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Qwo posted:The older version looked way, way cooler and unique. Thanks, internet whinebags! Just what we needed: another generic Third Person Shooter! To be fair, the whinebags got exactly what they wanted: XCOM:EU. If 2K doesn't have a clue of what to do with the XCOM brand, that's their problem. Jake Solomon seems to know exactly what to do to satisfy his target audience (minus the fetid Slingshot DLC).
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# ? May 13, 2013 20:19 |
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# ? Apr 27, 2024 16:42 |
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Qwo posted:The older version looked way, way cooler and unique. Thanks, internet whinebags! Just what we needed: another generic Third Person Shooter!
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# ? May 13, 2013 20:19 |
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RentCavalier posted:Having finally gotten a chance to play this game, I have to say, its basically pure crack cocaine. How does anyone have jobs or families with this game? After the high comes the low: annoying to game-breaking bugs in both single- and multiplayer despite three patches with the magical fix stuck in console certification hell, a lack of maps with predictable spawn points, the last ~third of the game is a victory lap, the only praise Slingshot DLC gets is more hats, this is the interface, and Dr. Vahlen just won't shut the gently caress up. Even the ability to launch multiple interceptors is out, damnit, and I could do that in UFO: Enemy Unknown Now, once the bugs are fixed and a TFTD expansion is out... Welmu fucked around with this message at 20:32 on May 13, 2013 |
# ? May 13, 2013 20:19 |
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Orgophlax posted:New The Bureau trailer: http://www.joystiq.com/2013/05/13/being-a-bureau-dude-in-xcom-declassified/ So is that stuff with like the black goo aliens and the monoliths and blocky things not in anymore? I liked those.
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# ? May 13, 2013 20:22 |
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Mr. Pumroy posted:So is that stuff with like the black goo aliens and the monoliths and blocky things not in anymore? You may be the only one that liked the black goo aliens. Well, not the only one, I've seen others. But that stuff was met with such a massive negative backlash that they were more or less forced to go back to the drawing board and totally redo things.
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# ? May 13, 2013 20:36 |
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Dr. Video Games 0031 posted:You may be the only one that liked the black goo aliens. Well, not the only one, I've seen others. But that stuff was met with such a massive negative backlash that they were more or less forced to go back to the drawing board and totally redo things. I was one of those that were outraged. But then the true XCOM game came along and I couldn't give a drat about the fps. They could have the player fighting against an invasion of giant penises for all I care.
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# ? May 13, 2013 20:41 |
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My only problem with the black goo/monolith/blocky monsters that... well, they reminded me ALOT of Twilight Princess's twilight motif.
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# ? May 13, 2013 20:45 |
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A cover-based shooter I suppose makes for an interesting chance to explore the X-COM world. However, if we're dealing with an invasion by the same aliens in 1950, how is it that none of that information is readily available to you in X-COM regular? It would make more sense if we were facing another alien threat, but ah well. I haven't beaten X-COM or gotten further than the alien base mission, so maybe there's more in that plot that could answer for it. As is, a generic cover-based shooter could be fun, if only for the setting and the like.
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# ? May 13, 2013 20:52 |
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Andre Banzai posted:I was one of those that were outraged. But then the true XCOM game came along and I couldn't give a drat about the fps. RentCavalier posted:As is, a generic cover-based shooter could be fun, if only for the setting and the like. RentCavalier posted:However, if we're dealing with an invasion by the same aliens in 1950, how is it that none of that information is readily available to you in X-COM regular? I haven't beaten X-COM or gotten further than the alien base mission, so maybe there's more in that plot that could answer for it. The Bureau is never mentioned in X-Com. It's a complete retcon. Welmu fucked around with this message at 21:31 on May 13, 2013 |
# ? May 13, 2013 20:58 |
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Qwo posted:The older version looked way, way cooler and unique. Thanks, internet whinebags! Just what we needed: another generic Third Person Shooter! Is a cover based Third Person Shooter any more generic than a First Person Shooter about an invincible super agent who kills all the aliens on his own?
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# ? May 13, 2013 20:59 |
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Edmond Dantes posted:Just go Ironman Impossible, and give us a turn-by-turn rundown of your first game. Live if possible. Well maybe this evening if I get some work done! I know vaguely about the game series and stuff like "adjacency increases bonuses!" and "don't sprint straight at aliens" from the demo, so expect some one-month-wonders.
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# ? May 13, 2013 21:03 |
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Do we actually know anything about the plot of The Bureau, other than that it is xcom-related and you've got tommy guns and pip boys? I wouldn't be surprised, judging by the [REDACTED] nature of all of their marketing material, if they make some excuses for their information not being available to XCOM:EU's scientists. Then again, I've seen the Bureau described as "the organization that turns into XCOM," so really I have no idea, just some vain hope for continuity.
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# ? May 13, 2013 21:04 |
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Dr. Video Games 0031 posted:You may be the only one that liked the black goo aliens. Well, not the only one, I've seen others. But that stuff was met with such a massive negative backlash that they were more or less forced to go back to the drawing board and totally redo things. Eh. I feel like it was more due to the fact there was an XCOM label on the game and it was the ONLY XCOM game for people to play. But now that there's Enemy Unknown to salve the diehards it would be nice if they'd pursue their own vision rather than try to jam it into some nebulous continuity so that 60's era G-men go into firefights with the same Greys. Good lord even the medkit in that Kotaku article is just like the one in Enemy Unknown.
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# ? May 13, 2013 21:06 |
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Mr. Pumroy posted:Eh. I feel like it was more due to the fact there was an XCOM label on the game and it was the ONLY XCOM game for people to play. But now that there's Enemy Unknown to salve the diehards it would be nice if they'd pursue their own vision rather than try to jam it into some nebulous continuity so that 60's era G-men go into firefights with the same Greys. Good lord even the medkit in that Kotaku article is just like the one in Enemy Unknown. The stuff they had before was just really boring and uninspired, regardless of its attachment to the X-COM name. Nostalgia fueled a lot of the rage, but that stuff aside, the game they had just looked really drat dull. That alien design was awful.
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# ? May 13, 2013 21:10 |
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Well I'd expect more varied art than what was shown in the early promos, but it looked promising to me.. I just don't thing "more like Enemy Unknown" was the right decision to make.
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# ? May 13, 2013 21:12 |
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Muscle Tracer posted:Do we actually know anything about the plot of The Bureau, other than that it is xcom-related and you've got tommy guns and pip boys? I wouldn't be surprised, judging by the [REDACTED] nature of all of their marketing material, if they make some excuses for their information not being available to XCOM:EU's scientists. Then again, I've seen the Bureau described as "the organization that turns into XCOM," so really I have no idea, just some vain hope for continuity. There's really no viable explanation they can come up with, other than destroying all records, which makes zero sense. I've mentioned it before, but this takes place during the Cold War and the Bureau appears to be a purely US based organization. There is ZERO chance that any technology gained from invading aliens wouldn't have been used by the government in the Cold War effort. I'd guess they'd go so far as to say US scientists invented the technology to try and show the US as having better scientists.
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# ? May 13, 2013 21:12 |
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Synnr posted:Well maybe this evening if I get some work done! I know vaguely about the game series and stuff like "adjacency increases bonuses!" and "don't sprint straight at aliens" from the demo, so expect some one-month-wonders. You know you're being trolled, right? Ironman Impossible isn't a true XCOM experience, at least not for someone who's never played the game before. It's more like getting your team lined up for execution and watching the world go insane with panic really quickly while you're broke and can't do anything.
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# ? May 13, 2013 21:13 |
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Orgophlax posted:There's really no viable explanation they can come up with, other than destroying all records, which makes zero sense. I've mentioned it before, but this takes place during the Cold War and the Bureau appears to be a purely US based organization. There is ZERO chance that any technology gained from invading aliens wouldn't have been used by the government in the Cold War effort. I'd guess they'd go so far as to say US scientists invented the technology to try and show the US as having better scientists. I dunno, it depends on how things unfold. I can definitely see endings like "everyone dies" or "these aliens, while guided by the same force, are totally different from these new ones," or "it all got lost in a vault, Indiana Jones style." On the other hand, a satisfying ending that also maintains continuity, though, is not something I've been able to think of, much as I want to give them the benefit of the doubt.
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# ? May 13, 2013 21:19 |
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Keeshhound posted:Is a cover based Third Person Shooter any more generic than a First Person Shooter about an invincible super agent who kills all the aliens on his own?
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# ? May 13, 2013 21:34 |
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Andre Banzai posted:You know you're being trolled, right? Ironman Impossible isn't a true XCOM experience, at least not for someone who's never played the game before. It's more like getting your team lined up for execution and watching the world go insane with panic really quickly while you're broke and can't do anything. I dunno man, I had the vague impression the point of the previous games was to have that happen and fight it out. No way for me to tell!
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# ? May 13, 2013 21:36 |
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Muscle Tracer posted:I dunno, it depends on how things unfold. I can definitely see endings like "everyone dies" or "these aliens, while guided by the same force, are totally different from these new ones," or "it all got lost in a vault, Indiana Jones style." I don't expect a retconned crappy game with no clear vision to actually fit in with anything, so it's just something to ignore, like "My Girl 2". Really, having Sectoids and Mutons in it isn't enough to make it a real XCOM game. 2K just wants to cash in with the XCOM brand, that's all there is to it. Hopefully the game is good for those interested in it, but my only hope is that 2K doesn't force its retconned crap up XCOM:EU's metaphorical butt and manages to tarnish Solomon's work.
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# ? May 13, 2013 21:38 |
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Synnr posted:I dunno man, I had the vague impression the point of the previous games was to have that happen and fight it out. No way for me to tell! You're (almost) supposed to crash and burn your first few tries, but playing on impossible is likely to end up an exercise in frustration as the odds are so heavily stacked against you that the slightest mistake will quickly snowball into a huge catastrophe, especially in the first few months. I'm not saying it can't be done, I just don't think you'd have the most fun with that difficulty setting to start with. On normal, the game hiddenly cheats for you by limiting the AI and stealthily upping your troops to-hit chance after consecutive misses. Classic is the way to go, and Ironman forces you to live with your mistakes and plan moves more carefully instead of learning bad habits. Chess with guns, indeed. Welmu fucked around with this message at 21:49 on May 13, 2013 |
# ? May 13, 2013 21:39 |
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Classic also doesn't screw you over half as hard as Impossible does if you mess up and squadwipe/lose your best soldiers.
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# ? May 13, 2013 21:46 |
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Synnr posted:I dunno man, I had the vague impression the point of the previous games was to have that happen and fight it out. No way for me to tell! Classic Ironman is fair. You have exactly the right mindset for it, "fight it out". Just trust us on this one. I hope you spend a lot of time customizing your soldiers and growing really attached to them.
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# ? May 13, 2013 21:49 |
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I say start out on normal to learn the ropes and when you start to feel comfortable, up it to Classic. edit: Also, don't play on Ironman until you're appropriately experienced and want pain. Unfortunately, the game is extremely buggy, and most ironman games can't be finished because of bugs loving you over. Instead, play off ironman and just be honest with yourself about not reloading missed shots or dead soldiers.
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# ? May 13, 2013 21:53 |
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Welmu posted:You're (almost) supposed to crash and burn your first few tries, but playing on impossible is likely to end up an exercise in frustration as the odds are so heavily stacked against you that the slightest mistake will quickly snowball into a huge catastrophe, especially in the first few months. I'm not saying it can't be done, I just don't think you'd have the most fun with that difficulty setting. Ironman also forces you to deal with game-breaking bugs, though. Every time I have a pack clip through the map, or encounter pre-activated aliens, or lose a critical gambit due to nonsensical LOS/flanking bugs, I remember how thankful I am that I'm not playing on Ironman and can just step back. On Impossible, at least there are rules that decide how hosed you are, but on Ironman you can't even rely on that.
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# ? May 13, 2013 21:55 |
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Normal can teach some pretty bad habits though (using half cover,not using hunker down), meaning the jump up to classic difficulty can be a bit of a shock until you get used to it. e; I need to read more than just the immediately previous post sometimes
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# ? May 13, 2013 21:56 |
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Muscle Tracer posted:Ironman also forces you to deal with game-breaking bugs, though. Every time I have a pack clip through the map, or encounter pre-activated aliens, or lose a critical gambit due to nonsensical LOS/flanking bugs, I remember how thankful I am that I'm not playing on Ironman and can just step back. On Impossible, at least there are rules that decide how hosed you are, but on Ironman you can't even rely on that. As a workaround for terribad teleporting packs, immediately upon noticing said bullshit forcibly close X-Com, relaunch, and reload. Usually works well enough, though admittedly less than ideal. Goddamn bugs keeping Beaglerush from updating as well Welmu fucked around with this message at 22:06 on May 13, 2013 |
# ? May 13, 2013 22:03 |
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Welmu posted:As a workaround for terribad teleporting packs, immediately upon noticing said bullshit forcibly close X-Com, relaunch, and reload. Usually works well enough, though admittedly less than ideal. Goddamn bugs keeping Beaglerush from updating as well Honestly, even the "gently caress you you're dead" bugs like LOS and teleportation I can deal with, because they can be worked around most of the time with a hasty retreat. But things like disappearing packs that make an otherwise-won mission unwinnable are just unacceptable to me.
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# ? May 13, 2013 22:07 |
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Welmu fucked around with this message at 22:12 on May 13, 2013 |
# ? May 13, 2013 22:09 |
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Dr. Video Games 0031 posted:I say start out on normal to learn the ropes and when you start to feel comfortable, up it to Classic. I agree with this, maybe committing yourself to never load the game if you get screwed and it's your fault could be the best course of action. But I maintain the recommendation to play on Classic. Dr. Video Games 0031 seems to be a very nice individual who cares a lot for your well-being. That's really cool. But I defend the thesis that the true XCOM experience should make you swear in despair, and actually fear to make your move. My girlfriend had to stop playing it because she was too afraid to WALK FORWARD with her soldiers after a couple of very tense missions.
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# ? May 13, 2013 22:10 |
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Synnr posted:Well maybe this evening if I get some work done! I know vaguely about the game series and stuff like "adjacency increases bonuses!" and "don't sprint straight at aliens" from the demo, so expect some one-month-wonders. No, seriously, jump into normal, beat normal, then go into Ironman Impossible. The thing about going straight to Impossible like this is that you really don't understand the game enough yet to appreciate why you're dying so horribly. It's not as fun (or funny) when your reaction is just "well, poo poo..."
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# ? May 13, 2013 22:11 |
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Welmu posted:Are you sure? I ran X-Com in offline mode for a few days at launch and when I went online, BAM!, achievements unlocked. Actually, I got the Edison achievement while offline & it never gave it to me when I went back online so I had to do it again on my Classic run. I have encountered 2 achievement bugs so far.
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# ? May 13, 2013 23:42 |
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I feel that some of the new people are having the difficulty hyped up for them a little. The key thing to remember if you flick ironman on is this: The ONLY lose condition in the entire game is if a rather large number of council members leave, meaning that you can only lose the game in the geoscape. It is entirely possible to finish the game just fine by throwing rookies armed with the latest gear at each mission and if more than one of them comes out that's bonus. People tend to focus on the battlescape because that's where 90% of the tactical fun is had, but here is a brief breakdown on what happens when you under perform in both sections. Battlescape: Dead soldiers - future battlescape missions more difficult, Geoscape more difficult due to recruitment eating at funds Loss of alien materials - limits production abilities, can make future battlescape missions more difficult. Rising Panic - Panic management on geoscape more difficult, but still manageable outside of impossible Loss of abduction/council mission bonuses - The biggest threat of the battlescape, makes geoscape much more difficult Geoscape: No money - The squad will be under equipped and the base will stagnate and be unable to grow, making both areas insanely difficult No research - battlescape becomes much more difficult, to the point at which fortune over tactics decides victory No abduction control(abduction missions do not occur in a continent with full sat coverage) - Panic management much more difficult Nations leave council - low funding, geoscape more difficult(loss of continent bonus), only game loss condition. At the end of the day, the geoscape influences the battlescape much more heavily than the other way around, and in addition the geoscape houses the games only lose condition. If you are new to the game, try and get a feel for the geoscape quickly and you would be surprised at how much you can recover from.
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# ? May 14, 2013 00:25 |
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X-COM is all about what you want it to be. Its narrative and story is what you, the player, make in your head. But beyond that, there's a lot of trade-off decisions you make while throwing in the fork of the RNG. But honestly, there's nothing stopping you from playing this in a style you prefer (the modding community is just warming up on this I think). If you want to play it like a meat-grinder where dozens of soldiers die with little thought, so be it (probably not going to get very far I'd guess though). If you want an ultra-tense, high-stakes game of RNG chess, do Ironman Impossible. If you want to have a bunch of men and women in neat looking suits and weapons blowing away aliens, go ahead and
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# ? May 14, 2013 00:34 |
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Qwo posted:The older version looked way, way cooler and unique. Thanks, internet whinebags! Just what we needed: another generic Third Person Shooter! Right. This article puts it very well: http://www.pcgamer.com/previews/the-bureau-xcom-declassified-preview-why-this-isnt-the-xcom-i-wanted/ I don't know why they have changed it so much when most of the tears were because Enemy Unknown hadn't come out and it using the XCOM name so prominently. They're adjusted the name situation and made the game look far less interesting.
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# ? May 14, 2013 00:38 |
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necrobobsledder posted:If you want to play it like a meat-grinder where dozens of soldiers die with little thought, so be it (probably not going to get very far I'd guess though). You'd be surprised. I completed my first ironman run(classic) by throwing rookies with the latest hardware at the problem(It was also my first slingshot run and I lost my a team to it). It took a while, but eventually I had a couple survive long enough to build up a story mission team and blitzed through to the end.
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# ? May 14, 2013 00:51 |
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Andre Banzai posted:I agree with this, maybe committing yourself to never load the game if you get screwed and it's your fault could be the best course of action.
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# ? May 14, 2013 01:04 |
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Mr. Pumroy posted:Well I'd expect more varied art than what was shown in the early promos, but it looked promising to me.. I just don't thing "more like Enemy Unknown" was the right decision to make. I mean holy poo poo it's not like XCOM: The FPS was a slam-dunk megahit waiting to happen, so rolling out a 3rd person cover shooter that has even fewer original ideas than the FPS seems like a real bad idea to me. The preorder bonus is icing on the cake. An extra mission for a game whose quality of gameplay and storytelling are completely unknown because it got flamed off the face of the Earth for 2 years by the very demographic it was meant to attract? Are you kidding me?
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# ? May 14, 2013 03:34 |
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# ? Apr 27, 2024 16:42 |
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FoolyCharged posted:At the end of the day, the geoscape influences the battlescape much more heavily than the other way around, and in addition the geoscape houses the games only lose condition. If you are new to the game, try and get a feel for the geoscape quickly and you would be surprised at how much you can recover from. Regarding my earlier rundown of the difficulty, I maintain that my assessment is perfectly reasonable when you're taking Classic into account. You can probably get away with more gently caress-ups on Normal, but it's very easy to get jammed into a slow lose loop on Classic if you never come back with full numbers from your missions, or putz around researching things without a clear idea of what you need on the ground. This is very unique to XCOM among strategy games - the vast majority of strategy games will tolerate early mistakes quite well. XCOM will NOT tolerate losing your first Captain to Thin Man fire very well at all, nor will it tolerate aimless early researching or dragging your feet on base expansion/satellite launching. It's also not going to tolerate more than one or two Condition Blacks. I'd agree that I wouldn't play on Ironman with the current state of the bugs, though. Which is sad, because I love Ironman games.
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# ? May 14, 2013 03:35 |