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On the beta and Let's Plays


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When the beta rolls around, us eager little beavers will have access to far, far more of the game than we have had previously, especally the tech tree when it's "unlocked", as it were, and we see more maps for a lot more UFOs. People have been making Let's Plays of this game since there were playable versions to put on youtube, and I can't imagine that it will be any different when the beta rolls around, but with so much more of th game available, will Lets Plays help or harm sales of the game?

From the harm point of view, one of the big "sells" of the game is the research. It's exciting to research new things in the game, to find out new things and get shiny new toys. But that excitement, that "sell" only works once. Once you know what the aliens are doing, why they are doing it and what you can do to stop them, that excitement vanishes. and if you can see all the research in a Let's Play, then why would you need to play the game?

From the help point of view, as the ground battles evolve over time to include new aliens and new technology, a well-crafted Let's Play can "show the goods" as it were. Take the ground battles from all the XCOM:EU videos. They really sell the game and make a lot of buzz for it. If someone watching sees a team of 12 dudes stomping around in power armour blasting the beejezus out of bad guys, heck, that's something everyone wants in on!

Personally, I think that Let's Plays taken during the beta could both help and harm the game, and I feel we should agree to show off our l33t skills and the game to the very best of our ability, without doing things (like giving away plot) that would involuntarily harm sales of the game.

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It was (and still is) one the concerns with Firaxis XCOM EU MP demos; everything is literally unlocked in this from the outset, so all aliens and weapons are playable, removing the joy of new weapon research in SP mode, as well as that first encounter with a new alien lifeform.. Though I believe the demos we've seen have been a restricted version hiding a sizable number of these to not spoil the SP fun.

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Yeah a lot of the higher tier tech was found even before these new forums were launched.

It is still mainly secret because the majority of people who found it didn't want to spoil the surprise for others.

Hopefully that would continue through the later phases as well and any videos made will be edited so surprises still remain.

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X-Com, and by extension Xenonauts, is more than a single play-through game. People are really pulled in by the excitement and challenge. The first time you play, the joy of getting a new gun is great (I should know...I've been playing this demo since the kickstarter, and I've yet to advance to laser weapons or wolf armor, because some catastrophic glitch like loads crashing or whatever makes me have to start again). But it's hardly the game's only draw. The challenge of fighting a different battle each time you land, never knowing what set backs you'll have, it all makes for a very dynamic game.

People only interested in research might find modded items to amuse themselves with.

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No one suggested it was the only draw.

It is definitely one of the draws though.

Videos that give away too much information dilute that feeling of discovery.

That is one of the reasons I rarely watch them.

If I am struggling to make a decision on whether or not to buy a game I might watch a couple of game play vids.

I don't really want other people influencing how I play the game or spoiling the surprise of a storyline twist or any number of other things that can happen though.

Some people would rather know everything about the game before they play so they can skip the stuff they aren't interested in and go straight to the 'important' stuff.

Each to their own :)

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