# X-Com!



## tommers (Jan 5, 2012)

Xcom xcom xcom x bloody com.


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## tommers (Jan 5, 2012)

oh yeah, forgot this...
http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/...bruary-cover-revealed-xcom-enemy-unknown.aspx


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## Stigmata (Jan 5, 2012)

XCOM Apocalypse was best


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## tommers (Jan 6, 2012)

Heretic.

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/01/06/the-new-xcom-my-needy-little-wishlist/


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## bmd (Jan 6, 2012)

lol, knew it would be you that started this. Can't wait for the 360 version.


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## tommers (Jan 6, 2012)

It'll be interesting to see what they do but, short of it being julian gollop doing it, Firaxis are the best bet I reckon.

That bloke who's making xenonauts must be gutted.

Actually, fuck that, he's probably as excited as everybody else.


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## Epona (Jan 6, 2012)

Given the horrible horrible mess that was CIV V, I wouldn't get too excited about Firaxis getting their paws into this until you get to see the results.

Firaxis _used_ to be the best bet for strategy games.  CIV V was so severely watered down compared to previous iterations (and horrendously unstable as well!) that they will have to go a very long way before they are redeemed IMO.  I wouldn't be breaking out the pom-poms and cheers at this point.


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## tommers (Jan 7, 2012)

Yeah sure. I'm prepared for it to be rubbish but who else is there?

Civ v was crap. Got to be said.


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## Epona (Jan 7, 2012)

tommers said:


> Yeah sure. I'm prepared for it to be rubbish but who else is there?
> 
> Civ v was crap. Got to be said.



As a long-time CIV fan I really really tried to like it, but there was just so much missing, I always preferred the economy/science long-game but that aspect was gone, it was short-game military acquisition and that ruined it for me.  CIV V was designed to be easy to use on consoles.  Please don't get me wrong, when I talk about consolisation I am NOT saying that PC Gamer > Console Gamer.  I am saying that 300+ key combinations on a keyboard > 360 controller - complexity of input has to be removed in order to make it easily playable, and while that is not an issue for some genres, it does not work well for strategy games with a lot of commands and overlays etc.  There is a reason that there aren't many great strategy games for consoles.


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## tommers (Jan 7, 2012)

It wasn't released on a console was it?


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## Epona (Jan 7, 2012)

tommers said:


> It wasn't released on a console was it?



Was it not?  I'm getting that bit confused with something else then (although CIV V was still crap), you'll have to excuse me I'm a bit pissed 

But the point still stands that game series that have previously had complexity in terms of keyboard input do tend to be streamlined for controller-optimised play, IMO.


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## Stigmata (Jan 7, 2012)

I converted to Europa Universalis III months ago.

Also, XCOM Apocalypse _was_ the best.


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## tommers (Jan 7, 2012)

We're talking about Skyrim, aren't we? 

I agree with you about civ v (even though I still played it for ages) but I think the problem was that it was streamlined for other reasons rather than controller input.  I think that's just a trend in gaming to make things more accessible and therefore sell more.  PC gamers blame consoles cos that's a nice easy thing to blame but I think that really trying to be mainstream is the problem. 

Strategy games used to be niche games for geeks but they don't make money.   It'll be interesting to see what they do with this.  At least they've said it's turn based.


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## tommers (Jan 9, 2012)

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/01/09/xcom-remake-screens-details-worries/

Yay! But also hmmm!

Expect this to continue for 8 months.


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## tommers (Feb 1, 2012)

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/02/01/xcom-enemy-unknown-preview/

Yayyyyy!!!!!


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## tommers (Feb 2, 2012)

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/02/02/firaxis-xcom-preview/

Another one tomorrow...


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## Stigmata (Feb 2, 2012)

X-COM Apo... never mind.


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## october_lost (Feb 2, 2012)

Was there an expected release date?


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## tommers (Feb 2, 2012)

September or October I think


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## tommers (Feb 4, 2012)

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/02/03/time-for-a-change-firaxis-on-xcom-part-3/

Last one.


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## tommers (Sep 12, 2012)

This is out on October 20th.

There are only 4 members in your squad.  Fucking boo.  But the rest is getting cautious hope from some quarters.  I have spoken to some people who played it at PAX and they said it was good.

It's the hope that kills you etc...

If you order it on Steam there are stretch goals.  Some of them are Team Fortress 2 items like special hair.  What is wrong with these fucking people?


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## The Groke (Sep 12, 2012)

I watched 1:20 minutes of gameplay the other day on YouTube and it looks bloody great.

Tough, tactical, brutal.

It is gonna be XCom.


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## tommers (Sep 13, 2012)

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/09/13/hands-on-forty-hours-with-xcom/

The vengaboys are coming, we're gonna have a partay...


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## The Groke (Sep 13, 2012)

tommers said:


> http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/09/13/hands-on-forty-hours-with-xcom/
> 
> The vengaboys are coming, we're gonna have a partay...


 
Heh - was just about to post this!

Looks like they have pulled it off...just hope it sells by the bucketload. If not, then PC gamers really will forfeit the right to complain about COD 9, sequelitis and the lack of decent gaming ever again.


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## Stigmata (Sep 13, 2012)

But will there be boomeroids?


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## tommers (Sep 13, 2012)

I actually think I'm going to buy it on Xbawks.  Maybe I'll check the tech specs...  there's a different UI and stuff, isn't there?


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## tommers (Sep 13, 2012)

It's out 11th October, not 20th.  Whoops.


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## The Groke (Sep 14, 2012)

tommers said:


> I actually think I'm going to buy it on Xbawks. Maybe I'll check the tech specs... there's a different UI and stuff, isn't there?


 
PC all the way for me...Firaxes have said they will be supporting modding, so would seem the only sensible platform to buy it on if you have the choice!


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## tommers (Sep 14, 2012)

The Groke said:


> PC all the way for me...Firaxes have said they will be supporting modding, so would seem the only sensible platform to buy it on if you have the choice!



Hmmm.... my worry, as always, is my gfx card. Maybe if there's a demo I can see how it runs.

Excited.

I played the original last night. Still good.


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## Random (Sep 14, 2012)

I played X-COM Apocalypse, and I liked the science, etc. But there seemed to be very little real strategy to the fighting. In Jagged Alliance 2 you can use cover, stage ambushes, lie in wait, crouch down and lie on roofs. In X-COM (maybe I was doing it wrong) it seemed all you could do was to tool up and try to wander towards the aliens then hose them down.


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## Stigmata (Sep 14, 2012)

Random said:


> I played X-COM Apocalypse, and I liked the science, etc. But there seemed to be very little real strategy to the fighting. In Jagged Alliance 2 you can use cover, stage ambushes, lie in wait, crouch down and lie on roofs. In X-COM (maybe I was doing it wrong) it seemed all you could do was to tool up and try to wander towards the aliens then hose them down.


 
I wouldn't recommend that strategy on a higher difficulty, or later in the game.


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## Random (Sep 14, 2012)

Stigmata said:


> I wouldn't recommend that strategy on a higher difficulty, or later in the game.


What is a more advanced squad strategy? I only ever played the early game.


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## Gromit (Sep 14, 2012)

Yeah my memory of x-com was that if you just sent your troops rushing in they'd get toasted.

You had to place troops carefully depending upon the tiny bit of information you had on where the aliens might be. Sometimes that information might come at the expense of a lone guy having a peek and getting killed.


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## Stigmata (Sep 14, 2012)

Random said:


> What is a more advanced squad strategy? I only ever played the early game.


 
You need to use cover, distribute your forces, use smokescreens and sometimes advance very slowly. Sending one squad to pick their way through a potentially dangerous building while having two cover the exits is a risky but serviceable strategy. You also need to revise your tactics completely if you're looking to capture a live enemy, or if they're using lots of high explosive weapons or psychic troops.


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## tommers (Sep 14, 2012)

I've not really played Apocalypse but in Enemy Unknown you can do most of the things you're talking about. (You can't lie down.) But there's opportunity fire, there's cover. You can also blow out a wall with a rocket before taking down the creepy, big-eyed grey bastards inside in a hail of autocannon incendiary fire.

Smoke grenades. Night time and flares. Tanks. Hover tanks. Tanks with rocket launchers on. Flying soldiers in anti-grav armour. Floating aliens. Aliens which inject eggs into your lovely darling little soldiers before they hatch out into zombies _through their armour._ Blaster bombs. Oh god. Lovely blaster bombs.

And that's just the ground missions. In the air you've got different combinations of weapons for your fighters. Different UFOs you can research and then fly to kill the bastards invading our beautiful proud planet.

And psionics. Last night I took over 4 snakemen. I used 1 to kill 2 of the others then he got killed by another snakeman (who I like to think was crying as he did it). I got the last one to walk up to my waiting soldiers and drop his weapon. Oh, he was aware of what was going on. He knew what was about to happen but there was diddly squat he could do about it. The strobe effect as he was cut down by laser fire was truly beautiful to behold.

Maybe they'll think twice next time._ _


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## tommers (Sep 14, 2012)

Is this the time or the place to talk about Xenonauts again?


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## Artaxerxes (Sep 15, 2012)

Random said:


> What is a more advanced squad strategy? I only ever played the early game.


 
Once you get the guided rockets there is really only 1 strategy, total obliteration of everything on the map.


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## tommers (Sep 15, 2012)

Artaxerxes said:


> Once you get the guided rockets there is really only 1 strategy, total obliteration of everything on the map.



Whilst I appreciate the joy in totally destroying everything in a whooshy right angled orgy of annihilation - you might want to save hostages and power supplies and stuff.


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## tommers (Sep 24, 2012)

Demo out on steam.


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## Artaxerxes (Sep 24, 2012)

Some comments...

As it was a demo it was a little restrictive, very linear, not much chance to tinker as much as you could.



Spoiler



The good
That first pan out from the control centre to to the entirety of the base... awesome
The aliens are pretty creepy fuckers
Walking in front of an alien is a bad bad idea

The mediocre
Interface could be a little stickier, to easy to click in a random spot and get your soldiers walking in front of an alien *coughs*
Not able to explore as much aspects of the base/customisation as I'd like. Looks pretty slick though
The levels, I'm worried they are to small, I'm hoping its just a tutorial thing and the others feel more expansive.

The ugly
The first tutorial is a little insulting... lets walk up to a guy with a grenade the size of a pineapple and a gun, he's acting odd, whats the worst that can happen? Yep... X-Com still recruiting from top of the barrel.
The Voices... oh lord, they forgot to budget for actors... 
The cinematic bits, door kicking, aliens bouncing around when shot, a little shit sadly.


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## tommers (Sep 24, 2012)

I'm still downloading. 

I'm reading opinions that are NOT good.


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## Artaxerxes (Sep 25, 2012)

Its a very basic demo, hand holdy but it has to be,still looking forward to release


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## tommers (Sep 25, 2012)

Artaxerxes said:


> Its a very basic demo, hand holdy but it has to be,still looking forward to release



I was hoping for the same version that RPS played but obviously not.


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## tendo (Sep 25, 2012)

tommers said:


> I'm still downloading.
> 
> I'm reading opinions that are NOT good.


 
Don't you think that standards will be impossibly high for this and that with this being one of the first RTS' on a console that they have that to contend with too?


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## tommers (Sep 25, 2012)

tendo said:


> Don't you think that standards will be impossibly high for this and that with this being one of the first RTS' on a console that they have that to contend with too?


 
Yeah, I think that standards are impossibly high (I know mine are), and I think there are a lot of people who have written it off before they even play it.  And there are a lot of people who loved the first game to death and any remake of that is going to annoy some of them, no matter what, cos they all want different things from it.  Plus, this demo sounds like it doesn't cover much of the actual game, and the RPS write up is much more encouraging than what people are saying at the moment.

I think the whole console thing, though, is part of the problem, and a real can of worms.  PC gamers seem to hate console ports (and it's understandable why)  - the UI is different, the whole emphasis of the game is different.  But then I haven't played it, so these are just pre-conceptions.

I'm not sure this is an RTS game though, and the original X-Com was also released for consoles.  There have been plenty of strategy games on consoles - but I'm not sure what else does the "strategy/tactical" thing like this does.  It's going to be interesting to see how it ends up.  I have a feeling that it's going to be drastically different from the original.  I really hope it pulls it off.

Anyway.  Xenonauts.

http://thebaneofqueequeg.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/xenonauts-kickstarter.html


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## tommers (Sep 25, 2012)

Hmmm... having played the demo... I like the combat. It isn't X-Com but you know, it's not going to be the same game, is it? I thought the cover thing worked well and quite satisfying to pop a headshot with a sniper. Rocket launcher was a good laugh.

It is VERY streamlined though. Not sure how that will pan out over the course of a whole game. And my laptop was creaking with it a bit. 

Interesting though... it's kind of X-Com if it was directed by that fella that did that alien film with Will Smith in it. Can't remember the name. The one where he punches an alien and says some stupid one-liner and all the English pilots were dead posh.

Independence Day!  That one!


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## treelover (Sep 26, 2012)

I can't see what all the fuss is about, looking forward to the X-Com FPS by gearbox though..


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## The Groke (Sep 26, 2012)

treelover said:


> I can't see what all the fuss is about, looking forward to the X-Com FPS by gearbox though..


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## The Groke (Sep 26, 2012)

tommers said:


> Hmmm... having played the demo... I like the combat. It isn't X-Com but you know, it's not going to be the same game, is it? I thought the cover thing worked well and quite satisfying to pop a headshot with a sniper. Rocket launcher was a good laugh.
> 
> It is VERY streamlined though. Not sure how that will pan out over the course of a whole game. And my laptop was creaking with it a bit.
> !


 
RPS allay most (if not all) of the fears inspired by the demo


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## Artaxerxes (Oct 10, 2012)

Playing it now, its ace... should have been in bed 3 hours ago...


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## The Groke (Oct 10, 2012)

Got it downloaded and ready but won't really have a chance to play until the weekend.

Bah.


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## ruffneck23 (Oct 11, 2012)

getting it tonight, but might have to resist installing it until ive finished dishonoured and borderlands...


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## tommers (Oct 11, 2012)

It is downloading as we speak.

Unless my son has decided he wants to turn the PC off.


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## tommers (Oct 12, 2012)

OMG.  This game is fucking amazing.  It's weird cos it does loads and loads of shit that I really hate but it's still X-Com, and it still has the suspense, the pain of losing your valued squad members, the joy of creating new weapons, of promoting your soldiers.  It's all streamlined to shit and I hate that but it still absolutely delivers what is required.

I can't really work out how, but I want to stay up all night playing it and it's shit that I have to go to work tomorrow.  They pulled it off.  They really did.


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## tommers (Oct 12, 2012)

Fucking X-Com!


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## The Groke (Oct 12, 2012)

It rocks


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## The Groke (Oct 12, 2012)

I think however I may need to play on "normal" rather than classic whilst I get to grips with it...it has been a total massacre so far!


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## tommers (Oct 12, 2012)

The Groke said:


> I think however I may need to play on "normal" rather than classic whilst I get to grips with it...it has been a total massacre so far!



Yeah. I've been playing on normal. Done about 6 missions and just lost my first soldier. Made the age old mistake of taking cover behind a petrol tank. 

Then a car blew up to gravely injure the medic I sent to rescue him.  

Thing is - loads of it goes against my most inbuilt of gaming prejudices but I'm still really enjoying it and I don't know why.


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## ruffneck23 (Oct 12, 2012)

got it last night, installed it, fell asleep during the demo 

thats cos it was late.... looking forward to a proper sesh this weekend


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## ruffneck23 (Oct 12, 2012)

funny thing is, i kinda liked the original but not the turn based part of it ( yes i know it was the whole game lol ), then last year i was playing ghost recon on the 3ds, and LOVED the turn based aspect of it , so am really looking forward to giving this a proper go. Maybe im getting old


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## tommers (Oct 12, 2012)

ruffneck23 said:


> funny thing is, i kinda liked the original but not the turn based part of it ( yes i know it was the whole game lol ), then last year i was playing ghost recon on the 3ds, and LOVED the turn based aspect of it , so am really looking forward to giving this a proper go. Maybe im getting old


 
Heretic. 

I think the combat is the best bit of this. I don't miss action points at all, which surprised me, and it's tense moving from cover to cover to try and flank the enemy. I'm not sure about a few things with it - they've got rid of all the stats apart from "will" and "aim" (what is it with modern games and numbers? Numbers aren't bad, you know) and armour just adds "hit points" to your soldier rather than being a barrier to get through, there's also no choice of weapons at the start - so no more incendiary auto cannon barrages - which is a shame. Plus, I don't think you can destroy cover with normal weapons (you can throw grenades or lob a rocket - but you only get one per mission) which is just weird cos that was one of the best things about the original.

In fact, reading that lot back (and that's just the first things that came to mind about the combat, there's loads more stuff about the rest of it) why the fuck do I like it?

It's very odd.


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## The Groke (Oct 12, 2012)

tommers said:


> Yeah. I've been playing on normal. Done about 6 missions and just lost my first soldier. Made the age old mistake of taking cover behind a petrol tank.
> 
> .


 
Yeah, I lost an entire squad to an exploding car...

I came to a very sticky end and restarted on "normal"...

Still loving the game, but there does seem to be a really wonky difficulty curve - "Classic" is crazy hard and "Normal" thus far seems a touch easy...

I am sure I am tempting fate by saying that though!


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## tommers (Oct 12, 2012)

No, I thought normal seemed a bit easy too.  But I wasn't sure if that was just the start and it gets tougher later?

Is it just that enemies have more hp and do more damage?


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## tommers (Oct 12, 2012)




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## The Groke (Oct 12, 2012)

So, a few hours in an still having a great time.

I don't think I have an issue with any of the game mechanics really - I think it works excellently.

...the one thing I do have an issue with though, is the lousy camera. They really needed to throw out the console-focussed camera controls and move to a proper free-camera as befits using a keyboard and mouse.

Hopefully that can be modded in in due course!


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## tommers (Oct 12, 2012)

I've got my first terror mission and all my decent troops are injured.

It's going to be carnage.


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## tommers (Oct 13, 2012)

Well, it was... interesting.  My first Chrysalids encounter and I ended up fighting a kind of rearguard action against zombies, chrysalids and floaters back towards the ranger.  Managed to just about avoid getting anybody killed and then polished off the rest.  Managed to save 4 out of 18 civilians. 

The other 14 got turned into zombies.  

Got laser weapons for most of the crew now and some armour that means you can climb buildings, but haven't worked that out yet.  It's still good.

I think it's the soldier perks that make it.  They made a good decision to really push the troop improvement stuff - you really identify with them after a while.


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## ruffneck23 (Oct 13, 2012)

i renamed my squad names to me and some friends, to feel some empathy like  , then go and get myself killed on level 2


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## Moronik (Oct 15, 2012)

*The level if attachment to your soldiers is unbelievable!!*

I keep giving them individual personalities and making up little stories and dialogues between my soldiers to establish their relationships to each other.

Lt Chavez is my current commander - brash, aggressive, prone to charging the enemy and blasting them at close range with a shotgun. Although effective it can get him into trouble sometimes.

Captain 'Cadillac' Rico was like a father figure to Lt Chavez. He was on the verge of retirement, but there was always 'one last mission'.
He died when three floaters ambushed Chavez. He laid down a suppressing fire to allow Chavez to back off, but he took a plasma blast in the face. Killed instantly.

Rosa Vasquez died on her second mission... Her sister Maria Vasquez has signed up to get revenge! She is a total badass, and like picking off her enemies with a laser pistol.

Tom 'Motormouth' Husdon is the resident geek... running forward to stun aliens, or standing back and using the shredder rocket. He's always complaining.

Sam Robbins has been nicknamed 'poet'. But he isn't really. He's just a quiet gentle guy doing what he thinks is right.


When Rico died last night, I actually felt really sad. I've been thinking about it all morning!!! He was my original soldier and my most experienced. May he rest in peace.


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## Moronik (Oct 15, 2012)

And when I returned to base, my Scientist lady was very pleased that I had brought back some prisoners. But all I could think was 'How can she be so happy? We just lost our best soldier! She isn't risking her life out there! We paid for those prisoners in blood!!!'

This is a great game


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## tommers (Oct 16, 2012)

When you're shooting Chrysallids who are right next to you with a pistol then you know things aren't going according to plan.


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## tommers (Oct 16, 2012)

I had one of the best fights that I have ever had with any X-Com game last night. Terror mission, with Chryssalids who quickly turned about 10 civilians into zombies. I was slowly forced back to the Skyranger in a kind of fighting retreat, cars blowing up all around me and a horde of shuffling zombies and chittering Chryssalids advancing towards me. Then the Cyberdisc came out of the half-destroyed building....

Properly tense, good, game. I thought I was going to have to abort, it was like something out of Day of the Dead.


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## Moronik (Oct 16, 2012)

Ive decided to restart on classic as it seems a bit too easy...


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## The Groke (Oct 16, 2012)

Moronik said:


> Ive decided to restart on classic as it seems a bit too easy...


 
Classic is a bitch. I found I lost half the council members in the blink of an eye and the AI cheats too...

You might want to consider the "balance mod" on X-Com Nexus which evens up the odds a bit by allowing the full AI function of classic but removing the aliens bonus hit and critical chances, thus making it a little fairer but still tough.


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## Moronik (Oct 16, 2012)

hmmmm i'll give it a go on classic and see what happens. I want it to be really tough


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## tommers (Oct 17, 2012)

Always carry 2 medikits.


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## Moronik (Oct 18, 2012)

Ok I restarted on classic, and although it was a BIG shock at the level of AI, its a much better and rewarding game.It gets a lot easier when you get Carapace Armour..
Bit sad to see my original team go though, my current one isn't as good (although I've got a UK soldier which is really cool).

Its a shame that all the voices have american accents. I'd love to be able to get more authentic ones (still speaking in English though of course!)


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## tommers (Oct 18, 2012)

I have a British, female assault soldier who has a nickname of "Wardog".


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## Dandred (Oct 19, 2012)

I agree that the camera panning needs a tweak, I don't know why they decided to only let you pan 45degrees at a time it should be free rotation. Also I don't like the fact that when I zoom out it always gives a top down view, you should be able to change the angle as well. It gets quite frustrating when you want to move a player who is on a roof and the screen keeps show the moves you can make on the ground rather than where the selected player is, it seems to flicker between the upper and lower view even when I have the upper level selected. 

Apart from those minor gripes it is a really engaging game, I hate letting any of my players die so I restart missions a lot, it';s great that he aliens attack from different places at nearly every restart.


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## Moronik (Oct 19, 2012)

yeah... i wsh you could zoom in really close so you can see the action better. The closest you can get atm is not close enough.

Plus, sometimes the soldiers fire at odd angles, especially when they are up close. It would be good if there was a special animation for attacking while adjacent to the alien...


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## Dandred (Oct 20, 2012)

mother fuckers withdrawing from the council. 

I've won every mission and not lost a solider. ungrateful cunts.


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## tommers (Oct 20, 2012)

Dandred said:


> mother fuckers withdrawing from the council.
> 
> I've won every mission and not lost a solider. ungrateful cunts.



Yeah. That feels a bit unfair. The way they set it up there's basically no way of avoiding losing donors.

I thought the gollop chamber is a nice touch.


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## bouncer_the_dog (Oct 22, 2012)

This is now downloading. My two chums who have this have logged 45 & 50hrs on this - and they have kids and jobs!


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## tommers (Oct 22, 2012)

I finished it last night. I have mixed feelings but am starting up a classic ironman run just to make sure.


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## bouncer_the_dog (Oct 24, 2012)

This game is pretty much all I ever wanted from a computer game.


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## tommers (Oct 24, 2012)

Would it be bad for me to say I like the little things they say when they kill an alien?  I often go "hoo-rah!" to myself too. 

I am going to burn in hell.


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## Shippou-Sensei (Oct 24, 2012)

played demo..

seen the reviews..

purchased and downloading....


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## bouncer_the_dog (Oct 24, 2012)

Do you get incinerators? I keep on wanting to say 'fall back by squads using incinerators'


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## Bingo (Oct 25, 2012)

SAAAAAAAAAARRGGE!!!


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## Dandred (Oct 25, 2012)

Really really want to play more of this but I feel like I can't just sit down for an hour, it has to be at least three or four!

So easy to get stuck into it, considering the game play is quite slow I've been on the edge of my seat so many times. Roll on Friday and Saturday when I can finally have  a decent session.

I've restarted once because I manages to wast all my money things I didn't really have a clue about, now I think I've got it sorted.


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## Bingo (Oct 25, 2012)

playing on normal, 20 missions in, only lost 1 dude... its a bit too easy at this level, damn! really hope it gets tougher... NEED TO DO UNI
ASSIGNMENT AAAGHH!!


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## Moronik (Oct 25, 2012)

the voices really start to do my head in after a while - i wish there was more choice available!  I would like to customize the soldiers a lot more as well...

I lost two Majors last night.... that was a blow


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## Monkeygrinder's Organ (Oct 25, 2012)

Bingo said:


> playing on normal, 20 missions in, only lost 1 dude... its a bit too easy at this level, damn! really hope it gets tougher... NEED TO DO UNI
> ASSIGNMENT AAAGHH!!


 
Heh, I've got an exam towards the end of November and I've told myself I'm not allowed a new game until it's done (last year Skyrim cost me marks I'm sure). Might go for this one I think.


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## The Groke (Oct 25, 2012)

Moronik said:


> the voices really start to do my head in after a while - i wish there was more choice available! I would like to customize the soldiers a lot more as well...


 
You can turn em off in the options...along with the action-cam cuts.


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## Shippou-Sensei (Oct 26, 2012)

STARTED PLAYING AT 10:30PM LAST NIGHT


STILL PLAYING AT 4AM

adicting

also  playing on easy.  still not a walk over.


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## Dandred (Oct 26, 2012)

Shippou-Sensei said:


> STARTED PLAYING AT 10:30PM LAST NIGHT
> 
> 
> STILL PLAYING AT 4AM
> ...


 
Power and sats......


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## bouncer_the_dog (Oct 26, 2012)

I've lost the key team. I didnt save for about 3 missions. then my team went to NYC to rescue a UN official. It all went pear-shaped when Deborah Meadon bought it from a thin man. Everyone paniced. Michele Obama (my 2nd best sniper) ran into overwatched thin men as did the fuckwitted UN official. Both killed outright. Time to abort. Marines.. we are leaving. Then Mark (ginger owner of a company I work for time to time ) went critical. The choice was stark. Leave no man behind, or get the fuck out. I send Kendo Nagasaki back in to revive him with Huw (my best friends sisters husband) in covering with Duncan Bannatyne on overwatch. Huw and Kendo are wasted straight away. Bannatyne pegs it out of there - a disaster. Now all I have is the two heavies - Gangam Style and Walter White to sheperd a bunch of noobs through whilst my last glut of Colonels and Majors undergo Psionic evaluation. This game has been marked as pre and post New York....


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## Shippou-Sensei (Oct 26, 2012)

ok  getting  tougher now  even on easy.  had to restart  a mission 3 or 4 times  to compleate it.    though  some time  i do  get  an easy encounter

upgrading to lasers  was  the best thing i ever  did.  wish i had earlyer.


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## bouncer_the_dog (Oct 27, 2012)

I made a mistake. Bannatyne died and Kendo Nagasaki survived New York.


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## Bingo (Oct 27, 2012)

Still doing pretty well on normal ... I think my concentration on science has payed dividends... starting to lose the odd vet now tho...

Anyone know if its poss to get countries back after they've fekked off from the council?

There's a couple of surprises in there which I really enjoyed hehe.

Thinking I'm gonna need to upgrade my interceptors next... any tips?


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## Dandred (Oct 27, 2012)

Plasma rifles kick ass!

Got my squad in Caprice armour and all fitted out with plasma before I assaulted the alien base!

Might have to go back and start again on classic difficulty I feels too easy that the moment, or I'm just a tactical genius!


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## The Groke (Oct 27, 2012)

Dandred said:


> Plasma rifles kick ass!
> 
> Got my squad in Caprice armour


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## golightly (Oct 27, 2012)

Hmm.. is this game a time vampire?  I'm tempted but I don't know how wise it is to spend my time on another game.  Maybe I should wait until I have more free time.


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## Dandred (Oct 27, 2012)

golightly said:


> Hmm.. is this game a time vampire? I'm tempted but I don't know how wise it is to spend my time on another game. Maybe I should wait until I have more free time.


 
It depends, it's not like WOW or Battle field as you can play when you want and not feel like you're missing something, but on the other hand you need a good two to three hours to have a decent play through


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## bouncer_the_dog (Oct 27, 2012)

I had dishonoured for a week, I loved it, and finished it in 25hrs. I have had XCOM for under a week, logged 30hrs and haven't finished it. I am still quite upset about the loss of my guys. I haven't felt like this since the 'Red Wedding'. Oh yes.. I think I have some kind of sleep deprivation...


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## golightly (Oct 28, 2012)

Yeah, I finished Dishonored in about the same period of time.  I think XCOM will take up too much time.  I think I'll wait until Christmas.


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## Dandred (Oct 28, 2012)

I`m anoyed you can`t sell the weapons and armour you don`t need anymore.....


Mind you I have more money than I can spend at the moment.


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## Moronik (Oct 28, 2012)

wow you must not be playing on classic (or harder)!  Its a real struggle - you have to make a lot of sacrifices and use the grey market as often as possible..


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## bouncer_the_dog (Oct 28, 2012)

Most people are dead.. 5 countries have quit... the jet fighter fleet as been shot down... times are grim (I'm playing Classic)


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## Dandred (Oct 29, 2012)

Moronik said:


> wow you must not be playing on classic (or harder)! Its a real struggle - you have to make a lot of sacrifices and use the grey market as often as possible..


 
Yea, just on normal, I keep avoiding the obvious plot driving missions. Seemed to get quite a fortune. 

Going to restart on classic, first time I've ever played an xcom game.


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## Moronik (Oct 29, 2012)

you'll notice the difference on your first mission...


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## tommers (Oct 30, 2012)

I wrote a thing about it.

http://thebaneofqueequeg.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/xcom-enemy-unknown.html


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## Moronik (Oct 30, 2012)

tommers said:


> I wrote a thing about it.
> 
> http://thebaneofqueequeg.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/xcom-enemy-unknown.html


 
 Great review! I loved it..

Weirdly enough, although i LOVE this game, I have stopped playing it even tthough I have yet to complete it.... which either says something about the game or about my attention span...

By the way - how do you change the colour of the armour? I didn't notice that option.


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## tommers (Oct 30, 2012)

Thanks!

You can customise your soldiers in the barracks (or from the screen before you get in the skyranger.)

I think you might need some kind of pre-order pack or something so if you can't see it, that's why.  Stupid idea to limit it to that as it's part of the soldier identification which is so central to the game but there you go.


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## yield (Nov 1, 2012)

Good review tommers. I loved the demo. Hoping to get this for Xmas.


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## tommers (Nov 1, 2012)

tommers said:


> I wrote a thing about it.
> 
> http://thebaneofqueequeg.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/xcom-enemy-unknown.html


 

Julian Gollop just tweeted me to say he thought it was a "great article".

You really do not have any idea about how happy that makes me.


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## Dandred (Nov 3, 2012)

Where the fuck did ED209 come from.....nearly wiped out my squad!

Fuck is that going to get stunned and brought back to base.....

I can only play on Fridays and Saturdays at the moment....Still great but I seem to have a few problems, my SHIV is invisible if I select it for combat and if it does go into battle it freezes the game, and it seems I've got stuck waiting for the next story based mission. I can't seem to build the hyperwave relay........http://www.ign.com/wikis/xcom-enemy-unknown/Hyperwave_Relay


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## The Groke (Nov 3, 2012)

I have taken a break until the next patch rolls in - loving the game, but the fronky camera, unusable SHIVs and other such bugs are just frustrating..!


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## Moronik (Nov 6, 2012)

XCOM dlc 

http://www.joystiq.com/2012/10/23/firaxis-talks-future-xcom-content-slingshot-dlc-announced/


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## bouncer_the_dog (Nov 13, 2012)

So I finished it after 70hours of play.. that's around 42p an hour, so I think it was worth it..

I also spent ages wondering when the Caprice armour would unlock.


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## Chz (Nov 19, 2012)

Normal was far too easy. I've heard that "Classic" is a huuuge step up in difficulty though. What's it like? Original XCom hard, or TFTD hard?


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## Moronik (Nov 19, 2012)

I cant remember the original x-com really...  I can say you will notice the difference in AI in your very first game. Also, money is much much tighter in classic.


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## bouncer_the_dog (Nov 19, 2012)

I played through on Classic - I thought it was OK in the end. Waiting for a wet Sunday to have a crack at Iron Man Classic


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## bouncer_the_dog (Jan 3, 2013)

I'm convinced classic iron man cheats... just as I have mastered the art of satellite spam I get a level where every fucking alien appears all at once.. I had 3 mutons 3 sectoids and 3 thin men against 3 rookies and a colonel heavy (only ones left after the last missions wipe). Fucking annoying.


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## Vintage Paw (Apr 4, 2013)

I just got this. Late to the party as ever, but assured a good deal on a price that way. Looking forward to playing it, I've only heard great things about it ^^


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## october_lost (Apr 4, 2013)

I went crazy on it for a little while. Early mornings and what have you, but I genuinely don't think it has longevity. The missions become tedious very quickly, the skills on offer, progressions etc are too narrow, the market and not being able to carry out raids...

Even after all these years it's still a pale imitation on the original game in almost every respect.


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## tommers (Apr 4, 2013)

october_lost said:


> I went crazy on it for a little while. Early mornings and what have you, but I genuinely don't think it has longevity. The missions become tedious very quickly, the skills on offer, progressions etc are too narrow, the market and not being able to carry out raids...
> 
> Even after all these years it's still a pale imitation on the original game in almost every respect.


 
Exactly this.  It's slick and shiny but a bit shallow.


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## Vintage Paw (Apr 5, 2013)

I can see that, actually. I've been sucked in for a few hours this evening, although I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing, and I'm not even sure I'm having fun, and yet I keep thinking, "well, just one more mission.... I'll just check what I can research..... let's see how I can upgrade my facility.... just one more mission......"


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## tommers (May 17, 2013)

An open source version of the original has surfaced - http://openxcom.org.

I haven't had a chance to look but it's getting good reviews.  Lots of mods about and it fixes some of the basic issues, apparently.  Improved AI and all that stuff.


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## Dandred (May 17, 2013)

This game was great but I have no desire to replay it..., when ever I've started it again it just feels the same.


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## tommers (May 17, 2013)

Dandred said:


> This game was great but I have no desire to replay it..., when ever I've started it again it just feels the same.


 

That's exactly the problem with it.  It's too scripted and linear.

Whereas I still have a copy of the first one on my laptop 18 years later.


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## tommers (May 17, 2013)

OK, so OpenXcom is kind of the original Xcom but with most of the annoying bits taken out.  So soldiers retain equipment over missions, no more equipping every time.  Your base now shows where the short / long range radar reaches out to.  It's not quite Xenonauts but it makes it a bit more user friendly than it was before.  I'd recommend downloading it if you want to play the original again.

And I've only played it for a little bit... I'm going to see what else it does.


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## The Groke (May 18, 2013)

tommers said:


> It's not quite Xenonauts .


 
Been playing the most recent beta candidate...

Its pretty good...could be _really_ good, but needs a fair bit more polishing yet I think. I find some aspects a little glitchy and annoying still, which is to be expected I guess given its status!


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## tommers (May 18, 2013)

The Groke said:


> Been playing the most recent beta candidate...
> 
> Its pretty good...could be _really_ good, but needs a fair bit more polishing yet I think. I find some aspects a little glitchy and annoying still, which is to be expected I guess given its status!



Xenonauts?  Or this?

I'm getting a bit frustrated waiting for it. Did you pay for access?


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## The Groke (May 18, 2013)

tommers said:


> Xenonauts? Or this?
> 
> I'm getting a bit frustrated waiting for it. Did you pay for access?


 
Xenonauts!

Ya I bought it yonks ago but only recently fired it up as I thought the alpha/beta would be pretty playable by now...

I find the fixed camera and they way it deals with showing guys behind stuff a little annoying. I appreciate with sprites, the camera has to be static, but they could work it a little better with the transparancies etc. I also find the cover and LoS a little misleading...the cover graphics are glitchy and unless you ignore everything but the target/percentages it can be hard to work out what is hittable and what isn't.

Adding in the bugs and glitches and all the missing flavour text, it still isn't quite ready for prime time IMO!


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## The Groke (May 18, 2013)

...also the monstrous load times and wonky frame rates on a high end machine are a little annoying. I know - Beta.


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## tommers (May 18, 2013)

The Groke said:


> ...also the monstrous load times and wonky frame rates on a high end machine are a little annoying. I know - Beta.



Yeah, but still. I last played it about a year ago and it was better than that sounds!  I hope he can pull it off, it does look like it could be great.  

Los has always been a bit shonky in xcom.


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## Stigmata (May 21, 2013)

I'm enjoying OpenXCOM so far. Already had one epic Rorke's Drift moment when 10+ Chrysalids came at my Skyranger, with the entire landing party in shoulder to shoulder perimeter formation.


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## tommers (May 21, 2013)

Stigmata said:


> I'm enjoying OpenXCOM so far. Already had one epic Rorke's Drift moment when 10+ Chrysalids came at my Skyranger, with the entire landing party in shoulder to shoulder perimeter formation.



Yeah, it's good isn't it? It feels harsher than the original, but I might just be making that up.  Few nice little tweaks though (renaming soldiers, equipping them, even different coloured hair.). I think the guy said they rewrote the AI.  Aliens seem much more willing to use auto shot, which is killing a lot of my soldiers.


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## tommers (May 21, 2013)

Stigmata have you seen the options screen?  You can change loads of the game settings - limit to number of live aliens, double click to move soldiers, notifications when somebody dies, active base invasions from any UFO etc etc.  There are about 10 or so.  Plus, you can change the resolution to 1360x768 (or anything in between), and add a filter to the display (although a load of them are quite annoying.)

Cool stuff.


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## Stigmata (Jun 21, 2013)

Well swipe me. I finally finished the game, a mere 19 years after I first played it. Job's a good 'un


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## bouncer_the_dog (Jun 23, 2013)

I have it on the iPad.. its pretty good actually..


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## bouncer_the_dog (Nov 19, 2013)

XCOM Enemy Within is the nuts

Total wipe on an exalt mission (classic ironman) and another rage quit/game delete.. love it


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## Yata (Nov 22, 2013)

any tips for a total noob? im struggling on easy here... :/ (no DLC) main problem I think is that im not getting sattelites down fast enough so countries are bolting and I may be rushing the story parts a bit too fast when I should be getting some better gear first? or is there some kind of time limit on the story parts? fun game though, never played the original


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## Yata (Nov 23, 2013)

damn finally finished it. gonna move up to the next difficulty. had an amazing sniper team going on, one with squadsight+double tap which ended up being ridiculously good especially when the other sniper throws a scan first

pretty anti-climatic ending though, i actually mind controlled a muton elite (not used it before at this point) from the room before the end one. then i sent the MC'd muton in and ohh shit theres like 2 or 3 ethereals in there plus some more elites. so i think theyll just pop the elite after i use him to shoot one of the others.
but then of course i miss the shot and MC immediately wears off cause ive used 3 turns getting him in there.
so then im thinking how the hell am i gonna do this cause its just a straight bottleneck going into the room and the room itself is full of things that will kill me and im low already from the walker things in the other room

but then as im positioning outside the room figuring out if i can squeeze a rocket through the door, one of the ethereals goes straight away from his muton buddys and into the entrance/bottleneck that im wondering how im gonna get through. so i immediately pop him with both snipers. im thinking like "one down.." but then thats it??? did i get the bad ending or something? my psionic kicked everyone out then took the ship into orbit to blow up


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## bouncer_the_dog (Nov 24, 2013)

My tactics for Iron Man Classic games is to disable the tutorial so you go straight into a mission. You should ace the first mission otherwise re-start. Choose USA for cheap Satellites or Africa for cash. Immediately build two satellites and start building towards a steam vent for thermo power. And don't launch satellites until 1-2 days before the end of the month...


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## october_lost (Nov 26, 2013)

Anyone tried the new game that's just come out?


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## Bob_the_lost (Nov 30, 2013)

I haven't tried the new game but Enemy Unknown is on sale on steam for £7.50


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## october_lost (Nov 30, 2013)




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## bouncer_the_dog (Dec 2, 2013)

Enemy Within is XCOM but with extra high tech unfairness...

I now have gene modded my sniper to have Chameleon skin so its practically invisible. It's almost cheatign, but sod it, the game cheats all the bloody time. I just lost a Captain (Zhang iritatingly), a Major and a Rookie when got jumped by a Cyber Disc, three sectoids, a sectoid in a battle suit and these new invisible tentacle alien things. I bravely retreated the survivors back to the dropship. Shortly I will discover the '2nd heart' gene mod which should stop prized troops being killed outright if they are in the wrong place at the wrong time..


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## bmd (Dec 2, 2013)

bouncer_the_dog said:


> XCOM Enemy Within is the nuts
> 
> Total wipe on an exalt mission (classic ironman) and another rage quit/game delete.. love it



Love this game.



bouncer_the_dog said:


> Enemy Within is XCOM but with extra high tech unfairness...
> 
> I now have gene modded my sniper to have Chameleon skin so its practically invisible. It's almost cheatign, but sod it, the game cheats all the bloody time. I just lost a Captain (Zhang iritatingly), a Major and a Rookie when got jumped by a Cyber Disc, three sectoids, a sectoid in a battle suit and these new invisible tentacle alien things. I bravely retreated the survivors back to the dropship. Shortly I will discover the '2nd heart' gene mod which should stop prized troops being killed outright if they are in the wrong place at the wrong time..



Innit! You can be feeling pretty confident, kicking some green ass and then it throws all sorts of shit at you and suddenly half your squad are zombied and it always seems to be the best people too.


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## october_lost (Dec 2, 2013)

After buying it on the weekend...It's looking okay, but I don't think they can justify it being anything other than a paid add on/upgrade or whatever. It renders the first game obsolete and makes you think they should have released the second game on the market, rather than two very similar sequential products.


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## ruffneck23 (Dec 2, 2013)

Xcom something is out on the apps store at £13.99


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## bmd (Dec 3, 2013)

october_lost said:


> After buying it on the weekend...It's looking okay, but I don't think they can justify it being anything other than a paid add on/upgrade or whatever. It renders the first game obsolete and makes you think they should have released the second game on the market, rather than two very similar sequential products.



I've got both and the first time I played Enemy Within I quit it because I thought I'd put Enemy Unknown on by mistake.


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## bouncer_the_dog (Dec 4, 2013)

it IS the same game - but with extra bits. It's DLC.

I had my top rank memotic skin gene modded assault turned into a zombie.


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## bouncer_the_dog (Dec 4, 2013)

bouncer_the_dog said:


> it IS the same game - but with extra bits. It's DLC.
> 
> I had my top rank memotic skin gene modded assault turned into a zombie.




An hour an a bit later and everyones dead... they're dead dave... everyones dead..


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## Bob_the_lost (Dec 6, 2013)

bouncer_the_dog said:


> An hour an a bit later and everyones dead... they're dead dave... everyones dead..


One of my teams went up against an Alien terror mission only to discover that two thirds of the civilians, and one Crysalid, were on the roof of the building. By the time my men got up there they were all infected or transformed. In the chaos and blood that followed i lost four of my six man squad before my Sniper was finally able to put three plasma bolts through his CO's head to end the horror. A victory but at such a terrible price...


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## bouncer_the_dog (Dec 10, 2013)

I just lost 3 Colonels and a bunch of Majors and Captains in the Alien base mission.. Went up against a Sectopod, Four Chrysalids, 5 Drones and 3 Mutons AND an alien Mech simultaneously. Took out 2 Chrysalids, the sectopod, the mutons and the drones before squad wipe.

The 'all the enemies appear at once' bug is still prevalent.


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