The_Hibbity

I knew it was an alternate history, but didn't know it was meant to be 2018... is there a link or any info the developers have behind that choice? Honestly curious.

Hey there, That is correct, it was an audio track I made after playing through the most recent public build. If you want to see a review with gameplay, I have included the my first video, which goes over Xenonaughts 1. I have included the dot point summary above^ of the main things I talked about in the 10 minutes. As I said with this thread, I have not decided about this game whilst it is still in Alpha. On the contrary, I made that audio track and have started this thread to discuss with the creators (and the community) about issues that don't seem to be being talked about. In fact, almost every major publication that has covered Xenonaughts 2 seems like they have not played it, or its prequel, and are making wild claims about it. That is dangerous, because without honest feedback, developers won't be able to get reliable third party opinions to base some key decisions off of. p.s, I have gone back through the video to try to see what you mean by "start to talk about numbers". Do you mean the example reviews I have been finding online? If so, that's examples of what is being said about the game, which Chris just proved my point above^. The reviews that are circulating are being made by people who clearly didn't play it, or else they wouldn't be making claims like the weapons and damage are balanced... Chris himself just said they aren't (and that makes sense for this part of development; thanks for clearing that up Chris!).

That's a completely valid point; my intention was not to take up your day. I find verbally talking about something more efficient for getting ideas out there, but I can see why I should have included a summary. Also, my bad, I'm pretty new to actually posting on here, rather than just reading, and thought I WAS on the xenonaughts 2 section haha. Okay so in summary, my main issues I am seeing so far are these (I understand its in Alpha, but these are why I am bringing these up now): - The graphics. The first game had such an impressive style, I really am shocked you have moved away from that. It was both simplistic, but also had a place of its own. I get that the introduction of 3d will change how it looks, but its the separation AWAY from the style that I am getting at, more-so. - TU overhaul. It makes sense, not completely against it, I just feel that it needs work for balancing. There DEFINITELY needs to be a TU penalty for accessing the backpack. As it stands, TU does not feel anywhere near as important as it did in the first one, and it seems to have lost its sense of "urgency". Have you yet to balance this, or is currently just a placeholder? - Game balance. As you have already stated you haven't even looked at that yet due to the production stage, no dramas - thanks for clarifying. - Portraits. Your portraits in this so far are superb, BUT I feel don't really fit the time frame. Does that make sense? Not trying to crap on the effort the artist has put in because they are REALLY well done, but in the first game they had the 80's mustache, hair, etc, that made it really breath the time it was set in. As it stands the portraits, while great, look like modern day (2018) characters. - Absolute lack of cover needed. This may be a game balance thing that you have yet to address, I am not sure. As I don't know, I needed to include it. In the first game if you didn't grab cover your soldiers were dead, almost in any stage of the game. In the demos I have played so far cover is really, really not needed and almost seems tedious given how little impact it offers. - Stance doesn't affect accuracy. This is a decision I can't understand; if you have the time, what led you to this choice? Was it a coding thing, or was it simply outside the scope of what you wanted to do this time around? - Phone game appearance. With the new way you are going about the game I am unsure if how it looks visually (character and environment design-wise) in its current form, is close to how you envisioned it. If that IS the case, I STRONGLY suggest you try to flesh it out a bit, given that the current look shares visual elements from stuff I could imagine seeing on an involved phone app. Cheers for reading, and for replying earlier. Like I said in the video, I am only saying these things because I WANT Xenonaughts 2 to succeed. What I saw in the first game is nothing short of brilliant, and I am looking forward to the final edition of Xenonaughts 2; in saying that, I am giving my personal feedback to try to give some perspective that I feel is maybe lacking in a lot of the feedback I am seeing sent your way online. I am SURE there is many that I can't see as an external body, but just in case, I decided to address it. Best of luck with the game; I hope it works well for you!

As a massive fan of the first game, I have been testing the new Xenonaughts 2 on and off, hoping to see a direction change which I feel just doesn't seem to be coming. I've included a recording to my review of this so far (08/08/2018), and sincerely hope the dev's listen, or at least explain their choices. Xenonaughts 2, as it stands today review: For reference, this is my review of your first Xenonaughts title, where I go in to a lot of depth about what makes it attractive, and what, in my and many of my associates minds, made it so good: Like the title of the thread, this is not meant to put you off; see it as tough love. I want you to succeed, but after seeing many reviews of this which clearly miss the point and the magic of your first game, I felt I had to make this. All the best, and I do hope you see this review for what it is intended to be.