Fedora Master
STOP POSTING
- Joined
- Jun 28, 2017
- Messages
- 31,753
UFO was never "hardcore" and the success of nu-COM was totally unexpected by Firaxis.
UFO was never "hardcore" and the success of nu-COM was totally unexpected by Firaxis.
Long War of the Chosen beta 2 released!
Long War 2
It's been a while since beta 1, but the wait is finally over: beta 2 is here!
The release notes have a link to the download along with important information about upgrading and what has changed.
What's changed since beta 1?
A lot! See the release notes for full details. Some of the highlights include:
I expect that many folks will be horrified by the idea of no Headshot on the Lost, but it has been tested extensively and for most folks (so far) has proved more interesting than the vanilla behaviour. I would be interested to know how Rookie and Veteran players fair with it disabled, because ideally we'd have the same behaviour on all difficulties. See the release notes for information on how to enable/disable Headshot in config.
- Regular soldiers now have a pistol slot and the pistol abilities work
- The old LW2 Smash and Grab mission is back, so you will now get a mix of that and the Supply Extraction mission
- Headshot on The Lost is now disabled by default on Commander and Legend difficulties (configurable in INI)
- You can enable a campaign Advanced Option so that you can purchase multiple class abilities at the same rank (this is blocked by default to prevent XCOM power creep)
- Reapers, Skirmishers and SPARKs now have laser and coilgun variants of their primary weapons
What is Long War of the Chosen?
A port of Long War 2 to the War of the Chosen expansion. Check out the FAQ for more information.
Why isn't it on Steam Workshop?
We're using a custom version of the Community Highlander. Progress has been made in getting those changes into the highlander itself, but it takes time. The highlander impacts everyone who uses it, not just those playing LWOTC, so changes have to be reviewed and tested. In the long run, it benefits both LWOTC and all other mods that make use of the highlander.
What more needs to be done?
There are plans to rework the Chosen so they fit the Long War mechanics better without introducing a lot of unevenness to the game's balance. They're likely to be weaker, but more disruptive and harder to kill in tactical missions. They are also more likely to favour captures and intel extraction rather than killing XCOM soldiers: remember, their ultimate goal is to defeat you, so finding the Commander is priority number one.
We also want to reintroduce Sit Reps. Not sure exactly how they will work, but I currently favour having Sit Reps that change how the tactical missions play out, without necessarily making them noticeably easier or harder for XCOM.
At some point, we would also like to add in some of the new WOTC missions into the pool.
Lastly, faction soldiers are likely to undergo more balance changes.
Need a hand?
Absolutely! Coding help is always appreciated, but here are some other tasks that really help move the project along:
If you'd like to help, join the Long War of the Chosen Discord Server. If you'd like to simply provide feedback, you can do that here, on Discord, or on the Pavonis Interactive forum.
- Creating models for things like faction soldier laser and coil guns
- Language translations, since we're changing various bits of text in the game
- Verifying reported bugs on GitHub, checking that they're reproducible and so on
- Play testing! Particularly by players who play on Rookie, Veteran or Commander. Most balance feedback currently comes from Legend players
Good luck commanders!
is this better than regular long war 2 yet?Beta 2 for Long War : WOTC is out (with download link)
Long War of the Chosen beta 2 released!
Long War 2
It's been a while since beta 1, but the wait is finally over: beta 2 is here!
The release notes have a link to the download along with important information about upgrading and what has changed.
What's changed since beta 1?
A lot! See the release notes for full details. Some of the highlights include:
I expect that many folks will be horrified by the idea of no Headshot on the Lost, but it has been tested extensively and for most folks (so far) has proved more interesting than the vanilla behaviour. I would be interested to know how Rookie and Veteran players fair with it disabled, because ideally we'd have the same behaviour on all difficulties. See the release notes for information on how to enable/disable Headshot in config.
- Regular soldiers now have a pistol slot and the pistol abilities work
- The old LW2 Smash and Grab mission is back, so you will now get a mix of that and the Supply Extraction mission
- Headshot on The Lost is now disabled by default on Commander and Legend difficulties (configurable in INI)
- You can enable a campaign Advanced Option so that you can purchase multiple class abilities at the same rank (this is blocked by default to prevent XCOM power creep)
- Reapers, Skirmishers and SPARKs now have laser and coilgun variants of their primary weapons
What is Long War of the Chosen?
A port of Long War 2 to the War of the Chosen expansion. Check out the FAQ for more information.
Why isn't it on Steam Workshop?
We're using a custom version of the Community Highlander. Progress has been made in getting those changes into the highlander itself, but it takes time. The highlander impacts everyone who uses it, not just those playing LWOTC, so changes have to be reviewed and tested. In the long run, it benefits both LWOTC and all other mods that make use of the highlander.
What more needs to be done?
There are plans to rework the Chosen so they fit the Long War mechanics better without introducing a lot of unevenness to the game's balance. They're likely to be weaker, but more disruptive and harder to kill in tactical missions. They are also more likely to favour captures and intel extraction rather than killing XCOM soldiers: remember, their ultimate goal is to defeat you, so finding the Commander is priority number one.
We also want to reintroduce Sit Reps. Not sure exactly how they will work, but I currently favour having Sit Reps that change how the tactical missions play out, without necessarily making them noticeably easier or harder for XCOM.
At some point, we would also like to add in some of the new WOTC missions into the pool.
Lastly, faction soldiers are likely to undergo more balance changes.
Need a hand?
Absolutely! Coding help is always appreciated, but here are some other tasks that really help move the project along:
If you'd like to help, join the Long War of the Chosen Discord Server. If you'd like to simply provide feedback, you can do that here, on Discord, or on the Pavonis Interactive forum.
- Creating models for things like faction soldier laser and coil guns
- Language translations, since we're changing various bits of text in the game
- Verifying reported bugs on GitHub, checking that they're reproducible and so on
- Play testing! Particularly by players who play on Rookie, Veteran or Commander. Most balance feedback currently comes from Legend players
Good luck commanders!
WOTC was a good DLC and added a lot of cool systems in the game.
It's a LOT of shit for me to write.
The factions and their upgrade trees, the Chosen (even if they are cartoony, they add a new element in the game), the Lost/zombies which require a different approach, new alient types, new missions, the bonding system, changes in the strategy layer... A lot of stuff
Neither Chosen or Lost were good additions. New missions were OKish, new UI and engine improvements were good. New classes completely OP. Overall it made the game even more cartoonish and easier.It's a LOT of shit for me to write.
The factions and their upgrade trees, the Chosen (even if they are cartoony, they add a new element in the game), the Lost/zombies which require a different approach, new alient types, new missions, the bonding system, changes in the strategy layer... A lot of stuff
Neither Chosen or Lost were good additions. New missions were OKish, new UI and engine improvements were good. New classes completely OP. Overall it made the game even more cartoonish and easier.It's a LOT of shit for me to write.
The factions and their upgrade trees, the Chosen (even if they are cartoony, they add a new element in the game), the Lost/zombies which require a different approach, new alient types, new missions, the bonding system, changes in the strategy layer... A lot of stuff
Enemy Within made Xcom 1 easier but this was even worse. I am afraid what kind of DLC they will make for Xcom 3.
XCOM2 vanilla was shit, LW2 was shit, only WotC made the game worthwhile to play for me.
Yes we understand, you like big explosions and colorful games full of cartoon level villains. Go play Diablo 3 next.XCOM2 vanilla was shit, LW2 was shit, only WotC made the game worthwhile to play for me.
Yeah fuck you if you like fun stuff in your games, you should play SERIOUS GAMES ABOUT ALIEN INVASIONS
Oh yeah, now I remember. Selfies for soldiers and inter soldier romances... Yeah...
I'll stick to Open XCom.
Yeah which I thought was a shame at the time. XCOM 2 did a great job of riding that line between realism and cartoonishness.
If anything a few steps towards realism would have hit a sweet spot for me.
....openxcom's piratez is even more over the top than anything wotc added.
Wotc (and Xcom 2 to some extent) switched too much into the classic 12 rated movie with cartoony villains. There is no horror anymore, it feels more like G.J Joe\Action Man\Ninja Turtles.
That's the same identical issue i had with the Diablo 2>diablo 3 transition.
Other than that, Wotc is a really big and cool expansion which enhance a lot an already awesome game.
If the cartoony villains alone are enough to consider a game bad, i suggest you guys to not play videogames at all.
Wotc (and Xcom 2 to some extent) switched too much into the classic 12 rated movie with cartoony villains. There is no horror anymore, it feels more like G.J Joe\Action Man\Ninja Turtles.
That's the same identical issue i had with the Diablo 2>diablo 3 transition.
Other than that, Wotc is a really big and cool expansion which enhance a lot an already awesome game.
If the cartoony villains alone are enough to consider a game bad, i suggest you guys to not play videogames at all.
Or, you know, play the huge amount of games that don't have aesthethics designed for 12 year olds...
Wotc (and Xcom 2 to some extent) switched too much into the classic 12 rated movie with cartoony villains. There is no horror anymore, it feels more like G.J Joe\Action Man\Ninja Turtles.
That's the same identical issue i had with the Diablo 2>diablo 3 transition.
Other than that, Wotc is a really big and cool expansion which enhance a lot an already awesome game.
If the cartoony villains alone are enough to consider a game bad, i suggest you guys to not play videogames at all.
Or, you know, play the huge amount of games that don't have aesthethics designed for 12 year olds...
That's why you stick to Ufo-defense: Mutons straight out of a marvel comic and Guile looking soldiers. Very adult aesthetic!
The original is my favourite game of all times, but i never played it because of its visual.
Wotc (and Xcom 2 to some extent) switched too much into the classic 12 rated movie with cartoony villains. There is no horror anymore, it feels more like G.J Joe\Action Man\Ninja Turtles.
That's the same identical issue i had with the Diablo 2>diablo 3 transition.
Other than that, Wotc is a really big and cool expansion which enhance a lot an already awesome game.
If the cartoony villains alone are enough to consider a game bad, i suggest you guys to not play videogames at all.
Or, you know, play the huge amount of games that don't have aesthethics designed for 12 year olds...
That's why you stick to Ufo-defense: Mutons straight out of a marvel comic and Guile looking soldiers. Very adult aesthetic!
The original is my favourite game of all times, but i never played it because of its visual.
You are taking the expression of my preference very personally friend. If you enjoy WOTC power to you. I mean I was loving your post up until the last line where you suggested I should stop playing games because I don't enjoy watching childrens cartoons.
I do think you are mixing up FUN and CLASSIC pulp sci-fi design (original xcom) for legitimate power rangers mood destroying shittiness (those WOTC cinematics) though.