XCOM 2

[Bjorn]

I actually liked the scripted/story missions of the first one as an interesting aside on the general nature of the randomized/systemic missions.  Their primary value was in being played the first time when it was still mysterious/unknown, but they were definitely worth throwing some extra money at for me. 

 

I think the best example was the "ghost ship" that showed up in Enemy Within.  It was by far the creepiest of all the missions I ever played, part of which probably comes from it being hand crafted rather than generated. 

[Dewar]

Maybe that's what the Alien Hunter DLC will amount to?

 

ALIEN HUNTERS introduces new soldier customizations and gameplay themed around XCOM as an elite alien hunting unit. Face off against “Ruler” aliens with new, more powerful weapons and armor. Experience a new dramatic mission & confrontation. (To be released in Summer 2016)

[Sorbicol]

I'd have been happy if the pre-order bonus was just 'we'll release the soldier customisation element early so you can pre-make all your squad members prior to playing the game' if I'm honest. Clearly the first couple of hours of this are going to be spent making people rather than actually doing anything in game from the looks of it.

I did pre-order the 'delux' package however. Mostly because this'll be one of the few games I buy this year and because I'd be buying the DLC for it regardless I expect. PC games though - they surely be getting more expensive again

[Sorbicol]

I'd have been happy if the pre-order bonus was just 'we'll release the soldier customisation element early so you can pre-make all your squad members prior to playing the game' if I'm honest. Clearly the first couple of hours of this are going to be spent making people rather than actually doing anything in game from the looks of it.

I did pre-order the 'delux' package however. Mostly because this'll be one of the few games I buy this year and because I'd be buying the DLC for it regardless I expect. PC games though - they surely be getting more expensive again

[Griddlelol]

So this is on mac too? I'm down, although I feel like I should at least finish EU first...

[Dewar]

Just realized that this game comes out on the weekend which I'll have to be moving everything in my townhouse for a complete plumbing replacement, and then there's the Superbowl. So I guess I won't be able to play much.

[Vulpes Absurda]

I went ahead and created a Google spread sheet for those who want to use other thumbs in their games, and those who want to be in people's games: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/14WDTLNjxqKX3bn61Qle8O21TfIljvXhPzn6xIMrlOf4/edit?usp=sharing

 

Just leave anything you don't care about blank.

[Gwardinen]

I may actually use that. I might end up with a mixture of friends, family, thumbs and celebrities on my team.

[Cordeos]

I have 14 friends signed up so far, I always have trouble deciding if winning, or having them die in amusing ways is better. Last time one friend got zombified and killed another. Good stuff.

[Dewar]

I've never really spent much time customizing my soldiers. At most, I've googled for famous people from the country and renamed the better soldiers so I can keep track of them.

[Bjorn]

I refuse to name potentially losable soldiers after anyone in my life, it ends up actually affecting how I use them, in a way I don't enjoy.  I only do that in RPGs or games where the character won't face permadeath.  And god forbid the lady is watching me play something and I get "her" killed.  I'd never hear the end of it. 

[Deadpan]

I really enjoy naming after friends who volunteer on Twitter. It seems like a really neat and very simple way to get people more invested in the emergent stories of their soldiers' lives and deaths.

[dium]

My completely arbitrary soldier customization system in XCOM: I never customize names or physical features other than clothing, and I only customize clothing once they're high enough rank to get a nickname.

I like the widely multicultural feel of recruits that I wouldn't get by supplying my own names. And deciding what they all look like feels outside of the scope of the role I'm playing when I play this kind of game. But I can't resist the urge to play a bit of dress-up (it's one of gaming's purest joys).

[Bjorn]

Pre-Load is live!  Download for me was 24.7GB, going to take 14-16 hours or so.  For US folks, it actually unlocks tomorrow very late evening (like 11 pm Central).

[Vasari]

I usually go with random soldiers, but if I do name them I tend to only do it after they've been promoted once. That way they get a chance to survive and become an interesting character instead of becoming a smear on the skyranger ramp on their first turn.

[Dewar]

Oooh, I might get to actually play it Thursday night. Or, it might take for-absolutely-ever to unpack even though I've downloaded the whole thing, and I'll have to go to bed.

[Vulpes Absurda]

So one of the things you can mod into the game is character pools that let people be added to the list of random units that show up. So I added a section to the spread sheet for people to say if they would be cool with being added to one. I didn't want to assume everyone would be cool with that since it would likely go up on the steam workshop and some people are using their real names.

[Nappi]

Still on the fence about this game. Would love a new XCOM campaign, but it sounds that many of the new additions make the game more unpredictable, brutal and stressful in a way that I'm not sure I would enjoy very much personally. At some point, I will have to take a closer look to what extent the gameplay experience is actually affected by these changes and additions. I will probably play through The Rise of the Tomb Raider first, though.

[tberton]

I want this game, but it's $80 Canadian right now, so I'm going to have to wait.

[brkl]

It's super weird to me that some games let me name people who already have names. All that stuff as well as any changes I can make to how someone looks apart from equipment make the world seem less cohesive to me.

[Wooben]

Had some fun making soldiers using selfies posted in the slack chat from other thumbs members. Exported them all for if anyone wants to put them through their paces.

 

https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0ByqNbU3TdNVoNndiakREVzFIc2c&usp=sharing

 

Can't attach it directly since its a .bin, and I've never used google drive before, so just lemme know if there's any problems

 

[bakelite]

Legendary is no joke, I have 300+ hours in the previous game and lost two people on my first mission. I'm so happy.

[Bjorn]

Nice.  Is Legendary the new Impossible?  Or is it Classic?

[bakelite]

It's the highest difficulty level, for some reason they renamed them. I don't know if it's actually more difficult or if I'm just being punished for trying to play it like EW.

[Korax]

None of the available beards are long enough for complete accuracy, but here's me:

 

 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5sEOrIC8WBOM1JSZUY2T1VtTFk/view?usp=sharing