OpenXcom and Tactical RPG's

[DoxaLogos (JG)]

@Dioxine, I think you make some really good points.

I've been thinking about how could I recreate the Buck Rogers SSI Gold Box RPG  or some other Sci-Fi like RPG with the OpenXcom engine, and a lot of the pieces are already there.  In fact, I think more will be there once TFTD support is finished.  Shoe's soldier diary mod really enhances the "character" development side at least as far as game progression goes by giving the soliders a "history".  One of my favorite mods!  Which I think hits on the most "lacking" part of the OpenXcom engine which you already hit upon - character development through customization.  Again, I'm not knocking OpenXcom in anyway, because I understand the goals it is designed for in the first place - recreate the XCOM experience and a wonderful job that is being done.  So, I know I'm getting outside the design when I talk about this.

So, I wonder if adding more "abilities" like lock picking, bypass security, programming, piloting, fast talk, disguise...a bunch of others with custom made missions that need those skills to succeed would create a more RPG experience.   Also more classification of character occupations in a mission as well, like I need to take this engineer on this mission to reprogram this computer at this super secret enemy base, and we need to be stealthy and not alert enemies of our presence or I actually recruit real pilots with piloting skills to man my crafts.

[Warboy1982]

Cutscenes? Who the hell needs cutscenes, they're a plague, not a feature. Mission briefing screen (already highly customizable) + Pedia allows to feed the player as much plot and background as needed without forcing him/her to digest cutscenes. How better XCOM2012 would have been with a simple operation of cutscene removal. Apart from the fact the game never existed, that is

you're not thinking in JRPG terms. play front mission 5 and tell me how much the cutscenes ruin it for you.

[Hythlodaeus]

you're not thinking in JRPG terms. play front mission 5 and tell me how much the cutscenes ruin it for you.

This. Games like FFT also delivered most of its plot-points via in-game cutscenes, which were actually pretty cool.

[Dioxine]

Tactical JRPGs indeed often had very good briefings/cutscenes, but that wasn't my point. My point was that a 'cutscene' can be done by extremely simple means. And that the best movie-making-machine resides between player's ears. It only needs fuel. Overtly 'cinematic' cutscenes tend to create an alternate reality, that is - one reality is 'the game', and the other is 'the cutscene', laws of the first one do not need to apply to the second one, and vice versa, which causes immersion-breaking schizophrenia... I guess a cutscene is only needed if it really adds something, something important for the *game*.

But no, no, I'm not against cutscenes in any form and shape. Like everything else, they can be used to enrich the experience. I guess I got overtly emotional about this after playing too many Bioware games and watching too many LP's of modern RTS and FPS games.

Yeah it's just sort of a rant, excuse me for it, but the topic is very loose.

[Warboy1982]

seriously, play front mission 5. 

[Phoenix7786]

Has the OP ever tried the GBA game Rebelstar Tactical Command? Julian Gollop was involved with it, and it's pretty much X-com with nothing but battles and a story.

[DoxaLogos (JG)]

Nope. I sure haven't.