Slippery Jim

You still have to play cautiously with the "hospital visit instead of cemetery mod". If you had too many soldiers in the sick back you couldn't fill your landing craft or defend your base properly. It added depth to the game more so than the process of reloading a save game because of death.

One aspect of the original X-com that I didn't like was death of my soldiers. You grow attached to them and don't want to always have to reload a save game. Let's face it, I bet almost everyone reloads a save game when soldiers die so it is somewhat of a useless feature. In the game "UFO: Extraterrestrials" there was a mod that I liked that removed permanent death for the soldiers and instead put them in the hospital for a period of time. The more hospitals you had the faster they would heal. Loved this feature.

After looking at those screenshots I am actually disappointed with the Firaxis version. It strays way too much away from X-com it appears. Stinks of console.

Thanks Chris

Room for both titles. I expect Xenonauts will be more of a true "sequel" to Xcom. By the way, I wouldn't be surprised to see Firaxis shills to start showing up in these forums. Game companies invest millions of dollars in AAA titles. Sending PR people out onto the internet is the cheapest form of advertisement for them.

Was just reading that Firaxis' version is expected to be released Fall 2012...so that probably translates as the next holiday season (probably November if they don't have too many slips). Xenonauts has until then I guess.

I agree that it has to be done carefully. What if Chris and team were to concentrate on making it more stable over the next while instead of adding new features? Deal with the crashing? Do you think it would still be a bad idea? Releasing an early demo certainly would get more news headlines and free adverts. Perhaps gamers are a little more used to the indie way with games like Minecraft releasing weekly updates (containing bugs). Just spit-balling ideas. My ideas aren't all gems

I can't seem to find any photos of the map editor or modding interface on the site. Perhaps post some? If you look at games like Arma 1 & 2 there are more people addicted to modifying the game than actually playing it online.

Hmm, perhaps this is a crazy idea but what about the idea of releasing a limited demo of the alpha or the beta? Do you think it will help in the rush to compete against the Firaxis version by gaining more fans earlier on? Be the first out the door and have a screen in the demo that explains that it is in development, that it is indie made out of love, and that includes a link to the site & pre-orders. Perhaps it would hurt (or maybe even help) pre-orders?

This may not be the proper thread to post in but I was wondering if Xenonauts does get released on Steam would it then become a problem for mod makers? Will all mods need to be released through Steam or will the mod makers still be able to release them directly to the public?

I guess I was the only one who hated the whole PSI thing from the original X-com. It drove me NUTS when you built up your team to have the aliens come in and take control over them. Death in combat was one thing but to have troops die from their own hand was painful. I am praying that this game gives a LOT of control over settings so that if there are certain aspects we don't like we can easily turn them off. Options...love lots of options in games.

Hi guys, my first post here. I must admit I didn't know about this project until I came across the story on Blue's News about the Firaxis version...someone posted in the comments about this game so I had to come see it. I am very impressed with the screenshots and videos I have seen. I am a huge X-com fan from the Amiga days and I was overjoyed to hear about both the Firaxis version and this version. In my humble opinion there is more than enough room for both versions. Although I haven't tried the alpha of Xenonauts I just want to chime in with my two cents. As a few people have already mentioned I think you have a few advantages over the Firaxis version. 1) Their version will no doubt be heavily influenced by consoles. It can't be avoided. Xenonauts will be a PC only title which gives the opportunity for so much more depth of gameplay. The design of the game is not limited in any way. 2) Indie games are so freaking hot right now. PC gamers are discovering that bigger budgets don't mean better quality. 3) No doubt the Firaxis version will be 3D. Your beautiful 2D artwork is very different and is a better match for X-com lovers. Their version will feel modern and different, whereas Xenonauts will be more what X-com fans want to see. 4) Mods. Mods. Mods. The ability to easily mod a game is such an advantage for PC games. I know you can make mods and maps with Xenonauts but is it also very easy for the public to install and use them? Personally I loved the way Swat 3 (an old game from 1999) had a simple system...all you had to do was put the .zipped files in a folder and turn on the mod to use them. Great system for non-technical people. Xenonauts should be designed from the ground up to support mods. Anyways, just some thoughts and words of encouragement from an outsider.