This quarter, the X4: Foundations universe will be extended once again! Alongside the second expansion,
X4: Cradle of Humanity, we will also be releasing the largest free update to X4 yet. The 4.00 update will not only include many quality-of-life improvements to X4: Foundations, but will also introduce a number of new features. Some of these new features were
announced at the start of the beta phase, but we’ll be shedding light on more of them between now and the full public release of the 4.00 update and X4: Cradle of Humanity.
To kick things off, we'll look at three new ways to manage hostilities, i.e. what your ships can and cannot attack. To help us illustrate this, content creator Werit has
prepared a video showing you what these new options really mean, how they're used, and what advantages they bring to your X4: Foundations experience. Make sure you visit
Werit's channel and subscribe, so as not to miss any of his helpful X4: Foundations videos.
For a
short-term attack, you can choose to "mark as hostile" any non-hostile object. This generates a “relation boost”, usually lasting around 10 minutes, during which time this object will be treated as a hostile enemy. This new feature enables you to start a fight against a non-enemy object without having to fire on it manually. The 10 minute relation boost is usually long enough to ensure that a battle starts. The battle itself should then sustain the hostile state long enough for an outcome to be achieved.
For a
medium-term attack, you can apply a new "fire authorisation override" setting, either globally or on specific ships. This tells those ships which factions they're allowed to attack – whether or not those factions are actually enemies. This option can be used to start a more general fight with a specific faction, by overriding the usual peaceful behaviour of your ships towards theirs. It can also be used to try and make peace with a faction that is currently your enemy. This is achieved by altering your ships’ default behaviour, which would normally be to attack, with an override instruction not to shoot.
For a
long-term attack, we have introduced a "war declaration" option. This is a decision to make a faction your enemy, and to inform them of the situation. This will take effect immediately. But beware! There is no "peace declaration" option. If you decide that you want to make up with that now-hostile faction, you will have to work your way back into their good books.
To try out these new features ahead of the public release of the 4.00 update, you can join in with the current 4.00 beta phase. Just
visit our forum for instructions on how to take part.
We'll be back soon with more insights into the 4.00 update and X4: Cradle of Humanity. Until then, enjoy your space travels, leave a review, wishlist Cradle of Humanity and stay safe!
