http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-08-10-why-firaxis-xcom-remake-had-to-have-multiplayer-and-why-you-shouldnt-worry
"Multiplayer has been a part of the XCOM remake from the moment production began. And that was a long time ago - just over four years. From the very beginning, Solomon knew what it would be all about at its core: two squads made up of aliens and soldiers going at it using the XCOM turn-based strategy fans know and love in a traditional deathmatch set-up. Now the game is complete the multiplayer is fully fleshed out, but it's no more complex, really, than that original vision."
"It's one of those fantasies," Solomon counters. "You played the original, it was always this fantasy to play as the aliens. Now, generally, the fantasy encompasses a game where you're aliens invading earth. But that has never appealed to me - I don't know that would actually be that fun to play. So this is one way to fulfil that fantasy. You can play as the Sectoid. You can play as all these different alien creatures. I don't know that from the very beginning we knew exactly what multiplayer was going to be, but it was something I absolutely wanted."
"XCOM's multiplayer is simple, really. You begin a match with a points pool from which you buy units you wish to send into the battlefield. All the units in the game are available from the off, from the Sectoid to the Thin Man, the Chrysalid to the Sniper soldier. Powerful units are expensive. Weaker units are cheap. There are variations of unit types, for example, The Sectoid can Mind Merge with a friendly unit for a turn, boosting its power, but the Sectoid Commander can mind merge with your entire squad. Of course, the Sectoid Commander is more expensive than the Sectoid."
"Thankfully, Firaxis has resisted the urge to tinker with the core XCOM gameplay for multiplayer, instead replicating it, more or less. A turn is limited to 115 seconds (this can be customised alongside the points pool). During this time you command each unit in your squad, moving, perhaps shooting, maybe using an ability too. Then, it's your opponent's turn. In the early game, you're focused on sending out units that can cover a lot of ground in one turn, such as the Chrysalid, the Drone or maybe the leaping Thin Man, to scout the battlefield."
"XCOM needs you
After XCOM launches, Firaxis will keep an eye on the forums and its metrics to see which strategies emerge, which units are most popular, and which are rarely used. It has the ability to make on the fly changes to the points cost of the units, and it intends to use it as strategies ebb and flow.
Solomon calls this players helping to "crowd source the design", which seems appropriate, considering the ownership so many feel of the original XCOM. For years he's wracked his brain trying to work out how best to remake the game some consider to be the greatest of all time. Some things are different. Some things are the same. And some things, like multiplayer, are brand new."
more at the source http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-08-10-why-firaxis-xcom-remake-had-to-have-multiplayer-and-why-you-shouldnt-worry
@TheVoxelman on twitter
