UFO: Aftermath

[DrSpike]

Didn't you say the 13th?

[General Ludd]

Originally posted by DrSpike
Didn't you say the 13th?

Yes, that's when it ships.

[Kropotkin]

As we all know, cracked versions does not have to worry about such things as shipping...

[DrSpike]

Originally posted by Osweld


Yes, that's when it ships.

You wanna be careful you don't get a few gigs of gay porn.

So, anyway, play more, and spill the beans, or else!

[Skanky Burns]

Indeed, eager XCom fans are waiting for your review.

[General Ludd]

The first thing I noticed when I got into the game was that you have territory. I don't really know how it works, but I assume it's expanded (or reduced) through missions or obtaining new bases, and that you are able to project your power better within your territory.

The second thing I noticed was that there is no base managment. You are limited to chosing the function of your bases - military, engineering, or research. Aside from that, the only other management you have outside of combat is research and development. I haven't gotten to experience it much yet, as I have yet to get a research base, but it seems to be much better then in X-Com. There are two branchs, research and engineering. Research is for stuff like theoretical topics and autopsies, while engineering is for developing practical aplications.

Missions are handled very differently, as well. Instead of just waiting around for UFOs to come and shooting them down, missions will randomly (I assume it's random) appear for you - things like scouting an area, clearing out alien pressence form your teritory, ect...) Supposedly they each have some sort of effect on the game, but what, I'm not sure. You can choose to send the 'elite team' to a mission and take control over it, or delagate it to other troops - the grunts out of your control - and it will be automatically resolved. You do still get to detect and intercept UFOs, though. I just haven't gotten a chance to do that yet. (I've only just research the UFO detection system)


As for the Tactical combat, it works pretty well. The constant pausing every time someone completes an order is getting annoying, but I think there's options to control that. Although not being able to enter buildings is disapointing, there is a ton of cover provided in the maps... however, this can result in the larger aliens geting penned up behind stuff and unable to move out of the area. The thing most different about the combat compared to X-Com is that you don't have to clear out the entire map - only a certain number of aliens, but you can keep going if you want.

The experience system for your soldiers is nice... but I don't know if it really fits into this kind of game. Geting experience points during combat can shift the focus of what you're doing, and I think it makes more sense for a soldier to improve naturally while doing things like in X-Com rather then you choosing what abilities increase. And about the soldier limit, despite only having a limited number of soldiers at a time, they definately aren't super-humans and you do seem to get a steady stream of new recruits (which are random, I believe) I've gotten two in I think three in-game days so far.


EDIT: And regardless of how good the game is, it deffinately has style. The graphics and interface give a really good atmosphere, I think. (However, some of the animations/images you get while looking through the 'ufopedia' can be a bit spastic)

[Raion]

According to what I have read over across the seas. The player is one - like division - among others (but only on the computer - controlled), and later you get way more bases - 30 to 50 bases, and one of those has to also be the anti-biomass type base to push back the biomass taking over the planet. So the player is actually not the only in the world doing missions -- but that is what is "delegated" and the missions you do not do, the computer resolves, somehow, I guess.
Other than that, I still have to wait till about the end of the month.

At Avault, it seems the North America manufacturer of CD is too busy to get it made for Tri-Synergy, the North American Publisher, until around the end of the month, or late October.
Let me get the link, since the only place I have seen it, was Friday at Avault, and I reported it over at the UK link listed first post here in this thread.

http://www.avault.com/news/displaynews.asp?story=1032003-74925

Which I found out Friday and gave over here:

http://www.ufoaftermath.co.uk/

But I can wait!
I have to!

[DrSpike]

Sounds interesting............I'm going to keep an eye on this one.

[Skanky Burns]

Originally posted by Osweld
I played it alot in real time, and it was much easier. Just line all your people up with machine gunes /disrupter guns and sweep through the map like a mobile firing squad.

Machine guns are one of the worst weapons for early real-time play. The amount of ammo needed for each kill is exorbitant. At least with toxiguns you can set them to aimed and not waste as many darts, while disruptors with their unlimited ammo are ideal for RT. Plus they make good "economic rectification devices" (destroying other factions bases during tactical missions).

What I found decent for early RT missions is dual sniper-rifles for each agent. The hyper-accuracy of this weapon more than offsets the penalty for wielding two weapons at once. I wonder how the agents can look through the scope on both sniper rifles at once though. Anyway, these weapons do decent damage, actually hit, and due to the fact you have two per person, you can get quite a decent rate of fire.

Later on, a disruptor or toxigun firing-line is recommended. Stun gas grenades at the entrance of a one-entrance ufo is also quite rewarding in RT.

For TB, sniper rifles are one of the worst guns you can equip, while machine guns are great early on.

[DrSpike]

Yes, that sounds more like it.

[Skanky Burns]

I have to say I'm quite looking forward to Aftermath based on the preview I read on another site. It seems it will be close to the original in spirit, with the dark, scary atmosphere back again. Yay!

[Raion]

Well, now Avault has changed that article, as if it will be ready, and gone is the part about the manufacturing of the CD not being able to be done.

Maybe they decided that it would be best to get the game UFO:Aftermath done, since it is done and out in Europe already!

Goody!!

[Raion]

Oh, I think that at first you can not communicate with others across the globe in the (what I call) Aftermath Defense Force Extraterrestrial Command (ADF-XCOM -- call it what you want to, I guess), but later after much research, others were fighting off the invasion also (computer controlled resistance forces just like you start off with) and that what is happening all across the globe, perhaps! Not sure, though!

Gonna have to be Super-Heroic in this game, it sounds like!

[General Ludd]

Originally posted by Skanky Burns
I have to say I'm quite looking forward to Aftermath based on the preview I read on another site. It seems it will be close to the original in spirit, with the dark, scary atmosphere back again. Yay!

I haven't seen many 'real' aliens yet, mostly just the mutant humans so far, but yes... they're pretty good. Many of them often look pretty strange untill you realize what they really are (particularily the 'danglefly'. The graphics in tactical combat are also good, it has that whole post-apocolyptic thing going, and the wilderness maps are pretty nice too, even if a bit bland at times (it's usually just a forest of trees). My only complaint about the graphics so far is that it can be difficult to see elevations in tactical combat - there should be a way of toggling a graph or something so that you can see it easier.

They spiced up the UFO interception a bit too, you get to watch a movie of the action that corisponds with how the fight is resolved. It's just the same clips spliced together, but it's certainly more interesting then the intercept screen in X-Com.

[asleepathewheel]

Do you get to pick where you start on the globe, or is it the same everygame?