Firaxis + XCOM, that is all. - by N'Al
faetal on 13/1/2012 at 14:14
I have to admit that doing away with TUs does feel like a concession for the attention-span deficient.
TUs can for a start be tied in to one of the fundamental troop stats - agility (or similar) allowing for different behaviour for varying troops. It's too long ago for me to remember if stats even applied in Enemy Unknown, but the mechanic exists in more TBSs than not and I should think it would be folly to ignore the mechanic entirely.
I could be wrong, it could be quite smooth to just have moving and shooting/throwing/stabbing/prodding/boddy-popping/whatever, but until I hear a bit more detail, this just seems like something to "broaden the audience".
Neb on 13/1/2012 at 18:01
Quote Posted by faetal
I have to admit that doing away with TUs does feel like a concession for the attention-span deficient.
There are plenty of games that are like that, and it's quite elegant. Thing is, it plays much better where everything is mostly out there in the open with space to maneuver. I'm not sure how fun it would be to breach a building or space craft without the micromanagement and switching between units.
I wonder how they'll deal with opening a door to find an alien standing right there, and I'm betting that there won't be many choke points.
EDIT: Yikes, my reading comprehension is failing. Another bad week. There are two actions, and also demagogue and others pretty much covered what I said. :rolleyes: Sorry guys.
Dresden on 13/1/2012 at 18:55
I don't think cutting back on micromanagement is necessarily a bad thing. In a game like XCOM where you're always doing missions, it can get annoying at times. I wish they'd just make TU's a bit simpler instead of totally cutting them out though. Something like Fallout 1/2's AP would've been perfect. Just making each soldier have a max of 10 TUs would make things a lot easier to plan out.
catbarf on 13/1/2012 at 22:27
Quote Posted by Al_B
Sorry - but that's a huge change to the strategies available in the original. I may want to send a squad member with light arms on a scouting mission - or use him to escort a heavier armed member and reserve some of his time units to respond to unexpected events. If everyone can run as fast and do as much on each turn then I might as well equip everyone with the highest level equipment and just go in guns blazing.
That's assuming everyone moves the same speed. What most games do is have that one action's worth of movement mean a different amount depending on what unit is using it. Yes, it's a simplification, but it's one that significantly streamlines the gameplay and isn't going to utterly ruin this game as a sequel. Breaking out the calculator to work out exactly what you can do in the next two-second window isn't what defined X-Com or made it a good game. I see a bullet point list mostly comprised of good things and holdovers from the predecessors, and yet a few less-than-overwhelming changes are apparently enough reason to start procuring torches and pitchforks.
Clearly they're simplifying or streamlining a lot of elements of the previous games. The thing is, X-Com is a game that could stand to be streamlined. It's not a game that was ever praised for having an intuitive interface, it was always a clunky diamond in the rough. One base instead of several means less to keep track of (note you can still have multiple interceptor hangars), unlimited ammo means not trying to track ammunition consumption for every member of an entire platoon of soldiers, an action system means faster resolution of combat. It can still be an engaging, strategic game. Whether it's a streamlined successor or a dumbed-down console-kiddie sequel remains to be seen, but let's at least wait until we actually see some gameplay before making wild assumptions.
Quote Posted by Koki
Half turn/turn as only possible action is retarded and offers a
fraction of possibilities and flexibility of TUs.
Which is why every tactical RPG that's ever used a system of limited actions was a colossal failure, and most games nowadays track available actions down to the microsecond, right?
Oh wait, that's not true. Despite a few notable exceptions, like Frozen Synapse, the industry is still nowhere near abandoning D&D-esque systems.
CCCToad on 14/1/2012 at 04:02
Before anyone bashes the system in the new XCOM too hard, keep in mind that a similar turn-based system worked very well in Valkyrie Chronicles. I can see it carrying over to XCOM's style of gameplay very well.
icemann on 15/1/2012 at 07:32
Ooo those pics look very nice.
I'm keeping an open mind with this game. I'll reserve judgement till I play it.
nicked on 15/1/2012 at 07:40
Alright, each screenshot I see gets me more and more interested. That Geoscape is the sex.
faetal on 16/1/2012 at 12:52
I'll reserve proper judgement too for when I inevitably, buy, play and enjoy it, but in the mean time, because it's a good way to pass the time, it's pipe lit and beard on.
