Ninothree

I assumed people were looking at the game files themselves. @Max_Caine was talking about having so much time to spare that they've been editing the JSON files.

I've quite a few threads along the lines of "the science doesn't make sense in this computer game", but very few threads to say "so how come we can open alien doors?" But yeah, the only way to storm entrenched defenders in a bottleneck is to cheese it. If you fight fair you just get shot. Sounds pretty dumb to me. I don't how much it has changed, but the last build I played gave smoke grenades 100% cover - I'm sure you could just throw in enough of those bad boys to get behind the enemy. It is all about getting creative with the tools you've got.

What you're arguing makes sense, but for it to work you have to model everything else properly: which is a big ask. It is a game, not a simulator. Although, there is a fair amount of support around here for a lean towards realism.

That premise was an utter let down. Fortunately, the story line up until that reveal was hardly gripping. (Can you be let down if you aren't holding on to anything?) I like the idea of reinforcements coming. Or any kind of timer-based difficulty really. But then, I have played a lot more XCOM recently, where aggressive play is sensible. Xenonauts is a bit more geared towards slower, more defensive tactics. In terms of the original point, having some kind of rescue/retaliation mission after an initial engagement would be good. Say you down a battleship, then because that is such a big prize, the aliens send out a squadron of fighters to ambush your skyranger. It would be good to see the geoscape utilised more fully: for the flight paths and positioning of your aircraft to do something interesting. Like drawing out some aggressive UFOs or patrolling an area to block them. As far as I'm aware, most aerial engagements are little more than a direct interception, possibly with some choice as to which UFO you pursue.

yes, I too have a wish list including a weapon that can shoot adjacent enemies at the same time. The spray and pray room-clearer. I guess the rocket launcher filled that niche before, but it would be nice for an automatic weapon to have a similar function when near point-blank range. Arc firing with the LMG. Although I don't doubt the people on the forum who actually know about guns will correct me that such uses of a firearm aren't realistic. I guess what I'm hankering for are weapons that are fun. You ever play Halo? The gravity hammer is ridiculous. Even sillier than that gun that fires floaty-explodey pink needles. But I don't think I've ever had such fun or satisfaction in a game as when launching enemies skywards. Well, I guess that is what mods are for.

Teleportation isn't that crazy a concept. At least when it is envisioned as space folding (Dune) and not beaming matter (Star Trek). Although it does require a bunch of hand waving for why you can't just teleport-bomb the enemy. Or just teleport the enemy into the sun, etc.

Bring extra weapons to equip the NPCs!

What you're describing sounds like progress through Technology Readiness Levels, or R&T vs R&D. There is stuff on the chalkboard, then there is a prototype in the lab, then there is an assembly line. For gameplay this would enable non-linearity and specialism. The research tree wouldn't just be a checklist. And you could invest in more research projects within your favoured branch and gain synergy bonuses e.g. +5% damage for researching the whole family of laser weapons. Overall, it would make research decisions more complex as you'd need to balance theory- and practical-based projects. Also, it would make the science in the game better reflect science in real life (as a process). That shouldn't be taken lightly. If it were to be taken further, I'd like to see dead-end projects that are randomised in each playthrough, e.g. Laser Grenades: either a sick early-game boost to your thrown weaponry, or, just a waste of time because you can't make grenades out of lasers you silly.

I would also like to see the LMG receive a different role: lower accuracy and higher rate of fire, ideal for suppression. But if snipers are going to penetrate low cover, then that completely changes the defensive landscape. It might make more sense to have penetration based on cover type (high/low cover, hard/soft cover). Whilst interesting, I'm not sure it would balance. Unless combat were made more deadly all round - working on a premise that engagements don't last longer than a turn or two. That way, a sniper blasting through cover wouldn't be OP in comparison to your medium-range shotgun. That could also carve a niche for nimble SMGs at the shorter range. In fact, sidearms as a whole aren't really functional as it stands; they're only really a Hail Mary when your enemy is on low health, your primary is empty, you're out of grenades and you happen to be super close (at that point, you may as well have a throwing knife).

Civ:BE had a technology web as opposed to a tree - this was a big breakaway from the main series. It determined your campaign and play style, much like building an RPG character. As you say, it is good for replayability. There is a difference there in that it is about branching, not skipping. I like your idea that the science you jump to is determined by encounters/captures of certain tech. That entwines the combat and research elements of the game. One of my favourite activities in these games is to discover ways to rush a playthrough. The Slingshot expansion for XCOM1 allowed that. It exposed you to plasma tech and the loot from a battleship much earlier than you normally would find it. They were challenging missions but produced some nice spoils. I think that recovery of key assets / alien artefacts is a much better trigger than simply lining up the research projects in a sequence.

ah, I remember the old firing squad outside of the door tactic. The memory is all nostalgia but the original experience was a grind!

Wow, this new mod support is super convenient thanks. I'll give it a go, see if it can produce the desired effect of area denial.

I was thinking that 5 with the LMG is too little. I was wondering if there could be another fire mode for the gun, one that uses 95% of your TU (enough to turn and shoot) but unleashes a full 10 rounds. That would place the LMG as more of a fixed gunner who could lock-down a cone of the map.

Yeah I think the GOTCHA mod was needed in a lot of cases because there are a bunch of LoS issues in the xcom engine. It was a good crutch, but like I said, it did feel like it left some avenues open to cheese the game.

Is a good idea. Bu it might not even need to be an icon integrated into the ground combat interface, it could simply be the option to access the xenopedia from the pause menu. If you've got the interrogation report, you know you've made that capture. On the other hand, a richer iconography would be welcome. There was a mod for XCOM2 that played with that, giving your cursor info about the move you were about to make: environmental damage, which enemies you'd have in line-of-sight etc. Although that mod took it a little too far by showing you the tiles that would trigger enemy overwatch shots.

The Starship Troopers book gives the cost-per-soldier a good treatment. Bootcamp is not a quick experience.

did you say 30-40 NPC RADAR sites that you have the option to go raid if you want to make some extra cash on the side? Yup, with you on that one

Yeah I think the standard geoscape is pretty empty and boring. At least the 1994 geoscape was a globe - which, if technically inferior, was a bit more interesting to look at. I don't think the visuals need to hit the bleeding edge of AAA gaming, but there is no reason to have a dull view - especially when so much of the art elsewhere in the game is nicely crafted.

So the delegate option could be split out, with the player either giving the crash site to the Soviets or the US? At least in the 3rd world / non-aligned nations that makes a lot of sense.

I'm not sure that is true. You need both, and keeping the balance is the point of the decisions you'd face. It all falls down to how well the resources are employed by the game's mechanics (in this case, counting reputation and xp as resources). Usually, reputation/panic level is a kind of health meter for the geoscape - the underlying problem is if you win all your battles then you don't need to play for reputation because all the supporting nations love you. That would mean that the logical choice would be to take on ground missions yourself, and bring on the tedium. The game mechanics need to be geared such that delegating is attractive only some of the time.

I get where you're coming from with this, but I dislike that kind of difficulty curve. It effectively reduces the scope of viable tactics so you're left with fewer and fewer options. Conversely, difficulties like adding a new alien type changes the mix of strategies you can use because there's a paradigm shift (I'm pretty sure that is what paradigm shift means, correct me if I'm wrong). Although if the point is to use it as a game timer then yes, that completely makes sense. As for the OP, I think part of the problem is that the pace of xenonauts is supposed to be kinda slow, but if there is no edge to a mission, then there is no tension. In such cases, the slow pace is more of a drag - it is those times when you look at the next mission as a chore, rather than a challenge. Whilst I think @Mik1984's autoresolve suggestion isn't bad, I don't think that automating the main part of the gameplay is the best answer (unless the strategy layer were beefed up!). It would surely make more sense to spice up the ground combat missions in that mid-to-late phase of the campaign. Something like secondary objectives: to make as many live captures as possible, or resolve the mission in the fewest turns. If your squad is so overpowered that you'd risk autoresolving it, then they should be able to clean up with the stun batons.

sigh...don't you just hate it when you get newbs on the forum who've never even played the original

Congratulations, you just brought a knife to a plasma fight

I like the idea of seeing friendly aircraft flying around the map. I really like the idea of watching them go down in flames, then sending my fighters to finish of the UFOs.