Impressions of the game and some questions

[Zeritol]

Hello all

This is not my first time plying Xenonauts so I cant call this my first impressions, however my recent attempt with version 13 is my longest time I have played a single game and the farthest in it I have gotten, so I had some comments to share and a few questions about the game.

I wanted to start off by saying that overall I have loved this game. The visuals, sound effects, and music were great. I also love the way you are doing the maps and that you give the map editor to fans.

Ground combat feels very well done. There are a few things I would like to see changed but they are minor and the game is not finished so I didn't expect it to play like it is. The only things that I feel are even worth mentioning is that It would be nice if grenades had a indicator for hitting a target before hitting your intended target like bullets do.

Air combat also felt fun and interesting. I am sure there is a lot that I have not discovered in terms of tactics and the like it it. It seems to be a much deeper system than X-coms air combat. In the beginning of the game things went really well. Shot down some ufos, did some ground missions, brought back cool stuff for the lab to look at. However after a while i seemed to hit a wall. All of a sudden I could not catch 90% of the ufos that would come, and even if I could there would be no way for me to kill them all. I doubt I am supposed to send 1 f-17 against 3 fighters and that was the only way I could cover all of the ufos on the map. I did have the mig and that could catch up with the fighters, but as I only had one it got destroyed every other battle. Once I get the mig am I supposed to sell off all my other ships to make a fleet of migs? do I need to make tons of hangers and ships so i have a chance at countering them all? Am I not supposed to be able to react to a lot of the ships out there?

This game is really good so far and I am very glad it is being made, however my experiences have made me feel like I am either doing something very wrong, or that the game is unbalanced at the moment. Either way I felt I needed to mention this on the forum to either find out what I am doing wrong, or to find out that its not just the way the game is at the moment.

Also random other question what do I need to get from a ufo to get to make laser weapons? I researched plasma pistols and rifles and the things that came after it and it seemed like that would lead to lasers, but it just stooped and I ran out of things to research.

Sorry for the wall of text. I tried to make it somewhat readable. I hope I succeeded.

[Gorlom]

The devs hasn't done that much balancing of the game up to this point they are mostly focusing on features and plan to do balancing in the beta (right now it still 2 major builds away from beta).

At the same time I think Chris intends that you should not be able to catch all the UFOs... to get a feeling of being ovrwhelmed with the alien invasion.

There are probably a few tips and tricks people can give you on air combat. Check around on the forum.

For the item from UFOs: have you gotten an intact power core?

[Vivisector 9999]

Yes, the game isn't balanced in air combat/UFO spawning yet. But I'll give you some advice on air combat all the same.

Both the F-17 and the MiG have their uses, and you should have both.

The MiG has the heaviest missiles and is faster. That means it can catch all those scouts who evade your F-17 fleets. (Its description makes it sound useful against larger UFO's too, but I haven't gotten that far.) However, the MiG's downside is that it has no cannon (only its four missiles) and no roll, so it is NOT a fighter. You should not use it against alien fighters - let your F-17's worry about those.

The F-17 has a cannon and can roll, so it can deal with alien fighters. I find it easiest to put one F-17 against each fighter (don't go after fighters when you're outnumbered). At the start, hold back one missile for each F-17. Wait for the alien fighters to finish rolling away from your first missile, THEN activate your second missile that you were holding back. The fighters will still be cooling down from their roll and get hit by the second missile. Then your F-17's can finish them off with their cannons.

Also, it's not strictly necessary to go after each UFO. After the first couple weeks or so, unless you spend a lot (probably too much) of your budget on extra hangers and planes, you're just going to have to accept that some of them will get away - and do well enough with the air combats (and ground missions) you DO get to make up for it.

[Buzzles]

Don't forget of course, that after 2-3 of months of game time (ie, when heavy plasma weapons and the bigger aircraft start appearing) you should be building the newer aircraft, which as an fyi are NOT available in the alpha yet, and you should also have managed to build up a stock of Alenium Missiles (twice as good as the Sidewinders) as well starting to equip your current fighters with laser cannons.

Once you start pimping out your F17's with Alenium Missiles and Laser Cannons, winning a 3v3 against alien Fighters without losses becomes a lot easier, and MIG's with Alenium Torpedos basically one shot the large scouts.

The better and faster aircraft will not only last longer in air combat, but should also be faster on the geoscape allowing you to catch more UFO's with fewer aircraft.