Feedback, Bugs, Suggestions

[DNK]

I'm on my first playthrough, and I felt I'd just make notes as I went along on the current state of the game. I've played the original XCOM series quite a lot, and my first time on this game is on normal difficulty. Now commenting on build:

V18.51 Steam

GPL=Gameplay Issue, SUG=Related Suggestion, ART=Art, DES=Design, BUG=Bug likely, AST=Assets, SIM=Simulation, SYS=System

IMPROVEMENTS

GPL - reduced base micro, but perhaps too much

...SUG: one of the payoffs of the original was, after a good mission, getting to go back to base and look through the spoils and personally sell off and profit from what you got, even if it was random crap you never would use (plasma pistols).

TWEAKS

ART - crash sites should look it, not just like a landed UFO in pristine area

...SUG: bring back old ones, plus damaged props/scenery

DES - middle east "walls" exist and have windows why? No closed-off compounds

...SUG: redo MEast assets

DES - more information needed. ultimately, it's hard to make decisions when you don't have the info onscreen

BUG - imprecise clicks: clicking on some things in base screen, etc, is off by a few pixels, v frustrating

BUG - scatter laser sells for $1K only?

BUG - the arrow keys do not immediately work after "HIDDEN MOVEMENT". The mouse must be moved first.

MINOR PROBLEMS

AST - limited guns

...SUG: US/SOV ARs+LMGs+MMGs+BRs+Snipers

AST - limited planes

...SUG: more variety, like having a "missile truck" so you can be more tactical in engagements

SIM - dusk? Played in the "dusk/dawn" zone but it was dark as night.

...SUG: variable lighting as a % of how far between hard night limit and hard day limit (not just on/off)

SIM - excessive wall damage: MG does way too much damage to a wall. 3-4 shots should not take out an entire wall.

...SUG: vastly increase building health

BUG - disappearing weapons: not sure why but some presets dont have weapons saved

MAJOR PROBLEMS

GPL - battle AI: terrible, just stand in place, crouching and standing up, seem directionless and unchallenging

...SUG: in-out of cover routine, flanking if unseen, more aggression less runawayrunaway

...SUG: setup random ambush spawn types in maps also

GPL - battlescape limited: no forests, no empty deserts, no mountains, etc? XCOM had more...

...SUG: add more!

GPL - battlescape 2D: no vertical component? XCOM had more

...SUG: add verticality for terrain

SYS - really, really long battlescape cleanup: can take 3+ minutes to end a battle once the final alien is done. Sometimes it doesn't ever complete. Sometimes it takes longer to wait than it did to fight the battle. Randomly this doesn't take much time at all - I think on short missions it's almost instantaneous.

FEATURE REQUESTS

SIM - auto-resolve option: a bit complicated, but allow an auto-resolve that bases the results on results in the last X engagements.

This helps ease some of the grind factor and allows players to choose to focus on strategy/air instead of spending 90% of the time in ground combat.

Each engagement will, after completion, be assessed with a few factors: 1) number of forces on each side, 2) type of units on alien side, 3) general stat "score" for each member of each side, 4) weaponry on each side, including armor, and 5) outcome, including lost health and total % casualties for alients, for both sides. For (2) and (4), some sort of table needs to be made that somewhat accurately reflects the different impacts of these on a battle. After 8 rounds (or less or more), a rough multiplier could be assigned to the player for how well they play (M). Then, after auto-resolve, the following equation would determine total health for "BLUFOR" versus "aliens":

Health(Blufor) = (( SUM(foreach unit BLU)[(unit BLU)(stat score)(weaponry)]-SUM(foreach unit Alien)[(unit AlienU)(stat score)(weaponry)] ))x (Player multiplier)

Then have a table for (Health) and (Number of Units), which will determine how many units are 1) killed, 2) severely wounded, and 3) minorly wounded. For (2) and (3) here, it will have a randomization value when applied in the end. So, apply wounding and death based on the "health table" to random units, and that should do it. I'm guessing there's a bit more going on, but this should be a good start to getting an auto-resolve system set up.

ART - grass props: it would be nice to have these so that we can have grass sprites and other terrain sprites instead of just purely flat ground. It looks nice, but it also is clearly totally flat.

SIM/ART - Cloud shadows and more environmental effects. Would be nice to have snow, rain, moving (or even static) cloud shadows, lightning, time-of-day/weather lighting changes. That adds so much immersion for not-too-much-work. I think another indie game in development, Project Zomboid, has a good example of basic rain effects in isometric gameplay that are effective.

Edited June 25, 2013 by DNK

[svidangel]

The original XCOM had dusk lighting didn't it? I seem to remember... enjoyed those missions.

Oh, and the AI isn't really in yet.

[DNK]

Yeah, it did, which was nice. Really should be an easy fix, just adjusting ambient light values for delta time between day/night.

Yeah, there really isn't "AI" in the current build since toddlers are more mobile than these aliens. Sigh.

Edited June 24, 2013 by DNK

[Xenomorph]

Weather effects would be INCREDIBLE to have. Maybe you should drop a post on the suggestions forum, i don't recall seeing anything like it there.

[thothkins]

Hey DNK, some comments on your comments...

reduced base micro - Currently the manufacture/ stores is a bit hollow with all the infinite items and auto selling. Something that has developed as the game has gone on really. Likewise auto-upgrading facilities was there to make things easier. With the current balance, it's not as though I even build enough strike bases to want to transfer anything much either. Hindsight being what it is, I wonder if it could have been removed entirely. Personally, I always liked having one of everything in stores for my alien collection.

crash sites should look it, not just like a landed UFO in pristine area - Gone with the new UFO art. Not sure it's going to make it back in. It did add to the atmosphere of the site though.

more information needed. ultimately, it's hard to make decisions when you don't have the info onscreen - New UI coming.

scatter laser sells for $1K only? - balancing in progress. You don't want money to spend do you? In Xenonauts?

limited guns - there's a mod for that.

limited planes - and coming for that. There for earlier versions.

more variety, like having a "missile truck" - support weapons limited to the tanks to focus attention on the soldiers and their combat.

Played in the "dusk/dawn" zone but it was dark as night. - this would be nice, for the situation you mention.

disappearing weapons: not sure why but some presets don't have weapons saved - reported on buggy forum.

Battle AI: terrible - work in progress. Better in a lot of areas than it was, so improving all the time.

in-out of cover routine, flanking if unseen, more aggression less runawayrunaway - part of that developing AI. Used to be more running away.

battlescape limited: no forests, no empty deserts, no mountains, etc? anything with a slope is out, although maybe this could be cheated around. zzz had a nice forest map quite a few builds ago. Expect to see one sooner or later. Lots of desert options around in community map pack, but perhaps not as deserted.

really, really long battlescape cleanup: you mean to get to the mission debrief screen? I don't generally have a wait on anything there.

auto-resolve option: Being looked at for air combat, but not as far as I know for ground combat, as that's sort of the game. Local forces taking out smaller UFOs and the UFO escalation should be balanced to keep the player's interest.

Cloud shadows and more environmental effects. Would be nice to have snow, rain, moving (or even static) cloud shadows, lightning, time-of-day/weather lighting changes. That adds so much immersion for not-too-much-work. - not too sure about it not being a huge amount of work here though. It's come up before and won't be making into the game.

[Sathra]

You could try my Little Mod. It probably overcomplicates the geoscape section, but people seem to like it.

[DNK]

@Sathra: I'm trying to play a mostly unmodded game right now. I mean, once I've bored of vanilla, I need to have something to turn to, don't I? The only thing I'm doing really is extra maps since there are so very few in vanilla.

crash sites should look it, not just like a landed UFO in pristine area - Gone with the new UFO art. Not sure it's going to make it back in. It did add to the atmosphere of the site though.

Thanks for the feedback. For this, it's a real pity since it added so much based on the screenshots I've seen from earlier.

more variety, like having a "missile truck" - support weapons limited to the tanks to focus attention on the soldiers and their combat.

An aircraft missile truck. I guess this would be too unbalancing, and seeing as all the aircraft are getting a do-over on stats right now, I'll just wait.

really, really long battlescape cleanup: you mean to get to the mission debrief screen? I don't generally have a wait on anything there.

Yes, debrief takes usually a couple minutes to pop up. Sometimes it doesn't and the game just hangs indefinitely with 0 processor usage.

Also, further clarification for AI: just having them regularly group together and having groups act in concert using basic tactics (like 1 group pins down and another moves to flank) would make things really, really exciting. I realize now that it's a big work-in-progress. I just hope some challenging tactics get added in, instead of just having them run away or whatever. Building usage needs to be increased greatly as well. Challenging AI is AI that, when at a disadvantage takes cover and groups together in the better position (hole up in a building or something), and otherwise takes mobile, offensive actions to keep the player on his/her toes.

Edited June 25, 2013 by DNK

[Sathra]

The MiG is meant to be the missile truck atm. It can carry heavy missiles, but is poor defensively.

[thothkins]

An aircraft missile truck. I guess this would be too unbalancing, and seeing as all the aircraft are getting a do-over on stats right now, I'll just wait.

I may have misread this one. Is the missile truck for anti aircraft (flying UFO) use or is it for the ground missions? If the former, I imagine that it gets swallowed up in the local forces taking down smaller UFOs concept later on in the game. If the later, then yeah, I think it's a bit unbalanced. Imagine stepping off the chinook straight into the alien version of it. You'd not be playing for long without a lot of frustration.

Yes, debrief takes usually a couple minutes to pop up. Sometimes it doesn't and the game just hangs indefinitely with 0 processor usage.

My elderly PC doesn't have any issues really. May be something worth finding more about.

just having them regularly group together and having groups act in concert using basic tactics (like 1 group pins down and another moves to flank)

There's a certain farm map of Doom where two Sebillians hold a defensive line behind a convenient wall, shoot ing at every hedge in sight, while their buddies work their way around, or at least approach my troops who are also working their way around. I hate that map But generally, yeah, such things make the game challenging. As for holing up in the buildings, there may be some groans if a lot of missions turn into bug hunts. If it's aggressively done, though, then it could prove to be a more immediate challenge.

[DNK]

As for holing up in the buildings, there may be some groans if a lot of missions turn into bug hunts. If it's aggressively done, though, then it could prove to be a more immediate challenge.

Well, you don't HAVE to hunt them, just capture the UFO, right? Also, there should still be some lone aliens, for surprises, but at least 2/3rds should be in a group of 2 or more, I think.

The MiG is meant to be the missile truck atm. It can carry heavy missiles, but is poor defensively.

Seems like that's not going to be the case much longer since it's being nerfed into just 2 hardpoints. I guess you're right, though, I just wanted a BIGGER missile truck for A-A Maybe I'm not the most balance-minded guy...

[WalrusJones]

limited guns - there's a mod for that.

Yeah.

I just released it.

[thothkins]

Well, you don't HAVE to hunt them, just capture the UFO, right

This is true. I'll pretend I'm old school X-Com rather than just forgetful