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I used to write for a major video magazine. I'm currently back in school to train as a "real" journalist and tapped a couple of my old buddies for help on a journalistic ethics paper I was writing about the press junket issue VG journalists caught so much heck for a few years back. I don't know if they had to sign any NDAs or anything so I'm going to keep it confidential for now, but according one of my old cohorts, there is in fact, a new X-Com game in development and it's supposed to be showing at E3 this year.

 

As an X-Com fan who's been as hurt and hungry for a real sequel as all of you guys have for the last 8 years, I would not BS about such things.

 

He couldn't remember who was doing it off the top of his head but my guess is that Firaxis finally got off their butts.

 

If NKF, Blehm, or Zombie want to PM me so I can verify who I am and why I would know such a thing, feel free, but I don't want this info getting tracked back to the source.

Edited by Pherdnut
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I'm not entirely sure who owns the rights to the X-COM series, but recent developments indicate it is Take-Two games, not Firaxis. Take-Two has a booth at E3 this year, and Slaughter (who is also from the StrategyCore forums) will be attending. One of his "projects" is going to be trying to wring some info out of Take-Two to see what is going on.

 

I'd actually be really surprised if an X-COM sequel is already in the developmental stages as very little interest (and pressure) has been placed on the license-holders yet. That's not to say it isn't possible, just very unlikely. I'm sure that if anyone can find out, Slaughter can. Just about one month left till E3 opens its doors. :)

 

- Zombie

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I sure hope you're right Pherdnut! I'll stay calm until it is confirmed however, and you can be sure I'll do my best to beat it out of them at E3 if they do not reveal anything.

 

Oh, and Take-Two owns Firaxis Zombie, so it's not unthinkable that they are developing the next X-COM.

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Oh, and Take-Two owns Firaxis Zombie, so it's not unthinkable that they are developing the next X-COM.

I know. Unthinkable no. But still unlikely (at least for Firaxis). I have been watching both Firaxis and Take-Two's official websites for over 10 months now and not once have I seen anything to indicate an X-COM sequel is in production or development.

 

Firaxis' site is primarily geared to Sid Meier titles (whose Civilization was originally released by MicroProse). However, the whole company is focused on sim titles. Why would they suddenly branch off into other gaming genres? If an X-COM game would be developed, it would probably come directly through Take-Two, not a subsidiary. Thats what I tried to say. :blush1:

 

- Zombie

Edited by Zombie
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Well, it's not clear to me whether Atari kept the old licenses or not. In the press release concerning Firaxis' acquisition on Take 2's site, Firaxis' CEO, Jeff Briggs says that he's looking forward to developing new products so I'm thinking maybe the old Microprose titles, which Atari owned at one point, weren't a part of the deal.

 

In any case, I trust my source and believe that somebody is working on an X-Com game.

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  • 3 weeks later...
Well, I haven't lost all hope for a sequel, anyway. Just hearing Sid Meier mention the name in a (kinda) recent interview is enough to spark my interest. Maybe we could start a group petition - you know, kinda heckle the Take Two guys enough so they finally break...?
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Guest Azrael
I believe Slaughter from StrategyCore has a better chance at accomplishing that, he's going to the next E3 and will talk to TakeTwo, or Nival, I don't remember who, to try to get them interested into a sequel.
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Music to my ears. But still, the subject of an official sequel is rather touchy - there are diehard X-Com fanatics (like myself) that would unanimously cry foul if they were to fundamentally alter the original's gameplay, even in the slightest. Then there's the X-Com fanatics that prefer the real-time strategy elements of Apocalypse and wouldn't have it any other way. Which is cool, too, but think about it: how's it possible to please both camps, both of which almost equally comprise X-Com's impressive fan base? You could of course do just as X-Com Apoc did: go real-time with an optional turn-based system, but we all know how that one went down. The real-time system worked well enough, but the hopelessly sluggish turn-based aspect was borderline atrocious, and purists were reasonably upset. Of course, you could always revert to "outside-context" experiments like Enforcer or Interceptor, when all else fails.

 

Oh, forgive me for being such a pessimist. It's just, save the bugs, X-Com: UFO Defense (or Enemy Unknown...whichever you like) was pretty close to perfection. Any attempt to alter the formula might end in catastrophe. Then again, those looking for something new might be disappointed if the new game just took the original and prettied it up for the next generation. It's a very tricky situation...

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Guest Azrael
Music to my ears. But still, the subject of an official sequel is rather touchy - there are diehard X-Com fanatics (like myself) that would unanimously cry foul if they were to fundamentally alter the original's gameplay, even in the slightest. Then there's the X-Com fanatics that prefer the real-time strategy elements of Apocalypse and wouldn't have it any other way. Which is cool, too, but think about it: how's it possible to please both camps, both of which almost equally comprise X-Com's impressive fan base? You could of course do just as X-Com Apoc did: go real-time with an optional turn-based system, but we all know how that one went down. The real-time system worked well enough, but the hopelessly sluggish turn-based aspect was borderline atrocious, and purists were reasonably upset. Of course, you could always revert to "outside-context" experiments like Enforcer or Interceptor, when all else fails.

 

Oh, forgive me for being such a pessimist. It's just, save the bugs, X-Com: UFO Defense (or Enemy Unknown...whichever you like) was pretty close to perfection. Any attempt to alter the formula might end in catastrophe. Then again, those looking for something new might be disappointed if the new game just took the original and prettied it up for the next generation. It's a very tricky situation...

Maybe you should read the interviews to Dave Ellis made by the people from The Last Outpost, here's the links:

 

http://www.thelastoutpost.co.uk/games/dave-ellis-early-days

http://www.thelastoutpost.co.uk/games/dave-ellis-interceptor

http://www.thelastoutpost.co.uk/games/dave-ellis-genesis

 

I found the interview about Genesis to be most interesting, the game sounds like my dream come true.

 

About X-Com being close to perfection... well, maybe it's just not my thing, but I enjoyed Apocalypse a whole lot better, there is something about it... though thinking about it... it could be just the Real Time option, if X-Com 1 or 2 had Real time as an option, they'd probably be my favourite games of all times.

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it could be just the Real Time option, if X-Com 1 or 2 had Real time as an option, they'd probably be my favourite games of all times.

 

that is why you fail -yoda

 

and we all know how much you like xcom 2 :rolleyes:

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Recent games like EAW I think had a good way of sort of merging the two areas...allow orders/actions to be issued during a pause. When you lift it, it carries those things out in real time. Ellis was going to do something similar with Genesis, and like Azrael, I agree it had great potential.

 

I loved many of the features that went into Apocolypse, but thought its battlescape interface was a little too muddled with options which has me prefer the original's simpler approach to its layout. I suppose finding that balance of features and including an easy to understand interface isn't an easy one to tackle especially if "new features" has to mean "more buttons" to click.

 

Anyway, I hope the hype is true. Looking forward to the results of Slaughters E3 field trip interrogations :)

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  • 3 weeks later...

looks like we've been let down...

i'm really hoping that a true "sequel" to X-COM 1-2 will be made. none of these games with the X-Com name but with crappy gameplay, one that sticks to the simple roots of X-Com but with modern technology in the game. Pretty much like project: xenocide, but from a game company which can market it and such.

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Sorry guys. I think my source goofed. He was probably talking to the UFO: Extraterrestrials PR guys and misunderstood. Not that I've seen any updates on that one either. I'm going to send him an e-mail and see if that's what it was.
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Maybe you should read the interviews to Dave Ellis made by the people from The Last Outpost, here's the links:

 

http://www.thelastoutpost.co.uk/games/dave-ellis-early-days

http://www.thelastoutpost.co.uk/games/dave-ellis-interceptor

http://www.thelastoutpost.co.uk/games/dave-ellis-genesis

 

I found the interview about Genesis to be most interesting, the game sounds like my dream come true.

 

I know I'm a bit late on this call, but thanks for the links. It's an interesting chronicle of one of the most highly-anticipated games of our time - well, at least we X-Com fans were waiting for it, anyway. A sad story, I'm afraid, with a disappointing ending. :( Still, I can't help hoping that, someday, Genesis will rise again...

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  • 2 weeks later...

Well, he still insists that it's coming, but "they," whoever they are, aren't unveiling anything to the public yet. Call it a grain of hope, I guess.

 

Oh and I finally checked the US Patent and Trademark office. Take2 Interactive is the last listed owner for all the x-com games listed. Looks like they got more than civ.

Edited by Pherdnut
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It could also turn out that someone else gets the rights. If what you said is true about Take2 being in rough financial straights, probably one of the options to getting out of it barring a new product is to sell the rights yet again.

 

The rights to X-COM for all we know might be one of those hot potato cash franchises. You could make something on it either way (making a product or selling the rights).

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I'm afraid you're quite right, Snakeman. I suppose that's the reason there's so much stalling. Despite X-Com's proven track record and dedicated fanbase, *winks, nods* it seems as though publishers aren't sure if they could make more money by making a game or just selling the property. That's corporate gaming for you. Just a product. :-(
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You have to remember something about X-COM; It didn't sell all that well. The series became "a classic" after it's death really. Granted there was probably some management issues in Microprose, but they didn't sell all that well. Check the interviews with Dave at TLO. Tactical turn-based games struggle in today's market. You might argue that only budget titles and lousy advertising is part of the reason, but seeing a game like Silent Storm sell less than 20 000 copies in the US...
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True enough Slaughter. I guess in the end the market is fickle with these things. But I definitely agree on the advertising angle as well. My recollection of Mircroprose back then was that they had several games going at once, and maybe that's one of the reasons X-COM at the time fell through the cracks.

 

Even if every product was a good one theoretically, that also spreads out your advertising bucks. There's only so much to spend and it has to be done just enough (and with any luck, to the right audiences) that it won't sink you financially. I think this is definitely one of the corporate balancing acts at play later on.

 

Turn based games have given way to real time ones, and I suspect any official sequel will probably adopt it. I actually hope I'm wrong though, or at least, it has both.

Edited by Snakeman
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Yeah, Microprose probably made several mistakes as you say (selling to Hasbro being the killing blow).

 

Regarding a turn-based X-COM, my hope is that the success of turn-based strategy games like Civ4, GalCiv2 and Heroes 5 might persuade the publishers into making a new turn-based X-COM. Not a fat chance, but we can always hope :)

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A valid point. Lack of sufficient media/hype may well have been a contributing factor in the decline of the turn-based strategy genre. I never knew about the Jagged Alliance games until more than three years later. But as vital as hype is in the success of a game, so too is community support. Hopefully, X-Com's well-established, steadily-growing fanbase will garner enough interest within the industry for it to earn an official sequel.

 

Edit: On second thought, that doesn't look too promising... According to Gamespot.com, Take-Two just posted a fifty million dollar loss. I wonder who'll be the next proud owner of the X-Com franchise... :(

Edited by The Master Maniac
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Well, I expect my cred is shot after the E3 prediction but for those of you still willing to belileve...

 

I wrote my contact and told him I checked out the Take2 the thing at the patent office. He called 'em up and tried to convince them to let the mag cover it. They say they're working on something and that they plan on returning the series to its roots. I think he heard the initial rumor from one of their PR guys but for whatever reason, they didn't bring the game to E3 this year. From what he's telling me, I still believe there is an X-Com game in development and that Take2 is doing it.

 

I'm a little worried about that 50 mil loss myself. It's normal for publishers to have shortfalls due to circumstances but that's a rather large loss, especially considering that they've got a piece of Rockstar and Elder Scrolls. I think the San Andreas scandal really messed them up.

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If they are doing something with the franchise, I guess we won't know up until the next E3 (just a wild guess). Seems to me to be the best time to say something about it, either just before the event (presuming they'd have something to show off by that point), or surprise folks during it.
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It's hard biting my tongue here, what with all the excitement and all. If Take-Two's really doing a sequel that's "returning the series to its roots," I'll be a very, very happy gamer.

 

On the subject of the publisher's multi-million dollar loss, I'm disheartened. It's a shame that one stupid, barely mediocre game can screw up such a successful company. Especially when said company has a serious arsenal backing it up: Civ, Elder Scrolls, etc. I'm still hoping an X-Com game's in the works - let's just hope Take-Two's internal problems won't put it out of commission. Anyone want to file a petition? :)

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I definitely won't be surprised if it sees the light of day. X-Com is frequently listed as a favorite by developers.

 

One thing to keep in mind on Take2. They already knew they were in trouble. A lot of the shortfall they're suffering now is the result of closing down a lot of development offices last year (they have to pay a LOT of severance, fees, etc...). So if they're still talking about making an X-Com game, and the costcutting measures work out, I think we can remain confident. They still have Rockstar, a piece of the Elder Scrolls series (and Bethesda too? If so, they'll get a piece of the next Fallout if that ever comes to fruitioin), and Firaxis.

 

I'm pretty confident they'll bounce back. This wouldn't be the first example of a publisher overextending itself. Look at Acclaim. They somehow held on for two decades in spite of the fact that 99% of their products were total crap.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I don't trust any major/'established' company not to fu3k it up. I read the interviews with the guy at Microprose, a so-called fan who was put in after TFTD and that moron is to thank for Apocalypse, Interceptor and the rest of the bullsh1t they tried to push down our throats ever since.

 

Read a lot about Genesis and it is pretty clear it was going to be an awful game. And not just because real time X-Com is an oxymoron.

 

I am putting my hopes into two projects: 1/ UFO:Alien Invasion and 2/ UFO:Extra-terrestrials. Chaos Concept seem to have a clue what game design is about and are putting the bulk of their work into AI instead of fancy gimmicks. I just hope they get the funding to complete and market the game on time.

Edited by dagorkan
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Guest Azrael
I don't trust any major/'established' company not to fu3k it up. I read the interviews with the guy at Microprose, a so-called fan who was put in after TFTD and that moron is to thank for Apocalypse, Interceptor and the rest of the bullsh1t they tried to push down our throats ever since.

 

Read a lot about Genesis and it is pretty clear it was going to be an awful game. And not just because real time X-Com is an oxymoron.

 

I am putting my hopes into two projects: 1/ UFO:Alien Invasion and 2/ UFO:Extra-terrestrials. Chaos Concept seem to have a clue what game design is about and are putting the bulk of their work into AI instead of fancy gimmicks. I just hope they get the funding to complete and market the game on time.

Aye, I put my hopes on UFO: ET as well, but I have to disagree with you there, X-Com: Apocalypse was superb, though incomplete.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 10 months later...
Guest Azrael
Chances are it is indeed what was spoken of Azrael.

Unfortunatly the X-Com Community isnt very lucky. :(

Chances are not that, the 'sequel' Pherdnut is talking about has not yet been released, UFO: ET was released about a month ago. Also, UFO: ET's name doesn't start with an "X", and the people at Irrational Games have hinted more than once that they are working on secret project "X" which is a sequel to one of the most anticipated games.

 

Irrational Games owns the rights to X-Com... sequel... project 'X'... I'd say we have a pretty good chance X-Com might see another dawn.

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Man I'm trying to play that UFO extraterrestrials game and I just can't get over how lacking the game is. But it re-ignited a fire inside me that yearns for a true X-Com sequel!

 

I know this is not the right place to ask but how is this Xenocide game coming along? Last time I checked (which was a real long time ago!) there was a just the geoscape- granted it was a really nice looking geoscape :)

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Guest Azrael

It's still a geoscape, with basic base and some craft flying over the globe. Thing is, the whole thing is being rewritten into C#, with dteviot we might actually see some real progress this time, keeping fingers crossed.

 

To get UFO: ET as close as X-Com as you'd like it to be, I suggest you check out this thread.

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It's still a geoscape, with basic base and some craft flying over the globe. Thing is, the whole thing is being rewritten into C#, with dteviot we might actually see some real progress this time, keeping fingers crossed.

 

What do you mean? I just checked out the source in SVN and it's all C++. And how could they use OGRE if they were using C#? I'd be happy if they were switching to C# because then I might be able to help out

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It's still a geoscape, with basic base and some craft flying over the globe. Thing is, the whole thing is being rewritten into C#, with dteviot we might actually see some real progress this time, keeping fingers crossed.

 

What do you mean? I just checked out the source in SVN and it's all C++. And how could they use OGRE if they were using C#? I'd be happy if they were switching to C# because then I might be able to help out

There's a second, experimental branch written in C#. But it's more or less for prototyping. Current plan is to port the C# prototype back to C++ later to keep linux compability. If you would like to help, please contact dteviot.

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Guest Azrael

Despite official claims, it's obvious the C# branch will eventually take over, at least that's my personal appraisal, especially when there is only one single programmer single-handedly working on Xeno and he's making said branch.

 

And, as far as I know, Ogre will be discarded since XNA seems to have its own engine, dunno how that works.

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Despite official claims, it's obvious the C# branch will eventually take over, at least that's my personal appraisal, especially when there is only one single programmer single-handedly working on Xeno and he's making said branch.

 

And, as far as I know, Ogre will be discarded since XNA seems to have its own engine, dunno how that works.

He is not working allone, and atm, C# is just planned as a prototyping sandbox. But you're right in one aspect: noone knows what the future will hold, and maybe we'll be surprised by orselves. maybe you will be.

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Guest Azrael
Despite official claims, it's obvious the C# branch will eventually take over, at least that's my personal appraisal, especially when there is only one single programmer single-handedly working on Xeno and he's making said branch.

 

And, as far as I know, Ogre will be discarded since XNA seems to have its own engine, dunno how that works.

He is not working allone, and atm, C# is just planned as a prototyping sandbox. But you're right in one aspect: noone knows what the future will hold, and maybe we'll be surprised by orselves. maybe you will be.

Hmmm, I haven't seen any other programmer committing changes, I saw Rincewind popped recently but not sure if he's working back on Xeno already.

 

And whatever it is planned, it will eventually be changed, I know about it, PX loves changing everything :P

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Despite official claims, it's obvious the C# branch will eventually take over, at least that's my personal appraisal, especially when there is only one single programmer single-handedly working on Xeno and he's making said branch.

 

And, as far as I know, Ogre will be discarded since XNA seems to have its own engine, dunno how that works.

He is not working allone, and atm, C# is just planned as a prototyping sandbox. But you're right in one aspect: noone knows what the future will hold, and maybe we'll be surprised by orselves. maybe you will be.

Hmmm, I haven't seen any other programmer committing changes, I saw Rincewind popped recently but not sure if he's working back on Xeno already.

 

And whatever it is planned, it will eventually be changed, I know about it, PX loves changing everything :P

 

Apologies for taking this way off topic!

 

I also wanted to ask- just how do you get the XNA Game studio Express now? The link on the Wiki goes ot an error page and when I went to Microsoft's XNA dev center all I can find is some link to a Game Express "Refresh" which seems to be some sort of patch. But I cannot find a place to download the game studio software itself...

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Apologies for taking this way off topic!

 

I also wanted to ask- just how do you get the XNA Game studio Express now? The link on the Wiki goes ot an error page and when I went to Microsoft's XNA dev center all I can find is some link to a Game Express "Refresh" which seems to be some sort of patch. But I cannot find a place to download the game studio software itself...

For anyone else who's reading, the Refresh IS the latest version of XNA. (For some reason MS decided to call it "1.0 Refresh" rather than "1.1". I have no idea why.

 

edit: and I've updated the instructions and link on the wiki. They should work now.

Edited by dteviot
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Chances are it is indeed what was spoken of Azrael.

Unfortunatly the X-Com Community isnt very lucky. :(

 

Pretty sure this is legit. It started when I talked to a former coworker who was also a big fan of X-Com about Take2's apparent acquisition of the license. He did some fishing around and appears to have found something out a while back. I think he's kept quiet in favor of an exclusive and he wouldn't be telling me to keep my eyes peeled for something less exciting like the PDA version of X-Com or something that's already out. On the other hand, it wouldn't be the first X-Com project to get announced and then fall to pieces shortly thereafter. But keep in mind that a lot of developers are also big fans of the game and IGN recently named it the best PC game of all time which gives the license some creds with execs eager to pull plugs on projects they don't understand.

 

This could be related:

 

http://www.firingsquad.com/news/newsarticl...?searchid=14372

Edited by Pherdnut
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