Oct 19, 2017

Fall 2017 XCOM 2: War of the Chosen Update Deploys

XCOM® 2 - Hinkle2K

The Fall 2017 update for XCOM 2: War of the Chosen is available now on PC and coming soon for Mac, Linux, Xbox One and PlayStation 4.

This new update institutes multiple bug fixes and optimizations that will facilitate a better overall experience for players. Challenge Mode has been updated to include new stats on the leaderboard, new player-to-player tracked events and retooled notifications.

Head below for the full list of changes.

Good luck, Commander.

Gameplay – Strategy Layer

Beta Strike now is applied to XCOM soldiers if the tutorial is enabled
Scientists and engineers can no longer be used while deployed on Covert Actions
Fixed base game soldier promotion abilities not being free in the Training Center if a cross-class ability is purchased first
Fixed a visual issue with the inventory menu after selecting a Grenadier's utility item or grenade slot in the Hangar
Fixed Resistance Order card duplication
Fixed a navigation issue caused by empty Resistance Order card slots
Tutorial: Players can now re-enter the Research screen if they’ve tried to exit during the tutorial.
Fixed an issue that prevented soldiers from being dismissible after completing Lost and Abandoned with the Tutorial enabled
Fixed the conventional weapon breakthrough tech causing "+1 Damage" to display on the claymore when viewed in the Armory
Soldiers in the Character Pool now generate with a background
Scavengers Resistance Order now only applies to resource-based POI rewards
Weapon color defaults to 20 now instead of -1 to prevent mismatched color previews
Camera outline and poster display update on screen change
Fixed an issue with SPARKs getting permanently stuck in a wounded yet "Available" state after going on Chosen Stronghold missions
Fixed the Lost World Dark Event to expire correctly
Fixed lingering cohesion glow after creating a new bond
Fixed an issue where faction soldiers in the Training Center promotion screen would not appear when cycling through soldiers
Removed references to Resistance HQ from strategy notifications
Removed the ability for soldiers to gain positive traits as part of the AWC post-mission negative trait recovery mechanic
Soldiers on Covert Actions no longer drop their equipped items when the player enters the squad select screen
Fixed Rescue Soldier missions sometimes appearing with no reward if you fail it the first time
Adding additional text to the Reaper's Silent Killer ability description
Fixed weapons with mods attached not upgrading to the next tier for soldiers who are deployed on ambush-able Covert Actions

Gameplay – Tactical Layer

Chosen will be activated only if someone on XCOM team has been revealed
Fixed a bug where the fog of war fails to update or disappear when the player's Codex creates a clone during a mission
Fixed an issue where detection tiles would disappear for faction soldiers after loading a save while in concealment
VIPs using hunker down no longer break concealment
Berserk Rangers no longer attack squadmates
Fixed visualization of Archon patrol pathing
Units now take claymore damage when a claymore is detonated underneath them while on a destructible floor during tactical gameplay
ADVENT Priests triggering Sustain while standing in the evac zone no longer fails the mission
Alien Rulers get a 1.5X HP boost when Beta Strike is enabled
Fixed an issue where Purifiers became unresponsive after their clone made from Shadowbind was destroyed
Bladestorm and Retribution excludes teammates as valid targets
Enemy reinforcement visual indicator no longer disappears
Chosen can no longer turn into cocoons from Chryssalid poison
Spectres hit with Stasis will no longer prevent shadowbound units from recovering when the Spectre is killed
Fixed missing flyover for Lightning Reflexes
Gremlins only reveal hidden units after a hack attempt is made
Changed Skirmisher Ionic Ripjack stun chance to 25%
Darkclaw now gains the effects of equipped ammo
Brutal Chosen strength temporarily decreases soldier Will
Fixed ambient lighting not being applied in some non-tactical areas
Targetable enemy indicator refreshes correctly after navigating tactical menus
Fixed an issue where help text and other pop-ups would not trigger during the tutorial
Units provided by the Volunteer Army & Double Agent Resistance Orders will no longer count as units lost during a campaign
Updated Mimic Beacon behavior for Purifier, Priest, Spectre, and shadowbound units
Added AI AoE finder updates to enable AoE attacks on Mimic Beacons
Fixed an issue preventing Mimic Beacons from being attacked more than once by purifiers
Skulljack now kills units instantly if Beta Strike is enabled
Shredded armor no longer reappears after reloading a save
Fixed an issue where Skirmishers could use Wrath to move to an area, but not perform a melee attack
Fixed infinite visualization hang when X2Action_WaitForAnotherAction fails to receive the event trigger it is registered for
Fixed issue with claymores not being immediately targetable by the Reaper
Reduced Chosen Hunter pistol range
Skulljack no longer prevents a unit from becoming concealed
Supply Extraction loot now recovered if XCOM evacs from the mission
Fixed a loss of functionality caused by simultaneously entering a rescue circle and triggering a Lost pod during a Rescue Stranded Resistance Agents mission
Fixed crash caused by too many Lost on screen at one time
Restricting spawns in the corners of some parcels to prevent Chosen from being stuck if they spawn in the corner of a map
Slightly reducing the aim of Retaliation civilian militia and Volunteer Army soldiers
Shadowbound units don't get abilities granted from Sustaining Spheres. This matches up with shadowbound units not getting built in Sustain ability from units either
Prevent Chosen Kidnap / Extract on special units that come from HQ via Double Agent or Volunteer Army
Fix for an indefinite hang when a unit gets the burning status effect when moving for a Skullmine action during tactical gameplay
Holy Warrior effects no longer persist after the Priest is removed from the mission
Chosen Sarcophagus health displays correctly after loading a save game while the shield is up
Bluescreen Rounds no longer affect destructibles
Updated Shadowbind to remove the Parthenogenic Poison from the target
Decoupled GameStateUnit and asynchronous pawn load requests to prevent hung levels and crashes on level load
Fixed crashes related to GetAllViewersOfTarget
Fixed crashes related to GetAllVisibleToSource
Fixed crashes related to GetAllViewersOfLocation
Fixed crashes caused by for large block of LoadMap crashes
Fixed GetWorldInfo crashes on RenderThread
FixedProtection against IsAudible crashes from effects

Challenge Mode

Added new event notifications: 5 Enemy Kills, Concealment Broken, First Soldier Wounded, Killed a Sectopod or Gatekeeper, Lost a Sectopod or Gatekeeper, and Completed Mission
Challenge Mode replay improvements: show the reaper roll, skip challenge points banners, disable mission narratives
Added user score and total players to Challenge Mode squad select screen
Changed Challenge events to display completion percentages of total players for an event
ADVENT soldiers now take an action when their shadowbound clone is killed
Enemy units will now move or take actions when the player Shadowbinds another enemy unit in the same pod
Challenge Mode replays will now automatically start playing
Fixed an issue where Focus drops were not occurring in Challenge mode
Additional score break down and stats to leaderboard
Consolidated the objective and enemy score decrease messages into one message when appropriate
Fixed an issue causing Challenges to auto-complete

Misc

Modding - Added files to improve compatibility between the game and uncooked content
Character Pool now checks base game and expansion directories for available pools
Fixed Character Pool lighting when on Stronghold shell screen
Fixed a crash with the Character Pool trying to access a version of a unit that no longer exists
Added a button to open the local Photobooth directory from the game
Class pose filtering is skipped when doing a memorial shot

Additional crash and bug fixes

http://store.steampowered.com/app/593380/XCOM_2_War_of_the_Chosen/
Do you have questions for the team? Be sure to follow XCOM on Twitter and Like XCOM on Facebook to keep up to date with the latest information on XCOM 2: War of the Chosen. If you’re looking to enlist with the Resistance, join the 2K Forums!

Oct 19, 2017

Fall 2017 XCOM 2: War of the Chosen Update Deploys

XCOM® 2 - Hinkle2K

Beta Strike now is applied to XCOM soldiers if the tutorial is enabled
Scientists and engineers can no longer be used while deployed on Covert Actions
Fixed base game soldier promotion abilities not being free in the Training Center if a cross-class ability is purchased first
Fixed a visual issue with the inventory menu after selecting a Grenadier's utility item or grenade slot in the Hangar
Fixed Resistance Order card duplication
Fixed a navigation issue caused by empty Resistance Order card slots
Tutorial: Players can now re-enter the Research screen if they’ve tried to exit during the tutorial.
Fixed an issue that prevented soldiers from being dismissible after completing Lost and Abandoned with the Tutorial enabled
Fixed the conventional weapon breakthrough tech causing "+1 Damage" to display on the claymore when viewed in the Armory
Soldiers in the Character Pool now generate with a background
Scavengers Resistance Order now only applies to resource-based POI rewards
Weapon color defaults to 20 now instead of -1 to prevent mismatched color previews
Camera outline and poster display update on screen change
Fixed an issue with SPARKs getting permanently stuck in a wounded yet "Available" state after going on Chosen Stronghold missions
Fixed the Lost World Dark Event to expire correctly
Fixed lingering cohesion glow after creating a new bond
Fixed an issue where faction soldiers in the Training Center promotion screen would not appear when cycling through soldiers
Removed references to Resistance HQ from strategy notifications
Removed the ability for soldiers to gain positive traits as part of the AWC post-mission negative trait recovery mechanic
Soldiers on Covert Actions no longer drop their equipped items when the player enters the squad select screen
Fixed Rescue Soldier missions sometimes appearing with no reward if you fail it the first time
Adding additional text to the Reaper's Silent Killer ability description
Fixed weapons with mods attached not upgrading to the next tier for soldiers who are deployed on ambush-able Covert Actions

Gameplay – Tactical Layer

Chosen will be activated only if someone on XCOM team has been revealed
Fixed a bug where the fog of war fails to update or disappear when the player's Codex creates a clone during a mission
Fixed an issue where detection tiles would disappear for faction soldiers after loading a save while in concealment
VIPs using hunker down no longer break concealment
Berserk Rangers no longer attack squadmates
Fixed visualization of Archon patrol pathing
Units now take claymore damage when a claymore is detonated underneath them while on a destructible floor during tactical gameplay
ADVENT Priests triggering Sustain while standing in the evac zone no longer fails the mission
Alien Rulers get a 1.5X HP boost when Beta Strike is enabled
Fixed an issue where Purifiers became unresponsive after their clone made from Shadowbind was destroyed
Bladestorm and Retribution excludes teammates as valid targets
Enemy reinforcement visual indicator no longer disappears
Chosen can no longer turn into cocoons from Chryssalid poison
Spectres hit with Stasis will no longer prevent shadowbound units from recovering when the Spectre is killed
Fixed missing flyover for Lightning Reflexes
Gremlins only reveal hidden units after a hack attempt is made
Changed Skirmisher Ionic Ripjack stun chance to 25%
Darkclaw now gains the effects of equipped ammo
Brutal Chosen strength temporarily decreases soldier Will
Fixed ambient lighting not being applied in some non-tactical areas
Targetable enemy indicator refreshes correctly after navigating tactical menus
Fixed an issue where help text and other pop-ups would not trigger during the tutorial
Units provided by the Volunteer Army & Double Agent Resistance Orders will no longer count as units lost during a campaign
Updated Mimic Beacon behavior for Purifier, Priest, Spectre, and shadowbound units
Added AI AoE finder updates to enable AoE attacks on Mimic Beacons
Fixed an issue preventing Mimic Beacons from being attacked more than once by purifiers
Skulljack now kills units instantly if Beta Strike is enabled
Shredded armor no longer reappears after reloading a save
Fixed an issue where Skirmishers could use Wrath to move to an area, but not perform a melee attack
Fixed infinite visualization hang when X2Action_WaitForAnotherAction fails to receive the event trigger it is registered for
Fixed issue with claymores not being immediately targetable by the Reaper
Reduced Chosen Hunter pistol range
Skulljack no longer prevents a unit from becoming concealed
Supply Extraction loot now recovered if XCOM evacs from the mission
Fixed a loss of functionality caused by simultaneously entering a rescue circle and triggering a Lost pod during a Rescue Stranded Resistance Agents mission
Fixed crash caused by too many Lost on screen at one time
Restricting spawns in the corners of some parcels to prevent Chosen from being stuck if they spawn in the corner of a map
Slightly reducing the aim of Retaliation civilian militia and Volunteer Army soldiers
Shadowbound units don't get abilities granted from Sustaining Spheres. This matches up with shadowbound units not getting built in Sustain ability from units either
Prevent Chosen Kidnap / Extract on special units that come from HQ via Double Agent or Volunteer Army
Fix for an indefinite hang when a unit gets the burning status effect when moving for a Skullmine action during tactical gameplay
Holy Warrior effects no longer persist after the Priest is removed from the mission
Chosen Sarcophagus health displays correctly after loading a save game while the shield is up
Bluescreen Rounds no longer affect destructibles
Updated Shadowbind to remove the Parthenogenic Poison from the target
Decoupled GameStateUnit and asynchronous pawn load requests to prevent hung levels and crashes on level load
Fixed crashes related to GetAllViewersOfTarget
Fixed crashes related to GetAllVisibleToSource
Fixed crashes related to GetAllViewersOfLocation
Fixed crashes caused by for large block of LoadMap crashes
Fixed GetWorldInfo crashes on RenderThread
FixedProtection against IsAudible crashes from effects

Challenge Mode

Added new event notifications: 5 Enemy Kills, Concealment Broken, First Soldier Wounded, Killed a Sectopod or Gatekeeper, Lost a Sectopod or Gatekeeper, and Completed Mission
Challenge Mode replay improvements: show the reaper roll, skip challenge points banners, disable mission narratives
Added user score and total players to Challenge Mode squad select screen
Changed Challenge events to display completion percentages of total players for an event
ADVENT soldiers now take an action when their shadowbound clone is killed
Enemy units will now move or take actions when the player Shadowbinds another enemy unit in the same pod
Challenge Mode replays will now automatically start playing
Fixed an issue where Focus drops were not occurring in Challenge mode
Additional score break down and stats to leaderboard
Consolidated the objective and enemy score decrease messages into one message when appropriate
Fixed an issue causing Challenges to auto-complete

Misc

Modding - Added files to improve compatibility between the game and uncooked content
Character Pool now checks base game and expansion directories for available pools
Fixed Character Pool lighting when on Stronghold shell screen
Fixed a crash with the Character Pool trying to access a version of a unit that no longer exists
Added a button to open the local Photobooth directory from the game
Class pose filtering is skipped when doing a memorial shot

Additional crash and bug fixes

Oct 18, 2017

DESIGNING THE CHOSEN IN XCOM 2: WAR OF THE CHOSEN

XCOM® 2 - Hinkle2K

In the XCOM games, you are up against impossible odds. Seemingly insurmountable hordes of alien and ADVENT forces. One thing that the Chosen bring to the fight in XCOM 2: War of the Chosen – a face to face foe. Singular adversaries that are plotting against you, the Chosen even taunt you as you try to stop them. It’s just one of the many ingenious additions to this massive expansion. We asked Lead Producer Griffin Funk what went on behind-the-scenes to make this happen.

One of the things the Chosen do is give the enemy a “face” beyond the mysterious elders or waves of foes your squads are up against. Was this something recognized early on in the creation of XCOM 2: War of the Chosen? What made you think of going in this direction in the first place?

Griffin F. There are always two stories happening in XCOM. There’s the narrative of the campaign and then there’s the personal story the player experiences in the game. We always try to advance both of those stories which can be incredibly challenging. They’re opposing ideas, so advancing one can easily take away from the other. The Chosen naturally advance both stories by existing in all parts of the game. They are named characters with personality and ideology that affect the overall story. They also directly interact with the player based on the decisions made. They fight you on the tactical layer and then play the strategy layer alongside you.

What were the main objectives for the creation of the Chosen?

Griffin F. We wanted to give the player an adversary that felt alive. In XCOM 2, the campaign was a race against the Avatar Project clock. Players knew the Elders were in the background and were the ultimate bad guys of the campaign, but they don’t show up until the end. We thought this aspect of the game felt a little cold. We wanted them with you the whole way. The Chosen are looking for you, taunting you, and directly engaging with you. They’re basically playing the game right next to you. As you create upgrades, they’re in their base doing the same. You can check on their progress to see what they’re up to and I like to think they have a little computer where they can see what you’re doing as well.

Sounds a little creepy when you put it that way. What are some of the challenges that come with naming the enemy and giving it a face?

Griffin F. Creating a new major adversary that has a specified name, personality, face, voice, etc. that is always the same was risky. Thankfully, War of the Chosen is such a big and dynamic game that it’s not a problem. It also helped that we made aspects of the Chosen procedural like their strengths and weaknesses. This makes fighting them in two different campaigns feel incredibly different. Hell, it makes fighting them on different missions feel different.

How does this carry over into a game that’s also largely procedural?

Griffin F. Even though the Chosen each have a distinct personality, they’ll still perform actions that are unique to your playthrough. It’s similar to how the actions taken in a mission create a personal story between the player and their soldiers. When the Hunter hits a soldier with a tranquillizer, which leads to another soldier panicking, which leads to the soldier killing another soldier, and so forth it creates a story about the Hunter unique to that campaign. To the player, that could be the moment that defines the Hunter more so than any of the cinematics.

What are you basing the Chosen on beyond archetypes?

Griffin F. Creating the different roles for the Chosen was similar to how we create the classes for XCOM soldiers. We want the individuals to feel powerful, but make up a bigger more fearsome collective that cover manycombat styles. This helps make each Chosen feel unique and fun to play against.

What was the toughest decision you had to make in regards to the Chosen?

Griffin F. One of the toughest challenges was the balance and evaluation of the Chosen’s procedural strengths and weaknesses. Since they were able to have any permutation of these perks, we had to work on balancing them based on pairings. Certain combinations of perks would make a Chosen an unstoppable killing machine. .

Really? How about an example of how one needed to be altered?

Griffin F. When those perks were totally random you could get a Chosen who was both weak against and invulnerable to certain kinds of attacks like explosives, for example.

Have any funny anecdotes from during the creation or tweaking of the Chosen?

There was a funny point in development when we had placeholder VO for the Chosen. We always use people around the office willing to record for our early game scratch VO. During development you would be playing and then hear one of our incredibly nice producers, Rosie Kofsky-Schumpert, making fun of you in her most evil voice.

Besides a Rosie-voiced Chosen, which one has given you the toughest time while playing – and why?

Griffin F. I always have a small heart attack when the Assassin turns invisible and hides. Losing track of any enemy while in the midst of fighting a bunch of others is always scary. You also know that when the Assassin hides, she’s going to come at you hard with her katana on the next turn. You either get line of sight back on her to disrupt the attack or start praying to the RNG god.

Any Easter eggs regarding the Chosen that people should keep an eye out for when playing?

Griffin F. More to keep an ear out for than an eye. If you defeat one of the Chosen and gain their weapons, try bringing them in to combat against one of the other Chosen and you might hear them comment about your acquisition of the items or their thoughts about the fall of one of their kin.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/593380/XCOM_2_War_of_the_Chosen/
Do you have questions for the team? Be sure to follow XCOM on Twitter and Like XCOM on Facebook to keep up to date with the latest information on XCOM 2: War of the Chosen. If you’re looking to enlist with the Resistance, join the 2K Forums!

Oct 18, 2017

DESIGNING THE CHOSEN IN XCOM 2: WAR OF THE CHOSEN

XCOM® 2 - Hinkle2K

Oct 12, 2017

Breathing More Layers into XCOM 2: War of the Chosen

XCOM® 2 - Hinkle2K

XCOM works on multiple levels. There’s the tactical squad combat where you pray your troops make it home. There’s the strategic layer where you need to make tough decisions that’ll impact the whole war effort. But what happens when you add whole new complex systems on top of XCOM’s strategic layer? It makes the world feel even more alive in XCOM 2: War of the Chosen. Joe Weinhoffer, designer on War of the Chosen, explains how it works and how it came about.

From the beginning, what was the goal of adding new systems to the strategy layer? And how close do you think War of the Chosen got to that original vision?

Joe W. Our primary goal for the strategy layer in War of the Chosen was to make the player feel more connected to the world and the resistance, both mechanically and narratively. We wanted to make the world feel more alive, responsive, and engaging by increasing direct player interaction with the resistance through strategy systems. We also wanted to add more characters and personalities to the game to give a relatable face and emotional attachment to the resistance. And of course, we were looking to add ways to increase player investment in their soldiers.

Overall, I think the new strategy systems in War of the Chosen definitely achieve those goals. Covert Actions and Resistance Orders give the player new ways to constantly interact with the factions and dynamically craft their strategic game plan. The Chosen also have strategic agendas, and their monthly actions, like using Retribution on regions or sabotaging sections of the Avenger, provide new challenges to work around. And Soldier Bonds, Negative Traits, and the Photobooth allow players to push their head canon soldier narratives even further.

The faction leaders and Chosen are obviously the biggest narrative elements which help make the Geoscape livelier, but even smaller additions like the post-mission ADVENT propaganda announcements or the Resistance Radio in the bar add a lot of personality to the game. The Radio DJ is a very off-the-wall character compared to traditional XCOM personalities, so that was a bit of risk, but we’re really happy with how he turned out.

Did you have any concerns about adding all of these new complex systems to the strategy layer?

Joe W. Absolutely, especially once we realized how many systems we were thinking of adding on top of everything in the base game, and all the potential complexity that could come from their interactions! We tried to keep the new systems relatively isolated from the base game mechanics, while still allowing them to have a meaningful impact.

Covert Actions are a great example of a feature which is self-contained but provides many interesting decisions. Sending soldiers away on a mission for a few days doesn’t break any other strategy systems, but allows the player to frequently make tough choices about which soldiers to send (especially if there are risks), and which reward is most important at that moment. They also have small but important consequences in the tactical layer by encouraging players to not bring the same squad of soldiers on every mission.

You added activities there that didn’t touch the base game, but you did change others. Can you go into that a little?

Joe W. We changed or cut some of the base game mechanics to add some flexibility for the new features. One example of this is Resistance HQ. In the base game, you could purchase different scanning modes at Res HQ, and every month the resistance would sell a scientist, engineer, or soldier. The War of the Chosen Factions each also have their own personal HQ, and the player has plenty of opportunities to recruit additional staff through Covert Actions. Four HQs felt too crowded, and Covert Actions made shopping at the base game Res HQ redundant, so we cut the original Res HQ and moved the scanning bonuses to the Faction HQs.

Where did you draw inspiration from for the new systems? Board games? Card games? Something else?

Joe W. The new Resistance Orders system is heavily influenced by the Policy system in Civilization VI (*waves down the hall*), but we also looked at a lot of trading card games when designing the user interface and determining how the player interacts with the cards. Sending units away on remote missions for a set time is a system that pops up in a lot of video games and that was an inspiration for Covert Actions. Soldier Bonds are a feature we have wanted to add to the game for a long time, but we looked at a lot of modern RPGs with relationship systems for ideas on how to make it best fit XCOM.

How did you initially plan and test these new systems?

Joe W. Lots and lots of iteration and playtesting! Once we have the idea and a design for a new system, we start by implementing a very small piece of it to get the framework established and the core gameplay elements working properly. For Covert Actions, that was a simple mission with one soldier being sent away, and a basic reward of supplies. For Resistance Orders, it was setting up the code to allow the player to select a single card and activate its effects.

Once those core components are set up and feel fun, we start adding complexity to include all the planned features of the system. Risks, individual soldier rewards, and missions for multiple soldiers were all set up at this point for Covert Actions. This is normally where the bulk of design iteration will take place, as we discover certain pieces that work or don’t work well with each other, or with other systems in the game.

The final piece is to add variety into the system, which involves creating the full scope of content for the feature. This is where we implement all the different types of Covert Actions, or the individual Resistance Orders with their unique effects. The final UI assets also generally don’t get created until this point, since the design is likely to change many times throughout development as we test and play with the feature.

What was the most difficult part of the design process for War of the Chosen?

Joe W. I think the most difficult of part of designing War of the Chosen was figuring out how far we could push the new systems before they became too complicated and overwhelming for the player, or created too much complexity with systems from the base game. We always have a ton of great ideas for each game, but at a certain point we need to step back and really think about what is going to create the best player experience, and then modify or cut features to reach that desired outcome.

How about an example of when you got to that stopping point?

Joe W. This was particularly true in War of the Chosen for the strategy systems which impact tactical combat. We already had Dark Events in the base game, but we added Resistance Orders, SITREPs, the Lost, and the Chosen on top of them for the expansion. There are so many possible combinations that can occur, and some would create very frustrating missions if left unchecked, so we added restrictions to try and limit those moments. However, unpredictability is one of the hallmarks of XCOM, so we still leave plenty of room for crazy situations to keep players on their toes.

What do you think these new features add to the strategy layer? Can you go a little into how you feel this changes the way that you’d have played XCOM prior to War of the Chosen?

Joe W. Overall, I think the features give the player a lot more flexibility in how to implement their personal strategy for taking down ADVENT and the Chosen. Resistance Orders and Covert Actions each let the player take an active role in choosing how to strategically counter their enemies, and allow for quickly shifting tactics to counter a new threat. It makes the strategy layer a lot more dynamic than the base game, and much more engaging.

The new features also have some elements of XCOM randomness for variety, which further increases the value of replaying the game. If your core strategy in one playthrough focused on having a few specific Resistance Orders, you might need to completely reevaluate in a new game where those Orders aren’t available!

What’s the one thing you hope players take out of the experience of playing XCOM 2: War of the Chosen?

Joe W. We hope all the new systems, characters, and narrative elements really augment the XCOM 2 experience, and help the player truly feel like the commander of a global resistance force which responds to your decisions and plans, and has a real impact on the world you are trying to save.

And, as Officer Bradford will likely remind you, it is vitally important that you have a plan, because with the Chosen bolstering ADVENT’s forces and putting their own schemes into play, taking back Earth is going to be more challenging than ever before!

http://store.steampowered.com/app/593380/XCOM_2_War_of_the_Chosen/
Do you have questions for the team? Be sure to follow XCOM on Twitter and Like XCOM on Facebook to keep up to date with the latest information on XCOM 2: War of the Chosen. If you’re looking to enlist with the Resistance, join the 2K Forums!

Oct 12, 2017

Breathing More Layers into XCOM 2: War of the Chosen

XCOM® 2 - Hinkle2K

Oct 4, 2017

Art of XCOM: Tour an Abandoned City through Concept Art

XCOM® 2 - Hinkle2K

In XCOM: Enemy Unknown, we fought hard to save a world – pretty much like the world we know today. XCOM 2, and the expansion XCOM 2: War of The Chosen, fast forward us 20 years to a time long after the first war was lost and the world has changed. How did the Firaxis team first envision this enslaved new world? We asked Chris Sulzbach, Art Director for War of the Chosen, and Aaron Yamada-Hanff, Lead Concept Artist, to give us a quick tour of a typical abandoned city you now navigate in the game.

Let’s start with the cities that were first assaulted by the aliens in Enemy Unknown. Were there specific cities – or aspects of cities – you looked at as a guiding light for the initial designs?

Chris S. No specific cities were referenced. We looked at a lot of what makes a city look “lived in” like paved over streets, graffiti, concrete repairs, and just took it from there. We wanted to make it look like it could remind you of any city that you’d ever visited.

Now, building off that, how did you look to tear down and degrade those cities 20 years in? Did you look to real world examples of deteriorating cities?

Chris S. Since the fog pods emit a gas that suffocates organic matter, using cities that were reclaimed by nature wasn’t really an option. We had a Pinterest board that I shared with our concept team and on that we would look at many different dilapidated cities, abandoned rooms and warehouses, and places forgotten in time. These gave us a good direction to go off of as if the residents of the city just vanished but really we all know they were gassed and turned into the Lost.

How was concept art used to tell the story of what happened in the cities first attacked by the aliens, but 20 years later?

Chris S. Because we wanted these spaces to give you a feeling of returning to the lost cities from Enemy Unknown, we actually painted over some those original interiors and gave them the abandoned city treatment as a guide for keeping the same vibe. For the Fog Pod impact sites and the non-Lost humans killed in the initial attack, we referenced the photos from the Pompeii eruption to get a sense of what a sudden overtaking of hot gas looked like. The bodies around the fog pods have unique faces differentiating them from the Lost and look more human and pained. We wanted the player to feel for them if they got a glimpse of them in a glam cam.

What are some of the qualities that a concept artist needs when looking to create art for a game – and, specifically, XCOM games?

Aaron YH. Given that concept artists are visual problem solvers I think it’s important to be consistently inquisitive; repeatedly asking questions to isolate problems and subsequently asking follow-up questions to determine whether the resulting solutions are adequately answering those initial questions. Have enough options been explored? Does an idea create other unforeseen problems? Is the final result helping find meaningful solutions for the game itself? It’s a continuous analytical process that requires a lot of patience and persistence through many changes and countless revisions. Because game development is a collaborative process, clarity is particularly important as an idea or asset is developed and moved through the pipeline.

For XCOM specifically I’d add versatility to the list of necessary qualities. Because our team on XCOM is relatively small, the concept team has picked up certain skills along the way to make visualization more efficient and to be able to help out other departments when necessary. In recent years, that’s included implementing a more 3D-intensive process, as well as learning how to use the game engine itself to develop images and assets that get us as close as possible to seeing our work in the game.

Can you give one example, specific to XCOM’s environment, where you had to do multiple revisions before you hit upon the solution? And can you give an example how that process has changed since you started with a more 3D-intensive process?

When we designed interiors for the restaurant in the abandoned city we did a number of experiments to see what treatment worked best. With the muted palette of the abandoned city, we wanted to explore spaces that had a more vibrant color palette and wilder use of texture in addition to spaces that had a more subtle use of color.

In these concepts we exported existing level designs from the engine and painted over the shot, modeling extra pieces when necessary. XCOM relies so much on the grid that we always have to be aware of how a given visual decision will affect readability from game camera or change design rules. Approaching things in this way helps us make sure we’re concepting in ways that serve the game first, whether dealing with environments (including props and vehicles), weapons, or characters.

We also explored concepting exclusively in the game engine by taking assets that we already had, arranging them in ways that implied more of a narrative, and lighting them dramatically. Later in the process this approach ended up being immensely time efficient. Where painting over a screenshot or making a new illustration might have introduced new assets or unforeseen issues, utilizing the vast library of existing assets allowed us to set a visual bar for the level while staying as close as possible to the game itself.

What is the most indispensable tool you use when creating imagery for XCOM?

Aaron YH. While we have access to some amazing software that enables us to create polished work in a very short amount of time, I still find myself coming back to pencil and paper to start most of my ideas. The simplicity and immediacy of that medium allows for a low maintenance way of developing an idea. My desk is consistently littered with sheets of paper where I jot down thoughts in the form of sketches. It’s quick and effective, and is absolutely a core element of my working method.

What aspects of the concept art absolutely had to make it over to the final game assets?

Chris S. Both in our game and in real life, types of buildings, like retail stores, share similar features. Every store will have shelves, counters, and other display structures. In the game, we only have to make a couple different shelves which we can use as many times as we need. To create a city that feels real, we have to create several different kinds of stores. To do this, we reuse the same structural assets (shelves, counters, etc) and then focus on creating unique branding (posters, signage, merchandise) for each store.

Are there any pieces / aspects hidden in the final art of the game people should be looking for? Give some details, if possible.

Chris S. Since these cities were lost in the first invasion, we used a lot of signage we had created for Enemy Unknown. The elevated train has the same signage as the train in Enemy Unknown and we also called back to the initial announce trailer for Enemy Unknown in one of the Lost and Abandoned loading screens. Here’s a couple examples of what I’m talking about…

What makes you say, “This is why I love my job!”?

Chris S. Seeing the spaces go from grey box layouts to final lit with ambient effects is just so cool and never gets old. The last few months of any project, though usually stressful with deadlines, is really rewarding because all the work from all the disciplines come together and everything just clicks into place. It is such a cool feeling.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/593380/XCOM_2_War_of_the_Chosen/
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