Psyringe: Oh, I somehow managed to overlook your post. Facts would be very welcome indeed! :)
Lemme 'splain. No, there is too much. Lemme sum up.
The article begins with a brief explanation of who's working on it, and why, and some description of the original games and their success. Some very general thoughts mentioned in the article include the fact that the game's entirely procedurally generated for extra replayability (the storyline is not procedurally generated exactly - apparently they used fake newscasts and special missions (that are NOT procedurally generated, but tactics and equipment can vary for both sides) that take place at certain points during the game to build an overall story.
The article continues to talk about the global view. Apparently the global view remains largely unchanged - it's still real-time pausable, and you can see UFO's and the various nations and so forth. If a UFO is spotted, you can dispatch fighters to get it, and if your fighters can catch up to it there's some sort of minigame (apparently similar to the original, only now it's an interactive minigame). The article does seem to indicate that these jet fighters are customizable as in the original, since it mentions that some UFO's might be too fast to catch early on.
The article uses Africa as an example of the diplomacy. Specifically mentioning abductions making the population worried, it talks about picking and choosing where to respond and where to ignore attacks. Also, it mentions that countries can still request technology or equipment, particularly when they feel unsafe and unprotected but know that you have advanced technology. The game emphasizes this point several times - apparently there's still a very heavy influence on juggling resources and research between mass production of old tech and research of new tech. Biological, technological, and psychological research on alien remains and equipment are all confirmed.
As part of the tactical screen, the article specifically mentions training an officer to sergeant level. The sergeant is a skilled sniper, and the person writing the article apparently ordered his officer training school to take the lessons he's learned and make all the soldiers trained in the barracks have stronger morale. The article also mentions healing - apparently the old system is back, where soldiers can take weeks to heal if they're severely injured on a mission.
Different regions must be kept happy. Each one has different benefits that can be granted to X-com if they feel safe and protected and don't withdraw from the sixteen-member Funding Council. The article also specifically mentions coverage - apparently surveillance satellites can be put into orbit using X-com's resources, and depending on how well researched these are and how many there are different UFO's and other alien activity can be detected.
Okay, on to the ground tactical stuff. There are mini-cutscenes at various points (again, apparently procedurally generated in-engine stuff). Permadeath is still in place, with the writer making a big deal out of losing one of his troops (the game also seems to be FAR more violent than the originals, definitely M rating from the description). Everything's still turn-based on tactical mode, including some old-school treats like grenades exploding when you end your turn. There are supposedly a lot of roles - specifically mentioned are medics, support, heavy gunners, and snipers. Cover's also very important, and I think judging from the screenshots that the troops automatically take cover behind objects (there doesn't seem to be an option to change stances, at least it's not mentioned/shown).
The writer mentions that after his soldier died, some of the other troops' morale broke, and apparently morale plays a big part in the game. I'm looking at more screenshots right now, and from the looks of it there's quite a bit of cover-based action with multiple weapons per soldier and a variety of actions they can take (not sure what they are; I see icons for firing different kinds of shots, grenades, examining, and defending). I'm also looking at a fairly detailed stat breakdown; it seems to be very RPG-like when determining shots fired. Multiple levels of playing field are confirmed, with soldiers climbing up on a roof to fire down at enemies. All the troops have special perk-like abilities that seem to enable them to perform super-human feats related to their classes. Environments are apparently destructible (it doesn't specify whether they're fully destructible or not).
Back to the base! The article mentions that there are exclusive tech trees - at each levelup, there's an either/or option (which seems to be class-related). Interestingly enough, newbie troops when just hired are plain vanilla troops, and then take on a class automatically when they levelup (so there's no way of knowing what your new soldier is going to be best at). Oh, and although this doesn't really belong here, a picture caption I just read said that ammo management was removed. The base itself is apparently left to the individual to design, with a neat side-view picture that shows the different levels. You have to dig deeper to expand your base according to the accompanying faction, so apparently there's a lot of tactical base construction.
Okay, more random stuff (mostly noticed from pictures and captions). No ammo management. Special items such as a battle-scanning grenade that permit soldiers to see the battlefield out of their line-of-sight. Special PC features
may include a different full-level tactical map. Weapons and abilities are class-based, but armor and items aren't. Apparently all environmental objects are destructible provided your weapon is powerful enough. Saving and loading will be unlimited but an Ironman mode may be included. The hardest difficulty mode is called "Classic." Aliens profiled in the sidebars (gosh, this had to be the best GameInformer issue ever) include the Sectoids, the Mutons, the Cyberdiscs, and the Thin Men.
I probably didn't cover everything. It was an enormous article. If you have questions about it, I would be happy to see if it was answered in the article. I'm so excited about this game! (Definitely preordering it).
