TheSnake Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 " What do you think about the new XCOM: Enemy Unknown? Have you played in it? Did you like it? What in this game is cool, and what would you do differently? I think Firaxis did a terrific job with the new XCOM. They have made a very console friendly and accessible game, but it still has a lot of strategic and tactical depth. The character progression is done very well, and the tactical combat system is great. I would have done things differently for sure. I was a bit disappointed that the Geoscape is basically irrelevant, with no strategy involved about positioning of bases, detection ranges, base attacks and so on. It is also a shame that there is no random map generation. The development of the alien menace seems to be driven by specific events, such as the first alien base assault, rather than the aliens own development agenda as in the original X-Com. XCOM series always had a lot of fans, but now it is at a new peak of popularity. Would you like to work on a new part of this franchise? No, I think I am done with X-Com. I tried many times for many years to get a remake underway, but Firaxis finally did it. Also, there is a promising and more faithful remake nearing completion called ‘Xenonauts’." Source P.S.: Just registered just to post this, if this has already been posted, sorry about it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erutan Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 (edited) Awesome. And that pretty much states my feelings on the remake. Edited December 5, 2012 by erutan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thothkins Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 Saving this read for when I have a little more time. I'm not really one for hyperbole, but getting a mention along with the word "faithful" from Julian Gollop is really quite something. I wonder what he'll think of the finished article. Never too late to add in that Gollopsville Map or Gollop nametag to the head scientist on the R&D screen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gorlom Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 Hasn't Gollop been a bit dismissive or uninterested in Xenonauts in the past or have I just dreamed that up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thothkins Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 I thought he'd been pretty dismissive of EU2012, having not had any involvement pre release announcement. I don't recall any mention of Xenonauts...which is a bit dismissive Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean-Luc Posted December 6, 2012 Share Posted December 6, 2012 Wasn't dismissive, just didn't answer Chris' emails. In any case it was very nice of him to mention Xenonauts. Never too late to add in that Gollopsville Map or Gollop nametag to the head scientist on the R&D screen. Maybe I'm too pessimistic but I think he (Julian Gollop) has quite a bit of regret and frustration attached to never being able to create his own remake. I don't think he was flattered by EU's "Gollop Chamber" and I think he may even resent such references from developers who are building upon his work that he himself is no longer part of. However I would like to see his (their) name in the credits under special thanks maybe. The credit line could end with something like "Special thanks to Julian and Nick Gollop for envisioning X-Com and providing us with inspiration". I dunno, something non-tacky that shows actual respect and truly credits their indirect involvement. Then again maybe that's too culty and you don't see Westwood Studios credited in CnC3 so... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icepick37 Posted December 6, 2012 Share Posted December 6, 2012 I don't think that's too culty, haha. I think it would be very reasonable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gorlom Posted December 6, 2012 Share Posted December 6, 2012 Wasn't dismissive, just didn't answer Chris' emails. In any case it was very nice of him to mention Xenonauts. I belive I recall something about him being asked in an earlier interview about Xenonauts (might have been in rock paper shotgun) I dont recall his exact answer but I think I got the feeling he did not quite like the question being asked... Maybe I was coloured by assumptions about him not responding to Chris' emails? Either case I'll have to agree with you on every thing you wrote in that post JL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
centiles Posted December 6, 2012 Share Posted December 6, 2012 (edited) From what I heard[1] (as a non veteran) the Gollops XCOM sequels got worse, so not necessarily a Gollop remake would have been great per se. Götzendämmerung! [1] Stay4ever german podcast about XCOM. http://www.stayforever.de/2012/02/folge-8-x-com/ A simple OT question, maybe someone may answer it, don't wanna open a new thread for this: I didn't find out how I can flip the rectangle for facility building in 90 degrees - what's the hotkey? TIA. Edited December 6, 2012 by centiles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gorlom Posted December 6, 2012 Share Posted December 6, 2012 From what I heard[1] (as a non veteran) the Gollops XCOM sequels got worse, so not necessarily a Gollop remake would have been great per se. Götzendämmerung! Not really. Gollop was only involved up to Apocalypse and after that the series switched genres. There are mixed felings about Apocalypse, but you can't really say that it is undisputably worse. The games has several improvements (that you may or may not enjoy) over the original and might just be critizised for being a lot more different from the original than TFTD was (TFTD is basically a reskin of UD) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erutan Posted December 6, 2012 Share Posted December 6, 2012 btw Gollop had no real involvement with TFTD - Microprose wanted a sequel in 6 months and he didn't want to be part of a reskin. They ended up taking 12 anyways. Apocalypse he was heavily involved with, and has mixed feelings for how the execution turned out, but overall it seems he appreciates what it was trying to do and most of what it pulled off (the artwork was something he didn't have any control over and didn't really like). Unless you count Laser Squad Nemesis nothing he did after in the XCOM vein was ever released - Apoc is genuinely divisive, but you can't say his later input would have been a negative thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vivisector 9999 Posted December 6, 2012 Share Posted December 6, 2012 There are mixed felings about Apocalypse, but you can't really say that it is undisputably worse. The games has several improvements (that you may or may not enjoy) over the original and might just be critizised for being a lot more different from the original than TFTD was (TFTD is basically a reskin of UD) I'm with you. Not everything about Apocalypse was well-advised, but it had its share of charms, too. And unlike TFTD, at least it moved the actual physics/gameplay forward. After all the collapsing buildings and collateral damage in Apocalypse, I found it hard to go back to the original game where you can shoot a lamppost and see its upper half just hang in the air... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted December 6, 2012 Share Posted December 6, 2012 To be fair to Mr Gollop, I never emailed him because I couldn't find an email address for him so I sent him a Facebook message. Something I discovered recently is that Facebook actually has two inboxes for messages, and if you're not friends with someone and drop them a message then it goes into the spam inbox - and you get no notifications for those messages. So he's probably not even aware that I ever messaged him. I didn't really get the impression he had too much bad to say about the Firaxis remake either, tbh. Seems a balanced criticism of the game rather than him being annoyed. His Twitter posts seem to suggest he was intrigued rather than offended by the Gollop chamber too. But yes, I can imagine it'd be kinda galling to see your creation be essentially hijacked by others when people won't back you to remake it. But then if he'd done a Kickstarter for it, he'd be laughing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gnarly Posted December 6, 2012 Share Posted December 6, 2012 Nice find, and I thought his comments about XCEM EU were balanced and fair Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thothkins Posted December 6, 2012 Share Posted December 6, 2012 (edited) Yeah, I can only imagine how thrilled he is to be constantly reminded of everyone's remake when his own Freedom Ridge got canned, and the original franchise went wrong. As for the name tag on the R&D guy, I was thinking that that would be the guy who is behind all of your creations in the game. Your tackiness rating may vary. A little credits message would be nice too. I'd not be here typing on this forum if it wasn't for mr gollop. That's not an excuse for you all to be sending him hate mail by the way It's not just because of his X-Com creation of course. It's also due to the depth of his knowledge in the likes of avalon hill games and the many years and games since. He clearly has a pretty good eye for what works. Edited December 6, 2012 by thothkins Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gorlom Posted December 6, 2012 Share Posted December 6, 2012 To be fair to Mr Gollop, I never emailed him because I couldn't find an email address for him so I sent him a Facebook message. Something I discovered recently is that Facebook actually has two inboxes for messages, and if you're not friends with someone and drop them a message then it goes into the spam inbox - and you get no notifications for those messages. So he's probably not even aware that I ever messaged him. This raises a question about if you ever emailed the engine creaters or only dropped them a facebook message too... *crossing fingers* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thothkins Posted December 6, 2012 Share Posted December 6, 2012 D'Oh! All this time Chris: Dear engine makers, could you please help me out with.... Engine creators: Why certainly Chris. With access to our engine, we've solved all your issues today. I hope you didn't spend much time on it yourself... Tonight on Hidden Mysteries: The Scream That Echoed Around The World... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StellarRat Posted December 6, 2012 Share Posted December 6, 2012 D'Oh! All this timeChris: Dear engine makers, could you please help me out with.... Engine creators: Why certainly Chris. With access to our engine, we've solved all your issues today. I hope you didn't spend much time on it yourself... Tonight on Hidden Mysteries: The Scream That Echoed Around The World... I'm pretty sure Chris has a bit more on the ball than that...but I did laugh. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thothkins Posted December 7, 2012 Share Posted December 7, 2012 ...but I did laugh. :-) thothkins: then my job here is done. I can ride off into the sunset. Clip clop, clip clop. passerby: here! you don't have a horse! don't even have coconut halves. that just be typing, that be! thothkins; shut up and go away! passerby: well, it's not right, deceiving decent forum going folk with fake horses. Not even using a decent typeface. thothkins: well, you're fictional yourself, now sod off! passerby: oh, you've got a point there >vanish< thothkins: >ahem< clip clop, clip clop... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erutan Posted December 7, 2012 Share Posted December 7, 2012 (edited) His previous remarks on the remake have all been very positive from what I've heard, this is the first time I've seen one critical. I also enjoy he was able to succinctly capture what many of us have devoted many rambling paragraphs expressing! update: fail, some more critical comments @ http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-11-28-x-communication-julian-gollop-and-jake-solomon-on-xcom update 2: kind of unrelated, but Jake Solomon's twitter background has a nice nod to the original tucked in the corner https://twimg0-a.akamaihd.net/profile_background_images/663728433/jfs5pq6vblv2hxcai7bg.jpeg Edited December 7, 2012 by erutan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingBork Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 Unless you count Laser Squad Nemesis nothing he did after in the XCOM vein was ever released (2005) Rebelstar: Tactical Command (simpler, more japanese style tactics game on the Game Boy Advance, very much like X-com in setting) (2011) Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars (Near future military tactics on the Nintendo 3DS based on the Tom Clancy franchise) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erutan Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 Forgot about rebelstar. He left Ghost Recon in mid-development - I don't know much about the game (don't own a 3DS, haven't used my PSP for years) but from what I know of the series it seems like a bit of a departure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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