Zero Punctuation: XCOM: Enemy Unknown

Recommended Videos

Ragnarok2kx

New member
Nov 18, 2009
56
0
0
Atmos Duality said:
Seriously. Fuck the RNG in this game.
I have to study Chaos Theory and I'm calling bullshit on it.
Statistically, there is a chance to miss five 70%+ shots in a row. But when it happens to me on EVERY OTHER MISSION, I'm inclined to think that it's just dicking me in the ear.
Were you savescumming between turns by any chance? Because the rng generates a big ol' string of numbers at the start of the mission and just uses them sequentially. Therefore, if you try the same shot 5 times by reloading, the outcome will always be the same. ames like fire emblem do this as well, if I remember right.
 

kajinking

New member
Aug 12, 2009
896
0
0
Libra said:
Loving the positive vibes. And the "Nigeria has withdrawn support" slide had me laughing for the rest of the video
Did anyone bother saving that country?
 

repeating integers

New member
Mar 17, 2010
3,315
0
0
Sonicron said:
OhJohnNo said:
Dunno why you quoted me, I was providing evidence in support of your point. Ah well.
*re-reads*

... because, apparently, my grasp of syntax is horribly off tonight. Boy, do I feel like a doofus.
Sorry, mate. :\
Apology not needed, but accepted anyway.

The point is that we can both agree Yahtzee is a lazy-ass google searcher. :p
 

chimeracreator

New member
Jun 15, 2009
300
0
0
Wow, I'm sort of shocked he liked it given how he normally feels about strategy games. I mean I know I loved it and have been having some fun modding it, but still... I didn't expect him to like it.
 

Agayek

Ravenous Gormandizer
Oct 23, 2008
5,178
0
0
The Gentleman said:
Remember: the save button is your friend...

One... more... turn...
Nah. Things like that is why you play Ironman. Makes things more interesting.
 

Sonicron

Do the buttwalk!
Mar 11, 2009
5,133
0
0
OhJohnNo said:
Apology not needed, but accepted anyway.

The point is that we can both agree Yahtzee is a lazy-ass google searcher. :p
Indeed we can.
Still, it's laziness in the name of free interwebz entertainment, so I think we can let it slide. xD
 

cricket chirps

New member
Apr 15, 2009
467
0
0
This was my favorite reviews of all time. First: I'm loving this game and i'm rather addicted.
Second: The news at the end is the best news i've had all day :D I will be running to the book store in about 30 minutes!

Third: About the whole losing your best troops and having to restart. FROM EXPERIENCE i promise thats...only...kinda true ._. I had a mission where i lost all but two off my best men, i had nothing but recruits left after that. The key to my survival?

Snipers. Keep those bastards alive and trained at all costs! I managed to get through the next two UFO missions by luring out the aliens with my recruits and having my snipers pick them off from safety using a perk that allowed them to have infinite range so long as a fellow soldier had line of sight.

Snipers are the key. On the downside, everytime that happens you're almost garenteed to lose atleast one nation. I had an even worse situation where i only got out with one heavy alive, i truely have no clue how i managed to salvedge that.
-Side note: I've been playing on ironman mode since game one, so having to deal with losing my whole squad was more of a forced choice. BUT I DID IT :D
 

Bindal

New member
May 14, 2012
1,320
0
0
Lykosia said:
The Gentleman said:
Remember: the save button is your friend...
Real men play only the ironman mode.
Actually, people already experienced in XCOM games. Real men without play once in Normal or Classic without Ironman first to learn the rules of the game first.
 

Atmos Duality

New member
Mar 3, 2010
8,473
0
0
Ragnarok2kx said:
Were you savescumming between turns by any chance? Because the rng generates a big ol' string of numbers at the start of the mission and just uses them sequentially. Therefore, if you try the same shot 5 times by reloading, the outcome will always be the same. ames like fire emblem do this as well, if I remember right.
No. Not by turns. I make one main save and one Interim Save in case I have to leave the game for whatever reason. I don't do step-by step saves.

And the RNG for Fire Emblem isn't the same between games. Some of them have their random seeding "stepped" by turns, others by frame/action.

Tallim said:
RNG got decompiled by someone as it's mostly just UE scripts and it isn't skewed at all. It's not the most robust rng but for what it does it's fine and the distribution is pretty much as expected.
I'm just exceptionally fucking unlucky then, because it seems as though nothing short of full-cover does anything noticeable for my evasion, while I frequently miss targets out in the open.

I stopped playing after the fourth consecutive mission where I watched five of my soldiers miss reaction fire against the same target in a row (out in the open). Fucking ludicrous.

Captcha: Third time in a row that I've had to enter this same captcha. Good job. Really keeping those bots honest. Fucking waste of time...
 

5ilver

New member
Aug 25, 2010
341
0
0
If only the RNG wasn't such a cruel mistress. Save-scumming really *is* a requirement :/

And watching 5 of your soldiers die after you did everything right but were unlucky should never happen in a decent game imo.
Yes, I know you can just order a french batch of soldiers. That's not the point.

Examples:
An elite soldier should be able to shoot at an alien 5meters away with 100% accuracy, no excuses.
A soldier hiding behind a SOLID WALL should be UNTOUCHABLE period.

Both of these examples ^ are an uncertainty in Xcom. I've had 6 misses in a row with a 50% chance to hit, followed by a CRIT (10% chance upon a hit) on a soldier behind HEAVY COVER (probably about 20-30% or less chance to be hit), killing the soldier instantly 100->0.
 
Jan 27, 2011
3,740
0
0
In other words, it's absolutely fantastic, then.

.....Dammit, if I wasn't in the middle of midterm season with a large backlog of games already, I would grab this up right now.
 

Tallim

New member
Mar 16, 2010
2,054
0
0
Atmos Duality said:
Ragnarok2kx said:
Were you savescumming between turns by any chance? Because the rng generates a big ol' string of numbers at the start of the mission and just uses them sequentially. Therefore, if you try the same shot 5 times by reloading, the outcome will always be the same. ames like fire emblem do this as well, if I remember right.
No. Not by turns. I make one main save and one Interim Save in case I have to leave the game for whatever reason. I don't do step-by step saves.

And the RNG for Fire Emblem isn't the same between games. Some of them have their random seeding "stepped" by turns, others by frame/action.

Tallim said:
RNG got decompiled by someone as it's mostly just UE scripts and it isn't skewed at all. It's not the most robust rng but for what it does it's fine and the distribution is pretty much as expected.
I'm just exceptionally fucking unlucky then, because it seems as though nothing short of full-cover does anything noticeable for my evasion, while I frequently miss targets out in the open.

I stopped playing after the fourth consecutive mission where I watched five of my soldiers miss reaction fire against the same target in a row (out in the open). Fucking ludicrous.

Captcha: Third time in a row that I've had to enter this same captcha. Good job. Really keeping those bots honest. Fucking waste of time...
Yeah you are just really unlucky....

You can read one look at it here:

http://www.schwanenlied.me/yawning/XCOM/XCOMPRNG.html

there are others but they all come to the same conclusion.
 

The Critic

New member
Apr 3, 2010
263
0
0
kajinking said:
Libra said:
Loving the positive vibes. And the "Nigeria has withdrawn support" slide had me laughing for the rest of the video
Did anyone bother saving that country?
I generally try to keep Nigeria in the game so that I can get the All In bonus (which is really handy at the start of the game); and they always seem to last. Weirdly, it's Egypt that always gives me problems in Africa. Either they're being needy and are constantly asking for all of my resources and tech, or they're pulling out outright and screwing over my interception plans.

On Topic: I figured that Yahtzee would enjoy XCOM, it seems very much the style of game that would suit him.
 

StriderShinryu

New member
Dec 8, 2009
4,987
0
0
The game is great.. and I don't even like strategy games, especially ones with messy resource management and base building. Just finally caved in to picking the game up yesterday and I'm finding myself enjoying it a lot. There's just something compelling and satisfying about how they've put everything together. As Yahtzee says, there is a synergy to the way your in base and on ground activities work.
 

Rad Party God

Party like it's 2010!
Feb 23, 2010
3,560
0
0
Yhatzee didn't liked Dish-on-a-red... and he did liked Eggs-com...

I don't know what to think...

EDIT: What I meant by that, is that he stated many times that he didn't liked strategy games and that he liked the Thief series, even saying something about a massive erection slaping everyone in a room, or something like that, but to my surprise, it turned out to be the other way around.

I want to play both, but I'm definitely leaning more towards Xcom due to it's replayability.
 

Bindal

New member
May 14, 2012
1,320
0
0
SupahGamuh said:
Yhatzee didn't liked Dish-on-a-red... and he did liked Eggs-com...

I don't know what to think...
That he likes omlettes and ONLY omlettes, which are also not on anything remotely red?
 

Duffeknol

New member
Aug 28, 2010
897
0
0
Just finished it. Only complaint I have is the final mission. The game gets pretty tough, but that was a joke. Way, way, way too easy. I could literally just rush into the last room, and even though I only had 3 guys left I cleared it in a few turns.
 

NerfedFalcon

Level i Flare!
Mar 23, 2011
7,626
1,477
118
Gender
Male
SupahGamuh said:
Yhatzee didn't liked Dish-on-a-red... and he did liked Eggs-com...

I don't know what to think...
Maybe that he doesn't have the same tastes in gaming as you do?

OT: I was leaning towards X-COM over Dishonored before, and everyone else on the internet gave them both 9/10, so I think this might be the only time I was ever even slightly influenced by Yahtzee's opinion. Except when he influenced me into learning of Painkiller, which was amazing and everyone should play it.
 

DioWallachia

New member
Sep 9, 2011
1,546
0
0
He didnt like the old game because of the interface??? how about any criticism worth of mention like, how much of the customization was lost in the new game and etc?? Is that really your best?

And now that you suddenly like Turn Based Strategy, how about we see you play Heroes 3 Of Might And Magic?? or how about the RTS+FPS+Management Sim hybrid know as Dungeon Keeper? You despice being the coward commander who directs the orders from the sky but you like being a man of action, here is a game where you can do both. How does it hold up?

And if this version off XCOM is too luck based for you then you will eat your hat when you play FTL: Faster Than Light.