Phoenix Point
A tactics game from original XCOM designer Julian Gollop.
Where Phoenix Point comes up1 episode or test
- One hit roll per shot
- All-or-nothing outcome
- Complete miss feels punitive
- Each bullet runs through ballistics
- Some bullets hit, some miss
- Partial outcomes soften randomness
Players find it far less annoying
From Mark Brown, Game Maker's Toolkit
What was said about Phoenix Point
Phoenix Point simulates each bullet, so shots partly hit instead of all-or-nothing. Instead of one hit roll per shot, the game runs each bullet through a ballistics system, so some bullets hit and some miss. Players find this far less annoying than XCOM's single all-or-nothing shot.
Julian Gollop, the original XCOM designer, made Phoenix Point. Mark Brown of Game Maker's Toolkit uses it, in a video about Into the Breach, as an example of replacing binary hit or miss with partial outcomes. A complete miss feels punitive, so partial outcomes make output randomness less punishing.
The Two Types of Random in Game Design
Simulates each bullet with ballistics, so some hit and some miss. That annoys players less than XCOM's all-or-nothing shot.
Phoenix Point simulates each bullet, so shots partly hit instead of all-or-nothing. Instead of one hit roll per shot, the game runs each bullet through a ballistics system, so some bullets hit and some miss. Players find this far less annoying than XCOM's single all-or-nothing shot.
Julian Gollop, the original XCOM designer, made Phoenix Point. Mark Brown of Game Maker's Toolkit uses it, in a video about Into the Breach, as an example of replacing binary hit or miss with partial outcomes. A complete miss feels punitive, so partial outcomes make output randomness less punishing.
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