Grobobobo

Squadsight itself yes, but the usage of it no. Just because you can see the enemy doesn't mean you're in range to attack it. That's why i seperated vision range from engagement range.

That just makes the whole game worse. Besides, why are you suggesting reworking a fundamental game system just to fix a relatively minor problem?

There is one key reason why Inventory Space needs restriction: In XDIV you used to just fill the soldier inventory with shields, rockets etc Dropped them turn 1 in the dropship, spammed those at the enemy, and retreated back to it to resupply. It was extremely tedious to play and made a misison last up to 3 hours. It both destroyed the resource management of the game AND made it more boring to play. To be honest, it's still kinda possible with X2, but a) The shields no longer act as consumable immunity, so there's not that much reason to bring them in bulk b)The medikits no longer have an ammo counter so you don't need to bring them in bulk either c) the game is easy enough to not need such a strategy in the first place d) The extra turn spend is pretty bad for abductions The point is, Options and decisions are about quality not quanity, just because you can do more doesn't mean that the game is better for it.

Because then the game becomes a snipefest on both sides where aliens and the player abuse squadsight and everything that's spotted dies. It's good to be limited by range so you can't clear the whole map from 1 spot and have to advance, and every alien on the map doesn't unload on your soldiers as soon as you get spotted. X1 was kinda like that, and it was pretty bad. I said current state of THIS game, this looks like a modded XDIV. and even then, just because you can, doesn't mean that it's a smart idea.

You absolutely do not need 12 soldiers for that. 8 is enough to basically have 2 of each role that you'd want. That's not going to solve anything because vision range is a separate thing from engagement range, so what if you can see the alien from far away if you can't shoot him anyway? and I like that you can't, the long engagement ranges were stupid in x1, Xdiv reducing them for earlier phases were one of my favorite things about the mod. and regardless of engagement ranges, UFO's still remain as the worst offenders due to the cramped nature of them. Well, it's not really that important either way. I think both reducing the starting squad size and increasing the early game enemy count is valid. Maybe, but no player in the current state of the game will sacrifice precious hangar space for multiple dropships.

I'm not exactly arguing for 6 people squads, It's more of a minimum soldiers you could take without gimping yourself. However, 10 soldiers at that point in the game is completely redundant and does not Increase tactical complexity at all. It has nothing to do with difficulty, I could just have those 2 sit in the back of the dropship because there isn't good enough cover for them on the map and the mission difficulty wouldn't really change. Increasing enemies is fine and all, but you don't want to make the early game overwhelming either. 10/12 units in x1 was fine because it was a dropship upgrade you got in the midgame/lategame where you were fighting more enemies, in x2 the dropship upgrade feels unnescessary since you've already got so many AND vehicles only take 1 spot from 2 (not that vehicles were worth using in the first place)

That sounds like an argument against increasing the squad size, not for it.

Well, it's obviously not very hard, but it's still impressive how a bunch of small mechanical changes like global engagement range reduction can freshen up the gameplay (On top of Vastly superior QOL eliminating a lot of frustration). I'd say air game is the most lackluster at the moment and needs the "biggest" mechanic extension, but I know that's controversial - I know that some people would not like it being more complex.

For some context, I'm a reboot XCOM Veteran with over 2000 combined hours in both XEW and X2, I've also played Xenonatuts on Insane and X-Division on NG+2, so generally, I'm pretty experienced with the genre. I've finally managed to get my hands on the copy, and here are my general thoughts regarding the current state of the game: The QOL: The UX in this game is so much better than in its predescessor it's insane. Interceptors automatically leading ufos instead of having to do it manually, Being able to keep seeing an enemy after breaking off los, UI improvements, there's so much. One feature I'd like to talk about are health bars. X1 Insane had not only max Hp for aliens hidden, but also their damage taken. I had very mixed feelings about this. On one hand, it was frankly obnoxious. Having to remember alien tankiness from memory was really dumb. I used to keep a spreadsheet with alien stats dug up from game files that was used both as a reminder on how an alien is tanky in general, but was used to calculate what's the % chance the alien would die from the next shot. Needles to say, that was very tedious and very hostile UX wise. On the other hand, it DID give a degree of uncertantity in missions, which made it slightly more tense. Honestly, I hope HP display just becomes a seperate setting instead of being tied to difficulty, with users leaving it off if they want a more immersive experience, but turning it on if they prefer the more tryhardy approach. AIR COMBAT The first thing that's immediately noticable is that there's simply much less of it. Some missions now generate without needing to crash a plane in the first place, you can realistically build far fewer interceptors etc etc. Despite the fact that I've kinda liked the air game in x1 and LOVED it in X-Div, I feel like this is a good change, because it was just too common, so it became repetitive quickly. That said, I still feel it's too trivial 90% of the time. In X1, you practically spammed foxtrots because they instakilled every aircraft without really commiting, and enemy craft that could dodge could just be autoresolved away (even when it didn't sometimes, you could just retreat without losing any of your interceptors, fighter type UFO's don't have bounties anyway). This doesn't really feel different here, you still pretty much lock in to aircraft that matters and then it dies.I'd suggest taking even more inspiration from XDIV on how to make air game challenging in a fun way, but I know for sure that some people really don't like the air game. Perhaps it would be a good idea to have 2 seperate difficulty levels for air game and ground game? The plane deployment zone is way too big, you can almost instantly get your torpedoes in range. Having to individually build interceptor upgrades makes it feel like you actually need do invest in the air game now, and the increased customizability is definitely a step in the right direction. GROUND COMBAT I LOVE the increased enemy counts across the board. In X1, at the start you were fighting like 4 enemies for the whole map, which was kind of obnoxious because the map was barren but every single one of those enemies could one-shot you from across the map, so you had to advance very slowly. This is completely different, 8 enemies, but with much lower range feels so much more fun. Actually, the engagement ranges feel lower across the board now, You can't shoot across an entire map anymore, and I love it. That said, 10 soldier dropship still feels a bit overkill, i can easily do most early missions in the squad of 6, let alone 8. What's the reasoning behind increasing the base squad size? It may be placebo due to the game becoming 3D, but LOS feel a lot more intuitive now. in X1 99% of deaths were caused by getting shot from a place that looked like being LOS blocked thought I was protected from, or my soldiers not being able to shoot where i thought they could shoot. this hasn't happened yet, which makes the gameplay far less frustrating. The new mission objectives feel amazing and are genuinely great for variety. But trying to go for more than 5 pods in abductions is not worth it at all, it's very risky and the reward itself is meager (3 alloys is a joke). The optional objectives should be a lot more rewarding. Unlike the hunter scout car, mars is a lot more viable, mostly because of its reduced size. Good job there. I still feel like close range weapons like shotguns are just not worth using, it's just not worth the risk to try to get close, and they are actually pretty inconsistent at that range. EQUIPMENT Mag weapons are trash. I know that they are meant to effectively be a Tier 1.5 with lasers being Tier 2 and Plasma being tier 3, but they currently feel like Tier 1.15 at best while also being actually quite expensive (especially the lmg lol). On the other hand, lasers feel insanely strong but also have very inconsistent stats. The accuracy bonus for Snipers is massive and mag cap penalty is none, but rifles get almost no accuracy bonus but their mag cap is reduced by 75%? Armor Destruction is more effective than armor mitigation, 5 mitigation is nothing compared to 8 shred lasers give. Here's my proposal on how to rework the tiers: Mag: +20% damage, +10 mitigation Lasers: +35% damage, +10% accuracy, 0 armor mitigation, +8 armor destruction, -60-75% clip size. This should give magnetic weapons a better use case while still making lasers clearly better because holy shit the armor destruction is strong. Emphasizing the laser weapons's weakness should also make it more distinct. I used the laser rifles a lot, the super small mag makes for an interesting drawback with the additional weight of cells and having to mind your shots (although reloading could be more TU consuming, 20 TU is kind of a joke), and I feel like other weapons should get a restriction like that. Laser SR in particular is currently overpowered. I kinda like how long repair time makes upgrading the fighter plating desirable. The current iteration of shield is a tad weird. I completely understand the need for the change, but: 1) It means that you shouldn't balance alien weapon damage by difficulty levels. Current iteration on shield would turn you into a terminator on easy and be completely worthless on insane due to how the damage interacts with armor. 2) It's too weak. Especially the upgrade which is a joke (up to 25 armor?lol). I also don't get why is there a 20% chance for the shield to not work at all, sounds really bad. GEOSCAPE Establishing a second base feels like shooting yourself in the foot, because your income is not as dependent on UFO's, and it costs a LOT. I'm not sure how to feel about that, It does streamline your strategy, but it compensates by the base layout being a lot more complex. The stress mechanic is not working at all, although that's probably known. I was originally not sure on whether to look forward to the release, but now I absolutely do. The game is a blast so far.