X3 Reunion Patch 1.3

[Malovech]

For those waiting anxiously X3 Reunion 1.3 Patch (http://http://www.egosoft.com/news/current_en.php#news283) is live.



New features:

- Mobile mining!
- Sector enhancements
- Complete tips menu with all game tips introduced
- Destroyed stations leave wrecks
- Previously missing ships have been activated (Argon Discoverer, Teladi Osprey)
- Missiles have a new look
- Intermediate products in a complex can now be selected in the "sell for best price" menu
- Intermediate products in a complex may now be bought, sold or both (global setting per complex)
- A new ship is available: the Split Caiman Miner

A more detailed list, including the balancing changes and fixes, is available in the readme file that comes with the update.

Note: Savegame compatibility is maintained from all previous versions to 1.3


Grab the patch here (http://http://www.egosoft.com/download/x3/patches_en.php)

[UnderHero5]

I'm probably going to pick this game up after Christmas, assuming I get some amount of money from relatives.
I'm glad to see they are working on all the bugs (since I've heard there are tons). They seem pretty dedicated to fixing them.
While I believe it's crap that it shipped like it did, I also realise it was most likely the publishers doing, and I respect the devs for working so hard to fix it.

[Odwalla]

UnderHero5,

The US release of the game still lacks a proper manual. The manual that shipped with the game is an incorrect early (very early) draft, not the final manual. Egosoft is still promising to put the correct manual online for download. They've been saying they'd do that for months, though.

It's not an easy game to figure out without a manual. While you can get some help from the forums there is an inordinately high percentage of jerks in there, though, who view any questioning about the games status as either whining or sacriledge and will bury a reasonable dicussion thread in moronic statements and personal attacks.

[Tia]

meh, I would be hard pressed to blame publishers on that. Egosoft has a nice track record of releasing bugs, err I meant buggy games. It is nice that they are working to fix them, but still a little upsetting.

By the way UnderHero... just FYI, X3 has no cockpits. There is a mod that slap on the X2 cockpits, and there are plenty of rumors on cockpits being added later. Just thought you might care, because it really annoyed me when I launched the game and found myself floating in space on top of my ship instead of a nice cosy bridge.

[Tia]

Oy yeah what Odwalla said. Also the game lacks any tutorial. Their forums search function is disabled because of "server load" which makes the forums 100% useuless to find any answers. And yeah, the X-fanboy don't treat you nicely unless you are one of them.

[UnderHero5]

Well I do have this topic I can consult. It was recommended on the Penny Arcade forums for beginners http://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?t=99274

Would you suggest me starting with X2 isntead?
I have never played any of the X games, I think I tried a demo of X2 when it first came out but my PC at the time couldn't handle it too well.
I now have a very nice PC and a sweet Saitek joystick/throttle to use, so I'm much more interested in the games. I just figured I'd get X3 since it's the latest.

[51|RandoM]

I've never played the series before, without a decent manual or tutorial I was quite lost when I started X3.

After a few hours, I decided it wasn't worth the effort since I have so many easily accessible games laying around. Perhaps I'll go back to it after I'm out of user-friendly software.

[Tia]

Well there are a few reasons to start with X2. First of all, story wise, X3 is more of an expension than a full flushed story. X2 has a tutorial, and X2 is nicer on your system.

All the rest I would prefer X3. Controls, manuvering, combat. In X2 the combat realky sucked, in X3 it is still not great but much better. Maybe you should try X2 demo again before you spend much money. X-series is definetly not for everyone.

[Apex]

Tia, have you played Eve online?

Would someone who likes Eve like X3? I've been looking at X3 for some time but have been unable to make up my mind coupled with that ive heard alot of bad things about it.

[Thenetcase]

Tia, have you played Eve online?

Would someone who likes Eve like X3? I've been looking at X3 for some time but have been unable to make up my mind coupled with that ive heard alot of bad things about it.

I play both.. there are similarities between them, but X3 has a better (twitch based) fighting system... where-as EVE Online is more like a traditional RPG ... sorta.

You'd enjoy both. :)

-TNC-

[hotdrop]

So the question of the day is .... Is it playable yet? cause it wasnt the last 2 patches

[Tia]

Tia, have you played Eve online?

Would someone who likes Eve like X3? I've been looking at X3 for some time but have been unable to make up my mind coupled with that ive heard alot of bad things about it.

What Thenetcase said. The Trading has improved a lot in X3. I am not sure if you can in EVE never played it long enough, but in X3 you can build a huge empire and you pretty much have to manage it on your own. X3 also support scripting and has active modding community which is a huge plus.

*shrug* I am not sure how much you can compare. But if you enjoy deep space games, and are not affraid of some complexity (and lots of menus), and can handle twitch fighting... that you will probably enjoy X3. It has slower pacing than most twitch games though.

Though I can pretty much say... Freelancer fans, use caution.

[MrPoo]

I hate to say it, but I would damn well near kill for a Freelancer 2.

It was the closest thing to Privateer 2 (which I dearly loved, for all it faults) I'd ever seen...

X2 was amazing, if not a bit confusing and cumbersome. Graphics were OK, but the engine itself was overly taxing. Loved the hell outta it, though.

So far I've been wholeheartedly disappointed with X3. From the absolutely HORRIBLE performance on SLI rigs, to broken plot sequences less than 1/2 into the game, to an utter lack of tutorials... this thing has the feeling of "rushed" all over it.

It hurts, being such a big fan of X2, and seeing this happen with X3. Granted, the graphics can be a spectacular improvement... but there's a lot more to Truly Great Games than simple Great Graphics alone.

I really hope they can get this together sometime soon. I wouldn't mind seeing an official apology to all their loyal, paying customers as well. I've never seen such a horribly buggy release--and I've played nearly every PC game, back to the original Ultimas and SSI DOS games.

[Savok]

I think I'll wait until 1.6 or so to pick this up.

[Tia]

X2 wasn't much better when it was released. But yeah X3 is a system killer.

Freelancer got boring after you finished the story. There was nothing to do. Freelancer was more about the fighting than anything else. And not even closed to what they promised. That being said it was still hell'a fun. But I would much prefer Freespace 3. Freespace 2 was hands down the best space shooter. I still get jeepers when I think of that mission that start with a battlecruiser almost crushing you. Great gaming moment.

[RandomViolence]

Freespace 2 is the pinnacle of space shooters as far as I'm concerned. How does this compare to that vaunted series?

[Thenetcase]

What Thenetcase said. The Trading has improved a lot in X3. I am not sure if you can in EVE never played it long enough, but in X3 you can build a huge empire and you pretty much have to manage it on your own. X3 also support scripting and has active modding community which is a huge plus.

*shrug* I am not sure how much you can compare. But if you enjoy deep space games, and are not affraid of some complexity (and lots of menus), and can handle twitch fighting... that you will probably enjoy X3. It has slower pacing than most twitch games though.

Though I can pretty much say... Freelancer fans, use caution.


Freelancer 2 would certainly be my game of choice... holy crap that would ROCK! I'd fork over double price for that game if I had to.

X3 lets you build a hell of an empire, true. But the cool thing about EVE is that you can not only build your empire/corporation, but you can also hire players if you want to (which, by the way, is a very good thing). Players can do anything for you pretty much... run bounties on people you want killed, protect your stations, trade for you, protect your trade vessels, etc. etc. It's pretty impressive what you can do.
The other pretty cool thing about EVE is the truly remarkable way that you can be a pirate if you want to. Basically forcing someone to give you all their cargo and money is pretty fun... If they refuse, wiping them and their pod out will DEFINITELY set them back-- sometimes much worse than just forking over some cash! Oh, but then they WILL place a bounty on your head and you'll be hunted by people. ;)

Anyways... X3 is the way to go (or X2, really) if you want a great single player game. But SERIOUSLY be prepared to battle a STEEP learning curve as you master the controls. My advice is, have your manual handy at all times and open to the controls page. Otherwise you'll be lost and confused much longer than you should be. It really gets tricky when you have more than one ship to command (although the benefits are naturally worth the trouble, trust me on that).

Freelancer 2, as I said, would be absolutely fantastic... If that ever happens ,I'l probably be lost in space for months just absorbing everything it has to offer.

Another game that you should check out is Parkan II. Apparently it's being released in the U.S. sometime this winter. From what I've seen it is very ambitious. You can actually switch to a FPS type interface (if you want to) and raid bases and planets on foot with your squads... Or you can board ships and do the same thing-- actually go through the ship working your way to the bridge where you either for the captain to surrender or kill him. Pretty ambitious, like I said. I've never played it, so I don't know if it's really as awesome as it sounds, but the COOL thing is that everyone I've seen on the forums said that it plays A LOT like Freelancer! And that, my friends, is a step in the right direction for Parkan II. I'm looking forward to giving it a spin as soon as possible.

Anyways, that's my long-ass post about what's going on in space near you. ;)

Peace.
-TNC-

[GoblinToe]

X2 was amazing, if not a bit confusing and cumbersome. Graphics were OK, but the engine itself was overly taxing. Loved the hell outta it, though.

So far I've been wholeheartedly disappointed with X3. From the absolutely HORRIBLE performance on SLI rigs, to broken plot sequences less than 1/2 into the game, to an utter lack of tutorials... this thing has the feeling of "rushed" all over it.


This was my statement for X2. Loved X:Btf, and X2 shipped as a buggy, unplayable pile of shit. They didn't make it stable enough to play until the second or third patch.

Which is why Egosoft lost me as a fan and I didn't buy X3.

I salute their vision, which would be fantastic if they could deliver a stable product. But sadly, I don't have the patience for waiting for a game, then waiting for two patches before you can enjoy it.

[TRiLoGY]

hehehe.. My favourite space Game is Frontier: Elite II

[Thenetcase]

This was my statement for X2. Loved X:Btf, and X2 shipped as a buggy, unplayable pile of shit. They didn't make it stable enough to play until the second or third patch.

Which is why Egosoft lost me as a fan and I didn't buy X3.

I salute their vision, which would be fantastic if they could deliver a stable product. But sadly, I don't have the patience for waiting for a game, then waiting for two patches before you can enjoy it.

What's really odd to me is that after installing Patch 1.3 I haven't had any of the problems other people are talking about. Even with 1.2 I had no issues. But with 1.3 my plot bug was solved and I'm continuing on. Not that there aren't any bugs-- I don't know yet. But regardless, I'm still playing the game and having fun. It runs GREAT (granted, I have a freakin' powerful system) and I haven't had any of the so-said bugs that other people are bitching about.

-TNC-

[Savok]

Might be all a memory issue then, the bugs only appear when half the game can't load because the game uses way too much power.

[Apex]

Thats ok, I already play Eve, have for a long time. Which is why I asked :D

[Karmakaze]

i had a ton of issues with this game, most already mentioned. However, the most annoying things were:

-Auto-save would crash the game one every 20 times or so.
-you can't alt+tab. once the game loses focus you can't get back to it (the screen just stays black and the last couple seconds of music loops).

These two issues caused me to lose several hours of work getting my first factory up and running, which is so frustating I haven't played it since.

Oh, and its 6 CDs (!) and has StarForce copy protection, probally the most annoying CP around.

[Savok]

On that note I'll wait for the patch that removes StarForce, if one ever comes.