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PaperclipPerfector  3d ago (text post)   1816 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for August 7, 2026

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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I guess that just doesn't bother me because XCOM is essentially a 19th century tabletop game where the computer automates the measuring, note-taking, and manual referencing. Despite what the game is showing me on the screen, the "board" is not reality. It's a simplified mathematical abstraction of a more dynamic system. My guy isn't necessarily actually pointing his shotgun right at the enemy's face, so much as his minifig just happens to be positioned like that during this combat phase. The 95% misses are no more immersion breaking to me than the fact that everybody patiently waits their turn to move and attack.

Despite what the game is showing me on the screen, the "board" is not reality.

Then why is so much computing power wasted on showing a fancy but worthless simulation of reality on the screen? Compare the original X-Com (as well as Phoenix Point), where the probability of hitting actually is based on the 3D models.

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