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After more than two weeks we've decided to close the poll about our X2 Base Mechanics. The results were as follows: The voting pattern for this survey stayed fairly consistent from the very early stages of the voting up to the current level of nearly 2,000 responses: 50% were in favour of the old X1 mechanics, 40% thought the developer should make the decision, and 10% were in favour of the current X2 system. As the stated position of the developers is that switching back to the old X1 system would be better, the results overwhelmingly support the old X1 mechanics over the current X2 ones. As such, we're planning to immediately start work on implementing the old multiple-base system with the goal of getting it functional before we launch into Early Access. The specifics of the system will be as follows: All bases will have a construction grid upon which you can build base structures All bases can house aircraft and radars We will support X1-style base defence missions where you fight in a battle in a replica of your base, barring any unforeseen technical issues that prevent this The X2 system where you can assign scientists / engineers to specific buildings will be retained Dropships will fly around the map like they do in X1, and can carry out multiple missions in sequence (and be shot down) etc Your organisation will be able to build multiple dropships Staff and items will be global resources, so you can assign your staff to structures in any of your bases and your soldiers to any dropship The decision to make staff and items global is not necessarily our final decision on the matter, but we're going to see how the global setup plays before we make any further decisions. Making staff and items specific to each base is going to require a lot of coding time, is going to force the addition of a lot of new UI, and is going to react in an uncertain way with several game mechanics we're still experimenting with (like Strategic Operations). We'll therefore be making a decision on that issue later in development once we have a better feel for how it will affect gameplay. I hope the 10% of people that voted for the X2 mechanics don't feel too let down by this change, and I apologise if anyone bought the game on the premise that it would have the X2 base mechanics only to find they are now getting a game with the X1 base mechanics instead. Really, all I can say is that having tested both models I genuinely feel like the X1 mechanics are the best choice for the game. Thanks for reading!

The original Xenonauts lived up to the original XCOM and surpassed it notably in a superior air combat section and better art direction while preserving the best parts of the ground combat and discarding the chaff. I had hoped that Xenonauts 2 would surpass it even further, especially visually, in one of the biggest selling points was the new 3D game engine. What was already a beautifully realized game, I thought backing it would have resulted in something of a refinement rather than steps backwards and now I regret trusting them to stick to their original vision and instead give into a few noisy individuals. Instead we're treated to generic tetris-looking 'ships' rendered as alien storage units landing on earth. While you may have wanted UFO wall breaching, there's no reason to include it at all. It certainly does not improve the game play, despite what a vocal minority would have us believe. This is coming someone who bought the original game in 2012 when it was still in early access, played about 250+ hours of the original, CE and Xdivision combined. (Which I admit, doesn't make me the most veteran of players, but I think after that period of time I know what I like.) The original was nearly perfect. It was exactly what it needed to be and fit the vision of a spiritual remake of the original game as well as updating it to more modern mechanical and design sensibilities. The way Xenonauts 2 looks is a step backwards from the original, which I find very disappointing. There are things I like about X2, mostly the update to a modern time (I liked the Cold War thing too, but this is a fresh take on it.) and the new engine (Aside from the awful UFOs the rest looks really good. Though, to be a bit nitpicky, I kind of liked the old Ceseans. They weren't Sectoids which was a nice change, though I'm sure more visual distinction won out in the end which I fully appreciate.) Ultimately, I could have probably dealt with the air combat being boring, but what drew me to Xenonauts originally was the aesthetic. Everything worked together so well that even if there were weird LOS bugs or situations where it felt like you got shot through a wall, it wasn't a big deal because the whole experience was so put together. Now it looks like placeholder graphics were left in the game and frankly, it looks jarring and cheap when you see them in any context. Some people perhaps don't think that matters because as long as they get to explode the walls of the alien storage sheds with high explosives, they will be happy. Unfortunately, we went from very impressive looking designs to chasing down and trying to shoot down flying U-haul lots so you can invade them and play a very violent version of Storage Wars with the occupants. Aesthetics are important. That's the reason the Empire from Star Wars is so popular. Can you imagine people thinking the Empire is cool if the ships were just big rubix's cubes or flying tiles? It would probably drag down the appeal of the entire franchise. It would be like playing Doom or something and they replaced the Imps with pixelated Pac Man ghosts. No explanation for it. They're just there and you gotta kill them. Defenders come on and say that their big problem with Doom was the lack of 2D enemies because that's what was in the old game. Frankly, it just looks stupid and I'm finding myself wanting to just go play Phoenix Point or stick with CE and Xdivision. I know at some point a design decision was made to scrap the original UFO designs because you really wanted to accommodate players like stewpidbear who really wanted hull breaching and the simplest way to do that was to make flying plates of alienium brownies. I can tell you though, that there are players like me who thought the way UFOs were done in the original was perfectly fine and frankly think hull breaching is not only an unnecessary mechanic but one that reduces the enjoyment of the experience. What do I mean? When you design a dungeon (which is essentially what a UFO is) you can make decisions about cover layout, entries and exits. Enemy positions. When you allow anyone to just blow any wall down, most of that changes. If you follow a rule in which the layouts make logical sense (I.E. Do not assume your hull wall is worthless because it will be breached) then there will become an optimal entry point to any UFO, which at that point, means that you might as well just make that the assumed door for design and balance. If you chose to gamify it further than you have, then you would make the inside of a UFO equally protective towards any potential entrance, thus invalidating the entire point of breaching the hull. From a design and gameplay perspective, I just don't see any reason to include it if you have to sacrifice style and visual consistency. I want to end this by saying that I know you guys have put a lot of work into this and I do feel a bit bad tearing you down when I know you've spent the last 5 years on this. My reaction is out of love for what Xenonauts is and what Xenonauts 2 could be. I love most of what you've done, but these things, for me are dealbreakers. Who knows, maybe I'm the only one who feels this way, and if so, carry on. Thanks for making the original game and bringing me and many others so much enjoyment.

None of this is implemented but there's basically no AI yet so I wouldn't worry too much about it. Once we've implemented the first major AI upgrade we'll start to take additional action if the AI is still dumb and easily picked off. I'd rather it didn't cheat in most instances though!

Might just be the allergies but man, was it beautiful to see soldiers and civvies hiding in a room with no windows. Whatever gave them the crazy idea to not run out and die, it worked and got their asses saved. Just wanted to share that. Apologies for phone picture. My PC is demolished with neither USB nor internet working, so I decided it was either that or burning a CD. Great many thanks for the years of enjoyment I got from this beauty. Games that work without internet are a bit like Jesus. Dead, unfortunately, but also much revered.

Yeah, it's a known bug. The only way to preserve your savegame is to blow up the walls, lure the aliens to them and let them die as intended.

Must admit parked a vehicle at the end of the hallways, blasted any doors out of the way and then poured as much firepower into the rooms as possible! Took me longer to get certain stuff and research it, but kept my troops alive!