Xenonauts Update (XCom Remake)

airboy · September 04, 2013, 10:49:44 AM

Xenonauts - the updated game that closely mirrors the original X-Com, is getting close to completion.

You can read the latest developer release at: http://www.goldhawkinteractive.com/forums/showthread.php/7283-30-August-Development-Update-(V19-Stable)

I'm getting very excited about this. The Kickstarter funding and the Steam releases of builds have given the developers a massive database of playtesters. They have been making very steady progress developing the game. Having such a widespread testing base gives a much higher potential for having a finished product that has good AI, game balance and fun.

I wish them the best. They seem to be trying to have a final release that is not an advanced beta build.

PanzersEast · September 04, 2013, 10:55:29 AM

I have it and have been playing it for several months and it has come a long ways..... I stopped playing X-Com EU because of it.

PE

Yskonyn · September 04, 2013, 11:11:05 AM

Definately something to keep an eye on. I love the old school look of the game!
If the gameplay is good as well then it's something I am definately going to buy somewhere along the line, but I have too many games right now. :)

Nefaro · September 04, 2013, 05:19:06 PM

It's quite good, reminiscent of the old ones. I hope the final release only gets better. ;D

I like the look of the game, the 2D art and such. Good clean UI that lays out info as it should.

JasonPratt · September 05, 2013, 12:46:51 PM

i.e., what The Bureau should have been (except in the 60s instead of 50s). ;)

Kushan · September 26, 2013, 01:08:48 PM

Been playing the new v19 patch that was released last week. Its starting to feel like a real game now. They've done a major AI and balance overhaul.

Quote
This is a brief summary of the improvements made in V19 over V18:

Vastly improved game balance
Dramatically improved AI
Alien Base missions fully functional
All research descriptions written and edited
Various visual updates like a new world map, many more painted ground tiles, etc
Lots and lots of bugfixes

Full list of changes can be found here (second post): http://www.goldhawkinteractive.com/forums/showthread.php/7278-V19-Stable-Available!

Nefaro · September 26, 2013, 01:28:06 PM

I played a bit the other day, too. It's looking very polished. :D

Slick Wilhelm · November 19, 2013, 10:20:44 PM

Oh man, I'm feeling that old X-COM feeling with Xenonauts. This seems more spiritually connected to the original X-COM than the Firaxis X-COM remake does.

Feeling very nostalgic tonight playing this. :-*

JasonPratt · November 20, 2013, 01:37:48 PM

I feel reasonably sure I'm going to pick this up soon, regardless of whether it's on sale. I've only been waiting for the game to shape up further.

On the other hand, I'll probably wait for a sale to pick up The Bureau, despite wanting badly for it to be good.

On the other hand, while I'm kind of interested in the new XCOM (Firaxis remake) updates, I have less than no interest re-buying the remake at basically full price to pick up the updates. I'll definitely wait for a strong sale on that one.

Pinetree · November 28, 2013, 05:48:25 PM

Had a bit of a play through last night for the first time in months, wow! It's beginning to feel like a polished game now. It's come a long way from the Evil Alien Shed. ;D

mikeck · November 28, 2013, 06:06:01 PM

Can you pick it up now in beta?

mikeck · November 28, 2013, 08:35:29 PM

Didn't see a point in a new thread for this question:

I never played the original x-com. I kind of intrigued here. I bought x-com(new one) but played it only for about 5 minutes and got bored...I need more than just tactical combat. This game looks like it has a lot of depth. So, should I try xenonauts seeing as how I couldn't get into x-com?

I'm kind of hoping to play a game with a lot of strategy involving research, deployment, base building, etc. Not just tactical fighting. If I can design a base and design weapons and such, I might give it a shot...basically, I'm looking for some strategy elements that are deep as opposed to simply supporting the tactical fights

Kushan · November 28, 2013, 10:25:36 PM

Quote from: mikeck on November 28, 2013, 08:35:29 PM
I'm kind of hoping to play a game with a lot of strategy involving research, deployment, base building, etc. Not just tactical fighting. If I can design a base and design weapons and such, I might give it a shot...basically, I'm looking for some strategy elements that are deep as opposed to simply supporting the tactical fights

Base Building: base building is very similar to what it is in the XCom remake, except you have a 6x6 tiled grid rather then the vertical grid the XCom remake has. Nothing really special about construction itself, some module take up mroe then one grid space, etc. Been there done that. The big difference is that you can have multiple bases. Since your base is also the source of your radar coverage and your interceptors not having unlimited fuel range; one of your first goals is to get a second base up and running ASAP. My second base usually consists of a radar and some interceptor hangers for obvious reasons. I believe as the game progress the aliens will also start to attack your bases (which they don't do in the remake) but I've never made it that far in.

There is no weapon design. Just the typical research tree to unlock alien tech. You can hire more scientist like you do soldiers which allows you to shotgun multiple projects at one time, or you can assign them all to one project and get it done faster. Another difference to the remake is that your are not given a choice for your missions. Most of your early missions will be you going after UFO's you've either shot down or have landed all on their own. Later on you'll start getting terror and base assault missions. but you don;t get the three choices like you do in the remake

The tactical combat is a lot better then the remake IMO. There is cover, but going behind cover also limits your hit percentage. Cover is also scarcer and a lot of the time you don't have any choice but to march your troops through open field in order to reach your objectives.

Yskonyn · November 29, 2013, 04:27:09 AM

The aliens do attack your base in the remake with the new Expansion. :)

JasonPratt · November 29, 2013, 10:43:51 AM

From my fairly limited experience playing Xenonauts over the past week, it plays exactly like the original X-Com. Which is a good thing. :)

That being said, the original X-Com can be bought from Steam (among other places) fairly cheaply, and the OpenXCom project will update it with some extra bling for free (or a donation if you're so inclined). One of the (few) advantages to the old game is that the maps are randomly generated each time for the situation. The graphics are somewhat better, too, in some regards, than in Xenonauts, although this is partly due to XN providing a larger view of the combat field, which naturally reduces the amount of detail available for the figures per se.