X-COM: Enemy Unknown remake by 2K / Firaxis!

[Mem]

I didn't really treat my squaddies as being so disposable, but in the early game I would expect to lose 15-20% of them on serious missions. I usually rolled them out in 3 man groups to cover the assorted areas and there was always plenty of backup fire. Once everyone has personal armor, losses usually aren't that bad except on terror missions that go wrong.

I don't know about the aliens necessarily being too easy now, though I am concerned a lot of maps might be too scripted in the sense that you engage group A, then group B, then group C, instead of not knowing where to go and fanning out to find contacts.

I normally went with 7 or 8 X-COM soldiers,I always tried to make sure they all made it through and later it was great because they would have a lot of very good stats etc..having 4/6 in the new game I'm not sure about?..I mean I can understand what the developers are trying to do by making every X-COM soldier count,however if it was a real invasion would you only send 4 or 6 squaddies?...I don't think so,I feel they are trying to restrict player choices which I always hate,there is always the option of changing the difficulty level so restricting X-COM units/soldier size to 4/6 in X-COM EU should not be included IMHO.

You could also argue having larger squads gives you more options to vary tactics,4 or so seems a bit restricted IMHO.

 

[Magusigne]

You could also argue having larger squads gives you more options to vary tactics,4 or so seems a bit restricted IMHO.

In an interview with the dev (not sure how dated it was) he mentioned that on one particular mission he lost 22 soldiers. He was that mission was abnormally high. This was in answer to a question concerning how death was handled in the game. He also said that one of his men had been on his squad for 20 missions before he bit the dust..and his name went up on a wall in x-com headquarters;p

 

[Mem]

You can bet there will be more aliens in the battlezone then X-COM units,you'll probably get one or more of your men killed sooner or later and a good chance one or more mind controlled at later stages and you will then end up with a serious issue,did they take that into account with squad sizes while in battlezone?

 

[thespyder]

So I really checked out the new X-com by Firaxis..I really think alot of this game is going to get lost in translation...Sure Graphics are great..but to a point graphics are making me jaded..I want great gameplay..if they updated the graphics (A little) and put that production money into expanding the game (like Imperium Galatica..or any of our old favorites) we would all buy it in a heartbeat.

My vote is for Xenonauts. It appears true to the old X-com...this isn't saying that I'm not rooting for X-com..I would love it to be a perfect upgraded X-com Ufo Defense..but from what I saw from the trailers..I don't think it will be

I kind of have to agree with you. Looking at the graphics, it "Almost" looks like they put too much emphasis on that and not as much on the game play. I hope I am wrong on this.

It is funny (to me) but the developer of Xenonauts stated that he was very concerned by his lack of a 3D engine. And he has said that, given the option, he would go back and do it over again with the 3D engine. Which I think is a mistake. Xcom has never been about the awesome graphics (though Apocalypse looked pretty good for it's time), but about the strategic game play.

Personally, I would much rather play a fair looking game with great game mechanics, then an AWESOME looking game with poor (or even mediocre) mechanics.

and from the video spots we have seen thus far, I would suspect that the maps are going to be small and sectioned such that you face one squad of aliens and then have a break and then face another. Which I think will detract from the Xcom experience. Why o why do people feel the need to 'Fix' something that isn't broken?

 

[iCyborg]

This "commercialization" is what worries me. They're trying to make a game appealing to new users as well as XCOM veterans, but I feel like they're effectively building a game for no one: I don't think many of those who didn't play old XCOM will 'get into it', and by deviating significantly from old XCOM they will put off those who did. I hope I'm wrong, but some of the changes they did don't sit well with me.

 

[thespyder]

This "commercialization" is what worries me. They're trying to make a game appealing to new users as well as XCOM veterans, but I feel like they're effectively building a game for no one: I don't think many of those who didn't play old XCOM will 'get into it', and by deviating significantly from old XCOM they will put off those who did. I hope I'm wrong, but some of the changes they did don't sit well with me.

I have to say I share your skepticism. It does seem like they are trying to water the original concept down and meld it into something more commercially viable. Only they run a significant risk of breaking the playability (from the core market perspective) and hoping that there is enough casual purchasers to make it a commercial success.

I hate being this cynical about a game that I love. Hopefully we are wrong.

 

[GoodRevrnd]

I normally went with 7 or 8 X-COM soldiers,I always tried to make sure they all made it through and later it was great because they would have a lot of very good stats etc..having 4/6 in the new game I'm not sure about?

Ultimately 8 was always my ideal number to run with, and usually a HWP.

 

[Martimus]

I went with 8 and a HWP as well. The thing about XCom was that one alien was stronger than one human in the early game, so you had to outnumber them to win. In the gameplay videos I have seen, you have the group of 4 coming up on an equal size alien force and killing them all with no casualties. While I don't have an issue with that, it changes the dynamics of the game quite a bit.

 

[LurkerPrime]

I also usually ran with around 8 in xcom. 4-5 super soldiers, 1 blaster bomber, 2-3 mind controllers. Although that was at the end of the game for the most part. At the start I would load up the skyranger with a HWP and as many soldiers as I could. I never cared about losing a recruit, but if one of my vets bit it, I would more than often reload.

I would also use mind controlled aliens as reaction time training. Disarm them, run them near my soldiers, end turn a few times till it runs around enough to get shot at. Easy skill training.