Hello, i have played a couple of hours of the backer build 1 until i’ve beaten the map.
The things i have noticed and liked were:
The dynamic music is great - no more 30 seconds loops that play endlessly (yes i am looking at you Firaxis Xcom)
Transparency triggers on your mouse cursor and in relation on which elevation floor you are looking at (Firaxes Xcom 2 can learn how it’s done properly)
The art style is great, gritty and dark.
“Injury System” (limb damage, torso, head) is a great addition, reminds me of Battle Brothers permanent injuries and the ones that lay a debuff on your soldiers performance during the battle.
Things that i am not so fond of:
Camera rotation is at 90o, i would’ve like it to be an option to turn it at 45o instead. Gives a better perception of positioning.
Alien grenade spam - constant bleed - unable to use med kit because of low will power.
Action camera is wonky just like it is in Firaxis Xcom - I always deactivated the action camera mode because it is showing weird angles of walls or is just being obstructed.
Things i don’t know how i feel about:
The really long line of sight of aliens and your own soldiers.
If a sniper was close to a crate and picked up ammunition for a rocket launcher then died, the rocketeer is unable to pick up that specific ammunition from the dead body.
Boss running into buildings destroying everything with no repercussions.
Destroyed environment objects disappear.
Soldiers weapons vanish when they move, and their movement is very goofy. I guess it cuts turn times and makes it more responsive than watching a guy holster his weapon, run to a position and pulls it back out.
Overall i am pretty excited, this was a great first impression in comparison to the demo mission Xenonauts 2 put out.
Camera rotation is at 90o, i would’ve like it to be an option to turn it at 45o instead. Gives a better perception of positioning.
We’ve already spoken about this, and we may be making it free rotation.
Alien grenade spam
The AI isn’t yet balanced, though they will tend to use grenades if they have no other option, or your men are all grouped up (I personally have had very little trouble with alien grenades).
Action camera is wonky just like it is in Firaxis Xcom - I always deactivated the action camera mode because it is showing weird angles of walls or is just being obstructed.
This we know. Cameras at the moment are only very basic in the way they work (and there’s a good technical reason for this), but it’s something we’re working on.
The really long line of sight of aliens and your own soldiers.
The Mist and Perception systems haven’t been implemented yet. These will effect sight lines.
If a sniper was close to a crate and picked up ammunition for a rocket launcher then died, the rocketeer is unable to pick up that specific ammunition from the dead body.
This is a known bug.
Boss running into buildings destroying everything with no repercussions.
I’m reading (and hearing) a lot of “isn’t implemented yet”. The game is/was planned for a Q4 2018 release as far as I know. Are you still confident that release date is at all achievable? It sounds to me like there’s quite a lot of basic systems that have yet to be implemented.
The Q4 2018 has always been an estimate. Though, just because a system or mechanic hasn’t been implemented in the currently public build doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist in some form within the development environment.
I don’t mind at all the game being delayed way into 2019 if it is necessary. I’d rather wait a bit more than to get a rushed game with unfulfilled potential.
