Xenonauts: Community Edition 0.34

Version 0.34 of Xenonauts: Community Edition has been released.

Installation (Windows Steam users):

• NOTE: It may take a while before Steam gets updated to this new version.
  
• Switch to the Community branch in Steam by right-clicking on Xenonauts, selecting Properties, going to the Betas tab and selecting Community.
  
• You can enable/disable mods in "Modding Tools" in the game launcher.
  
• You can revert to the standard official game by switching back to the NONE branch in Steam.
  

Installation (other users):

• In the game launcher, use "Modding Tools" to install the base X:CE mod (it may take a while, you will get a confirmation dialog when the installation is done). Note that if you use the Xenonauts 1.5x release as a base, the newly installed mod will not show in the list, ignore this.
  
• Exit the launcher.
  
• Run X:CE's game executable instead of the base game's executable. It is possible to run it directly from assets/mods/xce and it is not anymore necessary to copy it anywhere (it may be useful to create a desktop shortcut to simplify accessing it though). If you do copy the .exe files, you may need to copy .dll files as well.
  
• Verify in the launcher that it is the correct version.
  
• Install the X:CE mod pack using "Modding Tools" in the launcher, this will install the X:CE settings and balance mods as well as a selection of community mods. Adjust which mods are active if wanted (selected mods should be already activated automatically).
  
• On first game start you may get a dialog warning about X:CE mods not being activated correctly or in the correct priority order, simply confirm that you want it to be fixed automatically.
  

What is the relation between X:CE 0.34 and Xenonauts 1.5x?

• Xenonauts 1.5x releases have been based on an older X:CE version and thus do not contain all of these features/fixes. Also some X:CE changes have intentionally not been incorporated. See Xenonauts 1.5x release announcements for details.
  
• X:CE 0.34 should contain all relevant Xenonauts 1.5x fixes and new features. There should be no advantage in switching to Xenonauts 1.5x instead of X:CE 0.34 for players who have already switched to X:CE.
  
• X:CE 0.34 can read saved games from Xenonauts 1.5x, but Xenonauts 1.5x cannot read normal X:CE 0.34 saved games. Switching option saveCompatibility in assets/gameconfig.xml to "gh15x" before running X:CE should produce saves in a format that Xenonauts 1.5x can read (keep the option as "xce" for normal play, otherwise some new X:CE values may not be kept in save files). Note that Xenonauts 1.5x may still be unable to load such a saved game if it includes objects it doesn't know (e.g. researches from the Lore+ mod, or incendiary grenades from X:CE).
  

Changes summary:

• X:CE is now shipped with only one large mod pack .zip file that includes both the X:CE settings and balance mods and well as a selection of community mods.
  
• Restored Community Map Pack, Skitso's Ultimate Megamix Map Pack 2000, Skitso's Alien Booster Pack and Kabill's Random Maps map packs are now shipped with X:CE. Together with fixes for avoiding repeated usage of recently used maps this should make it very unlikely to encounter one map twice during a single playthrough.
  
• Skitso's Improved Tile Art Pack mod is now shipped with X:CE.
  
• French translation mods have been included and will be enabled by default when appropriate.
  
• Explosives now do not necessarily cause overdamage. Each item has only a chance to do overdamage, the higher the more powerful the explosive is.
  
• Added incendiary grenades and rockets, and sebillians have shooting accuracy affected by fires similarly to how other units are affected by smoke.
  
• Damage, smoke and fire are now generated around crashed UFOs in order to make them more like they have actually crashed.
  
• Wraiths should use teleporting properly again.
  

General improvements:

• Jump pack now allows hovering over non-walkable terrain such as water.
  
• Damage, smoke and fire are now generated around crashed UFOs and random props inside are damaged, in order to make them more like they have actually crashed (EnhanceCrashSites in config.xml). Landed UFOs also slightly damage the terrain around them. The 'Enhanced Crash Sites' mod that did this manually is most probably not compatible with this feature and should be disabled.
  
• Allow reordering soldiers in a dropship in the soldier equip view.
  
• Added keyboard shortcuts for centering view on next/previous spotted alien (not assigned by default).
  
• Improved startup speed of the game and map editor tools. Game launcher and main game window should show sooner.
  
• Added integrity checking to loading of save files. The game also should not try to load saves with features that it does not know (i.e. from a future newer version).
  
• Include names of used mods when creating a save file and warn if some of them are missing when loading the save.
  
• The 'Modding Tools' dialog in the game launcher now has a 'Default Setup' button that resets status and order of all mods to the default state, as if the game was launched for the first time, i.e. the default X:CE mod setup.
  

UI:

• The 'Activate' button in 'Modding Tools' in launcher goes before 'Delete Mod'.
  
• When installing a mod would overwrite an already existing mod, show versions of both in the dialog asking for overwrite.
  
• Pressing number keys in base views switches between bases.
  
• Scrolling mouse wheel down in ground combat now goes to the next soldier, not previous.
  
• Added accelerators to buttons in the game launcher and map editors.
  
• Clicking column headers in the 'Modding Tools' dialog in the game launcher now sorts by that column.
  
• In the UFO-detected dialog, show terrain type for landed UFOs.
  

Balance:

• Explosives now do not necessarily cause overdamage. Each item has only a chance to do overdamage, the higher the more powerful the explosive is. Items on the ground are still always destroyed by explosives. This should make (especially early game) grenades more useful.
  
• UFOs should be less likely to give up on chasing a faster interceptor in the air combat.
  
• UFOs now have a separate evasive roll speed setting that is independent from Xenonaut interceptors evasive roll speed, as the higher difficulty values made it difficult for UFOs to dodge light missiles.
  
• Sebillians have shooting accuracy affected by fires similarly to how other units are affected by smoke (fireAccuracyPenalty in aiprops.xml). Unlike with smoke, fire affects accuracy even in tiles around it.
  
• Added incendiary grenades and rockets. They can be used as normal weapons, for illumination or defense against Sebillians.
  
• When patrolling, airplanes fly at 50% of their maximum speed, making them able to patrol for longer (airPatrolFuelBurnRate in gameconfig.xml).
  
• Aliens will not target Xenonaut bases for attacks until they start showing activity, giving them a grace period to become defensible.
  
• Damage taken from bleeding wounds now has a one turn delay before it takes effect, making it possible to heal soldiers that have been wounded to near death during an alien turn.
  
• Operation Endgame research now properly depends on the Alien Hyperdrive research.
  

General fixes:

• Fixed installing of large .zip mods not to be horribly slow.
  
• Fixed drawing of multi-tile objects to not show through walls in some cases.
  
• Fixed aliens sometimes immediately closing door after running through it.
  
• Fixed calculation of TU cost for stairs.
  
• Alien plasma rifle research now depends on alien plasma pistol research, as the two Xenopedia articles should be read in that order. This should not alter game balance in any way.
  
• Do not show instant researches in the laboratory view as items to research.
  
• When shooting, do not turn a unit if that would cancel the unit's around-the-corner peeking, as that could make the unit lose sight of the target.
  
• Fixed (again) remembering of recently used ground combat maps. Especially with the map packs, it should be now very unlikely to encounter a specific map twice during a single playthrough.
  
• Fix showing of medals in the soldier equip view.
  
• Show cover indicators also for UFO walls.
  
• Do not show 'no soldiers at base' in the soldier equip view if a transport has only a vehicle loaded.
  
• Make pathfinding try to avoid dangerous tiles such as those on fire.
  
• Fix hiding/showing of fires after loading a ground combat save.
  
• Update fire sound when visibility of fires changes.
  
• Changing an interceptor weapon in the airplane equip view no longer automatically rearms it, but the airplane will need to be normally rearmed as if it has returned from a mission.
  
• When a building that has not been finished yet is upgraded, do not automatically finish it.
  
• Do not pay maintenance for ordered soldiers that have no arrived yet.
  
• Fix scientists to be properly removed from research when a base is removed (such as when destroyed by aliens).
  
• Fix sort order of some columns in the memorial wall, and make rank a separate column.
  
• Fix a possible crash when selecting a flare to throw.
  
• Reset TU to 0 even if a berserking soldier does not hold a weapon to fire.
  
• "Instant" researches have their time to show doubled in order to avoid them getting shown before a dropship from the mission returns back to base (which technically isn't a problem, as item recovery after ground combat is done by other personnel, but it still looked a bit strange; instantResearchesPopupDelay in gameconfig.xml).
  
• "Instant" researches have their time to show slightly randomized (instantResearchesPopupDelayVariation in gameconfig.xml), in order to avoid getting several new Xenopedia articles at once (easily up to 4 with Lore+ active).
  
• Avoid a possible crash when transferring soldiers.
  
• Do not record destroying an alien base by destroying power core as a failed alien base assault in the memorial wall.
  
• Fixed active status of installed mods to not be reset to initial state after a new mod is installed.
  
• Do not alter priority of mods when upgrading them.
  
• Fixed shooting on very large maps sometimes using very strange trajectories.
  
• Improve game and ground combat load times especially if a larger number of mods is active.
  
• Soldiers that enter ground combat already injured now have their maximum HP shown properly, instead of setting the shown maximum HP to the HP available at the start of the ground combat.
  
• Radar dishes in Xenonaut bases should not obscure units.
  
• Fix automatic activation of manually installed mods.
  
• Fix soldiers being transferred incorrectly affecting the number of unassigned soldiers.
  
• Several fixes for problems that sometimes prevented Wraiths from teleporting properly.
  

Mods:

• Included Restored Community Map Pack, providing more than 100 maps (enabled by default).
  
• Included Skitso's Ultimate Megamix Map Pack 2000 as a proper mod (enabled by default). The older version of this mod that was merged directly into base X:CE has been removed (reverted back to the status from 1.09).
  
• Included Skitso's Alien Booster Pack and Skitso's Improved Tile Art Pack mods (enabled by default), properly modularized (including keeping art changes only to the art pack).
  
• All maps in Kabill's Random Maps have been marked as random (lowering their chance to be selected) and the mods are now enabled by default.
  
• Included French translation, which will be enabled by default if the system language is French.
  
• Also the following mods that were already included with the previous X:CE version are included:
  
  • Khall's More Portraits Pack (enabled by default)
    
  • Khall's Tundra Tileset (enabled by default)
    
  • Lore+ (enabled by default)
    
  • New Car Mod (enabled by default)
    
  • Extended Weapon Descriptions for Fighters (enabled by default)
    
  • Ambience Forest (enabled by default)
    
  • Armoured Assault
    
  • Furies, Terror, and Dreadnoughts. A fix for late game UFOs attacking Xenonaut bases too soon is included.
    

  [*]The mods that have X:CE fixes or modifications (such as using X:CE-only features) compared to the original versions have "+ X:CE" in their version string. They can be normally replaced by original versions of those mods (e.g. when a new version is released).

Maps:

• Added few new semi-random forest maps.
  
• Adjusted terror maps to always have at least some cover available around their landing zones.
  
• Soviettown terror maps are now used also for European countries in the Soviet Union region.
  
• Cars in soviettown terror maps shouldn't drive on the left.
  
• Adjusted tiles for Chinook to better match what the helicopter looks like, making it possible to walk and shooting through some tiles where it visually should be possible.
  
• Fixed position of some Shrike tiles.
  
• Adjusted dropships to remove less cover around the immediate landing zone.
  

Modding:

• It is now possible to include several mods in one .zip mod file. The X:CE settings and balance mods are shipped now this way together with all community mods included with X:CE. Technically, now the .zip file is searched for modinfo.xml files and each directory with such a file is considered to be a mod. Such files are of course not usable by older versions of the game.
  
• All files under maps/ and tiles/ now automatically get MODMERGE="replace" at the toplevel XML element if not specified. This makes it easier to create map pack mods, as maps and props provided by mods automatically replace base game items, without requiring MODMERGE commands (which the map editing tools do not support). As an exception, mapinfo.xml files are treated normally (since they should usually be merged together from all mods).
  
• List of map types for UFOs, dropships and alien bases is no longer hardcoded and can be specified in assets/maptypes.xml .
  
• Besides new dropship/UFO types it is now possible to specify in maptypes.xml also their fallback spawn points. Since maps by default support only the stock dropship/UFO types, this allows using those maps even for new dropship/UFO types, as long as the fallback dropship/UFO type has the same submap size.
  
• Using -modinfo command line switch for Xenonauts.exe now does not log info about the base xce mod, as that spams loginfo.txt and is generally not useful for modders. Use -modinfoxce if this info should be included.
  
• Game can now be launched with "-load [savename]" argument, which will automatically load the saved game.
  
• If the game is launched with -quickbattle, -aircmbt or -load arguments, the game launcher is skipped; in the case of -quickbattle and -load, also the main game menu is skipped. Note that since the game launcher does some initialization such as enabling mods by default, this will not be performed in these cases; the game should be launched normally first if this is required. Moreover, if a mod is installed in a folder that does not match its name, the game will abort on startup, even if it normally would launch (such mod install should only be possible if done manually, as the installation using "Modding Tools" in the game launcher does not create a problem; fix the problem manually).
  
• Support for automatic enabling of language pack mods as necessary.
  

Mapping:

• The level editor (but not submap editor) should preview maps properly even without the need to explicitly unpack tile files (i.e. the level editor preview should work with the released game out of the box).
  
• Submaps now can link (include) other submaps, even recursively. This should greatly improve mapping capabilities by both removing duplication (simply create one submap and make several submaps refer to it, instead of duplicating the contents) and by allowing more randomness in maps (if a submap is used instead of having a hardcoded content, each of the submap variants is randomly chosen as is the usual case with submap variations). Unlike normal submap usage, where one submap replaces objects for a specific tile from another submap, objects from several includes submaps are all added in this case.
  
• All UFO submap have been reworded to use linked submaps in order to avoid duplication and allow greater flexibility (for example, there can be variations in the damaged UFO hull image if multiple submaps are placed in maps/ufos/shared/ufotype/hull_damaged).
  
• Reduced height of the submap editor dialog to make it fit better smaller resolutions.
  
• Added 'Hide UFO Hull' button to the submap editor.
  
• The button in submap editor's resolution dialog is now a default button (so hitting Enter pushes it).
  
• It is possible to specify in mapinfo.xml which maps should be ignored (used e.g. by Skitso's Alien Base Booster Pack mod to "delete" maps from the base game).
  
• Added the posibility to mark maps as random in mapinfo.xml; random maps get lower priority than normal maps when choosing a map for ground combat, so that custom maps are very likely to be used first, and custom maps are more likely to be selected only when most custom maps have been already used.
  
• Mouse wheel in the submap editor and level editor changes floor level.
  
• Added a checkbox in the submap editor to show only the currently selected floor level.
  
• Made 'Show only ground tiles' in submap editor show other props very faintly (the same way the show-roof-ground button in ground combat works).
  
• Fixed redrawing of multi-tile props in the submap editor.
  

Bug reporting:

If you encounter any problem, you can report it as the X:CE bug reports forum. Please read and follow the bug reporting guidelines.

I opened the mod loader after patching and was horribly confused at how to update the game (just got Xenonauts after v33), then after hitting default setup I noticed that the duplicates were all french translations.

Is it possible to use Steam's game language option to restrict different mod languages to whichever it's set to? Otherwise, if more translations are done, our mod list is going to be full of useless translation patches that we have to manually delete every update.

I have a question about X:CE mod in steam: is it X:CE balance and settings mods combined together or what?

I have a question about X:CE mod in steam: is it X:CE balance and settings mods combined together or what?

They are different little modes coming with XCE. Setting is mostly for activating new features of the XCE and balance is balancing this things.. If you do not activate them, you just use XCE for bug fixes.

I have a question about X:CE mod in steam: is it X:CE balance and settings mods combined together or what?

It's basically just a placeholder, so that X:CE can be listed in the Steam workshop (there are apparently quite a number of people who know about mods for Xenonauts but have no idea X:CE exists). The proper way to switch to X:CE with Steam is to switch the branch (as described) and X:CE actually ignores the xcesteam mod.

I'd expect it to be obvious, but since it's apparently not for a number of those 100 people who had downloaded 0.34 before it was announced: A release is released when it's announced, not when you download a random unannounced download that is possibly buggy (and it was).

Do you plan to release native build of Community Edition branch for OS X in Steam?

Do you plan to release native build of Community Edition branch for OS X in Steam?

That depends.

-> http://www.goldhawkinteractive.com/forums/showthread.php/13385-Can-X-CE-be-installed-on-OSX

Doesn't work on windows XP, the xenonauts.exe just gives an error about GetUserPreferredUILanguages in Kernel32.dll. Vanilla Xenonauts doesn't have this issue.

Windows XP is closer in time to the first X-COM than to Xenonauts, I am surprised there isn't more trouble...

Anyway, I've just added a fallback for XP, X:CE will then read your region's language, as UI language preferences didn't exist back then.

Thanks for the quick reply and fix but where may I download it?

Or will it be part of the next version?

Next version, I suppose you could go back to a previous one for now? Although I suppose I could upload an exe if that's inconvenient...

If it's not too much trouble an .exe upload would be really awesome.

Try this one, it's the 0.34 executable plus the XP fix. Please report back if it works, I had to do a quick fake-test since I don't actually have any XP available.

EDIT: See the file two posts later.

Hmm, I'm afraid I still get the same error. Good idea to test it on an actual WinXP machine heh.

Serves me right, though. Does this file seem better? I've at least verified it no longer imports the missing function.

034-winxp-fix-2.zip

034-winxp-fix-2.zip

Serves me right, though. Does this file seem better? I've at least verified it no longer imports the missing function.

It works well with XP.

Yes it works like a charm now. Thanks once again!

I'm having a crash error with the XMC mods, and I noticed that this seems to be an official v34 release, but mine says unofficial. Is this version supposed to read UNOFFICIAL still?

"unofficial" = "not a Goldhawk Interactive release"

ah, ok

now playing it after a long break, when I used version 0.32

feels like huge step forward, probably the most enjoyable thing is bigger maps variety. Excellent work, many thanks!

Is X:CE compatible with Linux Steam version?

Just one little nit picky detail that doesn't matter:

I noticed that the text for the Avalanche Torpedo mentions to be aware that the lock time for the torpedo is greater than the lighter sidewinder missile, but in the stats both missiles state 2 second lock time.

Looking in aircraftweapons.xml shows that both missiles require the identical lock time of 2 seconds.

Sooo... This seems like a possible bug in the intentions of the weapons?

Oh, before I forget, one minor problem I've seen in this game for ages is whenever I ctrl-esc out of the game to do something, like post in this forum, when I return, the base pictures at the top (the base selection area) show all my bases are non-existent. I can still click them, but I can't see that there is a base there to select.