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drat. This game looks really cool. I will buy this as soon as it is available. Unlocks in two days. 
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Aug 12, 2018 08:04
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1stGear posted:The real question is why the plucky underdogs are named The Cabal and not the world-controlling shadow government. The Cabal origin story. By the time you finish researching all the mind control fuckery your organization is poised to take over EVERYTHING. Why else does it take place back in 1983? That's when THEY all started to REDACTED the REDACTED! It all makes sense. Now where is my cork board and red string... why is it not tomorrow yet
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Aug 13, 2018 14:35
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Comrades! A KGB agent lets play by PartyElite has been uncovered: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLYlTJPzqeE I am glad they have Russian language voice talent doing the agent comments at least in the early game. Price without discounts would be 39.99€. Early purchase discount seems to be 10% until the 28th and comes with soundtrack and digital artbook, and owners of Hard West can get another 5% off. GOG and Steam have similar prices as far as I can tell. Xbox One version has a 10-day delay, available August 24.
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Aug 14, 2018 06:03
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Anime_Otaku posted:Was the console version delayed? It’s supposed to be out on the 14th but it’s not on the Xbox store. Yeah, Xbox version will be out on 24th. Last minute fixes or something. PC version unlocks today in 6 hours.
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Aug 14, 2018 11:42
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Getting my butt kicked early on. Maybe I should try the Easy mode first to see if there's a difference. LOS feels definitely different from X-coms, which was my mistake. Old habits die hard. The agent customisation is nice. Could try a Mission Impossible-themed squad or something. If you could mod in agent photos later, that would be perfect. Ethan Hunt, James Bond, Jason Bourne and others need to join my team as soon as possible. Overall, the game feels like it could become something of a classic like Covert Action. A few bug fixes here and there would be good, but so far I haven't seen many problems.
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Aug 16, 2018 05:49
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The developers are working on the LOS issues. Should see an improvement soon. You can apparently change the difficulty setting within the campaign, no need to start over.
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Aug 16, 2018 06:34
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Phew. Managed to pull off a mission impossible. Feels good. Savescumming was necessary, can not imagine trying the ironman mode. Playing on medium difficulty. I can see where the criticisms for the game come from, but I like this. Once it begins to click it can be addictive. Saving often helps. Infiltration is the main phase, not just a prelude to a gunfight like in X-com 2. The similarities in the user interface can make one approach the game a bit wrong. If I have to shoot my way out I have hosed up already and maybe reloading a save is in order. The combat can be absolutely brutal. That said, extracting my agents in a hail of bullets was tense. Medkits and grenades are awesome to have and the blinding laser ability saved my skin. You really have to use the agent's skills to the fullest and keep an eye on the awareness stats. If the devs tweak the combat mechanics just a little, this game can improve a whole bunch. The potential is already there. Hoping for more updates in the next few days. They are listening to player feedback, so that's good. If someone is on the fence about buying the game, it will be on launch discount for a few more days. No haste. For me, the game is worth it, but your mileage may vary.
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Aug 16, 2018 11:38
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Ainsley McTree posted:The covert action vibe is what drew me in too. I love that game, and it’s a bummer that they’re apparently not interested in remaking it. This plays very differently from Covert Action, but has the ambience of a spy thriller. The music, the paranoia about double agents and all that feels so right. They seem to be tweaking the details according to player feedback to some extent, so we will see how this develops.
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Aug 16, 2018 17:16
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Yeah, the cover mechanics need tweaking. Fortunately the devs are working on it. I just had another mission where I got out by the skin of my teeth, carrying unconscious agents on the shoulders of everyone left active. drat this game feels good when you pull off an extraction like that. I can't stop humming the theme to mission impossible. 
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Aug 17, 2018 12:04
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Note to self, do not have your agents take cover beside cars when in combat. When shot, they can blow up. RIP. Lessons learned. The crash issues with hiding the bodies of enemy agents were already patched out, from what I've seen in the notes. I have not seen major bugs so far. Developer support after release has been excellent. For those thinking about buying the game, I can recommend it from my perspective. I've been enjoying it a lot. It looks like X-com but plays very differently. Cool spy game. Of course not everyone will like the same things.
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Aug 18, 2018 07:32
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Shenryyr is better than me at this game. This video is later in the campaign, so spoilers: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/298458110 Textbook spy missions. Judo chop!
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Aug 18, 2018 10:16
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Pirate Radar posted:I'm honestly disappointed that an agent's language proficiency only affects whether they get the "distract" ability. Yeah, language skills could be nice if you gathered intelligence with them from local informants or something. Seems like a wasted opportunity. The random events can be useful. One of my agents got the Loyal- perk from a stint in prison. I wonder, would it be a viable thing to abandon an agent on an extraction sometimes?  I must test this. (I am the worst handler).
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Aug 18, 2018 11:18
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Thank god you can change the agent's voice style in character customisation if you hate a particular one. Doesn't avoid the repetition though. I think you can mute them in options though? Not sure. edit: Yep, voice volume is in options. SlightlyMad fucked around with this message at 13:42 on Aug 18, 2018 |
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Aug 18, 2018 13:36
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The early game can be hard as balls since you lack silencers, skills, stats, decent guns and the actor perk. Once you have a disguised infiltrator you can often hang back with your other agents while your spy does spy stuff. Be patient, infiltration has no time limit. Keep the people on your roster armed at all times, they may walk into an ambush when you least expect it. If the fog of war is bothering you, NSA agents seem to come with heartbeat sensors and well-placed spotters are useful. Breaching a room with suppressed weapons is awesome. 
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Aug 18, 2018 14:27
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I am coming around to liking the line of sight and fire system. Sure, they can tweak it a little but learning better tactics goes a long way. Open lines of fire with multiple enemies shooting at you will gently caress you up, but ambushing from overwatch is god-tier since it triggers multiple times, depending on gun. The game works largely as intended, and some missions you will just lose. Some agents are...expendable.
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Aug 18, 2018 18:31
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The Twitch streamer Shenryyr's discord had some useful information about the chemical combinations. It's under Phantom Doctrine: discord.gg/zCvbu3q Someone made a spreadsheet of the bonus and malus combos. AMPEA->EPO->ARGOXY->Raloxifene->TST->XENOXY->AMPK->Albumin->IGF-1->DXAMPEA->Danazol->Mannitol->Anadrol->Bolasterone->Bolandiol->Cyclofenil ^ This combo produces roidmonster agents with bonuses of +139 Circulatory, +126 Sensory, +120 Respiratory and +103 Motoric. It's obviously not the only way to combine the effects well, but it's a good guideline.
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Aug 24, 2018 08:28
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Soldiers and spies using doping? More likely than you think. WW2 was the origin of many drugs in use today, and the modern day sports doping labs don't operate in a vacuum either. Endurance, muscles, performance, you name it. There are "unofficial" programs all over the world, and it ain't just for the Olympics.  "Those people" have their fingers in the pie, mark my words. But what do I know, I'm just a crackpot on the internet...
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Aug 24, 2018 09:27
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I had two agents KIA and one missing in that mission. You can consider the agents expendable if the mission is too hard. The campaign is long, early setbacks are ok. Generally, I find that accepting less than perfect mission results is more fun for me in this game. If you savescum a lot, it is just not as good fun as living with the losses. Makes you feel more like the consequences matter.
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Aug 25, 2018 12:11
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Seems like a feature, not a bug. A hard cap on hires would not make much sense anyways, it's better to be able to bring in extras.
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Aug 25, 2018 16:33
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Sooo, agent Brinkman. You say you were shot, almost died and missed the extraction? Now you show up back in base, hmm? Interesting. I have to keep a written list of my suspects. She is going to the top of it. The paranoid fear of double agents is well done in this game. I just saw Brinkman's photo pop up on an enemy agent too. Coincidence?
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Aug 25, 2018 17:54
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pedro0930 posted:Does gas grenade effect ever expire in a mission? It killed my agent from full health and a med kit worth of health. I believe it should expire in a few turns, but I think there are different types of gas grenades. How many hit points did your agent have to begin with?
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Aug 26, 2018 10:52
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Major Isoor posted:*Speaking of which, are medkits one-time use, or can they be replenished and reused on later missions, like lockpicks? You can reuse them on later missions.
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Aug 26, 2018 13:42
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Major Isoor posted:By the way, do off-map support agents who actually do stuff (like spotters and presumably snipers later on) get any experience for using their abilities, at all? Like, a spotter receiving a minor experience boost for each enemy spotted, or something? I'm at work right now so I can't check/compare before-and-after xp totals, although I don't recall seeing any icon/+xp for them, on the post-mission 'tactical team photo' screen. I don't think I've ever seen support agents get xp. For the economy management, crafting decoys and then selling them in the crew quarters screen nets a few hundred every few hours. Other craftables seem less profitable, but I haven't really checked the craft to sell ratio of prices in detail, so maybe you can find a better one. Always max out forging slots for cash. Selling guns and other  loot is good money, obviously, but given the amount of doping going on there really should be an option to sponsor a professional sports team and sell them the good stuff. 
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Aug 27, 2018 06:25
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Oh man, what a mission. I had to assassinate an enemy agent, so I send in my actor to scout. Turns out the enemy agent has: Survivor for extra HP, Fearless so she can't be suppressed, another perk that makes her survive an attack that otherwise would kill her, plus some other stuff. My two agents are low level, because they need the experience. They are up against a beast of an agent. What to do? So, I place my scout just outside the door to the enemy agent's office in the chemical plant, sneak the other shooter through the restricted area to the opposite door between guard patrols and do a silent breach with suppressed SMGs. Took every shot we had to mow down that tanky agent, but no alarms or anything. Suppressors rule. The enemy guards were nearby, but facing away from the action. Then we looted the room and exfiltrated without anyone knowing we were there. Textbook assassination. Using the whole team and not just the actor is more tense. I really hope the devs connect the language ability to the actor perk so that the enemy agents would sometimes ask a question in the local language when you get close and if you don't have the correct language you'd lose your cover. That would fix most of what's overpowered with the actor perk.
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Aug 28, 2018 06:34
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PirateBob posted:Isn't it a bit weird that the player characters can be total window haters without arousing any suspicion? I like that the spies can take shortcuts like the Kool-Aid Man. Oh yeah! If you maintain stealth you can keep the van ready in the extraction zone without compromise. Of course I just had some random civilian mess things up and had to shoot my way out after an otherwise smooth operation.
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Aug 28, 2018 11:24
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PirateBob posted:Thanks guys. Survivor keeps showing up pretty often, it's just that there are so many perks out there. Kids, don't drink and spy. After having some whiskey I misclicked and opened up combat right in the start of a base assault. Air strikes, enemy swarms, oh boy. Fought my way through it though, so maybe it was all ok in the end? This game is fun even when you gently caress up.
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Aug 29, 2018 15:03
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Shumagorath posted:I was itching for more XCOM 2 today so I'll definitely pick this up once the bugs are squashed. The game is good as it is, but it does not play that much like XCom. It is turn-based tactical, but different. It does its own thing and I love it. Phantom Doctrine is easily one of my favorite games.
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Aug 31, 2018 06:31
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PirateBob posted:Are Body Engineering treatments permanent? Is there a way to "reset" it? There is a "remove all" treatment later in the campaign, AFAIK.
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Sep 1, 2018 10:37
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There are situations when you might want to hold off solving the corkboard analysis, like when you're getting only pretty useless information out of solving them. The game unlocks new stuff in a gated fashion, so you could benefit sometimes from waiting until you do some mission. But it comes down to your preference really, in my opinion. Also, savescumming is not that necessary in my experience. Just roll with the punches and if you gently caress up, fight your way out. If you lose agents, remember their sacrifice and move on. Gives the game more impact when you don't reload. There should be a memorial wall or something. SlightlyMad fucked around with this message at 18:59 on Nov 26, 2018 |
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Nov 26, 2018 18:56
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itskage posted:Does this have controller support that I could play on steam link or? The store page claims "partial controller support" whatever that means. I tried since you asked, and it says the game was not designed to be played with a controller but you can play with one, just need to configure the controls. So, maybe?
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Dec 23, 2018 07:15
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When all else fails, resort to murder. I don't remember if the actor rebalance option can be turned off mid-mission or not. It's been a while since I played this game, but I'm going to start again today. This is such a good game, goddamn. Does anyone know if you can add your own photos to the list of mugshots by some modding magic?
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Sep 21, 2019 06:18
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Thanks for reminding me about mods; I found the mugshot modding instructions in the Phantom Doctrine modding guide. Now I can add Jason Bourne, James Bond and Ethan Hunt along with others to my game. Awesome! Just rename these pictures to 500_m_C.jpg, 501_m_C etc., like the modding guide shows. I tested these and they seem to work. Installation path of modded portraits: common\PhantomDoctrine\IWTB\Mods\CFG\Portraits Modding Guide: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vLb9X9oFMGL18Lu7yqkSwG0PJxNZgh9Sjmp7_ALLhmI/edit                
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Oct 13, 2019 07:57
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TotalLossBrain posted:So I picked this up because it had been on my wish list forever and it's only $12. However, I played 2 hours and requested/got a refund. That's unfortunate, I have been playing in 1920*1080 and have had no problems. Using the agents to analyse intel might still work with the bug, but the conspiracy board is a fun thing to play with. Glad your refund got through. Did you try windowed mode by any chance? If so, was there any difference? Discount is still on until Monday, 25 hours from now.
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Oct 13, 2019 16:43
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For anyone on the fence with today's discount on Steam (8€), I personally like this game a lot and would recommend it for spy fans. The usual caveats apply; not for everyone's tastes and some people have rightly complained about repetitive gameplay aspects here and there. I play the game once in a while so that I don't get so tired of the sneaking around. For 8€ I think it's worth it. Hell, I paid a lot more than that and got my money's worth.
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Apr 28, 2020 06:02
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Ainsley McTree posted:They've announced a sequel and it's...a third person action game? Well, I'm curious, anyway https://store.steampowered.com/app/1345450/Phantom_Doctrine_2_The_Cabal/ Hmm. 3rd person action does not appeal to me as much as the first game, but if they make the sequel even half as good as the original Phantom Doctrine, I will buy it no questions asked. Btw, if you're interested in spy movies, TENET is loving spectacular. Sci-fi, spies, heists, buddy movie and action blended to a unique mix. The writer/director Nolan is a treasure. I took the liberty to add the main characters portraits to my Phantom Doctrine mods. It is easy to do for yourself with the instructions earlier in this thread, so I won't include them here. Google a jpg portrait of your favorite spy character, rename the file as instructed and add to the mods folder. Once again, I am back playing this game. Goddamn I love it.
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Sep 5, 2020 07:41
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Thanks for the info. Company of crime looks somewhat interesting, the art style sure has a very classy 1960's feel to it. I am too busy at the moment to try out new games, but I will keep an eye on this one for now. I might fancy a game of cops and robbers, even though the spy genre is more my thing. Speaking of which, Phantom Doctrine 2: The Cabal is being developed by the same company in Poland that made the original Phantom Doctrine, but because of the sales of the first one were relatively low, the company lost many of their original staff and their CEO around 2019. Unfortunate. There's been some corporate restructuring since. It's a damned shame that PD isn't better known or more successful businesswise as a game franchise. If the second one turns up good, I will be very pleased. Judging from what information they've released so far, it's hard to say if it will be great or not. There is potential though. I will buy it on day one to try it out. I hope we get a release date announced sometime soon. I don't think it is very close, though. I really wish I had more time to play games.  Lately I've been only playing some of my favorites like Phantom Doctrine, Spelunky 1 & 2 and occasionally Elite Dangerous. Once the Odyssey expansion hits ED, I will be diving into that in a big way, but I will make time for PD2 when it arrives. Please be soon. If I were to have to wait until 2022 I would be even busier by then.
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Oct 3, 2020 10:35
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