A responsive universe. I shouldn't be able to harvest TS ships for hours without some kind of response. The biggest thing missing from X is that the universe is for all intents and purposes DEAD.
Seriously. We all spend a lot of time RP'ing or DiD'ing because we are in an inert, lifeless sandbox and if it weren't for our neurotic imaginations there would be no X customers.
WISHLIST: What do you think need to be improved for FUTURE X SERIES?
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why do you say that?ndp183 wrote:A responsive universe. I shouldn't be able to harvest TS ships for hours without some kind of response. The biggest thing missing from X is that the universe is for all intents and purposes DEAD.
Seriously. We all spend a lot of time RP'ing or DiD'ing because we are in an inert, lifeless sandbox and if it weren't for our neurotic imaginations there would be no X customers.
I feel there is more movement and life in this universe than in many others I have played, and I habe played many. (not counting zombie traders going into Xenon sectors...)
If we're simply talking about the X series - or at least the latest instalment - and simply an improvement rather than creating a whole new game, with or without sector rebuilds or going into the realm of TNBT (for some reason I always interpret that as "Teenage Newtant Binger Turtles")...
An overhaul of the mission editor - that's it really. Preferably something to either abstract the XML spaghetti into a GUI or a total rewrite (which would be an enormous ask) ... judging by some of the comments left in the XML files I suspect the poor mission creators at Egosoft were having the odd WTF moment trawling through it.
Ideally I'd like to be able to import video/audio files into missions as well as add in rare or unique rewards - essentially a "mission pack" would have to be a modular package containing all the elements to build up a storyline (including several missions, audio/video files and distinct outcomes such as rewards and reputation effects - personally I'd love an overhaul of the reputation system as well but that's outside the scope of this post).
Throw the thing open to the modding community and see what happens - personally I think being able to get a tonne of new "standard" missions and mini-stories would add much greater diversity to the game once you've completed the current stories (or even as something else to do whilst slugging your way through the Hub plot).
---- (sort of) Technical bit ----
There are however some distinct technical problems with this - with the way the game runs. Such as avoiding conflicts in the 'T' files. For instance you could create an industrial espionage storyline - say Dukes offering a reward for you infiltrating OTAS. A result of which could mean you'd acquire some unique blueprints for a ship you could build at the PHQ. The trick would be to ensure that this new ship didn't cause conflicts with the main TShips file or any other TShips added in from mods/expansion packs.
The only way I can think to resolve this would be to have supplementary 'T' files - essentially TShipsMD (Mission Director) extends TShips and to have each TShipsMD contain a hash of the file as a fingerprint used as an identifier (which I think is not entirely dissimilar to how ES "sign" scripts anyway)... I guess if you append a timestamp on the end of the hash it should null the (vanishingly small) change of generating a hash collision.
An overhaul of the mission editor - that's it really. Preferably something to either abstract the XML spaghetti into a GUI or a total rewrite (which would be an enormous ask) ... judging by some of the comments left in the XML files I suspect the poor mission creators at Egosoft were having the odd WTF moment trawling through it.
Ideally I'd like to be able to import video/audio files into missions as well as add in rare or unique rewards - essentially a "mission pack" would have to be a modular package containing all the elements to build up a storyline (including several missions, audio/video files and distinct outcomes such as rewards and reputation effects - personally I'd love an overhaul of the reputation system as well but that's outside the scope of this post).
Throw the thing open to the modding community and see what happens - personally I think being able to get a tonne of new "standard" missions and mini-stories would add much greater diversity to the game once you've completed the current stories (or even as something else to do whilst slugging your way through the Hub plot).
---- (sort of) Technical bit ----
There are however some distinct technical problems with this - with the way the game runs. Such as avoiding conflicts in the 'T' files. For instance you could create an industrial espionage storyline - say Dukes offering a reward for you infiltrating OTAS. A result of which could mean you'd acquire some unique blueprints for a ship you could build at the PHQ. The trick would be to ensure that this new ship didn't cause conflicts with the main TShips file or any other TShips added in from mods/expansion packs.
The only way I can think to resolve this would be to have supplementary 'T' files - essentially TShipsMD (Mission Director) extends TShips and to have each TShipsMD contain a hash of the file as a fingerprint used as an identifier (which I think is not entirely dissimilar to how ES "sign" scripts anyway)... I guess if you append a timestamp on the end of the hash it should null the (vanishingly small) change of generating a hash collision.
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IceFire909
- Posts: 511
- Joined: Mon, 8. Jun 09, 14:40
This part I don't understand. You would like the Ship classes to be renamed, yet essentially kept how they are now.MrLobster wrote: -Ships-
Ship classes renamed (no more M1-M8 etc).
Interceptor (M5)
Fighter (M4)
Heavy Fighter (M3)
Bomber (M8) - M3 in size, "missiles only"
Corvette (M6)
Destroyer (M7)
Carrier (M7C)
Heavy Bomber (M7M)
Battleship (M1)
Heavy Carrier (M2)
Mothership (M0)
The ship class system could be changed to something like M0 = smallest, M8 = largest but then it gets shifted when a new ship is brought in.
While reordering the class system would be nice I like to think of it as the order the ships were made.
M1 was the first space vessel, but once they got to space they needed the M2. An effective way to help take down M2s are the M3s and they needed escort from M4s while M5s kept a lookout for trouble. M6 came in when an intermediate ship was needed, but that couldn't quite cut it so M7s came in. the fighters were struggling so they built an M8 bomber to kill the M7 and M7M variants.
Incoming Message (4 New Messages)
Your Xenon K has Blue Screen of Death'd.
Your #deca CPU ship has 404'd.
Your Xenon P was docking and has stopped responding.
Your #deca.cefa has limited or no network connectivity.
Your Xenon K has Blue Screen of Death'd.
Your #deca CPU ship has 404'd.
Your Xenon P was docking and has stopped responding.
Your #deca.cefa has limited or no network connectivity.
The X series could use a rookie's perspective. Many people here are hardened veterans with YEARS of experience playing the series. This can make it virtually impossible to see where new players struggle. When I got my friend into the series, the first thing that drove him INSANE was the interface. There's a ridiculous number of commands that take a long time to figure out. Forget even trying to issue orders in combat, as your ship controls get locked in the command interface.
The series could use some end game combat content. After the Hub is finished, there isn't much to do. OFF is kind of a midgame thing. I think players want to be able to take part in the wars between the factions, but on a truly galaxy dominating scale. For that to happen, players need better access to fleet management, and an opposition to match. They also need to be able to interact with factions on a strategic scale, they can't just be grabbing random missions left and right.
The series could use some end game combat content. After the Hub is finished, there isn't much to do. OFF is kind of a midgame thing. I think players want to be able to take part in the wars between the factions, but on a truly galaxy dominating scale. For that to happen, players need better access to fleet management, and an opposition to match. They also need to be able to interact with factions on a strategic scale, they can't just be grabbing random missions left and right.
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IceFire909
- Posts: 511
- Joined: Mon, 8. Jun 09, 14:40
Seperate Race galactic dominations would be rather impressive.
Argon <-> Paranid
Boron <-> Split
Argon&Boron <-> Paranid&Split
(pick one side and it locks out the other)
or fly with the teladi and profit from said war, or fly the way of the pirate/yaki and take out the races/argon when they're down.
Argon <-> Paranid
Boron <-> Split
Argon&Boron <-> Paranid&Split
(pick one side and it locks out the other)
or fly with the teladi and profit from said war, or fly the way of the pirate/yaki and take out the races/argon when they're down.
Incoming Message (4 New Messages)
Your Xenon K has Blue Screen of Death'd.
Your #deca CPU ship has 404'd.
Your Xenon P was docking and has stopped responding.
Your #deca.cefa has limited or no network connectivity.
Your Xenon K has Blue Screen of Death'd.
Your #deca CPU ship has 404'd.
Your Xenon P was docking and has stopped responding.
Your #deca.cefa has limited or no network connectivity.
I would be nice to do custom orders at shipyards. Say you buy a new ship, whether it's a Nova or Odysseus. Park the ship, place the order at the shipyard (or EQ dock) for your shields, guns, missles, etc. Pay the money and you get a 'mission'. After a certain time has expired, you get a message and park ship at the station and the things you bought is transferred.
Sort of like when you wish to buy something from the store in real life, but they don't have what you want so they order it and you come back in a few days to pick it up
Sort of like when you wish to buy something from the store in real life, but they don't have what you want so they order it and you come back in a few days to pick it up
1) A plot for every start. And not just 'make this much money and get X overtuned ship.' If I had the time and knowhow I would love to just make custom starts.
- Bankrupt Assasin: You have to find out who put the price on your head before the BHs would stop. Say talk to a contact on a random pirate base, then you have to track down the person who wants you dead and get him to bail (the longer you take the more escorts he 'buys' and the bigger ship he gets in to). Then you have to capture him and take him back to the PB and 'interogate' him till he agrees to retract the kill order.
- New Teladi Start: Your parent was a captain of industry, the head of a vast empire untill she ran afoul of the Yaki Syndicate. Her ship (a condor) was ambushed on the fringes of known space and never heard from again. After the law suits and meddling of the Yaki her empire collapsed leaving your familly destitute. But even though everyone calls you crazy you know that your parent's ship is out there somewhere and in it's databanks is the truth... Spawn a derelict Condor with 10% hull, no shields, and a couple shredded fighters in the bay in a random Unknown or Pirate sector. You have to follow clues and extract information from yaki operatives to find it. It's up to you whether to sell it for scrap or repair and rearm it.
- Savage Split: The more Boron you kill (especially in Split sectors) the more boons you are granted by the Patriarch, untill eventually you are given the US east of Zyarths Dominion which gets renamed to 'Familly M'Kjd'
etc....
2) 3x as many systems and a way to exploit the planets/moons. Not a planetary docking system per say, but perhaps something like Eve's moon mining arrays. You have to set up a special station which can then be upgraded with planetary extraction arrays. Or planetary shuttle or trade docks for some small passive income.
3) Better support for a Pirate only game. More pirate ships, pirate shipyards and yaki/pirate equipment docks. Also more strife in the universe. Even with the Xenon, Kha'ak and Terrans stirring the pot and rocking the boat everyone's just kinda.... placid. I want to see more ships blowing up for no other reason than they had green paint in a split sector.
4) More immersion! Seeing the same talking heads saying the same 4 lines over and over and over again since X2 is getting a bit old. Revamp the conversation system, allow little convo's with the other ships plying the lanes. Bring back harmful localized nebulae, some revamped and graphically contemporary cockpits, and get someone to redo the sounds. So that firing an IRE doesn't sound so much more epic than firing a darn HEPT. PLEASE!?
- Bankrupt Assasin: You have to find out who put the price on your head before the BHs would stop. Say talk to a contact on a random pirate base, then you have to track down the person who wants you dead and get him to bail (the longer you take the more escorts he 'buys' and the bigger ship he gets in to). Then you have to capture him and take him back to the PB and 'interogate' him till he agrees to retract the kill order.
- New Teladi Start: Your parent was a captain of industry, the head of a vast empire untill she ran afoul of the Yaki Syndicate. Her ship (a condor) was ambushed on the fringes of known space and never heard from again. After the law suits and meddling of the Yaki her empire collapsed leaving your familly destitute. But even though everyone calls you crazy you know that your parent's ship is out there somewhere and in it's databanks is the truth... Spawn a derelict Condor with 10% hull, no shields, and a couple shredded fighters in the bay in a random Unknown or Pirate sector. You have to follow clues and extract information from yaki operatives to find it. It's up to you whether to sell it for scrap or repair and rearm it.
- Savage Split: The more Boron you kill (especially in Split sectors) the more boons you are granted by the Patriarch, untill eventually you are given the US east of Zyarths Dominion which gets renamed to 'Familly M'Kjd'
etc....
2) 3x as many systems and a way to exploit the planets/moons. Not a planetary docking system per say, but perhaps something like Eve's moon mining arrays. You have to set up a special station which can then be upgraded with planetary extraction arrays. Or planetary shuttle or trade docks for some small passive income.
3) Better support for a Pirate only game. More pirate ships, pirate shipyards and yaki/pirate equipment docks. Also more strife in the universe. Even with the Xenon, Kha'ak and Terrans stirring the pot and rocking the boat everyone's just kinda.... placid. I want to see more ships blowing up for no other reason than they had green paint in a split sector.
4) More immersion! Seeing the same talking heads saying the same 4 lines over and over and over again since X2 is getting a bit old. Revamp the conversation system, allow little convo's with the other ships plying the lanes. Bring back harmful localized nebulae, some revamped and graphically contemporary cockpits, and get someone to redo the sounds. So that firing an IRE doesn't sound so much more epic than firing a darn HEPT. PLEASE!?
"Clothes make the man. Naked people have little influence on society" - Mark Twain
Perhaps, when we get 3x as powerful computers that can run that many systems. Wanna donate to my new-computer fund?3x as many systems
Have a great idea for the current or a future game? You can post it in the [L3+] Ideas forum.
X4 is a journey, not a destination. Have fun on your travels.
X4 is a journey, not a destination. Have fun on your travels.
X3-TC: http://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?t=233908ndp183 wrote:A responsive universe. I shouldn't be able to harvest TS ships for hours without some kind of response.
X3-R: http://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?t=105272
X2: http://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?t=85639
They haven't even really said whether TNBT™ is in the X-Universe or not. All they've really said to us, anyway, is that the X-Universe 'Trilogy' that started with X-BTF is finished. That doesn't preclude having a totally different storyline at some other time and place within the X-Universe game world.
Have a great idea for the current or a future game? You can post it in the [L3+] Ideas forum.
X4 is a journey, not a destination. Have fun on your travels.
X4 is a journey, not a destination. Have fun on your travels.
I hated it when they just stop updating or improving a game so here are some things I would have enjoyed in the game.
1. more bullitin board mission options.
2. How about some need for assistance calls when you enter a new sector from time to time. The young lady needing rescue from the bad guys or just a tow to the nearest repair base for that flat tire issue. It would be nice if it was always a vary atractive modest young woman.
3. How about one or two hidden sectors not listed in the game?
4. Or maybe as in Tachyon a split off option where the player must decide which path to take in his x universe life. For those who do not know Tachyon The Fringe you reached a point where you have to decide if you would be a company man and fight the outlaw rebeles or join the freedom fighter.
1. more bullitin board mission options.
2. How about some need for assistance calls when you enter a new sector from time to time. The young lady needing rescue from the bad guys or just a tow to the nearest repair base for that flat tire issue. It would be nice if it was always a vary atractive modest young woman.
3. How about one or two hidden sectors not listed in the game?
4. Or maybe as in Tachyon a split off option where the player must decide which path to take in his x universe life. For those who do not know Tachyon The Fringe you reached a point where you have to decide if you would be a company man and fight the outlaw rebeles or join the freedom fighter.
Sure! Would you like that in Credits, or isk?Wanna donate to my new-computer fund?
Why would I want the game to force me to choose? I can already do that, and regularly do several times in each playthrough. Go pirate, kill everyone, get bored, befriend the split, kill the boron, then wipe out the Xenon, then befriend everyone, then turn on Improved Races and do it all over again.4. Or maybe as in Tachyon a split off option where the player must decide which path to take in his x universe life. For those who do not know Tachyon The Fringe you reached a point where you have to decide if you would be a company man and fight the outlaw rebeles or join the freedom fighter.
The best part about this game is freedom of choice.
"Clothes make the man. Naked people have little influence on society" - Mark Twain
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dauntlessdave
- Posts: 18
- Joined: Sat, 29. May 10, 02:20
I would like:
1. the ability to record and replay combats so that the tapes can be reviewed and you can figure out what the hell happened and see how awesome things look. Fighter sims like IL2-Sturmovick have this feature and it rocks.
2. A better financial reporting system so that you can see exactly how credits are being made and spent by your empire. At the moment I have little idea how well my UTs and STs and factories are doing from day to day.
1. the ability to record and replay combats so that the tapes can be reviewed and you can figure out what the hell happened and see how awesome things look. Fighter sims like IL2-Sturmovick have this feature and it rocks.
2. A better financial reporting system so that you can see exactly how credits are being made and spent by your empire. At the moment I have little idea how well my UTs and STs and factories are doing from day to day.
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Promethium
- Posts: 310
- Joined: Mon, 4. Jan 10, 02:43
