Jump to content

New Website & Xenonauts-2 Details!


Chris

Recommended Posts

So I only wrote the last update on the project about ten days ago, but we've got more to share. The new Xenonauts website is online and I've also made the Xenonauts-2 Features sub-forum public, which contains a lot of detail on what we are going to be changing with Xenonauts-2 (and when in development it will be happening).

Firstly, though, I'll just mention that there's a new public build due out at some point this week. This will be the build that will hopefully mark the point where we start actively publicising the project - talking to journalists, using our mailing list, trying to build a bit of buzz around the game. We'd really appreciate it if you could give it a play when we release it because we've got a few days set aside for polishing / bugfixing - if you see any problems with the game then we can try and hotfix them before we start shouting about the game.

The build was due out last week, but progress was fast in some areas and slow in others so we ended up merging this build with the next one we had planned. The key features will be:

  • A new map, hopefully one that shows off elements of our map randomisation system.
  • The updated ground combat UI.
  • Support for cut-through of props and buildings above the camera level (e.g. it hides tall trees etc).
  • A new animation system that makes running look much smoother.
  • Various other small fixes and changes.

Onto the website: this can be seen at www.xenonauts.com (www.xenonauts2.com will soon redirect to it) and is a general website for the franchise, covering both the original Xenonauts and the upcoming sequel Xenonauts-2. The design is quite similar to the old site, but other than a general content refresh the biggest change is that the development update blog latest posts are now shown on the front page too. Should make it a bit easier to see when we post updates!

Finally, the Xenonauts-2 Features sub-forum. I've set this live after spending about a week writing the posts inside, each of which covers a specific change that we would like to test in the sequel. There is a pinned master post called the Development Roadmap which explains how the different phases of development will work and splits the planned changes into groups that give a rough approximation of when we will try to implement them relative to the other features.

It's important to note that not all of these features will necessarily make it into the final game. The first reason for this is that we may run out of development funds before we reach the end of our development roadmap - this is why we are prioritizing the different features and implementing the more important ones earlier. The second is that testing a feature is exactly that: a test. If we don't like the change or preferred the old system, we'll reverse it. So don't take these posts as gospel, take them as suggestions designed to keep you informed on our thinking.

That's it - please feel free to read through the new website and sub-forum and let us know what you think, and I'll post up another update when the new public build is good to go!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Glad to see the site is back.  I can't remember what the original site looks like at all, actually, so I'm looking at the new site with a fresh eyes.

Kind of wish there is X1 dev blog and updates in the news section, to bring home the message that X2 is building on a successful delivery.

Would like to see full screen background image(s) for a better game site feel.

Three screenshot for the same map is a bit repetitive.  Can we take away one of them and add some forest / tundra tileset and perhaps a concept art or two?  Not high priority as I am sure the gallery will expand as the development continues.

Also, not mobile friendly (responsive design).  Deal breaker.  Google will push the site down for this.
PC gaming is strong but most people surf on mobile.

Edited by Sheepy
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...