For all you X-Com Fans

[Calis]

Just ran across this posted over on the GoneGold forums.

UFO: Alien Invasion

Here's an article about it also.

Preview

Looks pretty damn cool. This could be the real sequel folks have been waiting for. Be anxious to see how this turns out, if it does.

[The_herd]

Hmmmm. Looks too good to be true. I'm very pesimistic about ever seeing a true sequel to the 1st X-Com game. However, this does show the most promise I've seen so far, even if it is mostly a bunch of screens.

[Calis]

Yeah, the more I read about it, the more I wonder.

I just got a little overexcited looking at the screens, it looks great.

Seems like there's a few glaring things it'll be missing from the original. No flight combat, it sounds like the whole campaign itself is rather sketchy, and they've toned down base building quite a bit. What a shame, still can't believe someone hasn't copied that concept.

Oh well, it'll be worth keeping an eye on at least, and it's a freebie game just put together by a group of guys, so if they can pull off anything close I'll be impressed.

[Eaglesfan27]

Wow... it's going to be free (or maybe donationware - which I will gladly donate some money if it's something I enjoy.) I hope this project actually gets finished. I will be watching it closely.

[The_herd]

I would do just about anything for a remake of the 1st with some enhanced graphics and a maybe a couple new features.

[jaeenox]

It was reviewed in PCG, CGW, or CG this month, I forget which one. IIRC, it got about a 60 and is a dumbed down version of XCom.

[jaeenox]

Oops, that review is for ANOTHER XCom clone called UFO Aftermath.

[The_herd]

Originally posted by jaeenox
Oops, that review is for ANOTHER XCom clone called UFO Aftermath.

That was the latest X-Com-esque game with great promise, but ended up a disappontment because of a lack of key features.

[Icy]

Damn you made me remember good old student days, UFO and Championship manager, the best games ever and the cause i haven't finished university studies.
After the UFO Aftermath dissapointment this could be great news, let's see......

[tucker342]

Game sounds like it has a lot of potential. I'll be watching its development with interest

[sachmo71]

Originally Posted by tucker342

Game sounds like it has a lot of potential. I'll be watching its development with interest

And I'll be watching it with cynicism.

[chinaski]

The first release is out!

http://ufo.myexp.de/

I really dig it, i cant wait too see how this develops.

[Eaglesfan27]

Definitely some problems with it still, but it looks very promising. I hope it will be much easier to aim at specific targets once the final product is done. However, it is great that this team is working on this game.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Not to take anything away from what these guys are trying to do, but it sounds like the game with not have destructible environments.

IMHO, this is a key element to a remake of X-COM.

They may end up with a solid, fun game, but it won't be an X-COM game unless you can blow stuff apart in tactical combat.

[Vince]

I agree totally...did they change it so you can go inside buildings now? I remember hearing that you couldn't do that either...and I think that's a huge part of the game too.

[chinaski]

yes, you can go into buildings.

on top of that (literally) there can be up to 8 levels on one map.

As far as the destructable environments, i dont remember this in the first xcom, so i dont see this as a big deal.. but i definitely see why this would be a plus. The problem is, you just cant do that with the Q2 engine.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Chinaski: Then they shouldn't have used the Q2 engine.

I don't mean to knock what these guys are trying to do, or what UFO: Aftermath tried to do, but if you are trying to make an X-COM remake, you need:

1. Turn-based combat
2. Randomly generated characters
3. Randomly generated missions
4. A good tech tree
5. Destructible environments
6. Buildings you can enter
7. Good AI
8. Balanced weaponry.
9. A game that lets you lose lots of men and still have the chance to win the overall game. I.e., not a "crap, I lost five men, I need to replay this mission" type of a game (Silent Storm).
10. A dark, ominous mood.

Numbers 5-8 are absolutely critical to recreating the tactical decisions you face in X-COM. And it is the myraid of tactical decisions you make in X-COM that makes the game so much fun. Destuctible environments is a huge part of the first two games.

I don't mean to sound jaundiced, but when a developer says that they are trying to "remake X-COM", and then say things like "the game engine we're using won't let us make desctructible environments " or "the game didn't work well if we made it so you could enter buildings," then they are not trying to remake X-COM. They don't get it. Eventually someone will, but not these guys, not this time.

They may still end up with an amazing game and perhaps even one that in many ways could be better than X-COM (Jagged Alliance 2 comes to mind as being in many ways better than X-COM), but it won't recapture the essence of X-COM without the elements on the above list.

[The_herd]

Originally Posted by Godzilla Blitz

Chinaski: Then they shouldn't have used the Q2 engine.

I don't mean to knock what these guys are trying to do, or what UFO: Aftermath tried to do, but if you are trying to make an X-COM remake, you need:

1. Turn-based combat
2. Randomly generated characters
3. Randomly generated missions
4. A good tech tree
5. Destructible environments
6. Buildings you can enter
7. Good AI
8. Balanced weaponry.
9. A game that lets you lose lots of men and still have the chance to win the overall game. I.e., not a "crap, I lost five men, I need to replay this mission" type of a game (Silent Storm).
10. A dark, ominous mood.

Numbers 5-8 are absolutely critical to recreating the tactical decisions you face in X-COM. And it is the myraid of tactical decisions you make in X-COM that makes the game so much fun. Destuctible environments is a huge part of the first two games.

I don't mean to sound jaundiced, but when a developer says that they are trying to "remake X-COM", and then say things like "the game engine we're using won't let us make desctructible environments " or "the game didn't work well if we made it so you could enter buildings," then they are not trying to remake X-COM. They don't get it. Eventually someone will, but not these guys, not this time.

They may still end up with an amazing game and perhaps even one that in many ways could be better than X-COM (Jagged Alliance 2 comes to mind as being in many ways better than X-COM), but it won't recapture the essence of X-COM without the elements on the above list.

The things you mention above are dead on. Another thing that was great about X-Com, especially when it was 1st released, was the fact that the story was actually original, at least for video games. The fact that you are facing an aliens with vastly better technology is what makes for some very tense moments.

I remember the excitement my 1st time playing throught the game every time I ran into a new race of aliens. I'm also glad you mentioned #9, because X-Coms greatest moments are when you're trying to finish out a mission with 3-4 soldiers because the aliens killed, PSI attacked, body snatched, ect., ect. your other guys. X-Com strikes a perfect balance in all aspects of turn based stategy, thats why its my favorite game ever, hands down.

I thought the storyline in UFO: Aftermath was very promising, the humans lost the invasion, and begin a revolution by exploiting the alien technology against them (at least thats what it was before it was cancelled). But as you said, noone seems to get it. They think they can take any Alien themed strategy game, slap on some nice looking graphics, and sell it off to the X-Com fans as a true successor to the original.

[chinaski]

Hell i dont care, this game is 100% free and always will be, thats cool by me. I think what theyve put out there for the very first release is amazing.

Chinaski: Then they shouldn't have used the Q2 engine.

yes, i agree. but i understand where the devs were coming from by choosing it. heres a quote from one of the devs...

I agree. BSP is inefficient here. Doing my own engine, would have been my first choice. But it would have taken several months, until we could have even get started with the project itself. - Quake2 offers stability, portability, a lot of tools and some "technical guidelines" for our artists.

plus the mulitplay tcp-ip is solid.

1. Turn-based combat

thats in.

2. Randomly generated characters

in. from what ive seen, all Aliens and civilians are random each time.

3. Randomly generated missions

not possible. damn Q2.

4. A good tech tree

im sure eventually, but right now its pretty weak.

5. Destructible environments

damn Q2 again, atleast at the world level. They are adding in destructable doors and walls. You just wont be able to bring down the house, so too speak. I hope someday i can launch a rocket into a gas station and blow the whole thing up, taking out a few aliens in the process.

6. Buildings you can enter

This is already in, in fact its waay better than Xcom: UFO. In UFO, there were only 3 levels to buildings, in AI there are up too 8 (too many imo)

7. Good AI

Its pretty good so far, but as all projects; its in a constant state of upgrade.

8. Balanced weaponry.

Im sure this will get nailed down.

9. A game that lets you lose lots of men and still have the chance to win the overall game. I.e., not a "crap, I lost five men, I need to replay this mission" type of a game (Silent Storm).

I dunno, i like the way Xcom does it. I think its more fun when the odds are against you. It allows for a little more immersion, i remember back with Xcom: UFO how attached i would get too the soldiers who managed to live thru 4+ missions, and how they would gain rank along the way. super cool. I think with a bunch of soldiers, youd lose a core component of Xcom.

10. A dark, ominous mood.

That was one of my favorite aspects of the original Xcom, it scared me - it made me tense. This free version has a long ways to go with the sound effects and other various mood enhancers.

I just sold all my ancient gaming systems and games, i really wish i would have held onto Xcom and my PS1 now.

[Blackadar]

11. A variety of monsters with different (a scary) attributes. I STILL remember the first time I ran into a Cryssallid (sp?) and all I had were rifles. After plugging it with about 6 shots, it kept on coming and turned two of my squad mates into monsters as well. The mission ended as a footrace to get back to the ship before my whole squad was eliminated. As the 4-5 remaining guys took off on the ship, I remember asking myself, "What the HELL was THAT??? And what the hell just happened?"

#10 is a biggie as well. On those night missions in the middle of the cornfields, I'd just about jump out of my skin as I heard the retort of a plasma rifle from the middle of the darkness.

[chinaski]

nothing beats the real thing...
hxxp://www.xcomufo.com/forums/index.php?showforum=22

and for multiplayer, this looks really cool too
hxxp://ufo2000.sourceforge.net/