RetroAhoy: X-COM

Next up: Iconic Arms.
Patreon: / ahoy
00:00 Introduction
02:02 Julian Gollop
11:05 16-bit Transition
18:00 MicroProse & UFO's Development
22:47 Basic Gameplay - Geoscape
26:32 Basic Gameplay - Battlescape
32:33 Game Progression
41:58 Late Game & Ending
46:08 Reception
48:14 Sequels
56:14 The Fall of MicroProse
01:02:58 Mythos Post-XCOM
01:07:08 UFO Clones
01:11:50 Firaxis & Take-Two
01:15:48 XCOM
01:31:27 Mods
01:33:20 Snapshot Games
01:35:58 Conclusion

[@ColtGColtG]

X-COM, the game that taught many gamers that a 90% chance to hit misses 60% of the time

[@KaraokeNig]

XD

[@AurioqueG]

🤣

[@AsheramK]

That's Xcom, Baby.

[@razorwork1]

Reminds me of Jagged Alliance 2, which I still play :)

[@anomuumit]

That is more of a problem with the new reboot series. In the original you felt pretty confident with 70% (or even lower) chances because the projectiles had to hit something or fly off the screen. More than once have I shot a completely different alien than I had originally in my sights, just because the first shot missed and the projectile continued on.

[@JoCat]

always a joy when ahoy uploads

[@cjballinger7732]

Always!

[@milliondollaquestion8777]

no u

[@jbzhummerh2gamer]

Especially since he doesn't until years and years later.

[@MorbidMindedManiac]

*always Ajoy

[@Ellebeeby]

Same to you!

[@jamieenoshima5147]

When I finished this game I did the final mission while running out of time. A good chunk of my experienced members where critically wounded. So I went in with the 60 squad team 10 veterans. 50 rookies. It was a massacre. Immediately on landing it was like D-Day. The rookies got gunned down left and right. Chrysallids jumped everyone. We tried to split as quickly as possible into squads and get out of the heavy suppression. Eventually all that was left was a squad of 5 veterans. Desperately searching for the mother brain. 3 stayed back to hold the advance of Chrysallids. They didn't last long. But one of the survivors limping set enough explosive charges on timer and blasted enough rockets they'd took most of the swarm with them. Two left, my leader from the beginning and my second in command. Psychic attack, my leader was possessed. Took shots at the second in command who couldn't bring herself to shoot X-coms longest serving and most respected veteran. Limping bleeding out I accepted that this is a defeat. Yet the room she stumbled into. Was the room with mother brain. We had about 2 turns left till she would have bled out. And on the last turn before her death she fired enough shots into mother brain. Ended the alien threat for good. No survivors but humanity was saved.

[@DBWendy]

Cinema quality

[@yoboikamil525]

that was insane

[@RustBot42]

This right here. This is why I love this game.

[@ZeeZour]

60 People? Did you play some mod? The Avenger allows only 26 passengers..

[@jamieenoshima5147]

No mods I upgraded skyranger fully? and the final mission upgrades the cap for the increased enemies. So 60 deaths defeated the enemies lol@@ZeeZour

[@CapitalTeeth]

This man went from CoD weapon guides (when his channel was still named Xbox Ahoy) to hour long documentaries about old games. And on god I loved watching that transformation unfold ever since his first iconic arms video.

[@OnyeNacho]

I wished he'd cover a documentary on Army Men and Unreal.

[@Cybersharky_]

Degenerate

[@safe-keeper1042]

I love it when channels grow like this. Reminds me of Top 10 Facts that gradually evolved into LEMMiNO.

[@gusbabiski]

now I finally understand why his logo has a X

[@f1u1c1k-y1o1u]

Retro games are always fun to rediscover

[@LarixusSnydes]

"They could wipe out the entire population of a city, or worse... negatively affect your performance score.". Brutal, but true in X-Com. Thank you for yet another great documentary. Always a treat.

[@rapchee]

he needs to sort out his priorities

[@BluminousLight]

I love his periodic dry humor. Catches me off guard every time just as this line did.

[@pnutz_2]

also his blaster bomb demonstration when he blows up a battle disc, the convenience store it was in front of, the building next to it, half of the petrol station, a civvie, another civvie and a sectoid

[@KopperNeoman]

A bad score can doom the world.

[@Chaosrain112]

The textbook definition of QUALITY over quantity. Always a treat, Stu.

[@Thefreakyfreek]

Quantity bro tere is 1:40 hours of quality

[@lilyliao9521]

@@Thefreakyfreek real freak

[@trapadvisor]

People do both, look at Scott The Woz.

[@part1cle137]

and don't forget rewatchability, i can't tell you how many times i've watched the monkey island video

[@blantisulatorblanston53]

I have abandonment issues with this channel

[@SSCEurobeat]

This man has the power to make me wanna play anything he talks about

[@TheReaverOfDarkness]

I think he's careful to make sure anything he talks about is something you wanna play.

[@aconfusedlacroix3965]

@@TheReaverOfDarkness yea no shit sherlock

[@zachclark2936]

@@TheReaverOfDarknessppp

[@nothanks9503]

@@zachclark2936pp?

[@safe-keeper1042]

No kidding.

[@mysteriousstranger2287]

I've never played a minute of any xcom Yet I'm watching with bated breath and living the whole story as Ahoy unravels it

[@CianaCorto]

Try Xcom 2. It's basically the same as this game but modernized and streamlined with extra mechanics and more modern gaming experience. It's amazing.

[@BanakaiGames]

Seconding Xcom2, a lot of the "fans" prefer other games, but as someone who didn't play the other games when they came out and don't have nostalgia, Xcom2 is perfectly accessible for me, neither too complicated or too easy.

[@Kokuyous3ki]

Have to heavily disagree. Try XCom Enemy Unknown/Within instead. Best Xcom so far, nice balance between depth and ease of access, difficult yet not frustrating. Unlike Xcom2. Xcom2 went overboard with scripted events, spawning enemies and time limits. Mostly time limits. Never understood why endorse "risk taking" in a game where you can perma lose your soldiers and 99% hit rates are missing left and right. I mean sure, if you want to spam save/load, go ahead but that is just ridiculous. You can still like Xcom2, I still like it too, but they have definitely added a few changes that are debatable.

[@safe-keeper1042]

@@CianaCorto or the original UFO Defense with OpenXcom. Big fun. It's a masterpiece of a game.

[@alexsingleton907]

Uh no shit. I'm pretty sure most people are here for ahoy not whatever game he's talking about. Not just you

[@MedlifeCrisis]

A humdrum Friday suddenly becomes a great day. Ahoy is just a class apart.

[@thelaneyo]

You ever play XCOM?

[@imconfused6955]

One of the last people I expected to see here

[@chumpchimp1976]

Makes my day when either of you upload. Glad I can end the day on a good note

[@alaska7766]

Wild seeing you here, love your vids! They helped me finally pull the trigger on going back to school for pre-med.

[@Gakulon]

Always makes the heart yearn for more

[@CampinSteve]

AHOY is so consistently quality.

[@edmn]

Unpredictability is dangerous, unlike the quality of Ahoy's content!

[@masteriansun]

“ it took 12 years to make” seems like it anyway heh

[@jhinnyg]

How tf your reply say 20 hours ago when this was barely uploaded 1 hour ago?

[@Keezawea]

@@jhinnyg patreon

[@doomanime61]

AHOY = QUALITY

[@bigtastyben5119]

Stu is one of the very few youtubers who can make hour long videos and not make it feel like a bloated mess.

[@f1u1c1k-y1o1u]

Stu, why are you still awake making eggs at 3am? Ahoy: Because I've lost control of my life. Also that XCOM video I've been working on still isn't done yet.

[@safe-keeper1042]

fr

[@BethesdaCakeDelivery]

@@f1u1c1k-y1o1u i am very tempted to call you out on where you lifted the "lost control of your life" quote from, but that'll be calling both of us out, aren't we? >:]

[@reksraven6909]

@@BethesdaCakeDelivery Isn't that one of the most well known memes of that show. Like not even an obscure reference xD

[@neilbiggs1353]

Only just stumbled across this video, and I have to say he has a great narrator's voice

[@eljuanchosirk1760]

This man made me buy the xcom:enemy unknown and made me discover a whole new franquise I didn't know existed. This is some extremely good free marketing you made here and I love it.

[@mindshuffler3332]

I literally do not exaggerate when I say that an upload from Ahoy feels like Christmas.

[@CheeseMachine17]

Same sir, same.

[@ecocodex4431]

It feels like Christmas because it only comes once a year

[@Justakatto]

@@ecocodex4431 insert meme : "No, no he's got a point"

[@d1m4as11]

Well, giving how much time is between every upload and the incredible quality of the videos I can say you are right

[@ecocodex4431]

@@Justakatto insert Squidward meme: "oh no, he's hot!"

[@Lebjs_]

I like how AHOY's community is used to the long waits, it's kinda like a stray cat who drops in every once in a while, happy to see it but not bothered or worried if it doesn't show up for a while.

[@gugg2216]

It's just me bouncing between him and summoning salt

[@Zed1987X]

Reminds me of a bit of the tactics of Crowbcat.

[@Chomperling]

Its the same thing with LemmIno's community, we know we will get the best quality to binge if we just wait long enough

[@drivanradosivic1357]

@@Zed1987X Ew, crowbcat. the shit stirrer.

[@ronan5228]

opposite of sam o'nella

[@LUNATIC75]

The original X-Com sits in my 'holy trinity' of all time favourite games. This video was a wonderful homage to the series and a pleasure to watch.

[@kcsnipes]

The other 2 games ?

[@ghostman76015]

Mine as well

[@dr.benway1892]

top 5 for me

[@jothain]

@@dr.benway1892 Yeah. Absolutely, without a question in my Top 10 games ever made since late 80's, but it might very well reach even Top 5 if absolutely forced to select.

[@pokehybridtrainer]

You will fear 95%. If it ain't 100, you know it can and will miss in the OG UFO: Enemy Unknown.

[@acethegunnerd]

The fact that Ahoy absolutely nails tying in the graphics design on each one of his videos never fails to impress me.

[@igotes]

Every video is a masterpiece.

[@ketch10]

im in a graphics design class and goddamn his thumbnails are awesome

[@erichobbs4042]

As a huge X-COM fan, this made my day. I'm chuffed to bits.

[@ChillDealGames]

me too brother, me too.

[@RRGreiner]

100% agree

[@ghostman76015]

loved the environmental sounds and musIc

[@RRGreiner]

@@ghostman76015 Its almost a horror game really

[@Souledex]

I only played later games in this style, the reboot, Xenonauts, Phoenix project. Its completely insane to me they jumped from "you can fight stuff in this one room" to basically a fully formed version of X-COM with worse graphics.

[@ReverendTed]

Fantastic as always. Exceptionally minor quibble, but at 1:34:40, Phoenix Point gets a Chaos Reborn title banner.

[@dontspikemydrink9382]

yes, that is chaos reborn 😂

[@rocky38964]

I can't believe I hadn't found this video before. Wonderful production as always, but this one in specific warms my heart- The old XCom, on my dad's dinky laptop, was the first video game I ever played. It opened my eyes to a whole new world, and to this day still holds a special place in my heart. Seeing it explored and given so much attention and love- it's a great thing.

[@degeneratemale5386]

Immediately jumped into the deep end, huh?

[@shrike6243]

If you haven't heard of it, you should give the XCOM Files, a mod for OpenXcom, a try.

[@jjcoola998]

Yup this was one of the first games I played on my 486 as well, I know the vibe

[@ZappBranniglenn]

It's fascinating how much of Enemy Unknown's mechanics date all the way back to the first XCOM game. What an impressive title.

[@mleise8292]

Wait till you play the original, blow something up in an alien installation and have the smoke knock aliens in the room unconscious. The commanders of crashed alien ships would sometimes panic if you swiftly dealt with their crew, drop their weapons and run. It also made a difference in time units whether you had to grab an item from your backpack or from your belt. The grenades were a bit annoying though as their explosion was always delayed until at least after the alien turn.😆

[@RussianSevereWeatherVideos]

@@mleise8292 Smoke knocking them out? Interesting mechanic that I did not know of.

[@BradTheAmerican]

I was surprised to see the monster spawning from zombies in the old game, not even realizing it was also in the 2012 version but I've never seen it.

[@mleise8292]

@@BradTheAmerican These were relentless! I vividly remember opening a UFO and securing the entrance, only to have one of these drop from above right into my crew. Murder holes!

[@mleise8292]

Oh I almost forgot to mention that not every soldier was good at throwing. Remember when we were the kid at school that threw the dodge ball way off the mark? It's like that, but you are lobbing a grenade at an alien.

[@alaeriia01]

New Ahoy video hype!

[@chrisl1873]

An hour And 40 minutes Legend

[@TheDoomFan2004]

@@chrisl1873 well, 10 months

[@gb_acon]

les gooo

[@brominete9]

How mate? 23hrs ago?

[@nestorgamer9746]

@@brominete9 Patreon early access

[@alphalight1469]

Can’t even begin to imagine how much work it takes to produce a video like this.

[@kcsnipes]

The planning, the research, the capturing, the editing plus many more 😅 makes me dizzy

[@deathroman13]

The spin-off game Xenonauts got me into XCOM. I love Xenonauts because of its gameplay so it was a real treat to discover it was based on the XCOM games.

[@colbyboucher6391]

In fact Xenonauts is much, much more similar gameplay-wise to the original UFO than it is to modern XCOM.

[@Lunalis]

The makers of the Long War mod for modern XCOM have gone on to make their own original game, Terra Invicta, currently in early access on Steam. It's not quite an XCOM-like game, more of a grand strategy game, but it builds upon a lot of the concepts and mechanics they created for Long War. It is still in early access and it's a little rough around the edges at the moment, but it has some very engaging strategy to it and a very neat premise that I personally find appealing.

[@youtubehandlesux]

Unfortunately it doesn't have 2 teams of funny lads shooting the shit out of each other on a grid though

[@hagamablabla]

@@youtubehandlesux It's got 7 teams sitting on a merry-go-round instead

[@liafitriapurnamawati2432]

@@hagamablabla while also still shooting eachother

[@willmakesfilms]

shit thats who did Terra Invicta?? that makes so much sense

[@bmobmo6438]

@@willmakesfilms Yep, Pavonis Interactive is Long War Studios rebranded.

[@shwash5284]

These videos are getting consistently longer with increasing quality. I am scared for the day he slides in with an absolute banger longer than the average human lifespan

[@lordvermintide4441]

Just wait till he gets into the 8 hour plus Elder Scrolls Retrospective genre.

[@jolioding_2253]

@@lordvermintide4441 the last mission and episode of a stronghold crusader let's play of german youtuber Hand of Blood was 8 hours long. watched it in one sitting. No regrets.

[@HoopleBogart]

UFO still has one of the most atmospheric soundtracks to this day, love that game.

[@baynemacgregor8441]

The PlayStation version has an improved soundtrack keeping the old music but better quality and has additional tracks and it can be popped into a CD player as a music disc! Perfect as a background soundtrack when say playing the Conspiracy X rpg.

[@theunholyburger9338]

This man dipped for a year and came back with a movie

[@filip000]

People don't get that Stuart is actually constantly working on these videos....but when you produce this quality, then it simply takes time. Great job for one of my favorite games of all time.

[@MrTheta-lc8zy]

1 hour and 40 minutes of Ahoy goodness.

[@skeletongang]

my guy i understand videos like these take time, but they dont take a year.

[@Shit2223]

@@skeletongang They take as long as he wants em to.

[@datguyuno98]

I get that entirely but I just WISH we could get more of this S tier content more frequently! It always leaves me hungry for more

[@SM0SS]

Hes producing full length film quality documentaries. It's no surprise they take so long

[@Princess_Mayb]

every single video, without fail, has that one line that always gives me goosebumps "An enemy unknown, and the means to overcome them" SOOOO GOOD

[@FPSgamer1337]

When is that?

[@4Wilko]

1:40:26

[@Hawk7886]

Is it normally the last few lines that does it for you?

[@goobieaus]

33:14 You can send interceptors back and forth to terror sites to delay the mission until its daytime there :)

[@kcsnipes]

Hax

[@desertdude540]

There is no better way to incorporate dairy products into your diet than through cheese.

[@matthewjones39]

@@desertdude540 Ok, but why

[@The.Heart.Unceasing]

@@matthewjones39 in strategy games (or games in general really), an exploit or badly balanced mechanic is often called "cheese" or "cheesy" (I have no idea why tho)

[@spikedclown3163]

Is it me or dose ahoy seem well underrated for the sheer quality of his work ….he needs an actual tv show with this level of polish

[@inamortz2372]

Not only that, but Golden era telly. Telly from the time before everything was epic, before content was padded with repetition and before it was assumed that every viewer was a cretin. It's wonderful.

[@Agent101g]

I just appreciate a thumbnail without a red arrow, red circle, or orgasm face

[@alecsieupresad5056]

When it comes to documentaries, Ahoy is literally the best that KZbin has to offer.

[@Friska_Rexie]

SummoningSalt is in the running

[@cylesmith8291]

Nuclear Fruit is literally academy level stuff.

[@thewalking4473]

@@cylesmith8291 I go back and watch it about as much as I do "History of the entire world, I guess". One is crude yet hilariously effective, one is coldly calculated, yet extremely professional.

[@hotdogcandy]

NoClip?

[@chandrakant1479]

Not just KZbin. Best on any platform

[@spartanB0292]

TotalBiscuit recommended this channel to me so many years ago, when it was still Xbox Ahoy. I've graduated both high school and college since then lol. RIP to TB, and cheers to Ahoy for still being around.

[@CmoIsDaNam3i]

I remember when AhoyXbox (The secobdary channel that has some of the older commentary bonus stuff) had talked about that when TB recommended him. Very greatful he was for that. RIP TB indeed. Guy was amazing and still miss him. Not many other people come close to his style of video. :(

[@TheRichardSilver]

@@CmoIsDaNam3i No one has been able to replace John, I wear his shirt with pride.

[@KaiserMattTygore927]

The irony for me is that Total Biscuit recommended the Xcom reboots years ago which is what got me into them and ultimately watching Ahoy's videos :)

[@Mene0]

Oh man, same! RIP TB

[@DanArnets1492]

I guess even AssholeBiscuit did something good every once in a while...

[@Toetalwar]

Julian seems like a real legend.

[@donbeatees9923]

I can hazard a guess at the amount of work goes into these projects. Research, Writing, Recording, Editing, etc, etc, etc. I want you to know that I (and if I can be so bold as to speak for others) absolutely appreciate EVERY SECOND of work that went into this. I pray that you can continue to produce these docs, and with the popularity of gaming in the current day & age, I just know that there are a million more stories worth telling on the way. Keep up the great work guys (or guy, not sure how you operate). The selfish part of me screams "MORE MORE MORE", but the sane part of me is just happy that I've gotten to watch each minute that I have so far.

[@RetroRhythmRepeat]

Exquisite... Ahoy is always the pinnacle of KZbin documentaries.

[@enzobuso5933]

Not top 1 for me but def top 5

[@RetroRhythmRepeat]

@@enzobuso5933 Internet Historian is a close Contender. But there are a few pillars of Quality.

[@amberglass7397]

@@enzobuso5933 what are the others?

[@tsartomato]

nope

[@ShutUpBubi]

Truly is hands down all other answers are wrong

[@jasonvanwormer7642]

Thank you for this. This is the documentary X-COM and Julian deserved.

[@DLan8]

Honestly? I wasn't expecting the GBA Rebelstar mention at all. It's probably one of the reasons I love the Firaxis remake so much, in retrospect. This was an excellent documentary on the series history. Keep up the top notch work, my man.

[@safe-keeper1042]

Oh, and this vid helped me get back into UFO Defense. I'd forgotten how fun this game was. I've found that restricting myself by not using plasma weapons (at least for the time being) makes the game a lot more challenging and interesting.

[@user-qc6pg6ef6h]

In vanilla game the Laser Rifle is basically an end game weapon already. No ammo logistics, kills Sectopods, and mind controlled soldiers usually can't kill teammates in Flying Suit or Power Suit.

[@MihaiD259]

To this day, this is my biggest gaming achievement: beating X-Com. It was an incredibly hard game, at least for 11 year old me, and it had everything, such a perfect game from start to finish.

[@AntonAdelson]

I beat it as an adult but I used the money making exploit

[@MegaRazorback]

@@AntonAdelson You mean by making something worth a fair bob that doesn't require UFO Defense's Alien alloys/Elerium or TFD's Aqua plastics/Zerbite to produce in an infinite amount at a dedicated base that has nothing but workshops and technicians?

[@AntonAdelson]

@@MegaRazorback yeah, was some kind of weapon. Forgot what it was and quick Google didn't help 😔

[@MegaRazorback]

@@AntonAdelson Foe UFO Defense it would be the aircraft Laser Cannon, sells for about 280,000 i think per unit and for TFD you'd want to make and sell the Gauss cannon as the Craft Gas Cannon without mods isn't buildable, you can only purchase that one.

[@MegaRazorback]

@@pwnmeisterage My copy of UFO Defense was a post v1.0 copy from Australia so i had the Laser Cannon as the most profitable, didn't realize the v1.0 copy from the UK had such different price values to begin with though!

[@reidmorris5908]

I haven't played UFO Defense in more than 20 years, and my heartrate still increased when you started talking about cryssalids. Seeing that one operative get attacked from an unseen cryssalid and zombify made my mouth go dry and take me back to the first time I saw that.

[@Demiurge13]

oh man those guys always made my heart race

[@moh_kohn]

Xenonauts community edition feels like a modernised UFO defense, it's great

[@JC-XL]

You're suffering from PCSD - post chrysalis stress disorder 😂 😂

[@xxliew]

i feel like everyone's first encounter with chrysalids is permanently seared into their brains through pure terror alone

[@SilverKnightPCs]

They ended so many of my runs when I was kid

[@omnisel]

1:30:00 It's worth saying that these mechanics I believe are eeking off of how the tactics genre evolved outside of UFO and its kin. For example, the asynchronous turn order was popularized by Final Fantasy Tactics for the PS1, although I'm sure originates much earlier.

[@DarkIceKrabby]

Just one example of a game doing it earlier is Tactics Ogre on Super Famicom, the game that Final Fantasy Tactics is a spiritual successor to. With most of the same dev team working on both.

[@echothebm]

Man i remember getting my hands on Ufo defence in Norway. What a game. Still plays a playthrou every few years

[@anchorlightforge]

0:11 Seeing this screen that lives rent-free in my head as such a high-quality animatic brings me a level of joy that can't be expressed.

[@KingOhmni]

Agreed. That image. Hidden Movement. Turn 100. Still can't find that one damn sectoid that passed out but woke up.

[@Faramik2000]

what is the animatic from?

[@MongooseTacticool]

@@Faramik2000 UFO: Enemy Unknown. Amiga and PC version.

[@MongooseTacticool]

I played it first on my Amiga 500+ with an added 1MB RAM, there was so much disk swapping haha

[@anchorlightforge]

@@Faramik2000 The animatic is most likely original because Ahoy goes the extra mile, but the screen itself is what pops up in UFO Enemy Unknown when you don't have line-of-sight on enemy movement. It doesn't really tell you how many enemies are moving or where they could be, so all bets are off.

[@Penultimeat]

Not even halfway through and the love and care expected from Ahoy is full on display

[@5Detective]

Austin, TX

[@allthatjazza451]

Randomly stumbled across the Polybius video the other week and have subsequently been binging all your video game related videos, I have no idea how this channel flew under my radar for the last few years but I’m so glad I found it. I’ve ended up rewatching videos to fall asleep purely bc of how relaxing these videos can be at times.

[@kosmosyche]

Am I the only one who thinks Ahoy has a perfect voice for audiobooks? For example, I would happily listen to him reading Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter. Hell, anything, for that matter. lol

[@manuelacosta9463]

This was intense back in the day. The audio really did a great job at setting the tone of an alien invasion. Sometimes you'll hear aliens scurrying about, sometimes it will be them massacring humans or even it's just quiet. Dead silence. The tension was real and this was a true gem. Glad I still have it on windows and PSX.

[@pingASS_]

How is the ps1 version? Any good?

[@notsochosenone5669]

@@pingASS_ psx audio is really good, at least.

[@MrStratofish]

Back in the day? It's still fantastic and more fun that the modern versions

[@explosivoification]

@@MrStratofish Yeah, I keep hoping they'll remake terror from the deep. Just use the old one as a gameplay template. Up the graphics to new quality. Maybe extend the research tree and make it longer. But I'm not a fan of the newer xcoms. Phoenix point is like newer xcom, but fun. But I'd like to see the game mechanics more similar to the old ones.

[@vrak24]

@@explosivoification pretty sure it's basically confirmed they're doing a remake. Not sure where I heard it but I think some shit was datamined or something.

[@mvslice]

I love that Ahoy has the power to come out of the wilderness every now and then, and essentially dictates, "This is what KZbin gaming is doing today".

[@idrinkcoffeebij7254]

He and lemino are in a league of their own

[@Yuushiboy]

High quality documentary once again and I always look forward for new ones. Thanks Ahoy for keeping em comming!

[@Greenlink01]

A solid hour & forty minutes of some of the BEST content on KZbin, potentially on the internet. No ads, no credits, no nonsense. We don't know how you do it, but as long as you make it, we will be here to gobble it up. Very grateful for all your effort & passion Stuart, thank you.

[@Georgeirfx]

Now I'm hungry for Ahoy's Civ documentary regardless of the time it takes to make, gonna be worth it

[@HypernovaBolts11]

Day 1: Tested positive for COVID. Day 2: Misery. Day 3: AHOY uploaded yesterday. It's about X-COM IT'S NEARLY TWO HOURS LONG! THANK YOU SO MUCH!

[@Lucios1995]

Get well soon!

[@reinforcedpenisstem]

Not all bad news then!

[@enochianwolf]

do you go to the cemetary to find out if you're dead? then why take a test to find out if you're well?

[@antihero0000]

I am in your exact situation. Hope you feel better.

[@scatered1]

I remember back when the whole dystopian man made virus thing started they tested a COVID test kit without having used it on any person and it tested positive.

[@someone5781]

Such a cool video, I just started playing XCOM 2 and am quite happy with it so far. Glad to have learned all the intriguing history of the franchise.

[@Tepid24]

The one thing I dislike about this excellent video is that I now have the major urge to replay the Firaxis XCOMs, Valkyria Chronicles and HBS' Battletech all at once, when I really don't have the time for even one.

[@exon0644]

The quality in these videos are honestly better than most TV shows out there

[@DL-RC]

That is so damn true!

[@sociallyresponsiblexenomor7608]

It does mean it takes a long time for each one, but it's worth it imo.

[@raftermanhoward1883]

Yeah it's not even close. Most TV shows are generic garbage anyway. As far as I know, only one other youtuber makes documentaries of this quality: Homemade Documentaries. If there's anyone else as good, I don't care on what subject, please let me know.

[@acksawblack]

@@raftermanhoward1883 Voices of the past(history), solar sands monumentality (art), emp lemon(pop culture )

[@dash_r_media]

It's not even a fair comparison...TV is programming by committee, a low-rent magic trick. Sure, internet videos CAN be that as well, but there is such a broad spectrum of material. Some is off the cuff ranting, some is educational, some is absurdist comedy, some is commentary - the potential, even now, remains almost limitless. TV's lone advantages over internet videos are production quality and star power, and those advantages are fading with each passing year. The overlords of KZbin are still running things in much the same way that TV overlords do, but give it time. Gatekeeping will, one day, be a long-forgotten shame of the past.

[@maximuscesar]

Very few KZbinrs can make a feature film length video that can hold our attention for the whole duration of it. Your work is awesome, thank you very much!

[@gothakane]

This is so true, one of the few creators who can hold my attention completely all the way through!

[@robertflinch2447]

This game feels so ahead of its time, maybe because so much of its heart carried into the remake

[@SergioR00]

Great documentary. Enemy Unknown was how I got into the series and I'm so excited for Xcom 3!

[@emergenciest]

The history of the designer was really interesting. I was aware of Laser Squad being XCom's dad, but you went well beyond that.

[@dignelberrt]

I genuinely believe that this is one of the best channels on youtube, and it's tragic that youtube doesn't support videos like these.

[@andyjohnson4907]

This was the first, and one of few channels that I have notifications on for.

[@Frag-ile]

We could always support such creators ourselves, a $5 donation through whatever means available is worth more than thousands of "youtube supported" views. I mean if you think it's worth supporting that is.

[@dignelberrt]

@@Frag-ile i try to do that when i have the money, recently of course, that's been harder to include in my budget

[@Yoshi92]

Was the very first thing on my homepage actually.

[@dignelberrt]

@@Yoshi92 I know I'm late, but I'm just referring to how they keep pushing shorts and more digestible content over long-form content like this. You may get recommended it because you watch tangential content, but a new user or a signed out home page will never have this up front.

[@TheViceman]

Just seeing that Microprose logo as a kid made your stomach tingle. So many great games.

[@therye]

That was an amazing documentary! Thanks for putting in the time and energy, Ahoy! Thoroughly enjoyed it.

[@RegencyYarl]

Just got a recommendation today for this video, can't believe I've never heard of this channel. The music, the voice over, the history and explanation of the genre, it all comes together into something extraordinary.

[@conork6743]

There is a lot of gold on this channel. Welcome.

[@overlordalfredo]

That how we all got here at some point. Welcome on board!

[@Linkale_]

You have to see his Polybius video, it's impressive.

[@Grayewick]

It's never too late for any Ahoy content 😃👍

[@IndyJay53]

@@Grayewick exactly! I consistently rewatch the catalog on almost a yearly basis. Just scratches the right itch

[@geraldyurekiii3089]

I think ahoy is a great example of one of the few people who master their craft to such a high degree that few people operating within the same domain can even hold a candle to the level of their skill.

[@awkwardcultism]

How so? To me it just sounds like he's slowly reading a wikipedia page in a nice voice.

[@BlinJe]

@@awkwardcultism big gamer opinions coming in from mr. anime PFP once again

[@dense_and_dull]

​@@awkwardcultism To me is sounds like you have no idea what you're talking about and have no clue how much work it is to make a video like this. Between the game capture, research, script writing, voice over, and video editing, you're looking at more work for one video than you've ever done in your life.

[@FroggyMosh]

​@@awkwardcultism _"How so? To me it just sounds like he's slowly reading a wikipedia page in a nice voice."_ He tells this story with extreme accuracy in a manner simultaneously befitting of and reflecting the old game; _Deliberately, Methodically and mercilessly without compromises._ Telling both; the objective real world factual happenings, as well as the subjective 'jaded X-COM fan' side _(example; (__1:15:48__) how he NAILS the average X-COM fan's reaction to the utter Tone Deafedness that was 2010 E3 trailer of XCOM __-The Bureau-__ . For context: this was a period where every franchise and it's brother became a military style FPS out of sheer corporate __-greed-__ desperation. I think the Syndicate FPS reboot was announced here as well)_ But hey, maybe the vid needs more shouting, yelling, eXpLoSiOnS and _cats,_ I mean what do I know?

[@boneyzoney9551]

This is literally the only channel that can pull off a cold open in video essay form and pass with flying, blazing colours.

[@martonviktor3925]

For the last two day I slowly rewatched all of the hour long documentaries in this chanel, sometimes as a background noise when programing or whatching them along with dinner . And i have to say , i would be more than happy if this would be the only content i can find in the web. Its basically the alfa and the omega of quality content creation.

[@dallashill23]

The original xcom was BRUTALLY difficult… I loved it

[@reiuji_utsuho]

Funnily enough, the original one had a bug that kept resetting the difficulty to easy, so gamers demanded increased difficulty. The sequel had no such bug AND increased difficulty leading to many people used to the first one getting destroyed in their first fights.

[@tubetorpedo]

As a teen who understood English decently (not my first language) game was totally manageable after you got hang of it and figured out R&D and alien and UFO types etc. Also there was apparently bug that changed difficulty to easy so that probably helped too. :) But progression and the world was logical so after you learned certain rules (e.g. how certain UFO types predicted what is going to come next) and countermeasures it became very easy. You could bait some UFOs and shoot them down over water so you did not have to fight them (usually just to skip numerous "cleanup" battles if there was lot's of UFO activity) etc. Some point I found another bug (at least I think it was a bug) that if your base did not have any ground to air defenses and UFO attacked and you won the match you got huge chunk of Elerium which was great. And like was mentioned in the video your base design could make the battle much more favorable to the defender. Compared to pretty much all later versions (except Terror from the Deep which was lackluster in other ways), especially these modern ones lack the sandbox quality which made the first UFO so great. You could take your time with the game or rush it based on your playstyle. I e.g. used different types of bases, some were pretty much for storage/research/manufacturing purposes and had separate base to train my psionic soldiers etc., and transferred items, crafts and troops where they were needed. That was such great experience compared to linear and simpler gameplay sequels have.

[@reiuji_utsuho]

​@@yellowcard8100 Technically yes, but specifically I replied 1 minute into the video. It's neat they covered this.

[@AboveEmAllProduction]

No, it had a bug that set it to beginner mode.. The sequel was brutal though

[@jacobkamphaus5565]

Me: Man I hope we didnt lose Ahoy its been double the normal time between posts. Ahoy: Makes a literal full length Documentary for free.

[@mbg8226]

As always, the wait for an Ahoy video proves to be well worth it. Once again, an amazing in-depth look at a singular subject.

[@mattsword41]

Only ever vaguely heard of xcom - remember ads in magazines back in the day but this video had me hooked. Always love your work. Thanks :)

[@macmansfield-parisi5812]

The bubble trails in Terror From The Deep are actually awesome looking

[@pwnmeisterage]

TFTD did introduce many subtle improvements. It's easy to notice the better graphic and animation qualities, they create a certain ambience which is immersive and unique. Though I'm still partial to the visuals, music, art, and style of the first game - they're technically inferior but I feel that they're narratively superior. The second game is easier to play and harder to win by most measures, it's slicker and cleaner, more ugly and horrifying, less soaked in cheese. A worthy successor. But it somehow fails to replicate or improve on the visceral stress and fear and intensity of the original.

[@mercenarygundam1487]

I wonder if XCOM 3 is gonna be this after Chimera Squadron

[@Driver-Nephi]

@@mercenarygundam1487 I hope it is, that'd be so badass

[@nicholasvinen]

TFTD is incredibly atmospheric. UFO was too but not quite at the same level.

[@ghostman76015]

I rem having only underwater weapons by mistake on the cruise ship. So I threw grenades down the halls one after another. Thought I won and realized I had to go below. I dont know where that saved game is unfortunately to finish.

[@batcat4136]

I never knew that both XCOM: Enemy Unknown and XCOM 2 had references to the original guy, with the Gallop Chamber in EU/EW and the AI Julian from XCOM 2: Shen's Last Gift. Just makes me appreciate them even more, and will make sure I remember the one who started it all

[@chiplundsmark5936]

Wow. This overview of such a broad subject was so well done! Kudos to you! I am especially impressed by all the magazine reviews of the older games that are clear enough to read the whole thing onscreen if we take the time to pause it. Always enjoyed this X-COM. Thanks to this I may get Xenonauts, Long War, and Phoenix Point at some point too.

[@TheCyberDruid]

I really like the style of these documentaries :) They take a long time to make and also to watch, but they are so worth it! Thank you for making them.

[@HQ_Default]

I love that the creator of XCOM looked at the reboot and liked what they did so much that he just made his own clone it.

[@benkai343434]

It's not even that it's a just clone, it's also that he directly built on the formula and added a ton of extra depth to the systems that the modern games introduced, it's cyclical inspiration at work.

[@AbhorrentRed]

I know this will get lost in the midst of thousands of comments, but I feel the need to say this anyway. For the last few months I have been undergoing intensive chemotherapy sessions because of a large walnut-sized tumor that was found in my brain a while ago. I was feeling pretty down because of the whole thing, and the chemotherapy doesn't help, but these videos help me pull through these tough times. Your channel gives me the strength to fight another day, even if the doctor says things look grim for me. I may soon be gone from this world, but I still have time to appreciate the intros you make, the effort you put into your videos, and the life-changing, soul-touching quality of your transitions. 🙌🙌Am I right fellas?? XD

[@Votixful]

Keep on fighting and get well!

[@Dsand23]

holy shit that sucks man i hope very dearly that your treatment works and you will get to see every future ahoy upload stay alive friend

[@johnn1199]

Thank you for taking the time to post this. That is pretty valuable stuff to share. Best of luck, friend.

[@zealot8904]

Brut = Turb -_-

[@gatfishrandy]

sending you love my friend hope you are still with us. if not… well i am still sending you love where ever you are

Thanks! I love the videos, keep up the good work!

[@MatthewBrown-yu1hs]

I remember the key to my success in (barely) beating X-COM UFO Defense was selling massive amounts of alien arms and material on the black market to fund my operation. Sure, I may have stopped the alien infiltration of Earth, but now every third person has plasma rifles and laser tanks.

[@zylomusix3975]

Ahoy is a channel on such a professional level i feel like im watching a day time documentary. His voice as well its a challenge to stay awake sometimes its the perfect pitch and tone.

[@TheBelrick]

When you realize that the original xcom is a much better, deeper, strategic, game than the current two. 1. it wasnt made to work with kiddy consoles. 2. made by smarter european males. 3. made with passion. 4. targeted smarter european male gamers. So much lost.

[@antoniolorenzo5640]

@@TheBelrick >made by smarter european males >targeted smarter european male gamers Careful there, I think your armband is showing.

[@Jabree]

@@antoniolorenzo5640 🤣🤣🤣

[@ReStOrEd2000CZE]

@@TheBelrick Saving this bs comment. Kek'd hard

[@TheBelrick]

@@antoniolorenzo5640 not that you brainwashed reddit zombies can refute my words You just get triggered to act out emotionally "its illegal and wrong to make positive comments about a particular group"

[@jdubbs6668]

So glad you mentioned Open Xcom, hopefully more people will try the original game knowing how accessible it can be now.

[@agentlongwood]

Wow, in the screen shot of unused enemy models about 20 minutes in, there is also what appears to be the predator! So they had Alien, Predator, Terminator, and Robocop, haha. That's amazing.

[@The.Heart.Unceasing]

copyright was much more of a theory back then ^^

[@AdmiralLink]

WTF?? Why didn't I get notification of this new Ahoy video (I subscribed to Ahoy)? I only found out about this new video today... We should give Micropose a salute for giving Julian feedback and to improve Lasersquad. Great video Stu. I never knew parts of the history of Julian only X-Com and his new company. Wish I could play his new game but its on EPIC.

[@Dsand23]

click the bell

[@justinchan4203]

Phoenix Point ( the new game I am guessing you're speaking of) is on Steam as well!

[@DeadAndAliveCat]

"Wish I could play his new game but its on EPIC"...? What?

[@AdmiralLink]

@@justinchan4203 oh is it? great but all the rewards I pledged earlier on kickstarter is on Epic...

[@justinchan4203]

@@AdmiralLink Oh I see, that sucks. I bought the game on Steam a year after it was released.

[@htftunes9553]

I have no idea how the quality of this Ahoy channel hasn’t been picked up by Netflix or Amazon Prime. Unbelievable information and investigation. Bravo, Ahoy!

[@tsartomato]

they have standards against false information

[@lookstothetroon]

@@tsartomato bait

[@arcticular]

I hope they do not, they are raising costs and making bad decisions

[@andariel654789]

Its better to not be subservient to the whims and demands of THOSE sponsors.

[@htftunes9553]

I liked all your comments but I’m not saying that I want the channel on VOD, I’m just saying I’m surprised 👍

[@ObsidianHunter99]

1:09:54 Ironically, Xenonauts was my introduction to the whole Xcom style genre, it's still one of my favs to this day

[@reinforcedpenisstem]

Got that free on GOG at some point.

[@ollikoskinen1]

That game is quite stressful for me. While the Firaxis X-Com is closer to a action movie to me in tone with their better graphics and presentation, the Xenonauts is closer to a cult horror movie.

[@strangeplanet8313]

Ahoy videos are such a rare treat I often wonder if I have seen the last one. Finally a new one.

[@hobbyhuman]

I'm elated you picked X-com for this most excellent long-form content. I am sick today and took the day off, and this was an amazing treat to chill and relax watching. Your retro vids are some of my favourite videos on KZbin, and I keep coming back to them again and again. I would love to see more content like this more frequently. I will be adding this video to my "comfort watching" playlist.

[@kyleboddy7806]

Incredible series, done justice by the best documentary maker on KZbin. Thanks for this. Huge.

[@drballubins]

Can't wait to embark on another journey on youtube!

[@azynkron]

What gets me when I go back and play games like X-COM, Fallout e t c is how brutal they are. No hand holding, no quest marks e t c. If you wanted to enjoy them, you simply had to get better and think. There was no shortcut. The kids today have no idea.

[@Ender11037]

Thank god we left that trend behind.

[@mikeb2575]

The quality of your productions are amazing, very well put together and keeps you glued to the screen !!

[@JohnnyWicked2211]

Thanks so much for such a top quality video. I own and have played so many of the earllier games listed in your video going right back to Rebelstar on the ZX Spectrum and every one of the early Xcom titles before the more recent reboots. Great research (the nostalgia hit I got from seeing the old game footage of Rebelstar on the Speccy and the original UFO-Enemy Unknown on the PC was immense), excellent editing, presentation, etc, frankly everything about it was in my opinion top notch. Excellent job sir and a fitting tribute to Julian Gollop's legacy in both the Xcom games franchise and squad focused turn based strategy games as a whole.

[@heisenberg4249]

This is one of the channels for which I can wait an eon for the next video to drop without complaint. Always top quality

[@liorean]

One aspect I really miss from the original UFO: Enemy Unknown to XCOM: Enemy Unknown is that in the originals, both on the geoscape and the battlescape the aliens had their own drive, they had their own goals and would go about enacting them as long as they were not interrupted. The latter game totally broke that by the pod system. Basically aliens only exist to counter you, not for their own intents, which horribly broke my enjoyment of the games.

[@jussipla]

You are right about that. The original was a mind-blower. For me it was the ultimate percentage game. You win some and you lose some. It was very frustrating to see your favorite soldier eat the bullet and drop dead. That gave a scale for the whole struggle. Being a cog in bigger scheme of things. So few games achieve this nowadays. Emotional attachment and the scale of events simultaneously avoiding the hero game genre. Only one game of having similar impact comes to mind, Freespace 2.

[@Demiurge13]

what's this pod system?

[@liorean]

@@Demiurge13 The pod system is how the new games releases aliens in groups (pods) when you approach given locations, instead of having them roam the map and perform their duties whether you're close or not, like the earlier games.

[@Lazrael32]

@@liorean yeah. i really miss truly feeling like i snuck up on an alien, or worse, it snuck up on me...

[@PanzehVideos]

So, the pod system was there to basically solve the problem in the original that the aliens really were just wandering aimlessly in battlescape. So, once the danger of the ramp reaction fire was over, the game would mostly be a bug hunt- the aliens didn't work together, their AI was super rudimentary, and it didn't really know how to cover firing lanes. Pods were made to basically make it so you have actual firefights. It's definitely not a perfect system, but I do respect what Firaxis was trying to do. The aliens in x-com '94 were a really interesting bit of smoke and mirrors to create that agenda. There's nothing really coherent, a table spits out their missions for the month- some missions are monthly, one is a response to what you do, and a couple are fixed(the game will always begin by giving you a few scouts wherever your base is). They score, or not. It's actually quite hard to lose outright, but you can get really frustrated. It's a testament to game design that it feels like an agenda.

[@flakomayer]

Ive been sharing Ahoy's channel everytime I can .. it's most likely one of the last channels that Actually do research their topics in depth and provides great quality with such a soothing and captivating narrative is hard not to get hooked by such a Gem-like channel.

[@moonverine]

How did I sleep on this for 11 days?!! Ahoy and X-Com, those are two of my favorite things!

[@safe-keeper1042]

X-Com was such a masterpiece of a game. So many hours spent playing that game with and without friends as a kid xD

[@GrandElemental]

Still is!

[@sdpnz]

It's worthy of mentioning in the comments, since it wasn't addressed in the video, that X-COM got a nod in "Sid Meier's Civilization V". As you advance towards Future Tech with your research, you can build a unit called XCOM Squad, which acts kind of like a paratrooper with a longer range and stronger weapons. The extended paradrop is a special ability called Skyranger.

[@lorduxus]

I watched (or rather listened to) many of your videos over the last few days! Fantastic job, I love it all!

[@LanderKoenig]

Perfect, I love it, the quality is as high as ever and raising. I hope ya have a good year