XCOM: Enemy Unknown

[Monk]

OH GOD. OH JEEZE. OH

XCOM DEMO OUT ON STEAM. DIDN'T YOU HEAR ME?! WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR.


AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

please dont be a let down!

edit: Played through the entirety of the demo, as expected it's essentially the first two tutorial missions. Mission 1 is entirely linear and teaches you the fundamentals of the game. How to move, how to shoot, ect. In mission 2 you get your choice of one of two maps responding to abductions. At the start of mission 2 your mission controller guides you a bit but after the initial engagement the game abruptly stops holding your hand and allows you full tactical control. It was like the game was teaching me how to ride a bike and just as i started to wobble a bit, it let go.

The demo was fairly easy I think, but I have a feeling it was set on the lowest difficulty (and I still managed to lose my best guy in the second mission), but despite the difficulty it was a lot of fun. It also ends way too soon. Just as you're getting comfortable and the narrative of the game is unfolding, the demo ends.

Despite being a tutorial mission 2 had some fun moments. I couldn't help but roll my eyes at my sniper who missed two shots that needed to be made on floaters. Two shots that were outdone by my medic with a normal assault rifle, who ended up gunning down the entire alien recon team. I saw my veteren (who is given for free from mission 1) taken down by Thin Men, who was avenged by my assault specialist who was packing a shotgun. Watching Thin Men erupt into poison clouds after taking a slug to the face? Priceless.

Damnit. I want this game, now.

[Monk]

Double post:

http://asia.gamespot.com/shows/now-p...com_eu20120924

Two hour stream of the game with commentary was just posted at the link above. I haven't watched it fully but it includes early game stuff as well as "late game" missions. Be warned though, most people directing me toward it warned the guy playing was "pretty bad"

And! The demo seemed a bit large for just two missions, both of which were the game's tutorial. 6gbs! Wonder why that was? Well, it's because they included every .bik video from the campaign in the demo. Obvious spoilers contained there, but if you have a video player that can open .bik files and don't mind spoils, have at it!

[easytarget]

I'm getting very impatient at this point...but fortunately, I've not got expectations set too high. I simply want to start playing the game, and I'll take it on it's own terms and not compare it to the original.

Thing is, been hanging out too much on the 2k Xcom forum, so I've seen a couple week's worth of videos of other people playing the game, and I want to too!

[Monk]

I'm getting very impatient at this point...but fortunately, I've not got expectations set too high. I simply want to start playing the game, and I'll take it on it's own terms and not compare it to the original.

I think that's a very healthy attitude to have, honestly. From what I've seen and experienced with the demo (modded the ini files to let me play on impossible) the gameplay isn't exactly the same as the originals. There's noticeable differences and changes in the design philosophy that become apparent the more you watch footage, and the more you play. However it does come very close and doesn't lose the same 'xcom feel', imo. For example I've been playing Xenonaughts a lot. Xenonaughts has been striving to be as close as possible to the original games, and while both new efforts have much different systems (Squad size, inventory management, and action points all handled differently) they still invoke the same feelings and emotions in me, as a player. Which is probably the most important thing they can strive for.

The one negative I have to say about Firaxis' efforts is the UI. I really don't like it, it just feels very clunky with a mouse and keyboard. It doesnt get in the way, exactly, but it does take serious getting used to.

[Alexander the Pretty Good]

You can mod the demo to be more difficult:

http://forums.2kgames.com/showthread...-Settings-here

Managed to beat it on the hardest (I guess?) difficulty, but lost 3 of 4 squaddies on the second mission. Stupid floaters.

Also, the UI is very odd. I might have to invest in a gamepad. :/

[Monk]

You can mod the demo to be more difficult:

http://forums.2kgames.com/showthread...-Settings-here

Yup I did that too. +3.0 is indeed 'impossible.' I managed a perfect score on the second mission but had 3 out of 4 squadies critically injured, putting them out for weeks. Because i had meta knowledge of alien placements I dealt with the sectoids with a well placed grenade, took out the floaters with a rocket, and moved in on the Thin Men. They proved to be my downfall. Two really bad shots and their poison is absolutely nothing to joke about.

If i didn't have that meta knowledge (and the encounter wasn't scripted) it probably would have gone much worse.

As for the UI, yeah I hear you. I'll stay with mouse and Keyboard personally but it doesn't feel at all like they put much effort into it. In a lot of ways it reminds me of Skyrim's UI. Can you use a mouse/keyboard for it? Yes. Was it designed with it in mind? Noooo.

[Monk]

I love modders, i really do:

just found if u rename or change Act2_Bar_script.upk to Act2_Pier_script.upk, you will start the second mision without tutorial and with more sectoids , like 4 or 5 more.

Yeah there is already one , i rename Act2_Pier_script.upk to Act2_Pier_script_backup.upk, then rename Act2_Bar_script.upk to Act2_Pier_script.upk.

Sorry for my grammar, english is not my natural tongue.

The file in question can be found at steam/steamapps/common/xcom demo/xcomgame/cookedpcconsole

Also - Demo editor: http://forums.2kgames.com/showthread...or-I-just-Made

Change the aliens you face. Obvious spoilers for unit/alien types, so dont use if you want to be surprised by the enemies you face in the retail version.

[Alexander the Pretty Good]

Dare I try it on impossible? Perhaps during lunch...

[easytarget]

Well, one more weekend to wait through and then it's game on saving the world from aliens!

Certainly hope steam kicks on early download, Jake from Firaxis confirmed that would be the case, we shall see.

I'm quite happy seeing some signs of life in turn based gaming. It warms the cockles of my heart. And they did in fact need warming.

[Monk]

Certainly hope steam kicks on early download, Jake from Firaxis confirmed that would be the case, we shall see.

I think the more important question is why is he so charming and likable?



Seriously. Could they have picked a better face for this game? Firaxis' marketing and PR has been pretty awe inspiring. Also, if you guys have the time (ie, an hour of you life) I seriously suggest giving a listen to their PAX panel, aptly titled "A Thousand Stupid Ideas on the Road to Glory." Quite insightful and a fair bit entertaining after the initial introductions are over.

I'll try to embed here, but it may not work due to age restrictions. Track it down if the embed fails for you.



I played around with the modded demo quite a bit over the last week, it was impressive enough to convince me to cave and drop down money for a pre-order. Well, that, and the extra customization options that come with the Elite Soldier pack. What can I say? I'm a sucker for helmets.

X-COM: Enemy Unknown is also the top seller on steam and has been for three days, after spending a week at the number two spot.

[Monk]

Double post to say...

Soon.




Preloads have begun for pre-orders, word from 2k is Xcom is getting a midnight EST activation. Not sure if this is true or not but either way I am excited.

[Alexander the Pretty Good]

Curse my decision to preorder from newegg at a lower price!

[Fragony]

A glorious review from the always excellent eurogamer http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...known-review_3

Man are we gamers getting spoiled lately

[Monk]

A glorious review from the always excellent eurogamer http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...known-review_3

Man are we gamers getting spoiled lately

XCOM is getting almost universal acclaim, which is really surprising given the shoes it's trying to fill. The lowest score i've seen so far is from PC Gamer and that was an 87.

Rock Paper Shotgun's review, which is nonscore based, paints an almost insanely positive picture with a few caveats, which are mostly aimed at the interface, camera and localisation for the game.

Release for North America is in 12 hours, rest of the world in a couple days.

[Fragony]

I have been waiting for something like this since the hilariously flawed but oh so fun Silent Storm. Don't tell my mom but the most fun is dressing up your squad.

[Monk]

I have been waiting for something like this since the hilariously flawed but oh so fun Silent Storm. Don't tell my mom but the most fun is dressing up your squad.

I'm with you there, that's exactly one of the reasons i pre-ordered. More customization options is incredibly hard to say no to.

[Monk]

Steam says I have about 7 hours played. To be honest I am shocked. It did not feel like 7 hours, but I certainly felt time slipping away as I just kept telling myself "Okay okay, seriously, THIS is the last mission." I'm on my way out the door but I wanted to take a moment and reflect upon those 7 hours of gameplay, my failed attempt at saving the world.

The game is fantastic, I have to say, but the deeper you get into the game the much more apparent that it becomes: This is not a remake of XCOM, at all. In my opinion that same spirit is captured in the game's narrative, the feel of fighting against the unknown and the pain of loss from your soldiers, but it is very much it's own game. Perhaps far more than could ever have been observed from watching videos or playing the demo, once you're about a month into the game doing missions it becomes quite clear. XCOM is it's own game, fully and apologetically. It's XCOM in so many places that when you arrive at something that is different, it almost takes you by surprise.

In my opinion, I think it keeps just enough of the old mixing with the new to be something really incredible, but others may disagree! I think whether people will truly enjoy XCOM: EU, if they are an XCOM fan, comes down to whether they can accept that or not. If not, well, there's always Xenonauts to look forward to.

I played the game on classic, no ironman mode but it may as well have been because I didn't reload/save once. Crusader Kings II taught me the value of loss in a real way. It' was hard to resist hitting that reload button and before CK2 came along, i have to admit, I used to do it more than a few times. XCOM feels like a game that demands you play it 'fair'. No reloads, taking every shot it gives you on the chin without flinching.. but let me tell you, it can be tough. Over the course of my 7 hour attempt to stave off the end of the world I started to get really attached to my forces. I liked these guys, and after we ran all over the first 6 missions without any problem, I thought I had a venerable A-team.

And that's when a UFO landed in Nigeria. Landed UFOs are a mission type where the xenos have landed in a nonpopulated area for unknown reasons, so you send a team in to find out what they're up to. It's like crashed ufo missions except with maaany more enemies.. and my poor A-team got decimated. Not a single one survived, only one of my vets, Abby Robinson, aka "The Duchess" wasn't KIA. She had been in the infirmary from a previous mission. Losing so many of my best troops was hard, but i battled back and was making a really spirited comeback, likely due to still having one good core member to build around. I was able to progress for quite a few more missions.. and then the terror missions started.

The first one we took out with only one dead, but on the next.. oh my god. A broken overpass, fending off wave after wave of crysalides and zombies. It was like L4D if the zombies turned into mutant bugs if you didn't kill them fast enough. I finally got the upper hand, my troops were shot up but still going strong. And.. well.. let's just say XCOM is a game that likes to pile it on...

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Needless to say.. the heroic last stand, felt like a pointless waste of life. When The Duchess got a plasma bolt stuck in her chest and the mission was all but done.. I sort of had to just stop playing. Not that I didn't want to keep going, but I knew that was it. No more vets, my best soldier KIA, and only rookies back at base to face the ever increasing brutality of the xenos. 7 hours. 3 months of missions, the world had ended. And that.. was the most fun i've had in a while.

[Monk]

double post

[Alexander the Pretty Good]

So yeah, classic ironman is pretty fricken hard. I was lulled into a false sense of security - a half dozen missions and only 1 casualty, then an abduction mission I *really* needed to win ended in 4 of my best troopers KIA. There were just too many enemies and they overran us. :(

[White_eyes:D]

After sinking 8 hours into this, I can safely say this is the most fun game I have played this year.(Before CK2 of course)

Nothing is more soul-crushing then watching one of your Veteran soldiers receiving that one-shot kill, nothing is more satisfying then getting that unlikely kill for a particularly annoying enemy. It also seems to punish you if you rush too much and rewards you for patience. When in doubt; Overwatch and reload.

There was only one enemy in the game that was extremely tough to kill and you only encounter it 3 times throughout the game. As far as I know anyway, could have been a random enemy...

Now I know you need about one of each class in your unit but my favorite was the assault class. "Run and gun" mixed with "Rapid fire" and a dash of "Quick reflexes", makes them the perfect killing machines.(My best Assault class Soldier is sitting at 60 career kills)

@Monk: I feel your pain on that terror mission....there was a difficult mission before that where you had to hit a supply UFO, which saw most of my Veteran team killed or in the hospital for a number of days. Had to take that terror mission with only my Best man and mostly recruits. Lost China(?) and only just barely made it out with my best unit, had to buy a bunch of recruits after that one.

[Monk]

Nothing is more soul-crushing then watching one of your Veteran soldiers receiving that one-shot kill, nothing is more satisfying then getting that unlikely kill for a particularly annoying enemy. It also seems to punish you if you rush too much and rewards you for patience. When in doubt; Overwatch and reload.

Absolutely. A lot of the actual firing comes down to that randomness, but the game will reward you if you play well. You're always outnumbered, and for most of the game you are outgunned. But with skill and a little luck, you'll never be outfought.

As for skills, Hunker Down has got to be the most underrated skill in the game. Overwatch is grand for the front line troops, but when I am unsure and expecting an attack, Hunker Down is such a great move. An instant double to your defense while in high cover is no joke!

On my second on classic, this time Ironman. In the initial mission we were fighting in a convenience corner store, and after clearing out the first room we could hear sectoids scurrying around on the other side of a wall. So. I did what any red blooded American would do while in charge of a clandestine international para-military organization....

I told my Russian point-man to whip out his grenade and blow the wall separating our forces down BECAUSE WE'RE X-COM AND THAT IS HOW WE ROLL. We mopped up local resistance and suffered only one wounded. It's gonna be a good game, i feel.

Now I know you need about one of each class in your unit but my favorite was the assault class. "Run and gun" mixed with "Rapid fire" and a dash of "Quick reflexes", makes them the perfect killing machines.(My best Assault class Soldier is sitting at 60 career kills)

Assaults have got to be the greatest example of XCOM's risk vs reward gameplay. Run & Gun is by far one of the best abilities in the game because of how much it changes the entire dynamic of a mission. Combined with Lightning Reflexes your assault troopers are the stuff of legends, I don't care what world you're from, a shotgun to the face will hurt.

[Papewaio]

Game downloaded via Steam: Check
Shortcut on Desktop: Check
Outside USA: Check

Can't play until the 12th of Oct local time...

BTW The game retailed in Australia on Steam for $69.95 US... What was the price for other countries?

I'm so used to paying $100-$120 AU (107-134US) as an Aussie tax.

[easytarget]

I'm having a blast as well, I spend more time talking about it, but that'd be more time spent not playing, and work is interfering here enough as it is. Maybe after 3 or 4 run throughs I'll calm down and come back and chat about it. Ha!

[Monk]

Game downloaded via Steam: Check
Shortcut on Desktop: Check
Outside USA: Check

Can't play until the 12th of Oct local time...

BTW The game retailed in Australia on Steam for $69.95 US... What was the price for other countries?

I'm so used to paying $100-$120 AU (107-134US) as an Aussie tax.

Ouch, that's absurd.. I paid $50 US.

Second playthrough has ended in disaster. I can't get over the June hump in Classic, as that seems to be the month Cyberdisks start appearing. Does anyone have advice as to how to avoid wiping constantly on them? They totally rocked me just now.

Also.. i was forced to watch my best soldier turned into a chrysalid. You want to talk heartbreaking.. I Got pinned down really quickly in a Terror Mission and things went badly, really quickly. Dealing with floaters/Chrysalid packs pinning me and then out of nowhere a Cyberdisk warps in on my flank. You can guess what happened next..

[easytarget]

I rather like snipers with the plasma sniper rifle at the moment. It does upwards of 19 HP in one shot.

[Papewaio]

Playing Normal Ironman (NI)

I've already played had a few starts. Second mission was all female so I got the Valkyrie achievement. Purposely loaded up a new game to get the tutorial achievement.

Anyhow sat down to maximize the economy. Essentially only buying enough items for a single squad load out until the cash flow is running hot. Prioritizing health and armour upgrades. And keeping my rooster rotation happening in full swing.

First the economy. Satellites, satellites and more shiny orbital things. A typical satellite will pay for itself in a month, the uplink in the second and add pure gravy from there. Despite all the money, I'm trying to minimize panic so I keep a bird in the hand until the end of the month before deploying in the worst area. This would be USA or Russia by end of month two. That means I focus my abduction choice of three missions outside of NA or Europe and then on the cash.

By the end of the first month I had scored 402 credits in mission extras. By the end of the second month I was about to choose US or Russia when a special proposal popped up. USA offered me 200cr for satellite coverage. So I now have 4 birds in the sky, plenty of cash and a double steam vent asking to be tapped.

On the tactical side: I rotate squads and individuals in those squads too. Not only do I bring a rookie on every mission I alternate squads. Alpha and Bravo are my two line squads. Charlie replaces anyone WIA, Delta KIA.

Alpha has the armour plate style. Bravo the classic fatigues look. Charlie alternates.
I always pack two medi-kits, frag on rookie, nano vest on the fourth and fifth. With armour prioritized I managed to create 5 carapace suits and my first combat with them is a terror mission. The high armour has already saved one heavy from a 9 point hit. This mission has one Delta rookie, 2 Charlie squad heavies, one Support and one Sniper (cant remember which squad is on rotation.

To make things easier I rename all my troopers A.Lastname or B. or C. So I know which squad they belong to. By naming the Lastname this way you can see easily in the mission screen who is who.

Colour scheme depends on role and somewhat on squad
Rookies are hot pink
Assault are red
Heavies are yellow
Support are white if a medic, off white if an overwatch specialist (may change this to blue)
Snipers are black

[Monk]

I rather like snipers with the plasma sniper rifle at the moment. It does upwards of 19 HP in one shot.

I have found Snipers to be the polar opposites of Assaults. While Assaults are amazing from day one, Snipers take a bit of work to rank up into something worthwhile. Once their abilities (Squad Sight) and tech catches up they become absolute beasts. Until then, though, I find them very hard to use effectively.

First the economy. Satellites, satellites and more shiny orbital things. A typical satellite will pay for itself in a month, the uplink in the second and add pure gravy from there. Despite all the money, I'm trying to minimize panic so I keep a bird in the hand until the end of the month before deploying in the worst area. This would be USA or Russia by end of month two. That means I focus my abduction choice of three missions outside of NA or Europe and then on the cash.

By the end of the first month I had scored 402 credits in mission extras. By the end of the second month I was about to choose US or Russia when a special proposal popped up. USA offered me 200cr for satellite coverage. So I now have 4 birds in the sky, plenty of cash and a double steam vent asking to be tapped.

Impressive work, Pape

One of the harshest lessons i've learned playing this iteration of XCOM is that it will severely punish you if you aren't thinking ahead. You absolutely cannot play the game on a month by month basis, especially on Classic where Panic rises very fast. You really need a meta gameplan from the start that details what you're going to do, not only do you need to know what you're doing this month, but you need to be thinking about what you're doing next month. The economy can really get you if you're not careful.

Good to hear you've mastered it to some extent

Colour scheme depends on role and somewhat on squad
Rookies are hot pink
Assault are red
Heavies are yellow
Support are white if a medic, off white if an overwatch specialist (may change this to blue)
Snipers are black

I'll bet your Rookies just love looking so fabulous.

I've settled on a more uniform color for my team, trying to play into some kind of idea of "realism," or if not that very much an in-character way of approaching it. All troops wear a dark greenish color (tint 22) uniform to avoid the aliens singling out who does what on a color scheme. Yes, the AI can't do that, but I always think of the Starfleet uniform conundrum. Dress all your command officers in red and sooner or later, your opposition is going to figure it out and prioritize targets.

The one change that puts my units apart, if you could consider that, is all rookies are forced to wear helmets until they rank up to sergeant and get a nickname. Until they prove themselves to me in some way I don't want to know their name. They are expendable. Demolition experts (heavies with shredder rockets, Grenadier, ect) always keep their helmets due to the volatile nature of their ordinance.

[HopAlongBunny]

Took the plunge!

No love from eb games or any of the other locals so downloading now.

I am soon to be a corpse near you :p

[TinCow]

How exactly do I change the color of the armor?

[Monk]

How exactly do I change the color of the armor?

Unfortunately, 2k pulled perhaps the biggest move of recent memory and put color customization and helmets for your squad in the pre-order bonus. The Elite Soldier Pack that came with all digital pre-orders, and I think, all physical copies has the DLC.