Downloaded the deluxe version last night. Only got to play a few minutes, but I'm hype. I thought i was giddy when Enemy Unknown/Within were made back compat, now I'm ecstatic. I didn't even know there was a console release date until two days ago.
Graphics look much improved, they've worked in a few more dynamics into the combat, map navigation/interaction and the enemies look to be more challenging. I'll enjoy digging into this over the fall. ______________________________________________________________________________
cscpov.blogspot.com
"There's a fine line between persistence and foolishness..." -unknown
3. "I'm gonna wait to hear about the glitches" In response to Reply # 0
I enjoyed the first XCOM on PS3 but it had some real critical bugs that ruined one save for me and made the mid-game really rough on me so I never "finished it".
4. "i stopped playing after an alien shot and killed me through a ceiling" In response to Reply # 3
it was standing on the roof. i was inside a building below the alien. the beam passed through the ceiling and killed my high level character. i quit the game and uninstalled it
i hate games where the predominant determiner of success is a dice roll
7. "i always feel like i'm trying to minimize losses in those games" In response to Reply # 6 Tue Sep-27-16 09:49 PM by bearfield
instead of having actual agency like in bayonetta or spelunky. i prefer games where my skill at it determines how far i progress, not some dice rolls. and i know there is a lot of skill in planning your party and making sure all your bases are covered. i love the idea of darkest dungeon and xcom but the dice rolls just get to me after a while and i stop playing b/c i feel like i'm not affecting the outcome of the encounters as much as a dice roll is. i think a lot of that is i get overly frustrated with bad rolls. and there's probably some confirmation bias in there too; i never notice the bad dice rolls the enemy gets or all the good dice rolls i get
12. "People see that 99% accuracy " In response to Reply # 8
and forget that you also have a 1% chance to miss.
I don't think the game is unfair at all, unless something so crazy happens that you end up dying to a glitch. If that's the case then just load up the last save. I don't mind permadeath but if it happens because of a glitch I'm not above restarting it. Shit, half the games released now have glitches.
Xcom takes a bunch of skill if you ask me, especially if you play at a higher setting. The rolling of the dice is what the game is known for, but that RNG can still be controlled by your actions. The game never throws anything at you that you can't handle, it just puts you in a position to see if you're patient enough to do the right thing.
It's a great game and like you said that's what I love about it.
================= Official Okay-Super Villain™
I only play the games that I win at - Gamertag: Innovator PSN: DurtyGambino Steam: Durty Gambino Twitch.tv/durtygambino
15. "i agree that it's not unfair most of the time" In response to Reply # 12
and that the crux of the gameplay is being patient and balancing careful planning with improvising when something unexpected happens. i see why people are into that. the risk vs. reward dynamic can be thrilling
however i feel like when i fail in games like xcom, darkest dungeon, and ftl it's because of something the game did that was completely out of my control. i don't like that feeling. when i fail i want it to be because i pressed the wrong button or didn't have the correct timing or had a bad plan. for me a lot of the appeal of video games is being in complete control of the situation. i just don't get that from games that heavily rely on rng
16. "Question... are you into poker at all? " In response to Reply # 15 Wed Sep-28-16 02:46 PM by wallysmith
I think the appeal of exactly those types of games (and, for me, Hearthstone too) is being able to apply adaptive decision making to unforeseen circumstances.
Yeah, losing a 90% shot can be extremely frustrating in XCom but then there's the thrill of avoiding that same shot on your end. Controlled RNG in games help create novel situations that require constant re-evaluation at every turn. The perpetual problem solving, shifting of priorities and "whoa!" moments make it extremely gratifying when that puzzle is solved. When the system is great (like XCom) it means replayability is still there even after hundreds and hundreds of hours.
I totally get why you and many others hate that style of play though. I've thrown many a thing from RNG in these types of games..... but I always come back.
i'm not really into gambling (though my dota2 hat expenditures indicate otherwise). i have gambled three times in my life:
- bought a scratch ticket in memphis (lost) - played a quarter slot machine in vegas (lost) - played poker one night with some friends (broke even)
you and paps have convinced me that there is some aspect of the rng/risk v reward elements of xcom that i'm missing. i'm going to fire it up next week and see if i can experience it
18. "Hahha word, I can dig it" In response to Reply # 17
Well, if you do fire it up, I suggest setting the difficulty to Normal (down from Classic). Even for experienced tactical heads, Classic can be extremely tricky if you aren't familiar with mechanics you can work in your favor.
Your squad really feels like YOUR SQUAD once you start levelling guys up and customizing them to your playstyle. Figuring out how certain classes and loadouts fit together is one of the most satisfying elements of the game and Normal means you can get to that stage without the odd RNG outlier screwing you over.
Then there comes that moment when you're like "oh shit, I got WAY too bold right there" and you get punished for it when one of YOUR GUYS gets smoked. You're shocked, but then you realize your mistake, you internalize it for the future then you start training that next recruit to take his place.
19. "The one thing to remember about a game like Xcom" In response to Reply # 17
is to expect losses.
Its an alien invasion, you're learning your enemy and how to react to them so while it may be frustrating you can expect some losses when their tactics change a bit.
I solved this by bringing a rookie with me that I didn't mind dying if it came to it. Send them closer up front to explore but have someone watching their back so they don't get wiped off the map. A leveled up sniper or two in the back with an ability that can fire multiple shots if someone comes into range and tries to attack your guys can be the best way to counter some of their cheap shots.
It gets to the point when you stick with it your stronger guys can handle anything the game throws at you. I think if you fire it up and just go with the randomness you'll be fine.
================= Official Okay-Super Villain™
I only play the games that I win at - Gamertag: Innovator PSN: DurtyGambino Steam: Durty Gambino Twitch.tv/durtygambino
These types of games will make you want to break shit, but cot damn if it doesn't also create some of the most organic, happiest moments you could ever have while gaming
(sidenote: kinda sad how we don't see a whole lotta those names in these boards anymore...)
10. "I enjoy that when the game plays nice" In response to Reply # 7
in that it follows its rules consistently. as I said below, XCOM didn't feel like it was always playing by the rules.
just posting under this post to note it sounds like Darkest Dungeon on PS4/Vita doesn't control all that well and has left folks that were anticipating the port let down. Shame, I was also interested to try this one.
9. "It would be things like that, or 5 enemies spawning on top of my guys" In response to Reply # 4
out of nowhere. in the early game all the enemy spawns make sense, but every time I got into what felt like the mid-game (crashed alien bases or whatever they were called) enemies would suddenly just start spawning out of nowhere in areas I had FOV, I'd save scrub and those enemies would already be on the map in the area I was advancing toward. This happened to be over and over. It was so frustrating.
I probably played the early-mid game over four or five times because I really enjoyed that part of it and figured if I could just master a min/max squad that worked for me everything would be better in the mid-game and I could just roll every encounter, sort of like Final Fantasy Tactics if you spend a few hours grinding classes in the very early game, but the game would keep breaking its own rules and that was really frustrating.
11. "Yeah IIRC there were issues with roving pods in the first game." In response to Reply # 9
It wasn't unheard of for pods to spawn just outside areas you just cleared but spawning in your FOV definitely sounds like a bug.
Min/maxing in the game is extremely hard though, unless you're on one of the easier difficulties. I remember playing through on Normal (one easier than Classic, the intended difficulty) and once you get past the early game it becames cake since no one dies. I was never a fan of rolling the late game though (a la FFT), I want a consistent challenge throughout.
13. "RE: It would be things like that, or 5 enemies spawning on top of my guy..." In response to Reply # 9
>out of nowhere. in the early game all the enemy spawns make >sense, but every time I got into what felt like the mid-game >(crashed alien bases or whatever they were called) enemies >would suddenly just start spawning out of nowhere in areas I >had FOV, I'd save scrub and those enemies would already be on >the map in the area I was advancing toward. This happened to >be over and over. It was so frustrating.
Did you keep some people on overwatch that could take extra turns when people popped out of nowhere? I did that with my snipers and although you learn your lesson the first time when they ambushed you I made sure not to make that mistake again. It is alien forces you're dealing with so them coming out of nowhere isn't too far fetched lol.
================= Official Okay-Super Villain™
I only play the games that I win at - Gamertag: Innovator PSN: DurtyGambino Steam: Durty Gambino Twitch.tv/durtygambino
20. "That's what it seems like. I had no idea this was dropping. " In response to Reply # 5
I was just on my tablet, browsing Flipboard and found an article listing all the game releases for the rest of the year and saw it. Damn near flipped out. ______________________________________________________________________________
cscpov.blogspot.com
"There's a fine line between persistence and foolishness..." -unknown
"You can take an African out of Africa, but you can't take Africa out of the African" Afro-Americana/Afro-Caribbana/Afro-Latino unite. We are ALL Black!
24. "Finally got a couple real missions under my belt" In response to Reply # 0
Really fun stuff, oh how I've missed XCOM. Trying the game on Classic for now, but gonna try to avoid save scumming. If I load a save, gonna do it only for the start of a mission (let's see how long that lasts).
Really dig the concealment factor. It singlehandedly eliminated the slow, tentative early turns when you're trying not to alert any pods (but trying to cover ground for timed events). Are there any other benefits to concealment other than not being seen (ie, aim, crit %, etc.)? My Ranger just got Phantom but I haven't had a chance to try it yet.
I like the hacking element so far, adds another neat layer of decision making.
I've missed the combat. Agonizing over every little decision is right up my alley. Already had to load once (on the first mission!) when someone got mind-panicked, ran up onto the burning truck then got blown up. Then the next mission I almost reloaded when I totally forgot that jumping through windows breaks concealment (duh). Ended up beating that one flawlessly... go figure, hah.
There's a lot to absorb on the strategic layer so far. Still meticulously checking every single option every time to make sure I don't miss anything, but still getting used to the bridge and the regional (no longer global) scans.
Fucking love it so far, wish I wasn't going out of town this weekend though.... can't touch this again till Monday. Ugh.
26. "yeah, I had to dumb it down. I'm ashamed of myself a bit. " In response to Reply # 0
Actually put the game on easy mode.
I was losing cats left and right to the point where I had no resources to recruit new troops, and all my other troops save for one or two had died.
The difficulty level is definitely higher this time around. Getting mind controlled by sectoids happens way too early and often in the game. Soldiers get panicked at the drop of a hat and screw your battle plan into a cocked hat.
I put the joint on easy so I can map out how I can develop my base, research projects and soldier upgrades in the future. It's not too bad, but yeah, it's like shoot four enemies and the board is clear. It's almost preschoolish.
I can't do it for too long, but I have seen what I can develop in terms of advanced ammo and armor and upgrades for the ship. I'll do this for another couple of days then go back to normal level.
"You can take an African out of Africa, but you can't take Africa out of the African" Afro-Americana/Afro-Caribbana/Afro-Latino unite. We are ALL Black!
30. "War of the Chosen DLC" In response to Reply # 0
just finished the game with that DLC.
Somehow I still didn't have an option for SPARK units.
Anyways, the Chosen throw in a nice little wrinkle. First time through, I really liked the Reaper and Skirmisher classes. Templars? Eh. ______________________________________________________________________________
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