Author Topic: Man up, fans of X-COM! [Xenonauts]  (Read 42936 times)

Offline Mánagarmr

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Man up, fans of X-COM! [Xenonauts]
« on: May 09, 2012, 08:31:23 am »
Xenonauts have been in development for the last 18 months running the pre-order-to-get-alpha scheme. It's been going well so far and the project is now funded enough so that they can finish a functional game. However, there are additional features and art that they'd love to have in the game to make it not only functional but awesome. For this, they've started a Kickstarter project. If you deeply loved the X-Com games of the 90's and have been looking all over for a good remake, this is it. Put your money down and help us make a fantastic nostalgia trip!

Kickstarter page with project explanation and dev talk.

(Please note that all the money from the Kickstarter project is going to straight into making the game better. The game is already funded and slated for release this fall. This money is pure fluff of new mechanics, graphics and UI.)
« Last Edit: May 09, 2012, 08:33:25 am by Moonshine Fox »
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Offline zespri

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Re: Man up, fans of X-COM! [Xenonauts]
« Reply #1 on: May 09, 2012, 03:34:50 pm »
Oh, yeah, I've seen this. http://www.xcom.com/enemyunknown/ looks more promising though.

Offline Mánagarmr

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Re: Man up, fans of X-COM! [Xenonauts]
« Reply #2 on: May 09, 2012, 03:39:28 pm »
Oh, yeah, I've seen this. http://www.xcom.com/enemyunknown/ looks more promising though.
I'm sure as heck getting both. They're two very different games, so there's no reason not to. XCOM is a small, action oriented, squad-based TBS with strategy tossed in. Xenonauts is a faithful refurbish of the original.
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Offline Cyborg

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Re: Man up, fans of X-COM! [Xenonauts]
« Reply #3 on: May 09, 2012, 07:13:49 pm »
http://www.xenonauts.com/

Old news. Looks like they are just trying out a new revenue stream from kickstarter.
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Offline KingIsaacLinksr

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Re: Man up, fans of X-COM! [Xenonauts]
« Reply #4 on: May 09, 2012, 07:24:36 pm »
http://www.xenonauts.com/

Old news. Looks like they are just trying out a new revenue stream from kickstarter.

Yeah, he kinda says so in the original post up there that they want to add new features to the game to make it even better.

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Offline Cyborg

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Re: Man up, fans of X-COM! [Xenonauts]
« Reply #5 on: May 09, 2012, 07:40:58 pm »
http://www.xenonauts.com/

Old news. Looks like they are just trying out a new revenue stream from kickstarter.

Yeah, he kinda says so in the original post up there that they want to add new features to the game to make it even better.

King

I don't believe him. I listened to an interview relatively recently with him after getting interviewed for a gaming site review, and there was nothing about this at all. The game seem relatively mature and not too far away from release. I'm going to call this for what it is and that's just another revenue source unless there are specifics.
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Offline KingIsaacLinksr

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Re: Man up, fans of X-COM! [Xenonauts]
« Reply #6 on: May 09, 2012, 07:44:16 pm »
http://www.xenonauts.com/

Old news. Looks like they are just trying out a new revenue stream from kickstarter.

Yeah, he kinda says so in the original post up there that they want to add new features to the game to make it even better.

King

I don't believe him. I listened to an interview relatively recently with him after getting interviewed for a gaming site review, and there was nothing about this at all. The game seem relatively mature and not too far away from release. I'm going to call this for what it is and that's just another revenue source unless there are specifics.

From the Kickstarter Page for Xenonauts:

Quote
So, you're excited by the game and excited by the rewards you can get for donating - what exactly is it that we want to spend the money on?

It's difficult to say exactly what additional features would end up in the final game, because sometimes new features don't work very well and have to be removed again. But these are some of the ideas we'd like to explore:

New UI
Animated battlefield tiles
High quality research-screen art
Combat suppression mechanics
Soldier medal system
Battlefield motion detector
UI art updating to reflect game progress
Intro / Outro movie (in the monochrome painted style of the Homeworld cutscenes)
Encouragement for modders (eg. our Soviet Weapons

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Offline Cyborg

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Re: Man up, fans of X-COM! [Xenonauts]
« Reply #7 on: May 09, 2012, 07:50:29 pm »
Quote
New UI
Animated battlefield tiles
High quality research-screen art
Combat suppression mechanics
Battlefield motion detector
UI art updating to reflect game progress

They have all of those that I edited above so far. I have no idea what he's talking about because it's redundant to what exists. Does he mean something on top of that which already exists? If you really want to believe this, that's fine. I don't have a problem in that he posted this as another revenue stream, I'm just saying that calling things new and exciting because he gets more money for a pre-order, it doesn't make sense. Not even intuitively. Consider for example that any additional items would extend development time-extend costs. The original release date was suggested as being Fall 2012. So, is he pushing back the release date? :-) If he isn't, then it's a bald-faced lie isn't it?

Kahuna strategy guide:
http://www.arcengames.com/forums/index.php/topic,13369.0.html

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Offline keith.lamothe

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Re: Man up, fans of X-COM! [Xenonauts]
« Reply #8 on: May 09, 2012, 08:37:43 pm »
If he isn't, then it's a bald-faced lie isn't it?
Maybe he signed a non-aggression pact with the Aliens.
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Offline KingIsaacLinksr

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Re: Man up, fans of X-COM! [Xenonauts]
« Reply #9 on: May 09, 2012, 08:45:44 pm »
Quote
New UI
Animated battlefield tiles
High quality research-screen art
Combat suppression mechanics
Battlefield motion detector
UI art updating to reflect game progress

They have all of those that I edited above so far. I have no idea what he's talking about because it's redundant to what exists. Does he mean something on top of that which already exists? If you really want to believe this, that's fine. I don't have a problem in that he posted this as another revenue stream, I'm just saying that calling things new and exciting because he gets more money for a pre-order, it doesn't make sense. Not even intuitively. Consider for example that any additional items would extend development time-extend costs. The original release date was suggested as being Fall 2012. So, is he pushing back the release date? :-) If he isn't, then it's a bald-faced lie isn't it?

I only vaguely know whats going on with this project so I'll let someone better informed answer this question :).

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Offline Mánagarmr

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Re: Man up, fans of X-COM! [Xenonauts]
« Reply #10 on: May 10, 2012, 10:26:38 am »
No offense, but it helps if you know what you talk about before complaining.

The new UI is a NEW UI. The current UI is usable, but not immersive, nor pretty. It's functional at best.

They do not have animated battlefield tiles, aside from post-explosion flames, but those are not tiles per se.

The research screen is a mockup and is not actually coded and has no functionality. The current in game one is quite bland.

Battlefield motion detectors is not coded, no art is drawn and they simply do not exist. They're barely even a concept at this point.

Those are just a few parts of what they want to do with the game. Other things include art for female soldiers, for instance, which is not in the game. Also, please read the project page as it clearly states that the game is funded and slated for release this fall. The kickstarter page is PURELY to generate revenue to improve the game and make it awesome. I even wrote that in the OP. How could you miss it? I know I'm sounding like a twerp here, but seriously, King told you twice.

The money will be used to set up a studio so the coders, artists and others can work together. At the moment, they are spread out all over the world, making work slow and cumbersome. If they could set up in one location and work together, it would ease their processes a lot, making the game finished faster in addition to bringing in addition features and mechanics. It's all explained in the video.
« Last Edit: May 10, 2012, 12:05:01 pm by Moonshine Fox »
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Offline zespri

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Re: Man up, fans of X-COM! [Xenonauts]
« Reply #11 on: September 02, 2012, 01:29:05 pm »
So according to the web site whoever pre-orders gets immediate access to the beta. Anyone has done that? Any good?

Offline Mánagarmr

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Re: Man up, fans of X-COM! [Xenonauts]
« Reply #12 on: September 02, 2012, 01:58:15 pm »
It's not in Beta yet. It's scheduled to enter beta on oct 9th. It's currently in Alpha and is not feature complete. However, if you do preorder, you do get alpha access as well.

I've owned it since almost a year ago, and it's coming along nicely. I haven't played any of the latest versions however, so I can't tell you what state it is currently in. I stopped playing because I felt I didn't have time or energy to be part of alpha testing, and just gave it a rest until it's feature complete and I can actually PLAY it.
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Offline Kahuna

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Re: Man up, fans of X-COM! [Xenonauts]
« Reply #13 on: September 02, 2012, 02:53:38 pm »
Oh, yeah, I've seen this. http://www.xcom.com/enemyunknown/ looks more promising though.
It's looks good BUT it's a bit too cartoony.. I'll probably buy and enjoy it anyway.
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Offline Mánagarmr

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Re: Man up, fans of X-COM! [Xenonauts]
« Reply #14 on: September 02, 2012, 02:55:30 pm »
Oh, yeah, I've seen this. http://www.xcom.com/enemyunknown/ looks more promising though.
It's looks good BUT it's a bit too cartoony.. I'll probably buy and enjoy it anyway.
The style is starting to grow on me tbh. It has this amusing "GI Joe" style to it which fits with the rather pompous task of defeating an alien force that invades Earth. I dunno, it's not as gritty as the old one, but I feel it fits regardless. Xenonauts will no doubt fulfill my need for gray and dark :P
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