WTH the Soldiers from XCOM: Enemy Unknown are in this game!

[Dux1]

This is a major deal breaker for me. I had to stop watching many final episodes of various BNW Let's Plays even.

Yes, I know that Civ is abstract, but adding in a unit taken from another game (yes I know they are made by the same developers) just breaks the immersion completely, especially one from an M-rated game.

How does the ESRB rating of the game from which the X-Com unit is derived have anything to do with... anything? You realize the reference to X-Com doesn't bring any "mature" material with it, right? The Civ5 ESRB rating, as far as I know, remains unchanged.

Personally I like the unit. It's silly, perhaps, but it's not like Civilization has ever been an historical simulation. I get more annoyed when they try to do something realistic but fail (e.g., the ridiculous Bazooka unit); sci-fi future units like X-Com and GDR are just for fun anyway, and since they require technology that hasn't been discovered yet in reality, who are we to say it's not realistic?

 

[Dai]

For my part, while I loved XCOM (except that horribly written final mission), I don't think the unit's inclusion was appropriate. It doesn't upset me, but I think it was a poor choice.

XCOM, from its own reality, was created by a coalition of all governments to fight the alien invasion, using technology obtained by studying salvaged alien tech. To include an XCOM unit, then, implies an alien invasion, intergovernmental cooperation, and a research mechanism outside of the human norm. These notions clash with Civilization design.

I love XCOM too, and this is pretty close to what I find kind of unusual about the unit. To me, what makes an XCOM squad and XCOM squad isn't the fact that they have weapons that are somewhat better than conventional weapons and that they can go places in their lander, but that they fight aliens. It's weird to me that you have an XCOM squad and it's fighting humans and taking cities. That's not what XCOM is for. It feels like it would make more sense, if you're going to add it to the game, to have it be a World Council "grand project" thing, like the ISS or the International Games. (Potentially with rewards that include science benefits, military units, and future-era artifacts for museums.)

 

[EulerMcE]

Aliens invade and are defeated by the XCOM project within the few months that pass between turns. The tech leader then appropriates all of the assets gained and uses it against enemy civilizations who over time do as XCOM did and manufacture the tech themselves.

 

[dr.skeletor]

I've got a couple BNW games under my belt and have yet to see them, but I've not gone science or domination yet, so who's to say?

As far as the unit goes, I think this upgrade was necessary, especially with domination requiring you to hold all the enemy capitols. Even with a tech lead, stealth bombers and GDRs, it still took some time to slog through opponents on the old style. The unit makes sense with modern tech even, as some have mentioned they are basically spec ops.

Flavor wise, they make sense about as much as GDRs. They're fun which is why I love 'em, but then again, half of my enjoyment from this game comes from trouncing the heathen Ramses II with the Holy Zoroastrian Empire of the Netherlands.

Also, for those complaining that it doesn't make sense for X-Com lore [XCOM Spoilers-ish]:

Spoiler :

I have to agree with the previous poster about the X-Com host nation re-appropriating the soldiers after the X-Com conflict. Also, I'm pretty sure the end of X-Com implied that humanity wasn't really ready to have such power, and that we're probably going to use this technology for evil/world conquest. Especially with Dr. Menacing-accent always happily torturing aliens for fun... er our survival.

 

[Rhaegar7]

I actually like all the easter eggs in the game. It doesn't ruin my immersion fun and certainly doesn't ruin the strategic quality of the game.

And anyway.. keep in mind...

Everything is possible.

 

[bluetrin]

Add an Ethereal civilisation and we will be fine.

 

[Jman5]

All immersion aside, I wonder has none of you played a multiplayer game when those units kicked in? Or a single for that fact.

All my games are over by this point. I would have to be purposefully avoiding a science victory to even unlock them. Same with Death Robots and Stealth Bombers. The only time I've seen XCOM was when I held off my science victory a few turns just so I could check it out.

 

[Cyanfunk]

Yeah, really. Even if you're going for a Science victory, you can bypass XCOM completely.

 

[pilot00]

All my games are over by this point. I would have to be purposefully avoiding a science victory to even unlock them. Same with Death Robots and Stealth Bombers. The only time I've seen XCOM was when I held off my science victory a few turns just so I could check it out.

Thats why I said multiplayer though...

 

[PhilBowles]

As much as I love XCOM, I don't like having specific fictional universes referenced in Civ (in the main game, Civ II had an X-COM scenario after all). However, I've played a game that ran until 2050 and never once saw one (not sure why they're at Nanotechnology particularly, but then why is the Bazooka at Nuclear Fission instead of Rocketry?)

 

[SamBC]

Would people like a mod that renames them "dropship troopers" or something?

 

[bluetrin]

Would people like a mod that renames them "dropship troopers" or something?

That would be good for people who want more realism. Maybe you can directly edit the files ?

 

[Merciorum]

...Who the hell cares? If you are really coming to Civ for any semblance of history and reality, then you're doing something wrong. Have a little fun! Nothing wrong with a little near-future.

 

[Urdnot_Scott]

I can understand people saying they aren't sure about it because it seems a tad close to product placement (i disagree, but I can see where they are coming from) but when I see people complaining because X-Com is M rated and therefore shouldnt be included in Civ 5, I lose my nut, I mean seriously, if they swear/are violent in X-Com, how is that any different to including actual soldiers, who kill and get killed in ACTUAL war... I dont get it. Its not like they swear or bleed in game.

 

[Morthis]

I've played as/fought Civilizations in eras long past (or before) they actually existed.
I can discover architecture before I've ever even figured out how to build (masonry/construction)
I can discover the Internet but have no clue how to build a computer
I can build a spaceship that reaches Alpha Centauri with roughly currently known technology.
My archer can kill a tank or airplane (much less likely in later Civs but it's always been one of those things)
I could go on...

But man, as soon as I build that XCOM unit my immersion is completely ruined. Never mind that the unit just looks like a generic future soldier and you have to know what XCOM is to even have a basis for complaining in the first place, it's ruined I tell you!

 

[pilot00]

Would people like a mod that renames them "dropship troopers" or something?

And downgrades their combat Str, yes.

I can understand people saying they aren't sure about it because it seems a tad close to product placement (i disagree, but I can see where they are coming from) but when I see people complaining because X-Com is M rated and therefore shouldnt be included in Civ 5, I lose my nut, I mean seriously, if they swear/are violent in X-Com, how is that any different to including actual soldiers, who kill and get killed in ACTUAL war... I dont get it. Its not like they swear or bleed in game.

Agreed 110%

 

[God of Kings]

Interestingly enough, the BBFC gave XCOM a 12, so I'm fairly sure there are no "F-bombs" about - the PEGI rating must be based on violence. This rating is entirely irrelevant as far as Civ goes anyway, since they just shoot green plasma.

It's clearly just a lighthearted joke between the two development teams. The unit fills a spot on the late game tech tree. I really don't see how its any more of an issue than flying a rocket to Alpha Centauri is.

The BBFC and PEGI gave it 12+, yet the ESRB (North America) gave it M (17+)

StarCraft II is also interesting. Its PEGI rating is 16+, yet its ESRB rating is T (13+).

I wonder which organization screwed up with the ratings?

 

[P A Y N E]

This shouldn't even be a topic of concern. This is a game where people like Washington and Bismark all appear in the Ancient era, leaders can live for centuries, certain GPs can drop "culture bombs" to steal territory, and civs race to build wonders then automatically scrap all progress made when they lose.

But somehow that's all perfectly fine, yet XCOM squads cross the line of breaking "immersion"? Give me a break.

 

[Vasire]

Funny.. My friends and I have a totally different problem with XCOM squads and GDRs than the OP. ))))
We don't like them because we think that Firaxis is a big stupid tease! )) In stead of giving us 2-3 proper futuristic eras like in Call to power 2, it just teases us with adding a couple of units that are kinda lame as a joke and kinda useless at this point in the game to be taken seriously. It should either be CIV or it should be Call to Power. Something in the middle kinda ruins it for us.

 

[superliminal]

I love XCOM too, and this is pretty close to what I find kind of unusual about the unit. To me, what makes an XCOM squad and XCOM squad isn't the fact that they have weapons that are somewhat better than conventional weapons and that they can go places in their lander, but that they fight aliens. It's weird to me that you have an XCOM squad and it's fighting humans and taking cities. That's not what XCOM is for. It feels like it would make more sense, if you're going to add it to the game, to have it be a World Council "grand project" thing, like the ISS or the International Games. (Potentially with rewards that include science benefits, military units, and future-era artifacts for museums.)

I really like that idea, and it makes sense given the juggling of national funding in X-Com. And if you make the project your own, you blatently misuse its original purpose and proceed to take over the world!