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As others, I also have some random thoughts


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Recently I had some spare time to play X2, it's been about 3 months of game time so far, and I wanted to share my thoughts:

- I hate that "hidden movement" screen and would love to get rid of it, if something happens in the shroud I wouldn't be able to see it anyway, so there's no reason for it, and it sometimes obstructs things my soldiers are able to see;

- I would really appreciate if game wouldn't move my camera on its own in tactical, at least when it's my turn - not when new enemy is discovered, not when I try to target something, not ever - just let me handle that;

- we should have access to menu all the time, even during enemy turn (now "Esc" doesn't do anything when it's enemy turn, but we can eg. hit F9 to quickload and it will work);

- it would be nice to be able to move camera around during enemy turn too;

- I guess some kind of a minimap in tactical would be nice, or ability to zoom out (and maybe zoom in somewhat more too), or both;

- when targeting an enemy, it would be nice if some description could be shown (their race, stats and abilities if we know them), like it now shows accuracy modifiers;

- it would be nice if visible ememies icons were different for each alien race etc., kinda like in new XCOM;

- I don't think nearby units (let's say less than 5 tiles away) should get suppressed by friendly fire at all, unless maybe when they are accidentally hit;

- soldiers in tactical all look the same - I guess they have different faces, but they are to small to notice, and when they wear helmets you can't really see their heads anyway - maybe they could have eg. coloured stripes across their arms, backs and helmets to distinguish them at least a little?

- on a similar note, they could use different body models for males and females - I know that in heavy armour it wouldn't look that much different, but still;

- just a flavour, but I think tactical armour should actually have at least 1 armour, if it offeres no protection at all it's hard to call that thing an armour;

- in air combat, I find it hard to associate each fighter with its control panel, planes are just labeled "0", "1" etc. (btw. I'd start that from 1 not from 0, but I'm no programmer), and in their control panels on the right are only their callsigns - I know it's 0 on the top, 1 below it and so on, but why can't planes just be labeled by their callsign instead of numbers?

- also, it would be nice if active plane panel was highlighted somewhat more obviously, right now it's not that clear at a glance, at least for me;

- sound effects for destruction of some objects are way to loud and game freezes for a few seconds when a wall or a fence or something gets destroyed, the worst was blowing up a gas station, it froze my game for like 30s;

- at the begining of the game everything runs pretty much smoothly (minus those destruction effects), but after several weeks of game time I get those occasional stutters, when game becomes unresponsive for several seconds from time to time, it just randomly happens no matter if I'm doing something or not;

- I'd like to have an option to target different body parts of my enemies, eg. like in Jagged Alliance 2, when you can aim at legs, torso and head with different hit chance and possible effects;

- I think research times should be a little shorter, and especially when it comes to interrogations - they shouldn't take something like two days;

- I guess it's too late for it now, but I think a geoscape would be much better if it actually was a sphere, not a cylinder (so we could go over the poles etc.).

 

Edit: one thing I forgot - after building second base, whenever I go to engeneering, soldier, hangar etc. screens, it loads those from that second base, even though they are empty, like that second base is now my default main base.

Edited by Krzysztof z Bagien
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Another thing.

Someone mentioned in another post, that you rarely need to reload your weapons - and that is indeed the case, expecially in those shorter missions like securing downed UFOs. Obvious solution would be lowering weapons' ammo capacity (though it's kinda low right now anyway, compared to real-life rifles and machineguns) or making them do less damage so we would need more shots to kill an alien - but both aren't really a good way to deal with this, so I wouldn't like to see that.
I have another idea instead, it wouldn't help with single-shot guns (pistols, shotguns, sniper rifles), but it could improve automatic weapons - and that would be making them capable of full auto fire - like real full auto. Right now both AR and MG actually fire in predefined bursts only, which is kinda OK for AR, but for MG not so much. MG could be made full auto only, and AR could have full auto mode added to existing firing modes. Here's how it could work:
Holding right mouse button for half a second or so could switch between single/burst and full auto, and for MG full auto could be always on, or alternatively existing burst modes could also stay (but I'd make them use eg. 10 and 20 rounds each). Then, in single/burst mode we would use our guns just like we do now, to attack a single target with right click changing snapshot/aimed/burst (or short and long burst in case of MG) but in full auto right click would instead add more rounds to each burst, eg. in increments of 5, up to dumping whole magazine. It could be also slightly randomised (and maybe firing more rounds than intended should happen more often than firing less), as firing precise number of rounds in full auto isn't exactly easy; this would apply even for "normal" MG bursts (or maybe I shude use word "volleys" instead? I don't know, I hope it's clear what I mean), as it doesn't have a real burst mode like AR (and wouldn't obviously apply to AR's 3-round burst).
Additionally, in full auto mode we could eg. right-click and drag holding Ctrl (hold Ctrl, click and drag RMB and release RMB to fire or release Ctrl to cancel - something like that) to fire in an arc, so we could suppress multiple targets at once. Obviously, suppression per bullet shoud be lowered accordingly.
We then could maybe even bump magazine capacity to 30 for AR and 100 for MG.
Firing accurate long bursts, especially from MG, would be hard even for soldiers with high strenght due to recoil, so to mitigate it and make those long bursts actually usefull, MGs could have lower recoil when soldier is behind low cover and crouches - because MGs have bipods exactly for that (similarly, sniper rifles could get slight bonus to accuracy in that situation, and have slightly lower accuracy overall to compensate).
I think it would make it a little more interesting and could actually make reloads and spare ammo a thing. We could even have different tiers of weapons have different firing modes (eg. laser AR and MG wouldn't have full auto mode, because they would overheat etc.) to further differentiate them.

This wouldn't, as I mentioned, do anything with single shot guns. Maybe a shotgun could be turned into let's say a combat shotgun that would be capable of full auto or burst fire, so it could increase its ammo consumption somewhat - just a thought. Then we would only have pistols and sniper rifles left, and I guess we could live with that. BTW I'd add a sound of manually chambering another round after sniper rifle shot (if there are still some rounds in magazine of course) - standard sniper rifle looks like AWM which is a bolt action rifle. That would make it more cool I guess :)

Edited by Krzysztof z Bagien
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@Krzysztof z Bagien Thanks for your thoughts! A few quick comments / questions:

  • You point out some simple usability fixes for the air combat which we'll take a look at for the next major build (even though we do plan to revamp the air combat heavily in the coming months), like the aircraft callsign not being displayed correctly etc.
  • We might make an option to disable the camera pan to newly spotted enemies, but it doesn't seem like a good idea to turn off moving the camera shooting. It only moves for long range shots (I think), and if we disable it there's no way you'll move the camera fast enough to get the shooter on screen when they fire. So if they miss and hit something near them, you'd entirely miss the shot occurring except the sound effect.
  • Why do you dislike the hidden movement screen? I believe it's only visible now when you are hearing "global" sounds; ones not tied to a specific part of the map. If it wasn't there you'd probably think the footsteps / doors opening / etc were happening where the camera is focused, right?
  • A number of people have asked for camera control during the alien turn. I guess my question is - what would you want to look at during the alien turn? The only thing happening is what the camera is focused on, so it feels to me like there's not much to be achieved by looking elsewhere.
  • What's your overall opinion on the game? How much do all these issues affect your overall enjoyment - and if it's a big factor, which ones are the most annoying?
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@Chris I also have small issues with the hidden movement screen.

I think that the hidden movement art needs to be updated. A lot of people have been seeing the same hidden movement screen for a really long time now, and its inclusion in X2 feels like a placeholder to me imo. 

I’ve also been wondering if it would be possible to make hidden movement completely skipable. A lot of times, I know that it is going to be a pretty uneventful turn on the alien side and I would prefer if I could skip the hidden movement screen so my turn can come back up a little faster. It could just be a me thing. 

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On 1/9/2023 at 4:11 PM, Chris said:

We might make an option to disable the camera pan to newly spotted enemies, but it doesn't seem like a good idea to turn off moving the camera shooting. It only moves for long range shots (I think), and if we disable it there's no way you'll move the camera fast enough to get the shooter on screen when they fire. So if they miss and hit something near them, you'd entirely miss the shot occurring except the sound effect.

For me, it would be perfectly acceptable and I think I'd prefer my camera not moving on its own even at the cost of missing something sometimes. Your point is valid though, but that situation wouldn't happen all the time, only sometimes, and I could live with that. I do realise that some (or even most) people might not like it that way, so adding it as an option is probably the best, everyone can decide for themselves.
Or, if you made it possible to zoom out in the tactical, not moving a camera wouldn't be a problem at all.

On 1/9/2023 at 4:11 PM, Chris said:

Why do you dislike the hidden movement screen? I believe it's only visible now when you are hearing "global" sounds; ones not tied to a specific part of the map. If it wasn't there you'd probably think the footsteps / doors opening / etc were happening where the camera is focused, right?

I just don't like it, it obstructs the view, but I can still see what's going on near the edges of the screen, it blinks on and off as @Skitso mentioned. I really don't think it's good for anything.
As for the sounds - if there are some general sound my soldiers are to far away to locate, I don't think it's necessary to even play them at all and any invisible actions during enemy turn could be simply accelerated - I don't really care that someone opened the door at the other side of the map, it's not relevant at the moment and I'll find out that door is open when I get there, so every time the game wants to display that "hidden movement" screen, it can just not move the camera anywhere, calculate the outcome of an action and update the map without telling me it does that, because I can't see it anyway. It would make enemy turns shorter too, so less waiting for my next move. OK, maybe when that action takes place close to my soldiers you do it the normal way (minus the hidden movement).

On 1/9/2023 at 4:11 PM, Chris said:

A number of people have asked for camera control during the alien turn. I guess my question is - what would you want to look at during the alien turn? The only thing happening is what the camera is focused on, so it feels to me like there's not much to be achieved by looking elsewhere.

During enemy turn, especially early in the mission, I mostly see nothing at all, because almost all the aliens are far away, so I just rather look at my soldiers or explore their immediate surroundings that I can actually see to plan my next move. It's not that much of a big deal for me, but as I said above - if something is to far away to be seen anyway, there's no point in automaticly moving camera there, and if it's close and I can see it, I'll probably move camera to see it anyway.
Or the game could move the camera where action is right now, but still let me reposition it if I wanted to.

On 1/9/2023 at 4:11 PM, Chris said:

What's your overall opinion on the game? How much do all these issues affect your overall enjoyment - and if it's a big factor, which ones are the most annoying?

I do enjoy the game, it's obviously unpolished right now, but that's expected at that stage. Those things above are some minor annoyances, not a deal breaker at all; the most annoying being not having access to menu at all times and hidden movement, though I could probably live with that hidden movement thing - but menu really needs to be available always, eg. if someone has to quit the game during enemy turn or air combat etc. they shouldn't be forced to Alt+F4 (and many people probably don't even know that shortcut anyway these days).
Overall, I'd say that playing X2 is fun, but it's... I don't know, cumbersome at times, eg. whole soldier management in bases feels like that (equiping them and assigning to dropships and then placing them in dropship), just like there's to much clicking and to many screens to go through to get things done.

The biggest problem I have with X2 is how missions are right now, the worst being alien bases. Downed UFOs are OK - they are short and have a simple objective, though I think maps could use some more variety (eg. when they crash in rural area, it could not contain a barn sometimes, but just an empty field and some trees an bushes for a change). The least interesting missions for me however, are alien base invasions. They are always the same and feel more like a chore after a while.
I've been thinking why is that, and came to conclusion that it's because the maps themselvs are simply not fun. They are all pretty much the same and it doesn't look like we're in a proper base, it's just a collecion of some randomly connected rooms with random stuff inside. I know it's an alien base and they don't necessarily follow human logic so it might be OK for them, but it's not fun to play on that kind of map. It should have some meaningful structure that we could see - storage rooms, laboratories, security checkpoints, generator rooms, UFO hangars, barracks, holding cells for captured humans, command center etc.
Also, right now we can pretty much go around in circles and play cat and mouse with aliens, while this should be a propper assault - so we should clear room after room and advance, and then encounter another line of defence (because they should be at least somewhat prepared for us, or at least try to mount some defences as we attack) and so on and then reach our final goal and secure whole base. I think more linear structure of the map would help with that, like we enter at one end and have to reach the other end, there could be some branching paths of course or multiple ways to reach certain point, but not everything connected to everything randomly.
Those missions could also use some more objectives, not just "kill everyone". I mean, securing the base should be main objective, but maybe - I don't know - aliens are trying to evacuate some important stuff or personnel in a UFO and we have to stop them before they escape, or they activated some force fields and we can't get to command center so we have to blow up a generator or two to disable them, or they have some humans captured and we have to free them quickly or they get executed - stuff like that.
The most fun mission to play for me was that one when we have to get data sticks from Cleaners office - it was cool because it's different, we have a meaningfull objective and some soft timer that doesn't make us fail if we're not fast enough. We need more missions made like that.

Edited by Krzysztof z Bagien
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  • 1 month later...
On 1/7/2023 at 8:05 PM, Krzysztof z Bagien said:

- I hate that "hidden movement" screen and would love to get rid of it, if something happens in the shroud I wouldn't be able to see it anyway, so there's no reason for it, and it sometimes obstructs things my soldiers are able to see;

On the loading screen (the opponent's move), you can show hints that will help the player get used to the game.

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On 1/7/2023 at 8:05 PM, Krzysztof z Bagien said:

- soldiers in tactical all look the same - I guess they have different faces, but they are to small to notice, and when they wear helmets you can't really see their heads anyway - maybe they could have eg. coloured stripes across their arms, backs and helmets to distinguish them at least a little?

I agree. This is very lacking in the game.

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  • 4 weeks later...

The hidden movement screen adds nothing to the game other than to boot you out of the experience every now and then. Its just one of those things from old xcom which was either a suboptimal idea to begin with or helped distract from the pixel art. NuXcom's 'alien activity' where you stay put in the action and 'hearing' mechanic is far superior.

Edited by random123
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