A Quick Visual

[Thorondor]

We have but a single image from the freshly disclosed XCOM: Enemy Unknown, and it's just a magazine cover illustration, but that doesn't mean we can't dissect the specimen, does it?

 

To offer a first, cursory look, on my part:

- the new game takes place, once again, fundamentally on Earth. Fitting, and expected.

 

- note the traffic lights are off, and the only lights on seem to be the vehicle's own, so a blackout is very likely occurring

 

- there seems to be some sort of an ongoing "meteor shower" tonight, so, without being excessively paranoid, and given a rather strange creature is in sight, we may at least suspect an invasion is in progress.

 

- the single visible occupant of the vehicle seems to have suffered some sort of accident due to unexpected circumstances. If the invader is the culprit it doesn't seem like it was from harmful direct intervention on its part as there are no visible traces of blood on it. The mobile phone is still on, having its screen lit and all, so this is all bound to have just happened. Such a nice car and no air-bags? Tsk, tsk...

 

- knowledgeable in these matters as we are, the intruder seems to anatomically resemble a Sectoid in some ways, though, as we also know, Sectoids do not usually amble around on all fours. Ah - the beauties of genetics!

 

- to the very left and partly in the background we see a rather large fire raging on what could be another vehicle, and a likely casualty sprawled face down on the sidewalk.

 

- someone seems to be ready and well-equipped enough not to suffer a similar fate. He just forgot his helmet, apparently, but that has the benefit of showing us a military-type hair-shave. Some sort of body armour is also evident, with some conspicuous shoulder, elbow and knee protections. A fairly conventional (if a bit disproportionate in dimensions) automatic rifle is additionally being wielded by this cautious individual. The fact that he's wearing gloves, may mean it is a cold night, but it rather more likely means we're looking at an element of some kind of special forces group.

 

::

 

That's about all I'm picking up from this, but be sure to chip in with your own finds!

[FullAuto]

The fun of dissecting concept art!

 

It does hint at battles in much more 'complete' environments, which is something to look forward to. I wonder if the number of cities open to attack is going to be larger? I do also hope there's not going to be stereotypical landmarks and whatnot included (Sectoids outside of Big Ben, etc), but rather that they actually look at architectural styles and such.

 

- someone seems to be ready and well-equipped enough not to suffer a similar fate. He just forgot his helmet, apparently, but that has the benefit of showing us a military-type hair-shave. Some sort of body armour is also evident, with some conspicuous shoulder, elbow and knee protections. A fairly conventional (if a bit disproportionate in dimensions) automatic rifle is additionally being wielded by this cautious individual. The fact that he's wearing gloves, may mean it is a cold night, but it rather more likely means we're looking at an element of some kind of special forces group.

 

Helmet is probably intentionally left out to enable definite identification as a human. The rather large weapon is quite in keeping with X-Com's original look (e.g. take a look at the heavy cannon, it looks like it can fire projectiles the size of basketballs).

[Pete]

If you want a bit more concept art, on GameInformer's site I linked to in the news thread you can actually see part of a night-time Earth from outer-space in the background behind the partial "Sectoid" on the right.

 

To me that means we definitely have a Geoscape to look forward to as well.

[Hobbes]

err... does anyone remember this 'preview/cover box' from the original? https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/images/12/jan/xbox.jpg

 

Now what are the chances of the new game actually be like the image being distributed?

[Matri]

- the single visible occupant of the vehicle seems to have suffered some sort of accident due to unexpected circumstances. If the invader is the culprit it doesn't seem like it was from harmful direct intervention on its part as there are no visible traces of blood on it. The mobile phone is still on, having its screen lit and all, so this is all bound to have just happened. Such a nice car and no air-bags? Tsk, tsk...

 

Actually, judging from the fact that the vehicle is stopped at the junction's pedestrian crossing with the door ajar, seems to indicate that the occupant was in the initial stages of egress when... several litres of their blood was "forcefully removed". The hand print on the window suggests they used the last of their strength to get the door opened before expiring.

[Hobbes]

Actually, judging from the fact that the vehicle is stopped at the junction's pedestrian crossing with the door ajar, seems to indicate that the occupant was in the initial stages of egress when... several litres of their blood was "forcefully removed". The hand print on the window suggests they used the last of their strength to get the door opened before expiring.

 

But the question is: where was the cell phone before it dropped to the ground? It couldn't have been on the passenger's right hand if the hand print was the last action taken. So either the passenger dropped it to open the door or it somehow got ejected from the car by some other means.

 

Another issue: how do the blood gets on the hand? Assuming the aliens are using some sort of energy weapon it should cauterize the wound and likely kill any unprotected human. So the passenger was still conscious and bleeding after being *hit* with whatever caused its wounds.

[Sunflash]

IN THIS THREAD: How deep into 'Over analyzed' terriorty can a bold band of X-Com fans go?

 

STAY TUNED TO FIND OUT!

 

 

 

()

[Pete]

Hehe, I think Sunflash is right. I'm pretty sure that when the game comes out mobile phones and hand prints are going to be the last thing you're thinking about.

 

I'm hoping though that the thing on fire to the left is a petrol station though. I always managed to blow those up and they burned a treat

 

I would suggest that since there will be no limit on number of items in this game though that there won't just be one pistol or rifle available to X-COM at the start of the game, but a wider variety of modern-day weapons (hopefully not too many, any more than half a dozen pistols and rifles each is a bit much) each with range/damage/accuracy stats of their own. This wouldn't be a bad thing, as it would add to realism - I'm sure most of us have wondered at one time or another why X-COM as an organisation had to stick so strictly to one type of weapon when the world was in peril - unless it's the real-world example of just buying the cheapest stuff like they do in real life

 

I also want a much larger research tree with parts you might not even bother to go down the first few playthrough's. Revenge of the Titans is a good example - although the tech tree is fully visible from the outset and you wouldn't want that here - where some things, as in the X-COM series, don't give you any benefit aside from opening another avenue of research. They really need to keep that in, as the first few times I played I don't think I bothered with anything other than lasers as there was instant reward for your research, whereas plasma took so much longer to finally arrive at something craft-mountable and you had to research clips etc that I never bothered originally.

 

So yeah, I wouldn't mind some more realism and a nice, complex research tree again as long as it's not over-the-top. I don't want to be able to choose from 26 varieties of rifles, shotguns and pistols at the very start for example - just a small selection that you could believe someone in charge of purchasing at X-COM HQ said: these are the best for the job - we only buy these. Heck, even if some of them were god-awful but cheap, that would add to the realism with someone in a purchasing department - top-secret army operating on a shoestring budget and all that

[Hobbes]

Hehe, I think Sunflash is right. I'm pretty sure that when the game comes out mobile phones and hand prints are going to be the last thing you're thinking about.

 

This movie scene represents everything I am expecting of a new X-COM game:

 

 

The desperation, the monsters, the chaos, the hopelessness, the horror, the night missions, things exploding, crazy ideas being tried...ah, where did I store my plasma gun?

[Pete]

 

The desperation, the monsters, the chaos, the hopelessness, the horror, the night missions, things exploding, crazy ideas being tried...ah, where did I store my plasma gun?

 

Oh my, yes! If they have the player thinking even a bit like Bill Paxton's character in that scene - or Newt with the last line there - then they've nailed it!

 

To a much lesser extent, the only time I've got close to that feeling of dread and retired from a battlefield back to a relatively safe-haven in a game recently is that one mission in StarCraft II where the enemy comes in waves during the night but are hidden during the day, so you damn well make sure you're back behind a fortified line by nightfall.

 

Admittedly you couldn't care less about your troops in an RTS, but it's that sense of dread and having to do night time missions and knowing you're going to face worse odds at night that make it much more tense.

 

If Sectoids really are psychic then they should strike at night every time, and certainly hit your bases when your best troops are likely to be getting some shut-eye. I'd love to see fatigue carry over a bit from mission to mission even, so if you attempted three crash sites in a row then not only injuries carry over, but movement and stamina are slightly decreased.

 

Just little things I know, but if they can capture the atmosphere of the original and increase it somehow then that would be awesome.

[FullAuto]

I think one of each weapon type would be nice: pistol, shotgun, submachine gun, assault rifle, sniper rifle, machine gun, rocket launcher.

 

You could then go for different ammo types and add-ons, e.g. armour-piercing rounds, telescopic sights etc each with advantages and drawbacks.

 

If they actually include different types of environment, going from room clearing and house to house fighting to fire and manouevre in more open territory, I will die happy.

[silencer_pl]

They shouldn't forget also about multi phase mission which were in TFTD.

[Hobbes]

uld suggest that since there will be no limit on number of items in this game though that there won't just be one pistol or rifle available to X-COM at the start of the game, but a wider variety of modern-day weapons (hopefully not too many, any more than half a dozen pistols and rifles each is a bit much) each with range/damage/accuracy stats of their own. This wouldn't be a bad thing, as it would add to realism - I'm sure most of us have wondered at one time or another why X-COM as an organisation had to stick so strictly to one type of weapon when the world was in peril - unless it's the real-world example of just buying the cheapest stuff like they do in real life

 

One very plausible reason for the quartermaster sticking to one type of weapon: standardization. Everyone is trained on the same weapon and repair and ammunition supply became easier than if every soldier decides to use a AK-47, M-16, M-4, G3, SA80, etc. It also makes it easier to scavenge your dead squadmates for ammo

Also, if you're equipping a secret force it makes more sense to use weapons/equipment not associated with regular forces/countries and stick to less known weapon manufacturers.

 

It would be nice to have a bit more choice that on the EU, TFTD, Apoc, like being able to choose between 2 general rifles but more than that drops a bit on playability since when you're starting to play it is easier/better not to have to worry too much about weapons but focus more on the fighting. The basic choices regarding firearms that you can make are rate of fire, accuracy, power and type of damage, weight and ammo capacity - pistols, rifles, cannons, launchers, all fall into that.

The choice to add more variety depends more on finding a niche for specific weapons. For instance, one rifle can carry a grenade launcher below the barrel, the other can't. Or you add other factors, like the probability of the weapon jamming.

Another nice thing would be actually to have modular weapons - you have one basic model that can be changed according to the soldier needs - add a bipod and an laser scope and you have a sniper rifle; or stick a bayonet to have an assault rifle; or increase the caliber and use larger ammo clips to have a small machinegun.

 

I also want a much larger research tree with parts you might not even bother to go down the first few playthrough's. Revenge of the Titans is a good example - although the tech tree is fully visible from the outset and you wouldn't want that here - where some things, as in the X-COM series, don't give you any benefit aside from opening another avenue of research. They really need to keep that in, as the first few times I played I don't think I bothered with anything other than lasers as there was instant reward for your research, whereas plasma took so much longer to finally arrive at something craft-mountable and you had to research clips etc that I never bothered originally.

 

So yeah, I wouldn't mind some more realism and a nice, complex research tree again as long as it's not over-the-top. I don't want to be able to choose from 26 varieties of rifles, shotguns and pistols at the very start for example - just a small selection that you could believe someone in charge of purchasing at X-COM HQ said: these are the best for the job - we only buy these. Heck, even if some of them were god-awful but cheap, that would add to the realism with someone in a purchasing department - top-secret army operating on a shoestring budget and all that

 

The tech weapon will really depend on the plotline, which is probably the biggest question to me - how much of the original story are they going to use?

[Pete]

Oooh, and under-barrel grenade launcher would be good - imagine you can use the grenade launcher and can fire maybe a snap-shot the same turn, but because you've just fired the grenade launcher your accuracy on the snap-shot goes down because of recoil

 

I know it's early days, but I think I will actually eat my hat if Firaxis doesn't make a good XCOM game from this. Granted, I'll have to buy a hat, but then I'll eat it.

 

Maybe I'll commission a hat-shaped cake for reasons of digestion if it comes to that...

[Hobbes]

Oooh, and under-barrel grenade launcher would be good - imagine you can use the grenade launcher and can fire maybe a snap-shot the same turn, but because you've just fired the grenade launcher your accuracy on the snap-shot goes down because of recoil

 

I know it's early days, but I think I will actually eat my hat if Firaxis doesn't make a good XCOM game from this. Granted, I'll have to buy a hat, but then I'll eat it.

 

Maybe I'll commission a hat-shaped cake for reasons of digestion if it comes to that...

 

One word for them regarding game mechanics: K.I.S.S

 

And keep it to the original one as much as possible - no fancy new ideas about the story, no new features added just because someone decided it would be cool additions.

 

I'd really prefer actually that they would have both RT and TB for combat, like Apoc, the first for fun, the second to make it easier to learn.

And have an initial impossible mission before the game starts - really simple, a combat team sent to investigate a strange report, where you only control a single soldier (the other soldiers are managed by the AI) and the team ends up being massacred by the aliens. For beginners it would give them a taste of everything, for veterans the fun would be to try to win that impossible scenario

I can just imagine the whole thing... you fire up the game and get the Firaxis logo. Then the screen goes blank and text starts appearing: "CONTACT REPORTED AT GRID 2981282 - ALPHA TEAM DISPACHED TO INVESTIGATE - SWITCHING TO LIVE FEED"

Then the player finds itself on the tactical game controlling that single soldier, with no idea of what to do or how the game control works. After the soldier is killed or the player quits the image then simply shows 'XCOM - ENEMY UNKNOWN' and after the game starts properly...

 

You could also have all the elements that were thought for the first game but didn't make it, like the Men in Black... you could have parallel secret organizations with an agenda of their own that you could be fighting or collaborating with... and multiplayer could be all about it...

 

This is starting to sound like those wishlists for Alliance or Genesis *sigh*.

 

I think we should start spamming their forums with the things we would like... hehehehe

[FullAuto]

Oooh, and under-barrel grenade launcher would be good - imagine you can use the grenade launcher and can fire maybe a snap-shot the same turn, but because you've just fired the grenade launcher your accuracy on the snap-shot goes down because of recoil

 

I know it's early days, but I think I will actually eat my hat if Firaxis doesn't make a good XCOM game from this. Granted, I'll have to buy a hat, but then I'll eat it.

 

Maybe I'll commission a hat-shaped cake for reasons of digestion if it comes to that...

 

Stuff like this has been in TB games for more than a decade, it'd be nice to see them incorporate it. Far too often the gameplay is needlessly simplified, when more possibilities merely means more fun, more options, and a wider range of valid playing stiles. Fingers crossed!

[Thorondor]

Right, lads, here are a couple more treats to gawk at - stills taken from the "Why Firaxis Loves X-Com" clip:

 

The slinky Sectoid had to undergo a little reconstructive surgery at my hand as no shot captures it entirely right, but I think this little piecing together does it sufficient justice anyway. Notice the interesting red glow on its chest - I smell cybernetics...

 

 

...and our badass trophy hunter X-Com trooper, with kill-confirmation pierced skull, tattoo and special head shave.

 

 

::

 

Enjoy!

[Hobbes]

Well, regarding the Sectoid... what the hell is that crest around his waist? It must be genetically designed but to what propose? Helping locomotion? Or are they ergonomically designed to fit on an UFO chair? Puzzling...

 

Another thing... it has no mouth. I'm guessing no ghastly death screams in the dark, unless its mouth is located somewhere else, under its chin or something even more bizarre.

 

General physique seems even less undeveloped than the original Sectoids - large abdominal cavity in comparison with the thorax area, which has something that emits reddish light. Muscle condition suggests atrophy, specially legs.

[Bomb Bloke]

The basic impression is of a stretched-out version of the original Sectoid, without a lot of the cuteness. Which, erm, makes me wonder just how tall and ugly the Ethereals are gonna be...

 

I'm not sure if the glowing bit is supposed to be a glow, or just a rather bright blood splatter. It does look somewhat symmetrical.

 

The belly with the thing jutting out of it strikes me as an implant of some sort -armour, perhaps, though on a human that area would be considered less essential then others.

[Matri]

Considering the absolute uselessness of primitive Earth ballistic weapons (the Autocannon being the sole exception), I think it's unlikely they're going to include more than a handful. The only weapons I could see lasting until at the least mid-game would be whatever anti-materiel rifles they decide to include.

 

After all, anything capable of putting a bullet through a solid steel engine block might possibly maybe hopefully pretty please also work on the Reapers.

 

Also, Tyrese!

[Pete]

In case nobody saw it at GI yet, here's the hub page for their news releases - if features a partialc close-up of the Sectoid, a globe in the background (maybe the in-game Geoscape - looks pretty) and some stylish hexagons which might suggest a hexagonal movement system for combat, so you won't use as many TUs when trying to make a bee-line for the UFOs

 

https://www.gameinformer.com/p/xcom.aspx

[FullAuto]

Hex map eh? Proper hardcore.

[Pete]

Hex map eh? Proper hardcore.

 

And I want to see real dice!

 

Maybe that's going too far?

[FullAuto]

Who is qualified to say, not I that's for sure.

[Space Voyager]

I don't know why but I like hexagons much more than squares... I wish I had more time to join in this debate but my missus was sick through the weekend and handling two children gave me zilch time.