BY BRANDIN TYRRELIn two decades of alien occupation, Earth has become a much different war zone. The soldiers of XCOM are no longer defending – they've gone underground and on the offensive. Outnumbered and outgunned, they strategically attack vital enemy positions and break into enemy intelligence nodes.
Survival in occupied Earth requires a special technological touch, and fortunately, the Support role of Enemy Unknown has evolved in fill that need. Here's your first look at the Specialist, one of five new classes coming to XCOM 2.
Meet The XCOM 2 Ranger
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The Specialist is support versus offensive. So when you say support: healing, support buffs, boosting stats.
The Specialist has a versatile role in XCOM’s underground guerrilla warfare. The class skews toward providing support to your squad, but can also be built to focus on objective and enemy control. But both sides of the Specialist’s skill tree serve to enhance its remote-controlled, airborne drone – The Gremlin.
"The Gremlin is thought of as a secondary weapon," said XCOM 2 Art Director Greg Foertsch. "It's not its own unit, but the abilities that you get essentially bring the Gremlin to life. What can the Gremlin do? That's what you're choosing."
The versatility of the flying Gremlin is extended by the fact it can path anywhere, but must be guided and directed by the Specialist as his or her action move for a turn; it doesn't move on it's own. When properly upgraded, you can send it out to hack a terminal remotely, or you might use it to cast an area-of-effect stun attack on the enemy.
XCOM 2 Reveal Trailer - IGN First
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"The Specialist is support versus offensive," Foertsch said. "So when you say support: healing, support buffs, boosting stats." For example, you can send your Gremlin to follow your squad’s Ranger and give them protection (presumably less enemy chance to hit) while they scout the terrain.
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Hacking is a prominent tactical gameplay mode that you will encounter on almost every mission.
But the Specialist's second ability tree focuses on hacking and controlling enemies – a huge part of XCOM 2.
"Hacking is going to be a prominent tactical gameplay mode that you will encounter on almost every mission type," Foertsch said. "You hack devices, workstations, and you can do that at range with the Gremlin.” Every soldier will have the ability to hack, but only the Specialist will be able to increase their hacking skill quickly, allowing them to hack faster than any other class - and when combined with the Gremlin’s remote hacking power, they could prove indispensable for many missions. They might also be able to activate certain things in the environment that no other character could.
Though hacking plays an important role in the procedurally generated secondary objectives coming to XCOM 2's maps, it's also useful in the usual combat scenario against enemies – specifically the undisclosed robotic enemies that the aliens have come up with in these past two decades. Foertsch explained an ability called Intrusion Protocol, which would allow the Specialist to hack and actually take over robotic enemies – basically a form of Mind Control. The Specialist might not pack much of a punch by themselves, but they’ll be able to set them up for the rest of your team to knock them down. IGN Logo
BY BRANDIN TYRRELIn Firaxis Games' XCOM universe, a lot has changed in the 20 years since the alien invasion of 2015. After Earth’s swift defeat and unconditional surrender in XCOM: Enemy Unknown, the role of the soldiers who went underground to continue fighting this war changed to suit a more guerrilla style of combat.
XCOM 2 introduces five new soldier classes. Here’s your first look at the Ranger, the evolution of Enemy Unknown’s Assault class.
XCOM 2 Reveal Trailer - IGN First
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The Ranger is largely built for close-range combat, hefting a shotgun or assault rifle as a primary weapon. But the Ranger's signature tool will obviously be the machete sword, which introduces melee combat to XCOM. These weapons allow you to upgrade your Ranger for either pure damage dealing or as a fast-moving, agile scout who can move quickly and quietly through rough terrain – and even scale walls.
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My Ranger is buffed and protected as I go out and scout. And then, if I can catch an enemy off guard, I go slice things up real quick.
"One of the things I love doing when I have [the Specialist and the Ranger] together in my playthroughs is I will put the Gremlin on my Ranger so my Ranger's buffed and protected as I go out and scout," said XCOM 2 Lead Producer Garth DeAngelis. "And then, if I can catch an enemy off guard, I go slice things up real quick."
While a stealth approach allows you the first shot, the Ranger doesn’t do backstabbing or throat-cutting style kills. "It's hardcore melee combat," DeAngelis clarified. "We talked a little bit about the backstabbing stuff, but we led with the melee."
Concealment is a big part of XCOM 2 combat, and that can work both for and against the Ranger. “Every unit is in concealment when they start the map; the ranger can push that further, depending on how you spec them out in their specialty tree,” said DeAngelis., and the Ranger is among the best equipped to make the most of the element of surprise. Leaping out of the shadows with a sword to deal a huge amount of damage on the most powerful enemy targets before they know what hit them, or locating enemies for long-range allies can turn the tables on what would have been a losing fight. But once spotted, the close-range nature of the Ranger’s abilities means using them aggressively can leave him out of cover and vulnerable. “So, making that risk/reward choice is very powerful. It's an interesting decision; there's other enemies around you, so you probably don't want to do that.”
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Making that risk/reward choice is very powerful. There's other enemies around you, so you probably don't want to [reveal yourself.]
DeAngelis detailed two skills that could make the Ranger even deadlier than Enemy Unknown’s famous Double-Tap Sniper. Towards the top of the Ranger’s skill tree you’ll get access to the ultra-powerful Reaper; with it, scoring a melee kill allows you to combo into another attack – and you can chain that as many times as you want, as long as you keep scoring kills. So if you have two enemies standing side by side, you could run up, kill both, and then take a shot at a distant third with your rifle.
Another high-level skill, called Phantom, allows the Ranger to move again after a kill. On its own, that ability allows you to dash out of cover, strike down an enemy, and dash back – effectively turning the Ranger’s sword into a ranged weapon (although exposing him to Overwatch cover fire).
A Phantom-Reaper Ranger could be absolutely devastating. Imagine, if you will, using a Grenadier to soften up – but not quite kill – a squad of Advent soldiers with an explosive area-of-effect attack. Then your Ranger dashes in and slices and dices his way through all of them, one at a time, for a bloody clean-up. IGN Logo
BY BRANDIN TYRRELThe words procedurally generated spark the idea of endlessly interchangeable combinations of parts linked together in hundreds of different ways, creating something unique that may never be seen again. At its heart, that’s not terribly far off the mark, but as Firaxis Games discovered during the production of its 2012 reboot, XCOM: Enemy Unknown, there’s a gulf between random and procedural. And traveling from Enemy Unknown to XCOM 2 has meant discovering how to bridge that long divide.
XCOM 2 Reveal Trailer - IGN First
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Random's not fun. That is the lesson we learned.
Much of that learning process took shape during the development of Enemy Unknown – so much that it simply couldn’t be shaped and applied alongside the project’s already hefty development. Fortunately for us, those lessons are finally ready to be applied to XCOM 2’s shining white alien-built megacities, rugged forests, deserts, and snow-capped wildernesses (among other settings) that will serve as the battlefields in humanity’s war against the aliens’ occupying force.
The first rule, according to XCOM 2 Art Director Greg Foertsch, is striking a balance. “Random’s not fun,” Foertsch declared. “That’s the lesson we learned. The procedurally generated levels in Enemy Unknown, they were more random.”
It’s the kind of randomness where each slab of cover could be a bench, or a trashcan, or dumpster, or some clumsily lain obstacle course of the aforementioned parts that don’t give you good opportunities to advance your soldiers under fire. “Maybe that was a bridge too far.... And, visually, it also looks terrible.”
And so Firaxis turned to hand-crafted maps for Enemy Unknown that both looked good and played well. But the other side of that coin is that because each piece was meticulously constructed, Firaxis could make only so many – the finite number of maps just wasn’t enough to sustain the series’ dedicated and diehard fanbase, who very quickly learned to anticipate enemy placement.
“Overwhelmingly, players of [Enemy Unknown] said, ‘We like the maps, but man...we're exhausting them pretty quick,’ even though the team put in 80-plus maps,” said Garth DeAngelis, lead producer on both Enemy Unknown and XCOM 2. “And they were all handcrafted, which was a ton of work.
‘So,’ we said, ‘How do we resolve this problem?’” The answer is what the team literally calls “the plot and parcel system,” and what DeAngelis refers to as “a big quilt.”
Building A Better Tomorrow
Here’s how the metaphor works: imagine a map in XCOM 2 as a quilt, with holes where a pre-constructed modular building will be placed – those are the parcels. The holes are big, small, and medium-sized, with a range of unique buildings that could fit into each size. These buildings, and the holes in which they’re socketed, are the parcels of the system.
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Buildings aren’t procedurally generated, but crafted set pieces, and almost entirely destructible.
Though modular in nature, buildings in XCOM 2 aren’t procedurally generated, but crafted set pieces, and almost entirely destructible – including their ceilings and floors. “They're actually high-cost to make,” said Foertsch. “There are a lot of steps that go with them. Then there's the visibility stuff. And there’s a lot of things to iron out when you destruct these things.”
However, with the addition of mod support in XCOM 2 -- which we’ll be diving into next week -- and the modular nature of building design and creation, there’s no telling how many different variations and original buildings you’ll soon be blowing holes through. But in the meantime, Firaxis is planning plenty of variety in each map layout.
“You might get a gas station next to a park, next to a parking lot in one playthrough, and that's your experience,” DeAngelis said. “Even though the ‘quilt’ is the same, all of these elements are procedural, mini set piece bases.”
The plot portion of that system comes into play in the space between our buildings. At the risk of mixing our metaphors, think of the plots as the connective tissue that links one parcel to the next. The plots could be a street, or a park area, or train tracks, or a river bed, or an empty tract of land, et cetera. When you begin a mission, the map reaches into a bank of options and fills it up.
“All the stuff you see that comes up on the road, like where the cars are, the lights – that's all random rule,” Foertsch said. “It has a pool of things it can put there. But we think more about it as like a little bit of a diorama set than, ‘I'm going to put an individual trash can here.’”
“In addition, the connective tissue does have random cover that propagates on top of it,” DeAngelis continued. “So, cars in the streets, where telephone booths are, where the security checkpoints you saw in the announce trailer are, those come in as well.”
Each chunk of each plot will be procedurally generated from an appropriately themed bank of around 20-ish possible dioramas, and so on so forth. This is how XCOM 2 will generate a near-endless supply of maps, and how you’ll likely never play the same one twice.
Your Mission, Should You Choose To Accept It
But the procedurally generated approach of XCOM 2 doesn’t stop with the patchwork environments and battlefield locales. For the first time, your squad will not only be tasked with exterminating the aliens in the area, but secondary mission objectives which will cater to the procedurally generated settings. “It might be blowing up one of these buildings to spark the resistance,” Foertsch said. “It might be hacking a workstation, or protecting a device. All these different things you can do that can show up and in dozens of different buildings and areas. And you don't know what you're going to get.
“We're really excited about the baseline gameplay. Because it just ramps up that whole procedural factor beyond just geometries in a different place – which is what we wanted to set out to do.”
“I'm super excited about this,” said DeAngelis. “There was an interesting long-term learning lesson. Because again, with the pie-in-the-sky approach, you're like, ‘Let's make it as random as possible so you truly get play forever and totally randomized.’ But there's so much value in what the artists and designers do with crafting, so it's really that nice hybridization of techniques we learned in Enemy Unknown, but then try and give back some of that UFO Defense.” IGN Logo
It’s difficult to please both new and old fans alike when rebooting a beloved franchise, but in 2012, Firaxis pulled off a game-development miracle when it successfully revived the legendary but long-mistreated X-COM franchise with XCOM: Enemy Unknown. The modernized version recaptured the key elements that made the 1994 original memorable: an against-the-odds struggle against a technologically superior foe; the emotional sting that comes from the permanent loss of personalized soldiers heroically killed in battle; and a deep tactical system with an element of randomness that forces you to prepare contingencies in case your plans don’t survive contact with the enemy.
XCOM 2 Reveal Trailer - IGN First
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Surprise: You didn’t beat the aliens – they steamrolled you.
Enemy Unknown was a success that demanded a follow up, and it’s our great pleasure to announce that it’s getting one in XCOM 2, due out this November. But that posed a difficult question: Where do you go from the end of Enemy Unknown (and its expansion, Enemy Within), where, spoiler alert, XCOM has unlocked the secrets of the aliens’ advanced technologies and used them to destroy the invaders’ mothership, ending the threat? When faced with this problem in 1995, Microprose took the fight underwater with X-COM: Terror From the Deep, which simply reskinned X-COM with a less relatable deep-sea theme, and added a scant few new features. For Firaxis’ second XCOM, Creative Director Jake Solomon and his team are going in an entirely different direction: instead of changing the setting, they’re changing history to make XCOM the underdog again. How? Surprise: You didn’t beat the aliens – they steamrolled you.
Solomon painted an alternate version of how the war unfolded: “When the aliens showed up, XCOM suffered massive casualties, and governments around the world crumbled in face of popular support to surrender. Then, the Earth was quickly overrun. And so, 20 years into the future, the world is a very different place. The aliens rule Earth from giant shining megacities where all the people of Earth are flocking; that’s where they’re promised an easy life, a secure life free of disease.“
We’ll have much more on the new setting next week, in Impossible Ironman is Canon: Why Earth Had to Lose the War for XCOM 2 to Happen.
And here’s another shocker: though XCOM: Enemy Unknown and XCOM: Enemy Within came out on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC, XCOM 2 is a PC-exclusive game. More on that on Friday in Why XCOM 2 Had to be a PC-Only Game.
Down, But Not Out
The year is 2035, and XCOM now operates as a resistance movement against the alien occupation. That represents a huge shift in context for both the strategic and tactical battles we’ll fight in XCOM 2. “XCOM never lost the war; they just never stopped fighting and went underground,” explained Solomon. “Players are no longer the commander of this elite military force. They are commanding a very hardened group of freedom fighters and guerrilla fighters, and they’re leading them to ignite a global resistance and wake everyone up, and then try to rescue Earth from the government that now controls it."
Is the alien statue helping him up, or leaving him behind?
The aliens have a weird idea of tourist attractions.
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XCOM never acquired advanced weapons and armor technology.
The situation is desperate: Earth is enemy territory, and in this reality XCOM never acquired the advanced weapons and armor technology that allowed us to go head-to-head with powerful aliens. We’re outmatched – even more so than before, as we’ve lost the home-field advantage, and the aliens have become even more powerful. To avoid being pinpointed and obliterated, the old subterranean headquarters has been abandoned in favor of a mobile base, built on the frame of a captured and retrofitted alien cargo ship rechristened as the Avenger. (This is a reference to the Avenger interceptor/troop carrier in 1994’s X-COM: UFO Defense, not Nick Fury’s helicarrier in Marvel’s 2012 Avengers movie.)
Firaxis isn’t going into detail about its new version of XCOM’s strategy layer just yet, other than to say that territory control will be important. From what we see in the trailer, in which the Avenger flies out of the canyon where it was concealed and off to parts unknown, we can surmise that it will move from region to region as XCOM attacks vulnerable alien targets in hit-and-run strikes. “The idea is that you’re inspiring people by actually taking the fight to the aliens and their New World Order,” Solomon hinted.
Human Revolution
What he is going into depth on is the tactical battles (which have always been the meat of XCOM games) and how this change in circumstances affects the moment-to-moment gameplay of using teamwork and complementary weapons and abilities to shoot aliens in the face. Solomon described the creative process that led to a guerilla-themed XCOM as gameplay-driven. “The idea for us is that mechanics always come first, and then we look for a setting that’s going to fit the mechanics,” he said. He and his team had some big ideas about how to change up battles and make them more tactically interesting and less repetitive, and the freedom-fighter setting rose up around them.
Your friendly neighborhood Advent checkpoint.
Sneaking into position to ambush Advent soldiers will be easier than a fair fight.
First of all, we have a new team of battle-hardened XCOM soldier classes that are similar to Enemy Unknown’s, but distinct. The Sharpshooter shares a lot of DNA with EU’s Sniper, but can also specialize in using a pistol as a primary weapon instead of a last resort. The Ranger is the evolution of the Assault class, still specializing in close combat with shotguns and the like, but now comes equipped with XCOM’s first lethal melee weapon: a machete-like blade. The Grenadier? He (or she) blows things up, much like the Heavy. The Specialist replaces Support, and uses a hovering drone called a Gremlin both in combat to stun enemies and buff allies, and out of combat to pull off tricks like long-range hacking. There’s also a fifth mystery class that Firaxis is saving for reveal closer to launch.
We’ll have more on XCOM 2’s new classes next week in Meet The Specialist and Meet The Ranger.
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This is really more of a Sons of Anarchy-type of squad.
XCOM 2 Art Director Greg Foertsch says the character models and textures shown in the cinematic trailer are the same ones we’ll see in-game (though here they have some post-processing effects on them), setting an extremely high bar for visual quality. Despite that, we’re promised much more control over our characters’ looks this time. Out of every success in Enemy Unknown, Solomon considers the soldier customization and the personal attachment that comes from that to be among the biggest, and has set out to push it further in XCOM 2. “We have some really cool-looking soldiers,” he promised. “They can have big beards, they can have really awesome haircuts, they can have some cool stuff that gives them a lot of character and fits this idea of they’re this sort of hardened group, they’re not fresh-out-of-the-barracks Johnny Soldier; this is really more of a Sons of Anarchy-type of squad.”
We'll have much more control over our soldiers' looks.
We'll have much more control over our soldiers' looks.
We can now swap genders and set nationalities to our liking – if you want an all-female, all-Portuguese team, you can do that. What’s more, we’ll be able to tweak the look of the right and left arms, torso, pants, and headgear individually, drawing from a larger selection of pieces designed to give this version of XCOM a more ragtag, scavenged look and feel. “When that stuff came online I got caught in the trap of customizing rookies, which was a huge mistake,” Solomon confessed. “We try to make it easier for the player to customize, but you can spend a lot more time customizing your soldiers, which you should not do unless you have relative certainly you’re either going to re-load when they die or that are going to survive. So, don’t do that on rookies because you’ll have wasted a lot of time.” Veteran soldiers will have unique cosmetic upgrades unlocked to visually emphasize how hardcore they are, he added.
Enemy Territory
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The structure of a typical XCOM 2 mission will be dramatically different from what we’ve seen before.
The bigger change is that the structure of a typical XCOM 2 mission will be dramatically different from what we’ve seen before. For comparison, let’s recap the typical Enemy Unknown encounter: we arrive on the scene of an alien incursion and, upon spotting something that didn’t belong, immediately engage in firefights until one side or the other is dead. It’s a guns-blazing, all-or-nothing kind of fight. If you’ve played for a few dozen hours, you’ll probably have a good idea of what the map you’re fighting on looks like and where the enemies will be, which eventually makes it routine.
Every map will look and play differently each time you see it.
Every map will look and play differently each time you see it.
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We’ll be able to scout out the alien positions and move our troops around the battlefield before the fighting starts.
Solomon wants XCOM 2 to turn these concepts on their heads in several ways. “In XCOM 2, the idea is that you have the jump on the aliens. They’re already there, and they’re not hiding.” That means we’ll have the element of surprise: our small squads (still in the four to six range) will arrive unseen in enemy-controlled territory, at which point we’ll be able to scout out the alien positions and move our troops around the battlefield for as long as we’re able to stay out of hostile units’ detection radius and behind cover. Thanks to a new concealment system and waypoints that’ll allow you to precisely guide your troops’ movement within their two-move radius, setting up the battle will be a big part of what Firaxis intends XCOM 2 to be about. “You have a lot of control over when the engagement starts,” Solomon explained. “Of course, a lot of times you’ll blunder or do something wrong, like come around the corner and get revealed. We give the player the ability to jump the enemy first, and that feels very resistance-y, very guerilla tactics.”
As we see in the trailer, XCOM sometimes gets to take the first shot – and that’s a huge deal. Except in certain situations (Stealth Suits and Battle Scanners), the aliens have up until now always seen us the moment we see them – and when they do, they “scamper” to cover and deny us the chance at a clean shot. In fact, the scamper is probably the most common complaint I’ve seen from other XCOM players, some of whom see it as an unfair advantage for the aliens. Those people will be very happy to hear that they’ll have the opportunity to cancel out that advantage in XCOM 2. “The first enemy that you get to jump on, obviously they don’t get to scamper anywhere,” said Solomon. That’s not all: “Enemies will get surprised, so that prevents them – some of them, based on some factors – from fully scampering into cover.” Between that and hinting at further, yet-to-be-disclosed ways to counteract the scamper, Solomon makes it sound like if we play our cards right, setting up an ambush correctly could turn what would’ve been a losing fight into shooting fish in a barrel. Don’t expect to be backstabbing aliens or picking them off one at a time like Batman – stealth is useful for getting into position to ambush the enemy, but does not replace combat.
Nice propaganda center. It would be a shame if someone fired a grenade launcher at it.
Nice propaganda center. It would be a shame if someone fired a grenade launcher at it.
If the maps were the same set of 80 or so pre-built setups we saw in Enemy Unknown, that might give us too much of an advantage over the aliens – but that’s where XCOM 2 throws in another much-requested feature: procedurally generated maps. Solomon summed up the need for a system like this in a way that’s music to any gamer’s ears: “Obviously, replayability is a big thing at Firaxis, and it is a big thing for XCOM. We always talk about value for the player’s dollar, right? And the core of that is replayability, to make your game as replayable as possible.”
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Because maps are procedurally generated, the AI has been made more procedural to allow aliens to navigate and fight on them.
With Firaxis’ new system, we’ll see maps drastically change each time we encounter them, drawing from a large pool of components like buildings, roads, and different types of terrain to create battlefields that look good, are more destructible than ever (including by fire that spreads, acid that melts through floors, and exploding barrels), and offer well-placed cover. And, because the maps are procedurally generated, the AI has been made more procedural to allow aliens to navigate and fight on them. All of this together has the potential to extend XCOM 2’s replayability dramatically, and to make each of our experiences unique. “That’s the thing that I’m personally very excited about,” Solomon said. “When you have those moments, and you’re like, ‘This would have never, ever happened in Enemy Unknown.’ That’s what we’re going for.”
More on that later this week in XCOM 2’s Procedurally Generated Maps.
What We're Fighting For
Just as importantly, we’ll have a greater range of options for success on each mission. According to Solomon, every mission will have a dynamically generated objective – in addition to simply killing all the alien forces, of course – that will prompt us to hack a terminal, extract a VIP, or other types of not-yet-disclosed goals. If you can get in, accomplish your secondary goal, and call for extraction (which you can now do almost anywhere on the map), you can still count that mission in the win column without necessarily being able to take out the meanest hostile on the map – as long as you didn’t lose too many soldiers and pieces of equipment in the process.
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XCOM soldiers have in some cases literally duct-taped upgrades to their weapons.
Inventory is set to be much more important this time around, too. “Loot is a thing now,” said Solomon. “One thing for the soldiers is that they have to make do with the things they’re recovering from the battlefield.” This doesn’t extend to the kind of on-battlefield inventory management X-COM: UFO Defense fans remember, but rather a sort of “backpack” into which you can throw loot items recovered from fallen enemies or allies. Once you return them to base, you’ll be able to equip them for the next mission. What that loot is hasn’t been detailed yet, but we can see in the trailer that XCOM soldiers have in some cases literally duct-taped upgrades to their weapons.
Loot will serve an important function on the battlefield, too: in the same way that Enemy Within added the Meld resource to incentivize us to charge our soldiers into danger (instead of slowly advancing your troops at an ultra-conservative pace) by putting an expiration timer on valuable collectables, XCOM 2’s loot will have a countdown. If you don’t reach loot items within a few turns, they’ll explode into less-valuable weapon fragments, which is what happens to gear in Enemy Unknown if you don’t take the aliens alive. So there’ll be increased risk attached to the best rewards, because the Advent soldier or alien who just dropped something shiny might have still-living friends in the area.
If one of your troops is rendered unconscious, wounded, or killed in action, one of their teammates can sling the body over a shoulder and carry them out. When resources are scarce, it’ll be crucial to save their equipment even if you can’t save their lives.
Aliens on Steroids
Which brings us to the aliens you’ll face in XCOM 2 – and all of them are terrifyingly powerful. “When you encounter aliens out in the field, your soldiers are not going to go toe-to-toe with them. Certainly not in the beginning of the game,” promised Solomon. “In these past 20 years, they’ve grown very strong. The important thing about the aliens is that soldiers are no longer a one-to-one match; there is no way to take on aliens without teamwork.”
Here's what the Thin Men look like under their human suits.
Here's what the Thin Men look like under their human suits.
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Sectoids have not yet evolved the ability to wear pants.
Case in point: the Sectoids have taken this opportunity to incorporate human DNA into their own, rapidly changing their species from four-foot-tall imps into imposing seven-foot-tall monsters with beady eyes and a brand-new set of unsettling pearly whites. Worse, they’ve enhanced their psionic abilities to include mind control from the get-go, making them extremely dangerous for any one soldier to take on by themselves. Despite their more human-like legs, Sectoids have apparently not yet evolved the ability to wear pants, but still have greyish-pink skin and an otherworldly glow emanating from their internal organs. Though we saw an XCOM Ranger slice through a Sectoid with a melee attack in the trailer, Solomon assured me that a move like that would only be possible in-game if the Sectoid had already been softened up.
In addition, the XCOM 2 trailer showed us the snake-like female Vipers (a clear reference to the Snake Men of X-COM: UFO Defense), who have the capability to not just immobilize and slowly crush a soldier with a constriction ability similar to Enemy Within’s Seekers, but can also yank them right out of cover with a frog-like tongue. Beyond that, background images hint at the return of the psionically powerful four-armed Ethereals, and we’re told many other XCOM enemies will be back along with a complement of all-new alien invaders.
Someone's been hitting the space-gym pretty hard.
Someone's been hitting the space-gym pretty hard.
Obviously, this kind of creature would render the early game a miserable, punishing experience wherein the typical XCOM rookie would be ground to a pulp if there was more than one or two in play at once. Hence, we have a new form of fodder against whom our lowly recruits can prove themselves and level up: the Advent. So far we’ve seen two ranks of these (probably) human collaborators, whom Solomon clarified have no direct relation to the Exalt forces from Enemy Within. These rank-and-file troopers wear black armor, wield magnetic weaponry, and maintain order in the alien-controlled cities. We’ll have more on the aliens and the Advent later this month in our XCOM 2 Enemy Profiles.
In a game as massive and deep as XCOM, all of this information only scratches the surface of how it’ll play, but it’s a start. Over the next month you can expect to see lots more in-depth features on what’s in store for our troops pop up on IGN, so we’ll see you again soon.
Oh, and did I mention that Firaxis is going all-in on mods for XCOM 2? We’ll have much more on that next week in XCOM 2 and The Potential For Mods. IGN Logo
BY DAN STAPLETONLast week, 2K teased us with a cryptic website: AdventFuture.org. On it, a supposedly utopian near-future government called the Advent Administration offered a better life for citizens through genetic enhancement, while hackers subversively replaced text and images revealing that Advent isn’t as benevolent as it seems.
Today, IGN First officially announces that the game 2K hinted at is in fact Firaxis Games’ XCOM 2, a full sequel to 2012’s critically acclaimed XCOM: Enemy Unknown and a continuation of the now 20-year-old legendary turn-based tactical squad combat series, which will be available exclusively on PC this November. Watch the debut trailer above for a glimpse into a future where the aliens are in control of the Earth, and XCOM has gone underground to fight to overthrow their Advent government. This new guerrilla force will face more powerful enemies in unpredictable combat scenarios as they fight to turn the tables on a technologically superior enemy.
Concept art of XCOM's new mobile base, the Avenger.
Despite being on the run, XCOM soldiers will still have access to advanced hair-care technology.
Advent Troopers dig in against an XCOM assault.
Advent Captains are stronger versions that can buff nearby troopers.
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An XCOM Ranger prepares to ambush an Advent Captain and Soldier.
The terrifying evolved version of the Sectoid. Nice teeth!
Over the next month IGN will reveal huge details about XCOM 2, uncovered during our visit to Firaxis’ Maryland studio. Tomorrow you’ll get an in-depth overview and interview with Creative Director Jake Solomon that’ll highlight the major new features, including:
Four of the five new soldier classes
New enemies: Evolved Sectoids, snake-lady Vipers, and Advent soldiers
Stealth-infused tactics, including using cover for concealment and looting fallen enemies and allies
A mobile base: a flying aircraft carrier called the Avenger
Procedurally generated maps and the technology that powers them
Mod support, including official mod tools and Steam Workshop integration
One-on-one multiplayer
Following that, we’ll have a Rewind Theater examination of all the details in today’s trailer reveal with Solomon and Lead Producer Garth DeAngelis.
And, later this week we’ll go in-depth with Solomon and DeAngelis on the reasons behind the bold move to take XCOM from a multiplatform series to a PC exclusive, and how XCOM 2 will be tailored to take advantage of that single platform’s strengths – followed by Firaxis’ exciting plans to support modders and their work.
You might notice a lack of gameplay video, but fear not: in two weeks, we’ll debut the first in-game footage of XCOM 2 on our IGN E3 Live Show.
All of that and much, much more XCOM 2 is coming your way. As a huge XCOM fan, I couldn’t be more excited to tell you all about it. IGN Logo
BY DAN STAPLETONLast week, 2K teased us with a cryptic website: AdventFuture.org. On it, a supposedly utopian near-future government called the Advent Administration offered a better life for citizens through genetic enhancement, while hackers subversively replaced text and images revealing that Advent isn’t as benevolent as it seems.
Today, IGN First officially announces that the game 2K hinted at is in fact Firaxis Games’ XCOM 2, a full sequel to 2012’s critically acclaimed XCOM: Enemy Unknown and a continuation of the now 20-year-old legendary turn-based tactical squad combat series, which will be available exclusively on PC this November. Watch the debut trailer above for a glimpse into a future where the aliens are in control of the Earth, and XCOM has gone underground to fight to overthrow their Advent government. This new guerrilla force will face more powerful enemies in unpredictable combat scenarios as they fight to turn the tables on a technologically superior enemy.
Advent Troopers dig in against an XCOM assault.
Advent Captains are stronger versions that can buff nearby troopers.
An XCOM Ranger prepares to ambush an Advent Captain and Soldier.
The terrifying evolved version of the Sectoid. Nice teeth!
Over the next month IGN will reveal huge details about XCOM 2, uncovered during our visit to Firaxis’ Maryland studio. Tomorrow you’ll get an in-depth overview and interview with Creative Director Jake Solomon that’ll highlight the major new features, including new soldier classes, new aliens, stealth-infused tactics, procedurally generated maps, and more. Following that, we’ll have a Rewind Theater examination of all the details in today’s trailer reveal with Solomon and Lead Producer Garth DeAngelis.
And, later this week we’ll go in-depth with Solomon and DeAngelis on the reasons behind the bold move to take XCOM from a multiplatform series to a PC exclusive, and how XCOM 2 will be tailored to take advantage of that single platform’s strengths – followed by Firaxis’ exciting plans to support modders and their work.
You might notice a lack of gameplay video, but fear not: in two weeks, we’ll debut the first in-game footage of XCOM 2 on our IGN E3 Live Show.
All of that and much, much more XCOM 2 is coming your way. As a huge XCOM fan, I couldn’t be more excited to tell you all about it.
BY DAN STAPLETONLast week, 2K teased us with a cryptic website: AdventFuture.org. On it, a supposedly utopian near-future government called the Advent Administration offered a better life for citizens through genetic enhancement, while hackers subversively replaced text and images revealing that Advent isn’t as benevolent as it seems.
Today, IGN First officially announces that the game 2K hinted at is in fact Firaxis Games’ XCOM 2, a full sequel to 2012’s critically acclaimed XCOM: Enemy Unknown and a continuation of the now 20-year-old legendary turn-based tactical squad combat series, which will be available exclusively on PC this November. Watch the debut trailer above for a glimpse into a future where the aliens are in control of the Earth, and XCOM has gone underground to fight to overthrow their Advent government. This new guerrilla force will face more powerful enemies in unpredictable combat scenarios as they fight to turn the tables on a technologically superior enemy.
Advent Troopers dig in against an XCOM assault. Advent Captains are stronger versions that can buff nearby troopers. An XCOM Ranger prepares to ambush an Advent Captain and Soldier. The terrifying evolved version of the Sectoid. Nice teeth! Over the next month IGN will reveal huge details about XCOM 2, uncovered during our visit to Firaxis’ Maryland studio. Tomorrow you’ll get an in-depth overview and interview with Creative Director Jake Solomon that’ll highlight the major new features, including new soldier classes, new aliens, stealth-infused tactics, procedurally generated maps, and more. Following that, we’ll have a Rewind Theater examination of all the details in today’s trailer reveal with Solomon and Lead Producer Garth DeAngelis.
And, later this week we’ll go in-depth with Solomon and DeAngelis on the reasons behind the bold move to take XCOM from a multiplatform series to a PC exclusive, and how XCOM 2 will be tailored to take advantage of that single platform’s strengths – followed by Firaxis’ exciting plans to support modders and their work.
You might notice a lack of gameplay video, but fear not: in two weeks, we’ll debut the first in-game footage of XCOM 2 on our IGN E3 Live Show.
All of that and much, much more XCOM 2 is coming your way. As a huge XCOM fan, I couldn’t be more excited to tell you all about it. IGN Logo
Dan Stapleton is IGN's Reviews Editor. You can follow him on Twitter to hear all about how awesome gaming is, plus a healthy dose of random Simpsons references.
Automatically Appended Next Post:
Automatically Appended Next Post: Looks like a X-Com Apocalypse type setting.
Grey Templar wrote: So it looks like the Iluminati won and Xcom is fighting a shadow war to bring down the establishment. That's fricking awesome.
That just means we will be figthing in a target rich enviourment, witch means more awesome battels and heaps more of filty aliens and Exaclt dead on the ground
Grey Templar wrote: So it looks like the Iluminati won and Xcom is fighting a shadow war to bring down the establishment. That's fricking awesome.
That just means we will be figthing in a target rich enviourment, witch means more awesome battels and heaps more of filty aliens and Exaclt dead on the ground
Maybe this time Exalt will put up more of a fight. They do seem to have some pretty good gear this time.
Grey Templar wrote: So it looks like the Iluminati won and Xcom is fighting a shadow war to bring down the establishment. That's fricking awesome.
That just means we will be figthing in a target rich enviourment, witch means more awesome battels and heaps more of filty aliens and Exaclt dead on the ground
Grey Templar wrote: So it looks like the Iluminati won and Xcom is fighting a shadow war to bring down the establishment. That's fricking awesome.
That just means we will be figthing in a target rich enviourment, witch means more awesome battels and heaps more of filty aliens and Exaclt dead on the ground
Maybe this time Exalt will put up more of a fight. They do seem to have some pretty good gear this time.
Better make sure that tinfoil is ready then, and we can only hope. Me wants to kill moar Exalt
There's a trailer at the site, along with some basic information about the game.
Twenty years have passed since world leaders offered an unconditional surrender to alien forces, and XCom, the planet's last line of defense, was left decimated and scattered. Now the aliens rule Earth, building shining cities that promise a brilliant future for humanity on the surface, while concealing a sinister agenda below and eliminating all who dissent from their new order.
Only those who live at the edges of the world have a margin of freedom. Here, a force gathers once again to stand up for humanity. Always on the run, the remnant XCom forces must find a way to rise from the ashes, expose the insidious truth behind the occupation, and eliminate the alien threat once and for all.
- XCom appears to operate from a mobile headquarters. The Avenger is a converted alien supply craft that serves as the base of operations.
- Snakemen are back, and the trailer includes what might be a Sectoid-Human hybrid
- The info mentions carrying wounded comrades to the extraction point, and the trailer shows this
- A melee weapon (specifically, a sword) is used in a rather prominent scene in the trailer
- Mod tools will be made available to the community
- The info advertises a "virtually infinite combination of maps, missions, and goals." I'm not sure if this means that the maps are randomly built this time.
- There will be five classes of soldiers
- The info talks about guerilla combat, looting enemies, and carrying wounded soldiers to the extraction point. My suspicion is that many of the missions will be hit and run raids that emphasize the need to get in and get out before enemy reinforcements overwhelm your troops.
The release date is stated to be November 2015.
Automatically Appended Next Post:
pretre wrote: Looks like a X-Com Apocalypse type setting.
The same thought initially appeared to me (the Cult of Sirius-style statue certainly pushed my thoughts in that direction). However, it appears that there are still numerous cities around the world, as opposed to that game's one city. And XCom is operating from a mobile base of operations. Additionally, one of the screenshots shows what appears to be a raid on a base located in the wilderness. And wildlands are explicitly mentioned as one of the types of maps that missions can take place on.
SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
IM so excited. I was on the fence if I wanted to spend my entire first check on a PS4, but Yup, gonna do it now
hotsauceman1 wrote: SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
IM so excited. I was on the fence if I wanted to spend my entire first check on a PS4, but Yup, gonna do it now
Don't buy a PS4 for XCom 2. One of the posts above notes that it will be a PC-exclusive release.
Kind of my least favorite sort of setting "U 2KOOL4SKOOL REBELS AGAINST EBEL GUBMENT" but I suppose it being all run by aliens makes it a bit less annoying.
Really it doesn't matter. So long at the gameplay is just as engaging and repayable I'll probably be able to mostly ignore the premise.
CthuluIsSpy wrote: Good. Maybe it will run properly.
I always suspected the bugginess on the PC release was because they had to split their efforts between ports.
So, apparently XCOM will get a flying air-craft carrier.
Which, if they still have interception, would make them pirates.
I for one welcome the possibility of making a sectoid walk the plank.
If that happens I'll yell ''This! Is! EARTH!!!" before kicking them off.
CthuluIsSpy wrote: Good. Maybe it will run properly.
I always suspected the bugginess on the PC release was because they had to split their efforts between ports.
So, apparently XCOM will get a flying air-craft carrier.
Which, if they still have interception, would make them pirates.
I for one welcome the possibility of making a sectoid walk the plank.
If that happens I'll yell ''This! Is! EARTH!!!" before kicking them off.
I am totally going to name the highest ranked soldier Phantom Harlock, Rebecca Lee if a lady
This game if anything like the last will be sex. Everything about this game appeals to me. I'm just curious wtf happened. Last we saw we won the game unless this is an alternate timeline where we either lose or eventually we lost behind the scenes. If so will there be an in between game like an xcom 1 and a half?
Eumerin wrote: - The info advertises a "virtually infinite combination of maps, missions, and goals." I'm not sure if this means that the maps are randomly built this time.
Another article says that levels will be procedurally generated, so yeah, much, much wider variety of maps!
flamingkillamajig wrote: This game if anything like the last will be sex. Everything about this game appeals to me. I'm just curious wtf happened. Last we saw we won the game unless this is an alternate timeline where we either lose or eventually we lost behind the scenes. If so will there be an in between game like an xcom 1 and a half?
I won't rule out the possibility of an alternate dimension (that was the first thought that occurred to me while watching the trailer, and before I had read the info on the game), but it looks like the simplest answer is the most correct - XCom failed. Either it screwed up the assault on the Temple ship, or it never got the chance at all. While failure is a rare choice for a sequel plot, it's been used on very rare occasions in the past.
flamingkillamajig wrote: This game if anything like the last will be sex. Everything about this game appeals to me. I'm just curious wtf happened. Last we saw we won the game unless this is an alternate timeline where we either lose or eventually we lost behind the scenes. If so will there be an in between game like an xcom 1 and a half?
To me, its always been heavily implied that the "victory" was just delaying the inevitable; that was only an research party, and not the main military force.
So what probably happened is that a few years after the destruction of the temple ship, a larger alien force, geared for open combat, either attacked and subjugated Earth, or convinced the world's governments that they would be better off serving their alien overlords. Probably at the end of a plasma rifle.
flamingkillamajig wrote: This game if anything like the last will be sex. Everything about this game appeals to me. I'm just curious wtf happened. Last we saw we won the game unless this is an alternate timeline where we either lose or eventually we lost behind the scenes. If so will there be an in between game like an xcom 1 and a half?
Not necessarily. It could be that the world governments surrendered after the Temple ship was destroyed for some reason.
flamingkillamajig wrote: This game if anything like the last will be sex. Everything about this game appeals to me. I'm just curious wtf happened. Last we saw we won the game unless this is an alternate timeline where we either lose or eventually we lost behind the scenes. If so will there be an in between game like an xcom 1 and a half?
Not necessarily. It could be that the world governments surrendered after the Temple ship was destroyed for some reason.
And that reason was exterminatus
It would be pretty cool if there was a scene where the camera points up and shows that half the moon is missing. Probably not going to happen, but it would be cool.
flamingkillamajig wrote: This game if anything like the last will be sex. Everything about this game appeals to me. I'm just curious wtf happened. Last we saw we won the game unless this is an alternate timeline where we either lose or eventually we lost behind the scenes. If so will there be an in between game like an xcom 1 and a half?
Not necessarily. It could be that the world governments surrendered after the Temple ship was destroyed for some reason.
And that reason was exterminatus
It would be pretty cool if there was a scene where the camera points up and shows that half the moon is missing.
Probably not going to happen, but it would be cool.
Aaaand with that the game just became Assassination Classroom.
flamingkillamajig wrote: This game if anything like the last will be sex. Everything about this game appeals to me. I'm just curious wtf happened. Last we saw we won the game unless this is an alternate timeline where we either lose or eventually we lost behind the scenes. If so will there be an in between game like an xcom 1 and a half?
Not necessarily. It could be that the world governments surrendered after the Temple ship was destroyed for some reason.
And that reason was exterminatus
It would be pretty cool if there was a scene where the camera points up and shows that half the moon is missing.
Probably not going to happen, but it would be cool.
Aaaand with that the game just became Assassination Classroom.
hotsauceman1 wrote: SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
IM so excited. I was on the fence if I wanted to spend my entire first check on a PS4, but Yup, gonna do it now
Don't buy a PS4 for XCom 2. One of the posts above notes that it will be a PC-exclusive release.
Why the feth would they do that? Seriosuly? release it on consoles, then decide it going back to PC only?
Consoles are just as valid platforms, Realize that people. Jesus christ.
hotsauceman1 wrote: SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
IM so excited. I was on the fence if I wanted to spend my entire first check on a PS4, but Yup, gonna do it now
Don't buy a PS4 for XCom 2. One of the posts above notes that it will be a PC-exclusive release.
Why the feth would they do that? Seriosuly? release it on consoles, then decide it going back to PC only?
Consoles are just as valid platforms, Realize that people. Jesus christ.
Sure, but they cause so many coding problems. And you get more people with a PC release than a console release.
hotsauceman1 wrote: SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
IM so excited. I was on the fence if I wanted to spend my entire first check on a PS4, but Yup, gonna do it now
Don't buy a PS4 for XCom 2. One of the posts above notes that it will be a PC-exclusive release.
Why the feth would they do that? Seriosuly? release it on consoles, then decide it going back to PC only?
Consoles are just as valid platforms, Realize that people. Jesus christ.
Because they want to heavily feature mod support for the game, something that doesn't transfer well onto consoles.
hotsauceman1 wrote: SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
IM so excited. I was on the fence if I wanted to spend my entire first check on a PS4, but Yup, gonna do it now
Don't buy a PS4 for XCom 2. One of the posts above notes that it will be a PC-exclusive release.
Why the feth would they do that? Seriosuly? release it on consoles, then decide it going back to PC only?
Consoles are just as valid platforms, Realize that people. Jesus christ.
Because they want to heavily feature mod support for the game, something that doesn't transfer well onto consoles.
Cool, they can do that for PC, like other games do but still have support. Like Skyrim
Seriously, Even MINECRAFT has a console version.
Im hearing conflicting Rumors, some say its going to PC first.
But Whatever, maybe down the line I can get a real computer. Right now Im stuck with a school laptop.
If you guys want to play this over steam when it comes out i'm all for it. I'd even like to play enemy unknown or within if any of you wish.
I'm hoping this game will receive co-op at some point. I know dawn of war 2 sorta did it (never tried it) but co-op is one of the more fun modes that's surprisingly absent in many games.
I will say I am terribly excited, I will get this out of the way now:
They want it to be mod heavy, I hope this will be in time for Steam to do away with paid Mods?
I hope 2K does the right thing and do not allow charging money whatsoever for content.
Please release on GOG please oh please.
I could see a PC only release for ease of launch but I am sure they will keep in mind much programming for ease of console use.
I think this choice initially is to get off on the right foot and as the PC people rave then the console launch would happen and possibly bundle in a few "greatest hits" mods.
Since you really only get one chance for a bug-free console release so this plan I am sure is to do it right and find all the problems first.
I hate to rain on the PC superiority parade but I think they figure we are the best audience to find all the problems and report back in short order so we are the logical lab rats of choice.
The only irritant is the console people will have to wait, patience, it will be for the best I am sure.
From the trailer, I think they will try to get things to as open and choice filled as the original X-com without the clunky interface.
We were able to pick up bodies AND inventory off dropped personnel and aliens so it looks like it might be back!
If the goofy yet terrifying snake alien is any indication of classic roots, I am unsure what is.
The guerilla warfare underdog position of Xcom is probably a good choice due to how exciting it is.
Having to "make do" limited resources, large groups searching for you and possibly being uncovered at any time.
The sterile "lab rat" futuristic looking cities will provide an excellent contrast to the destruction that is sure to happen.
Looks like excellent first steps and if we can send out mechanical probes to taze the bad guys and not put our operatives in harms way, all the better.
Talizvar wrote: I will say I am terribly excited, I will get this out of the way now:
They want it to be mod heavy, I hope this will be in time for Steam to do away with paid Mods?
I hope 2K does the right thing and do not allow charging money whatsoever for content.
Please release on GOG please oh please.
I could see a PC only release for ease of launch but I am sure they will keep in mind much programming for ease of console use.
I think this choice initially is to get off on the right foot and as the PC people rave then the console launch would happen and possibly bundle in a few "greatest hits" mods.
Since you really only get one chance for a bug-free console release so this plan I am sure is to do it right and find all the problems first.
I hate to rain on the PC superiority parade but I think they figure we are the best audience to find all the problems and report back in short order so we are the logical lab rats of choice.
The only irritant is the console people will have to wait, patience, it will be for the best I am sure.
From the trailer, I think they will try to get things to as open and choice filled as the original X-com without the clunky interface.
We were able to pick up bodies AND inventory off dropped personnel and aliens so it looks like it might be back!
If the goofy yet terrifying snake alien is any indication of classic roots, I am unsure what is.
The guerilla warfare underdog position of Xcom is probably a good choice due to how exciting it is.
Having to "make do" limited resources, large groups searching for you and possibly being uncovered at any time.
The sterile "lab rat" futuristic looking cities will provide an excellent contrast to the destruction that is sure to happen.
Looks like excellent first steps and if we can send out mechanical probes to taze the bad guys and not put our operatives in harms way, all the better.
I honestly hope you are Right. I love Xcom, I spent what little money I had to get within this year even though my console is at home.
As to the "Why they are the underdogs" it makes sense. Games HAVE to undue all the tech progress or weapon progress of the previous game.
Like what they did with Mass Effect. Mass Effect 2, The Normandy is destroyed, so we likely loose our weapons. 3, the normandy is Dry docked with weapons likely removed along with systems. And the reapers come and you have to make it too the ship and bugger out. Some games do it badly(Crackdown 2) some do it great(Most Bioware games.)
hotsauceman1 wrote: I honestly hope you are Right. I love Xcom, I spent what little money I had to get within this year even though my console is at home.
As to the "Why they are the underdogs" it makes sense. Games HAVE to undue all the tech progress or weapon progress of the previous game.
Like what they did with Mass Effect. Mass Effect 2, The Normandy is destroyed, so we likely loose our weapons. 3, the normandy is Dry docked with weapons likely removed along with systems. And the reapers come and you have to make it too the ship and bugger out. Some games do it badly(Crackdown 2) some do it great(Most Bioware games.)
I agree if some of the tech was still in place in the new game it would start off pretty complicated.
I think that with the aliens settling on the earth much other tech could be explained for easily.
I think how much gameplay depth would be dependent on how much resources they have to expend on the game engine.
I hope they can use a large segment of the original or anything new is a bit more plug and play.
I have found in the past more "mature games" that can easily upgrade an engine's features can add more content and everyone wins.
Mass Effect, good games to talk about.
Played to the end of each one at least twice so you are preaching to the choir.
Xcom2 this year, November... I am really surprised how excited I am over a "silly" game.
New Star Wars movie this year, Mad Max... it is like favorite parts of my past are all showing up again this year.. it is like Christmas!
flamingkillamajig wrote: This game if anything like the last will be sex. Everything about this game appeals to me. I'm just curious wtf happened. Last we saw we won the game unless this is an alternate timeline where we either lose or eventually we lost behind the scenes. If so will there be an in between game like an xcom 1 and a half?
To me, its always been heavily implied that the "victory" was just delaying the inevitable; that was only an research party, and not the main military force.
So what probably happened is that a few years after the destruction of the temple ship, a larger alien force, geared for open combat, either attacked and subjugated Earth, or convinced the world's governments that they would be better off serving their alien overlords. Probably at the end of a plasma rifle.
The information available (particularly the statue I mentioned earlier) strongly suggests that the aliens are able to claim that their presence on Earth is benign. Everything that we've seen so far indicates that the aliens are publicly claiming to be friendly to Earth and humanity.
Or in other words, there was almost certainly no open invasion, or publicly recognizable implied threat.
hotsauceman1 wrote: I honestly hope you are Right. I love Xcom, I spent what little money I had to get within this year even though my console is at home.
As to the "Why they are the underdogs" it makes sense. Games HAVE to undue all the tech progress or weapon progress of the previous game.
Like what they did with Mass Effect. Mass Effect 2, The Normandy is destroyed, so we likely loose our weapons. 3, the normandy is Dry docked with weapons likely removed along with systems. And the reapers come and you have to make it too the ship and bugger out. Some games do it badly(Crackdown 2) some do it great(Most Bioware games.)
I agree if some of the tech was still in place in the new game it would start off pretty complicated.
I think that with the aliens settling on the earth much other tech could be explained for easily.
I think how much gameplay depth would be dependent on how much resources they have to expend on the game engine.
I hope they can use a large segment of the original or anything new is a bit more plug and play.
I have found in the past more "mature games" that can easily upgrade an engine's features can add more content and everyone wins.
Mass Effect, good games to talk about.
Played to the end of each one at least twice so you are preaching to the choir.
Xcom2 this year, November... I am really surprised how excited I am over a "silly" game.
New Star Wars movie this year, Mad Max... it is like favorite parts of my past are all showing up again this year.. it is like Christmas!
I mean, I dont care if games or series are platform exclusive. But, to put a game out that worked GREAT on consoles, make great gameplay, then make the sequel a platform exclusive? I let Fromsoft get away with that because Bloodborne isnt a sequel but more of a clone. But it would be like if mass effect went Back to Xbox after making 2 on all other platforms.
All im saying is, keep the path you established before.
malfred wrote: Here's hoping they totally steal ideas from the Long War mod.
Which ideas are you thinking of? I am hoping they make training rulette the new standard and that they open up the equipment slots to more options. I kind of think that is happening as the trailer shows a support with a shotgun, or maybe it's just random. The big one I want them to change is the global game. It was too passive in the last game, you were basically reacting the whole time.
I would bet that this has more story than the last. It was a bit like dark souls, in which you would Infer alot compared to other games.
My bet, The Volunteer is behind part of it in some way. She/He Blinked out before they died.
Y'know what would be cool? If aliens would somehow make it into the team. Kinda like Falling Skies, where the Volm are helping them.
I'd also like more cross compatibility between weapons and classes. Like every class should be able to be equipped with assault rifle type weapons. Thats why my Snipers rarely got used. Before they could move and shoot they were liabilities, and they could gain XP without killing aliens, and they couldn't kill many aliens without the ability to move and shoot.
Grey Templar wrote: I'd also like more cross compatibility between weapons and classes. Like every class should be able to be equipped with assault rifle type weapons. Thats why my Snipers rarely got used. Before they could move and shoot they were liabilities, and they could gain XP without killing aliens, and they couldn't kill many aliens without the ability to move and shoot.
Really? For me the Sniper was the best Class. Squadsight was way better than Move shoot. Once you got them a decent pistol they could gunsling. And Once they got the Archangel Armor Woot where they a terror to behold.
What Im hoping for is some different troops, more classes. Maybe just a Medic this time? Dont mix it with support.
I noticeds a few things rewatching the trailer. Genetherapy seems to be important somehow. You need a security scan to get in line, Rebels are attacking them across the globe & Xcom is attacking it too.
Oh, and Optimus Prime is leading the Xcom forces.
Also, I wonder if the Grenade launcher is for a new demolition class. That would be cool.
Sure, they were good once you got them upgraded. Except so were the other classes, who themselves were useful at all stages. Snipers had to be babied and groomed. I never used them till late game.
And that actually makes me want another thing, I want choice of my soldier's class. Not randomly generated.
Grey Templar wrote: Sure, they were good once you got them upgraded. Except so were the other classes, who themselves were useful at all stages. Snipers had to be babied and groomed. I never used them till late game.
And that actually makes me want another thing, I want choice of my soldier's class. Not randomly generated.
malfred wrote: Snipers you work around move and shoot by simply running to a good position when you move the sniper. You essentially have to think two turns ahead.
Well, This is me unmodded, but I had a sniper who racked up 200 kills and never died. Not even go unconcious. I loved her. To bad she died saving humanity.
Grey Templar wrote: Sure, they were good once you got them upgraded. Except so were the other classes, who themselves were useful at all stages. Snipers had to be babied and groomed. I never used them till late game.
And that actually makes me want another thing, I want choice of my soldier's class. Not randomly generated.
OMG yes, Plz.
I liked the random classes. It gave you a challenge and was a rather effective tutorial.
nomotog wrote: *looks up the log war mod* Wow.. *understands why it's now PC only*
Like I said, I hope Hope HOPE that it isnt Only, just that we get it down the line. But it just got announced, So, I guess its the waiting game now.
<Darth Vader voice>Do not underestimate the power of greed... </end>
The console market is mainstream they will not cut out that demographic.
PC is more forgiving for the beta'ish launch so them first.
After some 10 odd updates goes to consoles when the screaming stops and a few people confirm winning the game.
I am rarely sure but I feel it in my bones.
Plus also been a gaming freak and see how these things play out.
Grey Templar wrote: Sure, they were good once you got them upgraded. Except so were the other classes, who themselves were useful at all stages. Snipers had to be babied and groomed. I never used them till late game.
And that actually makes me want another thing, I want choice of my soldier's class. Not randomly generated.
OMG yes, Plz.
I liked the random classes. It gave you a challenge and was a rather effective tutorial.
True, but one game, I litarlly NEVER got a support. Not once, never. Snipers as far as the eye can see. At one point I ran an entire squad of Squadie snipers because all my others where injured.
nomotog wrote: *looks up the log war mod* Wow.. *understands why it's now PC only*
Like I said, I hope Hope HOPE that it isnt Only, just that we get it down the line. But it just got announced, So, I guess its the waiting game now.
<Darth Vader voice>Do not underestimate the power of greed... </end>
The console market is mainstream they will not cut out that demographic.
PC is more forgiving for the beta'ish launch so them first.
After some 10 odd updates goes to consoles when the screaming stops and a few people confirm winning the game.
I am rarely sure but I feel it in my bones.
Plus also been a gaming freak and see how these things play out.
Im sure, I have looked and all the ones saying "Exclusive" got it from IGN. Everywhere else says "Being made for Windows" that is no way means exclusive.
Grey Templar wrote: Sure, they were good once you got them upgraded. Except so were the other classes, who themselves were useful at all stages. Snipers had to be babied and groomed. I never used them till late game.
And that actually makes me want another thing, I want choice of my soldier's class. Not randomly generated.
Squadsight is all of a tier-2 ability. That means you have it after your 3rd combat engagement at the very latest, hardly "Late Game". Once you have Squadsight they're amazingly deadly, and you get a ton of utility because your other classes can spot for them and then use hunker down rather than risk their hides. Sure ideally you don't leave any aliens up to take turns but that just isn't always option being able to hunker everyone in their LoS while still getting shots is a big deal. Full Cover hunker is basically the only way to stop thin-men from insta-gibbing you early game. Using MECs has fire magnets works in EW too, but that doesn't really work in longer missions.
Just build Laser-Sniper Rifles before the 1st Chrysalids show up and you've basically got the game on autowin.
Grey Templar wrote: Sure, they were good once you got them upgraded. Except so were the other classes, who themselves were useful at all stages. Snipers had to be babied and groomed. I never used them till late game.
And that actually makes me want another thing, I want choice of my soldier's class. Not randomly generated.
OMG yes, Plz.
I liked the random classes. It gave you a challenge and was a rather effective tutorial.
True, but one game, I litarlly NEVER got a support. Not once, never. Snipers as far as the eye can see. At one point I ran an entire squad of Squadie snipers because all my others where injured.
Sounds fun. That is actually one of the things that ended up bugging me about Xcom. You don't often get a chance to run with an odd ball squad. Something like a squad of nothing but flying troops or a squad of just snipers. The game seems more about filtering you to the most optimal configurations. I would like to see experimentation encouraged more.
Grey Templar wrote: Sure, they were good once you got them upgraded. Except so were the other classes, who themselves were useful at all stages. Snipers had to be babied and groomed. I never used them till late game.
And that actually makes me want another thing, I want choice of my soldier's class. Not randomly generated.
OMG yes, Plz.
I liked the random classes. It gave you a challenge and was a rather effective tutorial.
True, but one game, I litarlly NEVER got a support. Not once, never. Snipers as far as the eye can see. At one point I ran an entire squad of Squadie snipers because all my others where injured.
Sounds fun. That is actually one of the things that ended up bugging me about Xcom. You don't often get a chance to run with an odd ball squad. Something like a squad of nothing but flying troops or a squad of just snipers. The game seems more about filtering you to the most optimal configurations. I would like to see experimentation encouraged more.
it wasnt, it was the Chinese mother ship mission. I lost all but 2 snipers. Granted they went onto mec trooper and to be the volunteer. But it was one of the hardest.
Xbox becomes really easy if you take the skills that allow multiple shots per guy per turn.
Grey Templar wrote: Sure, they were good once you got them upgraded. Except so were the other classes, who themselves were useful at all stages. Snipers had to be babied and groomed. I never used them till late game.
And that actually makes me want another thing, I want choice of my soldier's class. Not randomly generated.
Squadsight is all of a tier-2 ability. That means you have it after your 3rd combat engagement at the very latest, hardly "Late Game". Once you have Squadsight they're amazingly deadly, and you get a ton of utility because your other classes can spot for them and then use hunker down rather than risk their hides. Sure ideally you don't leave any aliens up to take turns but that just isn't always option being able to hunker everyone in their LoS while still getting shots is a big deal. Full Cover hunker is basically the only way to stop thin-men from insta-gibbing you early game. Using MECs has fire magnets works in EW too, but that doesn't really work in longer missions.
Just build Laser-Sniper Rifles before the 1st Chrysalids show up and you've basically got the game on autowin.
That was more in response to the Archangel armor, but still even a second tier ability that's so vital means you have to sort of hamstring yourself to get your snipers leveled up.
I tried squadsight a couple times, but I found it inadequate. Maybe its just my playstyle. I prefer to get in closer so I have better chances of hitting with things like shotguns and assault rifles. Nothing sucks more than missing a crucial shot and losing a soldier because of that.
nomotog wrote: *looks up the log war mod* Wow.. *understands why it's now PC only*
Like I said, I hope Hope HOPE that it isnt Only, just that we get it down the line. But it just got announced, So, I guess its the waiting game now.
<Darth Vader voice>Do not underestimate the power of greed... </end>
The console market is mainstream they will not cut out that demographic.
PC is more forgiving for the beta'ish launch so them first.
After some 10 odd updates goes to consoles when the screaming stops and a few people confirm winning the game.
I am rarely sure but I feel it in my bones.
Plus also been a gaming freak and see how these things play out.
To be honest, while the console market is mainstream, and I would be more than glad that everyone gets to play the game without having to jump consoles/pc, I frankly wonder if it might just be diminished value or something else. I've heard that XCOM didn't sell all too well on the console market and quite a lot of great games won't sell on console partly because of controller problems and partly because pc gamers will take terrible ports and mod them to work often times unlike consoles that don't have as much luck when it comes to that. Hopefully I'm wrong though.
Anyone else wondering how base building and funding will work for a mobile base. I wonder if you have to take a proactive approach to acquiring resources.
nomotog wrote: *looks up the log war mod* Wow.. *understands why it's now PC only*
Like I said, I hope Hope HOPE that it isnt Only, just that we get it down the line. But it just got announced, So, I guess its the waiting game now.
<Darth Vader voice>Do not underestimate the power of greed... </end>
The console market is mainstream they will not cut out that demographic.
PC is more forgiving for the beta'ish launch so them first.
After some 10 odd updates goes to consoles when the screaming stops and a few people confirm winning the game.
I am rarely sure but I feel it in my bones.
Plus also been a gaming freak and see how these things play out.
To be honest, while the console market is mainstream, and I would be more than glad that everyone gets to play the game without having to jump consoles/pc, I frankly wonder if it might just be diminished value or something else. I've heard that XCOM didn't sell all too well on the console market and quite a lot of great games won't sell on console partly because of controller problems and partly because pc gamers will take terrible ports and mod them to work often times unlike consoles that don't have as much luck when it comes to that. Hopefully I'm wrong though.
And the tablet market is smaller, they still made a port 2 years later.
Maybe the base will be semi-mobile. You can leave it in a particular place, but it might get threatened or exposed.
Maybe you also have the option to settle down, maybe if you've liberated a particular country you can build a permanent base with some expansions, but it might get attacked and you have to do a base defense. And maybe be forced to move if its exposed.
Grey Templar wrote: Maybe the base will be semi-mobile. You can leave it in a particular place, but it might get threatened or exposed.
Maybe you also have the option to settle down, maybe if you've liberated a particular country you can build a permanent base with some expansions, but it might get attacked and you have to do a base defense. And maybe be forced to move if its exposed.
I'm doubtful you can liberate a country. That would be very very difficult. It would be like Taliban trying to remove the United states army through sheer force.
I'm betting you will have to expose a conspiracy or something.
Grey Templar wrote: Maybe the base will be semi-mobile. You can leave it in a particular place, but it might get threatened or exposed.
Maybe you also have the option to settle down, maybe if you've liberated a particular country you can build a permanent base with some expansions, but it might get attacked and you have to do a base defense. And maybe be forced to move if its exposed.
I'm doubtful you can liberate a country. That would be very very difficult. It would be like Taliban trying to remove the United states army through sheer force.
I'm betting you will have to expose a conspiracy or something.
Right, I mean you get a country to rise up and join the rebellion through your actions and they then provide support.
So what's the 5th class then? I'm guessing it was that flying robot we saw in the trailer. I don't totally mind but how is it going to rank up like the other soldiers? Hopefully something's planned out. Maybe the robot is controlled by a drone controller back at base or something. Either that or maybe it's a dude controlling the drone with a nearby device (similar to shadowrun returns and the drone using dudes).
flamingkillamajig wrote: So what's the 5th class then? I'm guessing it was that flying robot we saw in the trailer. I don't totally mind but how is it going to rank up like the other soldiers? Hopefully something's planned out. Maybe the robot is controlled by a drone controller back at base or something. Either that or maybe it's a dude controlling the drone with a nearby device (similar to shadowrun returns and the drone using dudes).
Hopefully this is more to my liking than the other one. I doubt it will be, but that's life.
I always enjoyed the strategic aspects of X-Com as much or more than the tactical; and those were pared down to next to nothing for the 2012 game. I assume this one will be more of a tactical RPG with the whole mobile base thingy. If they manage to make the tactical aspects more challenging/interesting that may make up for the loss of strategic elements.
I do need to try out the long war at some point, that seems to actually make it worth playing.
flamingkillamajig wrote: So what's the 5th class then? I'm guessing it was that flying robot we saw in the trailer. I don't totally mind but how is it going to rank up like the other soldiers? Hopefully something's planned out. Maybe the robot is controlled by a drone controller back at base or something. Either that or maybe it's a dude controlling the drone with a nearby device (similar to shadowrun returns and the drone using dudes).
My guess is the demo class
Considering xenonauts separating the heavy and rocket (as the old xcom probably did) and considering a guy in the trailer used a grenade launcher it is possible.
Anybody else see that screenshot of the xcom dude with a knife on his back in the gameplay screens? It looks like you can sneak up on some enemies while they're unaware and take shots at them when this is also the case. No more of that stumbling upon an alien patrol that immediately goes into overwatch or move around to flank i guess. I'm really curious how the gameplay will be actually if this is totally changed.
Any ideas what missions they have? I'm guessing it is focused around getting in and out with data, refugees and similar stuff. Hacking might also take time with reinforcements closing in. I'm guessing some normally terrorist/freedom fighter tactics are used. What if we are allowed to use one guy as a distraction to lure enemies to an area so we can either flank them somewhere else or possibly lead them somewhere by the nose and move around their forces with the rest of your force without issue. Now THAT would be freaking cool.
I'm also guessing assassinations, demolition and whatever good stuff could be brought to the gameplay. Stealth shenanigans would be super fun too. I'm really curious about all the possibilities. It doesn't sound like the same game because the style of approach to fighting is different. It's like a stealth action game rather than an action game and that sounds like a lot of fun. Although i do like leaving the baddies in a pile of broken bodies.
UFO: Enemy Unknown
XCOM: Terror from the Deep
XCOM Apocalypse
XCOM Interceptor
Email Games XCOM (meh)
XCOM Enforcer (shudder)
The Bureau: Whatever the hell that was declassified (yuuuck)
XCOM: Enemy Unknown
XCOM: Enemy Within (if you consider this big xpack it's own game or not)
XCOM2
That's 10 alright.
Don't forget the poor, cancelled XCOM project Genesis (an abortive attempt to remake the original in the late 90s), and XCOM Alliance, a space-hulk esque first person squad shooter with campaign.
flamingkillamajig wrote: So what's the 5th class then? I'm guessing it was that flying robot we saw in the trailer. I don't totally mind but how is it going to rank up like the other soldiers? Hopefully something's planned out. Maybe the robot is controlled by a drone controller back at base or something. Either that or maybe it's a dude controlling the drone with a nearby device (similar to shadowrun returns and the drone using dudes).
My guess is the demo class
Considering xenonauts separating the heavy and rocket (as the old xcom probably did) and considering a guy in the trailer used a grenade launcher it is possible.
flamingkillamajig wrote: So what's the 5th class then? I'm guessing it was that flying robot we saw in the trailer. I don't totally mind but how is it going to rank up like the other soldiers? Hopefully something's planned out. Maybe the robot is controlled by a drone controller back at base or something. Either that or maybe it's a dude controlling the drone with a nearby device (similar to shadowrun returns and the drone using dudes).
My guess is the demo class
Considering xenonauts separating the heavy and rocket (as the old xcom probably did) and considering a guy in the trailer used a grenade launcher it is possible.
X-Com didn't have classes.
Fair enough i didn't play the original. Kind of sorry to say i have always been poor and what games i could play is usually restricted except during steam sales which have helped tremendously (even if they give me next to no value for the games i get on sale).
MajorStoffer wrote: So, anyone else getting some pretty serious Half-Life 2 vibes?
The aesthetic is different, but the idea and concept is certainly right up there.
I'll certainly have my most senior XCOM trooper in bright orange with callsign "Freeman"
Maybe you can get crowbars as a melee weapon
They're apparently going to have proper modding support this time, so it shouldn't be impossible to add some kind of demolition tool as a melee weapon.
I agree that someone mentioned earlier the between mission game could stand to have a little more to it this time.
I would be very interested to see what they have to distract us when not doing tactical combat.
I liked how the old X-com the way you configured your base was reflected in a base assault and determined how easy it was to defend (you needed to isolate the elevator and hangar bays from the rest of the base).
There is so much feedback and "good bones" of the original game to expand the game further. I think the interface was simple enough they do not need to "dumb down" things further. Heck, the long war mod shows how it can be done with little change to the interface.
The biggest most exciting and irritating thing they could add is patrolling aliens. In the original X-com I had more silly aliens sneak up on me and almost never in the new. Sight lines are important and the only thing that simulated that tension was aliens that cloak (cheat!).
I think I would like to see the stray fire from a firefight take out more walls and things and fires. We had it to some extent but to have it happen more often could make the environment more interesting. Heck, just shooting out the floor from under an opponent would be interesting, or a Hi-Ex grenade caving in the roof when deployed on top of a building.
So, what would replace the UFO shooting down sequence?
System hacking and trying to get information on potential targets? Some stealth missions to get intel for future missions?
So many options, I really would like as engaging strategy in the big picture as the "away missions".
Tactically mapping your base is probably more manageable with
the one base, but given that your new base is the SHIELD
Helicarrier (calling it the Avenger? Nice callback to previous
games AND a MCU reference) I doubt you will be doing base
layouts outside of upgrades and mods.
Bromsy wrote: Hopefully this is more to my liking than the other one. I doubt it will be, but that's life.
I always enjoyed the strategic aspects of X-Com as much or more than the tactical; and those were pared down to next to nothing for the 2012 game. I assume this one will be more of a tactical RPG with the whole mobile base thingy. If they manage to make the tactical aspects more challenging/interesting that may make up for the loss of strategic elements.
I do need to try out the long war at some point, that seems to actually make it worth playing.
I read a blog on it and the strategic elements for xcom were made in about a week. That could be why they were rather weak. I expect the global game to be the first thing they upgrade in Xcom-2. I think they will flip the style to be a more proactive thing where you can pick targets rather then having to wait for a mission to come to you. It also might be neat to see how a mobile base fits in it. Will we have base defenses? Location bonuses? Territory control? I am 99% sure we will have R&D, but with a smaller space, they might change that up. (I kind of speculate that they will base R&D off of personal rather then buildings.)
Automatically Appended Next Post:
Talizvar wrote: I agree that someone mentioned earlier the between mission game could stand to have a little more to it this time.
I would be very interested to see what they have to distract us when not doing tactical combat.
I liked how the old X-com the way you configured your base was reflected in a base assault and determined how easy it was to defend (you needed to isolate the elevator and hangar bays from the rest of the base).
There is so much feedback and "good bones" of the original game to expand the game further. I think the interface was simple enough they do not need to "dumb down" things further. Heck, the long war mod shows how it can be done with little change to the interface.
The biggest most exciting and irritating thing they could add is patrolling aliens. In the original X-com I had more silly aliens sneak up on me and almost never in the new. Sight lines are important and the only thing that simulated that tension was aliens that cloak (cheat!).
I think I would like to see the stray fire from a firefight take out more walls and things and fires. We had it to some extent but to have it happen more often could make the environment more interesting. Heck, just shooting out the floor from under an opponent would be interesting, or a Hi-Ex grenade caving in the roof when deployed on top of a building.
So, what would replace the UFO shooting down sequence?
System hacking and trying to get information on potential targets? Some stealth missions to get intel for future missions?
So many options, I really would like as engaging strategy in the big picture as the "away missions".
I think we will still have UFO shoot downs. The carrier has fighter planes in it and it fits the gurella style to shoot down and raid supply ships.
If they are going the route that I bet they are, I'd like to see something along the lines of UFO Afterlight. It's the third in the franchise and aside from making the graphics inexplicably cartoony, was among the best of the X-Com clones.
You played as a small group of soldiers, scientists and engineers that fled earth when the aliens attacked, and you had to set up a base on Mars and terraform the planet before the 50,000 survivors you had with you in cold sleep woke up. It was far more roleplay-e than your standard X-Com clone, but they made it work. You only had one base, but you had enough gameplay depth that it wasn't an issue. Basically, every one of your people were important, because there was a very limited pool of recruits - like a half dozen kids who get old enough to take part in missions, and some aliens and stuff you could recruit if you allied with their factions.
And you constantly had to be making decisions on where to allocate your guys - you have four decent engineers or whatever, you need one on your rover going out and setting up terraforming stations, one on your away team to complete the mission they are on to repair a water pump, one back at your workshop turning out lasers... what do you do with the other one? Is he going to build new base modules, help out with the lasers so they get done faster? Oh gak, the guy on the away team took a reticulan laser to the face....
And so on. It was all that that made the gameplay fun, despite moving away from the exact model of X-Com, which is what you need.
Bromsy wrote: If they are going the route that I bet they are, I'd like to see something along the lines of UFO Afterlight. It's the third in the franchise and aside from making the graphics inexplicably cartoony, was among the best of the X-Com clones.
You played as a small group of soldiers, scientists and engineers that fled earth when the aliens attacked, and you had to set up a base on Mars and terraform the planet before the 50,000 survivors you had with you in cold sleep woke up. It was far more roleplay-e than your standard X-Com clone, but they made it work. You only had one base, but you had enough gameplay depth that it wasn't an issue. Basically, every one of your people were important, because there was a very limited pool of recruits - like a half dozen kids who get old enough to take part in missions, and some aliens and stuff you could recruit if you allied with their factions.
And you constantly had to be making decisions on where to allocate your guys - you have four decent engineers or whatever, you need one on your rover going out and setting up terraforming stations, one on your away team to complete the mission they are on to repair a water pump, one back at your workshop turning out lasers... what do you do with the other one? Is he going to build new base modules, help out with the lasers so they get done faster? Oh gak, the guy on the away team took a reticulan laser to the face....
And so on. It was all that that made the gameplay fun, despite moving away from the exact model of X-Com, which is what you need.
That sounds rather fun. This is all just me wish listing here, but I think it would be cool if your support personal had stats and levels like your combat people and then you just try and juggle them around the different stations of your base.
The background of XCom 2 is that XCom was steamrolled in an Impossible Ironman campaign that ended so quickly that XCom didn't even have the chance to properly start researching alien technology. XCom never stopped fighting, though, and has apparently been carrying on a guerilla war for the last twenty years.
The snakeman-style alien is called a "Viper". The evolved Sectoid is apparently what all of the Sectoids now look like. And they're a lot tougher (that melee move in the trailer only works in the game if you've softened them up first). Ethereals are apparently hinted at in some of the artwork. There will be new, as yet unseen, aliens. The early opponents this time around will be the human Advent troops (who are not related to EXALT), who carry "magnetic weapons".
As mentioned previously, there are five classes this time around. Four of them are similar to the four classes from XCom - Sharpshooter, Specialist, Grenadier, and the Ranger. The drone seen in the trailer is used by the Specialist class. The fifth class won't be revealed until closer to the release date.
Looting dropped items is important. If enemy dropped items are not picked up within a few turns, they'll self-destruct automatically.
You'll see less of the "scuttle for cover" move that the aliens perform when you spot each other. It will be possible to spot enemies before they spot you, and using cover to hide your approach from enemy LOS will be important. Surprised aliens won't scramble for cover, though it's possible that enemies that know you're in the area will head for cover when they finally spot your location (the article isn't clear on this).
IGN will have an article explaining why the game is PC-only on Friday.
Veteran soldiers will have additional customization options to indicate their battle-hardened status.
Love it! I've only beaten Enemy Within like eight times. I love the setting and the new gameplay elements. I sounds like they've really expanded some of the RPG elements and stealth gameplay.
Bromsy wrote: Hopefully this is more to my liking than the other one. I doubt it will be, but that's life.
I always enjoyed the strategic aspects of X-Com as much or more than the tactical; and those were pared down to next to nothing for the 2012 game. I assume this one will be more of a tactical RPG with the whole mobile base thingy. If they manage to make the tactical aspects more challenging/interesting that may make up for the loss of strategic elements.
I do need to try out the long war at some point, that seems to actually make it worth playing.
I read a blog on it and the strategic elements for xcom were made in about a week. That could be why they were rather weak. I expect the global game to be the first thing they upgrade in Xcom-2. I think they will flip the style to be a more proactive thing where you can pick targets rather then having to wait for a mission to come to you. It also might be neat to see how a mobile base fits in it. Will we have base defenses? Location bonuses? Territory control? I am 99% sure we will have R&D, but with a smaller space, they might change that up. (I kind of speculate that they will base R&D off of personal rather then buildings.)
I would love to see more strategic elements developed. How cool to think that a specific technology might be based on your ability to track down and exfiltrate a specific scientist or engineer and that they could affect your progression.
The background of XCom 2 is that XCom was steamrolled in an Impossible Ironman campaign that ended so quickly that XCom didn't even have the chance to properly start researching alien technology. XCom never stopped fighting, though, and has apparently been carrying on a guerilla war for the last twenty years.
The snakeman-style alien is called a "Viper". The evolved Sectoid is apparently what all of the Sectoids now look like. And they're a lot tougher (that melee move in the trailer only works in the game if you've softened them up first). Ethereals are apparently hinted at in some of the artwork. There will be new, as yet unseen, aliens. The early opponents this time around will be the human Advent troops (who are not related to EXALT), who carry "magnetic weapons".
As mentioned previously, there are five classes this time around. Four of them are similar to the four classes from XCom - Sharpshooter, Specialist, Grenadier, and the Ranger. The drone seen in the trailer is used by the Specialist class. The fifth class won't be revealed until closer to the release date.
Looting dropped items is important. If enemy dropped items are not picked up within a few turns, they'll self-destruct automatically.
You'll see less of the "scuttle for cover" move that the aliens perform when you spot each other. It will be possible to spot enemies before they spot you, and using cover to hide your approach from enemy LOS will be important. Surprised aliens won't scramble for cover, though it's possible that enemies that know you're in the area will head for cover when they finally spot your location (the article isn't clear on this).
IGN will have an article explaining why the game is PC-only on Friday.
Veteran soldiers will have additional customization options to indicate their battle-hardened status.
That story is kinda a bummer tbh. I would have liked to have it tie in with the end of the first. It could have been easy. This is an good example of how to badly make a sequel premise of why they are underpowered again. It never happened. Still gonna play.
I am looking forward to it. Being rebels reminds me of Jagged Alliance 2. It also allows the player to have initiative instead of always reacting to the aliens' moves.
The IGN article also talks about secondary objectives, which sounds awesome. I would love an assassination mission.
It’s difficult to please both new and old fans alike when rebooting a beloved franchise, but in 2012, Firaxis pulled off a game-development miracle when it successfully revived the legendary but long-mistreated X-COM franchise with XCOM: Enemy Unknown. The modernized version recaptured the key elements that made the 1994 original memorable: an against-the-odds struggle against a technologically superior foe; the emotional sting that comes from the permanent loss of personalized soldiers heroically killed in battle; and a deep tactical system with an element of randomness that forces you to prepare contingencies in case your plans don’t survive contact with the enemy.
XCOM 2 Reveal Trailer - IGN First
03:03
“
Surprise: You didn’t beat the aliens – they steamrolled you.
Enemy Unknown was a success that demanded a follow up, and it’s our great pleasure to announce that it’s getting one in XCOM 2, due out this November. But that posed a difficult question: Where do you go from the end of Enemy Unknown (and its expansion, Enemy Within), where, spoiler alert, XCOM has unlocked the secrets of the aliens’ advanced technologies and used them to destroy the invaders’ mothership, ending the threat? When faced with this problem in 1995, Microprose took the fight underwater with X-COM: Terror From the Deep, which simply reskinned X-COM with a less relatable deep-sea theme, and added a scant few new features. For Firaxis’ second XCOM, Creative Director Jake Solomon and his team are going in an entirely different direction: instead of changing the setting, they’re changing history to make XCOM the underdog again. How? Surprise: You didn’t beat the aliens – they steamrolled you.
Solomon painted an alternate version of how the war unfolded: “When the aliens showed up, XCOM suffered massive casualties, and governments around the world crumbled in face of popular support to surrender. Then, the Earth was quickly overrun. And so, 20 years into the future, the world is a very different place. The aliens rule Earth from giant shining megacities where all the people of Earth are flocking; that’s where they’re promised an easy life, a secure life free of disease.“
We’ll have much more on the new setting next week, in Impossible Ironman is Canon: Why Earth Had to Lose the War for XCOM 2 to Happen.
And here’s another shocker: though XCOM: Enemy Unknown and XCOM: Enemy Within came out on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC, XCOM 2 is a PC-exclusive game. More on that on Friday in Why XCOM 2 Had to be a PC-Only Game.
Down, But Not Out
The year is 2035, and XCOM now operates as a resistance movement against the alien occupation. That represents a huge shift in context for both the strategic and tactical battles we’ll fight in XCOM 2. “XCOM never lost the war; they just never stopped fighting and went underground,” explained Solomon. “Players are no longer the commander of this elite military force. They are commanding a very hardened group of freedom fighters and guerrilla fighters, and they’re leading them to ignite a global resistance and wake everyone up, and then try to rescue Earth from the government that now controls it."
Is the alien statue helping him up, or leaving him behind?
The aliens have a weird idea of tourist attractions.
“
XCOM never acquired advanced weapons and armor technology.
The situation is desperate: Earth is enemy territory, and in this reality XCOM never acquired the advanced weapons and armor technology that allowed us to go head-to-head with powerful aliens. We’re outmatched – even more so than before, as we’ve lost the home-field advantage, and the aliens have become even more powerful. To avoid being pinpointed and obliterated, the old subterranean headquarters has been abandoned in favor of a mobile base, built on the frame of a captured and retrofitted alien cargo ship rechristened as the Avenger. (This is a reference to the Avenger interceptor/troop carrier in 1994’s X-COM: UFO Defense, not Nick Fury’s helicarrier in Marvel’s 2012 Avengers movie.)
Firaxis isn’t going into detail about its new version of XCOM’s strategy layer just yet, other than to say that territory control will be important. From what we see in the trailer, in which the Avenger flies out of the canyon where it was concealed and off to parts unknown, we can surmise that it will move from region to region as XCOM attacks vulnerable alien targets in hit-and-run strikes. “The idea is that you’re inspiring people by actually taking the fight to the aliens and their New World Order,” Solomon hinted.
Human Revolution
What he is going into depth on is the tactical battles (which have always been the meat of XCOM games) and how this change in circumstances affects the moment-to-moment gameplay of using teamwork and complementary weapons and abilities to shoot aliens in the face. Solomon described the creative process that led to a guerilla-themed XCOM as gameplay-driven. “The idea for us is that mechanics always come first, and then we look for a setting that’s going to fit the mechanics,” he said. He and his team had some big ideas about how to change up battles and make them more tactically interesting and less repetitive, and the freedom-fighter setting rose up around them.
Your friendly neighborhood Advent checkpoint.
Sneaking into position to ambush Advent soldiers will be easier than a fair fight.
First of all, we have a new team of battle-hardened XCOM soldier classes that are similar to Enemy Unknown’s, but distinct. The Sharpshooter shares a lot of DNA with EU’s Sniper, but can also specialize in using a pistol as a primary weapon instead of a last resort. The Ranger is the evolution of the Assault class, still specializing in close combat with shotguns and the like, but now comes equipped with XCOM’s first lethal melee weapon: a machete-like blade. The Grenadier? He (or she) blows things up, much like the Heavy. The Specialist replaces Support, and uses a hovering drone called a Gremlin both in combat to stun enemies and buff allies, and out of combat to pull off tricks like long-range hacking. There’s also a fifth mystery class that Firaxis is saving for reveal closer to launch.
We’ll have more on XCOM 2’s new classes next week in Meet The Specialist and Meet The Ranger.
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This is really more of a Sons of Anarchy-type of squad.
XCOM 2 Art Director Greg Foertsch says the character models and textures shown in the cinematic trailer are the same ones we’ll see in-game (though here they have some post-processing effects on them), setting an extremely high bar for visual quality. Despite that, we’re promised much more control over our characters’ looks this time. Out of every success in Enemy Unknown, Solomon considers the soldier customization and the personal attachment that comes from that to be among the biggest, and has set out to push it further in XCOM 2. “We have some really cool-looking soldiers,” he promised. “They can have big beards, they can have really awesome haircuts, they can have some cool stuff that gives them a lot of character and fits this idea of they’re this sort of hardened group, they’re not fresh-out-of-the-barracks Johnny Soldier; this is really more of a Sons of Anarchy-type of squad.”
We'll have much more control over our soldiers' looks.
We'll have much more control over our soldiers' looks.
We can now swap genders and set nationalities to our liking – if you want an all-female, all-Portuguese team, you can do that. What’s more, we’ll be able to tweak the look of the right and left arms, torso, pants, and headgear individually, drawing from a larger selection of pieces designed to give this version of XCOM a more ragtag, scavenged look and feel. “When that stuff came online I got caught in the trap of customizing rookies, which was a huge mistake,” Solomon confessed. “We try to make it easier for the player to customize, but you can spend a lot more time customizing your soldiers, which you should not do unless you have relative certainly you’re either going to re-load when they die or that are going to survive. So, don’t do that on rookies because you’ll have wasted a lot of time.” Veteran soldiers will have unique cosmetic upgrades unlocked to visually emphasize how hardcore they are, he added.
Enemy Territory
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The structure of a typical XCOM 2 mission will be dramatically different from what we’ve seen before.
The bigger change is that the structure of a typical XCOM 2 mission will be dramatically different from what we’ve seen before. For comparison, let’s recap the typical Enemy Unknown encounter: we arrive on the scene of an alien incursion and, upon spotting something that didn’t belong, immediately engage in firefights until one side or the other is dead. It’s a guns-blazing, all-or-nothing kind of fight. If you’ve played for a few dozen hours, you’ll probably have a good idea of what the map you’re fighting on looks like and where the enemies will be, which eventually makes it routine.
Every map will look and play differently each time you see it.
Every map will look and play differently each time you see it.
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We’ll be able to scout out the alien positions and move our troops around the battlefield before the fighting starts.
Solomon wants XCOM 2 to turn these concepts on their heads in several ways. “In XCOM 2, the idea is that you have the jump on the aliens. They’re already there, and they’re not hiding.” That means we’ll have the element of surprise: our small squads (still in the four to six range) will arrive unseen in enemy-controlled territory, at which point we’ll be able to scout out the alien positions and move our troops around the battlefield for as long as we’re able to stay out of hostile units’ detection radius and behind cover. Thanks to a new concealment system and waypoints that’ll allow you to precisely guide your troops’ movement within their two-move radius, setting up the battle will be a big part of what Firaxis intends XCOM 2 to be about. “You have a lot of control over when the engagement starts,” Solomon explained. “Of course, a lot of times you’ll blunder or do something wrong, like come around the corner and get revealed. We give the player the ability to jump the enemy first, and that feels very resistance-y, very guerilla tactics.”
As we see in the trailer, XCOM sometimes gets to take the first shot – and that’s a huge deal. Except in certain situations (Stealth Suits and Battle Scanners), the aliens have up until now always seen us the moment we see them – and when they do, they “scamper” to cover and deny us the chance at a clean shot. In fact, the scamper is probably the most common complaint I’ve seen from other XCOM players, some of whom see it as an unfair advantage for the aliens. Those people will be very happy to hear that they’ll have the opportunity to cancel out that advantage in XCOM 2. “The first enemy that you get to jump on, obviously they don’t get to scamper anywhere,” said Solomon. That’s not all: “Enemies will get surprised, so that prevents them – some of them, based on some factors – from fully scampering into cover.” Between that and hinting at further, yet-to-be-disclosed ways to counteract the scamper, Solomon makes it sound like if we play our cards right, setting up an ambush correctly could turn what would’ve been a losing fight into shooting fish in a barrel. Don’t expect to be backstabbing aliens or picking them off one at a time like Batman – stealth is useful for getting into position to ambush the enemy, but does not replace combat.
Nice propaganda center. It would be a shame if someone fired a grenade launcher at it.
Nice propaganda center. It would be a shame if someone fired a grenade launcher at it.
If the maps were the same set of 80 or so pre-built setups we saw in Enemy Unknown, that might give us too much of an advantage over the aliens – but that’s where XCOM 2 throws in another much-requested feature: procedurally generated maps. Solomon summed up the need for a system like this in a way that’s music to any gamer’s ears: “Obviously, replayability is a big thing at Firaxis, and it is a big thing for XCOM. We always talk about value for the player’s dollar, right? And the core of that is replayability, to make your game as replayable as possible.”
“
Because maps are procedurally generated, the AI has been made more procedural to allow aliens to navigate and fight on them.
With Firaxis’ new system, we’ll see maps drastically change each time we encounter them, drawing from a large pool of components like buildings, roads, and different types of terrain to create battlefields that look good, are more destructible than ever (including by fire that spreads, acid that melts through floors, and exploding barrels), and offer well-placed cover. And, because the maps are procedurally generated, the AI has been made more procedural to allow aliens to navigate and fight on them. All of this together has the potential to extend XCOM 2’s replayability dramatically, and to make each of our experiences unique. “That’s the thing that I’m personally very excited about,” Solomon said. “When you have those moments, and you’re like, ‘This would have never, ever happened in Enemy Unknown.’ That’s what we’re going for.”
More on that later this week in XCOM 2’s Procedurally Generated Maps.
What We're Fighting For
Just as importantly, we’ll have a greater range of options for success on each mission. According to Solomon, every mission will have a dynamically generated objective – in addition to simply killing all the alien forces, of course – that will prompt us to hack a terminal, extract a VIP, or other types of not-yet-disclosed goals. If you can get in, accomplish your secondary goal, and call for extraction (which you can now do almost anywhere on the map), you can still count that mission in the win column without necessarily being able to take out the meanest hostile on the map – as long as you didn’t lose too many soldiers and pieces of equipment in the process.
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XCOM soldiers have in some cases literally duct-taped upgrades to their weapons.
Inventory is set to be much more important this time around, too. “Loot is a thing now,” said Solomon. “One thing for the soldiers is that they have to make do with the things they’re recovering from the battlefield.” This doesn’t extend to the kind of on-battlefield inventory management X-COM: UFO Defense fans remember, but rather a sort of “backpack” into which you can throw loot items recovered from fallen enemies or allies. Once you return them to base, you’ll be able to equip them for the next mission. What that loot is hasn’t been detailed yet, but we can see in the trailer that XCOM soldiers have in some cases literally duct-taped upgrades to their weapons.
Loot will serve an important function on the battlefield, too: in the same way that Enemy Within added the Meld resource to incentivize us to charge our soldiers into danger (instead of slowly advancing your troops at an ultra-conservative pace) by putting an expiration timer on valuable collectables, XCOM 2’s loot will have a countdown. If you don’t reach loot items within a few turns, they’ll explode into less-valuable weapon fragments, which is what happens to gear in Enemy Unknown if you don’t take the aliens alive. So there’ll be increased risk attached to the best rewards, because the Advent soldier or alien who just dropped something shiny might have still-living friends in the area.
If one of your troops is rendered unconscious, wounded, or killed in action, one of their teammates can sling the body over a shoulder and carry them out. When resources are scarce, it’ll be crucial to save their equipment even if you can’t save their lives.
Aliens on Steroids
Which brings us to the aliens you’ll face in XCOM 2 – and all of them are terrifyingly powerful. “When you encounter aliens out in the field, your soldiers are not going to go toe-to-toe with them. Certainly not in the beginning of the game,” promised Solomon. “In these past 20 years, they’ve grown very strong. The important thing about the aliens is that soldiers are no longer a one-to-one match; there is no way to take on aliens without teamwork.”
Here's what the Thin Men look like under their human suits.
Here's what the Thin Men look like under their human suits.
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Sectoids have not yet evolved the ability to wear pants.
Case in point: the Sectoids have taken this opportunity to incorporate human DNA into their own, rapidly changing their species from four-foot-tall imps into imposing seven-foot-tall monsters with beady eyes and a brand-new set of unsettling pearly whites. Worse, they’ve enhanced their psionic abilities to include mind control from the get-go, making them extremely dangerous for any one soldier to take on by themselves. Despite their more human-like legs, Sectoids have apparently not yet evolved the ability to wear pants, but still have greyish-pink skin and an otherworldly glow emanating from their internal organs. Though we saw an XCOM Ranger slice through a Sectoid with a melee attack in the trailer, Solomon assured me that a move like that would only be possible in-game if the Sectoid had already been softened up.
In addition, the XCOM 2 trailer showed us the snake-like female Vipers (a clear reference to the Snake Men of X-COM: UFO Defense), who have the capability to not just immobilize and slowly crush a soldier with a constriction ability similar to Enemy Within’s Seekers, but can also yank them right out of cover with a frog-like tongue. Beyond that, background images hint at the return of the psionically powerful four-armed Ethereals, and we’re told many other XCOM enemies will be back along with a complement of all-new alien invaders.
Someone's been hitting the space-gym pretty hard.
Someone's been hitting the space-gym pretty hard.
Obviously, this kind of creature would render the early game a miserable, punishing experience wherein the typical XCOM rookie would be ground to a pulp if there was more than one or two in play at once. Hence, we have a new form of fodder against whom our lowly recruits can prove themselves and level up: the Advent. So far we’ve seen two ranks of these (probably) human collaborators, whom Solomon clarified have no direct relation to the Exalt forces from Enemy Within. These rank-and-file troopers wear black armor, wield magnetic weaponry, and maintain order in the alien-controlled cities. We’ll have more on the aliens and the Advent later this month in our XCOM 2 Enemy Profiles.
In a game as massive and deep as XCOM, all of this information only scratches the surface of how it’ll play, but it’s a start. Over the next month you can expect to see lots more in-depth features on what’s in store for our troops pop up on IGN, so we’ll see you again soon.
Oh, and did I mention that Firaxis is going all-in on mods for XCOM 2? We’ll have much more on that next week in XCOM 2 and The Potential For Mods. IGN Logo
Automatically Appended Next Post: Looks like they're retconning Enemy Unknown so that you lost.
So, no chance of a console release than.
screw you 2k. "Oh consoles held the first game back and therefore wasn't great" bs, then why did it still sell well on pc? These guys are shooting themselves on the foot.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Also, so thin men where really modified lizard people?
pretre wrote: This makes me sad. I won't buy a computer for one game. :(
I know, looking around, a decent gaming computer costs like 700$ twice that of a Xbox one.
Although, and this is just one person on a forum I heard theorize this. They are doing this to cause a commotion, get people talking about it more, that announce a console version later on.
pretre wrote: This makes me sad. I won't buy a computer for one game. :(
I know, looking around, a decent gaming computer costs like 700$ twice that of a Xbox one.
Half that although you can obviously spend a lot more.
Automatically Appended Next Post:
hotsauceman1 wrote: are doing this to cause a commotion, get people talking about it more, that announce a console version later on.
Or they are doing it because its easier and the PC is a sufficiently massive market to economically sustain development. After a while I am sure that this will find its way to consoles.
In fairness generally speaking games have a tendency to be released on consoles first and then slowly find their way to PC once the publisher can be bothered to knock out a shoddy port.
to the first. To me, it isnt the cash. Its the fact im not Computer literate. If my ps4 or Xb1 decides to start chanting in tongues and attacking my children, I can call customer support. If my homemade PC does something, I have to figure it out myself.
To the second. Duh, I was just posting something silly.
Tell me about it. I am tech shavy, but when you build your own you can't help fretting over every little detail and before you know it your tracking the CUP core temp well your shopping for after market cooling systems because it "feels" like it's running hot.
I mean, I fully understand PC is superior, and I can build a decent one for cheap. The problem is, I will have to update it and call several people to help me. I dont want to have to worry about "Will gaming system run this" with a Ps4, its put in and play.
You don't have to call anybody. PCs are reasonably simple to educate yourself about basic troubleshooting. And if you must call tech support you can call just about any service. With Consoles you have to call their specialized tech support.
Of course I've never actually had a problem with any of my PCs ever.
How the hell did I miss this thread and news?! Been waiting for XCom news forever. Just read the first page. The game looks amazing but WTH? I did not lose the war!!!
KamikazeCanuck wrote: How the hell did I miss this thread and news?! Been waiting for XCom news forever. Just read the first page. The game looks amazing but WTH? I did not lose the war!!!
I like to think of it as I was successful in blowing up the carrier, but when the next one showed up everyone else chickened out and Xcom was forced underground.
KamikazeCanuck wrote: How the hell did I miss this thread and news?! Been waiting for XCom news forever. Just read the first page. The game looks amazing but WTH? I did not lose the war!!!
I like to think of it as I was successful in blowing up the carrier, but when the next one showed up everyone else chickened out and Xcom was forced underground.
.......ya, maybe I'll pretend that too. That we lost a second war.
I guess the soldier that unifies body and mind like the Aliens wanted (The Volunteer) did die so they may start the war again.
Now see, if you watch the scene again, the volunteer Blinks out at the last second.
Im kinda upset we lost. I mean really? We lost? This future could have been done easily with the lose if the aliens made up some BS excuse to why they attacked, or that those who attacked where a "Fringe element" seriously Why?
I have no real problem with the whole we lost alternative timeline in this one. I don't feel that this game should have to feel constrained to the other as lets be honest the story wasn't all that important anyway.
Grey Templar wrote: Or alternately, maybe we didn't lose. We made a truce and the aliens subverted us diplomatically when they couldn't take us by force.
Yeah that would have been much better. Still fits in with the theme XCom is now rogue because the world governments think everything is fine.
I think it's a retcon. You're just going to have to go with what they
give you. Maybe you can pester them to change it up to a follow
up war minus the volunteer?
Grey Templar wrote: Or alternately, maybe we didn't lose. We made a truce and the aliens subverted us diplomatically when they couldn't take us by force.
If it was up to me, I whould have just done this set up without the aliens. You win and everyone starts playing with all the alien tech left behind and it goes about as well as giving a cave man a nuke.
Also, so thin men where really modified lizard people?
I don't remember if it was ever explicitly stated, but their appearance without their glasses suggested it to a certain extent, as did their ability to spit poison (which on Earth is only found in reptiles). Additionally, Snakemen - present in the first game - were conspicuously absent from the roster of aliens, leading many to suggest that Thin Men were essentially the new version of Snakemen.
Yeah. Ever heard of David Icke? He's a nutter who thinks that Earth has been infiltrated by shapeshifting reptilian aliens. Both the Thin Men and the Sectoids (i.e. Grays) pay homage to classic aliens.
AlexHolker wrote: Firaxis is acting like a gakky DM. This is the third time they've robbed the player of agency so they can make us lose.
What were the first two?
I have no real problem with the new game being separate from the first instead of continuing on from the first in terms of plot and concept. That said if you are going to throw out the first story don't call it X-Com 2 but instead call it Xcom: Resistance or something similar.
AlexHolker wrote: Firaxis is acting like a gakky DM. This is the third time they've robbed the player of agency so they can make us lose.
What were the first two?
I managed a perfect run in the first game, losing zero soldiers right up to the point when the game killed one in a cutscene. That annoyed me. The second is when the base invasion is triggered by the aliens mind controlling your command staff to open all the doors.
AlexHolker wrote: Firaxis is acting like a gakky DM. This is the third time they've robbed the player of agency so they can make us lose.
What were the first two?
I managed a perfect run in the first game, losing zero soldiers right up to the point when the game killed one in a cutscene. That annoyed me. The second is when the base invasion is triggered by the aliens mind controlling your command staff to open all the doors.
I have no issue with the second one mind control was an established ability by the aliens even if not at the same range or on the same scale. I can very much understand why the first one is annoying though, even though I don't remember it happening in my run though.
It’s difficult to please both new and old fans alike when rebooting a beloved franchise, but in 2012, Firaxis pulled off a game-development miracle when it successfully revived the legendary but long-mistreated X-COM franchise with XCOM: Enemy Unknown. The modernized version recaptured the key elements that made the 1994 original memorable: an against-the-odds struggle against a technologically superior foe; the emotional sting that comes from the permanent loss of personalized soldiers heroically killed in battle; and a deep tactical system with an element of randomness that forces you to prepare contingencies in case your plans don’t survive contact with the enemy.
XCOM 2 Reveal Trailer - IGN First
03:03
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Surprise: You didn’t beat the aliens – they steamrolled you.
Enemy Unknown was a success that demanded a follow up, and it’s our great pleasure to announce that it’s getting one in XCOM 2, due out this November. But that posed a difficult question: Where do you go from the end of Enemy Unknown (and its expansion, Enemy Within), where, spoiler alert, XCOM has unlocked the secrets of the aliens’ advanced technologies and used them to destroy the invaders’ mothership, ending the threat? When faced with this problem in 1995, Microprose took the fight underwater with X-COM: Terror From the Deep, which simply reskinned X-COM with a less relatable deep-sea theme, and added a scant few new features. For Firaxis’ second XCOM, Creative Director Jake Solomon and his team are going in an entirely different direction: instead of changing the setting, they’re changing history to make XCOM the underdog again. How? Surprise: You didn’t beat the aliens – they steamrolled you.
Solomon painted an alternate version of how the war unfolded: “When the aliens showed up, XCOM suffered massive casualties, and governments around the world crumbled in face of popular support to surrender. Then, the Earth was quickly overrun. And so, 20 years into the future, the world is a very different place. The aliens rule Earth from giant shining megacities where all the people of Earth are flocking; that’s where they’re promised an easy life, a secure life free of disease.“
We’ll have much more on the new setting next week, in Impossible Ironman is Canon: Why Earth Had to Lose the War for XCOM 2 to Happen.
And here’s another shocker: though XCOM: Enemy Unknown and XCOM: Enemy Within came out on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC, XCOM 2 is a PC-exclusive game. More on that on Friday in Why XCOM 2 Had to be a PC-Only Game.
Down, But Not Out
The year is 2035, and XCOM now operates as a resistance movement against the alien occupation. That represents a huge shift in context for both the strategic and tactical battles we’ll fight in XCOM 2. “XCOM never lost the war; they just never stopped fighting and went underground,” explained Solomon. “Players are no longer the commander of this elite military force. They are commanding a very hardened group of freedom fighters and guerrilla fighters, and they’re leading them to ignite a global resistance and wake everyone up, and then try to rescue Earth from the government that now controls it."
Is the alien statue helping him up, or leaving him behind?
The aliens have a weird idea of tourist attractions.
“
XCOM never acquired advanced weapons and armor technology.
The situation is desperate: Earth is enemy territory, and in this reality XCOM never acquired the advanced weapons and armor technology that allowed us to go head-to-head with powerful aliens. We’re outmatched – even more so than before, as we’ve lost the home-field advantage, and the aliens have become even more powerful. To avoid being pinpointed and obliterated, the old subterranean headquarters has been abandoned in favor of a mobile base, built on the frame of a captured and retrofitted alien cargo ship rechristened as the Avenger. (This is a reference to the Avenger interceptor/troop carrier in 1994’s X-COM: UFO Defense, not Nick Fury’s helicarrier in Marvel’s 2012 Avengers movie.)
Firaxis isn’t going into detail about its new version of XCOM’s strategy layer just yet, other than to say that territory control will be important. From what we see in the trailer, in which the Avenger flies out of the canyon where it was concealed and off to parts unknown, we can surmise that it will move from region to region as XCOM attacks vulnerable alien targets in hit-and-run strikes. “The idea is that you’re inspiring people by actually taking the fight to the aliens and their New World Order,” Solomon hinted.
Human Revolution
What he is going into depth on is the tactical battles (which have always been the meat of XCOM games) and how this change in circumstances affects the moment-to-moment gameplay of using teamwork and complementary weapons and abilities to shoot aliens in the face. Solomon described the creative process that led to a guerilla-themed XCOM as gameplay-driven. “The idea for us is that mechanics always come first, and then we look for a setting that’s going to fit the mechanics,” he said. He and his team had some big ideas about how to change up battles and make them more tactically interesting and less repetitive, and the freedom-fighter setting rose up around them.
Your friendly neighborhood Advent checkpoint.
Sneaking into position to ambush Advent soldiers will be easier than a fair fight.
First of all, we have a new team of battle-hardened XCOM soldier classes that are similar to Enemy Unknown’s, but distinct. The Sharpshooter shares a lot of DNA with EU’s Sniper, but can also specialize in using a pistol as a primary weapon instead of a last resort. The Ranger is the evolution of the Assault class, still specializing in close combat with shotguns and the like, but now comes equipped with XCOM’s first lethal melee weapon: a machete-like blade. The Grenadier? He (or she) blows things up, much like the Heavy. The Specialist replaces Support, and uses a hovering drone called a Gremlin both in combat to stun enemies and buff allies, and out of combat to pull off tricks like long-range hacking. There’s also a fifth mystery class that Firaxis is saving for reveal closer to launch.
We’ll have more on XCOM 2’s new classes next week in Meet The Specialist and Meet The Ranger.
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This is really more of a Sons of Anarchy-type of squad.
XCOM 2 Art Director Greg Foertsch says the character models and textures shown in the cinematic trailer are the same ones we’ll see in-game (though here they have some post-processing effects on them), setting an extremely high bar for visual quality. Despite that, we’re promised much more control over our characters’ looks this time. Out of every success in Enemy Unknown, Solomon considers the soldier customization and the personal attachment that comes from that to be among the biggest, and has set out to push it further in XCOM 2. “We have some really cool-looking soldiers,” he promised. “They can have big beards, they can have really awesome haircuts, they can have some cool stuff that gives them a lot of character and fits this idea of they’re this sort of hardened group, they’re not fresh-out-of-the-barracks Johnny Soldier; this is really more of a Sons of Anarchy-type of squad.”
We'll have much more control over our soldiers' looks.
We'll have much more control over our soldiers' looks.
We can now swap genders and set nationalities to our liking – if you want an all-female, all-Portuguese team, you can do that. What’s more, we’ll be able to tweak the look of the right and left arms, torso, pants, and headgear individually, drawing from a larger selection of pieces designed to give this version of XCOM a more ragtag, scavenged look and feel. “When that stuff came online I got caught in the trap of customizing rookies, which was a huge mistake,” Solomon confessed. “We try to make it easier for the player to customize, but you can spend a lot more time customizing your soldiers, which you should not do unless you have relative certainly you’re either going to re-load when they die or that are going to survive. So, don’t do that on rookies because you’ll have wasted a lot of time.” Veteran soldiers will have unique cosmetic upgrades unlocked to visually emphasize how hardcore they are, he added.
Enemy Territory
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The structure of a typical XCOM 2 mission will be dramatically different from what we’ve seen before.
The bigger change is that the structure of a typical XCOM 2 mission will be dramatically different from what we’ve seen before. For comparison, let’s recap the typical Enemy Unknown encounter: we arrive on the scene of an alien incursion and, upon spotting something that didn’t belong, immediately engage in firefights until one side or the other is dead. It’s a guns-blazing, all-or-nothing kind of fight. If you’ve played for a few dozen hours, you’ll probably have a good idea of what the map you’re fighting on looks like and where the enemies will be, which eventually makes it routine.
Every map will look and play differently each time you see it.
Every map will look and play differently each time you see it.
“
We’ll be able to scout out the alien positions and move our troops around the battlefield before the fighting starts.
Solomon wants XCOM 2 to turn these concepts on their heads in several ways. “In XCOM 2, the idea is that you have the jump on the aliens. They’re already there, and they’re not hiding.” That means we’ll have the element of surprise: our small squads (still in the four to six range) will arrive unseen in enemy-controlled territory, at which point we’ll be able to scout out the alien positions and move our troops around the battlefield for as long as we’re able to stay out of hostile units’ detection radius and behind cover. Thanks to a new concealment system and waypoints that’ll allow you to precisely guide your troops’ movement within their two-move radius, setting up the battle will be a big part of what Firaxis intends XCOM 2 to be about. “You have a lot of control over when the engagement starts,” Solomon explained. “Of course, a lot of times you’ll blunder or do something wrong, like come around the corner and get revealed. We give the player the ability to jump the enemy first, and that feels very resistance-y, very guerilla tactics.”
As we see in the trailer, XCOM sometimes gets to take the first shot – and that’s a huge deal. Except in certain situations (Stealth Suits and Battle Scanners), the aliens have up until now always seen us the moment we see them – and when they do, they “scamper” to cover and deny us the chance at a clean shot. In fact, the scamper is probably the most common complaint I’ve seen from other XCOM players, some of whom see it as an unfair advantage for the aliens. Those people will be very happy to hear that they’ll have the opportunity to cancel out that advantage in XCOM 2. “The first enemy that you get to jump on, obviously they don’t get to scamper anywhere,” said Solomon. That’s not all: “Enemies will get surprised, so that prevents them – some of them, based on some factors – from fully scampering into cover.” Between that and hinting at further, yet-to-be-disclosed ways to counteract the scamper, Solomon makes it sound like if we play our cards right, setting up an ambush correctly could turn what would’ve been a losing fight into shooting fish in a barrel. Don’t expect to be backstabbing aliens or picking them off one at a time like Batman – stealth is useful for getting into position to ambush the enemy, but does not replace combat.
Nice propaganda center. It would be a shame if someone fired a grenade launcher at it.
Nice propaganda center. It would be a shame if someone fired a grenade launcher at it.
If the maps were the same set of 80 or so pre-built setups we saw in Enemy Unknown, that might give us too much of an advantage over the aliens – but that’s where XCOM 2 throws in another much-requested feature: procedurally generated maps. Solomon summed up the need for a system like this in a way that’s music to any gamer’s ears: “Obviously, replayability is a big thing at Firaxis, and it is a big thing for XCOM. We always talk about value for the player’s dollar, right? And the core of that is replayability, to make your game as replayable as possible.”
“
Because maps are procedurally generated, the AI has been made more procedural to allow aliens to navigate and fight on them.
With Firaxis’ new system, we’ll see maps drastically change each time we encounter them, drawing from a large pool of components like buildings, roads, and different types of terrain to create battlefields that look good, are more destructible than ever (including by fire that spreads, acid that melts through floors, and exploding barrels), and offer well-placed cover. And, because the maps are procedurally generated, the AI has been made more procedural to allow aliens to navigate and fight on them. All of this together has the potential to extend XCOM 2’s replayability dramatically, and to make each of our experiences unique. “That’s the thing that I’m personally very excited about,” Solomon said. “When you have those moments, and you’re like, ‘This would have never, ever happened in Enemy Unknown.’ That’s what we’re going for.”
More on that later this week in XCOM 2’s Procedurally Generated Maps.
What We're Fighting For
Just as importantly, we’ll have a greater range of options for success on each mission. According to Solomon, every mission will have a dynamically generated objective – in addition to simply killing all the alien forces, of course – that will prompt us to hack a terminal, extract a VIP, or other types of not-yet-disclosed goals. If you can get in, accomplish your secondary goal, and call for extraction (which you can now do almost anywhere on the map), you can still count that mission in the win column without necessarily being able to take out the meanest hostile on the map – as long as you didn’t lose too many soldiers and pieces of equipment in the process.
“
XCOM soldiers have in some cases literally duct-taped upgrades to their weapons.
Inventory is set to be much more important this time around, too. “Loot is a thing now,” said Solomon. “One thing for the soldiers is that they have to make do with the things they’re recovering from the battlefield.” This doesn’t extend to the kind of on-battlefield inventory management X-COM: UFO Defense fans remember, but rather a sort of “backpack” into which you can throw loot items recovered from fallen enemies or allies. Once you return them to base, you’ll be able to equip them for the next mission. What that loot is hasn’t been detailed yet, but we can see in the trailer that XCOM soldiers have in some cases literally duct-taped upgrades to their weapons.
Loot will serve an important function on the battlefield, too: in the same way that Enemy Within added the Meld resource to incentivize us to charge our soldiers into danger (instead of slowly advancing your troops at an ultra-conservative pace) by putting an expiration timer on valuable collectables, XCOM 2’s loot will have a countdown. If you don’t reach loot items within a few turns, they’ll explode into less-valuable weapon fragments, which is what happens to gear in Enemy Unknown if you don’t take the aliens alive. So there’ll be increased risk attached to the best rewards, because the Advent soldier or alien who just dropped something shiny might have still-living friends in the area.
If one of your troops is rendered unconscious, wounded, or killed in action, one of their teammates can sling the body over a shoulder and carry them out. When resources are scarce, it’ll be crucial to save their equipment even if you can’t save their lives.
Aliens on Steroids
Which brings us to the aliens you’ll face in XCOM 2 – and all of them are terrifyingly powerful. “When you encounter aliens out in the field, your soldiers are not going to go toe-to-toe with them. Certainly not in the beginning of the game,” promised Solomon. “In these past 20 years, they’ve grown very strong. The important thing about the aliens is that soldiers are no longer a one-to-one match; there is no way to take on aliens without teamwork.”
Here's what the Thin Men look like under their human suits.
Here's what the Thin Men look like under their human suits.
“
Sectoids have not yet evolved the ability to wear pants.
Case in point: the Sectoids have taken this opportunity to incorporate human DNA into their own, rapidly changing their species from four-foot-tall imps into imposing seven-foot-tall monsters with beady eyes and a brand-new set of unsettling pearly whites. Worse, they’ve enhanced their psionic abilities to include mind control from the get-go, making them extremely dangerous for any one soldier to take on by themselves. Despite their more human-like legs, Sectoids have apparently not yet evolved the ability to wear pants, but still have greyish-pink skin and an otherworldly glow emanating from their internal organs. Though we saw an XCOM Ranger slice through a Sectoid with a melee attack in the trailer, Solomon assured me that a move like that would only be possible in-game if the Sectoid had already been softened up.
In addition, the XCOM 2 trailer showed us the snake-like female Vipers (a clear reference to the Snake Men of X-COM: UFO Defense), who have the capability to not just immobilize and slowly crush a soldier with a constriction ability similar to Enemy Within’s Seekers, but can also yank them right out of cover with a frog-like tongue. Beyond that, background images hint at the return of the psionically powerful four-armed Ethereals, and we’re told many other XCOM enemies will be back along with a complement of all-new alien invaders.
Someone's been hitting the space-gym pretty hard.
Someone's been hitting the space-gym pretty hard.
Obviously, this kind of creature would render the early game a miserable, punishing experience wherein the typical XCOM rookie would be ground to a pulp if there was more than one or two in play at once. Hence, we have a new form of fodder against whom our lowly recruits can prove themselves and level up: the Advent. So far we’ve seen two ranks of these (probably) human collaborators, whom Solomon clarified have no direct relation to the Exalt forces from Enemy Within. These rank-and-file troopers wear black armor, wield magnetic weaponry, and maintain order in the alien-controlled cities. We’ll have more on the aliens and the Advent later this month in our XCOM 2 Enemy Profiles.
In a game as massive and deep as XCOM, all of this information only scratches the surface of how it’ll play, but it’s a start. Over the next month you can expect to see lots more in-depth features on what’s in store for our troops pop up on IGN, so we’ll see you again soon.
Oh, and did I mention that Firaxis is going all-in on mods for XCOM 2? We’ll have much more on that next week in XCOM 2 and The Potential For Mods. IGN Logo
Automatically Appended Next Post: Looks like they're retconning Enemy Unknown so that you lost.
XCOM never really won to begin with; they merely blewup a research vessel.
The primary objective of the aliens in EU was never to conquer humanity; it was to find a race that was both physically and mentally capable, so that they may serve as hosts for the ethereals.
Their primary objective was completed after the XCOM's "victory" in 2015.
hotsauceman1 wrote: This future could have been done easily with the lose if the aliens made up some BS excuse to why they attacked, or that those who attacked where a "Fringe element" seriously Why?
The tech tree. I suspect that the 'revised timeline' was put in place to allow a more in depth tech tree with a minimum of creativity as Firaxis can essentially recycle much of the tech tree from the first game.
That's the only logical reason why Firaxis didn't just go with a wave 2 scenario
It looks like they are keeping the "bones" of the prior game so I have high hopes they can focus on many tweaks that were demonstrable with long war.
A bit more money can be spent on story and new content.
I hope to see more options of what your people can do in the tactical game and expanded tactics in the strategic part of the game.
There are so many types of tech trees out there in games.
I hope there can be more synergies to make choices harder like you could be more adaptable but specialization gives some perks.
"Path of Exile" is not a really good comparable thing BUT I was always impressed with how hard a choice some things were or ploughing ahead to a perk I really wanted in their passive tree. It is a wee bit nuts:
Spoiler:
Automatically Appended Next Post:
hotsauceman1 wrote: I mean, I fully understand PC is superior, and I can build a decent one for cheap. The problem is, I will have to update it and call several people to help me. I dont want to have to worry about "Will gaming system run this" with a Ps4, its put in and play.
I can appreciate how much this game means to you by what madness you are contemplating.
If I were in your position I would wait and see what further discussions they have on the PC only release and see if it is only a temporary thing (as you know I could bet money it is).
malfred wrote: I don't think that expanding tech trees are necessarily better than simple ones. I hate the path of exile tree, for example.
Not for everyone I agree but some measure of synergies they did have some instances in the Xcom game, I guess I am looking for more "entertainment" is more incremental achievements leading to various "shiny" goals as choices.
malfred wrote: Why? They're all going to die anyway! j/k
I think you have this confused with "Long War"...
Oh I had a bad thought... start looking for descriptions of "Roguelike" for the game, oh that would then be the game to love to hate.
Though modular in nature, buildings in XCOM 2 aren’t procedurally generated, but crafted set pieces, and almost entirely destructible – including their ceilings and floors.
But the procedurally generated approach of XCOM 2 doesn’t stop with the patchwork environments and battlefield locales. For the first time, your squad will not only be tasked with exterminating the aliens in the area, but secondary mission objectives which will cater to the procedurally generated settings. “It might be blowing up one of these buildings to spark the resistance,” Foertsch said. “It might be hacking a workstation, or protecting a device. All these different things you can do that can show up and in dozens of different buildings and areas. And you don't know what you're going to get.
But the procedurally generated approach of XCOM 2 doesn’t stop with the patchwork environments and battlefield locales. For the first time, your squad will not only be tasked with exterminating the aliens in the area, but secondary mission objectives which will cater to the procedurally generated settings. “It might be blowing up one of these buildings to spark the resistance,” Foertsch said. “It might be hacking a workstation, or protecting a device. All these different things you can do that can show up and in dozens of different buildings and areas. And you don't know what you're going to get.
Gah!! It is now like 40k with Maelstrom objectives! (kinda).
Why does it look like they will drop so many carrots for the run-and-gun approach to the game?
Oh I see many a bad scenario my guys will wander into.
But the procedurally generated approach of XCOM 2 doesn’t stop with the patchwork environments and battlefield locales. For the first time, your squad will not only be tasked with exterminating the aliens in the area, but secondary mission objectives which will cater to the procedurally generated settings. “It might be blowing up one of these buildings to spark the resistance,” Foertsch said. “It might be hacking a workstation, or protecting a device. All these different things you can do that can show up and in dozens of different buildings and areas. And you don't know what you're going to get.
Gah!! It is now like 40k with Maelstrom objectives! (kinda).
Why does it look like they will drop so many carrots for the run-and-gun approach to the game?
Oh I see many a bad scenario my guys will wander into.
Now whom in the development team thougth this would be a good idea? So not only will be my team be underdogs for quite some time, but we will need to ravage buildings, guard a transmiter and what not too? Wow sounds like I may not enjoy this as much I had hoped. But time will tell as the game just got announced and such
I feel like meld was a good enough incentive to increase movement and decrease overly cautious always overwatched play. I 'm really hoping for more on the world map side of things. that was the weakest part of xcom and where it distanced itself the most from the original.
But the procedurally generated approach of XCOM 2 doesn’t stop with the patchwork environments and battlefield locales. For the first time, your squad will not only be tasked with exterminating the aliens in the area, but secondary mission objectives which will cater to the procedurally generated settings. “It might be blowing up one of these buildings to spark the resistance,” Foertsch said. “It might be hacking a workstation, or protecting a device. All these different things you can do that can show up and in dozens of different buildings and areas. And you don't know what you're going to get.
Gah!! It is now like 40k with Maelstrom objectives! (kinda).
Why does it look like they will drop so many carrots for the run-and-gun approach to the game?
Oh I see many a bad scenario my guys will wander into.
Now whom in the development team thougth this would be a good idea? So not only will be my team be underdogs for quite some time, but we will need to ravage buildings, guard a transmiter and what not too? Wow sounds like I may not enjoy this as much I had hoped. But time will tell as the game just got announced and such
People are seeing that as a bad thing? I don't see why. The lack of objective verity was a big problem I had with Xcom. Though the random nature sounds a little off putting.
But the procedurally generated approach of XCOM 2 doesn’t stop with the patchwork environments and battlefield locales. For the first time, your squad will not only be tasked with exterminating the aliens in the area, but secondary mission objectives which will cater to the procedurally generated settings. “It might be blowing up one of these buildings to spark the resistance,” Foertsch said. “It might be hacking a workstation, or protecting a device. All these different things you can do that can show up and in dozens of different buildings and areas. And you don't know what you're going to get.
Gah!! It is now like 40k with Maelstrom objectives! (kinda).
Why does it look like they will drop so many carrots for the run-and-gun approach to the game?
Oh I see many a bad scenario my guys will wander into.
Now whom in the development team thougth this would be a good idea? So not only will be my team be underdogs for quite some time, but we will need to ravage buildings, guard a transmiter and what not too? Wow sounds like I may not enjoy this as much I had hoped. But time will tell as the game just got announced and such
I'm guessing it will be an optional thing, like meld.
Sure, you don't have to do it, but it would be easier on you if you did.
"Commander, I know you're after the Advent local HQ right now, but a target of opportunity has presented itself. Two blocks west is a transmitter hooked into the local propaganda net. If we can hack it, we can put our own feed out over their signal... blah blah"
Talizvar wrote: It looks like they are keeping the "bones" of the prior game so I have high hopes they can focus on many tweaks that were demonstrable with long war.
A bit more money can be spent on story and new content.
I hope to see more options of what your people can do in the tactical game and expanded tactics in the strategic part of the game.
There are so many types of tech trees out there in games.
I hope there can be more synergies to make choices harder like you could be more adaptable but specialization gives some perks.
"Path of Exile" is not a really good comparable thing BUT I was always impressed with how hard a choice some things were or ploughing ahead to a perk I really wanted in their passive tree. It is a wee bit nuts:
Spoiler:
Automatically Appended Next Post:
hotsauceman1 wrote: I mean, I fully understand PC is superior, and I can build a decent one for cheap. The problem is, I will have to update it and call several people to help me. I dont want to have to worry about "Will gaming system run this" with a Ps4, its put in and play.
I can appreciate how much this game means to you by what madness you are contemplating.
If I were in your position I would wait and see what further discussions they have on the PC only release and see if it is only a temporary thing (as you know I could bet money it is).
I loved the game. I remember thinking one day at the gym "I wish I didnt sell Xcom back" Then I looked up, EW was only 15 on 360. Bought, took a bus home to play it and enjoyed myself.
What im upset is that this will show why the aliens have invaded, I can gleam so much from the previous game and the Trailer, that the aliens want humans for something special. They experimented so much on others, and from what the leading ethereal said it can be so much. It could be a worse invasion force. It could be something might be happening to planet earth as to require us to evolve.
Who knows, maybe the aliens ARE genuinly concerned for humanity.
Automatically Appended Next Post:
Crablezworth wrote: I feel like meld was a good enough incentive to increase movement and decrease overly cautious always overwatched play. I 'm really hoping for more on the world map side of things. that was the weakest part of xcom and where it distanced itself the most from the original.
Until Late Game, when it is all but useless and you have your A team
Trondheim wrote: Now whom in the development team thougth this would be a good idea? So not only will be my team be underdogs for quite some time, but we will need to ravage buildings, guard a transmiter and what not too? Wow sounds like I may not enjoy this as much I had hoped. But time will tell as the game just got announced and such
No, you don't have to. It's clearly stated that these will be secondary objectives. If the mission's going well, then you can give your side a little extra boost. If the mission's a rough one, then you can ignore them and focus on the primary objective.
Though modular in nature, buildings in XCOM 2 aren’t procedurally generated, but crafted set pieces, and almost entirely destructible – including their ceilings and floors.
But the procedurally generated approach of XCOM 2 doesn’t stop with the patchwork environments and battlefield locales. For the first time, your squad will not only be tasked with exterminating the aliens in the area, but secondary mission objectives which will cater to the procedurally generated settings. “It might be blowing up one of these buildings to spark the resistance,” Foertsch said. “It might be hacking a workstation, or protecting a device. All these different things you can do that can show up and in dozens of different buildings and areas. And you don't know what you're going to get.
BY DAN STAPLETONThis November, XCOM 2 will appear exclusively on PC (Windows, Mac OS, and Linux), delivered through Steam.
“Yeah, we figured that would surprise some people,” said Lead Producer Garth DeAngelis.
It certainly surprised us. Considering XCOM: Enemy Unknown and Enemy Within initially came out on PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3, and have since even been ported to iOS and Android, narrowing focus to a single platform for the sequel seems to defy conventional game-development wisdom. But if there’s a developer out there that knows how to be successful making PC games, it’s Firaxis. The Maryland-based studio is best known for the Sid Meier’s Civilization series, which (other than the Civilization: Revolution console and mobile spinoffs) has resolutely stuck to its PC roots for 20 years.
XCOM 2 Reveal Trailer - IGN First
03:03
“
Our expertise here is PC. That's our home, and that's where we're really comfortable.
A focus on PC was the only way to make the XCOM 2 that Creative Director Jake Solomon and his team envisioned when they sat down to talk after completing Enemy Unknown. “When we looked at what we wanted to do with the sequel, we had all these very, very ambitious goals,” said Solomon. On his must-have list were high-fidelity characters and environments, better-looking destruction, physically based rendering, and the crown jewel he’d wanted to get into Enemy Unknown but couldn’t: procedurally generated maps. “To do that, we had to use all of our studio expertise … and our expertise here is PC. That's our home, and that's where we're really comfortable.”
Focusing all of Firaxis’ efforts on the PC made logistical sense to DeAngelis, too. “Internally, with a relatively small team for the size of the game that we are, to be able to say we can focus on our platform that the studio has a pedigree for, and that X-COM: UFO Defense has a pedigree for, as PC-only... it just made a lot of sense, and that's how we wanted to dedicate our time.” XCOM 2 runs on a heavily modified version of Unreal Engine 3.5 (Firaxis’ customizations are too extensive to easily move to Unreal 4), which in some ways has been rewritten to the point of being “unrecognizable,” and it’s much simpler to make that work on one platform than three or more at once.
Concept art of XCOM's new mobile base, the Avenger.
Despite being on the run, XCOM soldiers will still have access to advanced hair-care technology.
Advent Troopers dig in against an XCOM assault.
Advent Captains are stronger versions that can buff nearby troopers.
Advertisement
An XCOM Ranger prepares to ambush an Advent Captain and Soldier.
The terrifying evolved version of the Sectoid. Nice teeth!
“
We talk about ‘What is the experience like on PC? What does the mouse feel like?'
“When we have our meetings, when we talk about stuff, we only talk about PC,” said Solomon. “We talk about ‘What is the experience like on PC? What does the mouse feel like in this experience?’” The most obvious change resulting from those conversations is how the team is optimizing the interface to be mouse-and-keyboard friendly, moving UI elements and grouping them logically so that buttons we’re likely to press one after the other aren’t placed on opposite sides of the screen. “It will certainly be recognizable, but there isn't one UI widget that's the same,” said Solomon. We’ll also see more tactical information (such as detailed explanations of why your chance to hit is increased or decreased) displayed on the tactical interface, since Firaxis can now count on players sitting closer to their PC monitors and being able to read smaller text. And though Firaxis plans to add it in the future, the current plan is to launch without gamepad support.
Running The Numbers
Does this decision make business sense for XCOM’s future? 2K isn’t sharing sales figures for XCOM: Enemy Unknown or Enemy Within, or how sales broke down across the PC and console versions, so it’s impossible to say for sure. However, using publicly available Steam data, third-party site SteamSpy unofficially estimates 2.6 million PC copies sold since October of 2012. (That figure does factor in numerous deep Steam sales where it’s sold for as little as five dollars, and its inclusion in HumbleBundles.) Reliable console version sales numbers are difficult to come by, though based on failing to chart in the NPD top 10 retail games for October 2012, it’s safe to speculate that console audiences didn’t flock to XCOM.
XCOM 2 Reveal Trailer - Rewind Theater
19:51
Meanwhile, XCOM: Enemy Unknown’s popularity has endured on Steam. It’s maintained a spot in the Top 100 Steam games ever since day one, initially peaking at 70,000 concurrent players, and still averages between 3,000 and 4,000 peak concurrent players more than 18 months after its Enemy Within expansion came out. (Note: Steam’s peak concurrent players figure is the number of people playing simultaneously; daily total player numbers would be considerably higher, but are not publicly available.) Redirecting the resources that would’ve been necessary to release XCOM 2 on multiple platforms toward making the PC version better and more replayable makes a certain amount of sense – especially if Firaxis can turn XCOM into a game that rivals Civilization in bang-for-the-buck longevity.
“
Solomon wouldn’t rule out a console version.
As for the chances of XCOM 2 making its way to Xbox One and PlayStation 4 at some point in the future, Solomon wouldn’t rule it out, but it won’t happen any time soon. “We're certainly not opposed to that, but I can assure that's something we're not even discussing yet,” he said. He added that the PS4 and Xbox One would likely be technically capable of running XCOM 2, but developing all of these features for multiple platforms simultaneously would be impossible for Firaxis to do.
Of course, the one thing that a console version of XCOM 2 wouldn’t be able to handle at all is modding, which Solomon and DeAngelis consider to be one of it’s biggest features and key to offering the kind of long-term replayablity and value people have come to expect from the makers of Sid Meier’s Civilization. We’ll have more on how Firaxis is embracing modders in XCOM 2 next week.
Is there anything better than Xcom? I hope this is a little similar to Xcom Apocalypse, it certainly seems that way in some massive mega city.
As I have aged I play games a lot less, only RPGs and turn-based strategies really hold my interest these days, but I routniely play Xcom.
I think in the last 5 years I have reinstalled and played all of them again, I think I completed Xcom Apocalypse again only about 2 years ago...
Oh and I bought Xenonauts a few months back, if anybody hasn't heard of, or played that game, I heartily recommend it. I'm somewhat stunned by the mediocre reviews personally, I find it far more elegant than the original, especially the lack of energy and the way you don't wind up checking for lone aliens in cupboards after 99 turns.
I think in the last 5 years I have reinstalled and played all of them again, I think I completed Xcom Apocalypse again only about 2 years ago...
I have never completed Apoc. I always get to the same mission in the alien dimension with the multiple megaspawn and give up in disgust after my entire squad gets repeatedly wiped out (again). Its a shame that Apoc's end game is quite flat, once you can mount effective raids on the alien dimension there is nothing that the aliens can really do to stop you (aside from all those damn megaspawn of course).
I really hope that some of the concepts in Apoc make their way into this new game, not least factional politics and espionage.
I backed the Xenonauts kickstarter and unfortunately it is too brutal for me: I dislike losing many of my little minions in these sort of games and they drop like flies in Xenonauts, even on normal difficulty. Its obviously a really good game though and arguably much closer to X-COM than XCOM.
I think in the last 5 years I have reinstalled and played all of them again, I think I completed Xcom Apocalypse again only about 2 years ago...
I have never completed Apoc. I always get to the same mission in the alien dimension with the multiple megaspawn and give up in disgust after my entire squad gets repeatedly wiped out (again). Its a shame that Apoc's end game is quite flat, once you can mount effective raids on the alien dimension there is nothing that the aliens can really do to stop you (aside from all those damn megaspawn of course).
I really hope that some of the concepts in Apoc make their way into this new game, not least factional politics and espionage.
I backed the Xenonauts kickstarter and unfortunately it is too brutal for me: I dislike losing many of my little minions in these sort of games and they drop like flies in Xenonauts, even on normal difficulty. Its obviously a really good game though and arguably much closer to X-COM than XCOM.
I found that the endgame in Apoc was pretty easy, once you get those fething teleporters it just sorta makes the whole thing a bit of a cakewalk. Teleporting type C toxiguns are just insane, the whole thing seemed to just turn into "walk a bit, see an alien out of the corner of your eye, teleport behind him to be greeted by a massive clump of aliens, slaughter them all with two guys"
The last mission was pretty hard because there were so many, but I got around that by reloading the level and taking 6 or 7 of those crazy missile launchers and then blowing the gak out of absolutely everything.
As for Xenonauts, they seemed to snap shot a lot more and I lost more men, but still only about 15-20 on a playthrough, maybe knock the difficulty down to easy if you are really struggling, because its a hell of a game.
I no, I see, I still think it is Utter BS "We are not good at making Console games"
Then why did you make a great Xcom?
"Modding is required for 2"
Console players dont give a damn about moddin"
"Keyboard and mouse is Deh best"
Alright then why where the controles for #1 just as good on a controller.
Firaxis has screwed over people that loved their game and it is slowed. And quite frankly this "PC Elitist" gak is getting old
What you think they said: "We are not good at making console games"
What they actually said: "We are more comfortable and better skilled at making PC games."
What you think they said:"Modding is required for 2"
What they actually said: "We think modding will be great for the long term replayability of our game"
What you think they said: "Keyboard and mouse is dah best"
What they actually said: "We had to completely overhaul the UI to work better with KB/M"
What you think they said: "PC MASTER RACE! HEIL GATES! HEIL WOZ!"
What they actually said: "..."
I never said those. They made a GREAT Game, and they could easily make another great Xcom2 game. These guys screwed over a significant of their fanbase.
And what im saying is im tired of hearing arguments that PC players are the best and are the only ones deserving of a great game such as Xcom
hotsauceman1 wrote: I no, I see, I still think it is Utter BS "We are not good at making Console games"
Then why did you make a great Xcom?
"Modding is required for 2"
Console players dont give a damn about moddin"
"Keyboard and mouse is Deh best"
Alright then why where the controles for #1 just as good on a controller.
Firaxis has screwed over people that loved their game and it is slowed. And quite frankly this "PC Elitist" gak is getting old
I feel that reading between the lines:
- They "heavily modified Unreal 3.5" and there is probably a real fear that trying to port over Xcom2 to console would be unstable.
- Due to the lack of expertise with consoles, getting others up to speed or building in the compatibility from the get-go they may feel impacts their deliverable time too much.
- The crew they have that is writing the code are not familiar enough with console to properly "allow for" in their code console peculiarities or limitations similar to the above statement.
- There may have been some lessons learned with the various controllers there may be a "we learned from that issue and it will need careful consideration", some "gotchya's" we are not aware of.
In all honesty, what makes the #1 reason for programmers to want to code for the PC only: less limitations.
You can always up the PC requirements for hardware and that used to be par for the course to play the latest hotness of software.
Programmers like artists like their "freedom": "What do you mean I have only 2gig or ram to play with?", 32bit system? Really?, 0.5gig HD footprint only? (??).
Irritating things like memory optimization, loading timing, processor usage are all strong considerations.
Many of these old timers are trained to be lazy programmers because they were never required to write tight code.
The new generation of tablet and console programmers have the "proper" habits of this generation of computing.
<edit> BUT anyone a decade away from retirement would remember programming prior to the PC in the early years of console and it would be same-old-same-old to them.
Ah, Atari 2600, Intellivision... I do not think of myself as a console gamer but I was heavily in my early years.
PC only is OK, but it means you have to deal with PC limitations. The thing that bugs me is that people think PC is the platform for graphics, but it's really not. If you want to sell a game on fidelity, then you should sell it on console because your just not going to be able to guarantee that fidelity to all your customers on PC.
nomotog wrote: PC only is OK, but it means you have to deal with PC limitations. The thing that bugs me is that people think PC is the platform for graphics, but it's really not. If you want to sell a game on fidelity, then you should sell it on console because your just not going to be able to guarantee that fidelity to all your customers on PC.
I am a little confused on this statement.
Consoles are geared toward "TV" resolutions and currently "full" HD runs at 1080p = 1920x1080 (2.1 megapixel).
Many mid-end monitors run at 2560x1440.
A quick search on a "cheap" video card ($43) max resolution is 2560x1600 (PNY - GeForce GT 610 1GB DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 Graphics Card - Black).
My card is a Radeon 6870 and is over 5 years old and blows the dust off the before mentioned card and can hit resolutions far greater than any monitor I could afford.
Fidelity can only be guaranteed to whatever hardware the person is running that was new within the last decade.
(2005: Windows XP professional released that year, Dual-core processors released).
If there was a console release you would not typically be able to play the game on a PS3(2006) or Xbox360(2005) at this point.
nomotog wrote: PC only is OK, but it means you have to deal with PC limitations. The thing that bugs me is that people think PC is the platform for graphics, but it's really not. If you want to sell a game on fidelity, then you should sell it on console because your just not going to be able to guarantee that fidelity to all your customers on PC.
I am a little confused on this statement.
Consoles are geared toward "TV" resolutions and currently "full" HD runs at 1080p = 1920x1080 (2.1 megapixel).
Many mid-end monitors run at 2560x1440.
A quick search on a "cheap" video card ($43) max resolution is 2560x1600 (PNY - GeForce GT 610 1GB DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 Graphics Card - Black).
My card is a Radeon 6870 and is over 5 years old and blows the dust off the before mentioned card and can hit resolutions far greater than any monitor I could afford.
Fidelity can only be guaranteed to whatever hardware the person is running that was new within the last decade.
(2005: Windows XP professional released that year, Dual-core processors released).
If there was a console release you would not typically be able to play the game on a PS3(2006) or Xbox360(2005) at this point.
It's just that you never know what settings your customer will have. You have people trying to game with intel graphics, so your never going to be able to guarantee that the game will look as good as it dose in the screen shots.
I have to disagree about PC limitations as well, I certainly am not an "elitist" PC owner, but they dont seem to have many, other than the fact they are more expensive obviously.
I love my consoles, but PCs have few limitations, its probably why they are much more expensive!
You get what you pay for.
Plus, I don't mind Xcom on a console since they redesigned the UI, but I still prefer it with a mouse and keyboard, the same can be said of almost every strategy game I have ever played.
I would contend that PCs are actually less expensive because they last much longer than Consoles do, and they can be used for many more things as well. Plus you can upgrade them single parts at a time, if your graphics card is out of date you only need a new graphics card, not a whole new device. A PC can do everything a Console can, and ten times more besides.
All this coverage of xcom 2 get anybody to play enemy unknown or within like me? I keep getting my *** handed to me in impossible ironman runs. There's just nothing i can do. I've even used scopes more successfully esp. with laser weapons and used rooftops and walls to block line of sight while i chuck grenades over them but to no avail (helps get rid of enemy cover so your guys with scopes can light em up). I don't even bother with the french convoy mission. Sad thing is things were going well until i was hit with the hammer twice. Once in a terror mission and in various other bomb disposal missions where you have to hurry. It doesn't help either that light plasma rifles just cut through you regardless of armor mostly. Using scopes, grenades, some flanking and high ground helps considerably though. Chrysallids still owned me in terror missions and it didn't help fighting wave after wave of baddies with some of my vets getting in medbay or dying to the extent i couldn't get an officer training school up and no more squad members.
nomotog wrote: PC only is OK, but it means you have to deal with PC limitations. The thing that bugs me is that people think PC is the platform for graphics, but it's really not. If you want to sell a game on fidelity, then you should sell it on console because your just not going to be able to guarantee that fidelity to all your customers on PC.
I am a little confused on this statement.
Consoles are geared toward "TV" resolutions and currently "full" HD runs at 1080p = 1920x1080 (2.1 megapixel).
Many mid-end monitors run at 2560x1440.
A quick search on a "cheap" video card ($43) max resolution is 2560x1600 (PNY - GeForce GT 610 1GB DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 Graphics Card - Black).
My card is a Radeon 6870 and is over 5 years old and blows the dust off the before mentioned card and can hit resolutions far greater than any monitor I could afford.
Fidelity can only be guaranteed to whatever hardware the person is running that was new within the last decade.
(2005: Windows XP professional released that year, Dual-core processors released).
If there was a console release you would not typically be able to play the game on a PS3(2006) or Xbox360(2005) at this point.
XCOM will run on my 2009 macbook, albeit at a lower res than the native 1280x800. The nvidia 9400m and my C2D cpu are way under what you'd get today with a cheap motherboard and a pentium-k, and even with intel graphics the game should work at 720p or even 1080p in low settings.
The 6870 is still a great card for 1080p. You might not run everything maxed out, but it's still a solid gaming card. I'm installing one on my living-room htpc to try out steam os.
Aaaanyway, this is surprising, but still, understandable.
You can enlighten me Mel, I don't show up much these days.
Exactly what is the argument against a PC? I play both console and PC, I don't think there are many limitations to either personally, but I'm curious that there is actually an argument. If you can afford $1000 for a PC, you buy one don't you? I think most "arguments" boil down to people feeling they have to pick a side even though they really don't.
The only time I never owned both was when I was skint, and I only owned a Gamecube! As soon as I grew up and went to work I have always had both, so its hardly like I'm not on the fence. I have a PS3 and a Wii as well, I still play them all.
What is the limitations of a PC exactly other than money? If you have the cash, a PC can do everything a console can, and it also has more options, I even have a Gucci control pad for my PC. I'm genuinely curious as to what the argument against them is, because I love my consoles, but I always prefer strategy games on PC just because the mouse and keyboard works better. Nazi Zombies was always better on the PS3 because its parsimonious and easy to use and it never failed to match me inside a minute, but it doesn't preclude me from liking the PC as well surely?
Melissia wrote: Oh boy, pc console fighting again.
Aaaanyway, this is surprising, but still, understandable.
No worries on a "fight".
I tried to give some ideas of why-oh-why PC release only.
The note on PC limitations was a genuine confusion since fairly old machines can run the Unreal engine handily.
Console is the bigger market-share for games so the arguments are rather silly.
Tablets and Xbox in general show the trend toward an appliance form factor of computing.
I personally found the last 5 years to have the least push in PC hardware requirements.
It was quite intentional to point out Xbox 360 and PS 3: they pretty much set the standard for hardware requirements.
Steam, the more popular game delivery is becoming an operating system / console if they have their way soon.
It all seems to be converging rather than diverging: console and PC at this time have little to differentiate other than those times software developers are pushing hardware limits or my guess here is operating system compatibility limits.
Plus, anyone missing out on a new Xcom release makes me sad.
Due to tablets, people have less need of a higher end PC.
My old "Surface" works great for basic stuff and I could see doing a ton of stuff without needing a PC.
I prefer my games on PC, that is just me.
That is why the machine is reasonable for games because I have updated as necessary.
We have two older computers in the house for the kids to do PC Minecraft and we have an X-box 360 and a couple iPads, and 3DS -3Dfx so we all play stuff all over the place.
So as I anticipated, some people get excluded which is unfortunate.
Talizvar wrote: Due to tablets, people have less need of a higher end PC.
My old "Surface" works great for basic stuff and I could see doing a ton of stuff without needing a PC.
I prefer my games on PC, that is just me.
That is why the machine is reasonable for games because I have updated as necessary.
We have two older computers in the house for the kids to do PC Minecraft and we have an X-box 360 and a couple iPads, and 3DS -3Dfx so we all play stuff all over the place.
So as I anticipated, some people get excluded which is unfortunate.
As this one mentioned, some people are excluded. Always sucks when it happens but sometimes I hold my tongue on how I feel about things like this. On the one hand, it sucks because people are denied an experience. On the other hand, it's one of the things that makes consoles actually worthwhile. The only current gen console I have is the WiiU and that's simply because of the exclusives. Just haven't seen anything worth buying an xbone or ps4 for especially when many of the "exclusives" wind up on pc where I can mod the heck out of them.
Who knows, maybe if they do well they'll port it over at some point. GTAV eventually got t pc how many years after it came out again?
Tbh, it isn't about being denied the experience. I want to play ARK, but I can live without playing it. But to play a game I love, then to tell me I essentially can't play the sequel is bull. It's like I said, if bioware decided to make mass effect a Xbox exclusive again.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Althoughey here is a funny story. I may have one now.my cousin found a pic on the side of the road, said it was mostly custom and seemed in good condition,c we might get it running.
malfred wrote: There's info on in about the melee class, the ranger, who is replacing the asSault class
Save people going to IGN:
MEET THE XCOM 2 RANGER – IGN FIRST
416 The right tool for the job.
BY BRANDIN TYRRELIn Firaxis Games' XCOM universe, a lot has changed in the 20 years since the alien invasion of 2015. After Earth’s swift defeat and unconditional surrender in XCOM: Enemy Unknown, the role of the soldiers who went underground to continue fighting this war changed to suit a more guerrilla style of combat.
XCOM 2 introduces five new soldier classes. Here’s your first look at the Ranger, the evolution of Enemy Unknown’s Assault class.
XCOM 2 Reveal Trailer - IGN First
03:03
The Ranger is largely built for close-range combat, hefting a shotgun or assault rifle as a primary weapon. But the Ranger's signature tool will obviously be the machete sword, which introduces melee combat to XCOM. These weapons allow you to upgrade your Ranger for either pure damage dealing or as a fast-moving, agile scout who can move quickly and quietly through rough terrain – and even scale walls.
“
My Ranger is buffed and protected as I go out and scout. And then, if I can catch an enemy off guard, I go slice things up real quick.
"One of the things I love doing when I have [the Specialist and the Ranger] together in my playthroughs is I will put the Gremlin on my Ranger so my Ranger's buffed and protected as I go out and scout," said XCOM 2 Lead Producer Garth DeAngelis. "And then, if I can catch an enemy off guard, I go slice things up real quick."
While a stealth approach allows you the first shot, the Ranger doesn’t do backstabbing or throat-cutting style kills. "It's hardcore melee combat," DeAngelis clarified. "We talked a little bit about the backstabbing stuff, but we led with the melee."
Concealment is a big part of XCOM 2 combat, and that can work both for and against the Ranger. “Every unit is in concealment when they start the map; the ranger can push that further, depending on how you spec them out in their specialty tree,” said DeAngelis., and the Ranger is among the best equipped to make the most of the element of surprise. Leaping out of the shadows with a sword to deal a huge amount of damage on the most powerful enemy targets before they know what hit them, or locating enemies for long-range allies can turn the tables on what would have been a losing fight. But once spotted, the close-range nature of the Ranger’s abilities means using them aggressively can leave him out of cover and vulnerable. “So, making that risk/reward choice is very powerful. It's an interesting decision; there's other enemies around you, so you probably don't want to do that.”
“
Making that risk/reward choice is very powerful. There's other enemies around you, so you probably don't want to [reveal yourself.]
DeAngelis detailed two skills that could make the Ranger even deadlier than Enemy Unknown’s famous Double-Tap Sniper. Towards the top of the Ranger’s skill tree you’ll get access to the ultra-powerful Reaper; with it, scoring a melee kill allows you to combo into another attack – and you can chain that as many times as you want, as long as you keep scoring kills. So if you have two enemies standing side by side, you could run up, kill both, and then take a shot at a distant third with your rifle.
Another high-level skill, called Phantom, allows the Ranger to move again after a kill. On its own, that ability allows you to dash out of cover, strike down an enemy, and dash back – effectively turning the Ranger’s sword into a ranged weapon (although exposing him to Overwatch cover fire).
A Phantom-Reaper Ranger could be absolutely devastating. Imagine, if you will, using a Grenadier to soften up – but not quite kill – a squad of Advent soldiers with an explosive area-of-effect attack. Then your Ranger dashes in and slices and dices his way through all of them, one at a time, for a bloody clean-up.
So basically, XCOM is now one of those animes where a dude with a sword kills 20 guys in less than a second.
I can't remember the exact source, sorry :/
To be fair that's only if it successfully hits somebody in melee. Besides you guys have no idea how powerful rockets destroying cover and 'in the zone' sniper is combined with it. Just gotta get each weak enough and make sure each upcoming kill is out of cover and not just being flanked (that only works in close range i think). I mean i've killed 6 muton elites doing that. It's not too shabby.
Seems like a poor replacement for the assult class, no soldier class outside of MECS or Gene enhanced soldiers have stacked so many kills for me over the years as the assult class has
Trondheim wrote: Seems like a poor replacement for the assult class, no soldier class outside of MECS or Gene enhanced soldiers have stacked so many kills for me over the years as the assult class has
Trondheim wrote: Seems like a poor replacement for the assult class, no soldier class outside of MECS or Gene enhanced soldiers have stacked so many kills for me over the years as the assult class has
Reaction Fire is OP.
It has more to do with the liberal use of laser shotguns, grenades and a good selection of skills. And beside the close quater combat skill is much more usefull. Anything within four tiles gets a face full of buckshot
I'm not really into it. Heavies and maybe snipers are super useful in classic difficulty or above. Heavies will save the game for you in classic and impossible difficulty and having 3 heavies in a team is kinda overkill at times. This isn't even mentioning the self-guided alien rocket launcher you get after tackling battleships and winning the mission. You can fire those things without line of sight and it just goes around all terrain to get to its target. Oh and it has better damage and possibly range.
Trondheim wrote: Seems like a poor replacement for the assult class, no soldier class outside of MECS or Gene enhanced soldiers have stacked so many kills for me over the years as the assult class has
Reaction Fire is OP.
It has more to do with the liberal use of laser shotguns, grenades and a good selection of skills. And beside the close quater combat skill is much more usefull. Anything within four tiles gets a face full of buckshot
Thats whats I was referring to. A guy with a Shotgun on Overwatch who also has Reaction Fire can kill just about anything that comes around the corner. Plus Run and Gun and Double Shot together is amazing.
My experience with shotguns and reaction fire is that the computer will move a guy about fifteen squares away and in the Assault guy's line of sight in order to draw the completely inaccurate reaction fire, and only then move the closer guys. Though if you've got the right skill, that doesn't stop the fire if they get *really* close.
But the primary use of my assault guys tends to be the Lightning Reflex ability to waste the aliens' reaction fire.
I used most of my Assaults with assault rifles as generic soldiers, but kept one as a troubleshooter - if there's something that really, really needs to die, she just runs up and unloads two Alloy Cannon shots into it at point blank range and it evaporates.
Trondheim wrote: Seems like a poor replacement for the assult class, no soldier class outside of MECS or Gene enhanced soldiers have stacked so many kills for me over the years as the assult class has
Reaction Fire is OP.
It has more to do with the liberal use of laser shotguns, grenades and a good selection of skills. And beside the close quater combat skill is much more usefull. Anything within four tiles gets a face full of buckshot
Thats whats I was referring to. A guy with a Shotgun on Overwatch who also has Reaction Fire can kill just about anything that comes around the corner. Plus Run and Gun and Double Shot together is amazing.
Ah I see, well thats a fair point. But truth be told I thinks its what any xcom team needs, someone to stop the E.T dead in its tracks before it can close the gap
AlexHolker wrote: I used most of my Assaults with assault rifles as generic soldiers, but kept one as a troubleshooter - if there's something that really, really needs to die, she just runs up and unloads two Alloy Cannon shots into it at point blank range and it evaporates.
You had one of those too!
It was awesome to see every time...
malfred wrote: You don't overwatch a shotgun unless you're dealing with
Chrysalids. You double move into cover or hunker or out of
line of sight.
You can overwatch a shotgun. You just have to go around a corner that you know an alien will go by.
Of course i find aliens have the uncanny ability of knowing just how far away they need to go to not be in overwatch while also being close enough to shoot and in full cover. It's really obnoxious.
Ya know it's almost like the computer cheats and knows where you are even when they're not supposed to ;P.
Some info on the enemies. I kind of like the new idea for the aliens. That they are strong and they also seem to be ability rich. With a few different abilities.
So according to the developer's the impossible ironman ending is canon.
I consider that 'challenge accepted' for my 'enemy within' playthroughs. I'm going to beat it on impossible ironman before xcom 2 is released. Hopefully that wouldn't prevent the game being released ;P.
So basically that won't be the excuse that impossible ironman is the canon ending because i'll beat it hehe.
@flamingkillamajig: I dunno, there are lots of ways in programming to ensure "impossible" is exactly that, I admire the attitude. There are too many variables they could tweak to ensure a loss.
I do admit though, I have had much fun poking around inside programs with "cheat-engine" to catch a glimpse on how some of these programs work. Like when you hunt down a given number in the game and go back and find the address that writes to it... makes me really want to see the source-code one day. I think they did release some of the math within the game.
Well i know the bit about humanity never getting laser weapons even is a hoax in my impossible ironman games at least. I usually can get that but best i can usually live till is end of month 3. Alien base assault is fairly hard and i always almost beat it but fail. Then i succeeded once early and got an xcom base defense which destroyed me at the end of month 3 once.
I meant it was said in an interview by the developers that impossible ironman was canon. They also said something along the lines of humanity lost so bad they didn't go beyond ballistic weapons.
malfred wrote: Meaning that humanity just gets trounced because Impossible
Ironman is so hard or because it has extra cutscenes?
Yes the first one.
The developers said impossible ironman is canon and they got owned so hard they didn't advance beyond ballistics. They might not have even captured an alien or at least not many. Either way the aliens are significantly different now.
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I like how the thin men were snake women all along. Considering how they move and everything they do it actually makes a lot of sense. Also am i the only one laughing and weirded out that snake women will probably be sexualized by some pretty pathetic gamers somewhere?
flamingkillamajig wrote: I like how the thin men were snake women all along. Considering how they move and everything they do it actually makes a lot of sense.
Do you mean Thin Men are genetically engineered infiltrators that were developed using Viper DNA as a starting point, or that they are actually Vipers? Because the latter is completely idiotic.
Also am i the only one laughing and weirded out that snake women will probably be sexualized by some pretty pathetic gamers somewhere?
The Vipers do nothing for me, but as long as somebody knows when not to bring it up, I don't care if it hits somebody's kinks.
No i mean that the snake women have been said to be posing as thin men. Their actual form outside of the thin men disguise is being a snake woman. It's in the bio somewhere. Thing is they have no need for the disguise now that the aliens own earth. To be honest i don't completely believe that since thin men could possibly try to sneak into society somewhat and plan traps for xcom but whatever.
flamingkillamajig wrote: No i mean that the snake women have been said to be posing as thin men. Their actual form outside of the thin men disguise is being a snake woman.
In that case, I stand by my previous statement that that is completely idiotic. Vipers have no legs - they're not going to get away with wearing any disguise that requires wearing trousers.
This was posted just on this page. Scroll down and you'll see it mentions the viper women posed as thin men.
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Here's an excerpt for the lazy.
"But the Sectoid is just one of the enemies occupying the alien-built, sterile white mega-cities of XCOM 2. The other alien Firaxis has revealed so far is an all-new threat coming to XCOM 2: The Viper. This venomous reptile is the spiritual successor to the Snake Men of the original X-COM: UFO Defense, and Firaxis reveals they’re the “true form” of the Thin Men in Enemy Unknown, who no longer have to conceal their presence."
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Perhaps it was just some sort of trick of perception that they had. Maybe staring into their eyes, chameleonic skin or perhaps some shape-shift ability. Wtf knows. Personally i think it can work if explained properly. Probably won't be explained though.
When you think about it it can work. I mean how many times have conspiracy nuts suggested snake people posing as world leaders. It's rather a funny jab at it.
I suspect that it was more a temporary form given to them. The Sectoids have been changed rather dramatically, and are now apparently quite dangerous individually. It's quite possible that each Thin Man was a Viper that had been modified into its current form with the thought that it would be modified back when the mission was over. Thin Men would certainly be useless on any planet *other* than Earth.
As for sexualizing them...
Two words - Naga Porn
There's plenty of artwork out there of humanoid torsos on snake bodies, and plenty of those torsos are scaled with heavy snake-like features - arguably snakes with arms. And some of it is, unsurprisingly, porn.
So it's already happened even before they were announced.
My guess is the Thin-men were genetically engineered variants of the Snake-men specifically made for infiltrating Earth. Once Earth was conquered they stopped making altered versions.
flamingkillamajig wrote: Also am i the only one laughing and weirded out that snake women will probably be sexualized by some pretty pathetic gamers somewhere?
They are already sexualised. Was there really any need to give them breasts?
flamingkillamajig wrote: Also am i the only one laughing and weirded out that snake women will probably be sexualized by some pretty pathetic gamers somewhere?
They are already sexualised. Was there really any need to give them breasts?
Well i meant a seductive snake. Would be funny and disturbing. People might also sexualize em more. Hey i've said it before if it exists there's probably something dirty of it.
So today twice in a row in the alien base assault on impossible ironman i was doing ok and then i unveil at least 3 chrysallids as i'm about to finish the turn
i hate how they scurry about to where you are so if you are out of actions they'll just eat 3 of your guys in a turn resulting in you hurrying to kill the other 3 before 3 more hatch. One inevitably does and then they get an auto move to kill your guys. It's just so ****ing annoying. I'm going to try my best to at least kill a handful of chrysallids and then make some chitin plating or do something to counter this. Also i found out they're immune to thin men poison somehow which is complete bull.
So they just decided to throw it all in the blender and push the start button? Cant say that video really sold me, as the system seems somewhat less than desiarble, but I will keep my hopes that the finished version looks and plays better than that demonstration.
If all fails we will still have the long war mod
Alright so this should be a stable run of impossible ironman but it took me forever to get. I now have 6 member squads with full carapace armor and full laser weapons including my interceptors with some laser weapons. Research is going pretty fast now and i'm in the middle of month 3. I went through a ridiculous bunch of missions all at once to survive and many of which happened with my A-team in medbay (had to let one council mission go and i'm still unsure if that was a good thing) and it was tough but i'm doing better now. I may even succeed this impossible ironman run just like last time when i got bored. The only thing that can really stop me at this point is the base defense mission and not much else. Hopefully that doesn't happen when my A-team is in medbay but i unlocked 'rapid recovery' so i should be ok.
malfred wrote: Stop it. You're making me want to load up the long war
If you do, make sure to try the new version, Its insanely good. But damn is i unforgiving as in throwing ten thin men, six mutons and ten seciods at you in a random abduction mission
Well i managed to complete the first triad mission with only 4 rookies with laser rifles and frag grenades. It wasn't easy but i managed to live with everybody and only got sprayed with poison on one guy.
I'm about to play the 2nd triad mission which is where i left off at when i last wrote. We'll see how that goes.
To be honest this is not normal as i usually get owned. About a third of the games at least end on the first mission in impossible ironman and i think my luck has been rather good when i needed it to be. At this point luck isn't as big of a factor anymore as i have plenty of experienced soldiers, plenty of good gear and 6 soldiers unlocked. I may even be able to get an elerium generator or satellite nexus soon and that'll help a ton.
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Updates:
Ok not gonna lie i did lose the base defense mission. However when i did i saw that i was able to restart the mission (just like when you fail the alien mothership fight) and i failed a 2nd time. The 3rd time however was the magic number and now i'm hard to stop. Lost some high ranking dudes though. As far as zhang's 2nd mission goes it was total BS. I killed all the aliens and got to the control panel to flip the switch and nothing was going on. So basically i lost due to a glitch. Ugh stupid buggy *** xcom.
I did face a ton of missions before the base defense and did ok with them. Didn't help my assault lieutenant came back right as the base defense happened so i couldn't give him gear.
I lost a couple soldiers (a sniper sergeant and a heavy major) mostly due to EXALT using a double rocket attack on them and i forgot about this. Holy crap enemy rockets are a pain. Other than that though EXALT died like chumps like always even though they swarmed me.
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So i'm not sure if you guys are going to count this impossible ironman run or not because i lost the base defense the first go through. That said 'enemy unknown' never had it so at the very least i can do that.
Trondheim wrote: Less drama and more actuall gameplay would be preferable, if I want drama Il watch a war movie or something. But yes that was probably the case
Geeze. It's a fluff video not the end of the world.
Trondheim wrote: Less drama and more actuall gameplay would be preferable, if I want drama Il watch a war movie or something. But yes that was probably the case
Geeze. It's a fluff video not the end of the world.
?? So actualy demaning something from someone I intend to buy the finished product from is wrong? My sincere appology then
Anybody else noticed that the dude with the 'impassioned speech' had some weird scar tissue around his neck? Perhaps it's a thin man.
I also find it funny they made one of their soldiers look like a pirate.
Not scar tissue. More like some sort of pattern of discoloration on the skin. He might be a Thin Man. He certainly looked like one of them. But his movements didn't have the "not quite right" look. He's probably a gene-modded human.
I still think it may be a thin man (though he'd be really tall if i recall correctly). The public wouldn't be aware of them. Who's to say the aliens couldn't make them more human by now? I suppose it could be a human that sold himself out though.
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It's worth noting that this isn't impossible ironman canon as i'm very close to beating the game on it. Everybody is in titan armor, i have all remaining nations covered by satellites (europe and asia made it completely but south america and africa are toast as well as most of north america except mexico of all places), everybody has plasma weaponry, i have 3 firestorms, i have at least 4 colonels (2 heavies, 2 snipers) and 2 majors (1 assault and 1 support). If i do lose a nation i'm pretty much screwed though but it's unlikely (if i lose one more nation i auto-lose the game). Exalt are destroyed, alien base is raided, base defense was successful in one try and everything is going well. I even managed to lose a team of vets once or twice in certain missions and failed a couple missions and still ended up ok.
So yeah basically impossible ironman only means human victory but at what cost? Then again it's victory so it's worth the cost as well as ensuring the survival of the human race without being subjugated. Besides i feel it's infinitely more likely to succeed than a guerrilla style of warfare vs the aliens.
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Still excited for all the new features of this game. Great voice acting, accents for every different soldier nationality (something i wanted since the beginning though it takes a lot of work), very customizable characters and hopefully lots more abilities.
So far i'm far more excited for the hacker with the drone than the assault class with the melee weapon.
The retrieval of downed soldiers for gear and to keep them around is gonna be tough though. I can only imagine how ugly a lost mission will be in xcom 2. It'll be like, "Hey i know you had an A-team with sweet gear get completely toasted but you're going to lose all that spectacular gear too." and that'll be that much worse. At that point a game restart may be needed.
Btw just so everybody knows i'm just finishing up getting my A-team promoted and using less experienced soldiers to fill in the gaps as they're getting gene mods and later some psi abilities. All i have left to do is the temple assault mission and i win (basically i'm getting my vets gene mods till then but the only really needed one is the mind control gene mod to prevent any unfortunate incidents later.
I think i've made it to january 2016 in the game.
As of note i did lose my support major when an enemy sectopod spammed mortars on him out of sight without my knowing. That mission was a bit rough and thankfully my assault major managed to survive though was incapacitated. Oh and that mission to rescue the V.I.P. went horrible. Everything was going good until one of my assaults shot and missed the enemy thin man resulting in the car next to the V.I.P. going up in flames with none of my guys close enough to activate him and save him. Very lame that i lost him but all the thin men were wiped out.
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Good news everyone! I just beat impossible ironman in xcom: enemy within! Canon my ***! You can take that Dev team and shove it up where the sun don't shine.
How is it complex? You move the Avenger around to different regions and try to make contact with resistance groups.
I wouldn't be surprised if that's where you draw recruits as well.
Disappointed that the UFO event is rare though. I was looking forward to building ship defenses.
CthuluIsSpy wrote: How is it complex? You move the Avenger around to different regions and try to make contact with resistance groups.
I wouldn't be surprised if that's where you draw recruits as well.
Disappointed that the UFO event is rare though. I was looking forward to building ship defenses.
Maybe it won't be complex to play, but it was like a 15 video, they didn't even cover everything and I am still confused on what has and hasn't changed. Like they still have terror missions. (Under a new name and with a timer that I think actually improves them.)
CthuluIsSpy wrote: How is it complex? You move the Avenger around to different regions and try to make contact with resistance groups.
I wouldn't be surprised if that's where you draw recruits as well.
Disappointed that the UFO event is rare though. I was looking forward to building ship defenses.
Maybe it won't be complex to play, but it was like a 15 video, they didn't even cover everything and I am still confused on what has and hasn't changed. Like they still have terror missions. (Under a new name and with a timer that I think actually improves them.)
How on earth was this complex? Its by far more easy to understand than the previous versions of Xcom released in the last few years? And I think they coverd what they could talk about well enough
I'm pretty sure there's a more informative video on ign's channel on youtube. It'd be a pain to sift through though so maybe ign.com is better in that case.
Funny I am kind of getting a different impression. I was expecting the same only more, but a lot of the changes feel more like side moves. Things like the new global map or the infiltration mechanics. They aren't so much a expected evolution as much as they are a swerve.
The one change I really hope they work on the item verity. I hope that talk about flamethrowers wasn't just banter and that we really do get different weapons like that.
I'm not sure how I feel about tech roulette. I like researching tech but having it be completely random gets rid of the strategy part of it and more like just praying you get something useful for what you need right now. An example would be like getting poison weaponry before facing a council mission with thin men. I know it's different in xcom 2 what's effected by what but still.
The rest of this game seems really, really complex or at least as far as staff and similar goes. I think base management will be more complicated just as soldier skills seems to be. The actual mission map where you go from region to region is not that complex.
I'm really interested to see how fighting enemy aircraft works whether with the avenger or if you're even allowed to launch interceptors from the avenger to fight them with. I didn't really care about the lack of dogfighting in enemy unknown but still I'm interested in what's new with it. It could be cool.
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Edit: Here's the video without some interview attached.
Steam has it up for pre-order. The release date is now pegged as February 5, 2016. The pre-order bonuses are some new items for squad cosmetic customization, and a free "survivor of the old war".
I didn't like what I saw in the original announcement all that much but as the details have been coming out more and more it's killing any skepticism I had. This is gonna be a solid sequel. I like that they actually have different voice packs for different nations now.
I wonder if I will like the new aliens. I am unsure about the way they are altering their role turning them into elite enemies well humans make up the bulk of your enemies.
I actually like the new aliens. The faceless, stun lancer and a few others really stand out to me. I'm also going to heavily enjoy the drone user class just because that sounds cool. I'm guessing they're very support heavy but the idea of grabbing some heavy guns is pretty sweet.
flamingkillamajig wrote: I actually like the new aliens. The faceless, stun lancer and a few others really stand out to me. I'm also going to heavily enjoy the drone user class just because that sounds cool. I'm guessing they're very support heavy but the idea of grabbing some heavy guns is pretty sweet.
I hate the drone class for rather stupid reasons. I just hate the idea of a class based around equipment. I kind of think equipment should be equipment and class abilities should be skills.
Another reason I worry about the aliens is that some of their abilities just sound unfair. Like being pulled out of cover, or being attacked from underground. It will depend on how the abilities actually play though.
Give it time man. More details will be released and maybe it's better we still don't know most of the class abilities. Either way considering xcom: enemy unknown I'm incredibly excited. I didn't play the original though so maybe that's why I like it so much.
NoPoet wrote: New X-Com is dumbed down because people aren't intelligent enough to buy their own grenades.
Making people buy their own grenades is makework. A real officer in command of an organisation like XCOM would have a logistics officer to worry about maintaining stock levels for him.
The best approach might be to treat such things as upkeep costs, and automatically deduct the cost of any alien technology expended after each mission. That way you have to be mindful of how many alien grenades you throw around, but don't have to worry about doing the work of managing stock levels yourself.
Given the way XCom Enemy Unknown treated money, any costs for things like grenades and ammunition would have been background costs. The game acted as if you were running a top secret military organization for less than a thousand dollars a month. Either the XCom world has experienced some rather significant deflation, or the money figures that the game provided cut a few extra zeroes off in the interests of not bogging the player down in the minutia. Presumably what you, the head of XCom, are paying for each time you hire a new soldier is the cost of setting up a small logistical tail of ammunition, and other important, but very inexpensive items that will need to be replaced over time. Alien grenades are apparently easy enough to build - once the engineering stuff is understood - that the primary expense in equipping XCom members with them is the process of reverse engineering their construction, and setting up a construction line of your own. Maintaining the assembly line for them is apparently such a small dollar number on the accounting budget that it's absorbed by the overall Foundry maintenance costs.
A new enemy and I'm not sure what to make of it. It sort of seems to fit the mechtoid's role and yet it's different. It looks like a Big Daddy somewhat except it can shoot corrosive acid bombs at you. It fits a sort of sci-fi 50's feel though (or around that time).
Eumerin wrote: It reminds me of the various NOD radioactive trooper types from Command and Conquer.
You mean from command and conquer: renegade? Sadly I lent that game to a friend before I beat it and never got it back before I moved. Same goes for my red alert 2 games. Speaking of which yuri's faction was OP and westwood/petroglyph could never balance out 3 factions without making the 3rd way OP.
Eumerin wrote: It reminds me of the various NOD radioactive trooper types from Command and Conquer.
You mean from command and conquer: renegade? Sadly I lent that game to a friend before I beat it and never got it back before I moved. Same goes for my red alert 2 games. Speaking of which yuri's faction was OP and westwood/petroglyph could never balance out 3 factions without making the 3rd way OP.
They were available in multi-player C&C1 as well, iirc. You just couldn't use them in the single-player campaign.
And I think I spent more time playing with RA3 than RA2.
I find it odd I was also thinking of updating this thread today but I'm not sure why.
I do remember I wanted to do a humor run of xcom enemy unknown/within that made fun of stereotypes from different cultures.
You can tell that thin man isn't a real man. No white guy could ever jump that high ;P (thin man jumps up several stories of a building). I also proceed to give the jumping gene mod to the black guy lol. Would be funny how gene modified soldiers would get disqualified from sports.
@nels1031: I too am playing a lot of mordheim. I have a level 10 skaven warband with top tier gear and mostly everything top tier. Almost all skill points are spent, almost all missions are done, just about everybody's leveled up and mostly everything's good. So yeah my mordheim run is very stable. I will need to enchant items more. Finding them all is a pain (just like finding poes, skulltulas, heart pieces and whatever else in Zelda games).
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Btw do we have any idea on what the minimum requirements and such are for this game. I would like it if my computer could handle the game so I don't get my hopes up for months only to be disappointed near release day. Currently some games are pushing their lower limits to the point my computer might not be able to handle them (such as with End Times: Vermintide).
Apparently there's been an update on xcom 2 on twitter. A new trailer and 8 minutes of gameplay footage. Also apparently the system requirements have been leaked. Somebody said they were pleasantly on the light side for min. requirements.
Better make sure that tinfoil is ready then, and we can only hope. Me wants to kill moar Exalt
.......ya, maybe I'll pretend that too. That we lost a second war.
