Chris

Time for a development update. Firstly, Steam: you probably noticed we launched on Steam Early Access a couple of weeks ago. We're pleased to say that the game has sold strongly on Steam, and it's nice to see a number of people who weren't previously aware of the game finding it. The reception generally seems to have been good from the people who have played the game, so all in all I think it's been a successful launch. It has, however, been an enormous amount of work. Lots of customer support and marketing stuff to do, as well as the technical work involved in a launch (I've also been enjoying having a life outside the office over the past week). In the meantime, Aaron has stepped up his work on the balancing of the game. This seems to be working pretty well - the first Experimental build was released yesterday and there will be more of those coming in the near future. You can see most of what we've been working on in the Experimental build, but in addition to that we've been working on updating various parts of the UI. The Hidden Movement screen is getting an overhaul, because people were complaining that the full-screen pop up was a bit jarring. However, we didn't want to get rid of the HM screen entirely, because it is very X-Com, so we came up with a compromise that you can see here. We're also working on getting the Soldier Inventory screen to be a pop-up rather than a full-screen window. That would make loading it up much less jarring, and generally improve the experience. Regarding the long-awaited Geoscape UI updates, that's coming along OK. We're finishing off the updated Soldier Equip screen at the moment, after which there's only the Base screen and the Geoscape to go (so we've done the Research, Workshop, Stores, Vehicle Equip and Aircraft Equip screens already). Giovanni has already started work on the Geoscape, although that's a BIG job, so that'll take a bit of time. Also, even when actually released I'm sure the UI will need several iterations to tighten it up...but we're getting there. We'll keep you posted with how things go, but here's a possible spoiler for you - as the game advances, new background screens are unlocked for the important screens. Here's the final one for the Research screen, if you want a preview. So it's been a good couple of weeks and V19 is marching steadily closer!

I've created a special sub-forum for bug reports from the Experimental builds. Please don't report bugs from it in the main bug forums as it'll just confuse people!

Which version of the game is this?

This sounds strange, because I am running the game on both DX11 and Windows 8 64-bit on this PC (although it is a desktop), so I'm not sure it can be either of those things?

There's a bug in the Steam version where misses frequently don't scatter far enough to actually miss the target. It means long-range inaccurate shooting hits far too often. The next version will fix it (also means machineguns are OP in the current version).

Thanks for the feedback, I've given it a read.

Ah, this'll be because it has no crew set for that particular mission. Thanks for letting us know.

I've fixed that hedgerow up, thanks.

OK, fixed. Thanks.

Misnamed file, I've now fixed it up.

Yup, fixed now.

Mis-set tile. Fixed now.

Oh, she's a custom soldier. I'll fix that then.

This is very strange. I don't understand how you have a female Polish soldier at all, as there aren't any entries for female Polish soldiers. Maybe that's what's causing it? I'll have Giovanni look at it.

Thanks. We'll look into this one.

Thanks for the feedback.

OK, these should be fixed in the next build.

Good spot, thanks.

It's ridiculous that Steam aren't providing any support on this issue. We have absolutely no control over their download servers, we just upload a build to them - and as it's working for 99% of people, it's obviously not an issue at this end. Can you try changing your download region in Steam in Settings here: steam://settings/downloads If this works for you, please email me at chris@xenonauts.com so I know it's a valid workaround!

We'll need to rename the folders to fit our naming syntax, but we can just record the original names of the maps we decide to keep in a list as we go.

This is an updated set of maps, sub-maps and tiles for the mapping community to use (it's not really of much value unless you're making maps). I've put it together because the mapping community continues to impress, and I've added several sub-maps and a few maps to the game. There's also been some new tiles added. This pack lets the mappers stay up to date with the dev version of the game, so we can test their maps without them being broken due to using obsolete maps. So, here's the changes: - Some submaps added, largely Flash in the Soviet Town but a few in the Desert and a Town / Arctic submap from Stinky too - One of Flash's arctic maps has made it into the game - There are a few new tiles: Soviet factory props updated (recoloured, a few new ones added) Soviet outdoor props updated with new military props (sandbags, crates, a tank) Soviet flat has a full-size window Soviet government building has some new roof tiles and a full-length window that can be used to make shops Desert tileset now has a tank too You can get the updated pack here: http://www.xenonauts.com/devfiles/tilepack_V18_6June.rar (this will take about 90 min to upload, so don't start downloading immediately or you'll get an incomplete file. The full file size is 132mb!) Finally, just a note to remind people that there are red tiles for buildings in the Arctic too. I found them today and was surprised nobody had yet used them!

OK, so today has been my sub-map day and I've downloaded your files and had a look at the submaps there too. The Town tileset was interesting. I really like the idea of the swimming pool, so I've tweaked that a bit by replacing the roof and floors, changing the windows a bit and making the layout a little bit less congested. That's going in the game now, it'll be a great centrepiece for a Medium size terror map or above. Good idea, and I like the way you used the brick columns and the yellow lockers in particular. Nice work. Your house with the little garage attached, surrounded by a fence is quite nice. I don't think that tileset works so well as a house so I'm not including it, but it's a honorable mention. Like the Arctic tileset outposts too, actually. At first glance I thought they were too big, but once I've had a look inside the 20x20 ones I've changed my mind (the 30x20 ones are too big tho). I've modified one a bit, and added an inaccessible empty level on top of it so the roof looks less completely empty. I think that works pretty well. Your other 20x20 variant would work pretty well if it was dealt with similarly too. Also, remember, there are red tiles for the outposts too. Not every building needs to be blue! Even doing red variants of existing buildings would do a lot to make things look more interesting! For the farm, the way you've used the grass is interesting. I actually didn't realise I had those sprites, so I'll probably borrow that trick off you for future. Your outbuildings are quite interesting, but they don't quite work for me. I think it's the roofs. I'll think about it tho, as we do need a way to build smaller buildings than the barn so we can add a bit of variation to farm maps.

Flash - I've had a look at your desert submaps and added a few to the code. I've tweaked some of them, but I wouldn't necessarily say they were finished. I think they're a good start for a building though, and I'll probably come back and finish them at some point or you can continue to iterate them based on the changes I've made. Also, in some places on the Barracks map you've got 4 different ground tiles on one tile. If you need to paint an irregular shape, expand the submap until you can paint it with the tool and resize the submap back down then delete the excess. This means you'll only need 1 ground tile per square. Didn't see your police station map anywhere?

I've also updated your Arctic Light Scout map a little and fixed a few issues with the alignment of the water and the snow tiles around it, and that's ready to go in the game. Your other two Arctic maps are just variants on the same map though, so I've disregarded them for now.

Some cool ideas here. I'll release some new tiles shortly. There's some new ones for the Soviet tileset, some military (recoloured sandbags, gun racks, crates etc) and some more civilian (some shop-style windows for the government building). There's also a tank for the the desert tileset. Stinky - that swimming pool is a really nice idea.