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Even greater than UFO Defense, in my opinion, was its expansion - Terror From the Deep. It truly taught me that our oceans are so close, yet much farther than

Even greater than UFO Defense, in my opinion, was its expansion - Terror From the Deep. It truly taught me that our oceans are so close, yet much farther than outer space can ever be. Looking at that lone blue globe in space always makes me feel so insignificant, so meaningless. Space is vast, but empty, and sterile. Down the abyss, not even light can shine to bless and purify. The greatest contributor to that is certainly its soundtrack. With its unnerving, relentless low horns; harps hitting on the same two or three notes; there's a feeling of utter despair, hopelessness. A sense of doom, as aquanauts armed with teeny darts and harpoons grunt through the deaths of their colleagues, outmatched by opponents so unfairly superior, in the harshest environment on Earth. They couldn't have done a better job. I have been working on a new "HD" soundtrack for TFTD that I plan to release as a mod for OpenXCOM (this article is great timing!). I am not finished yet, but you can listen to some of the tracks already (and download them if you wish): • Geoscape 1: https://clyp.it/b3wf24qt?token=1171341361084200df1e81a5699dda4c https://clyp.it/b3wf24qt?token=1171341361084200df1e81a5699dd... • Geoscape 2: https://clyp.it/4qog1dq1?token=91b0b871435a3beac898f96cec945946 https://clyp.it/4qog1dq1?token=91b0b871435a3beac898f96cec945... • Geoscape 3: https://clyp.it/cr2uakoj?token=f1e0cda592185ae0152d47bf70a9dc99 https://clyp.it/cr2uakoj?token=f1e0cda592185ae0152d47bf70a9d... • Geoscape 4: https://clyp.it/cf0c5xbx?token=4557e7bd10b693695f04085eeed9b6d0 https://clyp.it/cf0c5xbx?token=4557e7bd10b693695f04085eeed9b... • Geoscape 6: https://clyp.it/gyspu3ry?token=502115f5d9c7c0f0b5f844aa63ef69a6 https://clyp.it/gyspu3ry?token=502115f5d9c7c0f0b5f844aa63ef6... Or follow updates on the mod page: https://openxcom.mod.io/orchestra-from-the-deep https://openxcom.mod.io/orchestra-from-the-deep Enjoy, and let me know, shall you try them in OpenXCOM!

usrusr 6y ago
> The greatest contributor to that feeling is certainly the music. If you are ever startled by a mobile phone nearby ringing with the menacing gmbigmar.mid buildup, please say hello, it's probably mine. I found TFTD a bit too much work-like in some missions (finding that last panicked Gray on a freighter...), but they sure earned an entire spot in gaming history only for their audio.
- zenojevski 6y ago
  OpenXCOM and OpenXCE fix almost all of TFTD's problems with tons of quality-of-life improvement, like the "bug hunt" mode which reveals the location of those pesky aliens when a play drags too long. Give it a spin if you didn't already!
fab1an 6y ago
Amazing work on the HD soundtrack! Takes me right back..
joelbluminator 6y ago
OMG Terror From the Deep, it was so freaking great.
- Newtonip 6y ago
  It was way too hard.
JohnBooty 6y ago
As a diehard fan of the series, I'm shocked! TFTD was such a major letdown to me after the predecessor, and I believe even Mr. Gollop doesn't have a high opinion of it. I'm also shocked to see the author of the linked article laud it as better than the original. I've honestly not heard that expressed by other XCOM fans. It, bizarrely, leans heavily into its predecessor's flaws instead of fixing them or at least steering around them. - The much more cramped battlefield areas (namely, ships) expose the very frustrating shooting/projectile mechanics. you can understand squaddies missing an easy shot in the heat of the moment. fine! understandable! but in cramped areas they make even more exasperating mistakes -- if a guy is standing next to a doorway for cover, i might expect him to miss his shot... but i do not expect him to empty half his clip directly into the door frame six inches from his face - grenade tossing in cramped areas is essentially just a great way to frag yourself and your squadmates. dear lord. grenades are really only useful in the early game, mostly, but TFTD doesn't even let you have that! - some weapons only work underwater, some only work in air! adding to the already mind-numbing micromanagement of equipment, not to mention the punishing difficulty - perhaps my memory fails me here, but I remember distinctly less destructible environments, which added so much fun to the original. can't find a way into the house? Blow a wall open! But, also, watch out for collapses! So much fun and so unique at the time. More importantly, regardless of which series entries we like the best... nice to see a fellow X-Com fan -- and so many others on here! Cheers!
- int_19h 6y ago
  Which of the first two X-COM games is the favorite usually depends on which one the person played first, from my experience.
  - JohnBooty 6y ago
    I know what you mean. So many things are like that. =) But I'd really like to hear the case in favor of TFTD. I might go so far as to call it objectively worse!
    - zenojevski 6y ago
skocznymroczny 6y ago
I like TFTD, but it has some flaws: - weird research paths. It was possible to ruin your game by doing the wrong research in wrong order. Also, you need a lot of luck to get some techs, e.g. to get early armor you need to kill a Deep One, which usually are only found in the beginning of the game and near the end of it. Similarly to get a vibroblade which is very useful against Lobstermen, you need to kill a Calcinite, which is a very rare spawn in the game. - maps are too big. I like the variety, but the maps are just too big. Also they consist of tight tunnels providing perfect shooting gallery opportunities for the aliens - tentaculats are badly balanced. I fear no lobstermen disruptors, I fear no tasoth mind control, but a one or two tentaculats can destroy your team in a single round. And they can fly across half the map to get you.
kapp 6y ago
"The mod requested could not be found." I believe the correct link is: https://openxcom.mod.io/orchestra-of-the-deep https://openxcom.mod.io/orchestra-of-the-deep

usrusr 6y ago

> The greatest contributor to that feeling is certainly the music. If you are ever startled by a mobile phone nearby ringing with the menacing gmbigmar.mid buildup, please say hello, it's probably mine. I found TFTD a bit too much work-like in some missions (finding that last panicked Gray on a freighter...), but they sure earned an entire spot in gaming history only for their audio.

zenojevski 6y ago
OpenXCOM and OpenXCE fix almost all of TFTD's problems with tons of quality-of-life improvement, like the "bug hunt" mode which reveals the location of those pesky aliens when a play drags too long. Give it a spin if you didn't already!

fab1an 6y ago

Amazing work on the HD soundtrack! Takes me right back..

joelbluminator 6y ago

OMG Terror From the Deep, it was so freaking great.

Newtonip 6y ago
It was way too hard.

JohnBooty 6y ago

As a diehard fan of the series, I'm shocked! TFTD was such a major letdown to me after the predecessor, and I believe even Mr. Gollop doesn't have a high opinion of it. I'm also shocked to see the author of the linked article laud it as better than the original. I've honestly not heard that expressed by other XCOM fans. It, bizarrely, leans heavily into its predecessor's flaws instead of fixing them or at least steering around them. - The much more cramped battlefield areas (namely, ships) expose the very frustrating shooting/projectile mechanics. you can understand squaddies missing an easy shot in the heat of the moment. fine! understandable! but in cramped areas they make even more exasperating mistakes -- if a guy is standing next to a doorway for cover, i might expect him to miss his shot... but i do not expect him to empty half his clip directly into the door frame six inches from his face - grenade tossing in cramped areas is essentially just a great way to frag yourself and your squadmates. dear lord. grenades are really only useful in the early game, mostly, but TFTD doesn't even let you have that! - some weapons only work underwater, some only work in air! adding to the already mind-numbing micromanagement of equipment, not to mention the punishing difficulty - perhaps my memory fails me here, but I remember distinctly less destructible environments, which added so much fun to the original. can't find a way into the house? Blow a wall open! But, also, watch out for collapses! So much fun and so unique at the time. More importantly, regardless of which series entries we like the best... nice to see a fellow X-Com fan -- and so many others on here! Cheers!

int_19h 6y ago
Which of the first two X-COM games is the favorite usually depends on which one the person played first, from my experience.
- JohnBooty 6y ago
  I know what you mean. So many things are like that. =) But I'd really like to hear the case in favor of TFTD. I might go so far as to call it objectively worse!
  - zenojevski 6y ago

skocznymroczny 6y ago

I like TFTD, but it has some flaws: - weird research paths. It was possible to ruin your game by doing the wrong research in wrong order. Also, you need a lot of luck to get some techs, e.g. to get early armor you need to kill a Deep One, which usually are only found in the beginning of the game and near the end of it. Similarly to get a vibroblade which is very useful against Lobstermen, you need to kill a Calcinite, which is a very rare spawn in the game. - maps are too big. I like the variety, but the maps are just too big. Also they consist of tight tunnels providing perfect shooting gallery opportunities for the aliens - tentaculats are badly balanced. I fear no lobstermen disruptors, I fear no tasoth mind control, but a one or two tentaculats can destroy your team in a single round. And they can fly across half the map to get you.

kapp 6y ago

"The mod requested could not be found." I believe the correct link is: https://openxcom.mod.io/orchestra-of-the-deep https://openxcom.mod.io/orchestra-of-the-deep