MrJenssen

I wholeheartedly agree with all your points, Chris. But the things you appreciated as a developer, I couldn't really appreciate as much as a player. I played Classic Iron Man too, but found it too "hard" for me. Not hard because I couldn't figure out good strategies. But because the game took my strategies and threw them back at me every time. No matter what I did, everything seemed random in the most wrongful ways. The game just kept punching me below the belt, it never felt fair. The original X-Com games never felt CHEAP like this. The aliens could feel cheap, some luck-based things sometimes happened that could also feel cheap. But the actual game always felt balanced, even on higher difficulties (Veteran was my place to be though). I ended up going down to EASY for the new XCom, just to see it through. I had grown tired of it. There was NO sense of strategy, no smart tactical decisions. Any decision could screw up your whole mission. But when you met a group of aliens and had them flanked, you'd be set to win, right? Nope. Because with "higher difficulty", the developer really meant "less fair". The only difference with the lower and higher difficulty settings, is that enemies take a ridiculous amount of damage, your men can die instantly when hit, the aliens ALWAYS hit you, and you NEVER hit them. EVER. It's not "classic" just because you use the word "classic". It's just cheap and unfair. And me being a die-hard fan of the old X-Com games, stating that something is UNFAIR to the point of it barely being playable, should say a lot - because UFO Defense and Terror could be bloody unfair at times too. So I ended up just playing on Easy. Even then the game took cheap shots at me, but at least now my men could get hit like 3-4 times before dying. I just wanted to see it through, see what the next research would lead to and where the story went. The combat-gameplay basically became the least interesting and entertaining part of the game for me, and I ended up focusing more on the other factors for entertainment. And for a game that's 90% about the combat-gameplay, that's not exactly a very flattering "compliment"....

If there would be grids implemented, they should at least make the option to activate/deactivate it, for those of us who don't want the grids to screw up the nice-looking maps.

You are very correct, I had completely forgotten about that mail. Found the mail in my archives and got the game registered now. Silly me. Thanks!

Hmm, well the e-mail I used to pre-order (unless you mean my paypal-email) is the same as I used on Desura. I thought there would be some sort of automatization with the linking...? Either way, thanks. I'll PM Chris then.

I honestly can't say I care much for the "it was the 70s"-argument. I find it silly. I'd love to have female characters in the game nontheless. It's not about the realism "because it's historical". I'm sorry but aliens weren't invading earth in the 70s either. We can allow ourselves some creative liberties. Females add variety, and the bottom line is: They were in the original game too. ... With that said, I completely understand what Chris is saying. It would just be way too much effort at this point. Maybe it can be done at a later time, or modders could try their luck with it. As for now, it's completely acceptable, and we all understand why it's not being done anytime soon. But yes, female characters would be a benefit somewhere down the road, eventually. I'm sure you agree with that too, Chris.

Okay so I feel really dumb for asking about this, because it just feels like I must've done something really wrong, missed something really easy to see, or something other.... but I just can't find the forum-thread for it, or the shiny green button saying "PRESS ME", so I've given up searching. I'd rather just ask here now. So... I pre-ordered Xenonauts a good while ago, before Desura came into the picture. I played the alpha some then, but haven't really tried it since (I guess I just didn't want to "spoil it"). I wanted to try it out later when it had gotten some more fixes/changes/progress. ... And now I felt that time has come. But to my surprise, I find it incredibly hard to find any way to download the game. I mean I registered an account on Desura, downloaded the client... I hit the "connect"-button but it just tells me I don't have the game. How am I supposed to link my pre-order (done through your original paypal-system), to Desura? In advance, thanks from a complete noob (and probably moron) who couldn't find out the solution for himself. Edit: Solved!

Yeah but don't forget what it is I'm talking about now. It's already random, most of the aliens will be found outside the UFO's either way as it is now. It won't really be any HARDER if you can't get to the UFO fast (which most of the time you can't), but it just adds a layer of predictability along with the randomness. You are able to predict and plan *a little* better what kind of a mission you'll be facing. For example in a situation where you have several downed UFOs, one large and one small. You might want to prioritize the large UFO first, as it will turn out to be a hell if you let all those aliens scatter before you get there. It can reward those who are fast at getting to the UFOs (if the UFO is close to the base, or you have no other current activity), but it doesn't really *punish* those who are slower. Again, most aliens are already randomly spawned outside the UFO, scattered around the map. This wouldn't change that for the most part (since you most of the time will not get to the UFOs really fast). It's realistic, isn't it? And I don't see it ruining the game in any way. It can just make a few missions a little easier for people who prefer to bottleneck the aliens. I just thought it would add some more variety, and since the aliens gradually start sending more and more ships as the game progresses, this feature could make it easier in the early missions. The curve wouldn't be so steep.

Is this already in effect, are the devs thinking about it? Or does it just sound stupid? To explain (if my topic didn't make it clear), would there be any consequences for holding back on attacking downed (or landed) UFOs with your troops? For example, if you attack it with your troops right after it lands, all of the aliens would pretty much guaranteed be in the UFO. But if you wait several in-game hours or days before doing anything about it, maybe a lot of the aliens would have gotten a chance to get farther out into the map, forcing you to spread your troops more. The same with terror missions. Say that you wait half a day before you go to it. Maybe most of the civilians will already be dead by the time you get there. I think this would help out a little with the planning. There would still be a bit of randomness to it (especially if you choose to wait), but I think it rewards those who are quick to eliminate the threats as they show up in the world map, rather than waiting. It just adds a little more variety, but also some predictability (in a good way). So, is this just a terrible idea, or does anyone else think it would be nice? Or maybe it's already a plan?