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I have just made our first experimental build, V19, available to opt into via Steam. First, a word of caution. This build WILL cause any saved games you have made with the first Steam build to become obsolete - the game simply cannot load saves from the earlier version. The branch is also likely to be unstable due to new code being added. If you are enjoying a playthrough of the game you should not opt into this new build until you are ready to start over. In order to access the experimental build, you need to open your Steam library, right click on Xenonauts and click on properties. Click the Betas tab in the properties window that appears, enter the code "XenoExperiment" and click "Check Code". When that is validated, use the drop down box on that same page to select "Experimental - Latest changes, unstable" and then click Close. If this does not appear, restart Steam. Steam will then download the updated files for the new build, and you can begin playing. It's worth noting you can opt to go back to the non-experimental build if you want, using the same drop down box in the Betas tab. I'm not sure how often we are going to do the experimental builds yet, but uploading a new one every two weeks is probably a good target. There is a special sub-forum for bug reports from Experimental builds, the link being at the bottom of this post. We have been busy bees in the last couple of weeks, so here's the change log for you all: Fixes - C4 timers fixed when game is saved/loaded - Flashbangs should no longer affect NPCs on the other side of a wall from them - Audio volume during alien turn should be quiet during hidden movement, normal at other times - AI can no longer "see" and shoot outside their intended range by "guessing" extremely accurately - Removed code accidentally granting AI units TUs they shouldn't have (this caused lots of shooting while suppressed) - Fixed a couple of Ground Combat crashes relating to reloading pistols using quick slots and clearing inventories at the end of the mission - Corrected weapon stats on Geoscape to reflect current weapon values - Corvette UFO hull should now be properly hidden before its door is opened - Defensive aliens will now stay within the UFO - Unit suppression icons are now unaffected by darkness - AI units no longer "pirouette" at the start of their turn - Loading mods should be working again (mods folder moved to "assets") - Aliens should no longer spawn in base walls - Explored terrain in night missions will no longer be completely black - Fixed an issue that would give "missed" shots a significant chance to still hit their initial target - Fixed Shrike Terror site crash - Alien Leader interrogations no longer require unattainable research (now require Officer interrogation) - Fixed Buzzard armour mis-set sprites with stun baton - Enabled correct new burst fire sound for human plasma cannon - Fixed an issue where the Battleship could spawn with no aliens - Fixed name display of Alien Battle Rifle for research projects - Correctly setup many of the petrol station tiles, which were previously incorrect - Jumping through walls by vaulting over low cover next to a wall should no longer be possible - Significant under-the-hood changes to how items under FOW are handled, you should no longer see fire/smoke on top of FOW - Altered Landing Ship UFO submap to reduce instance of Xenonauts getting too close to the base of it and graphically clipping - Fixed Xenonaut base corner sprites so they are not permeable to shots - Fixed mission end smoke (explosives) crash - Fixed medical kit healing number Additions - Xenopedia now fully populated with first draft - New drone autopsy images - Medium and heavy drones now explode violently on destruction (careful now) - More painted over tiles for the town tileset - More soldier portraits in the general pool - More tiles and props for the Soviet tile set - Androns and medium/heavy drones now "move" at a slower rate (animation only) - Added some Italian regiments for soldier backgrounds (Giovanni at work) - The damage done to a unit will now display over it when hit (this is disabled for aliens on Veteran and above difficulties) - Added a selection of new community maps - Reworked alien turn and hidden movement screens Balance - Implemented new alien count per UFO type (4 for Light Scouts up to 16 for Battleships) - Grenades, Rockets and Alien Plasma Cannon shots no longer lose damage over range - Strength based maximum grenade throwing range implemented (5 tiles + 10% soldier strength) - Xenonaut vehicles made significantly tougher (x2!) - Xenonaut vehicles have slightly more AP - Shotgun BUFF - Fairly significant reductions in the effectiveness of Xenonaut weapon suppression power across the board - Damage of all Xenonaut precision rifles boosted a little - Precision rifles no longer have their 20AP aim level, so they are now in line with other weapons in having 3 aim levels - Alien Plasma Cannons deal slightly more damage - Reaction fire potential of MGs and precision rifle doubled (MGs probably still won't react due to burst fire bug though) - Sebillians now have the same visual range as Xenonauts (an increase for them) - Foxtrot interceptor weapon load reduced I will refresh the GC balance discussion post tomorrow. I am still in the grisly guts of the first pass at balancing the Geoscape, I hope it will at least be done by the next experimental build. If you experience any issues with the new experimental build, please post them in the Experimental Build bug forums: http://www.goldhawkinteractive.com/forums/forumdisplay.php/20-Experimental-Build-Bug-Reports UPDATE: I just (17/06) released a minor revision which fixes the medical kit bug and the explosives crash. It also adds some major changes to the alien turn/hidden movement screen.

I've managed to bypass most of the crash to desktop errors and save game corruption issues, plus I modified the manufacturing table to reduce the time and cost to build interceptors (I was getting carriers by month 4!) and now I'm in March 1980, no research since December 1979 to do and gathering 300k-1000k from each downed ufo I assault. Apart from building a lot of bases and outfitting my soldiers with sentinel armor / mag rifles, am I waiting for something to happen? Is there an end coming soon? Have I missed an area of research somewhere. Note - This is the steam build.

Just a quick update to say I've released a hotfix for the experimental build on Steam which fixes the following: - Fixed explosives/smoke crash - Fixed medical kit healing value bug It also adds the first pass at the revamped alien turn/hidden movement screen. This is very fresh code, so please report any bugs you see in the experimental builds bug thread. Your copy of Xenonauts should update automatically if you have opted in to the experimental branch. Be warned there is no guarantee of saved game compatibility between experimental versions. If you do not know how to access the experimental branch, please read this thread.

Maybe these have been suggested or mentioned before, and they're a bit obvious, so forgive me if i'm being redundant Balance: UFO missions could be somewhat more focused around the area where the players builds the first base, and all around in a minor scale. To make this somewhat realistic, at the start of the game, a. INTEL report stating that alien activity seems to be focused on one specific part of the globe, and suggest the first base to be built there. This doesn't go well with the player building a base wherever he wants, but then, we can build a base on Australia and lose from the very beginning. Right now the only good and viable starting spot is North Africa. I think this would add some freedom and variety. As an alternative, letting the player build wherever he wants and tune the AI to have increased activity on that area. That would ensure fair game and steady income. But still, building a base an New Zealand would be "at your own risk", good luck being a fisherman UFO over sea/water: Maybe i've been unlucky, but it has been happening A LOT. I'd hate to invest hours and lose a game because of such thing, either most just fly over sea, or they run and get destroyed there (or escape, if i have to RTB, after so much cat chasing rat). No missions-game over, and chased aliens should know better if they get shot down over sea, its byebye for sure, no chance for rescue or quick fix. Not to mention it destroys marine ecosystems! Immediately having having to rush for a second base makes sense, but it might end up in a dead end, like it happened to me on this playthrough - i rushed a second base on NA, got almost no activity for 1 month (a couple UFO over sea), and still lost the territory. Sure can still shoot down UFO there, but the funding is gone, and almost all activity is over sea (thus the ranting on the previous para). As someone mentioned on some other thread, a weekly or monthly activity report would help immensely. There has to be some sort of INTEL, right? Additionally or alternatively, there could be a report stating increased UFO activity somewhere else on one or more locations, and suggesting a base. Feature/mod: Radar stations: Deploying shorter range standalone standard radar stations, instead of having to build a whole base from scratch. Mentioning requesting cooldown/limited time/availability AWAC missions from countries may be a bit too much? This wont necessarily make everything much easier (because our aircraft may not have enough range to get there), but may help determining where things are happening. We're not swimming in funds. after all, and it's quite easy to get a truck with a radar on it. Alas no additional sprites, just a dot and a circle!