Leaderboard

Xenonauts 1 was fantastic from a gameplay perspective, but everyone I've talked to has agreed it's biggest weakness was a lack of style and flair. The in-depth research texts, the world radar screen, and the music are awesome dark mood setters, but there's also areas that lack that personality. And not all of it needs to be grim, having some aspects that are cool or cheesy or lighthearted has been proven in boatloads of books and movies and games to be a great way to amplify the dark stuff by giving it some contrast. So here's just a random sampling of little touches that I think would elevate the game's mood- More voicing. It's basically a staple of strategy games to have low-budget cheesy-but-straightfaced voice acting. If you write up a script and go "nah that line is embarrassingly lame", that line is probably perfect. The "oof" and "ugh" of soldiers dying is kind of let-down. It doesn't have to be professionals, just get everyone in the office to do their most genuine "AAAGGGGGHHHHHHH" or "IT BURNS" or "GAAAAHHHH THE PAIN" Just a quick little "orders?" or "yes?" when you select a soldier. Pilot radio chatter while executing orders. "Ready to sortie" "Moving to intercept" "Boat deleted" "Moving!" "Taking point!" "Firing!" "Eat this!" "Reloading!" "Smoke out!". EVERY action should be accompanied by a variety of lines. Special rare lines for very specific circumstances to surprise the player. Hitting a UFO door with a high explosive: "Knock knock!" Throwing grenades through the window: "Delivery!" Stun baton an alien within their own ship: "Two hour parking limit!". Just some semi-witty silly stuff like that to give soldiers some humanity as compared to the cold aliens. Same with aliens. More hissing, and louder. Lotsa green spray, and green blood decals on more surfaces than is necessary Have civilians scream and freak out. Maybe sometimes assist the Xenonauts by pointing in the general direction of where they saw aliens? And for more stuff on the sound front- have the dropship's engines revved up and have a visual effect kicking up dust around the ship. Makes it more dramatic when it feels like the ship has just touched down moments ago and is ready to leave at any second. And just more ambiance in general. Have shotgun users do a big loud reload pump after every shot. The coolest part about shotguns is the whole "CHK-CHUCK" after firing. More physics force on ragdolls when killed by explosives. More blood. Blood on walls, blood on clothes, blood on hands after performing first aid, green alien blood on soldiers shooting at point blank. More mess. Bullet casings, rubble from bullet impacts, plasma burns, shattered glass, spilled coffee and scattered papers in office buildings, little junk like that. Throw weapons on a random nearby tile after dying. Give a very small chance of misfiring after being dropped, for that extra bit of chaos. Have smoke last longer, but lean over and be pushed away from its initial spot by wind. I'd like to hear what other cute little touches the community thinks would elevate this game