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Xenonauts - Worth it?

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Xenonauts is on sale on GOG. Never played any of the X-com series games. Like turn-based combat, e.g, Temple of Elemental Evil, Eador: Genesis, Battle Brothers, and Final Fantasy Tactics.

Should I snag Xenonauts? Is there a better choice for an Xcom like out there?
 

sser

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Xenonauts is on sale on GOG. Never played any of the X-com series games. Like turn-based combat, e.g, Temple of Elemental Evil, Eador: Genesis, Battle Brothers, and Final Fantasy Tactics.

Should I snag Xenonauts? Is there a better choice for an Xcom like out there?

Xenonauts is solid, but just get X-Com and play OpenXcom. Don't let that early 90s release date scare you, there's a reason shitloads of people still play that game to this day. It's timeless in both gameplay and playability.
 

udm

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X-COM has more consistent mechanics than Xenonauts, which has some odd hit detection. However, the latter does have some quality of life additions, like being able to jump over low walls.

My recommendation: just download X-COM/OpenXcom like what sser said, then wait for Xenonauts 2 since that seems like it's going to take the best of Xenonauts 1 and fix many of its problems.
 

Serus

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X-COM has more consistent mechanics than Xenonauts, which has some odd hit detection. However, the latter does have some quality of life additions, like being able to jump over low walls.

My recommendation: just download X-COM/OpenXcom like what sser said, then wait for Xenonauts 2 since that seems like it's going to take the best of Xenonauts 1 and fix many of its problems.
And probably introduce double the amount of new problems - like sequels tend to do.
 

Mark Richard

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If you want a slice of old school X-Com and have no experience with the original games, Xenonauts is the best place to start.
 

LizardWizard

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If you want a slice of old school X-Com and have no experience with the original games, Xenonauts is the best place to start.

Disagree when you can just play the superior originals and/or openXcom. Xenonauts has no soul, worse gameplay and I really hate the art personally.
 

Togukawa

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Jagged alliance 2 is xcom like, in the sense that it's turn based squad tactics. It's humans vs humans, but it has much deeper combat and equipment mechanics. It's by far my favourite 'xcom-like'.
 

Farewell into the night

Guest
Xenonauts is on sale on GOG. Never played any of the X-com series games. Like turn-based combat, e.g, Temple of Elemental Evil, Eador: Genesis, Battle Brothers, and Final Fantasy Tactics.

Should I snag Xenonauts? Is there a better choice for an Xcom like out there?

Xenonauts in theory is pretty close to original X-COM. It's set in the 70's (as far as I remember). You have a base from which you operate - reasearch new technology, recruit soldiers, vehicles, interceptors that can fight with ufos (nice mini game) and then you send your troops on missions. Cover system and action point managment are important. I quite enjoyed it. It's 2D, an alternative is of course new XCOM's by Firaxis (which are technologically superior to Xenonauts, but they also have different feeling). I'll say Xenonauts is an ok game. Can't say you'll enjoy it without knowing the original it's based of. It's sort of a fan service game. There is also Phoenix Point in the production (by the original X-Com creator - Julian Gollop) and I assume it's worth waiting.
 

Endemic

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Xenonauts is solid, but just get X-Com and play OpenXcom. Don't let that early 90s release date scare you, there's a reason shitloads of people still play that game to this day. It's timeless in both gameplay and playability.

I have both. Xenonauts has some nice additions, like being able to bomb downed UFOs and simultaneous multi-craft interception. The sprites\graphics are cleaner of course. I still enjoy Openxcom on its own merits, especially with OXCE+ since it fixes a lot of annoyances and improves the UI tremendously.
 

Stavrophore

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Xenonauts is solid, but just get X-Com and play OpenXcom. Don't let that early 90s release date scare you, there's a reason shitloads of people still play that game to this day. It's timeless in both gameplay and playability.

I have both. Xenonauts has some nice additions, like being able to bomb downed UFOs and simultaneous multi-craft interception. The sprites\graphics are cleaner of course. I still enjoy Openxcom on its own merits, especially with OXCE+ since it fixes a lot of annoyances and improves the UI tremendously.

And both don't have breechable UFO, but there are mods for that.
 

Togukawa

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Your enjoyment of xenonauts might depend on how well you can deal with modern realistic ballistic simulations though. You will encounter situations where your shots fly off in random directions because the dice says so, and you will lose troops because of shit like this:
FfT8CbF.png

Can't hit the alien, all shots blocked by invisible wall under the UFO spike on the lefft.
8lZnihK.png

The red wall completely blocks all shots on the alien in front.

If you mainly want combat tactics, play ja2 or silent storm instead. What xenonauts does do quite well (and even better with mods) is the geoscape. Encountering new aliens, researching new weapons, managing your bases, that's a lot of fun.
 

Endemic

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Meh, even Openxcom has weird LOS issues at times. Especially at the edge of a building. I end up demolishing cover to get around it. Sometimes the game flat out refuses to let me fire even though an enemy is sighted, because a shrub is in the way.

The hit percentage in X-COM is based on getting the centre of the tile, so you can have a lot of shots miss by 2 inches and fly past the alien. Then you might land 3 40% shots in a row. Targeting the ground is a way of getting around this, but someties you want to avoid collateral damage (eg to take UFO components intact).

Aimed shot is almost always a waste of TUs, unless you're using a one-shot weapon like the rocket launcher. 3 snap shots have a much better chance of hitting than 1 or 2 aimed shots. It seemed unintuitive at first.
 
Last edited:

Vorark

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Does Xenonauts have story segments and cutscenes like XCOM/XCOM 2 or is it "pick up and play" style? Firaxis' XCOM games would've been better without the misplaced "cinematic" feel and endless chattering.
 

udm

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Pick up and play (ie open-ended interpretive narrative).

Speaking of OpenXcom and weird LOS, one thing I can appreciate is the Force Fire command. I've killed many an unhittable target thanks to it. I think the hot key is CTRL.
 

Endemic

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Speaking of OpenXcom and weird LOS, one thing I can appreciate is the Force Fire command. I've killed many an unhittable target thanks to it. I think the hot key is CTRL.

Yeah, but that's just brute forcing it. Better to have the LOS not depend on centre mass all the time. I guess JA2 style aimed shots are out of the question, or it would have been implemented by now.
 

Taka-Haradin puolipeikko

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http://www.ufopaedia.org/index.php/UFO_Interception
  • Multiple ships (up to 4), can join the battle by way of minimising the controls while in stand-off and waiting for extra friendlies to arrive on the scene. This can be key if you only have regular Interceptors when a Terror Ship or Battleship turns up. Multiple ships take a UFO down faster, and the UFO splits its fire between all of them that are in range. I.e. fires randomly, making each of your craft more likely to survive longer on average. Try to make it so that all your ships come into firing range at the same time, so you can maximise the advantage of bringing them all together.

Best that I've managed to accomplish was 3 vs 1. I hadn't 4th interceptor ready.
 

SymbolicFrank

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Xenonauts is far too friendly, like all X-COM successors. It is a very different game. It is much more like Jagged Alliance 2 on super easy.

As long as you think a mission is a failure because you lost one or two of your hard to replace mercenaries, it's not X-COM. Or if you cannot destroy everything. Or if your recruits can hit the broad side of a barn and the aliens regularly miss.

In X-COM, the aliens are an unstoppable menace with superior weapons, so you throw soldiers at them in the hope you learn to become their equal. Lots of soldiers. They're the Earth's last hope!
 

Endemic

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Best that I've managed to accomplish was 3 vs 1. I hadn't 4th interceptor ready.

Problem is interceptors have shit range, and you generally don't put more than 1 at a secondary base. I guess if I had 5+ bases it would be more likely.
 

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