No, they cannot. They said they cannot think of a single “X-Com” game that followed that. Firaxis and XCOM are not X-COM. Nice try, though 
A ha! But it was in reply to my post saying:
It’s all the same difference to me.
Anyway, there should be sequel coming out soon called ‘XCOM the invasion of the semantics and the holy dash.’ 
That hyphen denotes the difference between simulation and showboating 
for multiple reasons in fact.
- At lease NJ and Synedrion got connections ‘from the past’ with Phoenix Project (or Firebird). That’s why they welcome Phoenix POINT soldiers with some kind of level of trust?
- It also works as a lore mechanism, we are discovering our past, and that force us to find more bases of Phoenix Project INSTEAD of creating our own.
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Re-Reading the short stories and one in particular jumps out at me in regard to this topic.
It’s the one about a group of scientists some time (years?) after the re-emergence of the mist and the fall of human civilisation, they’re being chased by hordes of Pandoran mutated creatures (Which remember are meant to be littered around the planet, not just in the mist), but are hell bent on making their way to a Phoenix Project base established decades ago because they’ve finally received “The Signal” calling ex-Phoenix Project members to specific coordinates.
The coordinates sent out seem to be the nearest old Phoenix Project base to them, as the scientists in the story were called to a secondary base rather than ‘Phoenix Point’ which is what the main character in the story refers to as the main base of operations of the Phoenix Project… the base they arrive at isn’t quite what they had hoped however.
So I don’t think at the start we’re controlling random people. Based on the lore and the events in the tutorial missions it points very heavily to us playing the role of ex-Phoenix Project members who after years have finally received a similar signal and find themselves at Phoenix Point, the heart of the old Phoenix Project.
Which just puts even more emphasis on the sheer lack of feeling of being anything to do with the Phoenix Project.
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But you start with zero relationship with other factions and even “research” them. So what do you mean by “trust”? A piece of text somewhere that is unrelated to actual gameplay?
Which is actually a bummer for me.
I expected I will need to hire scientists and engineers as in UFO.
I expected I will have to produce enormous amounts of food to keep them fed, and field garrisons to keep them safe.
None of that happened. There are no civilians in random events. There are no civilians to be recruited from Havens.
Bases are automated, boring and don’t feel unique in any way.
They are just a parking garage with a medbay for when my Manticore is nearby.
Absence of civilians makes it bland IMO.
There is literally no point to keep more than 6-8 ppl at a base to fill a Manticore.
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There are civilians in haven defense. They do die quite fast but it’s better in comparison to BB5 where they run around like handless chickens and could block your soldiers from moving or taking up cover spots.
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So, to clarify something, since this is a point where people seem to be disagreeing-
I do realize there are potential lore justifications for PP being a bland, lifeless organization with no identity beyond what it borrows or steals from the factions. The problem is, lore justification or not, it leads to extremely boring gameplay.
I didn’t know about the background lore for the simple reson that I’ve never actually had any reason to care about it, because the actual game the lore is relevant to isn’t fun to play, at least not in its current state, and I don’t really care if a background novel gives a reason why what I’m doing is boring, I want a game to play that’s actually fun.
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Yeah but budget is budget, I would suggest to keep this excellent suggestion to some PP2, there’s a lot more work to do for PP to achieve a truly release version, and I think this one is less a problem. But I agree anyway.
Boring? Thats pretty subjective cos I have clocked 4d on PP so far… don’t feel boring to me.
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I mean, I didn’t say everyone had to find it boring, but I definitely do, so I’m providing feedback to that effect.
I’m glad you’re enjoying the game (not sarcasm, to be clear, resenting other people having fun is just silly), but I’m proving feedback on the strategic layer of the game, specifically that the lack of meaningful progress or advancement by Project Phoenix makes me feel like I’m just riding on the factions’ coattails, and I at least (and from the responses from other people, a pretty substantial amount of the players) am not finding that very interesting or compelling. Basically everything of interest I can do- hell, getting soldiers at all- completely depends on the factions. The result is there are four factions in the game, and I’m stuck controlling the one with no interesting technology or identity.
I’m not sure what could be done to fix this- the factions’ tech being essential to progression feels pretty baked into the game in its current form- but it’s the biggest thing keeping me from enjoying the game right now, which is a pity, because I have enjoyed the tactical battles at the beginning of the game before all these issues choke out the fun.
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Concur here. The game is lifeless and dull outside of the combat. The soldiers themselves are pointless clones in essence. Almost no individual traits or personalities. My “faction” is a faction at all, just a random amalgamation of whichever recruits I grab from the 3 actual factions (who we can’t play as) and there is literally no one in charge, no evolution of a factional direction or flavor.
First few hours feels great, then you realize you have pretty much seen it all and it becomes a very dull grind.
Never gets its hooks into the player for buy-in once you realize that all the lore etc has zero impact on you or really anything to do with you at all.
There formula was apparently : “4 hobos found a quai-militarybase, they were replaced with other hobos though because factions have better hobo classes.” = ENGAGEMENT!
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Need to correct you there 4 ex Phoenix Point hobos find a base…
This synopsis of what actually constitutes The PP really made me chuckle.
I hadn’t stopped to think about it that way but you’re right, it’s literally a handful of troops and a bunch of computers that have been on standby for years.
And if you lose those original soldiers then it’s actually Haven recruits. So really, it’s all about the machines. The Phoenix Project is essentially a benevolent SHODAN 
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And that explains why the original Phoenix Point equipment feels so outdated in comparison to the equipment of other factions!