Akavit

I'm afraid the last time I played X-Com I purposefully sent my troops on night missions just for the sake of seeing the fire effects at night as I burnt down the entire area with incendiary rounds.

Just enough doom and gloom to initiate action is a good thing. Debating also serves to generate enormous amounts of traffic from everyone interested in X-Com remakes. That alone has value since people interested in XCOM may stumble onto this scene by reading these XCOM vs Xenonauts threads. I seriously doubt Goldhawk is going to give up but as mentioned earlier, the marketing approach is sure to shift. Firaxis is certainly aware of the existence of Xenonauts but its unlikely they are taking any special measures to market against it. I wouldn't doubt that the rising hopes of success for this game might have prompted them to announce their own sooner though. For competitors there's also Extraterrestrials 2 on the horizon but I don't expect to see them release until at least next year so there's no reason to factor them into the current situation (they are also not so great at marketing). ET2 is actually the game I look forward to the most due to the likelihood if its having unlimited modding capabilities.

I actually don't have any interest in Firaxis' new X-Com myself since I'm more of a hobbyist developer than a game player. I just tend to support companies if I like their overall business model, philosophy, public image and end-product. Truth be told it's likely I'll never finish Xenonauts but instead put it in my collection of other partially played games (most are picked up cheap via GoG or used). Though some may be hopeful that extra competition will result in better products I'm actually a little concerned that the opposite is more likely. Nearly all of the really big, competitive companies compete on price and marketing hype. Few attempt to compete on the quality basis since the average consumer rarely thinks beyond the immediate gratification. Names like McDonalds, Wal-Mart, K-Mart and Taco Bell spring to mind. I'll avoid mentioning software-related companies. Ultimately a software company has to make a profit to stay afloat and in the case of two games with similar release dates timing and media hype may very well prove to be more important for sales than the fit and finish of the product.

I think Goldhawk has a pretty decent chance of coming out in good shape despite the new XCom competition judging by the popularity of this thread. The large amount of views and posts this thread is getting indicate a lot of interest in both the new Enemy Unknown and Xenonauts. I don't have access to web analytics data for this site but I bet if Chris is using some sort of analytics program he'll see a spike in X-Com related traffic coming here over the next few months. It still very important that the players keep spreading the news and links to Xenonauts in whichever gaming forums they frequent. Don't spam but if it's permitted on the particular forum it wouldn't hurt to put clickable links to the various X-Com projects (with Xenonauts included of course) in the signature. Just be certain that forum or blog policy allows it first. On a side note, over 3,000 views in two days is incredible on a forum where topics seldom reach 1000 in a week.

I'm no expert on either system. I just know they are proven models for increasing traffic. On Facebook comments, links to Xenonauts and lots of friends would likely be key factors to attract more people. Unless I'm mistaken, recommending a website on Google+ can actually cause the Google search engine to start ranking a website higher on the list(assuming there are enough recommendations). Higher rankings means a greater chance of showing up on the all-important first page of a search. Since search engines are getting more and more savvy about ranking sites it's important to advertise naturally so that's why I would only encourage people to use Facebook and Google+ to help Xenonauts if they already use those social networking tools. If I were to sign up for Facebook right now and click the "like" button and post a few comments it might very well be dismissed as spam (it would be spam too).

My opinion on grenades: They should be quick use buttons as suggested by a few others, not quick slots for equipping grenades. One slot with toggle arrows that jump between grenade types. There should also be a number showing how many of the currently selected grenade type the soldier has. The rational behind quick use slots instead of quick-equip slots is simplicity. When the player uses the slot it is assumed that the soldier is using one hand to grab the grenade, throw it then take his weapon back in hand. Thus using the quick grenade button should cost a few more AP than using a grenade already in hand but perhaps not quite as much as juggling stuff around in inventory. In regards to soldier portraits perhaps they could have the soldier's initials at the bottom of the portrait?

That would be a good start. The professional looking videos are most important for something going onto Goldhawk's site since people will tend to assume that a hastily slapped together video indicates sloppy game development. For other people's video sites basic screen captures would suffice. Near-professional level editing for something as simple as gameplay videos only requires basic video software like premiere for those with the skills. I've got a little of the knowledge myself but no software or practice at it. I'm sure there are several folks that frequent these boards that can do it.

For what it's worth here are a more ideas on marketing tactics that should help Xenonauts without taking too much resources on their part. More videos for the YouTube Channel: Players with good video editing skills can create footage of gameplay, LP's and even trailers. These need to be of the highest quality and look professional. This would mean doing music, bumpers and lots of edits so there are many scenes showing off the animations. People could submit them to Chris and he could pick the best ones to put on GoldHawk's channel. It would be nice to get a few dozen or so videos up there. I refer to professional-quality videos and not simple screen captures uploaded and slapped onto YouTube. Currently the YouTube channel has this for a description: Xenonauts is a re-imagining of the classic X-Com strategy games, in production by Goldhawk Interactive. Visit the official site at http://www.xenonauts.com Perhaps it could be updated to include links to the Facebook landing page and to these forums as well. Players that have a Facebook account need to immediately go to Goldhawk's Facebook account and hit the "like" button. Perhaps a favorable comment on their page that mentions something along the lines of looking forward to the X-Com spiritual successor that Xenonauts is. If Goldhawk gets the Google Plus button on their site then everyone who has one of those accounts should immediately recommend this site. Anyone that frequents a gaming board should make mention of Xenonauts at every logical opportunity. No spam though. Make sure every post is fitting. Also be sure to put a clickable link to the Xenonauts site in the post. Get a mention of Xenonauts in the online articles about the new X-Com game. Don't spam or make comparisons to Firaxis' new game. Those who frequent such articles can post a comment like, "Now we have two great successors to the original X-Com! Until now there was only Goldhawk's Xenonauts for us X-Com fans." This is the piggybacking that folks have mentioned earlier. Use Firaxis' SEO power to promote Xenonauts. It would be best to get some clickable links to Xenonauts in there as well but I'm not sure how to do it without making it look like overt spamming.

Goldhawk has a Facebook page. If you have a Facebook account you can add to the "likes" of their page. Basically it just increases the presence of Goldhawk on that site. Since Goldhawk has lots of information about Xenonauts on Facebook it will direct people over here. Google Plus is similar though different. I use neither Plus or Facebook myself but it's a proven method of generating more internet traffic to a website. The buttons are little more than a quick means for people to inform the world at large that they approve of a specific site.

No I don't. As I said I don't use it. The point is that it's a quick and easy way to generate more internet traffic. It's sort of like having the facebook link on a website.

I would probably say X-Com: UFO Defense was my favorite. Rise of Nations gets my vote for best real time strategy. Fallout 1 takes the prize for best RPG. Operation Flashpoint wins FPS Mechwarrior 2 Mercenaries was my favorite cockpit simulator type game.

Hehe. Good one.

It's hard to recommend this website to Google when there is no Google Plus button to be seen anywhere. Not that I use that feature myself but I'm sure many other people do and would recommend Goldhawk if the option were available. Support Xenonauts. If it sells well enough maybe Goldhawk will make yet another X-Com re-imagining aka Xenonauts 2 (despite the objections of Chris to doing a sequel).

It's not the idea of any intentional competition that's a problem. The main issue is that until now Xenonauts pretty much had the limelight for genuine X-Com remakes. With a major publisher entering the picture there's a real possibility that Xenonauts will lose a lot of exposure due to the flood of marketing that any major publisher will put out to accompany their product release. If you do a search on XCOM or X-Com you'll see page after page of information regarding 2k and Firaxis but nothing about Xenonauts. I had to search for xcom remake to locate one link to Xenonauts on the first page. If Goldhawk doesn't market as hard as they can it's possible they could lose that place as more and more articles about the other game show up. On the other hand, if the users of this forum help keep the word about Xenonauts in the open (preferably first page on Google search of X-Com), it's possible to ride on the wave of publicity 2k is creating. Doing nothing will definitely result in loss of publicity for Goldhawk. In the world of online marketing your competitors are not always the people selling similar products but often the people who just happen to use the same keywords in their marketing campaign. That's why I hope to see a lot of the users here spreading the word. Post clickable links to this website on other forums, blogs and facebook pages along with a few words mentioning x-com remake.

Here's the actual post I made a few minutes ago: It's a bit off-topic but since I like to support independent software developers of promising games I thought I'd let people know about the only new game I've bought in years (first pre-order ever as well). As a developer of a PW I appreciate how much effort goes into creating professional quality games with a small team and budget so I tend to root for the little guys. The lead developer of that project has done a really good marketing job but I figured he could use the help spreading the news. I'm not sure how many of you are X-Com: UFO Defense fans but I thought a few people might have an interest in knowing about a promising successor. It's a game called Xenonauts and is likely to be ready for a 2012 release. This game looks like it could actually be better than the original X-Com with all the UI improvements. You can check it out on their website http://www.goldhawkinteractive.com As the title says, I'm still staying focused on development so no need to worry about me getting too distracted when Xenonauts releases. I'll try not to spend all my free time playing it. hehe Still, X-Com probably ranks as my favorite game. Burning down barns full of Sectoids never grew old. Or was that burning out wheat fields full of Sectoids? Hmm. Now I'm undecided... The title I chose was the following: Don't Worry, I'm Developing and Not Playing Xenonauts It probably doesn't hurt if the good folks in these forums drop the word XCOM a few times to help pull some of the search engines our way. hehe No spamming though. It hurts the rankings.

Marketing may be important but there are more ways than one to market. Xenonauts does show up on the first page of Google when I entered xcom remake into search so that's a good start. Being an amateur SEO (Search Engine Optimization) student I know that links from other sites are very important to get those top search engine results. The main page of this forum mentions that there are over 400 active members here. So I'm going to challenge everyone who reads this post to immediately find a suitable gaming site and put a link to this website in there along with a few appropriate keywords. Make sure the link can be clicked on as well. I'm an admin with a forum for a game that while unrelated my have a few old X-Com fans. I'll be posting something there shortly. I'd recommend getting some keywords in the post too. Make sure it reads well and doesn't look spammy. For optimum impact it's best if you are known fairly well where you're posting so it won't come across as spam. Suggested keywords: UFO Defense Enemy unknown remake UFO strategy game Here's a quick example of how I might word my own post: I'm not sure how many of you are X-Com: UFO Defense fans but I thought a few people might have an interest in knowing about a promising successor. It's a game called Xenonauts and is likely to be ready for a 2012 release. If you've hoped for a remake of that classic like I have then you may be interested in the project. You can check it out on their website: http://www.goldhawkinteractive.com Hopefully we can get 400 new links to Goldhawk out there.

Here is a variation of the pounds per tile idea merged with the above poster's reduced strength for reduced HP method. First of all each wall and floor would be assigned a weight (might vary for different tilesets). Load capacity would be equal to HP. If a soldier or a tank (hovertanks are excluded) is on top of the tileset it will add to the weight of the floor. Collapsing would occur when the combined load limit of the adjacent tiles and adjacent lower walls can no longer support the weight of the object. For the sake of illustration I'll start tossing out numbers. Walls: 200HP and 250 weight Floors: 100HP and 200 weight If a tile is damaged or destroyed the game will check the walls and floors the 8 adjacent tiles to see if they have enough HP worth of supporting objects nearby to prevent collapse.