KickStarter Xenonauts - XCOM-like set during the Cold War

[Humanity has risen!]

I don't know, it's not the same thing without that weird MIDI background noise and the familiar X-Com music, it comes off as an half-assed, generic attempt at recreating the same X-Com vibe. I do like what I see though, and will probably pre-order the game as well.

 

[Ion Flux]

Game looks good bros. Optimism mode initiated.

 

[pipka]

Looks sweet.

 

[Marobug]

I don't know, it's not the same thing without that weird MIDI background noise and the familiar X-Com music, it comes off as an half-assed, generic attempt at recreating the same X-Com vibe. I do like what I see though, and will probably pre-order the game as well.

"Half assed, generic attempt at recreating the same xcom vibe" ?
Are you serious ? The music is awesome and how can you say it's half-assed anything ? That's why it's a pre-alpha, as in "not the complete/finished thing".

 

[DarkUnderlord]

X-Com has better graphics.

And AI.

 

[Haba]

X-Com has better graphics.

And AI.

It seems you exhausted all of your troll points while changing the forum names. Spend some time in cover to recover them.

 

[kyrub]

Did they really conserve the "I have to click on my weapon before I am able to shoot" feature from the original X-COM game?

These guys probably never saw JA2 interface or heard about carpal tunnel syndrom. I mean, if my mouse hovers over an alien, I want to shoot it with my weapon in hand in 98% of cases, no?

X-Com has better graphics.

Better graphics? Come on.

But the reduced scope of terrain (you see only a parcel of it) makes original X-com a claustrophobic experience. Xenonauts feels like a walk in the park with shooting, somehow. Hope the final balance will be better, much better.

 

[DarkUnderlord]

X-Com has better graphics.

Better graphics? Come on.

X-Com's graphics have a sense of style. Xenonauts has a pretty plain styling by comparison. The roads are flat and plain. The objects within the environments look like they've been drawn there (because they have) rather than existing as part of that environment.

You look at an Aquatoid in this: http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/x-com-terror-from-the-deep/screenshots/gameShotId,6399/

... and compare it to the down right boring aliens in Xenonaut.

 

[Marobug]

Xenonauts's visuals are not perfect, no shit.
But that doesn't mean xcom is better looking.

 

[Awor Szurkrarz]

They have that plastic look of the Apocalypse. I prefer the style of UFO and Terror.

 

[Trash]

Meh, the graphics have been evolving quite a bit. Must admit I'm more a fan of the artstyle of the original ufo: enemy unknown though.

Never expected this to come as far as it has now. Cautiously optimistic they'll actually release a fun game. Still on the fence on wether or not it will improve on the original though...

 

[Achilles]

Actually I think the art style of Xenonauts is pretty great. Maybe not as distinctive as the one in X-Com, but still perfectly suitable for the game and with quite a few neat little touches.

 

[Haba]

http://www.xenonauts.com/build-v9-1-released/

The biggest addition is a relatively simple one – the AI is now working again. This has been a bit of an issue for us in the past but we’ve got a dedicated AI coder now who has put the basics in place and is working on both extending the current behaviours and making them open and easy to mod. We’re planning to implement a data-driven structure – if you’re interested in that sort of thing, the basics are explained in this article at Gamasutra. Anyway, the bottom line is the aliens now move and shoot back and they will be getting smarter over the coming weeks, and there will be increasing behavioral differentiation between the different alien races too.

 

[Burning Bridges]

According to this forum post, Goldhawk will release a public demo in a week or so.

http://www.goldhawkinteractive.com/forums/showthread.php/1270-Xenonauts-Kickstarter-and-Public-Build

That's because, not surprisingly, they'll also do kickstarter.

If you can read between the lines .. I'd say that they have realized there's no way they can add all the features and gameplay until the fall release. Mentions of team members being busy in their full time jobs here and there ... deadly serious statements like "we're going to need more money if". Not that this should distract you from waiting for the fall release, but ..
They are desperately needing money, and if the kickstarter succeeds the game probably won't come out in 2012.
Which would actually be the most desirable option, since there's no use if they stop at 75% because of overworking themselves in two jobs.



Even if (or exactly because) the guys may be cracking up right now, I feel like I should give them 20€ or so if they are on kickstarter. The latest videos look really good, but as of yet their game has nothing going for in terms of challenging gameplay. If the game were to come out without drastically improved gameplay it would be completely worthless. They need at least six months to work on that alone, full time.

Codexers, I call on you to keep a little money ready once they have set up their fund

 

[Burning Bridges]

Here is the latest alpha coverage. The game looks and sounds great but gameplay is nil, lamentably.

 

[commie]

Codexers, I call on you to keep a little money ready once they have set up their fund

Sorry bro, but my money's being reserved for Chris Jones and Tom Hall who I'm stalking incessantly....

There's already more than enough X-Com style games out there already, good bad, indifferent, for money, for free....they can wait.

 

[Achilles]

I have already preordered the game but I will give money again through Kickstarter if the rewards are good.

 

[Burning Bridges]

Codexers, I call on you to keep a little money ready once they have set up their fund

Sorry bro, but my money's being reserved for Chris Jones and Tom Hall who I'm stalking incessantly....

There's already more than enough X-Com style games out there already, good bad, indifferent, for money, for free....they can wait.

Cool, bro. I was just pointing in the direction of: there's a really great looking turn based game waiting to be finished. And the guys are under a lot of pressure cause it's hard. You can see from my many critical comments that I am not a Goldhawk fanboy, just a gamer who sees the potential that this game has.

Offtopic: Can you give any information to the projects by Chris Jones and Tom Hall? I did a quick google scan and it lead me to Loot Drop http://lootdrop.com (nothing but useless articles, bios, images, in one word: shit) and Chris Jones Gaming www.chrisjonesgaming.net (Minecraft, lots of useless stuff again). It would be nice to be pointed to some quick information about which games they are working on ...

 

[zeitgeist]

Does anyone know how much money the lead guy invested in the project, and what he actually got for it so far? I haven't seen any budget-related updates or anything, but I remember that he was talking about pouring his life savings into this, and it seems like it's also community-funded to some extent.

 

[Burning Bridges]

Looks like Burning Bridges and I just FLIP FLOPPED our positions.

Now it's time for me to doubt the game and him to support it. It has come along visually, looking better by leaps and bounds but it seems like it doesn't have anything working. I'm no pro game developer but I think one of the big sticking points in game development is probably having things work. Add in the "we're so busy with real life" and "going to need more money" and "not going to be done in 2012" and it's looking pretty shaky to me. Long years of watching tells me words like that usually mean "this game's not ever coming out".

Funny It's just that I had never thought they would get that far. Remember when I took the other position they had practically nothing but Geoscape which most people could do in a couple of weeks: worthless. And simply I hate it to see people getting their ass kissed for such an unlayed egg.
Now they have the greatest looking turn based game in development, with cool music and all, BUT WITH NO GAMEPLAY. And I can at least see how they could get that too. Give them another year in which they can pull all stops out, and the game would be great. *fingers crossed*

 

[sgc_meltdown]

If all else fails I'd like to see a nameless group of x-coms fans rip their delicious sprites and use them in that open source alternative, then release on torrent sites

 

[potatojohn]

They have the most atrocious walking animation ever. It looks like the troops are skiing on the ground. Why even bother putting that in? Just make them move without any animation at all, like chessboard pieces. It would look better.

 

[Lord Rocket]

Tom Hall = Commander Keen, original design docs for Doom (which would have been more like Strife if he got his way. Oh and + some level design), Rise of the Triad. ie. id software dude.

Don't know about the other guy,

 

[Destroid]

Looks like Burning Bridges and I just FLIP FLOPPED our positions.

Now it's time for me to doubt the game and him to support it. It has come along visually, looking better by leaps and bounds but it seems like it doesn't have anything working. I'm no pro game developer but I think one of the big sticking points in game development is probably having things work. Add in the "we're so busy with real life" and "going to need more money" and "not going to be done in 2012" and it's looking pretty shaky to me. Long years of watching tells me words like that usually mean "this game's not ever coming out".

Working on a for-profit game IS "real life". You don't give people that shitty excuse when they have paid you money for product.

 

[commie]

Codexers, I call on you to keep a little money ready once they have set up their fund

Sorry bro, but my money's being reserved for Chris Jones and Tom Hall who I'm stalking incessantly....

There's already more than enough X-Com style games out there already, good bad, indifferent, for money, for free....they can wait.

Cool, bro. I was just pointing in the direction of: there's a really great looking turn based game waiting to be finished. And the guys are under a lot of pressure cause it's hard. You can see from my many critical comments that I am not a Goldhawk fanboy, just a gamer who sees the potential that this game has.

Offtopic: Can you give any information to the projects by Chris Jones and Tom Hall? I did a quick google scan and it lead me to Loot Drop http://lootdrop.com (nothing but useless articles, bios, images, in one word: shit) and Chris Jones Gaming www.chrisjonesgaming.net (Minecraft, lots of useless stuff again). It would be nice to be pointed to some quick information about which games they are working on ...

Yeah the game seems cool enough, and maybe at any other time I'd have funded it, but I have hardly any money as it is and with a wife who thinks that I shouldn't be wasting it on childish pursuits I have to prioritise and an X-Com style game just isn't that high on the list considering the quite large amount of such games being made these days.

Chris Jones is responsible for the Tex Murphy bladerunner/noir adventure game series in which he actually also plays the lead character. Great games, lots of humour, the best use of 3D and FMV in adventures, good puzzles, great stories, particularly in the Pandora Directive. He was also the co-owner of Access Software for most of this time(they obviously developed and published the games).

http://www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,1089/


Tom Hall was the genius behind Anachronox and way back Commander Keen as Lord Rocket said. Also worked on Wolfenstein 3D, Doom...Also did the voice of Simons in Deus Ex . It's with Anachronox that he achieved his true calling though. He still is sitting on the other half of the game that was stripped out in order to keep for a sequel and due to the problems in getting it released on time so I would dearly want this to eventually come out.

http://www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,891/