Buildings and Windows

[jimbobfury]

So, I'm curious as to how other people feel about taking cover in buildings and using windows as firing positions in Xenonauts?

I remember in UFO:EU, a favourite tactic of mine was to storm a nearby building and fortify it, letting the aliens come to me to an extent. The building seemed to offer a great degree of protection, and setting soldiers up to reaction fire from windows as aliens entered their LOS was pretty exciting.

In Xenonauts, I can't put my finger on why, but I feel as if being in a building actually hinders me more than anything else. The LOS through windows seems unclear and a little wonky, having to shoot the glass out before you can make a shot is a pain as your trooper often misses...and firing through a window seems to negatively affect your soldiers accuracy, which is completely unintuitive (firing through it from point blank, not squeezing a shot through it from a few tiles away).

Are there any planned changes to their implementation? I'm not sure if these are classed as balance changes, so maybe they'll come later, but I'd personally like to see:

- Visible indicators of LOS your soldiers will have through each window

- Windows providing a higher cover bonus than most objects for a unit positioned adjacent to it

- The current issue of windows you're firing from negatively affecting your shot being removed

- A suppression penalty, so units positioned firing out of windows are actually easier to suppress (representing units outside 'buttoning up' the building to allow assault units to close in and giving a disadvantage to balance things out

- Sturdier walls, especially with regard to ballistic weapons (a rifle shouldn't really be able to destroy walls at all. Give explosives a niche role)

- 1st, 2nd and 3rd floor windows giving some kind of bonus to a shooter (range? accuracy? LOS?)

I just think making buildings more appealing to control will open up a range of options for the player. When you land and scout the map, finding a 3 story building with good fields of fire would be a real bonus, and a priority target area to take and hold.

Also, if the AI is smart enough to recognise these benefits too, the thought of having to breach and deal with an alien sniper firing on your troops seems pretty cool to me.

[Max_Caine]

jimbobfury, I'd take a look at this thread as some of the points you bring up here are brought up there. Also in it, Gauddlike demonstrates it's possible to mod windows to be opened and closed like doors!

[jimbobfury]

Ah, thanks Max, I'd not seen that thread sorry!

Well, it sounds as if something can be done to make windows less of an annoyance then, which is good. And it's good to know I'm not the only one who found them to be a bit of a problem.

Cheers man.

[Corporal Hicks]

In the current build I don't think that it's necessary just yet, the AI isn't challenging enought (yet), I just make my soldiers run in all directions after exiting the Chinook, don't even bother taking cover.

I remember when playing X-Com I was extremely cautious when exiting the dropship, the first step out of it and already a plasma bolt was flying in your direction.

[jimbobfury]

Yep, that's the feeling I hope we get with the final game; a sense of fear about exiting the chopper, rounding every corner and entering every building.

One thing I've found that helps a little with this, even in the current build that you may want to try, Hicks; increase the site range of all units, but making sure that the aliens always have a small advantage over your troops. This has lead to plasma shots flying in as soon as I disembark the Chinook, just like the good old days!