclusively by how much of Steam's market share they take.

 

[J1M]

btw their community manager UnstableVoltage left the company yesterday without a goodbye and we don't know the reason. And no official announcement yet, only their other devs said this in the discord

Would be weird if there was an announcement. You don't write a press release when you replace the cleaning lady or the electrician.

 

[flyingjohn]

btw their community manager UnstableVoltage left the company yesterday without a goodbye and we don't know the reason. And no official announcement yet, only their other devs said this in the discord

Would be weird if there was an announcement. You don't write a press release when you replace the cleaning lady or the electrician.

Hey,don't insult cleaning ladies by comparing them to community managers.

 

[Polanski]

So apparently the next big update "Cthulhu" is scheduled for release the 30th of July (my birthday (not relevant)).

You can see the tasks they are working on for the update here:

https://feedback.phoenixpoint.info/

You can also suggest and upvote tasks. Anything Codex like we need to make them implement?

 

[baud]

Anything Codex like we need to make them implement?

The art style from the fig campaign?

Spoiler

 

[Shog-goth]

You can also suggest and upvote tasks. Anything Codex like we need to make them implement?

Fun?

 

[ArchAngel]

Anything Codex like we need to make them implement?

The art style from the fig campaign?

Spoiler

Ask for something realistic.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Anything Codex like we need to make them implement?

The art style from the fig campaign?

Spoiler

Ask for something realistic.

The art style from the fig campaign?

 

[ArchAngel]

Anything Codex like we need to make them implement?

The art style from the fig campaign?

Spoiler

Ask for something realistic.

The art style from the fig campaign?

I meant something that can be realistically implemented at this point.

 

[Mazisky]

So, how the game changed since release? it is worth now?

 

[Iluvcheezcake]

So, how the game changed since release? it is worth now?

I'd say wait for the complete steam/gog edition by the end of the year.

 

[Shog-goth]

Phoenix Point v. Cthulhu 1.6 - 30/07/2020

Geoscape

Phoenix Bases

• The first base at the start of the game is the only Active one. Players need to locate and activate the rest of the Phoenix Bases.
  
  
• The remaining Phoenix Bases can be located after researching Phoenix Archives.
  
  
• Inactive Phoenix Bases need to be activated by paying resources.
  
  
• Inactive Phoenix Bases can be revealed to be Infected Bases upon activation. The percentages of a Phoenix Base being infected vary. If a Phoenix Base is covered in Mist then the chances of it being Infected are increased. The Infected Bases will have Pandoran enemies in them and need to be cleared out before they can be used.
  
  
• When a Satellite Uplink in a base is built or repaired it begins scanning with increasing range, revealing sites as it expands. Scavenging, Haven and Exploration Sites are located this way.
  
  
• When a base is attacked without soldiers, or not defended, the base is not destroyed. Instead, all the facilities in the base are damaged. The soldiers are not affected.
  
  
• Food Production facility now requires the “Fungal Food Production” research in order to unlock it.

Exploration

• Active Scanning has been removed.
  
  
• Reduced the number of overall sites on the Geoscape.
  
  
• Reaching a Haven will reveal nearby sites.

Pandoran Evolution

• Pandorans start off without any weapons or mutations. They now have their own research and evolution system that develops over the course of the game.
  
  
• Every time the Pandorans unlock a new stage in their evolution an event on the Geoscape will appear with detailed information about the new developments.
  
  
• Number of Pandoran Bases has been reduced. There is now a maximum concurrent number for each type of base.
  
  
• Pandorans unlock the building of Lairs and Citadels through their own research
  
  
• Dynamic difficulty has been changed so that it affects the rate of pandoran evolution, not the amount of enemies deployed.

Human population census

• ODI has been removed.
  
  
• Human Population Census has been added that will track the total population of humanity.
  
  
• Protecting Havens is more important as the player has to prevent the total human population from reaching a certain threshold (based on difficulty level).
  
  
• Reduced the total number of Havens in the Geoscape.
  
  
• Increased the rewards from successfully defending Havens.
  
  
• Haven facilities will break down if the population gets too low.
  
  
• Phoenix can assist havens by repairing their structures.

Tactical

Abilities

• Armor Break - reduced the cost from 4 WP to 3. Reduced the shred stat to 30. Shred is spread across each individual bullet.
  
  
• Rage Burst - Cost increased from 5 to 7 WP. Functionality reworked: Shoot 5 times spread across an arc with a direct-fire weapon.
  
  
• Adrenaline Rush - Dazes the unit next turn after using it.
  
  
• Rally the Troops - Renamed: Onslaught. Functionality reworked: An ally within 10 tiles recovers 2 Action Points.
  
  
• Electric Reinforcement - Armor bonus no longer stacks.
  
  
• Dash - Movement range reduced from 75% to 50%. Limited to 2 uses per turn.
  
  
• Mark for Death - Each hit from an attack or individual round gets +10 damage instead of 50% more.
  
  
• Reckless - Damage reduced from 30% to 20%.

Weapons

• Thor AML - reduced its damage.
  
  
• Gungnir SR-2 - slightly reduced its accuracy and Virophage damage.
  
  
• Pythagoras VII - slightly reduced its accuracy.
  
  
• Fury-2 - reduced its damage.
  
  
• Ragnarok - reduced its Shredding stat.
  
  
• Raven SR13 - reduced its accuracy and increased its damage.
  
  
• Jormungandr Cannon - reduced its Acid damage.
  
  
• Iconoclast - reduced its damage.
  
  
• Cyclops SR7 - slightly reduced its accuracy.
  
  
• Firebird SR - slightly reduced its accuracy.
  
  
• Mercy SG3 - increased its damage.
  
  
• Harrower - increased its damage.
  
  
• Deimos AR-L - slightly reduced its accuracy.
  
  
• Archangel RL1 - Increased its accuracy, range, damage and Shredding stat.
  
  
• Vyara SR - slightly reduced its accuracy.
  
  
• Bulldog AR-50 - slightly increased its accuracy and Shredding stat.
  
  
• Deceptor MG - increased its accuracy. Reduced its damage and Shredding stat.
  
  
• Nergal’s Wrath - slightly increased its accuracy.
  
  
• Scion of Sharur - increased its Viral damage.
  
  
• Uragan MG - increased its accuracy. Reduced its damage and Shredding stat.
  
  
• Dagon’s Tooth - increased its damage and the Bleeding it applies.
  
  
• Phoenix Shock Lance - increased its damage and significantly increased the Shock it applies.
  
  
• Athena NS-2 - reduced its accuracy and Paralysing stat.
  
  
• Kydoimos Grenade - increased its AoE radius.

Bug fixes

• Fixed a hang when an Overwatch shot hit a Mutog during its leap animation.
  
  
• Fixed an animation issue when an Overwatch shot hit a Pure soldier and disabled its shield arm.
  
  
• Fixed a hang when using the Induce Fear ability.
  
  
• Fixed a hang when a Mindfragger attempted to mind control a soldier with the Juggernaut head bionic.
  
  
• Fixed a hang after a Technician picked up its turret and entered the Panicked status afterwards.
  
  
• Fixed an issue where units will continue to be affected by Mind Control even if the unit controlling them has evacuated.
  
  
• Fixed some animation issues when throwing grenades.
  
  
• Fixed an animation issue when using the Jet Jump ability while gooed.
  
  
• Remove Mindfragger ability is executed faster now.
  
  
• Civilians will no longer die from Fire damage after getting evacuated.
  
  
• Fixed an issue where Scylla enemies dying from Bleed damage did not trigger their death animations.
  
  
• Fixed an issue where the Mist Sentinel didn’t apply its Preparing status when an enemy unit was near.
  
  
• Mist Sentinels will no longer use their mist ability when they are in the Dazed or Paralyzed status.
  
  
• Fixed an issue where the Advanced Nano Tech research would make units immune to the Acid damage type.
  
  
• Human enemies now have reinforcements in the appropriate mission types.
  
  
• Fixed an issue where Mind Control abilities would last a single turn on friendly haven defender units.
  
  
• Loading a save located in the Tactical layer will no longer restore the Stamina of all friendly units.
  
  
• Added a confirmation prompt for both options in the Containment section.
  
  
• Fixed an issue where the camera would focus more on the cover than the soldier’s shooting when entering a step out animation.
  
  
• Fixed an issue where the Standby ability couldn’t be used by units inside a vehicle.
  
  
• Fixed an issue where the L3 button on the gamepad didn’t open the correct character’s information.
  
  
• Fixed an issue where the Phoenixpedia couldn’t be navigated with a gamepad.
  
  
• Old Enemy, New Enemy event now shows the correct picture of the Forsaken faction.
  
  
• Fixed an issue where the Danchev Assault Rifle fired half a burst during Return Fire.
  
  
• Abilities that target Will Points will no longer have an effect on structures and units without the Will Power stat.
  
  
• Fixed an issue where the “Enemy Spotted” status icon would always show the Assault class icon.
  
  
• Retrieving a turret should now put it in the Ready Items slot instead of the Technician’s inventory.

 

[MadMaxHellfire]

the kind of patch log i expect from an early beta.

 

[Shog-goth]

the kind of patch log i expect from an early beta.

Major gameplay mechanics are reworked almost completely or (at least) just implemented, so technically speaking this is still an alpha. When (and, above all, if) will all be properly implemented, then we can talk about beta.

 

[valky667]

As long as thy send me my steam key after the alpha/beta stage, I shall not complain.
My expectations were probably way too high - pre-alpha UI looks like a child drew it in MS Paint Win3.1 edition = EGS release.

The patchlog is the best prove, that's literally a major overhaul of the whole game.
Oh, just checked my backer mail *nuff said* - 5 months to go.

Was so looking forward, but haven't even touched the game yet....

 

[jac8awol]

Well this is a major step in the right direction for me, since the patch notes seem to suggest they have overhauled exploration to make it more organic rather than the unholy leapfrog thing it was before. Maybe this game will turn out all right after all!