Congratulations and Feedback

Phoenix Point Game Feedback
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First let me congratulate you for releasing this game. It was a more or less long wait but, in my opinion, worth it. I seriously considered cancelling my preorder when you decided to go with Epic, but I’m glad I didn’t. Don’t get me wrong, I still don’t like Epic, but I do love Phoenix Point.

I played a bit this evening and it was fun. During the backer build phase I never had the will or desire to play for too long due to the unfinished state of the game, but now that it’s a complete game, I can finally do that.

The aiming system is this game’s best feature, hands down. At least for me. It’s well done, it feels like the soldier is indeed firing a projectile at the enemy and not hit percentages. So far I have no complaints. Even the Phoenix Project hand Howitzer seems to have gotten more accurate since last I tried it. Can’t wait to discover more weapons, since your system makes weapons feel unique and special.

I saw people talking about ammo types for the weapons and I would love to see those added.

The item system is again something I like a lot. It feels good to see a more realistic approach to weapons and ammunition, next to Xcom (which I use as a basis of comparison). I also like the armor system. Some may consider it visually restrictive, but I personally like to see a proper uniform for my soldiers that reflects their class and their faction. I am sure you’ll add more options in the future.

I like the theme, but I think you could have done a better job delivering it. I think the intro is rather thin and does not properly present the obvious threat of the alien virus and the damage it did. If I didn’t know what I was walking into, I’d be surprised to see the degree of damage the virus did worldwide.

I am not to crazy about the bases. While I like that you can actually fight in them and the damage is “real”, I think the management menu could have had some more fluff added to it. Such as actual base visuals and not static pictures. But it’s not that big of an issue in the end. Still it feels like something is missing there.

I’m also not happy with the lack of cinematic effects. Xcom was lacking in a lot of departments but this is something that they did right and I think you should have learned from them. I don’t know if you planned it but never got time to do it, but in my opinion this is a big minus for your game. Some people might not find it very important but I did enjoy all the cinematic cutscenes from Xcom a lot especially in Xcom 2, I never got tired of seeing my soldiers flying to and from a mission location and not many things beat the mission completion screen. Not to mention the cinematic slow motion kills. I’m not saying you should copy Xcom in everything, but I think you could have made it a lot more interesting than just a stats screen. This makes a huge difference to me.

All in all, I think you got something great here, but I also think you need to dress it quite a bit, because having a great mechanic is not enough. You nailed the looks, you nailed the theme, but you need to work on visuals. That’s my opinion.

Thank you for making this game and again, congratulations for releasing it. I hope this post does not come off as too criticizing or entitled, it’s my honest opinion.

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Some good points here. Really hoping they are not just listening to feedback but are considering implementing the more requested bits and pieces. Personally I’m enjoying the game overall but cannot stand the cover system…

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I slowly create my feedback. And believe me, you are not criticizing.

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I’m in two minds about the production values. On the one hand, what we have with v1 is very similar to lets say Battletech. The gameplay is slick enough, while any cut-scenes comprise semi-animated stills, which in one way is arty and stylised, but in another is a shortcut, and a bit disappointing.

As for other areas of ‘dressing’, I don’t think the game is lacking. I was a bit taken aback by the new ‘arcade’ style level-up SFX, but other than that, I have no complaints. Compared to BB5, there is a lot that’s new, and for now, that’s good. The combination of story and exposition as you enter the first base made me wince and smile at the same time, although I doubt the way it was on rails could have been done any other way.

I think one of the things that made FiraXCOM appealing to a broader audience was the inclusion of actual story characters, like beefy Bradford, obligatory Einstein guy, uptight German woman, then latterly black Einstein guy. Then Einstein guy’s daughter (all the names escape me - apologies). Daft as all this was, it did help with the on-boarding, so to speak.

There is still no trace of this here, and I doubt there ever will be in a Gollop game. In a way I’m glad. Julian’s games have always fundamentally been about the mechanics, with some story layered on top. That said, the setting always seems to be fundamental, but the emphasis, in my interpretation, has always been on imagination. You don’t really get ‘characters’ other the barest of bones, and the ones you create in your own mind. I was sort of disappointed that a voice-over was provided for the faction leaders, as it didn’t really match up to what I’d already decided they sounded like in my own head. I thought the first Anu VO was particularly off the mark. But I digress…

It’s by no means my intention to over-analyze this and go completely off-topic, but it seems somehow relevant here; the entire concept of Phoenix Point being the kind of game that can contend with triple-A tentpole offerings seems totally out of whack. Don’t misunderstand me - I wish the game and its creators well, and I hope it makes enough money for them to continue and create more games. What I mean is that at heart, I don’t think JG is too concerned with big production values when juxtaposed with great gameplay, if one should come before the other - and I apologise to the man himself if he reads this and it’s incorrect - although I realise that there is the pressure to contend with the production values of the Firaxis iterations.

Personally, I’ve played most of JG’s games since the early 80s (I missed out on the console years - sorry), and when I play Phoenix Point, I just think ‘Wow! This is what I would have loved Rebelstar, Chaos, or Laser Squad to have been like when they first came out’. I remember distinctly wishing that computers were better, because I could see exactly what the author had in mind. When UFO/X-Com came along, I had a minor epiphany, and Phoenix Point, to me, is just another iteration of that.

So in conclusion, I suspect complaints about dressing might be somewhat but not entirely generational. I’m ok with it so far, but I get what you mean. To my mind though, if a lack of dressing is a valid complaint, you’re probably exactly target audience for FiraXCOM, and by virtue of that, you might not be here otherwise. I also love FiraXCOM, and I get that all its bells and whistles are part of its thing. But it’s also really just a card and dice game with some jazzmataz chucked on top, so I should probably constrain and stop going on with myself.

If Firaxis make another XCOM, you can bet your ass it will have a ballistics model, and then we’ll see what’s what. :wink:

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I have to say I’m grateful for the extensive pdf manual. Something to print off and sit on the bog with.

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pdf manual? I know this is a dumb question, but… where is it? lol

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It in your content folder which is a separate download to the game.

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Have to admit I’m a sucker for well done cut scenes that help immerse you into the story. They also help to persuade you that these events are real a not just a computer game. :wink:

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Oh yes. A would like to congratulate JG and all those at Snapshot for the successful launch of the game I have been waiting for, for what seems like forever. I hope this game goes on to gain favour amongst all UFO/Xcom fans around the world and become a classic once more.

This is true Xcom baby.

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You have to install PP Content, open it from Epic and the extras folder wil be opened on Windows Explorer.

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I think the feedback here is great. Item management was always something I wish NewCom 1+2 had. There’s a lot of micromanagement that reminds me of the reason why I just can’t play Xcom anymore unless it’s with Long War installed- base game just feels bland and unfinished. I only purchased WOTC to support the game and hope that LW would get updated- I only played a single playthrough of the xpac because that’s just how bland base Xcom feels compared to everything Long War brought to the table.

That being said though I do feel like some of the micromanagement in PP is a bit extreme, like for instance having to reload weapons in between missions. Also having to offload soldiers from the Avenge- I mean transport so that they heal and recover is at times tedious as well. I understand why this is a feature- it’s supposed to make you think about your action economy and force you to make choices about how far to push your soldiers. I’m just wondering if that’s a bit too much micromanagement, and helps tediousness in an already extreme micromanagement game start to eat into ‘fun’. When I did my 6 years in military nobody ever had to remind me to reload every day :wink: A simple pop-up if you’re out of ammo would be sufficient.

By the way, the idea of taking ammo out into the field is fantastic. It adds a whole new layer of tension in some missions.

The classes also feel a bit bland, they do what they do and typically in the exact same way every time. Given that there’s only three, there’s hopefully serious room for improvement here. I may be speaking from a position of where I was spoiled by Long War 2 and its numerous options for each class though. I get the general feeling that PP is simply not ‘done’, I mean three base classes in a strategy game is something I’d expect from an Alpha release. I suspect financial considerations and concerns were behind the game’s release date.

That being said, I am a fan and will continue playing and purchasing DLC. Don’t mistake this for a “game sux refund plz” post. Given that this is largely an independent production I think what we have right now is pretty incredible and a true accomplishment, even if the polish on systems and presentation isn’t quite there. We’ll wait.

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@trickofthehand there are more then 3 classes in the game, other factions have their unique classes that get unlocked later in in the game. New Jericho has the “technician” there’s the Synedrion “infiltrator” and Anu has 2: the “berserker” & “priest.” You just don’t have access to them until mid game.

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Doesn’t it kind of bother you that you only get to play 3 classes for half the game though? Specially given how there’s zero variety between them? We’ve already been denied equipment and tech upgrades by very frustratingly only having a single tier of weapon and armor available in the entire game- limiting classes which are themselves so limited, just further makes the game feel… well, boring.

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After all you only need 2 to 3 classes anyway in this game because the rest just suxx too hard for the difficulty spikes rasining down on you.
You need sniper and heavy, maybe a priest. That´s all your team should be composed of from midgame on…