X-COM • Hacker News Board

Re: X-COM

#151

Post by nottorp » Tue, Sep 22, 2020, 1:05 PM UTC

eru wrote: post #63

systemvoltage wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I find this emotional attachment between a real human and a fictitious entity absolutely fascinating, unsettling, beautiful and creepy at the same time. This is pure fiction, generated by some C++ code written in Visual Studio and yet, we are attached to it like a real human. Same thing with fiction books. It’s just words being consumed by the brain but emotional impact is real. Then I question, isn’t all human to hu…

Slight nitpick: I am fairly sure the original X-COM was not written in C++ in Visual Studio. No clue about the actual language it was written in, probably C or assembly. C++ is unlikely but possible. But I am rather sure that the game was not written with Visual Studio. Of course, your point still stands. As an addition to go even further back in time, I would add stories that people just tell to each other. It's a g…

If I remember well, it should have been Watcom C, like most DOS games that wanted to go beyond 640 kb.

The two separate executables (it had one for the geoscape and one for the tactical battles) displayed the DOS4GW banner at startup if i remember well.

Re: X-COM

#152

Post by chris_st » Tue, Sep 22, 2020, 1:05 PM UTC

wcoenen wrote: post #130

chris_st wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> and keep the squad alive long enough to level up. "Hey rookie, go look around that corner and see what's there!" was one of my main techniques for keeping the leveled-up guys safe... sorry new guy :-)

And make sure not to give them the good armor, that stuff doesn't come cheap.

And just the cheapest revolver. They're not going to hit anything anyway...

Re: X-COM

#153

Post by Fifer82 » Tue, Sep 22, 2020, 1:05 PM UTC

It is somewhat off-topic, people have already covered anything I could add about this gem.

Something similar (as far as turned based game) which I enjoyed was Silent Storm. It didn't have the base building side but it had physics.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silent_Storm

Re: X-COM

#154

Post by devonkim » Tue, Sep 22, 2020, 1:14 PM UTC

JohnBooty wrote: post #92

zenojevski wrote: post #60

Even greater than UFO Defense, in my opinion, was its expansion - Terror From the Deep . It truly taught me that our oceans are so close, yet much farther than outer space can ever be. Looking at that lone blue globe in space always makes me feel so insignificant, so meaningless. Space is vast, but empty, and sterile. Down the abyss, not even light can shine to bless and purify. The greatest contributor to that is ce…

As a diehard fan of the series, I'm shocked! TFTD was such a major letdown to me after the predecessor, and I believe even Mr. Gollop doesn't have a high opinion of it. I'm also shocked to see the author of the linked article laud it as better than the original. I've honestly not heard that expressed by other XCOM fans. It, bizarrely, leans heavily into its predecessor's flaws instead of fixing them or at least steer…

The best video I saw for XCOM TFTD was this strategy guide for terror cruise ship attacks

https://youtu.be/WziO005uM3g

The problem with TFTD was that it crossed the time-reward curve threshold for many missions. The feedback that led to TFTD being so difficult was also related to the bug in the original that screwed up difficulty even if you played on Superhuman. So many players got the impression that XCOM was too easy and asked for a harder game

Re: X-COM

#155

Post by the_af » Tue, Sep 22, 2020, 1:19 PM UTC

JohnBooty wrote: post #92

zenojevski wrote: post #60

Even greater than UFO Defense, in my opinion, was its expansion - Terror From the Deep . It truly taught me that our oceans are so close, yet much farther than outer space can ever be. Looking at that lone blue globe in space always makes me feel so insignificant, so meaningless. Space is vast, but empty, and sterile. Down the abyss, not even light can shine to bless and purify. The greatest contributor to that is ce…

As a diehard fan of the series, I'm shocked! TFTD was such a major letdown to me after the predecessor, and I believe even Mr. Gollop doesn't have a high opinion of it. I'm also shocked to see the author of the linked article laud it as better than the original. I've honestly not heard that expressed by other XCOM fans. It, bizarrely, leans heavily into its predecessor's flaws instead of fixing them or at least steer…

> some weapons only work underwater, some only work in air! adding to the already mind-numbing micromanagement of equipment, not to mention the punishing difficulty

This is Terror from the Deep's biggest fail, in my opinion. Environment specific weapons added nothing to the game but more micromanagement.

If I remember correctly, TftD was bugged as hell, too.

I absolutely love the original X-COM and think it's one of the best -- if not THE best -- games from my youth.

Re: X-COM

#156

Post by the_af » Tue, Sep 22, 2020, 1:21 PM UTC

zenojevski wrote: post #105

JohnBooty wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I know what you mean. So many things are like that. =) But I'd really like to hear the case in favor of TFTD. I might go so far as to call it objectively worse!

Of course it's a matter of personal taste. But disclaimer, TFTD was indeed my first entry to the series. And yes, I hate the ship as well. The atmosphere is absolutely terrifying. It really made me clutch for the life of my soldiers as if it was mine. It was unfair, but not without reason, as even today our submarine warfare would pale against T'Leth. So close yet so powerless. The superb work on the graphics brings…

> The atmosphere is absolutely terrifying. It really made me clutch for the life of my soldiers as if it was mine. It was unfair, but not without reason

I feel that way about the original X-COM ;)

TFTD crossed the line into unfair, in my opinion. And buggy, too!

Re: X-COM

#157

Post by kevinmchugh » Tue, Sep 22, 2020, 1:22 PM UTC

JohnBooty wrote: post #92

zenojevski wrote: post #60

Even greater than UFO Defense, in my opinion, was its expansion - Terror From the Deep . It truly taught me that our oceans are so close, yet much farther than outer space can ever be. Looking at that lone blue globe in space always makes me feel so insignificant, so meaningless. Space is vast, but empty, and sterile. Down the abyss, not even light can shine to bless and purify. The greatest contributor to that is ce…

As a diehard fan of the series, I'm shocked! TFTD was such a major letdown to me after the predecessor, and I believe even Mr. Gollop doesn't have a high opinion of it. I'm also shocked to see the author of the linked article laud it as better than the original. I've honestly not heard that expressed by other XCOM fans. It, bizarrely, leans heavily into its predecessor's flaws instead of fixing them or at least steer…

I don't think Jimmy Maher, author of the linked article, said he preferred TFTD.

"Unfortunately, Terror from the Deep does little to correct the original’s problems; if anything, it makes them worse. Most notably, it’s an even more difficult game than its predecessor, a decision that’s hard to understand on any level. Was anyone really complaining that X-COM was too easy? All in all, Terror from the Deep is exactly the unimaginative quickie sequel which the Gollops weren’t excited about having to make.

Nevertheless, it’s arguably the best of the _post-original_, pre-reboot generation of X-COM games."

Emphasis added

Re: X-COM

#158

Post by johnatwork » Tue, Sep 22, 2020, 1:23 PM UTC

One of the top 5 games that I've ever played. I'm not a greatly skilled gamer, and this game is difficult but was somehow able to make it enjoyable.

Enough discoveries and surprises to keep you pressing on, it did a lot of things well, from load outs to inventory managements, to keeping countries happy. I can't wait to have some free time to play it again.

Re: X-COM

#159

Post by the_af » Tue, Sep 22, 2020, 1:25 PM UTC

eru wrote: post #55

kiksy wrote: post #35

A solid article. I'd disagree with the "single play through" and "pointless starting weapons" comments though. For me it was multiple play throughs learning about what worked and what didn't. This for me was actually a thing that kept me coming back. Trying out new tactics, base locations and equipment to see what worked. All the while trying to balance the budget and keep the squad alive long enough to level up. A t…

If you want to play the classic X-COM today, make sure to grab the latest community patches. I really liked the old X-COM games and had anticipated that I would not like the reboot very much. However, while I wouldn't want to miss the originals for the reboot, the reboots are done very solidly and in most instances I even find myself agreeing with the streamlining the new authors chose. If you want a tactical squad-l…

> However, while I wouldn't want to miss the originals for the reboot, the reboots are done very solidly

Much like you, I'm a diehard X-COM fan and anticipated the XCOM reboot wouldn't please me, and again like you I was pleasantly surprised.

I think the biggest improvement is the streamlining of TUs from the original (which was always a bit messy) into the actions of the reboot.

> In contrast, I always felt the serialising that X-COM enforced to be an artificial limitation.

I disagree about this. I like turn-based games; they feel more cerebral and less twitchy than RTS'es. I can play XCOM while eating a sandwich or drinking coffee, while I can't play an RTS that way.

Re: X-COM

#160

Post by cainxinth » Tue, Sep 22, 2020, 1:27 PM UTC

I laughed at the part about how on the first playthrough the game was inscrutable with a crazy steep learning curve.

Many games were like that back then. Which is why there was also such a big market for guide books. I think I still have my dogeared copy of the Prima Guide to X-Com somewhere.