[Xenonauts Issues & Suggestions]

They dont have access to the engines source code, so all the it can be fixed...

...but its far too along and some things are stuck the way they are.

If you want this game to get a good review score and be profitable you should probably stop making excuses for the developer and start sending them some critical feedback on how to fix the damn game. Right now, it's not worth 20$ and if Firaxis games has any brains they will release an HD version of UFO: Enemy Unknown right before this game launces and it will be on GoG for 5$.

Now I like this kind of game and that's why im here giving feedback instead of just uninstalling it from steam.

[Uniforms]

Chris wants the soldiers to feel like existing real soldiers

That must be why they wear bright blue. Cuz you know, real soldiers don't need camouflage.

Wouldn't different uniforms mean new sprites for every animation?

Changing the color should be rather simple, the whole process can be recoded and automated throughout as many sprites animation as you want.

http://graphicssoft.about.com/od/digitalphotography/l/blps_batch.htm

[Xenonauts Issues & Suggestions]

sounds may be adjusted, it all depends on the final feel.

Tutorial will be the last thing done at the end, else it will need updating.

Allright, and a good thing they will have a tutorial.

The variation and the leaning are all down to sprite sheets. the game uses an old 2D engine that was picked by the initial coder and Chris now regrets but they were too invested in the game to switch engines.

That's no excuse, any engine you take has to be reworked to fit with your game and design choices. It's basically a programmers job to make it work. it's been 17 years since the original X-Com, and we had plenty of time to improve on our coding skills.

This means that every single armour has to be rendered at every single angle doing every single motion with every single weapon and object. Just changing the colour of the armour = 1000's of new sprites. Not saying it cant be done, but it costs a load in time and resources to get it all rendered, checked and put in game.

That's why you have layers in Photoshop and the ability to record and automate the process. It's not a very difficult thing to do and it certainly is not time consuming.

And because of how combat works, leaning is unlikely to make it in. It would make it too easy, since you'd have no risk in doing so.

Not good enough. Any decent game designer would find a way. It can be a reduction in accuracy or your position could be revealed. either way, it's a bad decision on their part.

[Xenonauts Issues & Suggestions]

Hi,

I have played trough a bit of Xenonauts and noticed a few things that really bothered me.

Line of Sight:

Enemy and Soldier's LoS is impossible to see. This is VERY frustrating and coupled with some odd decision to prevent the player from moving in contact with some objects like the bush makes this a tactical nightmare for all the wrong reasons.

X-Com has similar problems and was heavily criticized for it. It would be a good idea to learn from them. Your actions should be as clear as possible otherwise the higher the difficulty of the game the more frustration there issue will create.

The LoS should not reset every time I end my turn. I am rather confident that my troops don't have conversion disorder.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conversion_disorder

Some tactical situations have my men shooting from a corner, however, instead of leaning, they shoot right at the corner itself. There is no reason, what so ever, in any universe, movie, or fantasy where shooting at your cover, 30cm in front of you has ever given positive results.

Soldiers:

There is no distinction of any kind among the sprites of my soldiers. They all look like the same copy of the same character with the same weapon. It would be wise to have a variation of some kind, or at least show the names above their head.

My men, can't hit an alien the size of a refrigerator standing still in open terrain 20m away from them and are blind to anything past 30m. I am no expert but that's immersion breaking to me.

Lose the blue uniforms, they have no advantage.

Sounds:

Footsteps are way too loud and having the alien phase transition to a loading screen is so immersion breaking that any ambiance the game created so far goes out of the window. TAKE OUT THE ALIEN PHASE SCREEN !

Tutorials:

Your game needs them.

Here is a good representation of how your soldiers feel in battle:

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