Author Topic: Phoenix Point - AMA with Jullian Gollop  (Read 15388 times)

Offline michal

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Phoenix Point - AMA with Jullian Gollop
« on: March 23, 2017, 08:20:17 am »
Lot of questions about Phoenix Point:

https://www.reddit.com/r/PhoenixPoint/comments/60tn6x/i_am_the_designer_of_xcom_and_phoenix_point_ask/

Also about OpenXcom:
Quote
No I haven't contacted the developer on openxCOM, but I have been following it. I have played several versions over the last year, and also the Xpiratez mod.

Offline Hobbes

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Re: Phoenix Point - AMA with Jullian Gollop
« Reply #1 on: March 23, 2017, 08:48:55 pm »
That's great news that the master has taken notice of OpenXCom :D

Offline scyt4l3

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Re: Phoenix Point - AMA with Jullian Gollop
« Reply #2 on: March 24, 2017, 12:04:03 pm »
cool stuff!

Offline robin

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Re: Phoenix Point - AMA with Jullian Gollop
« Reply #3 on: March 25, 2017, 01:44:03 pm »
can't wait for Phoneix Point.

kudos to Dioxine! Well deserved.

Offline TKO

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Re: Phoenix Point - AMA with Jullian Gollop
« Reply #4 on: March 26, 2017, 10:22:39 am »
Just had a quick read through the whole AMA.  I'm impressed with how much he's tried of open-xcom.  Nice to see that going on.  And his ideas for Phoenix Point sound really cool.  I'm getting more and more interested to try that out.  (At the very least I'll throw some money the project's way as a small thanks for the many many years of enjoyment I've received from UFO: Enemy Unknown, back in my Amiga days.)

Offline kharille

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Re: Phoenix Point - AMA with Jullian Gollop
« Reply #5 on: April 04, 2017, 05:29:48 am »
They released a comic and a soundtrack. 

http://comic.strategycore.co.uk/#!/

Subscribe to the snapshot games updates for more.

Offline Stoddard

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Re: Phoenix Point - AMA with Jullian Gollop
« Reply #6 on: April 05, 2017, 09:59:09 am »
Kinda sad they spend resources on stupid comics instead of the game.

Seems like the modded-inside-and-out-like-hell community edition will be superior as it always happens.
Unless they don't do enough for modding, in which case it'll just fail miserably.

nothing changes - wanna do it right, do it yourself  :(
« Last Edit: April 05, 2017, 10:01:04 am by Stoddard »

Offline Hobbes

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Re: Phoenix Point - AMA with Jullian Gollop
« Reply #7 on: April 05, 2017, 09:30:32 pm »
Kinda sad they spend resources on stupid comics instead of the game.

Seems like the modded-inside-and-out-like-hell community edition will be superior as it always happens.
Unless they don't do enough for modding, in which case it'll just fail miserably.

nothing changes - wanna do it right, do it yourself  :(

The comic is not related at all to Gollop, despite what the post previous to yours say

Offline Stoddard

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Re: Phoenix Point - AMA with Jullian Gollop
« Reply #8 on: April 06, 2017, 06:30:53 am »
Well, not all is lost then  :)


Offline kharille

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Re: Phoenix Point - AMA with Jullian Gollop
« Reply #9 on: April 22, 2017, 04:23:51 am »
They had survey results released.  Should I post the results?  Actually, might as well...

Phoenix Point Survey Results

Thanks to all of you who took part in our survey. Now I want to share the results with you and discuss some of the interesting points.

Good AI tops the poll, and this is slightly, but pleasantly, surprising. For me it is always important, but I also want enemies to have distinct behavioural traits and a bit of unpredictability (i.e. randomness) thrown in.

A large variety of mission objectives comes second, and this is understandable. This is one of the key mechanisms which can make missions interesting over the long stretch of a campaign. I also want missions to have a meaningful context in the wider, strategic level of the game - and I want them to have their own unique stories. It’s a tall order, but clearly a high priority.

Fully destructible environments rank 3 in importance. It’s great to know that people still want to blow stuff to bits. I was a little disappointed that in XCOM 2 I could barely raze one building to the ground with a squad of grenadiers. I want to see structures toppled crushing monsters beneath them. I want enemy cover obliterated. I want mass destruction to be a possible strategy - at least in some situations. Bring it on.

At number 4 the mutation system for the aliens is a key new and unique feature, so I am pleased that this is rated so highly. But, as they say, the devil is in the details. We have a basic system working already and it is already proving interesting. However, we found that it is important to convey visually in some way all the key abilities that an alien may have, and to let the player get used to a certain type before mutation occurs. You will be able to name the alien mutant variants yourself, by the way, which can help with your battle field assessments e.g. the next time you come across ‘vomiting b*****d’ you know not to get too close to it.

Multi-level terrain at number 5 is a mild surprise, especially given the difficulty of navigating a more vertically complex map. We will have to strike a balance between interesting topology and usability here. Good level design is key.

For the 6th most important feature It’s great to see value attached to interesting story elements and plot twists - and you can be assured that with the extensive world building we have been doing with our writing team (Jonas and Allen) you will not be disappointed on this score.

It’s nice to see base defence missions ranked high at number 9. I missed this with the new XCOMs. In Phoenix Point your bases can be attacked by other human factions, not just aliens. Furthermore, the aliens will steal technology from you and other human factions. This should spice things up a bit.

Pleasantly surprising for me was the desire to have a more detailed economic system. Phoenix Point has some distinct 4X like elements to the strategic side of the game. The human factions gather resources, build structures, establish new havens, build tech and enter into alliances. From the player’s point of view, exploration, resources and diplomacy are important. I am very excited by developments in this part of the game.

The bottom end of the table reveals that you clearly want the focus to be on a PC based, single player experience. It would definitely be wise of us to place our limited resources in this direction.

Finally, thanks for your support - and look out for some major news very soon.

Julian Gollop


Ok, the chart didn't come out, its an image file.... fixed....

Offline Hobbes

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Re: Phoenix Point - AMA with Jullian Gollop
« Reply #10 on: April 23, 2017, 06:58:48 pm »
I actually participated on that survey, thanks for posting the results.

The commentary has a focus more on the most wanted features but there are some interesting bits about the least wanted features.

* TUs instead of 2 Action system - unlike the original XCom, people seem to prefer the 2 Action system of Firaxis' XCOM
* Squads larger than 8 units are also on the bottom choices, so no going back to the original's 14 unit squads
* Air interception system isn't much popular also
* Soldier class system like Firaxis XCOM seems to be discarded instead of a flexible development system
* Pod activations of Firaxis XCOM is definitely a no-no
* RNG dependent shooting is still a favorite as per the original and Firaxis XCOM instead of a system involving less RNG

Offline Meridian

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Re: Phoenix Point - AMA with Jullian Gollop
« Reply #11 on: April 23, 2017, 07:53:18 pm »
And how many people participated in the survey?
If only a couple, it might be of very little relevance.

The commentary has a focus more on the most wanted features but there are some interesting bits about the least wanted features.
* TUs instead of 2 Action system - unlike the original XCom, people seem to prefer the 2 Action system of Firaxis' XCOM

Score 3.2 doesn't mean unwanted, no?
It's actually slightly in favour of TU system (assuming 3.0 is the neutral middle)... definitely not in favour of the new Firaxis' system.

Offline Hobbes

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Re: Phoenix Point - AMA with Jullian Gollop
« Reply #12 on: April 23, 2017, 08:41:28 pm »
And how many people participated in the survey?
If only a couple, it might be of very little relevance.

I read somewhere that they got close to 1800 replies

Quote
Score 3.2 doesn't mean unwanted, no?
It's actually slightly in favour of TU system (assuming 3.0 is the neutral middle)... definitely not in favour of the new Firaxis' system.

What numeric scores mean is up to anyone's interpretation, they could have used smileys instead. When I look at evaluation form quantitative results I usually analyze them considering the overall distribution of results, and the items I mentioned on my post are placed in low positions. That means that for the 1800 people who replied, those items were considered the least interesting, regardless of the numeric score they got.
« Last Edit: April 23, 2017, 08:45:29 pm by Hobbes »

Offline Meridian

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Re: Phoenix Point - AMA with Jullian Gollop
« Reply #13 on: April 23, 2017, 09:08:31 pm »
I read somewhere that they got close to 1800 replies

OK, that sounds quite representative.

What numeric scores mean is up to anyone's interpretation, they could have used smileys instead.

Of course, the units don't matter.
What I wanted to say is, the fact it's on the bottom (or close to bottom) is very misleading.

Imagine, there is a survey about 100 hotels, and you can score them from 1 worst to 10 best.
If we see results like this:
1. 10.0
2. 10.0
3. 10.0
...
90. 9.1
...
98. 8.2
99. 2.1
100. 1.6

... it doesn't mean that hotels on places above #90 are bad.
Quite the opposite.
It means, there are only two bad hotels (places #99 and #100)... and the other 98 hotels are good, regardless if they are on place #8 or #88.

PS: Your analysis is of course not "wrong"... but it doesn't say how interested people are in the feature... it only says how interested the people are in the feature relative to other features. That's a big difference.

Offline kharille

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Re: Phoenix Point - AMA with Jullian Gollop
« Reply #14 on: April 26, 2017, 08:38:19 am »
This is another kickstarter thingy whasisname...  fig.


https://www.fig.co/campaigns/phoenix-point?type=fb

Phoenix Point is the new strategy game from the creator of the original X-COM series. It features turn based tactics and world based strategy in a fight against a terrifying, alien menace.