UFO: Extraterrestrials Heads into the Matrix

[Erik Rutins]

You can also read the entry in our Games section here:

http://www.matrixgames.com/games/game.asp?gid=342

... and the official homepage here:

http://www.ufo-extraterrestrials.com/

[siRkid]

Thanks just what I was looking for. But can you blow stuff up? None of the screen shots shows and damage to the buildings and objects. I loved making my own entrances. I want to blow things up.

[pad152]

Looks like pasternakski forgot to take is medication again today. [:D]

Well let's face it there hasn't been a good UFO game sense the original X-com. The AfterCrap games were buggy and not very good. This one is also comming from the Czech republic, so until I see a demo I'll stay jadded.

As far as squad level games go, there have only been two good ones, X-com, & Jagged Alliance. Brigade BE5 well almost (I just wish they would fix it, the broken missions, female helmet issue, etc. the Russian developers won't patch it unless Stratgy First pays them first). One would think that with the ton of WWII games, someone would have created a good WWII tactical squad level game.

[pasternakski]

ORIGINAL: pad152

Looks like pasternakski forgot to take is medication again today.

But I'm feeling MUCH better now...

[Erik Rutins]

ORIGINAL: Kid
Thanks just what I was looking for. But can you blow stuff up? None of the screen shots shows and damage to the buildings and objects. I loved making my own entrances. I want to blow things up

Yes. [8D] Quoted from the features list:

FMS Free Movement Standard - destroy anything you want
Free Movement Standard makes a unit's movements very real.

For example, if your soldier can't get inside a building due to aliens blocking all the entrances, do not worry. Go around the building and use a proper weapon, for instance a rocket launcher, to make an entrance of your own.

[Gargoyl]

I really applaud Matrix for buying up some of my old-time favorites, adding some new twists, and getting them to work on newer systems.  I just spent a couple of weeks having fun with Close Combat all over again.  I found the new campaign more challenging than the original AI-wise.  So now I am looking forward to a revised X-COM type game.  I recall a few attempts by other companies to follow in X-COM's footsteps, but with miserable results.  Yet, I can never forget that first time I played X-COM, with its 1950's Sci-Fi music beat and sudden jolts of the alien's movement coming out of nowhere.  I loved the series up through Apocalypse.  Cheers to Matrix.  I look around at other strategy game companies, but Matrix delivers.  Thanks!

[Hard Sarge]

ORIGINAL: Kid

Thanks, I enyoyed the read but their WEB site is not gammer friendly. Where can I find Hard Sarge's comments? I assume he is a beta tester.

Sorry Kid, I do a lot of Betas, but this was not one of them, so I am just a fan and a player like all the rest here

(plus the best part of games like these, no complaints about the OOB being wrong

[SireChaos]

ORIGINAL: Erik Rutins

ORIGINAL: Kid
Thanks just what I was looking for. But can you blow stuff up? None of the screen shots shows and damage to the buildings and objects. I loved making my own entrances. I want to blow things up

Yes. [8D] Quoted from the features list:

FMS Free Movement Standard - destroy anything you want
Free Movement Standard makes a unit's movements very real.

For example, if your soldier can't get inside a building due to aliens blocking all the entrances, do not worry. Go around the building and use a proper weapon, for instance a rocket launcher, to make an entrance of your own.

Just like the original, then? Good. Very good.

I just hope they slightly improved the mechanic, so that for example when you demolish the ground floor of a building, the first floor doesn´t stay put, hovering in mid-air. [;)]

[gunny]

ORIGINAL: LarryP

ORIGINAL: gunny

So what. Its bad journalism.
Gamespot doesn't know how to evaluate tactical role playing games. After shock was pretty good. I finished it. They also gave Brigade E5 a 4.5 score. Another tactical RP game. BE5 is the best game I've playe in years. Gamespot is out to lunch. Unless its warhammer or some codemaster game it gets a really low score.

PC-Gamer gave UFO Aftershock a 51/100 in the Feb 01-2006 issue.

Are you referring to Brigade E5: New Jagged Union? If so it got a 3.5 not 4.5 and the combined ratings from nine commercial sources gave it a 4.1. I prefer to take all the ratings I can find and come to an educated conclusion before I spend a penny.

Well Duh, No I'm referring to the other Brigade E5 game. The one that got 4.5 Sheesh.[:D]
Guess what. inspite of your educated opinion you would still be wrong. BE 5 is a great game and I'm well over 120 hours of gameplay into it. So why is that. Its because game reviews cannot be trusted. One cannot have the same reviewer who plays Company of Heroes review X-Com of BE5. Simply a fish out of water. I prefer to sift sift through the reader review sites. Even then the A.D.D. kiddy reviews that say "it sucks" must be filtered out and read between the lines.

[Zakouski]

UFO extraterrestrial seems very close from the old Xcom. I will buy it with great interest.

But I have to say that UFO Afterlight is a very good game too. I've been playing it for hours now (bought via download) and had no bugs, and lot of fun. The graphics are nice, the tactical fights interesting, and the research quite rich.

UFO Afterlight forum

So I'll play both, as I am too a sci-fi tactical games lover [8D]

[Awac835]

Ill guess we have to wait and see. In case some of you havent followed this title it have been delayed quite a few times. Ill clap my hands if its actualy released on 16. april.

The funny thing is the devs give ZERO info on the official english forum. I fear this game will be a flop like the rest of all those afterlight, math, shock games. And yes i know its a different developer.

My hope ofc is that matrix wouldnt go in as a publisher if they didnt like what they see. That is if they have been able to actualy communicate with the devs.

[David Heath]

ORIGINAL: Bromley

ORIGINAL: pasternakski

Respond to the substance of my post instead of immediately becoming insulting. I made an assertion. You don't like it, answer wth argument, not dung flinging.

Review my posts before you make statements about what I say when I post.

I'm not sure why anyone would have a problem with Matrix distributing a game that's already been developed. Is that really going to slow down the release of, say, Guns of August?

Of course not but how many times can I post the same thing. Frank needed more time with this game and when we are happy with it we will release it.

[David Heath]

ORIGINAL: LitFuel

ORIGINAL: David Heath

ORIGINAL: LitFuel

So this is just for the digital download then right?...I'll want the manual etc... so I guess I have to keep my other order.

We will be printing a full color manual with our Game On Demand edition.

David

That's rather confusing, so they release their retail version and you release one to with game on demand? Same manual? I have purchased more then a few matrix games but to be honest the one thing that bothers me with the game on demand is the quality of the CD-Roms you use. I bought Close Combat:COI and the manual and case were awesome but the CD-Rom (had a nice label though) was one of those thin blueish colored ones that if you accidently get a finger print on it's like fly paper...hell to get off(which usually ends up scuffing the disc). All I buy are boxed versions I don't do downloads so the quality is important to me...not a biggie to some but could be better quality discs.

Hi LitFuel

I will need to look into that and see what I find.

[LitFuel]

ORIGINAL: David Heath

ORIGINAL: LitFuel

ORIGINAL: David Heath




We will be printing a full color manual with our Game On Demand edition.

David

That's rather confusing, so they release their retail version and you release one to with game on demand? Same manual? I have purchased more then a few matrix games but to be honest the one thing that bothers me with the game on demand is the quality of the CD-Roms you use. I bought Close Combat:COI and the manual and case were awesome but the CD-Rom (had a nice label though) was one of those thin blueish colored ones that if you accidently get a finger print on it's like fly paper...hell to get off(which usually ends up scuffing the disc). All I buy are boxed versions I don't do downloads so the quality is important to me...not a biggie to some but could be better quality discs.

Hi LitFuel

I will need to look into that and see what I find.

Thanks for seeing that and looking into it...I buy discs all the time for music, and you can get inexpensive better quality discs then what was used... The type used, looks, feels and is of a low quality, and that reflects on who sells it. I like to collect especially the CC games so that was a little bit of a bummer. The rest of the package was perfect though right down to the label.

[pasternakski]

I'm not sure why anyone would have a problem with Matrix distributing a game that's already been developed. Is that really going to slow down the release of, say, Guns of August?

Of course not but how many times can I post the same thing. Frank needed more time with this game and when we are happy with it we will release it.

Yah. That's why you always invoke "lack of resources" arguments when pressed about delayed publication. You seem to be perfectly happy with others' designs when they have already been wrapped up for publication and all you have to do is send them along to DR while scraping off a few nickels along the way.

Here, you've got a new line. It's "someone else's fault." Did you invest any of those valuable "resources" in the development effort? What about all those other games that have languished, been announced but never pursued (at least as far as anyone can tell, considering that no information has been forthcoming since announcement of the projects), or just simply been sh1tcanned?

I know you have to defend your products, and I have simply shut up about your company's lack of commitment to development of innovative, constructive approaches to AI design (something that I think is crucial to the survival not just of Matrix, but of computer wargaming as opposed to "bang-click-bang-boom-click-pow" gaming). I was, obviously getting nowhere with that, despite years of trying conscientiously as a frequent, paying customer to be persuasive in a good-humored way.

So, go ahead and be a retail whore for neo-Galaxian, Asteroids, and god-only-knows-whatever-else games you stumble across, if you think that will make you fat and happy. Me, I'll just keep trying to find the occasional "Birth of America" or "Galactic Civilizations" among the dreck out there.

[Zakouski]

Some people need to chill out on those forums [X(]   Matrix is quite open to his customers, there are daily exchanges on the boards, and the community feedback is quite good. The wargaming community is shrinking everyday (no more young players) and it's quite logical they publish some games aimed at a large public. Money rules the world, and allows you to play some great games developed by Matrix [8|]

[Erik Rutins]

ORIGINAL: pasternakski
Yah. That's why you always invoke "lack of resources" arguments when pressed about delayed publication. You seem to be perfectly happy with others' designs when they have already been wrapped up for publication and all you have to do is send them along to DR while scraping off a few nickels along the way.

I don't recall us "always invoking lack of resources". However, some developers work best on their own code-wise, with support on the art/sound/presentation/production side, that's the way it is. On other projects, we have helped with everything, across the board, from code to game design to art. With that said, yes we're a small company and there are always limits to what we can do, but looking over the delayed projects, in all cases I see the primary delay on the code side, where our ability to help is often limited by how the developer prefers to work.

Here, you've got a new line. It's "someone else's fault." Did you invest any of those valuable "resources" in the development effort? What about all those other games that have languished, been announced but never pursued (at least as far as anyone can tell, considering that no information has been forthcoming since announcement of the projects), or just simply been sh1tcanned?

The major mistake we made was announcing them too early. Pick a game publisher and I guarantee they'll have at least as many projects delayed or cancelled as we have over time. The difference is they generally stay internal until those companies are _sure_ they are ready for release. And yes, we constantly invest our valuable resources, from people to money, in making every unreleased game as good as it can be before release.

I know you have to defend your products, and I have simply shut up about your company's lack of commitment to development of innovative, constructive approaches to AI design (something that I think is crucial to the survival not just of Matrix, but of computer wargaming as opposed to "bang-click-bang-boom-click-pow" gaming). I was, obviously getting nowhere with that, despite years of trying conscientiously as a frequent, paying customer to be persuasive in a good-humored way.

What are you talking about with this sudden AI design thing? Do you really think that all our games just show up on our doorstep and we package and release them? Do you really think our AI is worse than others out there? I completely disagree on both counts. Good grief, we invest countless hours and thousands upon thousands of dollars directly supporting and funding development for many of the new games we release each year. Some projects would never have seen the light of day in any form without our funding from square zero, others would have failed partway through development without our help well before anything got put in the store.

So, go ahead and be a retail whore for neo-Galaxian, Asteroids, and god-only-knows-whatever-else games you stumble across, if you think that will make you fat and happy. Me, I'll just keep trying to find the occasional "Birth of America" or "Galactic Civilizations" among the dreck out there.

Right, it's not like we've released any new wargames lately... oh wait.

This title is not "neo-Galaxian". If you've never played the original X-Com, you may not be aware of that, but X-Com is basically 'Sci Fi Squad Leader' with a strategic layer to set the tactical battles in. It is definitely a Sci-Fi wargame and right up our alley. Sorry if you don't like it, but we happen to love that kind of gameplay in addition to our historical wargaming and in this case the opportunity was too good to pass up.

Regards,

- Erik

[Hanal]

Now you know why HPS does not provide early info about their projects....to avoid the usual bullshit from forum dwellers.......

[Fallschirmjager]

ORIGINAL: J P Falcon

Now you know why HPS does not provide early info about their projects....to avoid the usual bullshit from forum dwellers.......

I thought it was to avoid the embarassment of releasing the 600th edition of Panzer campaigns and having the balls to charge $50 for it?
HPS embodies everything that is wrong with modern wargamming and why it remains a niche market

[Arctic Blast]

Well, I for one am pumped. I played through the original XCom more times than I can even remember...Hell, I STILL have the damn game on my hard drive NOW. If this new one lives up to the hype, I'm sold.