XCOM 2 Reviewed at RPS

[FC]

The new patch is out that addresses some of the performance issues:


The first major patch for XCOM 2 is live! This patch will automatically install when starting the Steam client. If it doesn't install automatically, restart Steam.

This patch introduces new fixes, balance tweaks, and several performance optimizations in the game that should improve framerates and in-game delays overall. Players can also opt into the new "Zip Mode" option by pausing the game at any time and activating it under gameplay options. Zip Mode will create a faster paced experience that speeds up animations and some delays in gameplay.

After installing the patch, we recommend all players to go into the graphics tab under options and select "Auto Detect Graphic Settings." Installing the patch will not rewrite your graphic settings. Players must do this manually.

The XCOM team has been working hard to improve performance, balance, and stability issues reported by our fans. A big thank you to anyone who took the time to provide feedback and submit reports. We will continue to improve the XCOM 2 experience with additional updates and patches over the coming months.

*Required User Action: If you have mods enabled after installing the patch, launch it once, close the game, and launch it again. Players will only have to do this once. After the restart, the game will have initialized the patch to work with mods. While the majority of mods will operate in harmony with the patch, some mods may conflict with patch updates and will need to be updated to take advantage of the patch improvements.

Performance

Added Zip Mode gameplay option. While Zip Mode is enabled animation (like step outs & gremlin movements) speeds are significantly increased. Normal movement animations are moderately increased
Fixed an issue where shadow rendering during glam cam shot transitions was slowing down performance
Support for nVidia SLI and AMD Crossfire
Removed MSAA options from default presets and adjusted autodetect to target 40FPS instead of 30FPS
Reworked Light Clipping Manager
Particle Vertex Buffer Reallocation
Optimization to shadows in the Avenger
Enable triple buffering to fix VSync performance
Shadowed light fade out within Avenger; Disabled Post & Pre Mission cinematic lights not being used
Disabled shadow casting from character lights w/in Avenger
Reduced High Shadow Resolution - Reduce shadow resolution when set to HIGH to 1536, instead of 2048
Reduces the impact count of the Avatar Rifle
Removed a hitch that occurs when the camera enables/disables building visualizer
Deferred profile saves to next tick. This prevents multiple calls within the same frame from creating multiple requests to save the profile
After changing graphics settings, based on the selected preset, extra crew will be capped
Character head mesh optimized


Balance



Mimic beacon rebalance: Price increased to 75
Mimic beacons can no longer take cover, and are guaranteed to be hit by enemy shots
Wet Work is no longer retroactive
Graze is no longer a chance for 100% shots. Targets being shot by a concealed attacker cannot dodge
Gameplay

Added a new recommended Steam Controller configuration with support for additional actions
Fixed an issue where VIP units would take damage when their origin location was damaged
Fixed an issue where Promotion Earned text appeared before action is seen on screen
Fixed an issue where civilians pathed to the base of ladders and blocked XCOM units
Fixed an issue where Character Pool choices like Class, Attitude, and props did not save
Fixed an issue where weapons did not keep names and customizations upon tier bump
Fixed an issue causing some scan timers to go into negative time
Engineering items that are full squad upgrades are now designated in the UI
Fixed an issue where strategy project timers reset if players started building a radio relay immediately after making contact with a region
Fixed an issue with POIs not spawning when first visiting the Geoscape if Beginner VO is turned off
Removed start-of-turn hang during certain missions where enemy units had fallen out of the world. Auto-saves (and ironman saves) made in these situations should now be playable
Minimized action camera obstructions
Minimized camera look-at hopping during AI abilities
Fixed an issue where Psi abilities did not trigger death cams
Kill Zone now respects concealment status
Fixed an issue where the Ever Vigilant AWC perk did not work for Sharpshooters
Buildings don't cut down when tabbing through units
Fixed an exploit that skips the AI turn by spamming the END/BACKSPACE button while the Player's last action is being visualized
Rapid Fire and Chain Shot visualization optimized to get the second shot to fire faster
Fixed an issue where shot HUD wings would fail to re-open after taking an action that required the wings to close
Fixed an issue where crit chance would be negatively affected by shots with a success chance greater than 100
Optimized Return Fire hits causing long delays
Optimized AI reveals causing long hangs
Optimized Wait actions causing long timeouts
Optimized falling unit visualization to timeout faster
Updated the Geoscape save description to use the localized HQ time, instead of previously used GMT game time
Fixed an issue with an invalid spawn point on a specific Retaliation mission plot
Destroyed cover does not take reduce % to-hit on enemies
Systems

New option to only use Character Pool creations until the pool is exhausted
Bulletproofing bad saves from causing main menu crashes
Fixed an issue causing hitches in strategy
Fixed an issue where armor customizations did not save


Graphics

Unit Highlighting Flash when targeting units

Multiplayer

MULTIPLAYER: Fixes slow communications with internet players resulting in delays between actions, turns, and end-of-game screen.
Added camera rotation to MP

[Windigo]

Mimic beacons can no longer take cover, and are guaranteed to be hit by enemy shots



aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhgggggggggggggggggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhh

[JasonPratt]

Thank God that patch went into effect before the weekend, eh? ;)

(But multiplayer doesn't seem to involve using items anyway other than grenades...  :( )

[Grim.Reaper]

Looks like first DLC released....Anarchy's Children.  Not sure I would ever use that much cusomtization:)

This rebellion-themed content pack introduces more than 100 new exotic customizations for the entire arsenal of armors available to your XCOM soldiers. These options are purely cosmetic and do not alter the stats of a soldier.