First Screens and Details of XCOM: Enemy Unknown

[Rumble5]

Update:

Magazine details courtesy of zoner from Neogaf.

I've got my digital copy. But I don't think there's any way to directly copy and quote the text.

There's apparently a 'Heavy Armed Mobile Cover Platform that serves as a powerful rock on which to anchor any tactical advantage' and you can directly customize the heavy troops armor and weapons individually.

THE VAST MAJORITY OF XCOM'S CONTENT COMES IN THE FORM OF PROCEDURUALLY GENERATED MISSIONS AND ENCOUNTERS, MEANING THAT EVERY PLAYTHROUGH UNFOLDS DIFFERENTLY

Though they mention there's some story based missions that are not randomly generated and involve in-game cinematics of some kind

What I've read is

•randomly generated missions, terrain. Developer says you'll never play the exact same mission twice outside of a few story missions which feature in-game cinematics
•fog of war is confirmed. area starts off with darkness everywhere, and the average soldier can't see ☺☺☺☺
•enemy spawns are randomized
•mobile platform called SHIV; customizable for new chasis
•Sectoids and Mutons confirmed
•The base's screenshot is accurate. It is now a side shot instead of top down. You can also upgrade your base, like the satellite, with alien technology
•There was an example in one scenario where Japan had the laser rifle already developed before the invasion because they felt threatened, so that seems random.
•You have 16 countries in the funding council you need to keep happy. Some provide more money, but others, like Africa, provide more raw resources
•The sniper units have a grappling hook ability to get on top of buildings
•Gunners have a suppressing fire
•you can equip your xcom guys with all kinds of different guns. customization looks like a big deal
•Apparently there's some sort of cinematic view when your guys get killed. They didn't cite VATS or anything, so I doubt it's too in depth
•Unexperienced agents can panic, freak out, etc if something bad happens
•Firaxis designer states that the PC version will have an enhanced interface. He cites Dragon Age: Origins on PC and console as a big inspiration

This is like the first half of the article

•Destructible environments
•In the scenario they showed, one member died. Because of this the other squadmates didn't get an experience bonus
•Without the bonus, the sniper leveled up still. He was able to choose from two abilities. Either Squad Sight(which means he can shoot anything a squadmate can see) and Snap Shot(which lets him shoot after moving. Something snipers aren't normally allowed to do)
•You can't recruit specific classes. You can only recruit rookies and then level them up to become specific classes
•The guys in suits in the screenshots are 'Thin Man' aliens. They're able to leap long distances
•Challenge is stressed a lot
•same quick save/load system though they are considering an iron man type mode where you can't load previous saves
•Firaxis states that they're not rebooting it, they're re imagining it. Using the same core gameplay with modern technology, weapons, audiovisuals, etc.

That's the stuff I saw that was worth noting

1080p screens available here: http://www.gamersyde.com/news_xcom_e...-12339_en.html

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Game Informer has posted the first screens of the game, check it out:
http://www.gameinformer.com/b/featur...y-unknown.aspx

They also provide some details:

Wasn't there another XCOM game?
Yes, 2K Marin is developing a previously announced first-person shooter, simply called XCOM. That game was originally scheduled to come out last year, but has since been delayed out of 2011.

How do those games relate to each other?
The shooter takes place earlier in the fiction, chronicling the aliens' first attacks in the United States. The strategy game we're talking about here deals with the global response to the later full-blown alien invasion of Earth.

So this is some kind of RTS?
No, not in the way the term "RTS" typically applies to games like StarCraft. The real-time element of XCOM is confined to the global view, where the player keeps track of known UFOs and abductions going on around the world. Managing research and development at the XCOM organization's secret base can be done at the player's leisure, and all combat is completely turn-based.

You switch between real-time and turn-based?
Yes. When your aerial transport lands at an abduction site, the game switches to a tactical view and you command your squad of personalized soldiers in battle against an unknown alien threat.

So what do you do in the real-time global view?
On the strategic layer, players direct research into alien technology, give their engineers and foundries fabrication requests, interact with the nations of the world (who have to be mollified to secure funding for XCOM), intercept airborne UFOs with jet fighters, level up their soldiers and recruit new ones, and dispatch the Skyranger transport to engage alien incursions on the ground.

Is this a remake of the original?
Kind of. Re-imagining is probably a better term. Firaxis' XCOM: Enemy Unknown doesn't directly copy the underlying game systems – for instance, soldiers have different stats than they did in the 1994 original – but the concepts are still here. Players still have to manage multiple resources and threats on a global scale in a seemingly hopeless war against extraterrestrial forces with far better technology and capabilities.

Is this going to be dumbed down for the "wider console audience"?
Firaxis is undeniably streamlining aspects of the game and removing no small amount of micromanagement, but from what I've seen I wouldn't call it "dumbing down" the game so much as getting rid of tedium and uninteresting mechanics. Soldiers still die permanently, fog of war and line of sight are hugely important in combat, and you absolutely can lose the game if you screw up too badly.

Does it look awesome?
I came away from our visit to Firaxis' studio extremely impressed by XCOM: Enemy Unknown. The project is far from done, but I am personally thrilled at the prospect of playing the final game.

[Cy-Fox]

Take my money! Take it now!

[Cpl_Facehugger]

Only two things have me concerned:

"Streamlining." Now, the interface could definitely use streamlining. But beyond that, I'm kinda having trouble seeing what to streamline, exactly. A lot of the other things that you *could* remove (eg aircraft equipment, soldier training, air patrols) have a huge effect on the game and give the player more options.

I'd like to know what in particular is being cut vis a vis X-Com 1 to "streamline" the game, since I've been conditioned in an almost pavlovian manner to react negatively to the veyr usage of the word. I mean, removing armor facings would streamline the game, but it would make tactical positioning a lot less important (as well as making things like flanking that heavily armored muton/sectopod a lot less rewarding.)

My other concern is how they're apparently including the XCOM shooter in the background, and that is very concerning for reasons I've already explained elsewhere.

[tristezo2k]

I can't agree more with you. That pavlovlian condition is awfully true. Almost any new game I see has been castreated of any dificulty or emotion and turned into a cinematic parade of explosions or images.
I would really like better XCOM, where you as person can develop the game in different ways, with different solutions/combinations/strategies.

[Ruivoml]

I can't agree more with you. That pavlovlian condition is awfully true. Almost any new game I see has been castreated of any dificulty or emotion and turned into a cinematic parade of explosions or images.
I would really like better XCOM, where you as person can develop the game in different ways, with different solutions/combinations/strategies.

A little off-topic, but what's a "pavelovian condition?" Something to do with Pavel Chekov?

[Cpl_Facehugger]

A little off-topic, but what's a "pavelovian condition?" Something to do with Pavel Chekov?

Boris Pavlov, the guy with the dogs. Basically, he was a Russian scientist who ran an experiment with dogs. Pretty gruesome in reality, but when most people refer to Pavlovian conditioning, they're referring to how he rang a bell and then gave the dogs food (so he could watch their digestive processes through a hole he'd cut in their stomachs and covered with sterilized glass). The dogs learned to associate the sound of the bell with food, such that every time he rang the bell, the dogs' mouths would begin watering, even if he didn't give them food.

It's relevant to this game because for most of us, when we hear the word "streamline" in context of PC games, we've been conditioned to react extremely negatively. It's relevant to the original X-Com because they're talking about how the game conditioned us to tense up when we heard doors opening and closing during the "hidden movement" phase.

[Ruivoml]

Is this going to be dumbed down for the "wider console audience"?
Firaxis is undeniably streamlining aspects of the game and removing no small amount of micromanagement, but from what I've seen I wouldn't call it "dumbing down" the game so much as getting rid of tedium and uninteresting mechanics. Soldiers still die permanently, fog of war and line of sight are hugely important in combat, and you absolutely can lose the game if you screw up too badly.

Huh!?

"Removing no small amount of micromanagement" : I feared for that..

There are no "tedious" stuff in the original EU, unless you mention managing storage space, manually transfering scientists, alien bodies and equipment from one base to another and the bloody Firestorm with no fuel. ALL the rest is of paramount importance. Capturing different ranks of aliens, sending ships out on patrol to spot alien bases, the SAVE TU buttons, medi-kits, motion scanners, electro-flares.. the list goes on.


Also don't call it hating, but i'm glad that they mentioned it as "far from over" because the tactical combat screen looks dated, and the HUD looks ugly as hell hehehe. The HUD should be a dashboard like in the three original games.


All the rest look promising.

PS: Are those MiB's?!

[Cpl_Facehugger]

Huh!?

"Removing no small amount of micromanagement" : I feared for that..

There are no "tedious" stuff in the original EU, unless you mention managing storage space, manually transfering scientists, alien bodies and equipment from one base to another and the bloody Firestorm with no fuel. ALL the rest is of paramount importance. Capturing different ranks of aliens, sending ships out on patrol to spot alien bases, the SAVE TU buttons, medi-kits, motion scanners, electro-flares.. the list goes on.

Hm. You know, I'd be okay with "streamlining" storage space into nothingness. Say each base has unlimited storage (since it's a huge underground base, you're telling me they can't find enough room for ten rifles?) but maintains its own inventory (so you can't just have everyone equipped with heavy plasma guns automatically.)

Ditto transferring research items to your research base. That's just tedious micromanagement that I wouldn't necessarily miss.

[EDIT]: Just noticed the base has both a wall map and a hovering globe... please don't tell us it's the same damn base from Marin's shooter...

Wasn't that some kind of aircraft hangar or something? This base looks underground. And really, having a 2d map as well as the big 3d globe isn't enough to be concerning yet.

I'd be way more worried about the potential story links to the shooter.

[OldManBrian]

This info kinda worries me. The base looks fairly static, and I'm not seeing any mention of base \ facility building mechanics. And, like everyone else, the phrase "removing no small amount of micromanagement" could mean all sorts of horrible scary things.

[Brian Damage]

Yeah, here's hoping they gloss over the shooter in the storyline.

Also... "leveling up" your soldiers? I'm hoping they mostly grow organically.

The base looks either multi-level, or it's managed and designed on an upright grid as opposed to a flat grid. If the latter is the case, I wonder what this says about base invasions? Also, is there more than one base? The language is ambiguous.

Not too sure about the whole "removing micromanagement" thing...

[EDIT]: Just noticed the base has both a wall map and a hovering globe... please don't tell us it's the same damn base from Marin's shooter...

[Ruivoml]

I liked the look of the base, and its only logical that a secret base would be multi-level and underground, and not flat as the originals.

[Brian Damage]

Wasn't that some kind of aircraft hangar or something? This base looks underground. And really, having a 2d map as well as the big 3d globe isn't enough to be concerning yet.

Blow the picture up and look to the upper right of the globe.

I'd be way more worried about the potential story links to the shooter.

It's a toss-up between those and the "streamlining".

I liked the look of the base, and its only logical that a secret base would be multi-level and underground, and not flat as the originals.

While that may be the case technically, how's it gonna play during invasions?

[Cpl_Facehugger]

Blow the picture up and look to the upper right of the globe.

Hmm. You mean on the multi-level base depiction? I see what you mean. But I'm still not too concerned yet. (I'd have that replace the graphs screen with a visual representation of alien activity as part of my streamlining initiative. )

It's a toss-up between those and the "streamlining".

If the links are really minor, I could maybe forgive it. Or if the shooter ends up defying my expectations and being really good and plausibly explaining how its story leads into this game, but there aren't exactly many plausible explanations to be had here.

While that may be the case technically, how's it gonna play during invasions?

It will be glorious. Chokepoint after chokepoint. Aliens have to come in through hangar or access lift, then get bogged down fighting room to room.

[Brian Damage]

Hmm. You mean on the multi-level base depiction? I see what you mean. But I'm still not too concerned yet. (I'd have that replace the graphs screen with a visual representation of alien activity as part of my streamlining initiative. )

Hmmm... that suggests that the base screen is also your menu screen, which could be good, but it also suggests there might be only one base...

If the links are really minor, I could maybe forgive it. Or if the shooter ends up defying my expectations and being really good and plausibly explaining how its story leads into this game, but there aren't exactly many plausible explanations to be had here.

I dunno how they could be minor when half the US was xenoformed. We'll have to see.

It will be glorious. Chokepoint after chokepoint. Aliens have to come in through hangar or access lift, then get bogged down fighting room to room.

Yeah, I'm just worried that we won't have much side-to-side room, but then, the rooms do look reasonably large. I'd have to see how they handle multiple battlefield levels. One would hope they wouldn't just limit you to one room of the base.

[OldManBrian]

Hmmm... that suggests that the base screen is also your menu screen, which could be good, but it also suggests there might be only one base...

THIS RIGHT HERE. Good catch, that plus the conspicuous lack of any mention of base\facility building. I find this troubling.

[Brian Damage]

I do have to say that what little we can see of the Skyranger looks pretty familiar :P. And yeah, liking the flags.

[EDIT]: Oh, I daresay there'll be facility building. The base map still looks designed for it. I just worry there's only one base...

[EDIT2]: Okay, so does anyone want to go over the base pic with me and try to figure out what each facility is :P? I think I see, in order, left to right, top to bottom:

Surface elevator, hangar, connecting corridor, war room, maps room with basement, some kind of staging area?, corridors.
Machine shop/factory, some kind of computer room (UFOPaedia?), barracks?, rec room with more corridors.
Techy-looking room, techy-looking room, elevator, triple-room with screens (radar?), some kind of meeting chamber with flags (funding council?).
Techy room, elevator, techy room, powerplant?.

[ShanDaMan]

I like that it is a multinational force. Did you notice the flags on the deploying soldier's collars?

I like the mini-map on the battlescape.

The interface looks clean. Lot's of information presented, although I can only guess right now what some of it means.

Interesting how the crouching aliens (i assume) have their necks turned toward our soldiers. I wonder how that will work?

Very hungry for more details.

[Brian Damage]

Looks like they might have removed soldier inventory, not seeing anything relating to it on the HUD...

Maybe that's what the right shoulder button or holding "X" does?

I can see the concern, but I'm not too worried myself. There's no way they can expect you to cover the entire planet with just one base. Even covering just the *US* with one base is a stretch. I'm not too worried about being able to build bases.

My only concern is that they might go with the UFO:EX paradigm; basically you have a main base with your scientists, soldiers, etc... Then all your other bases are just airbases with planes. That would be very unfortunate.

Well, let's hope they haven't gone with that, then.

With the tactical view, I'm seeing a distinct lack of TU reserve buttons. I can't be the only one who had all his guys move with enough TU for an autofire burst as reaction fire... Can I?

For that matter, I'm having difficulty seeing anything to do with TUs at all.

[EDIT]: There's some definite uncanny valley going on there with the MIBs.

[EDIT2]: Y'know, I think those hexes could be much smaller. They seem to be very spacious, which leads me to worry about the granularity of unit movement. I wonder if they've been left that large to handle HWPs (which, by the way, aren't mentioned anywhere that I can see)?

[EDIT3]: Also, as pointed out on the site, there seems to be a couple of shotguns in that first screenshot .

[EDIT4]: And, forgot to mention: Not everyone is bald :P. In fact, I can even see someone with... cornrows, I think they're called?

[EDIT5]: Hmmm... looking at the shoulder pads, there's at least three different sorts of them. Does that mean three different sorts of armour that early in the game (assuming from the weaponry that it is early)?

[OldManBrian]

That terrain doesn't look random OR destructable.

Look how the map was designed with the skyranger landing at the top and linearly funnelling your troops down the hill. Similarly, look at how the aliens are all bunched up together as if they were hand placed there around cover.

That looks like a pre-designed static map. Uh oh.

I'm EXTREMELY WORRIED now. The lack of randomized and fully destructable terrain is probably the single largest deathblow to any X-Com remake...

[Brian Damage]

Are you advocating a lack of it or satirising the usual industry mentality?

[MightyUnderking]

Likes: Hexes, vertical base-building.

Dislikes: Interface, camera angle, streamlining.

Worries: Line of sight? Fog-of-war? Minimap? Art-style? Console game?

[Brian Damage]

MightyUnderking: It does say that fog of war and line of sight are still important.

[OldManBrian]

Looks like they might have removed soldier inventory, not seeing anything relating to it on the HUD...

[Tanki]

Well some good news and maybe some bad news. I'm loving the base set up, but there was no mention of base building or multiple bases. If a person can build their base how they want to, they could either make it a well defended base or not. There was no hand holding, the choose was up to them, but they would most likely lose that base if it were attacked. X-Com was a learning experience and that should not be taking away. I hope they don't take that away from the game, but of course this is an early build and I'll have to wait to know for sure.

I have to agree with some people I didn't like that UI. It doesn't look PC friendly at all, though that UI could strictly be just for consoles.

I'm not sure what he means by streamlining, there wasn't much that was not important in the original that could be streamlined better. The biggest thing that I could tell needed adding on was the UI. Add quick keys, ability to scroll up and down on levels, show the arch of an item before its thrown, show the line of your shot before shooting, allow you to see pathfinding and how much stamina and TU it takes to move, how many TU it takes to move a item out of your backpack and so on and so forth.

I hope that the tactical game play is nothing like that one game with the growing bio-mass that takes over the world. I would just send my sniper to every mission let him stand on his spawn spot, turn on rts max out the speed and watch all the aliens rush him and get killed before they could even see him, boring.

[MEdwards]

The RT is above a targeting reticule. I think it has been mentioned (not officially) that it may switch to a first person view when shooting. I could be mistaken. References were drawn to Valkyria Chronicles (haven't played it so can't comment on that).

[Ruivoml]

Yeah.. xenonauts sure sounds good, but i was really really hoping for an Apocalypse remake. Part of me believes that if Firaxis EU is good enough, then they will be greenlit for further sequels (TFTD and Apoc) while staying true to the original mythos (no pun intended, again).

But that sounds very unrealistic now...

[Brian Damage]

It also occurs to me that the article is explicitly stated to be written from the point of view of someone who's been talking to Firaxis, not Firaxis themselves, and we have been victims of journalistic assumptions and leapt-to conclusions before... I hope the eventual main article clears stuff up.

Well, obvioulsy we are not into everything thats going to develop during the FPS storyline. We don't know in what situation the aliens will be in once the FPS story is beaten. If the aliens in the EU remake were just as powerfull as the aliens in the FPS, then what's the point of "winning" in the FPS?!

For all we know, the "victory" in the FPS comes by destroying the only way the aliens have to teleport around. And since the aliens on the FPS had no UFO's as a mean of transportation, they were essentially "defeated". Only to return on the EU remake in normal UFO's to kick humanity ass once more.

Kind of like the Skyrim storyline, where the dragons weren't killed, only "banished" for the time being.

Yeah, but what we've seen so far suggests at least some of the orginal-game aliens will be present, and that X-Com has somehow lost the tech of the Outsiders, both of which just raise further irritating questions. We'll have to see if Cpl's suggestions are accurate.

[Ruivoml]

Well, obvioulsy we are not into everything thats going to develop during the FPS storyline. We don't know in what situation the aliens will be in once the FPS story is beaten. If the aliens in the EU remake were just as powerfull as the aliens in the FPS, then what's the point of "winning" in the FPS?!

For all we know, the "victory" in the FPS comes by destroying the only way the aliens have to teleport around. And since the aliens on the FPS had no UFO's as a mean of transportation, they were essentially "defeated". Only to return on the EU remake in normal UFO's to kick humanity ass once more.

Kind of like the Skyrim storyline, where the dragons weren't killed, only "banished" for the time being.

[Ruivoml]

True.. it wouldn't be the first time a second "faction" is added to the mythos. Apocalypse did it. Apoc aliens are not the same ones as the ones in EU/TFTD.

Who knows, the FPS aliens and the Apoc aliens might even be related somehow. Afterall, both have teleportation and inter-dimensional tech.

[Brian Damage]

True.. it wouldn't be the first time a second "faction" is added to the mythos. Apocalypse did it. Apoc aliens are not the same ones as the ones in EU/TFTD.

Unless you go with the cancelled plotline from Genesis, which IIRC had the interdimensionals as a plot by the originals to get humanity reliant on a power supply that they could just switch off to cripple them :P

[/fanboy]

Anyway, I'd be reasonably happy with an "Oh, by the way, this other invasion happened way back, and [canonically and divorced from the plot in the actual FPS] it was cut off before it could even really begin and we lost all the tech and that's all you need to know".

[MEdwards]

The universe is rather large...

[Brian Damage]

Surely if that were the case they'd all be more square?

[EDIT]: Also, I think your possible piano is more likely a possible pool table.

[Cpl_Facehugger]

Surely if that were the case they'd all be more square?

Mmm. Yes, good point.

[EDIT]: Also, I think your possible piano is more likely a possible pool table.

That would be more likely, but I am a man of taste and distinction, sirrah, so I automatically assume it's an expensive grand piano!

[Brian Damage]

I was thinking more a face, looking vaguely constipated. Maybe it's based on Carter from the FPS :P?

I reckon the alien containment could be either of those two rooms below the control room. The one right below has a big walled-off enclosure, for instance.

Also, I think at least one type of those workshops might be a storage warehouse. Maybe the one with the arch.

[Codex]

Okay guys, I'm putting the kaibosh on this line of discussion now. If you want to talk about what you don't like about XCOM, please do so in the threads already created for that purpose. The current threads are for XCOM: EU and should pertain to that line of discussion, unless discussing the relationship in game between the two.

Thanks.

[BandofGypsies]

Initial thoughts from looking at that pic.... concern.

Don't particularly like the UI... it looks EXCEPTIONALLY 'consoley'...

Where are the options??.. go up a level?.. inventory?.. throw?.. reserve TU for a shot??.. or am I being hasty... are these options still there??

No Time Units either...

And the story will be tied to the new shooter??....

'Level up their soldiers'??? What the hell does that mean?? No organic growth through the missions?? Please tell me this isn't true...

Kind of. Re-imagining is probably a better term. Firaxis' XCOM: Enemy Unknown doesn't directly copy the underlying game systems – for instance, soldiers have different stats than they did in the 1994 original – but the concepts are still here

Not using the underlying game systems?? And pray tell why not??
And they are using that 'Re-Imagining' phrase again... And 'Streamline'??....
Oh dear... getting worried again..

I'm going to stave off raising the pitchfork but I'm awfully concerned where this is heading..

Hopefully the full article instills some faith back...

[IllusionOfLife]

Not using the underlying game systems?? And pray tell why not??

Because the first game came out in 1994, it's currently 2012, game design has changed a bit in the last 18 years. Expecting that this game will be a pixel-for-pixel remake of the original with updated graphics is silly and unreasonable. Of course they're going to have to change some of the mechanics of it to make it work as a modern release, and that's not a bad thing.

Yes, it's true, there are a lot of games these days that hold your hand and treat you like you've never played a game before, but on the opposite end of the spectrum, there's a lot of older games that didn't do anything to teach you about playing it and left you wondering "what the hell am I supposed to do?" Streamlining is not inherently a bad thing; removing unnecessary steps and making controls more intuitive generally tends to make the game experience better. Now, like everything, it can be taken to far, but why don't we give Firaxis' the benefit of the doubt here? After all, mere hours ago you were all singing their praises about how there's finally someone working on XCOM who gets X-COM. This reaction is getting a bit bi-polar (For an interesting perspective on this, check out this video NSFW)

As for the ties between the two stories, I'm a bit iffy on that one as well. I've expressed that I think it would be best to keep the canons separate, but I doubt there will be a lot of extensive "story telling" in XCOM: Enemy Unknown, so it's probably a moot point anyway. Again, though, we have a grand total of three screenshots and a few statements paraphrased from an interview. Hardly reason to start organizing an angry mob. Let's all take a deep breath and just be happy that we're getting a sequel/remake/re-imagining/whatever that's more in the vein of the original. After 18 years it will never be everything you want it to be, but that doesn't mean it can't be great.

[Usul]

I still dont like that it plays in the same canon as the FPS for these reasons (some have already been mentioned):

1)
Does this mean we start with high-tech weapons to begin with or is this tech completly forgotten (the first would be boring, the latter unbelievable)?
2)
Does this mean the whole world already knows about aliens? This destroys the "secret organisation and secret war" storyline which made the original great. In the original, you could believe its happening right now and it all tied in nicely with the common conspiracy theories about the government(s) hiding something from you. This athmosphere for me is what made the original game a true classic, and not just a great game.
3)
I still do not get over the fact that in the FPS only the USA is attacked. Why should random nation line concern aliens at all? Do they look at maps and say to each other "Oh wait, we can't do anything here, thats already Canada. We have to go 100 metres to the south then we can attack". Really, really makes no sense and therefore destroys the athmosphere.

[Ruivoml]

Because the first game came out in 1994, it's currently 2012, game design has changed a bit in the last 18 years. Expecting that this game will be a pixel-for-pixel remake of the original with updated graphics is silly and unreasonable. Of course they're going to have to change some of the mechanics of it to make it work as a modern release, and that's not a bad thing.

It depends. The first game came out in 1994 but is still played in 2012 as it is. Just look at the number of people buying it and playing it on Steam. One of the greatest aspects about the original is the replayability value and how the game is still playable today. If its still playable today, then not many of its mechanics need to be changed for it to work as a modern release.

Granted, as you said we only had three screens and a couple of lines made by someone not involved with development. But what got us worried is that the originals were already near perfection, so it doesn't require much streamlining if any at all. If you ask any die-hard fan to make a list of 10 mechanics from the originals that they wish were removed and "streamlined", you'd be hard-pressed to get even five.

Sure there are some, but when you fiddle with the mechanics wishing to make something at little different from what we had you risk damaging the product. That's why people say "If its working, don't fix it.". The original mechanics still work perfectly today.


I don't presume to speak for everyone, but me and all fans i know personally want the original game with updated graphics and some new features. Maybe some new aliens. Not new storylines and definatly no streamlining.

[Cpl_Facehugger]

If you ask any die-hard fan to make a list of 10 mechanics from the originals that they wish were removed and "streamlined", you'd be hard-pressed to get even five.

Hmm. Let me try my hand at that. I might be using a really loose definition of streamlining here, but meh.

1. Alien containment. In the original, AC was basically just a facility you build in your base and forget about. Apoc made it so AC was tiny and aliens took up more space, so there were more strategic tradeoffs involved (want that rare psimorph or megaspawn? Your AC can only hold one!), but in the original game I could see it being removed without major issue so long as there's a basic explanation for where the aliens you capture go. ("They're held off base until researched, to prevent escape from causing damage blah blah blah.")

2. General stores. In the original, general stores were kind of implausibly small. You have this huge underground base, yet you can't fit in another dozen rifles? Eh... I wouldn't mind this being streamlined away into a generalized base item pool either.

3. Psi. While I did in fact like psi, it was basically a godmode. If this is streamlined such that it's less powerful than the UFO Defense version but not as useless as it was in Apocalypse, I could handle this.

4. Item limit on planes. The 80 item limit is an artifact of X-Com's 486 roots and has no place in 2011. I could totally get behind streamlining that away.

5. The UI could handle being streamlined. It had a lot of functions that can be made contextual (eg click on dude, options come up, including inventory and crouch), and some that can be removed entirely (do you really need two "select new agent" options?) Oh, and actually unloading a gun could be much more streamlined.

6. Balance in general could be streamlined. While I adored my plasma cannons that could shoot down every alien ship with incredible ease, it did make it so that there was absolutely no reason to use any other weapon.

7. Equipping your dudes for battle could be streamlined. I'm thinking particularly of how they did it in UFO:EX, which was a pretty good system. Basically, you could equip your guys for combat from the base screen, and then when a mission came up and you launched, you had an opportunity to make changes, or you could just hit "launch" and send your guys out to kill some alien scum. It totally removed the idea of equipping planes with an item pool which your guys took their loadout from. Apoc didn't really lose much from streamlining this feature away either.

8. Smoke "stun" damage. It was pretty pointless. All the aliens were immune, and while it does add some versimilitude since it's impossible to breathe in smoke, tactically it does nothing since all human armors (even personal armor) were immune to it, IIRC.

9. Fire damage could be streamlined, such that it spreads like actual fire would. Ala apoc.

10. I could see the weapons being streamlined a bit. Like splitting off the heavy cannon into a grenade launcher with 40mm HE and IC rounds, and a shotgun firing slugs.

I don't presume to speak for everyone, but me and all fans i know personally want the original game with updated graphics and some new features. Maybe some new aliens. Not new storylines and definatly no streamlining.

Well, yeah. Original game with new graphics would be nice. But I'm not totally opposed to streamlining. Particularly streamlining of the UI, because the X-COM 1 UI is a relic of its times that could really stand to be improved.