Long War Studios partners with Firaxis to develop content for XCOM 2

[ZigzagPX4]

https://xcom.com/news/en-long-war-studios-preparing-xcom-2-content-for-launch

The website has an age gate which may inconvenience mobile users, so here's the full article:

We are happy to announce Long War Studios, the developers behind the Long War total-conversion mod for XCOM: Enemy Unknown and XCOM: Enemy Within, has partnered with Firaxis Games and 2K for XCOM 2.

The Long War Studios team, which is comprised of John Lumpkin, Rachel “Amineri” Norman and James “JCLewis” Karlson, is currently hard at work on multiple mods for XCOM 2. These mods are currently slated to be available at launch on February 5, 2016. We’ll have more information about the content of these mods soon.

Going to PAX South? Don’t miss the Firaxis Megapanel on Saturday, January 30th at 12:30pm CT (10:30am PT/1:30pm ET) for EXCLUSIVE live gameplay of XCOM 2, as well as information on the mod tools from the developers and Long War Studios’ John Lumpkin. Not at PAX South? You can watch the panel LIVE at http://twitch.tv/pax.

Long War Studios was founded by the developers of the Long War overhaul mod for XCOM: Enemy Unknown. They've since gone off to create their own development company, but have now announced they're partnering with Firaxis Games to develop content for XCOM 2 that will be ready for launch.

This is a one of the rare examples of developers and modders officially working together on a game, especially when you consider the fact that Firaxis is owned by 2K Games, making them part of the AAA industry.

I found this relevant to the site because it's one of the better examples of the video game modding culture working out the right way. Is this better than Bethesda Softworks and Bethesda Game Studios' approach to modding? While we haven't seen much of the their approach to Fallout 4's modding community just yet, I think it's fair to already be comparing this with what we've seen with Bethesda's previous games so far. Any thoughts?

 

[aenemic]

This is awesome. Not only because I really look forward to see what great content will come out of this, but also because it hopefully sends very good signals to other developers and modders.

In comparison with Bethesda, I think Firaxis and (Jake Solomon in particular) come off as very humble towards modders and players both - they want to make the game as good as they possibly can, and they realize that modders can and will make the game even better for a lot of people. They welcome this without sacrificing their own visions or ambitions. Whereas Bethesda also welcome modding, but seem to rather rely on it to make their games what they are. Nothing inherently wrong in that, except that they don't seem to strive to perfect a finished product first and foremost. They allow their games to be half-cooked set-ups for modding. And on top of that, they want people to pay for the mods and earn about half the money themselves. Nothing humble about that.

 

[ZigzagPX4]

This is awesome. Not only because I really look forward to see what great content will come out of this, but also because it hopefully sends very good signals to other developers and modders.

It's really not much about the content. I may be proven wrong later, but I don't see that much new content coming out of it - maybe a couple of nice touches, but the game is mostly finished and Long War Studios has a game to develop themselves. It's really more about the message - cooperation and support. Good signals are definitely being sent.

In comparison with Bethesda, I think Firaxis and (Jake Solomon in particular) come off as very humble towards modders and players both - they want to make the game as good as they possibly can, and they realize that modders can and will make the game even better for a lot of people. They welcome this without sacrificing their own visions or ambitions.

I feel sorry for him and his team when 2K pushes the pre-order nickel-and-dime bullshit onto XCOM and then he gets all the fire for it. Several comments flaming Solomon for what is very clearly the publisher's doing. But it's a pretty common mistake of the majority of people - blaming a developer for publisher greed. Daikatana is one of those rare games where the thing is only the developer's fault. From that day on it's always been publishers and corporations that's using devs as human shields for their business practices.

Whereas Bethesda also welcome modding, but seem to rather rely on it to make their games what they are. Nothing inherently wrong in that, except that they don't seem to strive to perfect a finished product first and foremost. They allow their games to be half-cooked set-ups for modding. And on top of that, they want people to pay for the mods and earn about half the money themselves. Nothing humble about that.

They're not implying their unfinished product is unfinished, either. They clearly aren't officially advertising user-made content on the game description, which makes me wonder what their whole deal is. If Bethesda really ends up doing the "lock mods to their own website/platform, paid mods again" approach, then that's my last ounce of faith in Bethesda torn away and thrown into the abyss.

 

[eissa]

those modder will probably busy with 50 gb file firaxis give them, which is more exciting since EU was not meant to be moddable yet they could do it. but sadly, its mean Terra invictus is delayed (long war studio project)

 

[aenemic]

those modder will probably busy with 50 gb file firaxis give them, which is more exciting since EU was not meant to be moddable yet they could do it. but sadly, its mean Terra invictus is delayed (long war studio project)

Have they actually said that it's delayed? I would assume the collaboration with Firaxis has gone on for a good while and they're just wrapping it up now or might even be finished. Their other project may very well have been planned around this.

It's really not much about the content. I may be proven wrong later, but I don't see that much new content coming out of it - maybe a couple of nice touches, but the game is mostly finished and Long War Studios has a game to develop themselves. It's really more about the message - cooperation and support. Good signals are definitely being sent.

Yeah I don't expect much new "content" per se. If I were to venture a guess I'd say we'd get some new soldier building options, maybe a new class system similar to Long War. Other than that, probably some Second Wave type options letting us customize the game a bit.

I feel sorry for him and his team when 2K pushes the pre-order nickel-and-dime bullshit onto XCOM and then he gets all the fire for it. Several comments flaming Solomon for what is very clearly the publisher's doing. But it's a pretty common mistake of the majority of people - blaming a developer for publisher greed. Daikatana is one of those rare games where the thing is only the developer's fault. From that day on it's always been publishers and corporations that's using devs as human shields for their business practices.

What I've seen is the usual complaint about there being day one dlc, when the dlc is in fact cosmetic options and a pass for future dlc. As much as I hate publishers cutting content to release as day one dlc, I also hate people lashing out and complaining about things without getting all the facts first.

As for Jake Solomon, I recommend reading this article: http://www.polygon.com/features/2013/1/31/3928710/making-of-xcoms-jake-solomon-firaxis-sid-meier
It made me appreciate him and his dedication even more. He sounds like a real stand-up guy who's in it for all the right reasons. I don't necessarily agree that the earlier conceptions of the XCOM remake looked that terrible, and there's certainly some pr talk about just how terrible it was, but I guess that stems from it being more or less a AAA title that couldn't be made for such a niche market. It's fun to see that he initially wanted to make the same type of game as the old ones, but even more complex. And I'm kind of glad that he didn't.

They're not implying their unfinished product is unfinished, either. They clearly aren't officially advertising user-made content on the game description, which makes me wonder what their whole deal is. If Bethesda really ends up doing the "lock mods to their own website/platform, paid mods again" approach, then that's my last ounce of faith in Bethesda torn away and thrown into the abyss.

Well, for me that last bit of faith went with Fallout 4, which I still deep inside had some sort of hope for would turn out ok. But yeah, they really need to change things up. If they keep doing what they're doing, I'm sure they'll still have tons of great reviews and a huge fanbase, but Fallout 4 showed that players and press both are more aware and more critical. They're already becoming a running joke even outside of places like NMA and the Codex. Paid mods might work for a while, but it might also be the last nail in the coffin down the line.

Personally, I think they should start from scratch - new enginge, fresh blood, let mods come later. Focus on a good polished (finished) product. Let modding be an afterthought. Lots of people would hate this, but the old games are still there for all your modding pleasures. And I actually think they might do themselves and their fanbase a disservice in the long run having modders do all this work over and over again just to "fix" their games and bring in stuff that people are used to having available from previous games (since they apparently don't give two shits about incorporating the popular mods into their new games). People still think it's fun today, but two or three more games and I'm betting people will have grown weary of it.

 

[ZigzagPX4]

Personally, I think they should start from scratch - new enginge, fresh blood, let mods come later. Focus on a good polished (finished) product. Let modding be an afterthought. Lots of people would hate this, but the old games are still there for all your modding pleasures. And I actually think they might do themselves and their fanbase a disservice in the long run having modders do all this work over and over again just to "fix" their games and bring in stuff that people are used to having available from previous games (since they apparently don't give two shits about incorporating the popular mods into their new games). People still think it's fun today, but two or three more games and I'm betting people will have grown weary of it.

See, that's what I hope Bethesda Montreal is going to bring. A fresh start and good chance to build a good game. The other way is that it's just another resource-store studio like how Ubisoft expands these days. But I'm hoping its the former.

It's funny how some people think that Bethesda has a "cycle" of making buggy, unfinished games without depth, then modders fixing it, is a lasting thing. It's the exact kind of cycle that can only go so far before there's no more to go. And from that, it's either staying there and stagnating progress, or going off a cliff.

 

[eissa]

the content here is Official Mod, like Company of Hero Eastern mod. supported by official developer, but not monetized. it ends being a material for the sequel, though.