XCOM 2

[BvBPL]

I'm going to wait on LW2 for a year or two, it's going to need time and polish but it will be amazing I'm sure.

I think Xcom 2 would be perfect for a few total conversions, Mass Effect 3 retaking Earth for example. I'm sure some Star Wars story line could be easily whipped up to fit the game design too.

You know I was thinking how nice it would be to have something that’s actually a novel setting, rather than copying from other things. Then I realized that XCom 2 would be perfect for a Dune total mod. Like perfect.

Also Xcom EU/EW doesn't have very many utterly pointless extra animations, way too long or slow animations (what the hell is the point of one enemy pointing in your men's direction at the end of the enemy turn? It's a waste of time), random cutscenes that really don't serve any purpose (showing you the building where the target of the mission is when you get close to it, yes game I KNOW WHERE IT IS. ITS BEEN MARKED AND VISIBLE THE WHOLE TIME).

Even with a mod to reduce or get rid of a lot of that there is still tonnes of it and it's really annoying. Also Bradford needs to shut up (another mod I also installed, still doesn't get rid of a lot of his repetivie and pointless interruptions).

I like those bits, but I really wish Fraxis could have put in a slider or something to adjust their frequencies.

Anyway, Long War 2 remains about as annoying as it is entertaining. While that’s a ratio that is acceptable in many forms of entertainment, I’m not sure it is sustainable over the tens of hours it takes to complete a Long War 2 campaign.

 

[BvBPL]

I continue to play Long War 2. I’m not 100% sure why. A lot of it is anti-fun.


For example, in base XCom 2 when enemy reinforcements come in they drop in a specified area and then scramble, giving your guys a chance to shoot them before Advent shoots back. This rewards player preparation.


In Long War 2, the enemy reinforcements do not come in from a specified area and can shoot the turn they arrive. The effect of this is that the player cannot effectively protect his guys against reinforcements. Instead of rewarding player preparation, the game instead seemingly randomly opts to kill the player’s units with little the player can do.


For a game that is supposedly about the player making smart tactical decisions, the way reinforcements work in Long War 2 act against what the same system enjoyable and rewarding the core game.

 

[Maniacal]

No it's just in line with the original Xcom game design ethos that the Long War devs have carried on. Though the shooting on the same turn does sound annoying, but not letting your troops wipe them out instantly quite as easily is an improvement.

 

[sherbz]

I continue to play Long War 2. I’m not 100% sure why. A lot of it is anti-fun.


For example, in base XCom 2 when enemy reinforcements come in they drop in a specified area and then scramble, giving your guys a chance to shoot them before Advent shoots back. This rewards player preparation.


In Long War 2, the enemy reinforcements do not come in from a specified area and can shoot the turn they arrive. The effect of this is that the player cannot effectively protect his guys against reinforcements. Instead of rewarding player preparation, the game instead seemingly randomly opts to kill the player’s units with little the player can do.


For a game that is supposedly about the player making smart tactical decisions, the way reinforcements work in Long War 2 act against what the same system enjoyable and rewarding the core game.

Yes - this is my single biggest complaint of Long War 2. I dont mind the not being able to see where the enemy drops in (this is actually related to skill setting - on rookie you still get the marker). But the shooting before you even get a chance to react is incredibly frustrating. I had a gunnery sergeant killed by a muton who wondered round the corner, saw my troops, he scattered and fired a load of plasma in my grenadiers face and crit him, killing him outright. I think in strategy games you should always give the player a chance at reacting first and this breaks that rule.

Other than that though i am having a great deal of fun with LW2. I just think that for some stuff like the piece above they should have had them as options. In vanilla long war the mechanic was called itcy trigger tentacle (reaction fire on activation). And you could turn it on or off (and it was always on for the base assault). Something like that would have been better. I think the devs can sometimes take the idea of attrition a little too literally. After all, its a game and its supposed to be fun. Making somethinng difficult is fine. But it has to be fair and difficult, not flat out BS difficulty.

 

[BvBPL]

No it's just in line with the original Xcom game design ethos that the Long War devs have carried on. Though the shooting on the same turn does sound annoying, but not letting your troops wipe them out instantly quite as easily is an improvement.

I’m not sure that response is on point.

For one, there are plenty of ways that the reinforcement mechanic could be improved that don’t involve randomly shooting at my units in a manner that feels unfair.

Secondly, the reinforcement mechanic doesn’t do much to evoke UFO Defense. Sure, it makes the game more difficult, but UFO Defense didn’t have reinforcements. Certainly it didn’t have three reinforcement turns in a row on a map with five pre-existing pods like the one I recently experience.

Certainly having out-of-view pods shoot at my units does evoke UFO Defense, but the result is very different in a game as heavily focused on cover as XCom 2. The concept of being flanked was very different in UFO Defense versus XCom 2.

I really don’t know about continuing Long War 2. I want to because there are some interesting things there, but there’s a lot that’s just crap. There’s very little onboarding that tells the player what’s different about Long War 2. The Technical class is useless. The indications of difficulty don’t seem to reflect actual difficulty (the five pods with three reinforcements was labeled as a light-moderate mission).

 

[sherbz]

Things are looking pretty bleak for Audrey Du Bois

 

[Disgustipated]

I finally got around to getting this game on a steam sale. I'm glad I got it on sale and didn't pay full price because I have never known a more frustrating game that I've stared at the loading screen so much.On a side note I love the loading screen graphics, the colors remind me of something from the late 70's or early 80's cold war stuff, I like it.

Main question is if there's a way to disable turn timers by modifying files rather than downloading a mod. I'd like to keep getting achievements if I can. I just can't stand turn timers. The original (1994) version didn't have them, I just feel they don't belong in this game. Perhaps they put them in to make the game more difficult because people reload, but all that does is cause me to reload even more. Especially when I failed to make the exit grid by 1 grid square. Very frustrating. I had to replay the past 5 turns to get out in time. One time I had to replay an entire mission. I'm beginning to think this game is designed for masochists.

Currently I just lower the difficulty level to the easiest level for any timed mission. Regular missions I can up the difficulty level. But even on easy I have to reload because I make mistakes in movement.

 

[sherbz]

Don't play long war then. Your frustrations will double.

Achievements aren't disabled by mods, so they are your best bet. I suggest true concealment rather than no timers. Timed missions fit in with the guerilla movement theme. Other good ones that don't alter the game are gotcha, evacuation all, free camera, don't waste my time, and black market usage.

 

[Disgustipated]

I might have to check those out. Yeah this game is significantly harder than the Xcom that came out 4 years ago. The avatar project is only 2 blips away from max and I have to find a way to get that down. Clearing a base only took 1 blip off.

I always hear a lot of things about long war, I never played long war in the first game, so not too likely I'll check it out.

 

[SupremacyKing2]

I might have to check those out. Yeah this game is significantly harder than the Xcom that came out 4 years ago. The avatar project is only 2 blips away from max and I have to find a way to get that down. Clearing a base only took 1 blip off.

The bases remove blips based on how long they have been around. If you look closely underneath the base icon on the map, you can see how many blips it will remove. So some bases will remove 2-3. Also, completing some of the objectives like using the hook thing (sorry forgot the name) on a soldier that causes a codex to appear, will also remove blips on the avatar counter. So completing those objectives are also a good way to slow down the avatar project.

 

[Disgustipated]

yeah I'm catching up on those because I built the 2 buildings to improve my squad before building resistance comms and the proving ground. Finally got a skulljack. That's one reason the counter went up so high.

 

[SupremacyKing2]

yeah I'm catching up on those because I built the 2 buildings to improve my squad before building resistance comms and the proving ground. Finally got a skulljack. That's one reason the counter went up so high.

In my games, I find that you can let the avatar counter get to 2 blips left and still win as long as you are in a good position to destroy a facility and/or get some objectives quickly. In several of my games, I got down to just 1 blip but then destroyed a facility and got a codex on the same mission which knocked the avatar counter back by like 3 blips at once. Then I quickly destroyed another facility which knocked the counter back by another 2. So I knocked the counter back by 5 blips in one game month. So, I was still in the game. But facilities do increase the rate at which the counter increases so you don't want to allow too many facilities to be on the map at the same time.

 

[sherbz]

It's worth pointing out that when it reaches zero you don't actually lose. You have a doom timer which usually gives you enough time in order to hit a facility. Contacting regions should always be a priority. You can sometimes still lose on legendary difficulty though regardless of what you do. On easier difficulties though managing the project should be comparatively easy.

 

[Barathor]

Finally, the silence will be ending; the expansion is going to be revealed!

 

[Piruparka]

Wait a moment - this forum doesn't have an XCOM-subforum? Geez. So hyped right now!

 

[ls612]

Yes! I've been waiting for an expansion to go back and play on Legendary! I suppose this explains what the big 2K announcement at E3 is.

 

[GoodSarmatian]

I just caught the last few minutes of an interview with Jake Solomon but missed most of the actual info part. Aparently there's going to be some new faction called The Lost that sometimes barges into missions as a mindless horde and might be hostile to you and ADVENT, and the expansion will be out August 28.
Did anyone catch the whole interview/announcement ?

 

[SupremacyKing2]

Here is the official announcement trailer:

I know Firaxis always says that their expansions are never just small add-ons. No kidding! This expansion looks like a full new game!

 

[GoodSarmatian]

And a short summary of the new stuff.
http://www.pcgamer.com/xcom-2-war-of-the-chosen-revealed-at-the-pc-gaming-show/


Alien heroes, three new resistance groups, new classes, techs and heroes,
This looks legitimately awesome.

I was worried we wouldn't get a proper expansion because of al the DLC and also a bit annoyed at the DLC policy/pricing for XCOM2 and Civ6, but if that's what they have to do to develop expansions like this I'm fine with it.

 

[SupremacyKing2]

Alien heroes, three new resistance groups, new classes, techs and heroes,
This looks legitimately awesome.

Very interesting. I wonder if the expansion is a sequel that takes places after you stop the avatar project or if it simply adds all these new things to the base game? If it adds to the base game, then the base game is going to be huge now with a ton to do. I almost want it to be a sequel instead because I like the idea of an xcom2 game with completely new victory conditions since we've already done the stopping the avatar counter one. The fact that it is being called an expansion and not a sequel tells me it is probably just adding to the base game but the trailer and the title kinda have a sequel vibe to them.

I was worried we wouldn't get a proper expansion because of al the DLC and also a bit annoyed at the DLC policy/pricing for XCOM2 and Civ6, but if that's what they have to do to develop expansions like this I'm fine with it.

Long War 2 was like an unofficial expansion. But clearly Firaxis has enough big ideas for their own expansion that letting another company put out a big mod was not going to be a problem.