Turn-Based Tactics Questions for Codex Gamescom Interviews, Strategy Edition

[Bubbles]

The Codex is going to Gamescom this year, mostly for the RPGs (interview thread here). However, we've also picked up a few appointments with interview opportunities for strategy games:

XCOM 2
Hard West
Endless Space 2 (+ Endless Legend expansion)
Spellforce 3
The Guild 3
Valhalla Hills
Bounty Train

If you have any interesting and/or useful interview questions for these games (example: "Did we really need another Spellforce game?"), post 'em here!

We're also likely to get hands-on time with MMH7 and Anno 2205, so if there are any special requests for impressions ("Does Anno 2205 have a Hairworks option in the graphics menu?"), you can post them here as well.

 

[Jaedar]

For XCOM2:
The new xcom is very gamey, as opposed to the more simulationist approach of the original. Was this intentional, and if so why do they feel it is superior?

Also, since I've lately become a sucker for x-com apocalypse, I'd like to know what they think about it.

And perhaps most importantly, will xcom2 be using the pod activation system from the first game, or is it open hunting season once your agents get spotted and the "stealth phase" ends?

Endless Legend:
I have no idea what's supposed to be in this one, but the first one felt rather small. Do they have plans on adding new races or significant mechanics (like how in Civ5 they added world council and religion for example)?

 

[Bubbles]

Endless Legend:
I have no idea what's supposed to be in this one, but the first one felt rather small. Do they have plans on adding new races or significant mechanics (like how in Civ5 they added world council and religion for example)?

It's called Shadows and adds Civ-like espionage as well as stealth:

• Play the brand new faction, the Forgotten, experts in the new espionage skills.
• Play with invisible units using the new “Camouflage” and “Stealth” capacities.
• Infiltrate an empire to steal, capture, sabotage and assassinate!
• Pillage villages, extractors and watchtowers to slow your enemy’s progression.
• Equip your heroes with “Insignia” accessories to give them special espionage abilities.
• Defend yourself by using counterespionage skills and the new “Detection” capacity.

http://www.pcgamer.com/endless-legend-shadows-expansion-announced/

 

[Raghar]

The Codex is going to Gamescom this year, mostly for the RPGs (interview thread here). However, we've also picked up a few appointments with interview opportunities for strategy games:

XCOM 2

Show them my post and ask them something like: "How do you plan to simulate scarcity of resources in asymetric conflicts? Are you planning to simulate ammunition and grenades? How are you planning to simulate the fact that weaker side doesn't have large manufacturing plants?"

"How much story of previous two games would be rewritten?"

"Also what happened to these poor tinny aliens, someone gave them testosterone and growth hormones?"

Endless Space 2 (+ Endless Legend expansion)

"Some players complained about hordes of ships fighting with each other, other players complained about too large granularity. How are you planning to address these issues?"

"Have you seen Imperium Galactica 2? How much different would be your game? Would there be a large hard to make capital ships, ground combat, detailed spying and sabotages?"

The Guild 3

"The first game was really quirky, and detailed. Player could raise undead, assasinate his way into high position, change laws... The first game had also great atmosphere. Are you planning to return back to first game look and feel, with improved graphics, or do you plan more simplistic streamlined game like guild 2?"

 

[Bubbles]

The Guild 3 devs (Golem Labs, did Superpower 1 and 2) are really banging the "by hardcore, for hardcore" drum, so any questions that test that claim are good.

 

[Executr]

ES2:
Will they continue to use mostly starlanes for fleet movement or will they consider other methods and parameters, like supply requirements and range? Will they continue to use command points for fleet size? Can we assign fleet groupings to use the speed of the lowest one?
Will they continue to focus on the strategic layer or will implement this time (real) tactical battles? What about new ground engagement mechanics?
Besides preferred victory condition and general % bonuses and penalties, will the sequel feature more assymetrical gameplay between races?

Hard West:
What RPG elements included? Attributes, skills, personality traits?
How many recruitable characters available?
Will the Luck element affect only % chance to hit or will also affect damage?

 

[a Goat]

The Guild 3 is in development?

Holy shit I hope they'll just make everything first game had + modern graphics, less bugs and better AI(and multi, I don't remember if the first game had multi).

 

[Parsifarka]

No one cares the slightest about HoMM VII?

 

[Bubbles]

You mean MMH 7, surely. That game, along with Anno 2205 and Codex favourite AC: Syndicate, will be playable at Gamescom. If you have any requests for hands-on impressions ("what happens when you click three times on the Necro hero?"), you can post them here as well.

As for presentations and interviews: Ubisoft never sent us an invite, and nobody on the staff wanted to go through the bother of trying to book with them.

 

[Parsifarka]

MMH7, precisely. I understand, anyhow it would indeed be interesting to know the impressions of the expedition. How do magic and leveling up work now, do high tier units make a difference, how shitty the town screens are, are battles fast or tedious, how broken is the program, etc. Not much detail, just to know if Ubi did it again and the decline goes on.

 

[Jaedar]

You mean MMH 7, surely. That game, along with Anno 2205 and Codex favourite AC: Syndicate, will be playable at Gamescom. If you have any requests for hands-on impressions ("what happens when you click three times on the Necro hero?"), you can post them here as well.

As for presentations and interviews: Ubisoft never sent us an invite, and nobody on the staff wanted to go through the bother of trying to book with them.

I'd personally love to know if the space parts of Anno 2205 are just a reskin of the subaquatic gameplay from 2070 or if they actually add something new. In 2070, the undersea had several small plateus that you could build on, and there were a couple of resources, like oil, that could only be found there. You couldn't put any housing down there, or really anything but the resource extractors and the power generators to run them. So that might give you some basis for comparison.

The two previous Anno games also had a second faction of a sort, scientists and orientals respectively, which required separate settlements and buildings to unlock certain resources needed for higher tier buildings for the primary player faction. Is there a faction like this in 2205?

so high level play was about managing pod activation

This is really at the heart of what I want to know. Is managing pod activation still by far the most important factor for determining player success(or anything equally degenerate)?

 

[Bubbles]

I suspect that the question the Endless Space 2 guys want us to ask is about the meta-narrative of the "Endless" games. The ES2 announcement video has some weird distorted reality stuff going on, and also picks up from the end of Endless Legend:

Endless Legend fans will note that the trailer's ship is the same one from [Endless Legend]'s recent free update. It added a victory condition that, as Tom Senior put it, "lets you build a spaceship and flee the planet in a culture-wide mic-drop exit that will make your enemies sad." Here's the ship in-game, and here's some lovely concept art.

It suggests that the new game will more directly tie into Endless Legend.

It's peculiar that they'd announce a 4X game by focussing on story stuff, but it's probably easier to market this way.

 

[Bubbles]

Gamescom starts Wednesday, but we don't have any strategy games on the roster until Thursday. So you got about two days left if you want to leave your mark on one of the 24 Bounty Train presentations that will be taking place there.

 

[Bubbles]

MMH7, precisely. I understand, anyhow it would indeed be interesting to know the impressions of the expedition. How do magic and leveling up work now, do high tier units make a difference, how shitty the town screens are, are battles fast or tedious, how broken is the program, etc. Not much detail, just to know if Ubi did it again and the decline goes on.

Last minute scheduling: the Codex will be at the Uplay Lounge tomorrow, which is some sort of micromanaged PR event that's open to fans. Some of the game devs are potentially open for questions.

 

[Destroid]

Will rpgcodex staff be appearing on video adorned with codex swag?

 

[Bubbles]

Will rpgcodex staff be appearing on video adorned with codex swag?

Do an XXXL Warhammer shirt and red flip-flops count as "codex swag"?

 

[DramaticPopcorn]

The Codex is going to Gamescom this year, mostly for the RPGs (interview thread here). However, we've also picked up a few appointments with interview opportunities for strategy games:
Endless Space 2 (+ Endless Legend expansion).

Will Endless Space 2 feature a fully fledgedship design system ?

As far as their overlaping narrative goes: it's an ambitious kind of meta and I'm sure it's great conceptually, but their games aren't really meant for storyfags really. You honestly cannot expect people to be equally interested in such different genres as Endless Dungeon, Endless Legend and Endless Space at the same time.

 

[Immortal]

Do an XXXL Warhammer shirt and red flip-flops count as "codex swag"?

 

[Parsifarka]

Last minute scheduling: the Codex will be at the Uplay Lounge tomorrow, which is some sort of micromanaged PR event that's open to fans. Some of the game devs are potentially open for questions.

Nice. I would like to know 1) whether a M&M XI is possible in the near future, 2) do they plan on releasing two expansion packs for Heroes VII (as with H3,4 and 5) or will go the DLC way as in H6, 3) what kind of network system will replace the infamous Conflux, 4) will a demo be released, 5) does Ubi plan more spin-off games set in this universe (i.e. something like Dark Messiah or Clash of Heroes -trying to distinguish the production values if they answer 'yes'), 6) what are the chances of seeing some hi-tech stuff in Ashan if they keep making games, and 7), the stupidest and therefore importantest of all: what about a remake (read a merely visual enhancement, a redrawing in high resolution 100% faithful to the original design) of M&M3-5 or the M&M6-8 rebuilt in something like the UEngine 4. General info, let the eastern europeans H3 addicts dismember the gameplay. Sorry if any question is overretarded or has been answered already (if that's the case I would appreciate a link to the info).