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[USEC_OFFICER]

orcs, a fantasy race who's entire existence is to charge head-first into the enemy and turn them into a tasty goo.

Ehh.... Fantasy is very wildly varying on such things you know? The fantasy I read they are not really like that at all.

I know. It's just that when most people think of orcs, they think of violence and murder.

[Sirus]

Making them bestial isn't much better than making them orcs. Mostly depends on how bestial and what beasts they draw inspiration from.

After thinking about it for a while, I'd have liked to see the Mutons as a sophisticated and almost gentlemanly force, like the Three Musketeers but with more plasma. Not raw power, but an iron fist in a velvet glove. The only reason that they're killing you is because their superiors have ordered them to. In another time and in a different place they would have enjoyed swapping war-stories with you. Admittedly they'll never go in that direction, but it could have been neat.

Keep in mind, the introductory cut scene for the original game had them gunning down civilians in cold blood. Not something that comes to mind when you think "Three Musketeers". I can totally understand where bestial idea comes from.

[Biag]

I'm not sure how I feel about bestial Mutons. I think they'd look more Evil SEALs if they were less bestial. I like the tribal thing, that's cool, but as they are right now they look more like Halo's Brutes than highly-trained cold-blooded killers. I would have had them upright, seven feet tall, wearing non-bulky armor (both to allow room to move and to show the tattoos).

[Microcline]

I really like the new designs.  They seem to be taking a Valve-like approach, where enemy roles and abilities are implied by their physical appearance.  Sectiods look like psionic-using glass cannons, and mutons look like something that you need heavier firepower to take down.  Most of the tension in the original came from the gameplay mechanics rather than the graphics, and I think adjusting some of the designs to be closer to the gameplay while remaining true to the overall aesthetic is a good idea.  I'm looking forward to seeing the snakemen and chrysalids.

I'm not sure how I feel about bestial Mutons. I think they'd look more Evil SEALs if they were less bestial. I like the tribal thing, that's cool, but as they are right now they look more like Halo's Brutes than highly-trained cold-blooded killers. I would have had them upright, seven feet tall, wearing non-bulky armor (both to allow room to move and to show the tattoos).

The original also made heavy note of the fact that each of the races was engineered (genetically and cybernetically) by the etherals with a specific purpose in mind.  The gorilla-like frame emphasizes this, and the bulky armor gives them a reason to be so muscular as well as communicating to the player their resistance to low-power weapons.

I must admit that the music and art interviews seem spot-on.  Although it likely won't be until close to release, I'd like to see if an interview with the gameplay developers will have a similar effect.  The use of a move-shoot turn seems to be the biggest change at this point.  It removes a lot of player decisions such as having to decide between using TUs to increase accuracy/decrease hitbox by crouching, whether to scout an area by turning, whether to go back into cover after shooting, or whether to get in an additional shot.  As Sowelu brought up earlier, this also likely means that both you and the aliens won't be able to do as much during a single turn.  This might lower the skill ceiling, as in the original, while you could clear an area during a single well-planned turn and would be harshly punished during the alien's phase if you botched it, this one seems like it will reward your planning less as you have less actions and may be unable kill the aliens in a turn and punish your failure less as the surviving aliens have less time to wail on you during their turn.

[Cthulhu]

Making them bestial isn't much better than making them orcs. Mostly depends on how bestial and what beasts they draw inspiration from.

After thinking about it for a while, I'd have liked to see the Mutons as a sophisticated and almost gentlemanly force, like the Three Musketeers but with more plasma. Not raw power, but an iron fist in a velvet glove. The only reason that they're killing you is because their superiors have ordered them to. In another time and in a different place they would have enjoyed swapping war-stories with you. Admittedly they'll never go in that direction, but it could have been neat.

The original UFOPaedia entry on Mutons says they're surgically castrated, genetically and cybernetically enhanced, lobotomized, super soldiers.  They're not gentlemen.  Murder is the only thing they're capable of.

Also, human traits don't become aliens.  They're alien, keep them that way.  Familiarity breeds contempt and all that.  I played Iji (A game that's supposed to explore the "omg aliens are here kill'em kill'em kill'em" motif in video games) and didn't give a shit about the aliens' plight because they just seemed like a bunch of ugly humans who ruined my life.  When the final boss asked me why I was so violent I told him to go fuck himself.

[USEC_OFFICER]

The original UFOPaedia entry on Mutons says they're surgically castrated, genetically and cybernetically enhanced, lobotomized, super soldiers.  They're not gentlemen.  Murder is the only thing they're capable of.

Wow. I've completely forgotten that part. Sorry about that.

Also, human traits don't become aliens.  They're alien, keep them that way.  Familiarity breeds contempt and all that.  I played Iji (A game that's supposed to explore the "omg aliens are here kill'em kill'em kill'em" motif in video games) and didn't give a shit about the aliens' plight because they just seemed like a bunch of ugly humans who ruined my life.  When the final boss asked me why I was so violent I told him to go fuck himself.

I'm not saying that you have to care for or like the aliens. At the end of the day they're entire job is just for you to shoot at. However I always like it if the aliens had a reason for existing, even if it's just as engineered super-soldiers for an advanced alien race. It taps into the part of my brain that likes making complicated back-stories.

[Domenique]

I kinda wish sectoids were more true to the original, that is more humanoid than protoss. When a creature is humanoid, it's much scarier than some dude with no bloody mouth and a bulimia problem, I can't explain why, but most people find human-like creatures scarier than creatures that have almost nothing in common (the main feature is face). I still like the sectoids though. While mutons, space-tribals? Kinda immersion breaking for me, I've always seen aliens to be some mysterious bunch of races that don't show any clue of (earth-like) culture.

[Sowelu]

I liked original Sectoids because they look so harmless and do so much damage anyway.  It sets the theme in early game (you gonna get screwed).

[Flare]

Lots of aliens these days seem to have hunch back very bad posture.

[Sirus]

The only ones I can think of off-hand are krogan. Which ones are you thinking of?

[GlyphGryph]

All the halo ones except the grunts?

[Pnx]

I can't explain why, but most people find human-like creatures scarier than creatures that have almost nothing in common (the main feature is face).

This is known as the uncanny valley. The closer something gets to looking human more scary/disturbing it gets. Until it gets very close to being human, then the fear factor peters out.

[zchris13]

You got your uncanny valley definition wrong. It's when it's almost exactly but not quite human that freaks people out. The slender men, for instance. Clowns. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Some of the more advanced robots that mimic human facial expressions.

[Kilroy the Grand]

When the new version is out, I'm making a XCOM mod. Instead of goblins and trolls, you'll fight Snakemen and chryssalids. I'm thinking that with the new interactions, The chyssalid would kill a unit, then instantly raise it... but first I'd need to know if the ability to raise the dead is a ranged spell or not.

[Pnx]

You got your uncanny valley definition wrong. It's when it's almost exactly but not quite human that freaks people out. The slender men, for instance. Clowns. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Some of the more advanced robots that mimic human facial expressions.

The whole "fear factor peters out" thing, when objects start to become very familiar. Be honest, how much does Data from Start Trek: TNG scare you? Things that have very large glaring differences that obvious mark them as inhuman make them the scariest.

I don't think the uncanny valley accounts for things that are monsters in human form though.