Pumpkinhead Posted December 5, 2003 Report Share Posted December 5, 2003 I only realised this the other day, but everything I write (and I noticed that this site does the same) uses the title "X-COM", and yet every reference in the game's UFOpaedia and manual refer to it as "XCom" or "XCOM", being un-hyphenated... So my question is, where did we all get the hyphen from??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Demi-Godly One Posted December 5, 2003 Report Share Posted December 5, 2003 It just makes it more clear, sort of like emphasizing the X. But really, that hyphen is not supposed to be there, it just makes "Xcom" sound smarter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bomb Bloke Posted December 5, 2003 Report Share Posted December 5, 2003 The reason is, xcom is hard to pronounce. https://www.angelfire.com/games3/jeffy90/images/smilies/sarcastic.gif Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Veteran Posted December 5, 2003 Report Share Posted December 5, 2003 No the games are actually called X-Com. It's on every box... Even Enforcer has a dot between the Xand the C! Technically the term XCom is not covered by any kind of liscense or copyright. Therefore we can quite easily bypass the marque by making games, stories and films which soimply don't use the hyphen! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NKF Posted December 5, 2003 Report Share Posted December 5, 2003 The term XCOM was never used as the game's official title. It was merely the name of the organisation you played in the game. The manual aside, you don't even learn you're working for 'XCOM' until you've started the game. The hyphenated 'X-Com' became standard starting with TFTD. Every other X-Com game since has used 'X-Com'. More recent releases of UFO have included 'X-COM' in the page headers in the manual (such as the PDF manual in the collectors edition). Older versions didn't have it. - NKF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ki-tat Chung Posted December 6, 2003 Report Share Posted December 6, 2003 iirc, they only used the name x-com because there was some other old game called UFO (the original name of x-com: enemyunknown/ufo). they had to change the name when they were gonna sell it in usa cuz of the developer saying that they might bring it back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pumpkinhead Posted December 6, 2003 Author Report Share Posted December 6, 2003 No the games are actually called X-Com. It's on every box...Really? I only own (and like) UFO: Enemy Unknown in which all references within the game itself use XCom, so really that's all I was basing my comment on... In my mind, it's the original and the best Just for the record: The only other X-COM game that ever piqued my interest was Alliance... and we all know what happened there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M. Hoz Posted December 6, 2003 Report Share Posted December 6, 2003 X-Com is how it SHOULD have ALWAYS been written. They just figured it too late. BTW,I have the game called UFO...it's not worth its name. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NKF Posted December 7, 2003 Report Share Posted December 7, 2003 Just be thankful it's not 'ExTer-CombUn'! (You know what, I'm going to steal that and use it for something else. ) Here's something else about the name that's been bugging me. X-Com doesn't start with a vowel, but how many of you out there refer to X-Com things with 'an' instead of 'a'? Such as 'A X-Com Soldier' vs. 'An X-Com Soldier'? The expanded name 'Extra...unit' begins with a vowel, so 'an' works nicely. But the shortened version that we all know an love 'X-Com' doesn't. I catch myself using 'an' all the time. Any other take on this? - NKF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niml Posted December 7, 2003 Report Share Posted December 7, 2003 actually i have noticed that... an x-com fighter... a x-com fighter..... i like the first one better the other just kinda confuses me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Veteran Posted December 7, 2003 Report Share Posted December 7, 2003 it has to be pronounced an gramatically speaking as the word is not X-com it's really two words, X and Com. They aren't linked or abbrieviated. They're technically different words (yes X is short for extraterrestrial but X-Com isn't short for Extracom or something like that ) Therefore when pronouncing X it becomes Ex and therefore does begin with a vowel prompting the use of an instead of a. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M. Hoz Posted December 7, 2003 Report Share Posted December 7, 2003 (Just what i wanted to say)<<Insert Spam Smilie here>> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bomb Bloke Posted December 8, 2003 Report Share Posted December 8, 2003 There are five vowels, and one semi vowel, which is Y. X should also be a semi vowel, as it, like Y, can be pronounced two ways. Xenocide (Zenocide)X-Com (Ex-Com) I'll show an example of Y as well: YowlStray (Stra-ee) Thus, it should be "AN X-Com soldier". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ego Terrorist Posted December 9, 2003 Report Share Posted December 9, 2003 X-Com Simple as that, the hypen is there, any one who disagrees with me will disagree with me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grease Spot Posted December 11, 2003 Report Share Posted December 11, 2003 Welp, on my DOS CD as well as the original floppies the title is written as X-COM UFO DEFENSE, also X-COM Terror...etc on the battling seafood CD so perhaps one must peer into the origin of things... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pumpkinhead Posted December 11, 2003 Author Report Share Posted December 11, 2003 so perhaps one must peer into the origin of things...I hate to nit-pick, but the "origin of things" is actually UFO: Enemy Unknown, which as I said earlier in the thread, makes no mention what-so-ever of "X-COM", only "XCom"... But I know now that all the sequels make use of the good ol' hyphen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bomb Bloke Posted December 11, 2003 Report Share Posted December 11, 2003 Argh! It's a hyphen! Run! Run!! RUUN!!!! :crazy: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Veteran Posted December 11, 2003 Report Share Posted December 11, 2003 UFO does make mention of it. The box uses a hyphen every time... *checks manual* (realises it's only used once on the box but the hyphen is there!) We have a revelation! Check out page six of the manual with the ORIGINAL XCom logo (note the absence of the hyphen?) You're right the manual doesn't seem to use it at all as far as I can see but the box certainly does.Pretty cool logo though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pumpkinhead Posted December 12, 2003 Author Report Share Posted December 12, 2003 Check out page six of the manual with the ORIGINAL XCom logo (note the absence of the hyphen?) You're right the manual doesn't seem to use it at all as far as I can see but the box certainly does.Pretty cool logo though lol ya think? XCOM with a globe for the "O"? Not all that exciting As for the box... I threw it out after opening Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jman4117 Posted December 12, 2003 Report Share Posted December 12, 2003 *Still has his box* *Hasn't a clue about the globe O* My manual uses a hyphen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bomb Bloke Posted December 12, 2003 Report Share Posted December 12, 2003 Don't throw out your boxes. You could probably sell them here for heaps. https://www.angelfire.com/games3/jeffy90/images/smilies/sarcastic.gif Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jman4117 Posted December 12, 2003 Report Share Posted December 12, 2003 I intend to keep mine. I'm a packrat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pumpkinhead Posted December 12, 2003 Author Report Share Posted December 12, 2003 *Still has his box* *Hasn't a clue about the globe O* My manual uses a hyphen.Do you have Enemy Unknown or UFO Defense?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jman4117 Posted December 12, 2003 Report Share Posted December 12, 2003 UFO Defense Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NKF Posted December 12, 2003 Report Share Posted December 12, 2003 Just a reminder: Earlier releases of the game may not have had the hyphen in the manual(or box), but more recent versions do (such as the PDF manual with the Collectors edition - though to be more precise, it has a mix of both xcom and x-com). - NKF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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