-
Re: XCOM: One Does Not Simply "Shoot" a Cryssalid...
Exaggerated animations are good when you're looking at the action from afar like in this game. Their purpose is to convey information to you, like "I am reloading!" and "That Muton will charge at you next turn!" and so on. From your eye in the sky view, it needs to be exaggerated to make sure that the player sees it, even with Glam Cam turned off.
So, yeah, I agree that it's not very subtle, but for the purpose of playability, it's a good thing. Plus they picked an action figure-ish look for the game. Hammy acting and movement feels natural with that.
-
Re: XCOM: One Does Not Simply "Shoot" a Cryssalid...
Quote:
Originally Posted by
McNum
Exaggerated animations are good when you're looking at the action from afar like in this game. Their purpose is to convey information to you, like "I am reloading!" and "That Muton will charge at you next turn!" and so on. From your eye in the sky view, it needs to be exaggerated to make sure that the player sees it, even with Glam Cam turned off.
So, yeah, I agree that it's not very subtle, but for the purpose of playability, it's a good thing. Plus they picked an action figure-ish look for the game. Hammy acting and movement feels natural with that.
Yeah. I mean, what in the original X-Com was ever really all that subtle to begin with...? The intro was the absolutely epitome of cheesey mid-nineties ham...
-
Re: XCOM: One Does Not Simply "Shoot" a Cryssalid...
That it was. And in-game wasn't much less over-the-top, either. I mean, look at this blaster bomb explosion:
-
Re: XCOM: One Does Not Simply "Shoot" a Cryssalid...
Quote:
Originally Posted by
SlyGuyMcFly
That it was. And in-game wasn't much less over-the-top, either. I mean, look at this blaster bomb explosion:
I've played the game I don't know how many times and I've never noticed that.
:smallbiggrin:
-
Re: XCOM: One Does Not Simply "Shoot" a Cryssalid...
Quote:
Originally Posted by
SlyGuyMcFly
That it was. And in-game wasn't much less over-the-top, either. I mean, look at this blaster bomb explosion:
That was a good shot, too. Looks like sixeightnine aliens in that blast. (checked it over again:smallredface:) (Jeez, everytime I look I find more!)
Some context for this picture:
Early in the mission at a landed Extra Large Ethereal ship, I hear an explosion and the sound of several Ethereals dying. I finally make it up to the top floor of the ship and I'm greeted with this scene.
-
Re: XCOM: One Does Not Simply "Shoot" a Cryssalid...
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Krade
That was a good shot, too. Looks like sixeightnine aliens in that blast. (checked it over again:smallredface:) (Jeez, everytime I look I find more!)
Heh. There's a story to that shot. It was really late into the game, I had everything researched and was getting ready for Cydonia. The aliens had discovered my HQ and sent a Snakeman battleship every couple of days. I had a half-dozen Plasma Tanks and four well trained 95+ psi strength officers on hand. So after a while I started getting bored and... well, just see for yourself:
-
Re: XCOM: One Does Not Simply "Shoot" a Cryssalid...
Quote:
Originally Posted by
SlyGuyMcFly
Heh. There's a story to that shot. It was really late into the game, I had everything researched and was getting ready for Cydonia. The aliens had discovered my HQ and sent a Snakeman battleship every couple of days. I had a half-dozen Plasma Tanks and four well trained 95+ psi strength officers on hand. So after a while I started getting bored and... well, just see for yourself:
Spoiler
Show
*snip*
I live the flavour of psionics cheese in the morning...
I know the feeling. Once on an alien base mission I mind controlled ALL of the aliens, forced them to stand in a neat circle in the control room, and Blaster bombed the hell out of it. I think it was ethereals, too. Might have been Mutons. It's been a while. I only did it that once, though. It just takes SO. FREAKIN. LONG to get them all grouped up like that and as fun as it was, it just wasn't worth the time investment to do it again.
-
Re: XCOM: One Does Not Simply "Shoot" a Cryssalid...
There is now a demo on Steam. Apparently it's two early/tutorial missions, so there's minimal spoilers...
-
Re: XCOM: One Does Not Simply "Shoot" a Cryssalid...
Word of warning to everyone: Pretty much every single cinematic in the game is hidden within the files of the demo from what I have heard (Hence the unusually large size for such a small demo) , some people have already managed to crack them open. Don't search there unless you want to see big-time spoilers.
As for the demo itself, it was pretty fun. It was a bit disappointing that the two missions post-tutorial were the same, the controls felt rather clunky, and the UI could use some work, but otherwise pretty good, certainly looking forward to October 9th.
-
Re: XCOM: One Does Not Simply "Shoot" a Cryssalid...
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Muz
There is now a demo on Steam. Apparently it's two early/tutorial missions, so there's minimal spoilers...
Minimal spoilers as long as you don't have a way to play Bink video files and don't take a closer look at what's in the Movies folder, yes. If you do, then it's maximum spoilers. So don't do that.
The game is pretty fun, really, and it is XCOM. Being careless will lead to casualties, and this is still part of the tutorial. Gotta love killer tutotrials, and I'm not talking about scripted deaths, either. The second part after you're allowed autonomy will kill your men if you mess up.
On the other hand, it's awesome when you pull off some sneaky tactics.
EDIT: Ah, beaten to the punch about the movies.
-
Re: XCOM: One Does Not Simply "Shoot" a Cryssalid...
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Muz
There is now a demo on Steam.
Hm, that likely means that there'll be one on X-Box Live come tomorrow (I believe those typically release on Tuesdays). I'll have to remember to check for it.
Zevox
-
Re: XCOM: One Does Not Simply "Shoot" a Cryssalid...
I hope there's a demo for Xbox. I downloaded it for my PC, (we'll see if I can play it, my computer has a variety of issues that prevent various programs from running) and I was planning on trying to play it when I got home from work today. But if there's going to be one for Xbox, I'll be much more happy with that.
Edit: Nevermind, stupid computer. It can't open it. Man this thing is junk. One of these days I'm going to get around to actually replacing the damn thing.
-
Re: XCOM: One Does Not Simply "Shoot" a Cryssalid...
I hope the XBL demo is released by the time I get home.
I mean, it's downloading on my computer as we speak, but if it's on XBL, I get to play it there and listen to my fiancée point out that this is all rather silly.
-
Re: XCOM: One Does Not Simply "Shoot" a Cryssalid...
For the record, I tried downloading and running the demo on XP. Oddly, it let me install it without batting an eye lid (I'd have thought it would have said something like "incompatible version of Windows" or something on the install); but the game wouldn't even appear to try to start once installed.
So it appears pretty definitively that it won't run on XP.
There's gonna a be few returns for Amazon, seeing as it's still listed as being XP compatible in several places, and no doubt it will get more than a few 1-star reviews because of that. And not totally unjustifiably so, since Firaxis should have made a much bigger and clearer deal about it their retailers, as currently, if you haven't been following the forums or something, you may well not know.
(And it's not like there's no a Vista/7 only game being advertised in the suggestions ection, so it's not like Amazon just have one category.)
-
Re: XCOM: One Does Not Simply "Shoot" a Cryssalid...
I was a little disappointed with the demo. It didn't run very smoothly. Camera controls were clunky, it should definitely be more free roaming. I didn't get to play the first level. Instead, I got to click where it told me to. Hopefully we can skip that in the final game.
I think there could be some more interface options, too. The previous/next soldier isn't bad, but I'd prefer a small window with portraits of my soldiers that I can click on at will instead.
-
Re: XCOM: One Does Not Simply "Shoot" a Cryssalid...
Yeah the camera seemed a little touchy and annoying for looking around teh map. However gameplay seemed very promising.
-
Re: XCOM: One Does Not Simply "Shoot" a Cryssalid...
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Evrine
I was a little disappointed with the demo. It didn't run very smoothly. Camera controls were clunky, it should definitely be more free roaming.
Well, if that's the least responsive part of the interface, it should be good. It's a turn-based strategy game. I'm likely to pick a decent angle for the camera, and leave it there forever.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Evrine
I didn't get to play the first level. Instead, I got to click where it told me to. Hopefully we can skip that in the final game.
Unlikely - it is too cinematic. I'm assuming it is the same level they showed in youtube? An UFO spotting in a German town, ends with all but one members dead? Maybe in the harder difficulties you'll be able to skip it. Or it might actually set a flag to remember you've seen it already. But when 'initial contact' is that cinematic and directed, they're not likely to let you skip it, ever.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Evrine
I think there could be some more interface options, too. The previous/next soldier isn't bad, but I'd prefer a small window with portraits of my soldiers that I can click on at will instead.
That would take up a lot of screen real state, although it could be useful to know the ordering in which you are going to scroll through, and possibly add health indicators. But it is too late in development for such changes.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zevox
that likely means that there'll be one on X-Box Live come tomorrow (I believe those typically release on Tuesdays).
They have confirmed that the same demo will come out for both XBox and PS3 (according to google search, anyway). Any idea when PS3 demos usually come out?
Grey Wolf
-
Re: XCOM: One Does Not Simply "Shoot" a Cryssalid...
I'm surprised the demo would be coming out on consoles. It was so limited, I kind of had the impression that it was more of a PC benchmark test than anything else.
-
Re: XCOM: One Does Not Simply "Shoot" a Cryssalid...
Quote:
Originally Posted by
JMobius
I'm surprised the demo would be coming out on consoles. It was so limited, I kind of had the impression that it was more of a PC benchmark test than anything else.
From what I hear, it is a demo of both the combat system, the different types of enemies, and the base building. Precisely the three things I would look for in a demo of a base-building strategy game. While I am fairly certain I'll be buying the game, I will feel far more safe in my choice once I get to actually drive, rather than judge from the videos posted online.
Grey Wolf
-
Re: XCOM: One Does Not Simply "Shoot" a Cryssalid...
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Grey_Wolf_c
They have confirmed that the same demo will come out for both XBox and PS3 (according to google search, anyway). Any idea when PS3 demos usually come out?
Grey Wolf
Sorry, no. I don't have a PS3.
It looks like the X-Box Live one isn't out yet anyway though. Checking their website, it looks like I was right about their demos releasing on Tuesdays, so that may mean we're waiting another week for it.
Zevox
-
Re: XCOM: One Does Not Simply "Shoot" a Cryssalid...
I didn't mind the first mission. Yes, you didn't so much "Play" the mission as "Click occasionally while it happens". But I can hardly blame a tutorial for hand-holding. Five minutes of moving my multinational-yet still with American accents squad exactly as directed is a decent price to pay for what the second mission convinced me is a quality gameplay system.
It also played the important role of making you watch your soldiers get taken down, in order to establish in your mind how vulnerable it was.
One thing I like in this game that they changed from classic Xcom is that your troops are actually fairly accurate with their weapons. The mutual vulnerability between Xcom and the Aliens means that the game is one of tactics. In Xcom Classic so much of your success or failure was at the whims of the random number generator, especially early on where an auto-shot at a sectoid three squares away might hit once.
With this game I felt vulnerable, that first mission drove home that an exposed soldier was a corpse in waiting. It also drove home a level of power, if you can get the enemy exposed, flanked, and in your sights. No Gamer likes to be out of control, we want to feel we have power. Too much power destroys the tension. The first mission demonstrated the power dynamic nicely I thought.
-
Re: XCOM: One Does Not Simply "Shoot" a Cryssalid...
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Grey_Wolf_c
From what I hear, it is a demo of both the combat system, the different types of enemies, and the base building. Precisely the three things I would look for in a demo of a base-building strategy game. While I am fairly certain I'll be buying the game, I will feel far more safe in my choice once I get to actually drive, rather than judge from the videos posted online.
Ehhhh... I completed it, taking about half an hour. You see all of three different types of enemies, and there's no actual base building to be seen (though there is some demonstration that yes, such a system exists in the full game). There is a little bit of combat, at least.
-
Re: XCOM: One Does Not Simply "Shoot" a Cryssalid...
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Grey_Wolf_c
Unlikely - it is too cinematic. I'm assuming it is the same level they showed in youtube? An UFO spotting in a German town, ends with all but one members dead? Maybe in the harder difficulties you'll be able to skip it. Or it might actually set a flag to remember you've seen it already. But when 'initial contact' is that cinematic and directed, they're not likely to let you skip it, ever.
If the intent is for the first mission to be cinematic and directed, then they could have relegated it to a cutscene, or have it play out automatically in about 1/3rd the time it took me to click through.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Grey_Wolf_c
That would take up a lot of screen real state, although it could be useful to know the ordering in which you are going to scroll through, and possibly add health indicators. But it is too late in development for such changes.
It doesn't have to take up a lot of screen space, though. The portraits could be the same size as the current buttons, just extended out as you add more squadmates. I do realize, though, that it is just a wishful thought.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
BRC
I didn't mind the first mission. Yes, you didn't so much "Play" the mission as "Click occasionally while it happens". But I can hardly blame a tutorial for hand-holding. Five minutes of moving my multinational-yet still with American accents squad exactly as directed is a decent price to pay for what the second mission convinced me is a quality gameplay system.
I think the average gamer is well past the necessity of this level of hand-holding. It was kind of insulting, actually.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
JMobius
Ehhhh... I completed it, taking about half an hour. You see all of three different types of enemies, and there's no actual base building to be seen (though there is some demonstration that yes, such a system exists in the full game). There is a little bit of combat, at least.
Yeah, it would have been nice to see some of the base building and soldier customization in action rather than just incidentally.
-
Re: XCOM: One Does Not Simply "Shoot" a Cryssalid...
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Evrine
If the intent is for the first mission to be cinematic and directed, then they could have relegated it to a cutscene, or have it play out automatically in about 1/3rd the time it took me to click through.
The intent is not for it to be cinematic, it is to introduce the concepts of the game (movement, hustling, cover, aiming, missing, permadeath, grenades, flanking) one at a time in a controlled fashion and without requiring ten separate scenarios (like, say, Starcraft 2 had). To make it more than vaguely interesting, they also craft it into the first contact storyline, but that's not the main purpose. The purpose is to take those that have never played the game or its ilk begfore and gently introduce the concepts without boring them so much they quit before they even get to the actual game.
Making it a cutscene would also be more expensive than using the combat engine - and it is getting to the point where it would not look so much better that it would be worth the cost.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Evrine
I think the average gamer is well past the necessity of this level of hand-holding. It was kind of insulting, actually.
I believe you mean the median gamer, which at this point is a 35 year old US male who has been playing videogames for 20 years, maybe. But the point of a tutorial is for the 15-year-olds that have never played a cover based turn based strategy game. Given the lack of any such game in the last 10 years, there might be quite a few people who might want to give this one a try who need the hand-holding since they are used to respawning first-person shooters. For that matter, had I not watched the you-tube videos, I would have liked this step-by-step approach, even if I could figure out some of the more common points myself.
Grey Wolf
-
Re: XCOM: One Does Not Simply "Shoot" a Cryssalid...
I played the demo. It changes some things pretty significantly in comparison to the original, feels quite a lot like a console game, reminds me of Mass Effect in some things, and a lot of it is a barely-interactive tutorial.
I don't mind any of this. This game looks very good and it should be a worthy successor to the original.
-
Re: XCOM: One Does Not Simply "Shoot" a Cryssalid...
Noticed a few people complaining about XPs and their non-usable nature for the game. I have a Mac. Please realize that I'm never going to be able to play this game, and I didn't even have a chance of it. If you could please cease complaining on this nature, thank you.
Looks fantastic, though, and I can't wait to watch some Let's Plays of it!
-
Re: XCOM: One Does Not Simply "Shoot" a Cryssalid...
Quote:
Originally Posted by
SamBurke
Noticed a few people complaining about XPs and their non-usable nature for the game. I have a Mac. Please realize that I'm never going to be able to play this game, and I didn't even have a chance of it. If you could please cease complaining on this nature, thank you.
And once again, somebody states my thoughts better than I could have.
-
Re: XCOM: One Does Not Simply "Shoot" a Cryssalid...
Did everyone Else's Mister "I Survived the Tutorial" turn out to be a Heavy, too, or d'y'all think that's randomized?
Also: Would it kill them to put the name of the countries somewhere? I don't know that many flags...
-
Re: XCOM: One Does Not Simply "Shoot" a Cryssalid...
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Thanatos 51-50
Did everyone Else's Mister "I Survived the Tutorial" turn out to be a Heavy, too, or d'y'all think that's randomized?
Also: Would it kill them to put the name of the countries somewhere? I don't know that many flags...
I'm pretty sure it's scripted, since mine was a Heavy in all of the four times I have played through the demo.
-
Re: XCOM: One Does Not Simply "Shoot" a Cryssalid...
Quote:
Originally Posted by
YakYak
And once again, somebody states my thoughts better than I could have.
I do try. If I can clear out enough room in my sig, I'll put it in there.