KickStarter Xenonauts 2 - now available on Early Access

[geno]

Hooded horse cornering the XCOM market. First Terra Invicta, now this.

But Terra Invicta is a 4X

Maybe he will actually finish the game now

According to the devblogs, the early acces (Q1 2023) will be mostly a complete game with rough edges. Maybe it's more advanced than we were thinking, but it's hard to trust them with dates after years of delays. On the other hand, they having a publisher gives me some hope.

 

[The Wall]

Hooded Horse have several strategy- or simulation games released/coming that are on my radar.
I could swear I hadn't heard about those guys year ago.

Hooded Horse are based Texans. They also published Old World, and are publishing Manor Lords. Seem like tacticool cowboys

 

[Alienman]

Been trying the latest experimental beta. Have to say, it's starting to look like something finally. It's still extremely similar to Xenonauts 1, just improved in some ways, I guess. Some improvements I don't care too much about. Like the green transparency on units, and now you have HP stats hovering over the aliens. And for some reason, this is an extreme performance intensive game. Could be because of dev stuff, but damn. Loading a mission takes 2 minutes, and there is some stuttering when things are loading in, like textures.

Not going to play too much more, since I don't want to ruin it. But it might come out alright after all.

 

[Mazisky]

Been trying the latest experimental beta. Have to say, it's starting to look like something finally. It's still extremely similar to Xenonauts 1, just improved in some ways, I guess. Some improvements I don't care too much about. Like the green transparency on units, and now you have HP stats hovering over the aliens. And for some reason, this is an extreme performance intensive game. Could be because of dev stuff, but damn. Loading a mission takes 2 minutes, and there is some stuttering when things are loading in, like textures.

Not going to play too much more, since I don't want to ruin it. But it might come out alright after all.

Can you post some screenshots, especiallly the new stuff from beta, geoscape, etc please?

 

[Alienman]

Been trying the latest experimental beta. Have to say, it's starting to look like something finally. It's still extremely similar to Xenonauts 1, just improved in some ways, I guess. Some improvements I don't care too much about. Like the green transparency on units, and now you have HP stats hovering over the aliens. And for some reason, this is an extreme performance intensive game. Could be because of dev stuff, but damn. Loading a mission takes 2 minutes, and there is some stuttering when things are loading in, like textures.

Not going to play too much more, since I don't want to ruin it. But it might come out alright after all.

Can you post some screenshots, especiallly the new stuff from beta, geoscape, etc please?

Sure.

Spoiler

 

[Alienman]

Should add that the music is new, and pretty damn good. Very atmospheric. There are achievements now too, unlocked 2 in my testing. Says it has 20 in total. Xenonauts 1 didn't have any. Should be for both Steam and GoG from what I read. And apparently, you can finish the game now, but the end game stuff isn't balanced. In the picture with the soldier in the equipment screen. Below the armor, it says Protection. You can change that, and go for a stat boost instead in whatever you want. But you lose the added armor it gives. Dudes that don't have the defender armor don't get any extra bonuses, aka, there is nothing to pick. So, pretty interesting addition. In the manufacturing screen, you see that I'm building turrets. Apparently, they are only for static defense at the base. In case you don't have enough manpower to defend. Not seen them in action yet, just going by the description. In the last picture, you might notice a weird icon next to the crouch button. Not used it, but if you are low on morale, you can get it back by using that skill. Good for avoiding panics, I assume.

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

 

[geno]

Could be because of dev stuff, but damn. Loading a mission takes 2 minutes,

At least the loading times are that long because of the debugging mode. The game is generating log archives you can report to the devs. Not sure it that affects the performance too but in my case I'm having stutters too.

 

[Alienman]

Could be because of dev stuff, but damn. Loading a mission takes 2 minutes,

At least the loading times are that long because of the debugging mode. The game is generating log archives you can report to the devs. Not sure it that affects the performance too but in my case I'm having stutters too.

Check your resolution when on a mission. For some reason mine was set to 4k, I'm on a 1080p monitor. Think it reduced some of the stutter.

 

[Mazisky]

Could be because of dev stuff, but damn. Loading a mission takes 2 minutes,

At least the loading times are that long because of the debugging mode. The game is generating log archives you can report to the devs. Not sure it that affects the performance too but in my case I'm having stutters too.

Check your resolution when on a mission. For some reason mine was set to 4k, I'm on a 1080p monitor. Think it reduced some of the stutter.

How you would compare the game to the OG Ufo defense and to Nuxcom just to have a wide spectrum for comparison?

 

[Alienman]

Could be because of dev stuff, but damn. Loading a mission takes 2 minutes,

At least the loading times are that long because of the debugging mode. The game is generating log archives you can report to the devs. Not sure it that affects the performance too but in my case I'm having stutters too.

Check your resolution when on a mission. For some reason mine was set to 4k, I'm on a 1080p monitor. Think it reduced some of the stutter.

How you would compare the game to the OG Ufo defense and to Nuxcom just to have a wide spectrum for comparison?

I have not played that much, so I can't say. But if it is anything like the first Xenonauts, I guess it will fall between nuXcom and OG Ufo, with Ufo being number one.

 

[geno]

How you would compare the game to the OG Ufo defense and to Nuxcom just to have a wide spectrum for comparison?

It's closer to the original, by far. It doesn't simulate the combat like UFO did and it's more like smoke and mirrors. It's not a real 3D environment while UFO was simulating it under the hood with a 3D voxel map even if you can't see it.
It's more streamlined in some ways (you don't need to buy ammo, flares are free and they are autoequiped at night missions...)
It has his advantages and disadvantages over the original but its bigger flaw is it doesn't have the charisma of UFO and doesn't offer more toys to experiment than UFO, at least until mods change it. Talking about mods, I think the game has potential as a platform for mods. According to the dev, the game logic is structured so it should be easier to mod than the first one and expand the possibilities. Assuming the player base have the will to do it, future overhaulsare going to be interesting.
Oh, and you can try a demo in Steam, they updated it recently.

 

[udm]

All this updating and they still haven't made full use of the 3D environment to fix LOS

 

[Bigg Boss]

Every day I lose more and more hope in this product. By the time it comes out and I wait 3 to 5 years for the price to drop I will probably be fucking dead.

 

[Alienman]

Decided to test out the beta some more, and encountered this type of mission:

Check the objective in the top left corner.

Now, I don't know if this is a one off or something, but man. It's really not something I think think fits the game, or is enjoyable for that matter. The objective is not bad in itself, but it's under a timer. After 5 turns, the enemy get endless reinforcements. Feels very nuXcom and it just gave me a bad taste, so I quit it right here. Shame if missions are going to be gamey like this. Encountered one other too. You have to save captured civilians, also under a timer. They are put in some kind of stasis, and you have to reach and free them before a time limit runs out and teleport them away.

 

[Modron]

That usb drive mission sounds like the kind of mission I would use the vehicles to level as much of the buildings as possible.

 

[Alienman]

That usb drive mission sounds like the kind of mission I would use the vehicles to level as much of the buildings as possible.

Yeah, but if you destroy the desks, the usb sticks get destroyed with it.

 

[Gumsmith]

Decided to test out the beta some more, and encountered this type of mission:
...
Check the objective in the top left corner.

Now, I don't know if this is a one off or something, but man. It's really not something I think think fits the game, or is enjoyable for that matter. The objective is not bad in itself, but it's under a timer. After 5 turns, the enemy get endless reinforcements. Feels very nuXcom and it just gave me a bad taste, so I quit it right here. Shame if missions are going to be gamey like this. Encountered one other too. You have to save captured civilians, also under a timer. They are put in some kind of stasis, and you have to reach and free them before a time limit runs out and teleport them away.

Phantom Doctrine has similar objectives to this which I found unpleasant. Timers aside it was very tedious having to move operatives into every room of a multistory building just so they can check filing cabinets. Maybe having more dudes will make the work go faster but I'm not feeling optimistic if they're putting the same thing in this game.

 

[ValeVelKal]

- Recover 1-2 specific items, of which you have some idea of the location (does not need to be tile-specific, but "this building"), sometimes under a timer => OK.
- Recover a lot of items spread across a map, without a timer => Boring.
- Recover a lot of items spread across a map, with timer => Frustating.

I am all for games starting a timer when you are detected though. NuXCOM2 and Phantom Doctrine did that well.

 

[Alienman]

I would love to have dynamic objectives. I mean, I have nothing against having objectives, even timed ones, but maybe added as a bonus, instead of requirement. Say, you go to a mission, regular tac-mission, but when landing you get a radio call by civilians calling out for help, asking you to save them. Maybe they could be holed up somewhere on the map, doing some light defending, and if you save them you get a huge bonus - otherwise, oh well. Your main objective is to kill the aliens. Could be plenty of objectives like this that triggers at random. Maybe having a special alien that gives huge bonus if captured, etc etc. Instead of just having the mission spelled out - fly to Brazil from China to save 5 guys in tubes. Very immersive.

 

[ArchAngel]

I would love to have dynamic objectives. I mean, I have nothing against having objectives, even timed ones, but maybe added as a bonus, instead of requirement. Say, you go to a mission, regular tac-mission, but when landing you get a radio call by civilians calling out for help, asking you to save them. Maybe they could be holed up somewhere on the map, doing some light defending, and if you save them you get a huge bonus - otherwise, oh well. Your main objective is to kill the aliens. Could be plenty of objectives like this that triggers at random. Maybe having a special alien that gives huge bonus if captured, etc etc. Instead of just having the mission spelled out - fly to Brazil from China to save 5 guys in tubes. Very immersive.

Xcom 1 with expansion did that well with Meld. It was timed but a bonus, not critical to finish missions.
Xcom 2 did it the worst, not only you would fail a mission because of timer but you would lose all soldiers automatically if you didn't reach evac spot in time. LW2 then fixed that shit by adding more and more reinforcements instead of instant loss.

 

[Harthwain]

The objective is not bad in itself, but it's under a timer. After 5 turns, the enemy get endless reinforcements.

I guess you are encouraged to split your group into smaller teams, for a more efficient search?

 

[geno]

New development update. Next build will be a (somewhat) open beta and you can apply if you are interested.

Hi everyone - time for the monthly progress update. The big news this month has been the release of V24, which is now coming to the end of its testing period and should be released onto the default Steam branches in the next week or two (rather than being on the Experimental branches).

General Progress:
V24 seems to have been received well by our community. It's the first time the community has seen large chunks of our new UI and some of our improved combat environments, and the game has generally been tightened up in a lot of ways. It's now feeling increasingly solid - although there's still a lot of balancing and polishing left to do to make it a genuinely good strategy game that really rewards the time you put into it!

However, as the first public release we've put out in about five months, V24 had some stability issues and we've spent much of the month fixing them up. Although this is obviously very important work, it means we've not really been working on big new features on the coding side of things. However here's some of the things we managed to get in anyway:

• The Research screen has now been skinned in the final UI style. The Engineering screen is next and I've spent quite a bit of time this month with our UI artist trying to finalise the design for that screen. We're pretty close to that being done.
• Most of the tiles for the Arid biome for the tactical combat are now largely done, so the only remaining work on the environment art is the remainder of the Soviet Town biome and then a final visual pass on the dropships and UFOs. I'm working on the level design for the Arid biome at the moment so hopefully it'll be in V25.
• I've written another ~8 research projects or so.
• We've added a system so that the sell value of items can gradually decline as you sell more and more of them. I'm going to be using this as soft pressure to discourage players from grinding too many crash sites (doing so makes the game very repetitive), as the returns will eventually fall below the Airstrike / Bounty value of the crashsite.
• We're working on smoothing the loading process so the game doesn't keep throwing the annoying "This game isn't responding" messages in Windows if you are playing in a window.

We're planning to start work on V25 relatively soon after V24 is released onto the standard Steam branches. The main feature I'm hoping to include will be the racial abilities for the various types of alien in the tactical combat, but beyond that we'll just be focusing on content and general balancing / polish.

Playtest / Open Beta:
As we want to expand the number of people playing the game and giving feedback / reporting bugs in preparation for our Early Access launch next year, we're going to be launching our Playtest branches when we release V25. These Playtest branches will be using the Steam Playtest function, which allows us to give users access to a free temporary version of Xenonauts 2 that will be deleted once the game enters Early Access.

This isn't going to be a proper open beta, as we'll only be inviting a few hundred people to join the Playtest with each update. We want a mix of fresh players and experienced players giving feedback on each update (as they tend to look for different things), and we know a lot of players will only want to play once and give some quick impressions / feedback and then come back and play properly when the game is done.

Unfortunately this means it's unlikely everyone who applies will get into the Playtest, as we've had quite a lot of signups already. However the picking is done randomly by Steam so if you're signed up you've got as much chance as anyone else - and if you're not signed up already, I've reenabled the signup button for the next two weeks. Just click the green button on the Xenonauts 2 Steam store page!

(I will however be making special exceptions for forum regulars. If you're someone who posts here semi-often and you'd like access to the Playtest, just post in this thread and I'll send you a Steam key when we do the first batch.)

That's everything from me until next month - thanks for reading!

Just to be clear - if you want to get into the playtest, please just post something here saying that you're interested.

Please don't post any of your personal details up, as I'll be DMing you a Steam key here on the forums when the time comes!

 

[Galdred]

I would love to have dynamic objectives. I mean, I have nothing against having objectives, even timed ones, but maybe added as a bonus, instead of requirement. Say, you go to a mission, regular tac-mission, but when landing you get a radio call by civilians calling out for help, asking you to save them. Maybe they could be holed up somewhere on the map, doing some light defending, and if you save them you get a huge bonus - otherwise, oh well. Your main objective is to kill the aliens. Could be plenty of objectives like this that triggers at random. Maybe having a special alien that gives huge bonus if captured, etc etc. Instead of just having the mission spelled out - fly to Brazil from China to save 5 guys in tubes. Very immersive.

Xcom 1 with expansion did that well with Meld. It was timed but a bonus, not critical to finish missions.
Xcom 2 did it the worst, not only you would fail a mission because of timer but you would lose all soldiers automatically if you didn't reach evac spot in time. LW2 then fixed that shit by adding more and more reinforcements instead of instant loss.

That is not entirely true. Only some missions in XCOM 2 resulted in defeat+total party kill on timer.
And the fix was also part of War of the Chosen, as they replaced a lot of the timers with reinforcements.
I think for XCOM 2, the frustration also came from the fact that the timers were usually very short. But not having all the time you want on a special operation in enemy territory kind of makes sense.
But the mods that made the timer start when out of concealment were also popular because it felt a lot less arbitrary this way.

 

[Alienman]

Third time the charm, I guess. I went back for another go, and this time stuff just clicked. Could be that they have fixed the worst of the performance issues. It only stutters once in a while now. Even the absurd timed mission was fun. Not sure what changed with the game, or me, but currently, the game is really enjoyable. It feels on par with Xenonauts 1, but it's snappier, and more pretty. And the 3D space works so much better when it comes to elevated positions. It just feels, and looks way better. The new researched stuff got some interesting additions too. It comes with small description tab now that explains the fundamentals about an alien, or weapon. Like, if it has claws, it will say that, and that is has melee capabilities, what it does and so on.

So, I'm back on team Goldhawk. Can't wait for the full release!