Unfit for XCOMmand Intro: Welcome Back, Dumbass

By Rutskarn Posted Wednesday Jan 11, 2017

Filed under: Lets Play 82 comments

Unfit for XCOMmand: The True Story of Humanity’s Last Disappointment

by Rachel Kennedy (Soldier, Rookie Class)

Intro: Welcome Back, Dumbass

Somewhere in an ass-stinking dark room, some tool is writing history.

Why do people do that under normal, non-apocalyptic circumstances? I don’t know. But lately the idea is starting to catch on that history’s a big old train track headed for a big old cliff with cartoon heaps of dynamite at the bottom, and to a certain introspective, posterity-minded individual, this imminent disaster is an opportunity. If any random record of these days might become the final record, any author might–by virtue of not being dead or in a camp somewhere–fall ass-backwards into being the Herodotus of our generation. So suddenly all the jerks who in a gentler time would inflict nothing worse than coffeehouse poetry on humanity are, instead, taking it on themselves to write the final musings of a dying species.

Why does this make me angry? Well, for starters, I’m just angry a lot these days. I considered therapy, but since that currently involves a ridged alien brain-worm and six months of re-education, I’ve instead elected to shoot a lot of aliens in the fucking face. And since that’s a part time job, it’s left me plenty of time for retrospection, and one thing I’m not proud to figure out is this: I’m not angry because people are writing history, I’m angry because I’m sure they’re all getting it wrong. The more I involve myself with the revolution, the more certain I feel that I’m the only person out here who hasn’t lost her damn mind.

So now we’re back to that ass-stinking dark room I mentioned. It stinks like ass because it’s a canteen on a busted sky-submarine full of breaking systems and relentlessly exercising grunts. It’s dark because there are no windows and few working lightbulbs. And yes, there’s a tool writing history in it, and it turns out that tool is me. So let’s get Herodotusing.

There's like ten humans fighting for the movement, so if we all kill one hundred thousand aliens, this crazy resistance just might work out.
There's like ten humans fighting for the movement, so if we all kill one hundred thousand aliens, this crazy resistance just might work out.

A few decades ago, an alien empire dropped out of the sky and put siege to the planet Earth. To fight back, we assembled an international team of soldiers, scientists, pilots, and engineers. Their leaders were Bradford, an officer and intelligence agent who volunteered to be on the front line of the counter-offensive; Vahlen, a scientist and bonafide visionary; Shen, the finest technological expert the world had to offer; the Commander, an enigmatic and influential individual entrusted full with overseeing and administering the most important campaign in the history of the species. For months they fought bravely with every resource the world could spare. One tragic ambush halted their progress, split their forces, and put the Commander in the hands of the enemy.

But now, even as the alien’s grip on the planet seems most secure, there is a new hope. Bradford has recruited to his side a new team of scientists, experts, and brave volunteers–myself included–to carry on the battle against alien domination. And with one hard-won victory, we have already begun to turn the tide: we have liberated the Commander, humanity’s brightest star, from captivity.

That’s what you might call the “heads” side of the coin. Here’s the part that’s stuck to the bathroom floor:

About one generation ago, aliens started kicking our asses confidently and with passion. Humanity responded by assembling a hundred of the most promising soldiers and technicians in the world, whose leadership included two really good scientists, an intelligence agent who selflessly volunteered to be stationed deep underground in an undisclosed location surrounded by humanity’s best security, and the Commander, an individual whose qualifications were mysterious to everybody but the rich unaccountable bureaucrats who confirmed the appointment. The war lasted several glorious months, in which time humanity killed several dozen aliens. Then an extraterrestrial task force found the base, broke in, and slaughtered just about everybody humanity’d deemed qualified to fight back. The soldiers, scientists, and techs ended up dead. The Commander was captured. Bradford Baggins put on his magic ring and slipped out the back gate, tricksy fobbit that he is.

But now, even as aliens have basically perfected the art of global domination, humanity has devised a totally new branding for their resistance campaign. Bradford has recruited to his side a family member of the original technician, the best doctor he could get under the literally apocalyptic circumstances, and about a half-dozen “soldiers” with no confirmed military training or aptitude. Several of these soldiers gave their lives so that Bradford could obtain for his anti-alien resistance the only individual in all of human history who has actually, conclusively, demonstrably failed to lead one: the Commander.

Here's me bombing a statue in Toronto. We have ten guys, and we risked four of them to do this. This was the first mission the Commander approved.
Here's me bombing a statue in Toronto. We have ten guys, and we risked four of them to do this. This was the first mission the Commander approved.

If that sounds bitter, think about it from my perspective. I’ve thrown in with this brand-new powerwashed XCOM project. My boots, armor, kit, and weapon used to belong to men and women who trusted the Commander. Now that we’ve got one hundredth of the resources, and face a much stronger foe, Bradford picked as our leader…the same goddamn Commander. You see how this looks? I’d love to sugar coat it, but I think the Caribbean was nuked, so we’re fresh out. Maybe we can borrow some from our next-door neighbors, the Pan-Continental Alien Hegemony.

Basically I’m giving it two weeks before I eat a laser. If this manuscript ends abruptly, that means my first prediction was right. Take that into account in considering my next one:

We are all completely doomed.

 


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82 thoughts on “Unfit for XCOMmand Intro: Welcome Back, Dumbass

  1. ZekeCool says:

    I’m so EXCITED!!

    Also, as I’m sure you’ll be seeing a lot in a moment: Bradford, not Bradley.

    1. Falterfire says:

      Given that he got both Vahlen and Shen wrong as well, I’m guessing that’s on purpose

      1. Rutskarn says:

        No, unfortunately, it wasn’t deliberate–just a hilariously gross oversight. I’ve had about ten hours of sleep in three days.

        Thanks for getting my back on this one. Fixed!

        1. Flux Casey says:

          I did a Let’s Play of XCOM:EW where we called him Bailey the whole time. Even when he was telling us his name. He is so forgettable, you forget his name while he’s saying it.

          1. Jarenth says:

            In my XCOM:EU Let’s Play I just called him Steve.

            1. Steve C says:

              Why Steve?

              1. MichaelGC says:

                Needed something electrifying & memorable to offset how forgettable he was otherwise.

          2. Coming_Second says:

            I will always and forever know him as Sweater Guy.

          3. ZekeCool says:

            Everybody says this but he’s my favorite…. don’t hurt my Bradford.
            *Hugs Close*

        2. DarthOccam says:

          Just crowd-sourcing the editing…

  2. Falterfire says:

    For the sake of Hist’ry, we have to know: What difficulty are you playing on, and are you running any of the DLC?

    1. Rutskarn says:

      Commander Ironman, no DLC.

      1. IFS says:

        Oof, as much as I liked Xcom2 it did not feel designed with Ironman in mind, good luck!

        1. Tse says:

          Without DLCs, it’s not that bad. The Alien Hunters boss encounters can each come out of nowhere and sink your campaign. Without them, the game is quite predictable.
          Just in case, research mimic beacons as soon as you can and always carry at least one, two if you want to do risky moves.

          1. guy says:

            If this is old advice, be advised that according to a guy who mimic-beaconed his way to a Legendary Ironman victory mimic beacons are still awesome but have been nerfed considerably.

            1. Tse says:

              They are still very good, just a little bit more expensive and impossible to miss.

      2. Sleeping Dragon says:

        Since this seems to be the thread for asking the technical questions. How far are you into the game at this posting? As in, do we know this is going to last a while or if it’s possible you’ll just get wiped in the first few encounters (if you feel you’d rather not spoil too much I’m fine with that as an answer too)? Also, will you be taking name submissions as seems to be the custom of many let’s players?

  3. Riley Miller says:

    Stoked for this new series. I am exceptionally terrible at strategy games so my primary way of enjoying them is reading the accounts of competent people. Good luck!

    1. Rutskarn says:

      You’re going to see a lot of yourself in this playthrough.

      1. Rick C says:

        So…no point in holding off on starting to weep for Humanity’s future?

    2. Sleeping Dragon says:

      Oh yeah, I love these games but I suuuuuck at them. I generally savescum my way to victory on the lowest difficulty setting just to sort of “experience the story”, which I suppose many people would say is not the right to play these games but eh.

      I do love me some let’s plays though, playing vicariously I guess, and this has the added benefit of Rutskarn’s writing. Jarenth’s series was most entertaining and I have high hopes for this one.

  4. Falterfire says:

    Now it’s time to sit and wait for Rachel to reveal that like so many promising XCOM recruits, she spent all that time she should have been on the shooting range practicing how to throw grenades in improbable arcs with impeccable accuracy.

    Really I don’t see why they bring guns at all – they’re just taking up precious space and weight the rookies could be using to haul more grenades.

    1. Decius says:

      Limit one grenade per soldier though. You can have a grenade or change out your ammo, not both.

      1. Echo Tango says:

        Goddamn beaurocrats, man! If they’d just stop counting beans for one minute, they’d know we’d get our investment back by not dying all the damn time to aliens!

        1. Agammamon says:

          Loo, grenades cost $1,499.99 *each* and are one use and storage costs are neglible. Do you know how much a live recruit *eats* everyday? Plus, and I say this in confidence, the pension plan is a bit . . . underfunded. We can’t afford too many of these guys to see retirement. Defined benefits plans are a bitch on the bottom line.

      2. Falterfire says:

        Right, that’s what I’m saying: clearly XCOM should forego purchasing weapons in favor of constructing sophisticated harnesses that will allow rookies to spend less time missing point blank shots and more time doing what they do best: Always hitting exactly where they plan to hit with a grenade, even if it requires a careful ricochet shot off two walls and the ceiling.

  5. Andy_Panthro says:

    Ah, if I didn’t already have far too many games that I was currently attempting to play right now, I’d be firing up XCOM2 for another go.

    Of course I’d never be so foolish as to try an Ironman run though… I fear for the lives of my soldiers too much. Especially when they’ve gone up a few levels.

    I much prefer the setup for this game than the previous one, and it fits better with some of the more game-y systems that really annoyed me in XCOM1.

  6. MichaelGC says:

    Here's the part that's stuck to the bathroom floor

    This is the kind of thing that always makes it well worth any wait.

    Edit:

    we’re fresh out.

    As is that.

    1. silver Harloe says:

      selflessly volunteered to be stationed deep underground in an undisclosed location surrounded by humanity's best security

      as is that

  7. Leipävelho says:

    This is shaping up to be something… beautiful.

  8. John says:

    I miss the Fire & Sword series already, but this is cool too. By strange coincidence, I started playing XCOM for the first time just last week. It’s been interesting. I love the gameplay, but some of the mechanics are not well supported by the story or lore. For example, why can I only bring four dudes with me when it’s time to go fight aliens again? If I can build Interceptors and Firestorms, why can’t I build a second Skyranger? It seems to me that some of these restrictions might actually make more sense if my plucky band of alien-resisters were an underfunded guerilla movement instead of a elite multi-national fighting force.

    1. Decius says:

      So much was sacrificed on the alter of tactical combat.

      I have always wanted a turn-based tactical combat map that also included close air support from the strategic map. Making that game challenging and fun is a lot harder than modding in air strikes to UFO:Enemy Unkown.

    2. Andy_Panthro says:

      The design of XCOM1 was an odd one, and I guess they were stuck a bit with it being a reboot. I didn’t really agree with a lot of those design choices, especially where you have to pick which event to go to and get penalised for those you are forced to miss. In the old X-COM, you’d eventually have multiple bases and multiple squads to cover all possible alien attacks.

      1. guy says:

        I personally never really went for multiple full-fledged bases with their own squads; the logistics necessary to transport around advanced weaponry, armor, and elite soldiers to keep them all combat-effective against big Muton ships always seemed too daunting and I usually just ran a Skyranger/Avenger from my first base and a bunch of bases with interceptors and radar.

        Once I made an exception to that and transferred some experienced troops, plasma, and blaster launchers to a secondary base and promptly sent them after an Ethereal large scout. Thus embarking on a journey of discovery in which I learned who had the lowest psi strength on the team, swiftly followed by being reminded that I gave him a blaster launcher.

        1. Knowing about half the words in that last bit, I can still assume what the end result was.

          I assume the chunks were plentiful?

          1. guy says:

            Almost 50% of the troopers deployed survived turn 1!

        2. Agammamon says:

          You’re not necessarily going to have a lot of bases though – I usually end up with a main base, a workshop base, sometimes a secondary (on the other side of the world) base to send soldiers out and any of the rest just hold interceptors and a security detail.

          “Thus embarking on a journey of discovery in which I learned who had the lowest psi strength on the team, swiftly followed by being reminded that I gave him a blaster launcher.”

          Heh, good times, good times.

        3. Andy_Panthro says:

          Ah, it’s always a painful feeling when you realise that your best soldiers have all the mental fortitude of a jellyfish.

          I’ve never lost one that had a blaster launcher though… I can only imagine the fireworks. I used to like using plenty of explosives on the enemy though, especially in early terror missions.

          It’s funny going back to it more recently too (I replayed it a few years ago start to finish), and the maps are so much smaller than I remember. We used to joke about having to find that last alien that was hidden in some corner, but my memories didn’t quite stack up to the reality.

          1. ehlijen says:

            You may have been thinking of Terror From The Deep?

            It had much larger maps, featuring more tiny corners and even closets and spawning many aliens deliberately into those corners/closets.

            1. Andy_Panthro says:

              I never really played Terror From The Deep. I was a bit disappointed in it, and then Apocalypse came out which was half amazing and half bizarre.

              But my hazy memories definitely made it feel like those terror maps were big deals, bigger in my memory than they ever were in real life!

      2. John says:

        It’s not that I mind having only 4-6 guys per mission. I think things might get tedious if I had to manage too many more. Frankly, it’s hard enough finding cover for six guys as it is. I don’t even mind the way abduction missions work. I do sort of dread the rising panic levels in the countries that I can’t help, but I’m pretty sure that means the mechanic is working as intended. If it were always possible to take every mission, there wouldn’t be much tension–heck, there might be no tension at all–in the strategic layer. I think that there need to be some missions you can’t take and consequences for not taking those missions, at least in the early game.

        1. Echo Tango says:

          XCOM 2 specifically added choose-one-of-three missions into the game, along with consequences for what you choose. There’s also (IIRC), missions where you can choose to do them or not do them, which just increment a threat meter, similar to XCOM (2012)…XCOM 1…whatever we have to call it now. I guess technically the old game was X-COM.

          1. Nick says:

            I feel like the XCOM2 version works a lot better though. In 1, it’s a continual reminder that the only reason you can’t deploy to all of these sites is the baffling tactical refusal to build more than one skyranger or employ more than 10 soldiers (though it does do well in giving a sense of impending doom as panic continues to rise)

            In XCOM2, you’re a desperate militia trying to get whatever you can done. So the fact that you can only pull off one guerilla assault a month and have to choose one target of three, and the aliens accomplish the other two things they were trying to do makes sense given they have literally the resources of the planet at their disposal.

            1. Andy_Panthro says:

              This is it, exactly. In XCOM1 it felt forced, it XCOM2 it just feels more appropriate. The mechanics are broadly the same but they just feel better in 2.

  9. Nelly says:

    Homer? Homer! Surely if one is Historying one is Herodotusing

    I realise this is a niche piece of pedantry. I am comfortable with this.

    Go XCOM!

    1. Rutskarn says:

      Fuck’s sake, you’re right.

      Not enough sleep, people.

      1. MarcusGC says:

        It’s funny how it’s only the proper names which went a-wobble. And indeed it was all of the proper names, not counting Rachel’s own (although I suppose there was a certain degree of intrinsic flexibility there) and ‘the Commander,’ which is a sort of honorary proper name although not really.

        1. MeerkatGC says:

          Actually I guess ‘Caribbean’ is a proper name. And ‘Pan Continental Alien Hegemony.’ So just the people.

        2. Agammamon says:

          The narrator was originally intended to be Robert and a dude.

      2. Jack V says:

        I like the version edited with suggestions from the comments though!

  10. Philadelphus says:

    Oo, I’m excited! I’ve enjoyed your past work Rutskarn, despite never having played any of the games involved, but I enjoyed playing XCOM 2 and look forward to seeing you play it! Well, seeing you write about playing it, anyway, that’s more interesting than watching it being played most of the time.

  11. Spammy says:

    Maybe Bradford has actually touched the Dark Knowledge and has gained the knowledge of all incarnations of himself across all realities and therefore he is aware of the separate timeline where the Commander leads XCOM to victory. And maybe the aliens have also touched the Dark Knowledge and that’s why they were so obsessed with using the Commander to make their troopers better.

    1. Agammamon says:

      They just got confused as to which version they found? ‘Cause this version ain’t so hot.

  12. Bespectacled Gentleman says:

    I have never played any XCOM or turn-based strategy in this style… But again, Rutskarn, I must commend an perfectly character-establishing snarky opening. Let’s hope this one doesn’t peter out quite so quickly as Brigand McMercenary did…

  13. Joe Informatico says:

    You have to bomb a statue in Toronto? I have just the song.

  14. Da Mage says:

    XCOM 2?!? Nice.

    I loved this game so much I edited together a full playthrough with mission highlights/cutscenes to about 2 hours. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NLtt0Dfk7g

    I am really looking forward to reading this, one of my favorite series.

  15. Content Consumer says:

    I sense a certain pessimism here. Don’t despair, for you also have one other resource the aliens don’t – several rooms chock-full of permanently burning debris!

  16. Miguk says:

    I’m playing this right now. Please, please say something about the bizarre MMO-style way that combat works. You’re not in an actual battle against an opponent who is trying to win. You’re wandering into groups of enemies who get mad at you when you’re close to them. If you run into the groups one by one then you defeat them in detail with no casualties. If you accidentally run into two at a time, you’re guaranteed to lose.

    Why do we have this problem that didn’t exist 20 years ago? Is it because the AI sucks even more now?

    1. Zak McKracken says:

      To be fair, lots of action movies have the same problem (that the enemies always attack one at a time, or a few at a time).

      So … maybe movie AI is also not good?

    2. Coming_Second says:

      In fairness, the aliens are generally patrolling around whatever the objective is. They don’t know you’re there at first, that’s the whole point of the concealment mechanic.

      A *lot* of successful XCom strategy revolves around not activating pods before you’re ready to deal with them, that definitely is true, but it’s not a success/fail state by any means. Always remember to bring flashbangs, kids.

      1. Miguk says:

        Concealment is great. I just don’t like how you have to creep up on the next pod and not accidentally trigger them at the wrong moment. It feels very gamey.

        I haven’t tried the flashbang yet so maybe that’s part of my problem.

    3. Merlin says:

      Why do we have this problem that didn't exist 20 years ago? Is it because the AI sucks even more now?

      I take it to be conflicting desires to (A) maintain the lethality that X-COM classic was known for while (B) feeling accessibly “fair” to a hypothetically average player. To the latter point, that means having an opportunity to respond to enemies rather than just stumbling blindly through a minefield of overwatch shots. The “problem”, as you allude to, is that it means you need to be really good about sweeping individual pods and eliminating them before they get a shot off, because any of them getting a turn to act could spell disaster. (Ironically, the hypothetically average player tends to mistake these generous concessions for the aliens “cheating” to get “free turns”.)

      It makes it a bit of an odd duck in the TBS space compared to the spacing games of Fire Emblem, the attrition of Banner Saga, the turn manipulation of Final Fantasy Tactics, and so on, but it works for what it is.

      1. Miguk says:

        In the original X-Com your guys could get killed at any moment by a single shot, but you had 8-12 of them. I wish they would tone down the lethality a bit when the squads are only 4-6. Losing one guy is too big of a blow so you can’t recover from a mistake like activating 2 pods at once.

    4. guy says:

      The original Xcom also just had randomly scattered enemies who got mad when you got close to them, until turn 20 when they all got mad.

      Personally, I don’t inherently mind the pods, but they have some weird and irritating side-effects from how activating them on the alien turn uses up their turn but if they activate on your turn they get to move and then act on the incoming alien turn.

      1. Miguk says:

        The original Xcom also just had randomly scattered enemies who got mad when you got close to them, until turn 20 when they all got mad.

        I guess that’s true. Maybe what I’m missing about the old one is that most of the time the aliens were out of sight. You only got fleeting glimpses of what they were actually doing so the seemed smarter than they really were.

    5. Philadelphus says:

      I would say that it’s on purpose to give the player a chance. I mean, imagine a more “realistic” AI: as soon as you break concealment and wipe out the first pod, all the other ones dig in and take up cover positions facing the direction the sounds of gunfire and explosions are coming from and do nothing but overwatch for the rest of mission, leading to any of your troops advancing being cut down in a withering barrage of fire.

      It’s like the base defense mission in XCOM: if you know where the aliens are advancing from, killing them with overwatch fire as they advance is both simple and effective.

      1. Miguk says:

        I mean, imagine a more “realistic” AI: as soon as you break concealment and wipe out the first pod, all the other ones dig in and take up cover positions facing the direction the sounds of gunfire and explosions are coming from and do nothing but overwatch for the rest of mission

        That could still be a fun game about trench warfare if they gave you more grenades, but I admit it wouldn’t be X-Com anymore.

  17. Sleeping Dragon says:

    As a completely not sponsored post in case this makes someone really want to play the game Xcom 2 (no DLCs) is the flagship game for February’s Humble Monthly. For those who don’t know how this works you pay 12$, you get the revealed game (in this case Xcom 2) immediately and several other “mystery games” that you only get when the bundle is actually launched on the first Friday of the month (in this case the 3rd of February). I’d say it’s a fairly attractive pricetag for the game alone and I’ve generally been pleased with the bundles, though I do have a very eclectic taste in games, at worst you can probably find some friends to take the unwanted keys off your hands.

    Just be sure to cancel your subscription if you’re not interested in future bundles, Afaik they autocharge you about 10 days before the end of the month so if you’re not interested in future bundles you should be fine as long as you do it before mid-Februrary, but it’s best to do so immediately after paying so you don’t forget.

    1. Zak McKracken says:

      Hmm… are those DRM’d games? Steam keys?
      So far I’ve only got an Indie Bundle from them where Steam was optional (where applicable) and you could just download, backup and install as you wanted. For most other bundles, they indicate what the DRM/Platform status is but in this case I see nothing…

      1. Sleeping Dragon says:

        Primarily Steam keys, downloads are available but only for some titles, sometimes it’s pretty much the whole bundle, sometimes it’s only a game or two (and they have these titles called humble originals that are not available on Steam and have to be downoaded). I assume they provide downloads when they can but probably many devs/publishers don’t want to have drm free copies of their games floating around. Xcom 2 is decidedly not available for download (what do store copies of the game use for DRM anyway? Isn’t it Steam no matter what?)

        So yeah, if you’re not on Steam I wouldn’t risk the bundles.

  18. ehlijen says:

    Wooo! XCOM! And Rutskarn’s writing!
    I’m really looking forward to this wonderful combo!

  19. Coming_Second says:

    Definitely looking forward to this. Even unmodded, XCom 2 is a great, sometimes sadistically unfair game with a spectacularly dreadful story. Perfect D20 material.

  20. Merlin says:

    Several of these soldiers gave their lives so that Bradford could obtain for his anti-alien resistance the only individual in all of human history who has actually, conclusively, demonstrably failed to lead one: the Commander.

    If that sounds bitter, think about it from my perspective. I've thrown in with this brand-new powerwashed XCOM project. My boots, armor, kit, and weapon used to belong to men and women who trusted the Commander. Now that we've got one hundredth of the resources, and face a much stronger foe, Bradford picked as our leader…the same goddamn Commander. You see how this looks?

    It looks like we’re following Private Skip Goddang Bayless through battle, with takes as terrible as this!

    I kinda hope that we get a new narrator for every post, actually.

  21. Ah, the XCOM(1) game… if it was sold as inspired by or just part of the genre, I would’ve said: nice game. Sold as the update of the original, though, there’s a number of changes and deviations from the original I can accept and be happy with as valid design choices and approve it as that remake, like the only one base. However, the one thing I can’t accept that ruined it was the combat. Before we had a simulation of squad combat in form of turn based strategy, now all simulation has been canned to make a combat system that is exactly the Fire Emblem combat. It is very disappointing how as simulation the 1995 game is so much better. The modern is more arcade.

    In X-COM with a soldier firing a rifle: Based on soldier’s stats, game calculates chances of it going exactly to the square you aim at/enemy on it. If it’s not there, trajectory of shot is determined randomly and then followed by whatever consequence. As a result you have: friendly fire, a shot could end killing a squad mate, or it might miss the alien you aimed for but then hit a different alien. It also happens that if your soldier is right in the next square to the alien with nothing in between, even if the prompt says 50% chance of hit, it’s actually the 99% chance it should be when your rifle’s muzzle is resting on the alien’s head. If the alien is behind cover, the cover in between alien and your guy, the shot will actually have the rational chances of hitting the cover instead. Also you could have a soldier see an alien in a place and someone else with line of fire but too far to see him shoot towards him (in here it likely missed some proper penalty for not being actually seen by the soldier).

    In XCOM with a soldier firing the rifle: Based on soldier’s stats he’ll have a chance to hit, based on target square terrain type the enemy on it will have certain bonuses to reduce that chance to hit. All hard coded. Calculation is made and the shot will either hit the alien or miss, triggering miss animation to its square. There is no friendly fire. There is no missing the alien aimed at to hit a different one. There is no either auto shooting to kill the alien you aimed at with the first shot and the next shot killing the one right behind him. If there is cover in the square, it will apply to shoots from any direction not opposite to the cover. If your soldier is right beside the alien with the gun’s muzzle resting in his head and the prompt says he has a 30% to hit because the cover is at the side and not the opposite, he really has a 30% chance to hit. If one of your soldiers sees an alien that another doesn’t see but is in line of sight, then he can’t tell the other soldier and the other soldier can’t shoot him (unless he’s an sniper and has the skill that allows him, then without penalty for not seeing him himself). There is friendly fire in XCOM1, but only with explosive weapons.

    Now, the choice to make combat a Fire Emblem style is not something that is wrong to have in a turn based strategy game about fighting an alien invasion. And if it was just one game of the genre I would’ve liked it. But when it’s meant to be the update to X-COM, it just doesn’t work for me. A combat side aiming for simulation feeling was an integral part of playing X-COM, making that essential change to the philosophy of combat breaks it as an X-COM update for me. It makes it feel a heavy “downdate”. That makes me say XCOM was a crappy game. Though judged on its own merits and separate from X-COM it’s not crappy at all. Had there been refunds in Steam back then, I would’ve requested one.

      1. Andy_Panthro says:

        I can recommend Xenonauts, especially for those who much prefer X-COM to XCOM. It’s as close to a bigger, better version of X-COM as I could ask for really (although I don’t like the air-to-air combat, but then I didn’t like that in XCOM either).

        Also worth checking out the X-COM mod X-Piratez, if you want an expanded and modded X-COM experience: http://openxcom.org/forum/index.php/board,18.0.html

        1. ehlijen says:

          If you don’t mind ‘early access’ish games, UFO: Alien Invasion is also worth a try if you enjoyed the orignal X-COM more than the new games. It’s a freeware fan project under continuous development, but quite playable last time I checked (a year ago?).

          http://ufoai.org/wiki/News

          Warning: No saving during missions (none of the developers wanted that enough to implement it last I checked).

  22. Corsair says:

    Bradford Baggins put on his magic ring and slipped out the back gate, tricksy fobbit that he is.

    This might be my favorite sentence ever written.

    1. Philadelphus says:

      That was pretty great, agreed.

  23. HiEv says:

    If anyone is interested in an XCOM 2 playthrough, ChristopherOdd’s YouTube channel has a couple of good ones. I’d recommend season 1 (vanilla), 2 (modded), or especially season 4 (modded + DLC with a truly funny opening). Season 3 he tweaked the mods difficulty up a bit too high, so that one wasn’t so great. He also just started season 5 a few days ago where he’s trading off turns with another YouTuber.

    I usually watch these while I’m eating dinner, so they’re pretty enjoyable. Here’s a link for anyone interested:

    ChristopherOdd’s YouTube Channel

    That said, after watching all of that I’m really excited to see Rutskarn’s take on the game.

  24. PatPatrick says:

    I pointed at this “Loser-Commander” delirium on the third day after the release of X-Com 2.

    https://forums.2k.com/showthread.php?4205956-Why-do-they-rescu%26%231077%3B-loser-commander

    I still don’t understand, how nonsense like this one keep showing up in video games and movies scripts. I probably must get in game dev, to solve this mystery.

    1. Daemian Lucifer says:

      At least video games have the excuse of often making their story after the gameplay and the world are mostly made,so they are having rigid constraints,which dont allow much wiggle room.Also,every change in the game may require a rather hasty change in the story.So youll end up with having a mess more often than something coherent.

      Movies…ehh,who knows.

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