trueman11

@Chris Concerning the soldier stats and pool of available recruits. How about making it JA2 style, in that sense that making available recruits for a lower and a higher price with corresponding lower and higher stats, making the player choose between a few good ones, or more mediocre recruits, at least in the beginning of the game? Also, JA2 style, making them kind of specialists in one field, and mediocre or bad in others, and making available all-rounders too, but for a really high price. I agree that staff members/recruits pool being static is a really poor way to do that. Variety is the spice of life. This is a very good point @Viking1978 is making: Static characters have to be REALLY fleshed out and have a large pool to really be able to make a satisfying choice. Maybe make some hybrid system, like Fallout's SPECIAL and skills?? This gives A LOT of room for variety. One of the attractions of the original game and it's successors. Oh yeah! Although it has to be quality voice acting, as to not break the feeling of immersion. And obviously a variety of voices. Returning to the point made by @endersblade, about voice acting variety for static characters. JA2's success can teach a lot in that regard. Although it seems that depends on the route you're going to take regarding character/staff pool. A LOT of good points here. P.S. I'll keep adding some points, seeing as now some of them keep eluding me..

@Chris Also. I just went and looked at the X2 demo ground combat gameplay again, and those square "hills" and "mountains" just break the feel of immersion completely. On an otherwise beautiful battle map. And as I mentioned the music before, I'd like to mention the game sounds. All of them. Starting from mouse click sound, then to weapon sounds, and the ambient sounds or really lack of them. This I feel requires a lot of attention, if you're going to make progress from X1. And would it be completely impossible to make the map more organic, by getting rid of that black hole ouside the map, maybe doing it Fallout: New Vegas style, seemlessly hiding the edges of the map?!?.. I have a feeling that's a too big of an ask... P.S. I really want the X2 to evolve without losing the original game's feel, but rather evolving it. Thanks, Chris.

@Chris Regarding the similarities to XCOM: Enemy Unknown... You might be able to pull those mechanics off better than that game.. But PLEASE don't make it feel more like it! I feel the way is to make it feel more realistic, more immersive, and not so arcade-like as XCOM: Enemy Unknown is... The 3D setting gives you the field for acieving more realistic and immersive feel, please don't waste that possibility.. About fighting humans. I like the idea humans collaborating with aliens itself. But hybrids are a step too far, I feel. Maybe make those humans tougher giving them better armor, weapons, technology, make them cooperate with aliens in ground combat making use of alien's abilities. So that even human, they in a way feel quite alien. I LIKE this idea! Non lethal weapons against humans (even though they're alien collaborators) and a kind of different ending (maybe for the X-COM..sorry, the Xenonauts organization itself) depending on how you choose to treat your own species feels an interesting idea to me))... Provided humans do feel alien, like I mentioned previously. I kind of agree a lot with this too... Fighting humans if they feel human – is a huge step back, as I feel it. Disagree completely. XNT made the aliens feel REALLY strong, and there were basically no weak ones. To make aliens feel strong you need to make them REALLY smart, and come up with some interesting abilities that make them surprising and hard to deal with. This is one option. Although I have to say, I WOULD like to fight humans, if they FEEL ALIEN. It is all about the atmosphere, as I mentioned before. But many of those original X-COM fans won't like fighting humans at all. I wouldn't describe it like this at all. This is a rip-off of the XCOM: Enemy Unknown's mechanics. Just telling it as it is. And I HAVE TO agree with these point maid by endersblade.

@Chris I have to especially agree with this point TacticalDragon made: And this: I really enjoyed XNT's alien AI feel. Maybe you should take TacticalDragon onto your staff:) But I also especially agree with this point Chris made: I feel like maybe a few very-very tough aliens, with the AI and skill set that REALLY makes them behave differently, would be the thing. And not like in X1, where behaviour didn't really change from one alien to another, and yeah, they went down TOO easily. Although it should be mentioned, that in the original Enemy Unknown the aliens weren't that tough, but still much scarier than in X1, maybe through a better designed atmosphere, that actually made everything feel ALIEN, the whole situation. And the music, the music is VERY important too. X1 didn't impress on that front, although I kind of liked the music itself.

@Juvilado I don't disagree with that content is good and whatever little I saw I enjoyed, and frankly was looking forward to discovering all of the new content. BUT. The ground combat's pace is a deal breaker for me. So my disappointment is because of this I don't get to enjoy all of that new content. And for me ground combat is half the game. And I can't enjoy just one half. About a comparative analysis – to swing that I'd need to play more of both mods, and one being buggy as hell and the other is purely unenjoyable for me, I doubt I'm gonna do that. You could try XNT 6.0, I installed it with CE 0.34.3 just recently, and it at least did run with it. So I don't really know how buggy it'll be, cause I just checked if it'll run. I couldn't download XNT 6.0 from it's thread, so I got it from here (didn't install any other mods except Kabill's random map packs): And as I wrote earlier, analysis isn't really my kinda thing:) Not anymore:)

That is exactly my point.))) For me this feeling IS the core of any game.)) If the game does not create it for me, then it is not for me.) And exactly, for me analysis is shallow, unconnected to life, to the experience.)) To each his own I guess.)) Not on that one for the moment, but thanks You too, enjoy X-Div

Sorry, thought that was obvious from what I wrote. I didn't find in X-Div the same feeling that I found in XNT from the get-go, as I wrote. Can't see the point of playing a game when I can't enjoy it immediately. So are you arguing?!)) I am just expressing how it feels for me, and for me content is definitely not in the first place. For example there is much less content in UFO: Enemy Unknown, but I'll find there much more immersion, than in X-Div. Regardless of content. For you it might be different, I'm not denying that.) But it is like this for me.) To each his own.) I do not need to see the whole movie to feel if I am enjoying it.)) I guess we are coming at this from opposite perspectives.) I am writing about FEELING IT, and you are about ANALYZING IT. For me the only way to experience anything is TO FEEL it. Nothing can be experienced through analysis, thinking is always dead. See, I am not saying anything about the game, so there is no need to protect it's reputation, or sth)).. I am just sharing my impression.)) And I am sure there is a rare person out there who will understand what I am writing about.) I am afraid that is impossible.) This mod is too different at it's core, and it would take a modder who can understand what I am writing about, to really get it there for the ones like me (seeing as I am too incompetent for that myself). Seeing that you obviously not getting what I am going on and on about..neither does Charon apparently..so...) Yeah..)) P.S. You can continue repeating yourself all you want, your analysis just can not apply to my feeling.))

Seems, that you missed my point completely, Phoenix1x+52. I am pointing out that CONTENT DOESN'T MATTER, when there is no feeling of immersion. I tried to describe that feeling, maybe poorly, I don't know. But my point is exactly this – this is not an opinion, this is an impression. It doesn't come from analysis, from thinking things over, it comes from immediate experience. I can not imagine more to the point and more subtle subject than feeling from the game. Hey, maybe that's the difference exactly. You just can't get what it is for me in XNT, and I can't get what you are finding in X-Div. It's just individual perception.

@Dapifer Hell...a lot of things. Maybe I'm just a long time JA2 player, and that is the reason, but weapon AP cost is too high..it makes a turn too rigid, too...arcade? I don't know exactly how to describe that feeling. It just doesn't leave room to maneuver. In vanilla game that is exactly the same as in X-Division, but at least in vanilla accuracy of the weapons wasn't quite so nerfed. Makes me feel that I can't shoot a side of a barn with a machinegun (and that's a soldier with high accuracy). I guess this is done to somehow make weapons be different, give some progress to new and new weapons. The fact is that Xenonauts is not complicated enough to introduce much content without making it too similar. JA2 is 18 years old, and it has more of the mechanics to differentiate tons of weapons, which 1.13 mod illustrates amazingly. Obviously JA2 has it's limitations, but it's a much more complex game than Xenonauts. This basically breaks the feeling of immersion for me. Realism I guess. However out of place expectation of realism is in a game. But playing JA2 1.13, and even earlier Wildfire mod, the feeling of immersion in combat is very much there. Obviously the systems of two games differ much, but nonetheless. Now about XNT 6.0. I don't know what exactly made it for me so immersive...tough aliens, requiring shooting them with tens of bullets before they went down, unpredictable behaviour of aliens..the combat just felt streamlined, all parts just working in unison to create that intangible but very much real feeling of immersion. Aliens felt ALIEN, just like in the original UFO: Enemy Unknown with it's spooky music. I guess I'll never know what makes that game THAT for me. I guess the creator of XNT 6.0 and I have similar tastes in games and perception of what they should be. Albeit I lack the skills and know-how to actually create something like that. To summarize, X-Division basically breaks that feeling for me from the get-go, whereas XNT keeps it very much alive and thriving. Therefore I don't want to experience a moment more of the X-Div, and I want more and more of XNT 6.0 (it's a pity that a mod as good as that is not finished). Thanks for asking me this. Lets me share more of my impression of the game. Hope I kinda somewhat answered your question a bit. Ask more if there's anything at all.

I tried to play this one...after playing XNT 6.0 and it's dynamic ground combat, I just can not play this one... My impression is that the ground combat is TERRIBLE. Even worse than in vanilla game. Of course that is just my impression, to each his own, but that is my impression nonetheless. XNT 6.0 is buggy as hell, and eventually those bugs made it for me unplayable...but those few hours captivated me completely. Even despite the bugs. It just had that original feeling of immersion from UFO: Enemy Unknown...that will stay with me forever. The feeling that X-Division did not continue for me. The differences between the XNT 6.0 and X-Division 0.99.41 are huge, obviously. But for me content for content's sake is simply pointless. I do not feel this game, at all. And I FELT the XNT 6.0 in my bones. Immersion is invaluable, and content just simply can not replace it. For me. Obviously. Few games have that captivating quality for me, very few. And XNT 6.0 is one of them. Not the X-Division though. Not AT ALL. P.S. The new content is probably great. From what I've seen it is so. But without immersion...no point, just no point. P.P.S. Just to compare, Jagged Alliance 2 1.13 is a great example of MUCH content and immersion coexisting.

Is this link to the fixed mod package? What is the difference from this? If not the same, why not change it to the fixed one?

Can't remember or find any information about what research opens up Zephyr assault rifle. Can you remind me please? Thank you.

Thank YOU very much for your work:) You certainly captured the tension of fighting aliens, that original X-COM had:)

In what direction such rewriting would need to go? As I asked in previous post, can I somehow change all that, leaving all other aspects of this mod untouched?

It's not just that, although you can fire three shots per turn in XNT, be that snapshot or burst (and I'm pretty much firing bursts all the time). It's much more dynamic in XNT, and after trying that I just can't force myself to play vanilla game style gc. Ground combat in vanilla game never really captured me, and in XNT I'm sitting on the edge of my chair all the time:D (If you move a little in vanilla style gc – there's TU's for only one shot left, or not enough left at all, while in XNT you're able to move a little and fire two shots after that.) Please help me out friends. How do I go about incorporating XNT-style gc TU's consumption into this mod, leaving all other aspects of this mod untouched? Just by editing some xml?

I was looking forward to playing this mod, but to my disappointment found ground combat to be vanilla game style. After playing XNT 6.0 I doubt I'll be able to return to "1 shot per turn" mechanics, feels to damn slow and unrealistic. I am a long time fan of Jagged Alliance 2, including the famous 1.13 mod, and this type of combat mechanics feels too arcade-like, when no matter what weapon soldiers carrying, they can have only 1 shot per turn.

Just started trying out this mod, and already a funny bug/exploit – when AWACS catching up with UFO is given command to tail target, it is suddenly capable of flying at x3 of it's maximum speed (the speed of tailed UFO) Tried searching this thread for a mention of this, but didn't find anything.