PP now finished a couple of times, some feedback

Phoenix Point Game Feedback
1

Overall, I like Phoenix Point and I’m glad it got made. It’s a much better game than the “new” XComs.

I’m way past 70 hours at this point. I worked through the game “as intended.” However, this included the DLC Blood and Titanium.
Yes, I have an old XCom bias, and there are bugs. With DLC in the pipeline, maintaining balance is going to be hard.
That said, it has potential, and I’m glad this isn’t an imprecise an instrument as I feel the new XCom titles are. Just avoid rounding things to the nearest 10, please.

The few negatives
PP is very pretty. My biggest gripe, as with some modern titles - not to detract from the skill of artists - it that it is way over-animated for my liking.
After planning and executing your turn, you then have to wait minutes for enemy units to do their thing. The action cam, the slow animation; Bear in mind how many times you have to watch it. Time some of the larger battles, see what I mean. An Example, an enemy that fires three or four pistol shots: Camera switches. Pause. Raise weapon. Fire, chase bullet. Pause on target a second. Switch back. Reset animation, lower gun. Repeat.
There are, of course, sensible ways of improving this without detracting from the action.

There’s not much in the way of the old XCom “stages”, that I can tell. Mobs scale fast. Jumping on others tech, instead of leading the way.

Research fills up with non-researchable demands. Some ordering and categories are much needed.

Faction rhetoric is predictable, in as much that they are always talking extremes; You can pretty much tell where that’s going. Yes, I know X faction won’t agree with Y faction. Are there really no alternatives?

Would like to see

  1. Right click to always be “cancel”
  2. A way to fire soldiers and dismantle vehicles
  3. An “effective range” indicator for weapons
  4. AI allies being less stupid. Also AI assistance during defence missions to give you an incentive to turn up early
  5. If “Ready for Action” is an ability, please automatically reload when empty
  6. Stats and accuracy, are not well reported. Take your starting heavy, for example. Weapon hits were soul-destroyingly random. It was not until I looked at the armour… and stats with it
  7. I appreciate that the “old” XCom had its day, but Apocalypse did have the kneel/crawl thing down perfectly, and the disadvantages/bonuses that came with it
  8. Lots of “0 damage” shots, with no real explanation as to why. I’m sure this is cover penetration - just the mechanic seems glitched. Would be nice to have feedback
  9. Chiron need to have some limits on spitting stuff. It really should be willpower based. Counter it with better abilities, more mobility and a charge attack, or something
  10. If you have a healing kit, or ability, just activate it, ask to select a target/self. Currently: Get out stickingplaster417. Equip stickingplaster417. Switch to stickingplaster417. Use stickingplaster417 on target. Confirm
  11. VIPs or important targets in defences to add weight to the “protection”
  12. Proper aim from behind cover - a “ghost” should aim as if from the firing position
  13. What can we do with all the skill points our level 7 soldier gets after he’s bought everything? Donate to the pool as a trainer at a rate of points/10
  14. Would like to see “enforced” weapon proficiency dropped, in favour of proper class bonuses, or perhaps affinity earned with a weapon, which is partly transferable to a new one
  15. Multi-use and multi-function medical kits, like the old days. Administer heal/cure/stimulant, and multiple charges thereof. Stimulant can either be +WP with a crash to 0WP afterwards, or just make it 1WP if the target is in panic mode
  16. Sniper rifles changed to damage falloff, rather than the minus accuracy beyond effective range
  17. Anti-mist grenades
  18. Captured your first enemy using the melee zapper? Good going. Here’s a better idea - here’s a ranged one. Yes, I know where I can “get” a ranged one. Shouldn’t be reliant on it
  19. Run over certain smaller enemies with the tracked/wheeled HWP (haha)
  20. Anti-goo spray
  21. Proper multi-ammo weapons (AP/HE/Incindiary, or now including /Acid/Stun/EMP/Sonic/Goo/dirty socks)
  22. Call me old, but I would like an alternative UI that doesn’t move the icons around. Stock icons (move/fire/heal/recover etc.) on the left, class/ability/equipment middle, standby on its own on the right
6 Likes
2

Yeah, the way right click cancels all orders but also moves the soldier without confirmation is infuriating.

Being able to go straight into the aim using the scroll wheel is UI genius. Doing the above is the complete opposite.

3

I want it to be move when none of the abilities is selected.

What if there will be other types of ammo for the same weapon? Should it reload the same type or some other?

You mean that armor function is not explained anywhere?

Oh god nooooooooooo… say no to any more powerful skill, higher mobility or anything like that. You are not satisfied with currently broken and overpowered skills? Chiron should be just less dangerous, not the players more powerful. I hope that devs won’t read it carefully because such ***** ideas ruin balance of the game.

He should not get so many Skill Points.

Yes, you can use any grenade that has blast value or priest ability to remove mist

In almost any XCOM game paralyzing weapons are melee or close range. Just daze your enemy first then paralyze.

Use explosives or special leg module.

All other points are kind of interesting.

4

X-COM: EU has paralyzer gun with area effect. TFtD has the same. X-COM: Apocalypse has stun gun and stun gas grenades. So…

5

Yes, but if I well remember they are obtained quite late. So possibility of having paralyzing sniper rifle from Synedrion is also quite high later on in the game.

6

0 damage sniper shots, particularly through cover - cardboard boxes etc. “You hit. Round penetrated something first, but had the momentum of a discarded supermarket sandwich.”

Chiron aren’t particularly powerful, just inconvenient. With no spotters, they’re decoration.

Makes a donut or a crescent. AI just hides in the edges. Science can give us a better option.

Haha. I’m just not prepared to paralyze a Scylla, using 7 paralyze dmg a charge. :slight_smile:

From your previous point on grenades, I guessed you might be prepared to blow your guys up. :smiley:

7

I agree with the goo stuff, if we can have anti-goo boots, why not grenades and/or spray.
Using explosives to free goo trapped soldiers seems a bit extreme to me :slight_smile:

Regarding ammo, I never liked the two dimensional gun/ammo dynamic. Ammo types should not be locked to a given weapon, only weapon ammo types.
For example, it shouldn’t be possible to get Gauss ammo for a PP assault rifle as it is a weapon type, but AP ammo should be possible (Gauss ammo could be defined as AP as standard attribute for the ammo though).

Ammo would have been a great way to add a challenge and options to the game. The old UFO Aftermath had a mod which introduced soft and hard ammo (hard being good against armour but caused less damage than soft against unarmoured targets) . I guess it’s a complicated thing to introduce but would have been cool.

I haven’t played for a while but if the end level is the same as before, needs changing. It’s just a peek-a-boo around the corner (or you just get bombed).

I’d also still like to see an accuracy stat for soldiers, tweaking soldiers, weapons and equipment in general would be good.

8

This is how ammo works in real life. Full metal jacket vs hollow point.

9

Old X-COMs have weapons with AP/explosive/incendiary ammo types…