Montie

I could start in on the various differences between the AK and the M-16, but I'll spare everyone the boring technical garbage and just say this. In the 70s the M-16 was more likely to kill the user than the target. Very low tolerance for even casual dirtiness. forty years later it still isn't great in that regard. I will go so far as to say the AK-47 packs considerably more punch, but supposedly loses accuracy over range. Haven't seen that personally, but I don't try to play sniper of God with mine. Within the ranges the game is played at, I doubt there would be a noticeable accuracy difference.

Oh, haven't followed that steaming pile at ALL. Except to hear that it was pushed back so that Firaxis's X-Com 'reimagining' for kiddies would come out first. Which led me to the Firaxis X-Com, and then to here, where I find a far more beautiful creation of depth and warfare. Couple Motto ideas that I've heard, and not formally tied to any military I am aware of Death before Dishonor Death before Defeat Cowards Die in Shame Yeah, I'm kind of a morbid person... I like a motto I can scream into battle

2K Marin? I don't understand the reference.

the original is almost a carbon copy of X-Com as far as mechanics, updated graphics... and yet try as I might that game totally fails to capture my attention. In contrast I can pick up the original X-com and fall right back in, lose the weekend and never realize it til the alarm clock goes off.

Greetings my fellow strategic gamers! Proud and unafraid of a true successor to all that was, is, and forever will be X-Com. I'll be picking up the game in a week or so if everything I've seen so far holds steady.

The ammo issue is something of a deal breaker for me to be honest. Think I washed my hands of them at large last night... Just got tired of trying to get a point across to children with their fingers in their ears. I'll repeat my concerns in depth... I have no doubt someone already has listed each of these at some point. But it'll help me keep my head from exploding. Move/act system - Too rigid in every variation I have seen of that system. The most flexible allow you to choose which to do first, but any left over movement is totally lost which leads to a more boring gameplay. Infinite Ammo - This was a total head scratcher of a decision as nearly every game I've seen it in had it as a cheat or unlock... and the cooldown on heavy weapons combined with the move act system... Makes me feel like I'm cracking open Final Fantasy tactics with aliens and guns instead of monsters and spells. Squad size - I heard someone mention this, and I agree enough to paraphrase. I'd like to hunt down the person or focus group that said a 6 man team is the ideal for tactical combat and shoe a boot up their not so proverbial backsides I've never seen nor heard of any military or para-military operation that was performed of any significant size that used 6 men. clearing any given room in urban combat uses 3-4 with tactical support all over the building. I was on their forums a whopping 4 days before I threw in the towel against the uberfans trying to quash anything resembling constructive ideas for adjusting the game for someone a little more complex than an 8th grader (since that's the rough equialent of a US high school graduate nowadays) X-Com was an Olympic sized swimming pool of anti-Alien warfare! I cannot understand Firaxis trying to drain it, fill it in, and present us with a kiddie pool and swear it's the greatest thing ever. From what I've seen, it's shallow, childish, and designed to cater to the insipidly lazy. Unfortunately I must admit that these qualities make it virtually perfect for many of my fellow Americans. Keep in mind, this was the professional dissertation of what I have seen so far. Never ask an old Marine what he really thinks

I played it a bit. The plan and go system while interesting doesn't seem to go quite far enough, really didn't seem to carry enough of the beginning JA2 feel for me. They tried something different, which I applaud in most cases but I think they didn't really finish the job.

I used to do it if I found a large cluster of mobiles on the motion scanner and there weren't any civilians around. Usually meant I'd found the entire alien squad, so it was time for annihilation. This was in Apoc, btw. since I can't afford to pre-order til I get paid on the 1st.

Ooh Rah! On a similar note, there's a TV I'd LIKE to move into the yard so I don't have to deal with it's watcher

Sorry, I was rather unclear. I was referring to the typical armory of actual modern day military forces, not in a game. I expect that Xenonauts would have 1 machine gun instead, which would slim down the armory somewhat. The US Marine Corps. for example uses a 5.56 light machine gun a 7.62 NATO medium and a .50 caliber heavy (12.7mm if I recall my measurements.) In a game such as this one where you're not defending static positions, the heavy MG immediately becomes irrelevant and the medium is not something I want to carry on foot any distance at all. Personal experience there.

I tend toward the simple. Semper Fidelis. It's served the US Marine Corps. for centuries... no reason it wouldn't work here lol

Always has, I think... But that's as much due to the required manpower as anything else. In this instance you may have female support staff, but front line combat? in the 70s you'd have been laughed right out of the officers' corps for the idea. In a Modern stance I don't consider a good idea realistically... Not because I don't think they're ready, but because most men aren't. It's been proen that a woman getting shot has far more damaging consequence to the male psyche than another guy getting shot. WAY off-topic there, but just saying.

I'll be honest... 30 infantry weapons is more than sufficient from a military standpoint (which due to my history is how I approach most games of this nature) Consider that most military forces have a standard pistol, rifle, and sniper rifle, and you'll start to realize that most variety in the arsenal comes from infantry support weapons. (machine guns and AT weapons) so in most cases you're looking at maybe 8 weapons not including special issue. Cut down the number of machine guns from the typical 3 to 1 and you open up space for other styles of heavy weapon (maybe a heavier beam laser for example) So when you consider 4 tiers of weaponry 30 weapons is very much on par with the advancement of a military armory. Just the new guy's 2 cents

that was arguably the most explicit control difference (and most useful) between the original X-Com and Apoc. Once you get used to it, it's hard to go back.

Well that's two major concerns down and I've only just arrived. Let's just say I've been grossly unimpressed with a related recent project by another development crew and leave it at that before I go full bore rant. The remaining concerns were either addressed on the site proper or I suspect I'll find the answers browsing around.