Regards, Dioxine and x piratez team
I just finished x-piratez (although I have a lot left to complete), and I would like to share my impressions:
I'm going to be frank: When I saw the aesthetics and dynamics that the mod apparently had, I thought that this was going to be a "pastiche" of some frustrated amateur geek. It seemed that I was going to find a "feminist" x-com, with "otaku" elements out of the question and that it would be an insult to the legacy of x-com.
Fortunately, for me, I decided to continue seeing that it was a cult mod and... I loved it!
To define x piratez in its full dimension would be to define the affection, dedication and talent of a unique vision of the x-com universe itself. It's a combination of a variety of influences so motley and seemingly incompatible that, in a way I can barely comprehend, they fit together seamlessly to the point of practically being a new game (and not a mod, as it actually is).
It is not simply the idealized x com that is part of the collective imagination of the average player, it is the vision of someone who has been able to capture a unique work of its kind, where solemnity, irreverence and absurdity form a single narrative and playable entity. So different and so respectful of the original. X piratez is, in short, x piratez and nothing more (or nothing less).
In conclusion: I can say, without fear of being wrong, that it is currently the best mod for open xcom (yes, it is a dense and very long experience).
Right now I don't feel capable of breaking down things to improve point by point (I'm still recovering). But I would like to repeat and observe the details more thoroughly.
However, there are things that I would like to see in the future (hopefully this will not be the last version):
1º I have nothing against ninjas (I like them to be a challenge), but I wish they didn't raise their bases like rabbits. Maybe some of those bases could be invaded by zombies, or other factions could also do them instead (there is a variety, of course)
2º I have read the post about future plans and I agree that the early game should be a bit longer and that there should also be an arena event.Moreover, there could be a, shall we say, "barbarian" arena, where only primitive weapons could be used. And then another arena that allowed for arena-specific gear (like when you're facing doctor x)
3ºAnd above all, hopefully one day there will be the possibility of taking a path where you are really the bad guy. Ok, you have slaves and all that, but deep down you're an antihero. In this mod you must first of all be a pirate, and although the default path of being an antihero seems fine to me, I would love for you to be a true motherfu...
Being able to do something like in fallout 2, when you did the quests for the slavers and even had to capture children. I would love to see that kind of rawness!
And that's it, I'll keep an eye out for possible future updates. Thanks for everything!