X-COM Preorders

W8taminute · October 16, 2012, 07:49:35 AM

SDR pretty impressive numbers. Only had to hire one soldier and you only lost 5 all with an average mission turns played of 10.

LongBlade · October 16, 2012, 09:27:33 AM

Quote from: Grim.Reaper on October 16, 2012, 04:59:02 AM
But to the level people are digging in and saying they won't buy it because it isn't as close to the original makes me scratch my head, especially for a game that was released so long ago. What if there never was an original xcom? How would these same folks think of this game without comparing it to the past?

This is an interesting question and gets to the dissatisfaction that Airboy expressed.

Let me pause before going further and say that I am *loving* the new X-com.

But, let's look at this game in the cold reality of modern gaming. Set aside the great graphics. The combat is turn-based, not based upon action points. Most of the time I move one impulse and then set Overwatch for the next. This often makes for long pauses in the action on larger maps.

Now I'll suggest that those long pauses add to the suspense.

But I do wonder how the gameplay would be perceived if the hype of the old title weren't there. I'm curious to know how younger gamers who never heard of the original game are reacting. I'd like to think a great game is a great game. Maybe this will cause a resurgence in turn-based gaming. I'm not so sure. Maybe only Firaxis can pull off an incredible feat like this.

I just don't know. The proof is in the sales figures, I guess.

Silent Disapproval Robot · October 16, 2012, 09:54:32 AM

Quote from: W8taminute on October 16, 2012, 07:49:35 AM
SDR pretty impressive numbers. Only had to hire one soldier and you only lost 5 all with an average mission turns played of 10.

Three of the five losses were from the tutorial mission where their deaths are a foregone conclusion. I did lose my psyhic guy over and over and over again on the last mission where I had to resort to gamey play and lots of save/reloads just to find a hidden (stuck) enemy floater in order to get the game to progress. The floater was up inside a beam and we couldn't see him but he could see us and as the game always uses the same roll results, it took forever to find a spot where I could use the psychic blast power to take him out yet not get killed from opp fire as I moved up to do so.

LongBlade · October 16, 2012, 10:00:37 AM

Quote from: Silent Disapproval Robot on October 16, 2012, 09:54:32 AM
Quote from: W8taminute on October 16, 2012, 07:49:35 AM
SDR pretty impressive numbers. Only had to hire one soldier and you only lost 5 all with an average mission turns played of 10.

Three of the five losses were from the tutorial mission where their deaths are a foregone conclusion. I did lose my psyhic guy over and over and over again on the last mission where I had to resort to gamey play and lots of save/reloads just to find a hidden (stuck) enemy floater in order to get the game to progress. The floater was up inside a beam and we couldn't see him but he could see us and as the game always uses the same roll results, it took forever to find a spot where I could use the psychic blast power to take him out yet not get killed from opp fire as I moved up to do so.

Nice job, SDR. Bummer about that bug.

W8taminute · October 16, 2012, 10:35:05 AM

Last night I played an alien abduction mission that was rated very difficult on 'Classic'. After 4 reloads I finally beat the mission with 10 alien kills for no losses. I'm absolutely convinced that to beat these missions you must inch and creep and overwatch. Sometimes I move only 1 or 2 tiles max. Makes for a very long mission (actually about 45 minutes) but again I'm happy with the results.

This next tip might seem a bit gamey but I'll share a tactic I use. If you have a 4 man squad and one of your men are being 'scanned' (i.e. that red wave pattern that is directed at your soldier to which he comments, 'shhh, did you hear that?') have 3 of your guys on overwatch covering suspected areas of alien presence. Send the 4th guy in 2 to 4 tiles in order to trigger a reaction from the yet unseen enemy. Most of the time the bogies scramble for cover while your 3 soldiers on overwatch take pot shots. Hopefully at least one of the bad guys will go down after which you must immediately withdraw the 4th man to safety.

JudgeDredd · October 16, 2012, 10:50:47 AM

Definitely loads of overwatch and small moves. I seldom move someone in Dashing unless I have to get them the hell out of there.

Snipers stay at a distance and keep them reloaded. Two per mission is good - as long as the map dictates snipers as feasible. One medic with 3 meidkits and the other two (support/assault) with frags - for those "holy crap" moments

I took out the enemy base last night with one loss - and that was careless...I should've first aided him but didn't realise until it was too late.

What is the point of that alien scanner thing? Just letting you know where suspect aliens are?

LongBlade · October 16, 2012, 11:30:53 AM

Quote from: eyebiter on October 15, 2012, 05:46:57 AM
If you want to disable the various logos when Xcom starts

http://forums.2kgames.com/showthread.php?150666-Here-is-how-to-disable-intro-movies-for-Xcom

I just implemented this fix. The movies are gone and the game fires up almost immediately. w00t!

Capn Darwin · October 16, 2012, 11:36:24 AM

LB, did that to the demo and also my current game. I also set mouse smoothing to true and that appears to reduce twitchy grenade targeting.

@Dredd, the waves are a bearing to a sound beyond visual range. It's a nice touch.

JudgeDredd · October 16, 2012, 04:53:43 PM

Thx - I didn't know if it had other effects, like unnerving your troopers

LongBlade · October 16, 2012, 04:55:11 PM

Quote from: JudgeDredd on October 16, 2012, 04:53:43 PM
Thx - I didn't know if it had other effects, like unnerving your troopers

IIRC in the old game the sound increased fear in your troops. I don't know if there's an effect today.

JudgeDredd · October 16, 2012, 04:57:05 PM

it would make sense if it did - it send sthe old shivers up my back!

jomni · October 17, 2012, 06:21:10 PM

A sad day today. Lost 4 veterans in a mission. :'(

W8taminute · October 18, 2012, 08:59:57 AM

^I feel for you. I lost 2 veterans yesterday, one named after me. Sad to let him go but I had to complete the mission as is in order to reduce India's panic level. It was a particularly difficult mission and I just didn't have the stomach to reload it again for the 5th time.

My Sniper who is a Major couldn't hit the broad side of a barn last night even though he's got the Laser Rifle with an optical scope together with all his abilities.

LongBlade · October 18, 2012, 09:09:58 AM

Quote from: W8taminute on October 18, 2012, 08:59:57 AM
^I feel for you. I lost 2 veterans yesterday, one named after me. Sad to let him go but I had to complete the mission as is in order to reduce India's panic level. It was a particularly difficult mission and I just didn't have the stomach to reload it again for the 5th time.

My Sniper who is a Major couldn't hit the broad side of a barn last night even though he's got the Laser Rifle with an optical scope together with all his abilities.

I just discovered that you can heal guys in the middle of a mission. They still need time to recover afterward, but they get several hit points back in the middle so you can keep them going without being in complete danger of dying. Good to know!

W8taminute · October 18, 2012, 11:59:31 AM

^Yeah and wait until you get the medic ability that is available later that increases the heal amount from 1x to 3x. I had 1 of my guys with that medic ability with me last night as well as one other soldier (the one named after me) in my 4 man squad with a regular medic kit. Guess who died first and who died second?

I have been noticing that whether it be a sniper with the best gun and gear or a medic with 3x healing powers and carapace armor, the first casualty is usually the medic no matter how careful you are with him.