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Xenonauts – Fortean Aliens The original X-Com game was based heavily on UFOlogy, that had been in full swing since the late 1940s. Elements of UFOlogy are in turn based on Fortean events stretching back centuries. In Xenonauts, a few of the key races resonate with largely reported alien races, as shown in The Truth is in Here series of Posts. You see other hints in the Geoscape events such as electrical storms and crop circles. Here’s a look at what X-Com type games could have looked like with even more of a focus on the creatures from these areas. [table=width: 730, class: grid, align: left] [tr] [td] Image [/td] [td] Name[/td] [td] Notes [/td] [/tr] [tr] [td] [/td] [td] Greys [/td] [td] With origins in the works of HG Wells in the 1890s, The Greys came to prominence following the abduction experience of Betty & Barney Hill in 1961, with many subsequent abduction claims citing Grey –like creatures. Their appearance in the 1977 film Close Encounters brought the Greys into the media spotlight. The breaking of the Roswell story, said to have occurred in 1947, in 1980 further cemented the Greys in the popular consciousness. They would appear in X-Files, Dark Skies and X-Com. The Greys are linked to Majestic-12, abductions, mind control,mutilations, alien implants and hybrid programmes Abilities: Mind Control [/td] [/tr] [tr] [td] [/td] [td] Reptoids [/td] [td] A number of abduction experiences in 1950s and 1960s involved creatures with reptilian traits. In popular fiction, shape shifting Serpent People were popular parts of RE Howard’s writings from the late 1920s and later part of what became HP Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos. These Serpent people looked to control society and have similarities David Icke’s late 1990s claims of Reptilians from the Alpha Draconis system holding many prominent positions in our society. The Reptoids are linked with underground bases, lost civilisations, abductions, government pacts, Shadow Kingdoms, and secret ruling elites. Abilities: Shape Changing [/td] [/tr] [tr] [td] [/td] [td] Chupacabras [/td] [td] Predatory Goatsuckers who have spread out from initial Puerto Rican encounters in the mid 1990s. Waves of animal mutilations have plagued the Americas for a number of decades, and certain reports from the 1990s involve these small bloodsucking creatures. In popular culture, a creature from the film Species is believed to be pivotal in the Chupacabras legend. Its image is now widely used for tourism. Abilities: Speed [/td] [/tr] [tr] [td] [/td] [td] Yeti/ Sasquatch [/td] [td] Tales of the abominable snowman increased as the West looked to explore the mountains of Nepal and Tibet. Various expeditions would find large tracks, rumoured to be of the reclusive Wild Men of the Snows. The creatures are also linked with similar tales in other continents of large, hominids who dwell in remote locations such as Big Foot and Sasquatch. Links to transformation and cannibalism are made through the Wendigo legends and HP Lovecraft’s Mi-Go (a Tibetan name for the creatures) take on an altogether more cosmic and terrible countenance.Abilities: Strength, Stamina [/td] [/tr] [tr] [td] [/td] [td] Mothman [/td] [td] A large winged creature first encountered in 1966 in West Virginia. It has been linked with aliens, precognitive visions and various supernatural events. It has also been linked with the collapse of a bridge. The Mothman gained prominence through the writings of John Keel and has been linked to UFO sightings and Men in Black. Abilities:Flight, Environmental Damage[/td] [/tr] [tr] [td] [/td] [td] Men in Black [/td] [td] Numerous witnesses of UFO phenomena have also reported subsequent visits by men dressed in black suits. The visits alternate between veiled threats to ignore the sightings and a release of related information. Explanations of both range from Air Force related attempts to cover up classified aircraft tests to disinformation following the rise of UFOlogy. Encounters frequently suggest that the Men in Black are possibly alien themselves. This manifests in strange body language, speech patterns and a lack of understanding regarding human culture. This also may be linked with disinformation activities. Men in Black are linked to UFOS, demonology, government cover ups and new world orders. Popularised in the film trilogy of the same name, based on the comic of the same name.Abilities: Infiltration, Fear[/td] [/tr] [tr] [td] [/td] [td] Nordics [/td] [td] invariably white, new age Space Brothers, the Nordics was not popularly used as a title until the 1980s. The Space Brothers were popular in Contactee reports of the 1950s, invariably warning mankind to change it’s ways or face various forms of cataclysm. The film The Day the Earth Stood Still may have been the source of this story. The Nordics are considered to be a more advanced, perfect version of humanity. This automatically provides dark undertones of racism and eugenics. There are tentative links between the Space Brothers and Ancient Astronauts. Through that link the Nordics are linked to Atlantis. Abilities:Nanotechnology[/td] [/tr] [tr] [td] [/td] [td] Mongolian Death Worm [/td] [td] First encountered by the west in 1926, the 5 foot red olgoi-khorkhoi can project corrosives and possesses an electrically based attack/defence mechanism. Despite its roots in the folklore of the Gobi desert successive expeditions have failed to find a trace of the creature. Giant versions worms can be found in the works of Frank Herbert and in HP Lovecraft Abilities:Acid Spit, Electrical attack[/td] [/tr] [/table] More to follow….

This was originally a v19 play-through in preparation for v20, but it seems the game updated when I thought I had it set not to, so surprise - we're doing v20! (que confetti) Head to v20 discussion here or click the link below to head to the playlist. (YouTube)I'd prefer comments be left on the video page, but if you hate Google+ then feel free to post 'em here instead. I completely understand. Soldier names are being accepted and put into play in random order, as that's the only way I can think to do it fairly (or at least evenly unfair) with as many names as I get.

Where Yeti has a new LP going about... [video=youtube;xOjDzIY3Yrs]

A few people have already found it (highfive), but I started up a play-through of Xenonauts in its current state several days ago. I've been doing update videos for a while but haven't had much time to really play it until recently, so it's effectively a blind play-through if you're into that sort of thing. I look at it as a way of seeing how intuitive and balanced it is for an X-Com veteran. I'm not very far in it and I need to restart already (Hotfix 1), but I hope some people are willing to come along for the ride. I'll likely accept volunteered soldier names later on; for now I'm sort of enjoying the defaults. I could use some help tip-wise as far as research paths and all that goes, but try to keep the backseat gaming to a minimum I intend to keep it going throughout beta. Some updates will probably break the save but that's fine. It depends on what the update does, but I may just get back to where I was off-camera if nothing in the early-game was modified heavily. Chances are I'll try to continue where I was and just refer to an update video for the details. Edit: Celebrating Steam release; started over due to popular demand: