Man up, fans of X-COM! [Xenonauts]

[x4000]

Please excuse me -- I didn't mean to imply I thought it was overpriced. AI War also launched at that same price point four years ago, and stayed that price for about two years.

It's a solid price point in terms of being valid, but it also does put the game at a disadvantage in the modern market against the large number of less expensive games and games on discount. You're pricing yourself out of the market, potentially.

On the flip side, if your market is small but hungry, and particularly if your game is super expensive (partially read: time consuming) to create, then a low price point is stupid. You just undersold yourself out of business.

So in other words, I was initially surprised at the price to a small degree until the scope of the project, it's relative niche, and so on became clear. And my "no wonder" comment was not meant in a negative way, it was just "ah, now that is clear." I think they made the right call on pricing.

[Aklyon]

Wow, they've been working on this for 30 months now judging by Moonshine Fox's original post? That's huge. Small team, naturally, I assume. But wow. This is clearly quite an undertaking, no wonder it has the price it does.

19.99 is by no means overpriced. Look at prison architect - this is the definition of overpriced =)))

PA certainly is, but I remember them saying it was high on purpose so they didn't just have everyone interested buy it and then complain it wasn't finished. Not quite sure if that actually worked out or not, heh.

[Mick]

I don't mind that PA isn't finished (I expected that), but I did get a little concerned when a dev made some comment along the lines that the iterative alpha development mode was way better and maybe they'll just stay in that mode indefinitely.

[keith.lamothe]

I don't mind that PA isn't finished (I expected that), but I did get a little concerned when a dev made some comment along the lines that the iterative alpha development mode was way better and maybe they'll just stay in that mode indefinitely.

Hmm, sounds kind of familiar.

[x4000]

I don't mind that PA isn't finished (I expected that), but I did get a little concerned when a dev made some comment along the lines that the iterative alpha development mode was way better and maybe they'll just stay in that mode indefinitely.

Hmm, sounds kind of familiar.

We at least go through cycles and have periodic "official" versions.  But the "indefinite alpha" is a lot like Minecraft, etc.  I think it can work okay, so long as you aren't having alpha or beta levels of bugs.

[Mánagarmr]

Wow, they've been working on this for 30 months now judging by Moonshine Fox's original post? That's huge. Small team, naturally, I assume. But wow. This is clearly quite an undertaking, no wonder it has the price it does.

They did some poor choices with the engine, leading to TONS of extra work, and as Firaxis have already stated in interviews, trying to remake XCOM is a humongous undertaking.

[Mánagarmr]

As far as EU vs Xenonauts go, I believe, just as Chris (the lead dev) believe, that there is room for both of them. Both are brilliant games in their own right, but XCOM EU isn't the original XCOM, but still a great game. Xenonauts is far more faithful to the original game, but still not the very same game. You actually have sniper rifles here. Shotguns. Flares. Machineguns. A cover system. You have a lot that increases your tactical options in combat, while still remaining largely the same as XCOM. You actually have an interception minigame now. Not just "press button, win or lose".

[zespri]

And now released.

[keith.lamothe]

And now released.

I'm about 14 hours into my first game (started a few days before release because they were in just-stability/etc-patch mode) and _thoroughly_ enjoying it.  Not only does it feel like the original game, it's more fun than the original game.  Really feels like they took their time to get this right.

I have had 1 crash, so it's not perfectly stable yet, but close enough for gov't work

[Wingflier]

Damn you Keith, you're making me want to spend the $25 to buy this game now. I never played X-Com as a kid, though I did hear a lot of really good things about it later. I eventually bought the Firaxas X-Com about a year after it was released and I thoroughly enjoyed it too, but once I reached the end game, the "psychic abilities" stuff was really confusing, and eventually I lost because I found out too late that I would need to raise a party member to a certain level to even be able to partake in the "final missions". It took me 26 hours to do this. I never got around to replaying the entire game just to get back to a badly explained part.

This one seems even more awesome though!

Edit: I just saw an F-16. Now I'm sold.

[keith.lamothe]

Damn you Keith, you're making me want to spend the $25 to buy this game now. I never played X-Com as a kid, though I did hear a lot of really good things about it later. I eventually bought the Firaxas X-Com about a year after it was released and I thoroughly enjoyed it too, but once I reached the end game, the "psychic abilities" stuff was really confusing, and eventually I lost because I found out too late that I would need to raise a party member to a certain level to even be able to partake in the "final missions". It took me 26 hours to do this. I never got around to replaying the entire game just to get back to a badly explained part.

This one seems even more awesome though!

Edit: I just saw an F-16. Now I'm sold.

I was actually going to suggest Xenonauts specifically for you given your taste for challenge and consequences.  I didn't realize you never played the original xcom.  In some ways it's the ultimate in "decisions have consequences" strategic gameplay.  At least of the games I've played.  And significantly moreso than the Firaxis game (which I really enjoyed, but as simply a different game than the original)

In my case I'm taking my first playthrough on Easy with ironman off.  Even there I feel like I'm having to work for my progress, while feeling like the invasion could overwhelm me if I mess up.  But I'm not in a death-spiral after a month or two, which I generally was in the original before I had a lot of experience with it.

[Wingflier]

In my case I'm taking my first playthrough on Easy with ironman off.

my first playthrough on Easy with ironman off.

Easy with ironman off.

EASY

You disappoint me, Keith.

[keith.lamothe]

You disappoint me, Keith.

Ok, you try your first playthrough on normal without extensive external reference material research.  You might survive a few months

[Wingflier]

You disappoint me, Keith.

Ok, you try your first playthrough on normal without extensive external reference material research.  You might survive a few months

Well I did on X-COM: EU, though I did end up losing for that reason I suppose, near the end of the game. I blame them for that though, it wasn't until you actually tried to attempt an attack on the alien mothership that it told you of this arbitrary requirement which could have been mentioned 10 hours (game time) prior. Perhaps that's how the X-Com games work though, and if that is the case I guess I'm just a glutton for punishment.

[keith.lamothe]

Well I did on X-COM: EU, though I did end up losing for that reason I suppose, near the end of the game. I blame them for that though, it wasn't until you actually tried to attempt an attack on the alien mothership that it told you of this arbitrary requirement which could have been mentioned 10 hours (game time) prior. Perhaps that's how the X-Com games work though, and if that is the case I guess I'm just a glutton for punishment.

The Firaxis XCom is a very different game.  It's inspired by the original comparing them very much doesn't do either any favors really.  Best enjoyed separately

Though when I played the firaxis one I think it did tell me about the psionicist requirement, or at least that I wanted to train one up.  I did anyway because psionics were largely what let me turn the tide in the original (though there was no hard rule requiring it).

In the original you still got bitten hard by things you didn't know, but they were things that it made sense that you didn't know them.  Thus far that's also my experience with xenonauts.  Like:

ZAP! (My sergeant whacks new enemy with stun rod, because I want to take one alive)
... and it doesn't fall, despite my being able to one-shot their massive overgrown lizard shock troops with one, and this hit doing about as much stun damage as the other one took to down

ZAP! (My sergeant whacks it again, big numbers, alien still standing)

(Alien shoots my sergeant in the face repeatedly, but between the difficulty causing misses and my sergeant's armor he barely survives to next turn)

ZAP!

ZAP!

"I hit the freaking thing four times with a giant cattle prod, what gives!?"

(reload from slightly earlier save, and just gun the thing down rather than get my sergeant shot up)

Post-mission autopsy: it's an android.

*facepalm*