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

[Mustawd]

 

[Assisted Living Godzilla]

Battletech is the one upcoming game that might reach somewhat similar number of games sold as nuXCOMs.

Only time will tell though.

Oh that's interesting, I didn't know they were the ones behind that game too. So it seems they've got a good relationship with Microsoft, since that's the second series of theirs they've used.

 

[Destroid]

I wonder of how much chaos reborn failure lead to this "reaching out for da big moneyz".(sub 200k on steamspy)
I guess i can't blame him after failing to make a financial sucess for years.
But with kicstarter he could have actually done something to cater to hardocre fans while making money.All he needed to do was lover the budget so that 2 million can get him something.The hardcore crowd doesn't care about graphics while nuxcom fans can never be pleased with sub aaa production values.
Oh and i guarantee a new xcom expansion will be coming soon to bury this game chance of success even more.

Also what is their angle on marketing this?
Game journalist are useless and streamers prefer more action titles or rts games compared to tbs.And if semi popular streamers that do play tbs games decide to play this,all they will get is probably just unfavorable comparison to nuxcom.

Chaos Reborn was never going to be a big financial success, but I'm sure it made a decent amount given the production costs and risks would have been extremely low given it's a remake of a simple game on Unity. That aside I doubt Julian has any money troubles living in Bulgaria and working senior positions on Ubisoft games for a lot of years. He's not some guy who disappeared out of the industry for decades trying to make a comeback.

 

[PanteraNera]

some one asked me how the people on the PP discord are, well a picture from there says more than a thousand words:

 

[Alienman]

Wow.

 

[Mustawd]

UnstableVoltage , I don't remember reading about this anywhere, but can you comment on the level creation?

1. Will it be more handmade levels, some randomization, or full randomization?

2. So far we've seen only one type of level, which is the coastal industrial haven type. Any ideas when we'll see some more varied levels?

 

[Jimmious]

My eyes.

 

[PanteraNera]

UnstableVoltage , I don't remember reading about this anywhere, but can you comment on the level creation?

1. Will it be more handmade levels, some randomization, or full randomization?

2. So far we've seen only one type of level, which is the coastal industrial haven type. Any ideas when we'll see some more varied levels?

here is a part of the answer:
https://phoenixpoint.info/blog/2017/11/28/haven-design-and-map-generation

The Demo-level was randomly generated and than tweaked by hand.

 

[Grotesque]

"
We have implemented a 'realistic ballistics' system which works in a similar way to the original X-COMs. It does make combat quite fun. Each bullet has a separate trajectory and damage whatever it hits.

• Snipers can make headshots against enemies who think they have good cover
• Heavies can unleash a hail of 12 bullets with their machine guns - but they are not likely to hit - but then they do frequently blow away any light cover
• Assaults fire a burst of 6 bullets normall, but 4 with overwatch, and 3 with return fire.

Range is a very significant factor with this system since there is an inverse square deterioration in accuracy with distance (as in real life).

For the interface, we have created a first person view with a couple of probability circles - one for 50% of shots expected, and one for 75% of shots. It allows the player to judge the enemies cover visually, and accurately.

It's simple and definitely makes fire-fights tense. There are some issues though

• Cover is basically WYSIWYG - therefore it is difficult to give the player much info about cover unless he is able to 'see' from different positions. There are no numbers worth displaying. A cover system similar to new XCOM doesn't work.
• It's would be difficult to give the player meaningful data about expected outcomes from an attack. We could show 'average expected damage' mayber, although it's not easy to calculate.
• Firing from a first person view all the time would slow the pace of the game. It's not important if the optimum target point is always calculated, but that's not easy. At the moment the player can adjust the precise firing position with the mouse (in the future, you would be able to click on a body part to aim at it, but that's only useful if your accuracy circle is not too big).
• Soldiers do crouch down next to low cover - but their precise pose is very important because it would determine how much of their body might be exposed above the top of the cover.
• Stepping out from cover to shoot exposes soldiers completely - to overwatch or return fire. A partial step-out pose may fix this. Similarly, popping up to shoot from low cover also exposes the soldier to return fire - again, maybe fixed by a special pose (depending on weapon).
• There is no simulation for the difficulty of shooting a moving target, which has always been something that bugged me about turn-based games. There may be a way to do this, but I don't know what it could be.

Overall, I like the visual/naturalistic feel of the shooting, but it might not be everybody's cup of tea. You can expect a video demo of it soon.
"


Gollop from august last year

 

[Mustawd]

UnstableVoltage , I don't remember reading about this anywhere, but can you comment on the level creation?

1. Will it be more handmade levels, some randomization, or full randomization?

2. So far we've seen only one type of level, which is the coastal industrial haven type. Any ideas when we'll see some more varied levels?

here is a part of the answer:
https://phoenixpoint.info/blog/2017/11/28/haven-design-and-map-generation

The Demo-level was randomly generated and than tweaked by hand.

Ahh, you're right. I forgot aobut that post.

Gollop from august last year

Cool.

 

[Stavrophore]

A free aiming camera with probability circle depending on the accuracy of the weapon. That would be awesome system, but its not really suitable for grid based move and cover system. What we have right now is the maximum that can be squished from this nuxcom alike system.

 

[Grotesque]

"[...] I am afraid I didn't get very far with either long war or long war 2 ti get a proper feel for either - except to appreciate that they have more stuff, more options, more missions, etc. I will probably remedy this at some point, but at this stage what we are doing with the strategic side of Phoenix Point is really quite different to the new XCOMs."

Gollop - Jully 2017

 

[Shog-goth]

Tbh we haven't seen anything of the strategic side yet, apart for few mockup screenshots. Maybe something should be done about this lack of detail at this point of development.

 

[Alienman]

See, statements like that combined with the recent videos makes me very confused... still. Will projectiles and cover actually act true to life, or will it be more like X-com 2? I don't understand. Like "Snipers can make headshots against enemies who think they have good cover" - Does that mean that even if enemies are visually protected from projectiles can the sniper still somehow score a headshot? If true, that means that skills by-pass the supposed simulated aspect of the game...

 

[Shog-goth]

 

[ArchAngel]

See, statements like that combined with the recent videos makes me very confused... still. Will projectiles and cover actually act true to life, or will it be more like X-com 2? I don't understand. Like "Snipers can make headshots against enemies who think they have good cover" - Does that mean that even if enemies are visually protected from projectiles can the sniper still somehow score a headshot? If true, that means that skills by-pass the supposed simulated aspect of the game...

It probably means that while cover protects main part of the body from assault rifle shots, sniper rifles allow you to target specific body locations and nothing prevents you from targeting their head that is not protected by low cover. Now with enough soldier's aim and not too far a distance you can hit enemies and cover will not help them.

 

[Assisted Living Godzilla]

I wonder of how much chaos reborn failure lead to this "reaching out for da big moneyz".(sub 200k on steamspy)
I guess i can't blame him after failing to make a financial sucess for years.
But with kicstarter he could have actually done something to cater to hardocre fans while making money.All he needed to do was lover the budget so that 2 million can get him something.The hardcore crowd doesn't care about graphics while nuxcom fans can never be pleased with sub aaa production values.
Oh and i guarantee a new xcom expansion will be coming soon to bury this game chance of success even more.

Also what is their angle on marketing this?
Game journalist are useless and streamers prefer more action titles or rts games compared to tbs.And if semi popular streamers that do play tbs games decide to play this,all they will get is probably just unfavorable comparison to nuxcom.

What are you talking about? Both XCOM and XCOM 2 are sub AAA production value. They are not good looking games. Visually I'd say XCOM:EU is probably just about on par with XBOX LIVE games like Shadow Complex and Iron Brigade, and animation wise (outside of the little alien intros) both the XCOMs are extremely lacking. You've got little indie games like Ruiner that look better than XCOM2. XCOM not looking good when it comes to designs, graphics, (but more design) and animations doesn't seem to be something that's stopped NUXCOM fans from playing it.

 

[Galdred]

See, statements like that combined with the recent videos makes me very confused... still. Will projectiles and cover actually act true to life, or will it be more like X-com 2? I don't understand. Like "Snipers can make headshots against enemies who think they have good cover" - Does that mean that even if enemies are visually protected from projectiles can the sniper still somehow score a headshot? If true, that means that skills by-pass the supposed simulated aspect of the game...

It probably means that while cover protects main part of the body from assault rifle shots, sniper rifles allow you to target specific body locations and nothing prevents you from targeting their head that is not protected by low cover. Now with enough soldier's aim and not too far a distance you can hit enemies and cover will not help them.

it makes sense for sniper to ignore cover:

Spoiler

Your usual wall or baricade won't be of much use against these.

 

[Grotesque]

 

[PanteraNera]

I wonder of how much chaos reborn failure lead to this "reaching out for da big moneyz".(sub 200k on steamspy)
I guess i can't blame him after failing to make a financial sucess for years.
But with kicstarter he could have actually done something to cater to hardocre fans while making money.All he needed to do was lover the budget so that 2 million can get him something.The hardcore crowd doesn't care about graphics while nuxcom fans can never be pleased with sub aaa production values.
Oh and i guarantee a new xcom expansion will be coming soon to bury this game chance of success even more.

Also what is their angle on marketing this?
Game journalist are useless and streamers prefer more action titles or rts games compared to tbs.And if semi popular streamers that do play tbs games decide to play this,all they will get is probably just unfavorable comparison to nuxcom.

What are you talking about? Both XCOM and XCOM 2 are sub AAA production value. They are not good looking games. Visually I'd say XCOM:EU is probably just about on par with XBOX LIVE games like Shadow Complex and Iron Brigade, and animation wise (outside of the little alien intros) both the XCOMs are extremely lacking. You've got little indie games like Ruiner that look better than XCOM2. XCOM not looking good when it comes to designs, graphics, (but more design) and animations doesn't seem to be something that's stopped NUXCOM fans from playing it.

*sigh* if only people did research before they talk about stuff they don't know shit about.

2K pumped all the money and resources needed to make its XCOM remake a triple-A, multiplatform release, developer Firaxis has said.

XCOM is an extremely ambitious and a big budget game, according to developer Firaxis. They said that they’ve been working on the game for almost four years, and they had the full support of 2K games who pumped in a lot of money in the project.

I played this when it 1st came out in 2012 and i'm still looking for ANY other game that has the same style of squad combat, custom made soliders and graphics. It hasn't ever gotten any better then this.

The visuals are great, although they are a little over the top.

The graphics aren’t the most visually stunning, but they are definitely pretty damn good and they paint a vivid picture. And the overall atmosphere is very engaging and well-designed. The eerie effects and soundscape produce a creepy and mysterious ambiance that is quite fitting to the theme of the game. For a game that focuses primarily on gameplay, the presentation is pleasantly high-quality.

I was quite surprised by the high level of presentation in regard to story cutscenes, voice acting, and things of that nature, considering that most tactics-based games usually have a very minimalistic approach regarding these aspects of a game. The music is also pretty amazing (particularly the squad selection track, which is my favourite).

I can't talk much about the graphics because I play on a crappy laptop and I'm not really the type of person who plays games for the graphics. But all I can say is that the graphics look great even when putting all the settings to "Low". It also runs decently on low-end laptops (like the one that I'm using).

What Firaxis did well, was the graphical style and presentation, XCOM offers the style of the first UFO games, while bringing it in the new era. Nothing extraordinaire for sure, but fitting graphics with the one or other really nice possibility to take a screenshot or enjoy the headshot with which your sniper eliminates this pesky alien.

+ Good voice acting and cut scenes.

Some unrelated extra's

Since i never play the X-COM classics before, i'm not the one who gonna spit on that game because of some lack of fidelity from the original series, which seems to be what people was most criticizing about.

XCOM: Enemy Unknown is the crown jewel of modern designed turn based tactical games.
Here you will not find a true sequel to X-COM, but you will find a good game nonetheless, even if it's in a totally different league. This is more like an evolution of a Final Fantasy Tactics, rather than UFO.

Overall - I absolutely LOVE this game and highly recommend anyone who played Xcom of the past or any tactical shooters. Turn based tactical shooters.

that one is my favorite :D

 

[Grotesque]

I must say it was refreshing seeing Gollop wiping the floor with Solomon's XCOM.
My hype is on the rise again.

 

[PanteraNera]

I must say it was refreshing seeing Gollop wiping the floor with Solomon's XCOM.
My hype is on the rise again.

That video is two years old, a lot has changed since than.
Time will tell.

 

[Grotesque]

I must say it was refreshing seeing Gollop wiping the floor with Solomon's XCOM.
My hype is on the rise again.

That video is two years old, a lot has changed since than.
Time will tell.

I don't know what drama went on their forums since then or what evidence there is to deduce that Gollop had a change of heart since that video was posted.
If someone has some information...

 

[PanteraNera]

I don't know what drama went on their forums since then or what evidence there is to deduce that Gollop had a change of heart since that video was posted.
If someone has some information...

Oh it's not about any drama.
It's all the little things that add up.
Things that you, I and others posted about in this very thread.

The whole controller-situation for example, Julian did a survey a year ago and has come to the conclusion to only focus on PC and not support controllers.
Now we learn that they are doing the UI with controllers in mind, so not optimized for PC. Also it's the opposite to what they said they will be doing.

Than the whole X-Com spiritual-successor thing, in interviews, on their official site, on the pitch you just posted on page 76, it sounded all very differently to XCOM 2 Julian Gollop Edition.

The features that should be incline, are nowhere to be seen, they started in what late 2015 with pre-production? Now we are in the year 2018, they want to release in 9 months, after what, two to three years development? And what can they show so far? Where is the 4x geoscape? Why don't they show things that are different from XCOM 2? All we got so far was a video of the graphical updates they did between their pre-alpha video on fig and now the PC Gamer weekend.

And that is the next point, graphics, they put so much time (money) in redoing the graphics (Crabmen, Crabqueen, Soldiers, Weapons). They have not the budget of a tripple A studio. I rather see the money spent in other aspects of the game.

The baker-alpha that will be delivered in April will only have some (random) tactical missions.

Also UnstableVoltage said that they aim to be a commercial success, that can mean anything, for sure not a "good game", or something "new" because new stuff is not save. It's safer to do what sold well already.

Honestly, if I had a saying in Snapshot Games, I would make sure to show all the good stuff I have, especially after the feedback they got after the PC Gamer Weekend which summarized basically to "lol moded XCOM2". But nope .


I am looking forward for PP to be released and see what the end product is like. But no way in hell I would recommend anyone to get hyped about it.

 

[Jimmious]

We can get hyped without your recommendation, thank you very much