X3:Terran Conflict Trailer!

The most underrated space sim is set to have a new title coming out this year.

If some of you have never played the X series and aren't afraid of steep learning curves and a massive universe for you to explore at your leisure, then look around for X3:Reunion. Its a great game that no one really ever talks about here sadly, although the community is still going strong. By the time you finish it, you'll be ready for this one! :P

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/31552.html

As a combat sim, X3 is lackluster. If trading and economics is your thing, then the game has a lot to offer.

I prefer Independence War 2 myself.

It's really a mix of everything.

I'll give an example of my current X3 game.

Start with ship, no money, get a main plot introduced. You can decide to follow that or go off exploring(think Elder Scrolls in space). Get overwhlemed by how huge the world is and how little guidance you get(a la Morrowind). Fly around, do escort missions, scout missions, etc. to gain cash. Eventually you can buy bigger ships, better software and guns to outfit your ships.

Now think bigger. You can eventually save up and get yourself big Capital ships, and you can buy more ships to act as your wingmen. Heres where the RTS comes in. You can build a full fleet of ships, and theres a command automation system integrated into the game that lets you issue commands to each of them(follow you, escort a ship, patrol a sector,etc.) Now lets take it one step further. You can eventually buy actual factories and stations. You suddenly have a trade sim. Decide going price on your goods, max buying price for supplies needed, assign trade freighters to go off and sell your goods in other sectors of the galaxy.

I'm only scratching the surface here. I had this game for 2 years, but only about 2 months ago have I given it another chance, and I'm glad I did. This game is so deep, you just always have another thing to look forward to because it uncovers its awesomeness layer by layer. Its biggest con is its steep learning curve, but like Morrowind, it is worth it in the end, especially if youre into sci-fi space stuff.

Sounds like Port Royale 2(which I love) in spaceLonelynight

Well, then I suggest checking out the forums here ;

http://forum.egosoft.com/viewforum.php?f=2

And if you're interested, you can buy it off Steam for $20. Not bad at all.

http://www.steampowered.com/v/index.php?area=game&AppId=2810

So what's new? All you can see from the trailer is that you can shoot at ships. The trailer only shows combat so this leads me to believe that there will be huge changes to the combat that will actually make combat a fun and a worthy aspect in the game. So is that true? Or did they just show combat in the trailer because it just looks cool?

I've got all the games in the series so far, but have yet to finish any of them!! :D

There is simply so much to distract you and keep you busy that I usually forget about the main plot, and either focus on building a big trading empire (though some of the automated systems stuff confused the hell outta me), or raiding pirates to try and steal their ships.

Starforce has forrtunately been ditched, though it is on retail discs. Buy through Steam to be safe from SF, or buy a disk version and apply the official patches before playing.

Ok, you've sold me!

I considered picking this up a while ago but thought it would suck away too many hours of my life. It looks like it still will, but it's a price I'm willing to pay since you keep referring to Morrowind (which I love) and in space (which I also love). But I do have a few questions-

Is it worth picking up a joystick for? I've played the demo with a gamepad and it's just overwhelming, but I can't say that I find kb/m to be too intuitive.

Can you recommend a good website/guide to teach me how to play the game (not exploit it or do things most efficiently, just a good overview of all of my tools)?

If this games consumes my life, you will be hearing from me Mr. Crazed! :P

Start with ship, no money, get a main plot introduced. You can decide to follow that or go off exploring(think Elder Scrolls in space). Get overwhlemed by how huge the world is and how little guidance you get(a la Morrowind). Fly around, do escort missions, scout missions, etc. to gain cash. Eventually you can buy bigger ships, better software and guns to outfit your ships.

TheCrazed420

Actually it sounds alot like this game:

Which I LOVE!!!

It's really a mix of everything.

I'll give an example of my current X3 game.

Start with ship, no money, get a main plot introduced. You can decide to follow that or go off exploring(think Elder Scrolls in space). Get overwhlemed by how huge the world is and how little guidance you get(a la Morrowind). Fly around, do escort missions, scout missions, etc. to gain cash. Eventually you can buy bigger ships, better software and guns to outfit your ships.

Now think bigger. You can eventually save up and get yourself big Capital ships, and you can buy more ships to act as your wingmen. Heres where the RTS comes in. You can build a full fleet of ships, and theres a command automation system integrated into the game that lets you issue commands to each of them(follow you, escort a ship, patrol a sector,etc.) Now lets take it one step further. You can eventually buy actual factories and stations. You suddenly have a trade sim. Decide going price on your goods, max buying price for supplies needed, assign trade freighters to go off and sell your goods in other sectors of the galaxy.

I'm only scratching the surface here. I had this game for 2 years, but only about 2 months ago have I given it another chance, and I'm glad I did. This game is so deep, you just always have another thing to look forward to because it uncovers its awesomeness layer by layer. Its biggest con is its steep learning curve, but like Morrowind, it is worth it in the end, especially if youre into sci-fi space stuff.

TheCrazed420

Just curious, do you use any mods? If so, which one?

Trailer looks interesting.. I saw alot of new ships in the game I did not recognize at all.. It may be good.. Hopefully they increase racial tensions so we actually see a large scale war in the game between races..

Other then that I would like to see some actual useful static defenses for starbases..

Ok, you've sold me!

I considered picking this up a while ago but thought it would suck away too many hours of my life. It looks like it still will, but it's a price I'm willing to pay since you keep referring to Morrowind (which I love) and in space (which I also love). But I do have a few questions-

Is it worth picking up a joystick for? I've played the demo with a gamepad and it's just overwhelming, but I can't say that I find kb/m to be too intuitive.

Can you recommend a good website/guide to teach me how to play the game (not exploit it or do things most efficiently, just a good overview of all of my tools)?

If this games consumes my life, you will be hearing from me Mr. Crazed! :P

Vampyronight

Mate be warned its really complicated. Ive been gaming since 1995 and no game has confused the hell out of me more than this one. Its a good game if your willing to commit time to it. I STRONGLY recommend heading over to egosoft's web site (just google it) and print out a strategty guide, or a few of the ones theyve got, and a sector map. The map kinda spoils the exploration bit a little, but it will save frustration by the bucket load.

Its a good title, incredibly deep, makes oblivion look shallow imho, the graphics are still very good with huge gleaming ships and planets and such, but make sure you patch it with the latest patch and be warned the voice acting is utter utter cr*p during the missions lol.

good luck!

[QUOTE="TheCrazed420"]

Start with ship, no money, get a main plot introduced. You can decide to follow that or go off exploring(think Elder Scrolls in space). Get overwhlemed by how huge the world is and how little guidance you get(a la Morrowind). Fly around, do escort missions, scout missions, etc. to gain cash. Eventually you can buy bigger ships, better software and guns to outfit your ships.

GPAddict

Actually it sounds alot like this game:

Privateer pic

Which I LOVE!!!

I never played the original, but loved Privateer 2: The Darkening. It was the first space combat/trading/exploration game that really got me hooked. The X series is a sort of spiritual successor of this, so you will probably enjoy it.

To one of the other posters - you don't HAVE to use a joystick, but it is much easier to play with one. If you don't have one already get one that has plenty of buttons, as this will make use of them. I use a Saitek Cyborg Evo and it works great. I've seen people playing with a mouse and keyboard, but it can be a struggle to keep up when you need to turn fast while dog-fighting

[QUOTE="GPAddict"][QUOTE="TheCrazed420"]

Start with ship, no money, get a main plot introduced. You can decide to follow that or go off exploring(think Elder Scrolls in space). Get overwhlemed by how huge the world is and how little guidance you get(a la Morrowind). Fly around, do escort missions, scout missions, etc. to gain cash. Eventually you can buy bigger ships, better software and guns to outfit your ships.

Avenger1324

Actually it sounds alot like this game:

Privateer pic

Which I LOVE!!!

I never played the original, but loved Privateer 2: The Darkening. It was the first space combat/trading/exploration game that really got me hooked. The X series is a sort of spiritual successor of this, so you will probably enjoy it.

To one of the other posters - you don't HAVE to use a joystick, but it is much easier to play with one. If you don't have one already get one that has plenty of buttons, as this will make use of them. I use a Saitek Cyborg Evo and it works great. I've seen people playing with a mouse and keyboard, but it can be a struggle to keep up when you need to turn fast while dog-fighting

I liked Privateer2, but loved the original Privateer more. Just in case you might want to play the original (for FREE), go here:

http://wcuniverse.sourceforge.net/

BTW if they were to make a Privateer 3, I would buy it right now, man I hope they do, its a shame its been this long and still no Privateer 3!!!!

Ok, you've sold me!

I considered picking this up a while ago but thought it would suck away too many hours of my life. It looks like it still will, but it's a price I'm willing to pay since you keep referring to Morrowind (which I love) and in space (which I also love). But I do have a few questions-

Is it worth picking up a joystick for? I've played the demo with a gamepad and it's just overwhelming, but I can't say that I find kb/m to be too intuitive.

Can you recommend a good website/guide to teach me how to play the game (not exploit it or do things most efficiently, just a good overview of all of my tools)?

If this games consumes my life, you will be hearing from me Mr. Crazed! :P

Vampyronight

Just head over to the forums(I've linked to them above). The community is extremely friendly and there are boatloads of great info and guides to everything on the site.

As I and others have said though, its very overwhelming at first. Basically your initial goal should be to get a better ship, be it through saving up money by doing trade runs, or capturing a ship in combat. The latter is probably easier and quicker. The game becomes a lot more enjoyable once you are out of that lowly Argon Buster.

And I use KB/M. Works just fine.

Never played any of the other games in the series before, what game does it play like?Lonelynight

It plays like EVE Online, only singleplayer instead of MMO. Its very deep, complex, slow-paced, but very rewarding. Its more of an economic game than a full blown combat game.

The depth is where it really shines, however. You start out in a small ship but as you trade you build your empire. You can build space stations that make energy, then have a fleet of merchant ships haul energy cells from there to other stations that buy them. You can create factories that make food, weapons, and other material.

In terms of complexity, I'd say its the "Falcon 4.0 of space sims"...very complex, lots of controls, and windows upon windows of user interface to stack up on eachother.

If you want a true space simulator and not an arcant sim, then X3 is for you. If not, I recommend Freelancer or Darkstar One.

[QUOTE="Lonelynight"]Never played any of the other games in the series before, what game does it play like?mrbojangles25

It plays like EVE Online, only singleplayer instead of MMO. Its very deep, complex, slow-paced, but very rewarding. Its more of an economic game than a full blown combat game.

The depth is where it really shines, however. You start out in a small ship but as you trade you build your empire. You can build space stations that make energy, then have a fleet of merchant ships haul energy cells from there to other stations that buy them. You can create factories that make food, weapons, and other material.

In terms of complexity, I'd say its the "Falcon 4.0 of space sims"...very complex, lots of controls, and windows upon windows of user interface to stack up on eachother.

If you want a true space simulator and not an arcant sim, then X3 is for you. If not, I recommend Freelancer or Darkstar One.

I don't think it plays much like EVE, to be honest. The only games I've heard it compared to that I thought was accurate was the old Elite games from days of yore. It is a slower paced game than any fight sim, though. In that way, I can see the EVE comparison.

For the person asking about using a joystick, I actually recommend the X52 HOTAS from Saitek, but any joystick would be a good idea. KB/M works also, but I didn't find it as easy or as rewarding. I use a mix of KB/M (for non-combat or rarely used commands) and an older X45 HOTAS stick, and it works a treat. Your mileage may vary, I know a few people who were used to, say, Freelancer who found KB/M to be perfectly suited to their play.