Apologies to those who bought or updated the game and tried to get past level 3 between 11pm on the 14th and 11am on the 15th (Pacific time), you would have been blocked by a message telling you this was the Demo version. This was due to a bug introduced in Beta 0.91, itself a hotfix for a minor problem with the Steam leaderboards. As of 11am Pacific Time on the 15th this bug has been fixed (but to be safe, check the version number on the splash screen and make sure you are not playing 0.91).
Beta 0.91
FIX: bug with leaderboard entries being made for zero kills/levels reached
Beta: 0.92
FIX: bug limiting the game to the first three levels (introduced in Beta 0.91)
Xenomarine is now at Beta! The game is now complete in terms of having all the content and features originally planned (as well as a whole lot that was not originally planned but was added on the way!).
It's not yet transitioning to full Steam release for three main reasons:
1) While the game is basically stable and all known bugs have been fixed, a further period of testing and player feedback is expected to reveal additional harder-to-find bugs 2) Similarly, during Beta further testing and player feedback is expected to lead to minor game difficulty and balance adjustments 3) Finally, during Beta, further Steam achievements will be added
So if you'd like to help shape the final product please do use this opportunity to give feedback - the best place for this is the discussions section right here on the Steam community.
Xenomarine Beta includes improved highscore stats, Steam leaderboards and some significant changes requested by players, such as a 'bestiary' and the ability to continue 'adventure mode' games without restarting the level. Here's a full list of changes:
IMPROVED MORGUE FILES:
NEW: description of how player died added to morguefile NEW: number of drones/turrets hacked to morguefiles NEW: enemy kills screen now shows detailed Xenobiology info MOD: improved alien kills and general morguefile layout FIX: some incorrect alien images on alien kills screen
BESTIARY
NEW: can now access all Xenobiology info learned in each run via special Xenobiology ('bestiary') screen (using 'x' key)
STEAM LEADERBOARDS
NEW: Steam leaderboards added for highest number of kills and highest level reached
BALANCE:
MOD: increase hit points for medium and heavy turrets MOD: experience gain for destroying drones and turrets increased if unit is hostile MOD: no experience gain when player controlled drone or turret is killed MOD: night vision goggles battery life tripled MOD: further tweaks to difficulty progression FIX: advanced rocket launcher no longer has 20 ammo capacity!
UI:
NEW: added 3 new tips relating to xenobiology NEW: more detailed skill info on character screen including new perks NEW: push back chance shown with block info in inventory screen NEW: log messages now describe turrets as neutral or hostile
SOUND:
NEW: sound effects for alien plants and slicers MOD: improved railgun sound FIX: sound effect for large reaper fixed
OTHER FIXES/IMPROVEMENTS:
MOD: can now continue adventure mode games without restarting level MOD: aliens no longer not attack scout drones unless blocking path to another target FIX: movement controls improved to avoid accidentally moving two tiles with a keypress FIX: bug with pathfinding causing paths to be traced through turrets, causing infinite loop FIX: bug where flamethrower cannot be fired with mouse from targeting mode FIX: bug where flamethrower cannot be used to attack eggs when targeting an adjacent square FIX: bug allowing placement of turrets in odd locations e.g. pit tiles FIX: bug where not able to set traps on certain floor tiles FIX: bug where hidden mechanism detecter fails to reveal secret doors if player has already failed a spot throw for that door FIX: removed irrelevant xenobiology log messages for drones and turrets FIX: bug causing log messages which say damage type has been resisted despite 0% resistance
This is a pretty significant patch: with the new armor types and alien tech in this release, Xenomarine is now complete with respect to equipment (weapons, armor, items), at least in terms of having all items originally planned (I may actually add one or two more things yet, but these will be a bonus rather than part of the original plan).
In addition this patch adds 7 new perks (special abilities gained through skill progression) to the earlier 5, including such things as auto-reload, and 'push back' abilities - as well as a perk that introduces 'critical hits' to the combat mechanics. There's also a major overhaul of the way knowledge of aliens is gained and used, including new log messages to make this part of the game more accessible to players.
Finally this patch brings a significant adjustment to the difficulty curve that should be directly noticeable by players. While Xenomarine is still very much intended to be a 'hard' and intensely tactical game, the aim of this balance adjustment is to make the ability to get past levels 3-6 less dependent on lucky equipment finds. Instead you should experience a more gradual increase in difficulty as levels progress. However I would welcome further feedback from players on the new difficulty curve!
Overall Xenomarine is now close to being ready to ship: look out for the first 'Beta' release in the coming weeks!
NEW WEAPONS AND ARMOR:
NEW: 'superheavy' armor types NEW: 'heavy' and 'superheavy' helmet types NEW: high-level alien tech including 'singularity globe'
XENOBIOLOGY:
NEW: log messages for when knowledge gained about alien species NEW: +5 to hit bonus for a species earned after killing 20 aliens of same species NEW: ability to predict presence of aliens after killing 10 of same species
PERKS:
NEW: 7 new perks to be gained through skill progression
GAME BALANCE:
MOD: set trap should be on player square MOD: replaced 'throwing knife' with '10 powerpacks' in workbench MOD: number of shells/fuel gained at workbench increased to 10 MOD: minor reduction of number/difficulty of aliens in early levels, minor increase in later levels MOD: number of alien eggs reduced for early levels, increasing with level number MOD: limit (skill-dependent) on number of simultaneous drones
BUGFIXES AND MINOR CHANGES:
FIX: bug where neutral combat drones/turrets sometimes attack player at close range FIX: bug where unable to block when alien attacks from the right MOD: alien ammo renamed 'alien powerpacks'
FIX: bug where new enemy types prevented from spawning in levels 18-25 FIX: bug with advanced hacking kit not working and showing zero power FIX: bug where aliens keep attacking after death FIX: gun turret health not shown in mousehover info after kill of same type FIX: auto-movement no longer stopped by neutral turrets FIX: atomic vaporiser can now fire at walls/doors with ‘f’ key FIX: bug where aliens sometimes not revealed by bioscanner MOD: weight of medium boots increased to 3
FIX: bug where new enemy types prevented from spawning in levels 18-25 FIX: bug with advanced hacking kit not working and showing zero power FIX: bug where aliens keep attacking after death FIX: gun turret health not shown in mousehover info after kill of same type FIX: auto-movement no longer stopped by neutral turrets FIX: atomic vaporiser can now fire at walls/doors with ‘f’ key FIX: bug where aliens sometimes not revealed by bioscanner MOD: weight of medium boots increased to 3
It's a pretty big one! The 'Drones and Turrets' release add gun turrets to the game for the first time. Turrets can be either neutral or hostile and can be hacked in the same way as drones, and basic ones can also be found as placeable inventory items. This release also finally adds player move animation to the game! More details below.
DRONES AND TURRETS:
NEW: 3 types of gun turrets NEW: scout drones and gun turrets can now be found as equipment NEW: drones can now have weapons with incendiary or electric damage MOD: 'fire at nearest' command now ignores neutral drones/turrets as targets FIX: sound effect for combat drones FIX: bug where drones do not turn to face player when making ranged attack FIX: drones are now resistant to poison FIX: bug with mouseover info for drone resistances
GRAPHICS:
NEW: smooth movement animation for player MOD: 'key repeat delay' option changed to 'move speed'
NEW ITEMS:
NEW: power tool that can cut through walls/doors NEW: new hacking devices variants including hacking bonuses
NEW ROOM LAYOUTS:
NEW: 1600 new extra-large vault layouts
BALANCE:
MOD: stealth field battery life increased by 500% MOD: salvage mission targets now have minimum distance from player
JETPACK FIXES/IMPROVEMENTS:
MOD: jetpacks now come with enough fuel for two jumps FIX: jetpacks no longer allow movement through walls/doors FIX: jetpacks and field generators now sorted correctly in inventory FIX: using jetpack no longer avoids terrain status effects
OTHER BUGFIXES:
FIX: various inventory items incorrectly set as stackable in inventory FIX: incorrect number of unopened large equipment crates shown in data terminal
It's a pretty big one! The 'Drones and Turrets' release add gun turrets to the game for the first time. Turrets can be either neutral or hostile and can be hacked in the same way as drones, and basic ones can also be found as placeable inventory items. This release also finally adds player move animation to the game! More details below.
DRONES AND TURRETS:
NEW: 3 types of gun turrets NEW: scout drones and gun turrets can now be found as equipment NEW: drones can now have weapons with incendiary or electric damage MOD: 'fire at nearest' command now ignores neutral drones/turrets as targets FIX: sound effect for combat drones FIX: bug where drones do not turn to face player when making ranged attack FIX: drones are now resistant to poison FIX: bug with mouseover info for drone resistances
GRAPHICS:
NEW: smooth movement animation for player MOD: 'key repeat delay' option changed to 'move speed'
NEW ITEMS:
NEW: power tool that can cut through walls/doors NEW: new hacking devices variants including hacking bonuses
NEW ROOM LAYOUTS:
NEW: 1600 new extra-large vault layouts
BALANCE:
MOD: stealth field battery life increased by 500% MOD: salvage mission targets now have minimum distance from player
JETPACK FIXES/IMPROVEMENTS:
MOD: jetpacks now come with enough fuel for two jumps FIX: jetpacks no longer allow movement through walls/doors FIX: jetpacks and field generators now sorted correctly in inventory FIX: using jetpack no longer avoids terrain status effects
OTHER BUGFIXES:
FIX: various inventory items incorrectly set as stackable in inventory FIX: incorrect number of unopened large equipment crates shown in data terminal
This release adds 12 new base item types with new game mechanics, including some high-level alien tech and...jetpacks! Also some much-need bugfixes.
NEW ITEMS:
NEW: 3 new base stimpack types (each with many variants) NEW: 4 jetpack types NEW: Energy barrier NEW: Hyper-teleporter NEW: 3 new alien globe types (each with many variants)
QUALITY OF LIFE:
MOD: when right-clicking usable to add to quickslot last slot is selected by default rather than first NEW: can now use 'enter' key from new game panel to start new game NEW: improved size, look and location of inventory contextual menu FIX: some annoyances relating to selection of inventory items
SOUND AND GRAPHICS:
NEW: sound effect for aliens pushing aside floor tile MOD: Trilinear filtering added to player, alien and level sprites (less pixellation)
BUGFIXES:
FIX: bug with player armor resistances not protecting against enemy status effects FIX: problem (in some resolutions) with overlapping text in link from controls screen to setting screen FIX: total number of log messages shown reduced to ensure most recent log messages always fit in log FIX: bug where log message not shown when using item from inventory FIX: bug where batteries do not charge energy fields MOD: it is no longer possible to target friendly mobs FIX: auto-target no longer targets friendly units FIX: bug causing occasional 'teleportation' when activating auto-mouse-movement by clicking on inaccessible square FIX: error in probability for success when using mind globe FIX: bug allowing enemies to move twice when pressing 'f' to attack with throwing weapon or other device FIX: bug with inventory contextual menu for weapon enhancements and batteries FIX: mousehover info for aliens now includes special powers (e.g. regeneration) where appropriate FIX: bug where character screen does not show impact of 'weakness' status on 'to hit' FIX: bug where combat drones ignore effects of player cover when firing from a distance FIX: corrected description of dual-wielding skill in terminal screen
This release adds 12 new base item types with new game mechanics, including some high-level alien tech and...jetpacks! Also some much-need bugfixes.
NEW ITEMS:
NEW: 3 new base stimpack types (each with many variants) NEW: 4 jetpack types NEW: Energy barrier NEW: Hyper-teleporter NEW: 3 new alien globe types (each with many variants)
QUALITY OF LIFE:
MOD: when right-clicking usable to add to quickslot last slot is selected by default rather than first NEW: can now use 'enter' key from new game panel to start new game NEW: improved size, look and location of inventory contextual menu FIX: some annoyances relating to selection of inventory items
SOUND AND GRAPHICS:
NEW: sound effect for aliens pushing aside floor tile MOD: Trilinear filtering added to player, alien and level sprites (less pixellation)
BUGFIXES:
FIX: bug with player armor resistances not protecting against enemy status effects FIX: problem (in some resolutions) with overlapping text in link from controls screen to setting screen FIX: total number of log messages shown reduced to ensure most recent log messages always fit in log FIX: bug where log message not shown when using item from inventory FIX: bug where batteries do not charge energy fields MOD: it is no longer possible to target friendly mobs FIX: auto-target no longer targets friendly units FIX: bug causing occasional 'teleportation' when activating auto-mouse-movement by clicking on inaccessible square FIX: error in probability for success when using mind globe FIX: bug allowing enemies to move twice when pressing 'f' to attack with throwing weapon or other device FIX: bug with inventory contextual menu for weapon enhancements and batteries FIX: mousehover info for aliens now includes special powers (e.g. regeneration) where appropriate FIX: bug where character screen does not show impact of 'weakness' status on 'to hit' FIX: bug where combat drones ignore effects of player cover when firing from a distance FIX: corrected description of dual-wielding skill in terminal screen
As aliens coming up through the floor proved to be quite a popular idea, in 4.2 this happens more frequently, meaning you are never quite safe from the alien threat! In this patch there are also more weapons, and - finally - the ability to close doors!
MORE NEW WEAPONS
NEW: 8 new weapon types
MORE ALIENS COMING UP THROUGH THE FLOOR!
NEW: aliens now come up through the floor more often and at random (rather than just for missions)
SECURE THE DOOR!
NEW: close doors with 'right-click' or 'o'-key
OTHER
NEW : mouseover info for aliens now includes health, attack damage and attack type if player has previously killed aliens of that type. MOD: shooting an alien on same tile as trap now triggers trap MOD: aliens hatching from eggs are less dangerous types on average FIX: bug where shooting at teleport trap teleports self FIX: incorrect mousehover info for 'open door' and 'floor with hazard markings' FIX: ability to dual-wield no longer affected by 'to hit' penalties, e.g. from illness FIX: error in number of targets in mission description for 'drone virus' and 'plant life' missions FIX: scanner sound effect not playing for some scanner types
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A NOTE ON MIGRATING SAVED GAMES
It will sometimes not be possible to continue a saved game with a new patch such as this one. If you prefer not to update until you have finished your existing run, either change your Steam update settings, or 'roll back' to the previous version
To do this first quit and reopen Steam, then right-click Xenomarine in your game library and select ‘Properties’. Then go to the ‘betas’ tab and choose the version called ‘lastversion’ from the dropdown. When you close the window Steam should roll back the game automatically.
Then when you are ready to upgrade, follow the same procedure but select ‘NONE’ from the drop-down.