"Next event in X hours" dialogue.. not sure I like it

[Schuesseled]

That still wont magicly make uncertain points of time certain. If the military wants to know the lottery numbers it just wont happen either.

i never pretended that they could get answers to the unanswerable, only that they expect them on a daily basis.

[DazzD]

i never pretended that they could get answers to the unanswerable, only that they expect them on a daily basis.

LMAO, so very true. Updates on the hour... just add on 1 hour each time Worked everytime.

I wouldn't mind the numbers if they are only an estimate. They can blow out if you see the lab full of smoke in the ant farm

[nipsen]

Here a crazy idea. Can't see it being in the final build but hey.

A research project is given a deadline say 30 days for instance. At a random point in time within those 30 days the scientist come to you with a report, an update of there progress. There could be an issue eg. we need to get our hands on more fragments of this weapon to continue the research so research is halted until you get more fragments.

Or maybe a different mission type where you have to infiltrate an alien weapons factory and get your hands on some schematics.

Or possibly interrogate a certain alien with a certain skill set. I remember from the original when you used a mind probe on some of the sectoids you would have engineer and scientist variants. They could hold clues to allow research to continue.

Yeah, was almost like that in the original. Except the game didn't specifically tell you when successfully interrogating a commander would collapse half the research you had on the plate.

I think that would be the best solution, really. Have the same "excellent" to "bad" and "unknown" status. Along with optional paths that could lead to the same project. And then instead of completing the existing project by researching something faster you started later, you would just be informed that when this new research completed, it freed up the scientists working on the other project. That would work if they had the same optimal number of scientists thing from the original. Setting newer projects - if you gambled on them - to lower max number of scientists before it would have the lowest completion time, that kind of thing.

Getting a bonus on the research when possessing multiple artefacts associated with the project might be an idea, though. But if the end result of the research wouldn't be dynamic in some way, with a bit different graphics, or different stats and properties, or maybe different branches, and so on (and I don't really know how that could be put in any game), it would just amount to completing the research cumulatively faster as the game would go on.

[Roladin]

In every science fiction movie or series they know exactly how long it takes to merge the FLT engine with some nano-stuff and the microwave oven to make a device that generates chrono-particles so they can get through that forcefield (most of the time it takes only a few seconds less than the time left to the ultimate disaster).

Or look at this Star Trek dialogue (created by the German comedian Michael Mittermeier)
Kirk: “How much time you need for the repair?”
Scotty: “Four weeks.”
Kirk: “You have four hours.”
Scotty: “I’ll make it in two.”

[Mindless]

@coyote_blue; "But it would wreck the entire game, which has to be just as good regardless of what the player chooses." In X-COM1 you could built 8 bases, that didn't wreck anything? Building extra bases was expensive, not just to pay for the actaul base and the first few buildings, but also for the crew and equipment. Expanding your coverage had its own risks, you have to consider costs as well as giving aliens more targets. If this didn't break the balance of a game 18 years back then it should be even less of a concern now with better tech and larger dev teams?

"OR the player runs out of money" You say this like it is a bad thing? That is the entire idea... if you make the wrong choices then you pay the price. Consequences! People don't seem to like those in their games any more...

"They chose not to remake the original XCOM as is" I am okay with that, I didn't say that I dislike ALL the changes... just some. Like the TU thing, that I think can still work.

"toggle on Street Fighter that makes it play like Tekken" Say what? I didn't say there should be a toggle to make XCOM play like a completely different game? Toggles to make XCOM play like, well, X-COM... that isn't as absurd or unreasonable?

"There's no way to compare this new XCOM to Back in Action" I know and that is why I didn't. Completely different games! The unexpected changes and the fan reactions to these changes is a carbon copy of the developement of Back in Action though...

"Limitations matter. Great designs make limitations meaningful and valuable." Limitations that does not need exist, especially with a developer like Firaxis. These guys have been making great games for a long time! Allowing for XCOM:EU to appeal to both new and old players by adding choise would by no means be a limitation.

[Sectoid Commander]

Except in the old system everyone who already played the game knew how long things will take.
I don't like gameplay mechanics that favor senior players like that.

You mean like, having already played the game, you have an idea of what it takes to get to Psi abilities, or flying suits, or plasma hover tanks?

In all games, well most that follow a progression, senior players always have an advantage or have "gamepay mechanics that favor" them.

EDIT: I'm still waiting to get the exact time scientists will have the "theory of everything"! They've been working on String theory and other theories for how long now? Come on already scientists!!! Give me a straight answer on when you will know the answer now!! /sarcasm

[nipsen]

EDIT: I'm still waiting to get the exact time scientists will have the "theory of everything"! They've been working on String theory and other theories for how long now? Come on already scientists!!! Give me a straight answer on when you will know the answer now!! /sarcasm

Oh, about 83 years, six weeks and 20 hours, sir. Now, about those five extra lab-modules and 500 scientists from the best universities around the planet hired to us at cost....

[Sectoid Commander]

Oh, about 83 years, six weeks and 20 hours, sir. Now, about those five extra lab-modules and 500 scientists from the best universities around the planet hired to us at cost....

I've marked my calander and will be expecting the answer then. Thank you.

[Cuzin_1t]

101 Days, 12 Hours, 23 Min, 52 Sec...before you can find out for yourselves.

[Sodayi]

When I used to unpause the game I always knew there will be a next mission soon and sometimes there were quite a few after another. In order to have more variability it would be great to have missions where you receive an information that a dead unknown alien body has been found or some alien artefacats... just some missions where you just fly and figure out something. These missions appear randomly and thus gives more suprise than just "ah ok hit the button and there will be the next mission".

[nipsen]

These missions appear randomly and thus gives more suprise than just "ah ok hit the button and there will be the next mission".

Yeah, thought about that a lot as well. Because, imo, one of the most successful parts of the design in the original xcom was that you almost always had a sense of purpose. That you would have to go for more elerium, that you would have to capture a commander or some leader, that you would need to suppress alien activity in a specific region, that you would need to hunt for bases. That you always had things you needed to do that would change over time.

Now, that kind of thing probably would be scripted. And you would sort of expect that it would be events added to the "core strategic view", like in an rpg or something like that. But if they added opportunities like that for specific missions, then you could kind of.. pick the focus you would want. I'm really hoping that's what they've done when they were talking about having to choose between a terror-mission, or intercepting a transport ship, that kind of thing. That you aren't just doing random choices for the xcom council influence number vs your bank-account, but that it's oriented around those context shifts for the existing missions on the geoscape..

..would be great to hear more about that, really. Awfully complex game, and I'm sure you could say that there's something about emergent gameplay turning up because of all the complexity. But I don't really think that's the case for the "context shifts" for the mission types.. That's more in the realm of "the commander wants to focus on finding such and such to further this and that agenda".