Belmakor Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 Lets discuss the length of time this appears on your screen during turns... Perhaps a setting that can be selected so that enemy turns are fast tracked so that we only see alien activity (not civvies or ai controlled soldiers) and we don't have to listen to shooting going on outside of the LOS. I know its not like original XCOM but I mean sometimes waiting 10 seconds or even 20 seconds on a terror mission is frustrating. What are others peoples thoughts? Would you like to have the option to fast track turns or would you be happy if it was condensed as above anyway? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar Pancakes Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 Even on Terror missions, I've never had to wait for more than 10 seconds (while my longest X-COM:EU hidden movement was at most 8 seconds). I think this is fine as it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spencer Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 I think we should have the option to skip the hidden movement screen. As long as it's an option, everybody should be happy. I personally wish I could skip it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gauddlike Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 That depends on what the game is doing while you have the hidden movement screen showing. If it was 10 seconds of the HMS or 6 seconds of blackness or staring at my unmoving troops, unable to do anything, I know which would be more immersive for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Argroww Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 SOmewhat related to this is something that allows the game to detect if all aliens are dead before even starting the mission, I started a crash site, move my soldiers, didn't see any aliens in that first move, went through a whole hidden movement series and then got the mission complete screen....although I suppose it's possible that one of the military units took out an aliens during the hidden movement? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gauddlike Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 Yeah checking for aliens before moving civilians would be nice as well. I have had to sit and watch those annoying little civvies run round only for the mission to be complete straight after. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimbobfury Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 I was thinking about this yesterday and while I like the hidden movement screen for nostalgia purposes, I do wonder if something more could be done during the aliens' turn. How about during the AI turn you saw your soldiers, and when there was weapons fire or footsteps that would be close enough to hear, you get a visual indicator on screen to indicate the rough direction of where the sound originated from. This would represent the fact that even if they can't see an enemy, if an alien was shooting it's plasma rifle off behind a house to your left, you'd know that's where the sound was coming from. It would allow you to be planning even during the AI turn, rather than just waiting for your next turn. If the system allowed, it could even add an extra layer of tactical depth and variety to the alien races. Caesans could be given a higher 'stealth rating' as it were, than Androns, for example. So you're more prone to being ambushed by a sneaky Caesan lurking behind a wall than you are by a clanking great robot/cyborg who's stomping through a nearby house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belmakor Posted May 9, 2012 Author Share Posted May 9, 2012 Wow, ok I actually underestimated the time the HMS was on for in my original post. I just timed 46 seconds for the HMS at the end of the first turn. Tbh I can't really think of any other game that has such long periods of inactivity in it. Even Civ V which is notoriously power hungry only takes about 20 seconds between turns. I suppose it all boils down to what you class as inactivity. If it is that you are not moving or performing any actions then you will probably agree. I can understand why the HMS screen exists and I would not want it removed. I even believe it adds tension when you can hear people being shot. I am not sure it adds tension hearing footsteps however. Or seeing civilians run around doing nothing. If footsteps were removed and non-combat actions not performed in view then I would imagine the turn length would be cut into 1/3 or 1/4 of it is now. Personally for me this would make a massive difference. You could make it last for a minimum of 2 seconds so its obvious you have actually clicked End Turn. I don't really have time at this point in my life to watch 5 or 6 minutes of HMS every battle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gorlom Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 I would still want footsteps in the game. at the very least the alien footsteps. I recall the snakemens slithring haveing an effect on me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belmakor Posted May 9, 2012 Author Share Posted May 9, 2012 I would still want footsteps in the game. at the very least the alien footsteps. I recall the snakemens slithring haveing an effect on me. Maybe there should be a sound range for the purpose of the HMS which is slightly larger than site radius. Then when you hear it you'll actually curse in the knowledge how close the enemy is but that you can't see them. Even use time compression to have the footsteps (slithering) sound like 3x as fast would knock off 10-15 seconds in a terror missions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IceVamp Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 I don't have a problem with watching civilians move. I shout at them, cursing them for blocking doors, and running in between the aliens an my men. It's great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Safe-Keeper Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 The suspense of Hidden Movement has always been a great part of the original X-Com games for me. Can't believe some people want it done way with. It's also important tactical feedback. A just as good solution would be implementing X-Com-style sliders for movement speeds of civvies, Xeno operatives, projectiles and aliens, if this isn't in already (might have missed it). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belmakor Posted May 9, 2012 Author Share Posted May 9, 2012 The suspense of Hidden Movement has always been a great part of the original X-Com games for me. Can't believe some people want it done way with. It's also important tactical feedback. Don't want rid of it. Just think 30 or 40 seconds is far too long in the day and age of SSD drives, 16gb ram and quad core processors even if it is in the spirit of the original xcom (which I'm sure had slow turn times because of hardware limitations). A just as good solution would be implementing X-Com-style sliders for movement speeds of civvies, Xeno operatives, projectiles and aliens, if this isn't in already (might have missed it). Yes I would like this. Not necessary for my operatives though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erutan Posted May 10, 2012 Share Posted May 10, 2012 I like jimbo's idea - if you can't see the aliens keep the screen centered on the nearest soldier and have (if your troops can hear it) an indicator towards the side of the screen it came from. You could even steal from FPS games and have one side glow a bit, varying in intensity based on loudness/distance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gauddlike Posted May 10, 2012 Share Posted May 10, 2012 I reckon it would be frustrating to just sit and stare at your troops waiting for something to happen. Loading times in general are pretty long so it could be part of the same thing. Once everything gets a bit more optimised the hidden movement might well be shorter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thothkins Posted May 10, 2012 Share Posted May 10, 2012 I imagine that things will speed up across the board as the game nears completion, or at least be a bit smoother. I quite like the hidden movement, with the game flashing away when anything is seen. The sounds alone during it in EU made it well worth having. I'm not sure just focusing on a soldier would be any improvement over that. Perhaps if they have reaction APs left they would automatically turn in certain directions in terror. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erutan Posted May 10, 2012 Share Posted May 10, 2012 I think if levels had ambient noise in areas that'd be cool - so a store has some murmuring, the power plant thing has some humming. It's fun to hear some fire in the background and even if you can't see anything you're like "aha it's near the downed UFO!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arturius Posted May 10, 2012 Share Posted May 10, 2012 An option that turns off civilian movement viewing would be good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Voidfoam Posted May 11, 2012 Share Posted May 11, 2012 Or maybe as in total war games. U hit space while whatching the enemys turn an all speeds up. Making game speed very fast should do it. Then its a quick choice for the player, and old X-com farts like me can just lean back and still enjoy the screams of death and the shooting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gorzahg Posted May 11, 2012 Share Posted May 11, 2012 Hidden movement will probably move a ton faster in the finished game, so I don't think we'll need a skip or speed up button. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Voidfoam Posted May 11, 2012 Share Posted May 11, 2012 Hidden movement will probably move a ton faster in the finished game, so I don't think we'll need a skip or speed up button. Thats too bad. Cause i dont want it to move faster. I want it to move slow, so i can see what my troops see. If for instance an Alien moves by and into a house, then i dont want my screen to flicker. I want to see what he does, and where he moves. Whilst some people wants the hidden movement screen to be over with quick so they can keep fighting. I do believe this is what the entire thread is about- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gorzahg Posted May 11, 2012 Share Posted May 11, 2012 (edited) I know there is an optimal speed, but I think right now its a bit slow. But I think that's because there are so many civilians on every map and I'm used to UFO maps having no civilians. Edited May 11, 2012 by Gorzahg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erutan Posted May 11, 2012 Share Posted May 11, 2012 If the game just has units move as they would move but you can't see them, it's not going to speed up at all imho. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belmakor Posted May 11, 2012 Author Share Posted May 11, 2012 Thats too bad. Cause i dont want it to move faster. I want it to move slow, so i can see what my troops see. If for instance an Alien moves by and into a house, then i dont want my screen to flicker. I want to see what he does, and where he moves.Whilst some people wants the hidden movement screen to be over with quick so they can keep fighting. I do believe this is what the entire thread is about- I still want to see an alien walk past slowly. I don't care about where the civilians are going, or the fact that there is gun fire in the distance between an ai soldier and an alien. I just want to be able to streamline the process so I can see the things that are important but not have to waste the precious time I have on listening to footsteps or otherwise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gorlom Posted May 11, 2012 Share Posted May 11, 2012 I still want to see an alien walk past slowly. I don't care about where the civilians are going, or the fact that there is gun fire in the distance between an ai soldier and an alien. I just want to be able to streamline the process so I can see the things that are important but not have to waste the precious time I have on listening to footsteps or otherwise. I'm still crossing my fingers for secret hope about complete skip of HM with a textbased HM-report where you can replay important actions by clicking on them to see what happened. Would have to be an alternative to the way it works now though since it would be somewhat of an immersion breaker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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