The next game: X2 - The Return (with Interview!)

General discussions about the games by Egosoft including X-BTF, XT, X², X³: Reunion, X³: Terran Conflict and X³: Albion Prelude.

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The next game: X2 - The Return (with Interview!)

Post by BurnIt! » Thu, 19. Aug 04, 21:40

Announcing: X² The Return

Following the great success of X² - The Threat, German developers Egosoft will be continuing the development of the series. The next game will be called X² - The Return and will be launched in the first Quarter of 2005. X² - The Threat stormed to the top of the Media Control Charts immediately after its release on the 4th of February 2004. Since then, the fan community has eagerly awaited news of a sequel. X² - The Return enhances the already extensive universe with additional missions, weapons systems and space sectors. A complete new storyline adds further tension. Newcomers will enjoy the additions to the already graphically-impressive, almost living X²-Universe, while veterans can expect new construction options and an improved physics model.


[ external image ] Artwork 1813KB

[ external image ] Artwork 977KB

[ external image ] Render 1032KB

[ external image ] Screenshot 1153KB

[ external image ] Screenshot 628KB

And exclusive for our online community:
New station interior shown in a small, preview-render.
stationinteriorpreview.avi 704KB (right-click and "Save As...")


Find below:
An interview with Bernd Lehahn, MD at EGOSOFT
Last edited by BurnIt! on Sun, 10. Oct 04, 19:27, edited 3 times in total.

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Interview wth Bernd Lehahn, top guy at Egosoft

Post by The_Abyss » Thu, 19. Aug 04, 21:48

As promised, and with a bit more news than you might have originally thought, please enjoy what Bernd has to say, in an exclusive interview for this forum and the community here:

Interview with Bernd

Abyss: Hi Bernd, and thank you for taking the time to spare a few words with us.

Bernd: Hi there Greg, It is always a pleasure


Abyss: Firstly, looking back at X², update 1.4 added a whole new set of features to the game. Is this version the last major update that we will see?

Bernd: Probably yes.


Abyss: When you and Egosoft sat down and drew up intial plans for X², how close does the actual game now come to these plans?

Bernd: Pretty close. X games tend to grow. Instead of starting a whole new project where you make a detailed plan, for the X games we take the current version of the game, collect ideas and suggestions for improvements and start to filter for what fits to our vision. Then we sit down and decide which parts of the game need a whole rewrite and which are “only” extended.


Abyss: Are you overall pleased with the game, both from a developer's point of view and also commercially?

Bernd: Overall definitely YES.
I am happy with most of the things that make X2 with maybe just one exception...

Don’t ask which...

Ok… I know you will ask anyway so…

Cutscenes that involved people were not as good as they should have been.



Abyss: Do you actually get time to play with your own game of X²?

Bernd: Once the game is released I mainly play in preparation for press pre and reviews, but during the development there are times when most of my time I’m doing nothing but playing and testing.


Abyss: Now let me ask you about the newly announced expansion. Does it have a final name yet?

Bernd: Yes I’m happy to be able to announce that indeed there will be an expansion. The name will be X² - The Return.


Abyss: When will the expansion be released?

Bernd: Early 2005.


Abyss: As it was pointed out in the last interview, many European users have US versions, and these will need a US version of the expansion to continue. Will these (and all versions) be available to pre-order and buy online from Egosoft?

Bernd: That’s not decided yet.


Abyss: Will X² be re-released, and have the expansion bundled in with it?

Bernd: Yes definitely. In some territories there will be a collectors edition of X² – The Threat in the last quarter of this year. Next year when X² - The Return comes out, there will also be a standalone version of that game which will not require X² - The Threat.


Abyss: We know the expansion will be a continuation of the plot. It is also clear that making the expansion save-game compatible will mean that some of the more advanced ideas for the future will not make it into the game at this stage. What is your preference?

Bernd: Savegame compatibility does indeed restrict our possibilities a bit but we still can add a lot of new features. I’m very confident that this expansion will be a great product and improve on all aspects of the game.


Abyss: Can you give us details of some of the new ships in the expansion?

Bernd: Sure. One will be a tug ship for example. It will allow pulling stations inside a sector. This can be used to relocate player factories when forming the new super stations.


Abyss: What are super stations?

Bernd: This is one of the major new features of X² - The Return (apart from the plot). Players can now connect their stations using tunnel like modules. This way they can form a so called “Complex”. This saves a lot of the cost normally spend on transportation.


Abyss: Can you give us details of some of the new weapons?

Bernd: The Yaki disruptor is quite a devastating new weapon. Yaki, (a group of extremely deadly pirates) use this weapon to disrupt ship engines. There will be an anti missile defence, a new very fast firing and deadly weapon and more...


Abyss: The Artificial Life (AL) plugins featured in 1.4 added a dimension to the game that most hadn't expected, and also showed a glimpse of what is possible with the engine. How much will these be expanded upon in the future?

Bernd: It was always our goal to have a “real” universe. The more AL plugins we add the more real the universe will appear. One plan for X² - The Return is to combine the flexibility of the AL plugins with missions based on such events.


Abyss: Will you get to the stage where there are NPC pilots competing independently for trade, and also building their own stations?

Bernd: We definitely consider this as a possibility but are careful with the implementation because of game balancing issues.


Abyss: The economy has been discussed at length, a common comment being that the high-end factories do not make enough profit for their cost. Is this likely to be changed in the future?

Bernd: We always want to improve the economy, not towards a perfect balance but towards a fun to play universe. The possibility to make a factory complex from a number of smaller factories including tech factories, changes the profitability of such factories a lot.


Abyss: Bearing in mind the expansion is just that, i.e. an addon for existing players, how much will it be aimed at the level of veteran players? There are always comments from veterans that things are too easy etc, but at the same time, you of course don't want to put off new players by making things too hard....

Bernd: X² - The Return will be more than just an expansion. We definitely want to aim for new customers too. But yes, additional missions for veterans are also an important part of the expansion.


Abyss: With this in mind, are there any plans to make the difficulty level affect the actual gameplay rather than just the start?

Bernd: No. In my opinion this would be against the idea of a freely developing universe and would be unfair as well. A player can always make the game harder or easier through his behaviour but not with a simple "easy, medium, hard" slider ;)


Abyss: Can you tell us yet what is planned after the expansion?

Bernd: Something even bigger ;)


Abyss: Whilst you obviously want to keep most things a suprise, do you have any interesting design sketches of new ships, stations etc that we might see in the future?

Bernd: Yes of course! You mean you skipped them to read this? Look at the top post!


Abyss: Is there anything else you'd like to tell us?

Bernd: Save the planet, Eat healthy food, Vote Kerry, Buy our games…
Ah… I forgot I’m not a popstar. So make it just "Live long and prosper!"


Abyss: Thanks very much for taking the time to update us all Bernd, and thank you to all the translators, namely CBJ, Vassenego, PIC and ticaki.

We hope you enjoyed this, and continue to give your support to the X-Universe and Egosoft. :)
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Post by Snokid » Thu, 19. Aug 04, 22:36


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Post by Dr Blitzkrieg » Thu, 19. Aug 04, 22:36

Thanks for all the info !

Sounds great, Russ

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Re: Interview wth Bernd Lehahn, top guy at Egosoft

Post by silentWitness » Thu, 19. Aug 04, 22:41

Bernd or Abyss depending on your pov wrote:Bernd: Something even bigger ;)
YES!!! I eagerly await Bigger!!! :twisted:

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Post by StJude » Thu, 19. Aug 04, 22:51

Thanks for the update guys! Sounds like something to look forward too even more than 1.4 :D
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Post by Constipated_Vigilante » Thu, 19. Aug 04, 23:14

Yay, tugs! Now we might be able to tow ore/silicon mines into superstation loops!
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Post by number6 » Thu, 19. Aug 04, 23:33

Ah, this is what I'm talking about. Stuff for the community. Thanks guys, good stuff! :thumb_up:
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Post by Z0diac » Thu, 19. Aug 04, 23:47

Abyss: Can you tell us yet what is planned after the expansion?

Bernd: Something even bigger
:roll: When will it end? Oh, the inhumanity! Seriously though, please concentrate on the expansion first, as we will need that to keep us going.

And this:
Abyss: Will X² be re-released, and have the expansion bundled in with it?

Bernd: Yes definitely. In some territories there will be a collectors edition of X² – The Threat in the last quarter of this year. Next year when X² - The Return comes out, there will also be a standalone version of that game which will not require X² - The Threat.
Makes me very, very, VERY happy :)
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Post by Nocna Shada » Fri, 20. Aug 04, 00:01

Will there be a multiplayer feature in the expansion?

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Post by The_Abyss » Fri, 20. Aug 04, 00:07

No, not at this stage. The addon is an addon to a single player game.
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Post by silentWitness » Fri, 20. Aug 04, 00:07

Nocna Shada wrote:Will there be a multiplayer feature in the expansion?
no

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Post by Z0diac » Fri, 20. Aug 04, 00:07

You're joking, right?

In case you're not: No, no multiplayer. Ever.
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Post by Deleted User » Fri, 20. Aug 04, 00:11

great, i've just spent ages tryin to level up my BHP traders.

apart from that, woot harder stuff.

Edit: what the hell is that last image a ship or a station ?
Last edited by Deleted User on Fri, 20. Aug 04, 00:15, edited 1 time in total.

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Post by Constipated_Vigilante » Fri, 20. Aug 04, 00:15

Z0diac wrote:You're joking, right?

In case you're not: No, no multiplayer. Ever.
Until X-Online Universe. Which might not even be that good, but also could be great. I'm saying that its lacking could be a possibility as well as its success, judging how Morrowind, another great single-player game, would've been ruined by multiplayer.
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Post by The_Abyss » Fri, 20. Aug 04, 00:18

I'm sorry, but as no concrete information has been released about X-Online, what sort of basis is that statement made on?

None.

This is the X² addon update thread. Please keep it that way.
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Post by simonnance » Fri, 20. Aug 04, 00:19

black wing wrote:great, i've just spent ages tryin to level up my BHP traders.

apart from that, woot harder stuff.

Edit: what the hell is that last image a ship or a station ?
the jaged bits on top make it look like a station, the control centre bit makes it Argon. weird...... maybe plot based?
want the FACTS about X2/X3?
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Post by Deleted User » Fri, 20. Aug 04, 00:21

one pic shows tons of khaak ships, mabey it's a argon M0 :o

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Post by Brody » Fri, 20. Aug 04, 00:26

Sounds awesome.

And I'm trying to eat better, per Bernd's advice. And I'm certainly voting Kerry.

Can't Wait for The Return,
Brody

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Post by simonnance » Fri, 20. Aug 04, 00:27

the tons of Khaak was artwork not a screenie.

also no aparant engine, so im guessing station not ship.

though it doesnt show up on the gravidar.... weird......
want the FACTS about X2/X3?
Usenko wrote:Don't get me wrong, I think animals have their place in the scheme of things. It's just that in the case of sheep, cattle and pigs, their place happens to be in neat pieces under the griller.:-)

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