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[Woo-Fu]

I think people might be underestimating the cost to port to and then support on consoles, particularly with a team that seems to want to stay small.

Oh, and these turn limits are annoying as fuck when you've got 4 rookies that somehow have to kill/avoid 4 pods and manage an objective, particularly when flank shots on enemies don't even hit much less kill on a regular basis.

 

[Noaloha]

I'm firmly in the pro-camp for the turn-limits as I genuinely find the pressure it places on those missions, the options it forces you to discard, enjoyable, but I ask this with all due respect for your prefs: is it the base inclusion of those turn-limits which you're disliking, or just their balance implementation?

 

[Trickster]

What's the point of choosing armor color if the entire squad just gets a default color when they go on missions?

 

[CecilRousso]

What's the point of choosing armor color if the entire squad just gets a default color when they go on missions?

They don't?

At least it isn't happened for me in any mission.

 

[TC McQueen]

I'm firmly in the pro-camp for the turn-limits as I genuinely find the pressure it places on those missions, the options it forces you to discard, enjoyable, but I ask this with all due respect for your prefs: is it the base inclusion of those turn-limits which you're disliking, or just their balance implementation?

Personally, I'm okay with the turn limits being there, but I feel they might be too short on the VIP extractions, since the game loves front loading the enemies and populating the maps with buildings you might have to scale. Sure, you can sneak through a lot of them, but once you engage enemies, your pace of advance tanks and if you're not lucky enough to have gotten close to the VIP, you could lose the mission.

 

[Woo-Fu]

I'm firmly in the pro-camp for the turn-limits as I genuinely find the pressure it places on those missions, the options it forces you to discard, enjoyable, but I ask this with all due respect for your prefs: is it the base inclusion of those turn-limits which you're disliking, or just their balance implementation?

Both. I dislike how it drastically reduces the approaches to a mission and I think in terms of balance the early ones at least are too tight.

All kinds of interesting engagements could occur with the various buildings/terrain but most of them won't because you have to skip all of those interesting positions and go straight to the objective.

Should be just another setting that way everybody can have the experience they want.

 

[Klyka]

What's the point of choosing armor color if the entire squad just gets a default color when they go on missions?

?

All my guys have different armor color, always.

 

[vpance]

Got 7 misses in a row at 46% each. That's 1.7% chance in happening. lol

 

[Crackbone]

I'm firmly in the pro-camp for the turn-limits as I genuinely find the pressure it places on those missions, the options it forces you to discard, enjoyable, but I ask this with all due respect for your prefs: is it the base inclusion of those turn-limits which you're disliking, or just their balance implementation?

I think there's a subset of players that genuinely liked the move 4-5 tiles and overwatch repeatedly. I'm certainly not one of them, but judging by the numerous forums and such i've been reading related to XCOM of late, it seems that's the case.

It does make the game more difficult if that's your line of thinking. It also makes the game much more fun for me personally. I like the risk, I like having to make a decision on those missions that basically mean, "Do I complete this objective and sacrifice 1 or 2 operatives, or do I extract and save them and potentially put the entire game at risk."

The turns do put pressure on you to make decisions. Each shot counts, each move counts and each decision counts.

 

[Falk]

I'm firmly in the pro-camp for the turn-limits as I genuinely find the pressure it places on those missions, the options it forces you to discard, enjoyable, but I ask this with all due respect for your prefs: is it the base inclusion of those turn-limits which you're disliking, or just their balance implementation?

Having played this for a couple of days now I'm genuinely surprised that people find turn limits a bigger issue than the Avatar counter etc. since that's essentially the same 'forcing you to play the game a certain way' on the Geoscape/meta level.

I guess one had a lot more press coverage/internet mindshare? Maybe it's just not apparent until you've gone through about a dozen missions, whereas turn limits smack people in the face at the very latest on the first Scientist/VIP mission? I'm thinking that taking issue with Avatar is going to be a lot more common as we go from days into weeks after game launch.

 

[Tworak]

yeah, the avatar counter is way worse than the mission round limit. imo.

 

[Trickster]

They don't?

At least it isn't happened for me in any mission.

Hmm, yeah, think I might have been wrong. I just thought they all looked the same when they exited the aircraft on this mission. Might have been because it's a night mission with low light, and the metallic bits on the armor made them look similar *shrug*

Looking carefully I can see that they do have different colors, just much less noticable on this mission than when I was customizing them in the ship.

 

[Alur]

as far as I know you get the controller at a discount if you already own the game
I might bite, actually if it's a conspiracy, it's one I can make a profit off so I welcome it
I won't even use the controller for X-Com

Controller and controller bundle still show at full price for me =/

 

[Noaloha]

I mean, I don't see much of a distinction between a hard turn-limit due to some rigged explosive and the Terror missions from EU or the Retaliation missions. They constrict you in similar ways, just from very different angles. On the one hand, I like that it's a neat abstraction of occasionally, and thematically, forcing you onto the back foot (edit: poor choice of words; I mean in the 'must react rather than proact' sense) ; on the other hand, I also like how it feels consistent with the strategy layer's obvious restriction of "you can't do everything you want to do."

I used the 'two hands' analogy incorrectly there, apologies. I like both hands.

 

[GwyndolinCinder]

First encounter with the "sandman" was interesting, and by interesting i mean i desperately tried to save my squad whilst letting all the civilians die.

 

[RandomSeed]

I'm firmly in the pro-camp for the turn-limits as I genuinely find the pressure it places on those missions, the options it forces you to discard, enjoyable, but I ask this with all due respect for your prefs: is it the base inclusion of those turn-limits which you're disliking, or just their balance implementation?

Firaxis balance

XCOM EW meld - Have a wide open map with tons of possibilities to set up attacks, flanks, whatever. Nah, rather than going where I really would like to, I'll go straight for this meld.

Short timers in XCOM 2 can promote the same kinda of "open, but not really" gameplay IMO. Timers that force you to advance, but not make you feel like you need to sprint are fine to me. Short timers for optional objectives would have also been fine to me. Some extra little reward if you want to see how fast you can go.

Following up on what the other poster said, the Avatar counter also seems to be the same old satellite rush that priorities a certain type of play. Open, but not really. All these spots to build facilities, different research paths, but you'd better do this first or your game will be fucked later on. I may just restart on veteran difficulty and steamroll my way through things, but early "mistakes" on commander are starting to catch up with me now.

I get they want a sense of danger and to make it feel like you're on the ropes, but it's a turn-based game. This is going to attract a certain type of gamer.

Still really enjoy the game! And XCOM:EW is one of my favorites of all time.

 

[Noaloha]

One thing I will say is that every facet of the game seems to say to me "this is a game designed such that you aren't expected to succeed on playthroughs 1 through 3."

 

[Durrzerker]

So I never had a fucking chance on my first encounter with a Faceless:


http://www.twitch.tv/disastersaurus/v/41361620

I guess I should have sent my first one to check the civs, or what?

 

[patapuf]

One thing I will say is that every facet of the game seems to say to me "this is a game designed such that you aren't expected to succeed on playthroughs 1 through 3."

I don't think you are supposed to be able to beat commander without being at least somewhat familiar with the systems. That's cool for me.

And i do feel you have enough leeway on the overmap on veteran. You can get what you need, you just can't grind.

So I never had a fucking chance on my first encounter with a Faceless:


http://www.twitch.tv/disastersaurus/v/41361620

I guess I should have sent my first one to check the civs, or what?

Nah, i'd guess the first one is supposed to fuck you over since you don't see it coming. Just like all other aliens can surprise you if you don't know what they can do. Mutons are straight forward but most others have abilities that can cost you soldiers if you don't know their coming.

 

[AndyMoogle]

A simple mission turned into a bloodbath and I might end up losing the war because of it. All because I got overconfident. I love it.

Regarding the discussion about controller support. Yeah, it's silly that it's not in and it sucks for those of you who have to spend more money to get it. But the Steam Controller is definitely worth the money. It's great for this game and it's definitely better than a regular controller.

 

[Lupercal]

Is there a troubleshoot faq somewhere ? Can't even start the game apparently, scouring the steam forums at the moment.

 

[Corpekata]

So I never had a fucking chance on my first encounter with a Faceless:


http://www.twitch.tv/disastersaurus/v/41361620

I guess I should have sent my first one to check the civs, or what?

Maybe, though you'd have to dash and leave one in direct danger if you didn't kill it. I'd say the big lesson would be to not clump your groups up so much.

 

[Noaloha]

I don't think you are supposed to be able to beat commander without being at least somewhat familiar with the systems. That's cool for me.

And i do feel you have enough leeway on the overmap on veteran. You can get what you need, you just can't grind.

I hope so. I'm Iron Vet-ing it, and playing very loosely atm, and it's fun to feel a weight to every unknown. I want that weight to persist even when it's a known. Y'know? I guess the sentiment that I'm flailing at is that the game so far feels like a (welcome) attempt at designing an XCOM which emphasises moment to moment enjoyment, with overall victory then just being a sum of experience. Similar in many ways to boardgames like Pandemic or Forbidden Desert, which are brutal but fun. And, deliciously satisfying once you, several games down the line, get close to 'solving' them.

 

[peakish]

I died. I lost. Advent won.

Was too far behind on tech and resources after one squad wipe and two narrow successes, never managed to catch back up.

Will the third time be the charm? Probably not, but I'll try.

 

[Palmer_v1]

This is the beginning of May. I'm working on getting to my first Alien Facility. I feel like I'm doing alright, but that Avatar bar is always worrisome.

Ironman Veteran.

For anyone having Mech issues, I'll just say that my second specialist has been pretty crucial.

 

[deoee]

This is the beginning of May. I'm working on getting to my first Alien Facility. I feel like I'm doing alright, but that Avatar bar is always worrisome.

Ironman Veteran.

For anyone having Mech issues, I'll just say that my second specialist has been pretty crucial.

My team after the first Blacksite mission + one civilian mission afterwards on veteran:

This game is brutal...

 

[Shake Appeal]

That moment when you realize you should have built Resistance Comms weeks ago.

 

[deoee]

That moment when you realize you should have built Resistance Comms weeks ago.

Same thing happened to me right now. Sucks so much

 

[Klyka]

That Moment when you realize the supply number on Alien debris is not how much it costs to remove, but how much you get from it *facepalm*

I wasted WEEKS of not building rooms because of it.

dead campaign, dead earth

 

[Shake Appeal]

Same thing happened to me right now. Sucks so much

I actually blame being Engineer-constrained for the first month or two. I could not find a second one anywhere. Black Market, HQ, missions, nowhere.

Oh well. Time to decide whether to start a new Commander Ironman run or pick up my (boring) Veteran Ironman run. Not sure I want to replay those first few months again right now.

 

[Panda Rin]

What's everyone selling at the black market? I'm hesitant on selling anything at the moment, but wouldn't hurt to grab some extra supps.

 

[BeesEight]

I don't think you are supposed to be able to beat commander without being at least somewhat familiar with the systems. That's cool for me.

Yeah, I'm with you on this. I mean, it says so right on the difficulty when you select it.

I tried my first run on Commander. The fights were fine but I got destroyed through base building and the world map. Going to give it a go on Veteran. So far, I find the changes more interesting than not. And turn counters feel like a net benefit. I ran into a fair share of missions without counters and the slow overwatch crawl really isn't that dynamic. This one feels much better with a mix of tactics and gameplay between missions. EW basically had to rely on council missions to break up the monotony of the rest of the battles.

And MELD, while a fun mechanic, wasn't really a great solution in EW since you could (and usually did on higher difficulties) ignore them if you couldn't grab them immediately since the reward wasn't worth giving up control of pod activations. I like the counters better because it forces the question of whether I want to take out the first pod and risk running out of turns for the mission or try and risk getting spotted or surrounded later but rush forward in stealth.

Hinging mission success on aggression seems to be the better approach than allowing players to basically just ignore "bonus rewards" since they probably will when given the choice.

What's everyone selling at the black market? I'm hesitant on selling anything at the moment, but wouldn't hurt to grab some extra supps.

I only sold what the Black Market gave a good deal on at first. Didn't get very far though so I'm not sure how important materials are in later researches. That said, 33 space bucks for a tier 0 stock is fantastic.

 

[Lingitiz]

Regarding the op title.. Isn't the cheer "B-E aggressive" and not two be's?

 

[manfestival]

I am having a really hard time deciding with missions to take. I am slightly overwhelmed here!

 

[Noaloha]

I am having a really hard time deciding with missions to take. I am slightly overwhelmed here!

That's the intent, I think.

 

[red731]

What's everyone selling at the black market? I'm hesitant on selling anything at the moment, but wouldn't hurt to grab some extra supps.

I am selling what the dealer wants the most - you can check it on the buy/sell page on the right side in the text field.

 

[TheLostBigBoss]

Ok, do the aliens have wall hacks or something?

 

[vpance]

So I researched the first experimental grenade, but there's no way to build more? I only got 1x of them when I go to loadout.

Edit: just read up on PG. So it's a randomized loot maker, interesting.

 

[Klyka]

Ok, do the aliens have wall hacks or something?

Sneks can grab you through walls. It's ridic

 

[Corpekata]

So I researched the first experimental grenade, but there's no way to build more? I only got 1x of them when I go to loadout.

Have to do it again IIRC, though it can produce a different grenade type too, and you can lose the grenade if they die and you don't evac the corpse.

 

[Kaffeemann]

Damn, normal is brutal. Having trouble beating the second mission already.

Hope the rest of game doesn't require me to memorize enemy locations and reload, throwing shit like

Spoiler

mind control and re-animation

on the second mission is pretty harsh.

edit: Fucking hell, failed again. How the crap am I supposed to deal with

Spoiler

losing one guy to mind control and 1-2 zombies

? It seems I have to plan ahead for that one enemy I now know is there :/

Try to kill the Sectoids first. Once a Sectoid dies, ask of his zombies die and mind controlled soldiers are freed.

 

[TheLostBigBoss]

Not even snakes, just a ton of shots are getting through walls and hitting guys on angles I didn't think possible.

Also, when I'm doing a mission, once I get the hack objective do I have to kill everyone? Will the mission "fail" if I bug out and leave with skyranger? I see it as an objective to kill all targets, but that's proving to be rather difficult.

I feel like as a guerilla force I should be allowed to do grab and go's without having to take on such superior forces.

 

[manfestival]

That's the intent, I think.

Of course it is but it sure is harder for me since I usually play linear games because decisions can take forever for me. I prefer to be guided than given extra freedom in games lol

 

[Corpekata]

If you're getting MCed with 2 zombies you're approaching things wrong. Either you're advancing too fast and taking on a lot of enemies at once or you're not prioritizing the sectoid.

What I like to do is always make sure there's a dead mook when I encounter them (either killing previous encounter, or whatever they are paired with), as they will spend their turn reanimating it rather than fucking with my soldiers, and they're easy to avoid. And then I get my turn to flank the sectoid or if he's in a hard to reach place, throw a shitton of grenades at him. If I don't take him out in that 1 turn, he'll probably panic / MC/ disorient someone but I'll generally be far enough away from the zombie to avoid it and in position shortly enough on the next turn to kill the sectoid and reverse all his voodoo.

 

[KevMan1815]

I'm having a hard time with the snakes. Their tongue grab has a ridiculous range and I've only seen it miss once. Anytime they've grabber a soldier, that person is as good as dead. Any tips?

 

[deoee]

I'm having a hard time with the snakes. Their tongue grab has a ridiculous range and I've only seen it miss once. Anytime they've grabber a soldier, that person is as good as dead. Any tips?

I think you can flashbang them to drop your guy.
I always immediatly focus the snakes.

And yes, the range + wallhacks are dumb. Def. needs some adjustments...

 

[vpance]

Have to do it again IIRC, though it can produce a different grenade type too, and you can lose the grenade if they die and you don't evac the corpse.

It's a interesting facility. I got an

Spoiler

acid

grenade. I'm guessing most of the beginning loot is roughly the same in terms of usefulness.

 

[manfestival]

I think my game is broken. none of the aliens are attacking me in any of the missions... I am assuming there isnt a fix for this?

 

[Firebrand]

Try to kill the Sectoids first. Once a Sectoid dies, ask of his zombies die and mind controlled soldiers are freed.

Yeah, but I need to break concealment early to waste the two first guys to get to the device in time, and when the sectoid pop ups with his 7 hp and my rookies' inability to hit anything it's difficult to get to him before he starts his shenanigans. Enemy overwatch makes it difficult to sprint there too.

I completed XCOM and EW on Classic twice but this is breaking me, lol.

 

[Poodlestrike]

Man, Sectoids are utterly nonthreatening in a pitched firefight. Got sandwiched between 2 pods, a Sectoid and 2 troopers and a Captain & 2 stun lancers... after I grenaded the Troopers out of existence, the Sectoid was basically a nonentity. Oooh, zombies, scary! But totally useless on the turn they're summoned.

They really need to start using their guns.