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XCOM: Enemy Unknown (COMBAT DETAILS PT2!) *UPDATE 01/26/2012

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Posts

  • Jam WarriorJam Warrior Registered User regular
    The only part of that that required multiple bases was radar coverage, and I belive that is still being covered under the new game, just via satellite rather than bases.

    But then why on earth I am spending time responding you after that last line you posted I really don't know.

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  • The EnderThe Ender Registered User regular
    The only part of that that required multiple bases was radar coverage, and I belive that is still being covered under the new game, just via satellite rather than bases.

    But then why on earth I am spending time responding you after that last line you posted I really don't know.

    Nope, you still needed multiple bases in order to effectively shoot down supply ships & raid them, as well as keep your tech competitive in harder difficulty settings. And I don't know what your problem with my last line was. You don't agree that there's a perception that console gamers enjoy less cerebral gaming experiences that PC gamers?


    With Love and Courage
  • Captain_BrianCaptain_Brian Registered User regular
    The Ender wrote:
    The only part of that that required multiple bases was radar coverage, and I belive that is still being covered under the new game, just via satellite rather than bases.

    But then why on earth I am spending time responding you after that last line you posted I really don't know.

    Nope, you still needed multiple bases in order to effectively shoot down supply ships & raid them, as well as keep your tech competitive in harder difficulty settings. And I don't know what your problem with my last line was. You don't agree that there's a perception that console gamers enjoy less cerebral gaming experiences that PC gamers?


    Based on what limited info we have so far, you will be able to build "hangar bases" around the world to protect regions and intercept ufos.

    As far as tech and manufacturing, having it in 1 base makes no difference. Hell, people actually always bring up wanting to be able to have their different science bases collaborate and have a singular research screen, which this does that.

    Captain_Brian-ashsig.jpg
  • Iron WeaselIron Weasel Dillon! You son of a bitch!Registered User regular
    Wow, the plasma fire effect looks really nice in that second screen shot.

    I think Jean is fucked.

    Currently Playing:
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  • Skull2185Skull2185 Registered User regular
    New screenshot:

    20120112125915_GasStation_ShotHUD_03.jpg


    Wow, the thin man actually looks kinda creepy.

    I think I'm starting to "get" this whole XCOM thing. Looking at this screen a few days ago I would have thought that the soldier had the drop on the alien. But I'm fairly confident that the soldier is proper fucked.

    What are the odds that they want to get the FPS out before they release this one?

    Everyone has a price. Throw enough gold around and someone will risk disintegration.
  • Mr.SunshineMr.Sunshine Registered User regular
    45% chance to hit the alien. 55% chance to hit the gas pump.

    Open fire.

  • KhavallKhavall British ColumbiaRegistered User regular
    The Ender wrote:
    The only part of that that required multiple bases was radar coverage, and I belive that is still being covered under the new game, just via satellite rather than bases.

    But then why on earth I am spending time responding you after that last line you posted I really don't know.

    Nope, you still needed multiple bases in order to effectively shoot down supply ships & raid them, as well as keep your tech competitive in harder difficulty settings. And I don't know what your problem with my last line was. You don't agree that there's a perception that console gamers enjoy less cerebral gaming experiences that PC gamers?


    Based on what limited info we have so far, you will be able to build "hangar bases" around the world to protect regions and intercept ufos.

    As far as tech and manufacturing, having it in 1 base makes no difference. Hell, people actually always bring up wanting to be able to have their different science bases collaborate and have a singular research screen, which this does that.

    Having it all in one base does make a difference if there's a limit on manufacturing and research available. Like, if your base if infinitely expandable, or manufacture is possible to still shop out, then it's fine. But if it just means that you can only have a hard limit of 100 scientists and 100 engineers if you want a good number of soldiers and interceptors in your only base then it does make a difference.

  • ThemadcowThemadcow Registered User regular
    If you've only got one base then... base defence takes on a whole new level of importance.

  • DisrupterDisrupter Registered User regular
    edited January 2012
    Couple things:

    A lot of people keep saying that without the TU you cant move out of cover, throw a nade or shoot, then get back into cover. But from the looks of the screenshots, you will be able to do these things FROM cover. I mean, that guy in the last shot is clearly able to shoot while peaking around the cover, but he will still "take cover" when the aliens fire.

    This is a major improvement that the cover system allows. Your probably dont have to just walk into a building anymore to see whats in there, you can likely just peak around the corners. I know this makes things less "dangerous" but lets face it, it was annoying that I had to walk into a room, then turn left/right to see what was in there.

    Secondly, "Thin Men" look WAY better in that second shot. Honestly, I have NO IDEA why they released those first screens. Everything since has been 100 times better.

    Third, upgrading the amount of soldiers. Is this likely done by upgrading your transport craft? I would assume so?

    I dont need 20-30 soliders. That shit became tedius in the old game. I mean, I liked having that many because it would allow my guys to get a higher rank, but actually using them in combat was a pain. Also, I hope they take the "squad" mechanic from apoc. So I can keep groups together via squad. And possibly even do "squad movement" but I doubt the latter will be in based on the new action system.

    Also, they say there is move/shoot or move/move, but is there shoot/shoot? I mean, if I am behind cover, and two aliens are all up in my grill, I hope I can shoot them both in their faces.

    As for multiple bases. It depends how skyrangers/interceptors work. I mean, if a UFO is in Russia, and my base is in the US, intercepting that isnt reasonable. Launching from Europe would be far more reasonable, and that is how I would have rolled in the original. Expanding to a new base was a big moment in XCOM. You felt like you were making real progress for the first time. You got the feeling of "oh shit, now I got THIS continent locked down too. What YOU got, aliens?"

    So far everything I've seen really seems like a modernized xcom, and that is awesome. Xenonauts looks good, and Ill probably buy it, but that really just looks like an xcom remake rather then an actual, modern sequel.

    Disrupter on
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  • AxenAxen My avatar is Excalibur. Yes, the sword.Registered User regular
    Is it wrong that all this X-Com talk is making me want to play Silent Storm? Because I am totally going to play Silent Storm.

    A Capellan's favorite sheath for any blade is your back.
  • ZxerolZxerol for the smaller pieces, my shovel wouldn't do so i took off my boot and used my shoeRegistered User regular
    I totally was thinking of Silent Storm too brosef.

    It's a shame that game's engine was used for fuck-all.

  • enc0reenc0re Registered User regular
    45% chance to hit the alien. 55% chance to hit the gas pump.

    Open fire.

    Prime grenade. At least take half the city block down with the fuckers when your low-PH end comes.

  • enc0reenc0re Registered User regular
    Disrupter wrote:
    Also, they say there is move/shoot or move/move, but is there shoot/shoot? I mean, if I am behind cover, and two aliens are all up in my grill, I hope I can shoot them both in their faces.

    I'd expect that to be a perk.

  • Mustachio JonesMustachio Jones jerseyRegistered User regular
    Zxerol wrote:
    I totally was thinking of Silent Storm too brosef.

    It's a shame that game's engine was used for fuck-all.

    It's also a shame that it reaches stupid levels of dumb. Otherwise it was a damn solid game that didn't get enough attention.

  • ZxerolZxerol for the smaller pieces, my shovel wouldn't do so i took off my boot and used my shoeRegistered User regular
    edited January 2012
    Zxerol wrote:
    I totally was thinking of Silent Storm too brosef.

    It's a shame that game's engine was used for fuck-all.

    It's also a shame that it reaches stupid levels of dumb. Otherwise it was a damn solid game that didn't get enough attention.

    Oh no doubt. I never actually finished the game, and I think you can guess exactly where I stopped. Fuck you Nazi battlemechs. You go to hell and you die.

    But hell of a combat engine though.

    Zxerol on
  • AxenAxen My avatar is Excalibur. Yes, the sword.Registered User regular
    Zxerol wrote:
    Zxerol wrote:
    I totally was thinking of Silent Storm too brosef.

    It's a shame that game's engine was used for fuck-all.

    It's also a shame that it reaches stupid levels of dumb. Otherwise it was a damn solid game that didn't get enough attention.

    Oh no doubt. I never actually finished the game, and I think you can guess exactly where I stopped. Fuck you Nazi battlemechs. You go to hell and you die.

    But hell of a combat engine though.

    I normally ran the mod that removed all those things from the game. Still, the first time a shot went wild and hit the oil drum inside a warehouse and the whole God damn thing went in in a ball of flames taking the nazi fucks with it. Well, needless to say my smile was quite grand. :D


    That is something I hope we see in this new X-com. Like that screenshot above for example, if shooting that gas pump doesn't result in a crazy Hollywood style explosion I will be disappointed.

    A Capellan's favorite sheath for any blade is your back.
  • The_TuninatorThe_Tuninator Registered User regular
    edited January 2012
    My main issue with only 4 soldiers to start with is that this clearly indicates lethality is way down early game. You could lose that many soldiers on a mission as a matter of course in X-COM.

    I don't doubt that things will get much more lethal later on, but if you can only have 4 guys on a mission to start with there's simply no way things can devolve into huge bloodbaths, as you don't have enough troops for it.

    The_Tuninator on
  • KlykaKlyka DO you have any SPARE BATTERIES?Registered User regular
    edited January 2012
    Or maybe the lethality is still there in higher difficulties and you just need to be more careful?

    And again, look at those screens. A LMG will do up to 5 damage. The soldier has 6 HP.
    You can't tell me that the Alien's gun is going to do less than 3 damage. Probably up to 5 too. That's 2 shots for one of your guys to go down.
    They could also puke acid on you, which I am sure will not just do 1 damage or something.

    The one thing I DO think, which explains the HP numbers, is the cover system. I believe that when your guys (or the enemies) are in cover, they can still be hit but the cover provides a defence bonus.
    So if a shot would do 4 damage, the cover reduces it to 3 or 2, depending on what you are hiding behind or the roll that was made.

    Also, your guys taking a few more hits, cover being important and only having 4 dudes, means that actual proper tactics and positioning are very important.
    I think the Aliens will have a lot of very mobile troops, like the leaping Thin Men and the quick running Sectoids, so your tactics need to be focused on moving up in a way so your guys won't get surrounded/flanked.
    Compare that to the old X-COM where it was basically just "ok this alien can see him, he is dead, reload". It's just a different style and I like it.

    Klyka on
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    lTDyp.jpg
  • ThemadcowThemadcow Registered User regular
    Silent Storm was probably even better than X-com for blowing the living bejeezus out of the environment. I didn't even realise there were sequels until I just checked the Wiki entry. Such a shame it was marketed so ineffectively.

  • DisrupterDisrupter Registered User regular
    As someone who loved Xcom and enjoyed (but didnt joygasm over) Jagged Aliance. I have no idea how I never played Silent Storm.

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  • HyperAquaBlastHyperAquaBlast Registered User regular
    My main issue with only 4 soldiers to start with is that this clearly indicates lethality is way down early game. You could lose that many soldiers on a mission as a matter of course in X-COM.

    I don't doubt that things will get much more lethal later on, but if you can only have 4 guys on a mission to start with there's simply no way things can devolve into huge bloodbaths, as you don't have enough troops for it.

    Wiping out on first missions is a good way to lose any new audience this game might bring in. X-com's ways may have been super cool back in the mid 90s on a PC but no way will that fly now.

    Unless you market this solely to Demon/Dark Souls players.

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  • KadokenKadoken Giving Ends to my Friends and it Feels Stupendous Registered User regular
    Wouldn't it be great if the thin men have a floating fetish?

  • Iron WeaselIron Weasel Dillon! You son of a bitch!Registered User regular
    My main issue with only 4 soldiers to start with is that this clearly indicates lethality is way down early game. You could lose that many soldiers on a mission as a matter of course in X-COM.

    I don't doubt that things will get much more lethal later on, but if you can only have 4 guys on a mission to start with there's simply no way things can devolve into huge bloodbaths, as you don't have enough troops for it.

    Wiping out on first missions is a good way to lose any new audience this game might bring in. X-com's ways may have been super cool back in the mid 90s on a PC but no way will that fly now.

    Unless you market this solely to Demon/Dark Souls players.
    This is a good point.

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  • AxenAxen My avatar is Excalibur. Yes, the sword.Registered User regular
    Disrupter wrote:
    As someone who loved Xcom and enjoyed (but didnt joygasm over) Jagged Aliance. I have no idea how I never played Silent Storm.

    You really should. I mean the story is what'ev and for the love of everything sacred and Holy turn off voices, but the gameplay was ace.

    Though if you do end up playing it I can recommend a certain mod that removes some particular things from the story.

    A Capellan's favorite sheath for any blade is your back.
  • Warlock82Warlock82 Never pet a burning dog Registered User regular
    So I tried to go back and play the original X-Com last night. Apparently it doesn't run correctly under Windows 7 :( Something about DirectX causing video to not display. Tried installing that patch someone posted earlier in this thread on my Steam version but the installer on that was confusing - there was no confirmation that I was actually hitting "Yes" or "No" to the fifty million things it wanted to install (and jesus, enough random gameplay changes? No, I don't want to cheat, stop asking me for things like "better starting bases" and shit. All I wanted were the better sounds and any bug fixes)... I eventually just wiped the directory and re-installed from Steam because I had no idea what the patch was doing. Though I wonder if it maintained some of the stuff because the screams on the Steam version sounded correct to me. I may have to see if I can find a comparison to make sure.

    Anyways, it has been too long since I played I guess. I was doing pretty bad. Forgot how horrible the UI is. Game *really* needs some kind of mouseover to tell you what all the buttons do in the combat portion (I eventually figured them all out again, but only after mis-clicking a bunch :P). It's also very sensitive and I wasted more than a few TUs due to misclicks (trying to click something else but still having the guy selected so he moved to that spot instead). After I lost all but one guy in my first combat thing, I gave up and decided I was better off watching a Let's Play again instead to refresh myself :) Had to go find the one I originally watched because the first hits on youtube had some really annoying dude talking over the intro movie and I didn't want to sit through that guy for the whole video.

    Switch: 2143-7130-1359 | 3DS: 4983-4927-6699 | Steam: warlock82 | PSN: Warlock2282
  • ThemadcowThemadcow Registered User regular
    edited January 2012
    Back in the day we had doorstop sized manuals for that kind of shizzle. Mouseover tooltips? Pah, I spit on thee.

    Themadcow on
  • MechMantisMechMantis Registered User regular
    Warlock82 wrote:
    So I tried to go back and play the original X-Com last night. Apparently it doesn't run correctly under Windows 7 :( Something about DirectX causing video to not display. Tried installing that patch someone posted earlier in this thread on my Steam version but the installer on that was confusing - there was no confirmation that I was actually hitting "Yes" or "No" to the fifty million things it wanted to install (and jesus, enough random gameplay changes? No, I don't want to cheat, stop asking me for things like "better starting bases" and shit. All I wanted were the better sounds and any bug fixes)... I eventually just wiped the directory and re-installed from Steam because I had no idea what the patch was doing. Though I wonder if it maintained some of the stuff because the screams on the Steam version sounded correct to me. I may have to see if I can find a comparison to make sure.

    Anyways, it has been too long since I played I guess. I was doing pretty bad. Forgot how horrible the UI is. Game *really* needs some kind of mouseover to tell you what all the buttons do in the combat portion (I eventually figured them all out again, but only after mis-clicking a bunch :P). It's also very sensitive and I wasted more than a few TUs due to misclicks (trying to click something else but still having the guy selected so he moved to that spot instead). After I lost all but one guy in my first combat thing, I gave up and decided I was better off watching a Let's Play again instead to refresh myself :) Had to go find the one I originally watched because the first hits on youtube had some really annoying dude talking over the intro movie and I didn't want to sit through that guy for the whole video.

    you poor, poor bastard.

    That just means the base isn't laid out in some absolutely idiotic fashion where aliens can hit you from three directions+above. See here

    dkj3oHf.jpg
  • Warlock82Warlock82 Never pet a burning dog Registered User regular
    I don't know, I just wanted to play the game the way it was designed. I don't really care much if there are stupid decisions. I was mostly annoyed at how much that patch wanted to change. It must have seriously asked me to change like 30 things.

    Switch: 2143-7130-1359 | 3DS: 4983-4927-6699 | Steam: warlock82 | PSN: Warlock2282
  • Iron WeaselIron Weasel Dillon! You son of a bitch!Registered User regular
    The Steam version is a little bit sluggish (I've wasted a bunch of TUs and lost a squaddie due to mis-clicks), but it's still fun.

    And corny graphics or no, I still went OH SHIT when I saw a Chrysallid silhouetted in a warehouse. I'd also forgotten that if you kill a zombie, it counts as killing a civilian and carries a huge penalty on your rating. Sorry, Lagos.

    I've made (and continue to make) some weak decisions for Research, but I haven't had too much alien activity over all so things are going alright. I'm only playing on Veteran, since I haven't booted this game up in 10 years and I wanted to remember how its supposed to play. I figured I might get frustrated and quit if I was trying to figure it out all over again while getting my ass kicked.

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  • Medium DaveMedium Dave Registered User regular
    Goddammit. Why isn't Silent Storm on Steam or GoG? I want to play that shit again...

    Also, as for this new turn-based awesome, I am cautiously optimistic. I was never a minmaxer in the original and I neve played on the harder difficulties, so a lot of these changes don't seem bad. I think you have to do some stuff to make a game in 2012 to get rid of bullshit we just accepted back in the day.

  • KayKay What we need... Is a little bit of PANIC.Registered User regular
    I am so stoked for this game. So, so stoked.

    I will play the original AGAIN over next weekend for hours and hours and hours. I shall also try out Apocalypse, as I've never tried it before.

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  • DietarySupplementDietarySupplement Still not approved by the FDA Dublin, OHRegistered User regular
    You know, these screen shots make me want to boot up a much-overlooked classic, Silent Storm. My disks are scratched, though. Has a very similar look and feel, except a WWII setting. It's an awesome game, up until...
    it turns into Nazis vs Mechwarrior

  • Death_ClawDeath_Claw Registered User regular
    You know, these screen shots make me want to boot up a much-overlooked classic, Silent Storm. My disks are scratched, though. Has a very similar look and feel, except a WWII setting. It's an awesome game, up until...
    it turns into Nazis vs Mechwarrior

    Or if you take a different route like I did
    it turns into Poor unarmed you vs Mechwarrior Nazis

    steam_sig.png
  • AchireAchire Isn't life disappointing? Yes, it is. Registered User regular
    Speaking of the UI, you know those four buttons with the picture of a man shooting on some of them? That don't seem to do anything? You can use those to set the number of time units preserved when moving. Mind-blowing. Only took me 15 years and one Let's Play to figure that out. Who needs tooltips anyway?

  • Captain_BrianCaptain_Brian Registered User regular
    Achire wrote:
    Speaking of the UI, you know those four buttons with the picture of a man shooting on some of them? That don't seem to do anything? You can use those to set the number of time units preserved when moving. Mind-blowing. Only took me 15 years and one Let's Play to figure that out. Who needs tooltips anyway?

    Holy shit.

    I kind of wonder what other gems of features I've had no idea about after hundreds of hours invested in the game.

    Captain_Brian-ashsig.jpg
  • KadokenKadoken Giving Ends to my Friends and it Feels Stupendous Registered User regular
    Achire wrote:
    Speaking of the UI, you know those four buttons with the picture of a man shooting on some of them? That don't seem to do anything? You can use those to set the number of time units preserved when moving. Mind-blowing. Only took me 15 years and one Let's Play to figure that out. Who needs tooltips anyway?

    Holy shit.

    I kind of wonder what other gems of features I've had no idea about after hundreds of hours invested in the game.

    I knew that I didn't even play the game.

  • Iron WeaselIron Weasel Dillon! You son of a bitch!Registered User regular
    edited January 2012
    I'm not sure if it was here or the SE thread, but apparently you can look out of the Skyranger windows before disembarking.

    Iron Weasel on
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  • Captain_BrianCaptain_Brian Registered User regular
    Kadoken wrote:
    Achire wrote:
    Speaking of the UI, you know those four buttons with the picture of a man shooting on some of them? That don't seem to do anything? You can use those to set the number of time units preserved when moving. Mind-blowing. Only took me 15 years and one Let's Play to figure that out. Who needs tooltips anyway?

    Holy shit.

    I kind of wonder what other gems of features I've had no idea about after hundreds of hours invested in the game.

    I knew that I didn't even play the game.

    Well I never read the LP threads. :P

    Captain_Brian-ashsig.jpg
  • kaliyamakaliyama Left to find less-moderated fora Registered User regular
    Has anyone done a play-through of the game with only starting weapons and combat armor?

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  • IoloIolo iolo Registered User regular
    edited January 2012
    If there is anyone regularly reading this thread who has not read Fishman's X-Com LP in SE++, you need to fix that right now. Link in my sig. It is literally epic, spanning years.

    Link for smartphoners who can't see my sig: http://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/70136/the-bastards-have-landed-x-com-lp/p1

    Chiasaur11's TFTD LP is also highly recommended.

    Iolo on
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