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Thread: X-Com vs Hill Street Blues

  1. #1

    X-Com vs Hill Street Blues

    I've sort of spent a few hours in front of the computer on both these titles, and of some reason I'd like to see the Hill Street Blues (catching criminals from muggers to bank robbers) in a X-Com (Enemy Unknown) environment.. like moving cops around, letting them drive cars, chasing criminals..

    Wouldn't that be just cool?

    (If someone steals my idea it's ok, I'd spend a few dollars on my idea if it was this one ;-))
    _____
    Eriken

  2. #2
    Legendary Member cairnswm's Avatar
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    X-Com vs Hill Street Blues

    Must admit I dont know either of these games. (Thats because I dont actually play computer games )

    Tell me a bit more about their play styles as your idea seems to be similar to a 'Star wars' version of Baulders gate I have.
    William Cairns
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  3. #3

    X-Com vs Hill Street Blues

    You're missing out if you've not played some of the x-com games! The style is straightforward enough (based on memory, since I've not played the game in about 6 years or more): there are two sections to it -- a map view and actual combat. You control a bunch of people that want to stop nasty aliens (IIRC), so you get a squad of troops, some weapons and some vehicles. You respond to UFO sightings by sending over your vehicle + troops to investigate the situation. If you catch the enemy in time then it moves into the combat sequence.

    The combat sequence is an isometric view, turn-based, and has line of sight (so if you move your trooper against a window, for example, he'll be able to see further but may be visible to the enemy). It's good stuff, especially the grenades and other big weapons. It reminds me a little of Rebelstar 2 for the zx spectrum (showing my age, perhaps...).

    You can salvage stuff after a combat mission and you can perform autopsies of dead alien creatures to learn more. C'est good.

    ----

    So, I take it from Eriken's idea that the Hill Street Blues part would be the actual combat sequence, with a view of the city/what have you. Although perhaps performing autopsies on criminals might be a little macabre .

    You could include stuff like smoke grenades and such-like (perhaps setting the action slightly in the future so that the weapons could be more dramatic).

    Have you done any work on this yet Eriken? :?:
    "All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind."
    <br />-- Aristotle

  4. #4

    X-Com vs Hill Street Blues

    Yes, the X-Com days were cool, sort of made a mess of school at some point ;-) Sad how they managed to make the follow-ups of the first game worse every time they tried.

    Never tried RebelStar 2, which apparently is a shame.. I've still got a Spectrum or 2 in a closet somewhere ;-)

    So, the first (and best in my opinion) X-Com game is like Alimonster described.

    And Hill Street Blues is more like you've got this permanent overview (topdown) of the city and can send the 9 cops you've got control over to different places to arrest criminals. And the criminals start of easy as muggers or something and I'm not sure yet where they end up, but robbing banks and stuff is possible and you can block of streets and call in SWAT and things like that :-) It's rather few options in controlling the cops around.

    More info here: http://www.mobygames.com/game/sheet/gameId,6375/

    How to mix these things I'm not sure of yet, since X-Com is a "global" game, and HSB is just a "one city" game.. stopping crime all over the world is probably abit of an overkill "10000 crimes at this time, please fix!" But i've got loads of ideas which isn't really thought through very well..

    Although perhaps performing autopsies on criminals might be a little macabre
    Hehe, I wouldn't really do that either, but you could always have the option to research the newest "criminal-weapons" in order to do things like improving your own weapons, armor (on vehicles etc) and so on..

    (perhaps setting the action slightly in the future so that the weapons could be more dramatic).
    Or do a "Empire Earth" thing with going through all the epoches. :twisted:
    "Ron the Caveman runs after a mugger and throws stones at him".. Oh well, maybe not ;-)

    Have you done any work on this yet Eriken?
    I haven't done anything besides giving it a thought or 2, it would be fun to see an X-com-like game again though.
    _____
    Eriken

  5. #5
    Co-Founder / PGD Elder WILL's Avatar
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    X-Com vs Hill Street Blues

    Hmm... what about making a cop game(using an X-Com type game engine) that takes place in different Epoches in time? ie. You star out a a modern-day Police Swat and Emergency Task forces and over the next so-many years(your whole term as police chief) or so you constantly upgrade your equipment and armour, receive funding from the city, etc... and eventually you'll end up with those some really cool futuristic-type weapons, armour, vehicals and other equipment. Also the terrain could change too. Modern-day(1990-2000) street lights and sidewalk tiles to really out there Jetsons looking glass or steel sidewalk tiles, etc...

    Lots of things you could do there. Dialog triggers, crime indicator screen and police radio type of alert for the "global" screen. You could make the global screen some kind of 3D ray-traced map of a randomly generated city. The city could grow in size as the game goes on too. Eh... I'm an idea man, what can I say.

    BTW, I found that X-Com 2 wasn't that bad. Basically the same engine(which is why I liked it, I guess) and the underwater element was ok too. Only thing is that the difficulty got too hard too fast, I think.

    X-Com: UFO rocks!
    Jason McMillen
    Pascal Game Development
    Co-Founder





  6. #6

    X-Com vs Hill Street Blues

    I have the same "problem" here really, loads of ideas.. And at the moment not really skilled to do it all ;-) But I haven't seen much of these kinds of game since, ehmm.. Jagged Alliance 2 was released.. hmm.. I gotta play that one soon ;-) I can't get X-Com UFO to run on this computer.. yet..

    The problem with X-Com 2 is that some scenarios were abit too big, and took ages to complete like the boat-capture.. And then if you ran into it at the start and having to fight against thost Lobsters you'd be stuck since your firepower at that point sucked. And I'm not going to say anything about no. 3.. *sigh*

    But I guess there is a million ideas to get this "idea" into a pretty nice game, problem is however not to overdo it ;-)
    _____
    Eriken

  7. #7
    Co-Founder / PGD Elder WILL's Avatar
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    X-Com vs Hill Street Blues

    Try this: http://ntvdm.cjb.net/

    It's what I use.
    Jason McMillen
    Pascal Game Development
    Co-Founder





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