I finally played a few rounds of ufoai after several unsuccessful download attempts (caused by my machine).
I had no probem with installation, and initially the game run without any problems. Only after I shot one of my own men during a mission :twisted: , the frame freezed and I had to terminate the game from the task manager to go back to my desktop. But I won't be able to decide wether this was caused by a bug or by the low reliability of my machine. (Did anyone report such a problem before?)
So what are my impressions and initial thoughts?
I really liked the world map and the day/night cycle. (I guess you were using this "nightview of the world map" from the National Geographic Magazine).
The menu screens seemed to be easy to manage, at least for someone with some X-Com and UFO experience. But I guess newbies would prefer the see some tiny boxes popping up to see the names of some of the items or button functions in order to learn faster which ones need to be used together or to figure out what they are going to click on. For instance I felt a bit unsure about which ammo belongs to which weapon when I equipped the squad. Assigning them to vehicles on the other hand was quite easy... and so was it to send a squad to missions.
On the tactical combat screen I had some difficulties to figure out the button functions and the logic of their grouping. For instance I associated the numbers on the left (indicating height or floor level) with the image of the soldier above it, rather than with the number bar at the top-middle of the screen. It was also kinda uncomfortable to give the crouch and stand up commands because you weren't quite sure if the command has been taken or not... and you did not really realize that you click away your TU.
Actually I would address these problems regarding the Combat UI twofold: first, as feedback issues regarding the actions we have chosen to let perform; second, as issues in the grouping of relevant funtions. I think better feedback and better grouping would improve the first impression of the tactical mission screen a lot.
On the other hand, the 3-D graphics, the map, the units, their overall display, zooming in and out, switching between floor levels... all were very smooth and aesthetic. And the gameplay, which immediately hooked me in, was very good. It was like coming back home after years of absence :-) Memories from unforgetable X-COM and Jagged Alliance 2 sessions started to echo in my mind...
BUT: This was a different game, a NEW game. I felt adrenaline
. And I think that is what counts most.
The game is in a very mature state and it can only get better. My deepest respect to its developers.
