Firaxis + XCOM, that is all.

Ahris on 15/11/2012 at 20:27

Yes, panicked soldiers sometimes shoot whoever happens to be around, friend or foe. :) It's saved the day many times actually hehe.

nicked on 16/11/2012 at 06:44

On Normal at least, soldiers who are good shots panicking is a bonus more often than not. It is a bit silly - panic mostly just results in a bonus free shot that turn. Occasionally it'll be at a teammate, but I lost track of how many aliens were accidentally killed by calm, measured, well-aimed panic shots! :rolleyes:

Also means there's very little point getting your psionic guys to panic aliens, as they're just inviting a free shot.

Ulukai on 16/11/2012 at 12:37

So, having beaten the game on Normal I decided it was time to take on Classic Ironman.

When you start classic Ironman, you spawn directly into a mission with four soliders.

By turn two, half my squad had panicked and shot each other. The injured were picked off the next turn by a small army of Sectoids hanging out somewhere across the map. Two down, I then instruct one my uber-noobs to run for cover and he gets vapourised by a Sectoid reaction shot. It's all down to the unforgettably named final guy, Rookie Whatsisname. Predictably, he also dies the very next turn after a run-in with a Sectoid who is being mind-melded.

XCOM Project Terminated after 8 minutes

Clearly, Normal strategy just isn't going to wash here. Time for a rethink.

Classic Ironman Attempt #2

Initially a lot more cautious, I start a new game and finish the first mission with zero casualties. Perhaps getting a little bit cocky, I begin some cursory base construction and head out onto our first Alien Abduction mission. We might as well be playing DEFCON because yep, you guessed it - EVERYBODY DIES. Argh. At least the XCOM Project isn't terminated. Yet.

Vicarious on 19/11/2012 at 07:28

Quote Posted by Ulukai

When you start classic Ironman, you spawn directly into a mission with four soliders.

What do you mean? Every game on all difficulty levels with or without Ironman starts with a mission.

Ulukai on 19/11/2012 at 17:14

For those of us who have only played through once previously, the very first game you will probably have spawned into the tutorial, which is different to what happens on subsequent playthroughs by default.

Capiche?

Phatose on 27/11/2012 at 04:25

Picked this up on the steam sale.

Not entirely sure what I think of it. The core strategy is decent, except for the inane panic system. But far too much of this game requires me to shut down my brain so I don't notice how pants-on-head stupid the limitations put on you are. Fate of the entire world in our hands, but we have to actively recruit soldiers. Nobody ever volunteers, even if Aliens just ate their mom. And the recruits I do get are apparently the ones who didn't make it through basic training. These guys panic so easily that if you run out of toilet paper in your base, and there are going to be friendly fire incidents. And our alien-abduction tracking system seems to be looking through the obituaries in local newspapers, and CNN. You need intensive training in a specialty class to figure out how to attach a second grenade to your belt, and you need a goddamned captain to figure out how to fit a sixth guy in the chopper. We can buy jets and missiles direct from the manufacturer, but getting a second goddamn transport is beyond our capabilities.

It's like being in charge of defending the planet from "Mom and Dad save the World".

There's clearly potential here and all, but my suspension of disbelief has it's limits.

nicked on 27/11/2012 at 06:45

Christ, it's a game... What next, complaining that taking it in turns isn't very realistic?

Thelvyn on 27/11/2012 at 06:51

I agree, the original xcom had limits on the number of people and/or heavy eq you could take but that was transport based and you could research it eventually.
Actually I agree with everything you just said really.

The cover system seems broken to me also.

Phatose on 27/11/2012 at 07:53

Quote Posted by nicked

Christ, it's a game... What next, complaining that taking it in turns isn't very realistic?

If I thought these were fun, or needed for game balance purposes, then I might be willing to forgive it.

I don't think they are though. There's plenty of resource scarcity in the need for alien artifacts to advance. You don't need to further limit resources that should be easily available from humanity on top of that.

Your soldiers are already outmatched by virtue of being up against aliens with plasma guns. You don't need to further make them prone to mass hysteria and friendly fire. Having to use a level 1 recruit if someone gets killed is plenty of punishment - needing to pay to recruit, wait, and hope you get the right class is again, just not needed. Similarly, you're already limited in interceptions by virtue of being jet vs flying saucer.

There's no need for any of these things to be able to provide plenty of challenge. So why do it?

faetal on 27/11/2012 at 10:57

Quote Posted by Thelvyn

The cover system seems broken to me also.

The cover system isn't broken, it just acts as a modifier to your opponents aim. You can destroy cover, but only a) with suppression or b) when the dice roll says you hit the person behind it, which is subject to the cover's modifier. Cover shouldn't be indestructible.

Having said that, I've been playing Silent Storm again recently and this game has made me realise just how much of XCOM's mechanics I've been forgiving. Don't get me wrong, I still love the shit out of the game, but it is so very restricted in what the game allows you to do. Silent Storm, while not perfect really gives you the freedom to "try stuff out" and leads to some very emergent game play styles, whereas XCOM just has a list of things you can do and that is that.