18 votes

X4: Foundations 7.00 trailer

14 comments

  1. [7]
    streblo
    Link
    This game has been slow moving to come together, but it's in a really good state for a while now and has been one of my favorite games for the last few years. This is the trailer for the public...

    This game has been slow moving to come together, but it's in a really good state for a while now and has been one of my favorite games for the last few years.

    This is the trailer for the public beta of 7.00, essentially the free portion of the upcoming Timelines DLC. Timelines is adding some scenario-type missions alongside the main sandbox mode from famous moments in the X universe.

    7.00 is adding a bunch of things, but I'm the most excited for the redesigned Teladi and Argon ships, flyable Xenon ships (with interiors), as well as the new external camera mode.

    9 votes
    1. [5]
      Pavouk106
      Link Parent
      It is on my to-ply list for a long time. Actually since I ordered Steam Deck I believe. I haveso.many gaes to play that X5 might come out before I get to this one. It's kinda sad... But when I...

      It is on my to-ply list for a long time. Actually since I ordered Steam Deck I believe.

      I haveso.many gaes to play that X5 might come out before I get to this one. It's kinda sad... But when I play a game, I give it all. I play until I finish it (or get really satisfied with my progress in games like X-universe) and I don't start any other heavy game in that time. This blocks many great games for time being but when their time comes, it sure will be a ride to remember!

      3 votes
      1. [2]
        streblo
        (edited )
        Link Parent
        I generally try and do something similar, but in my case I often preempt my queue with games I want to play at a given moment. I've had a full play through of the Fallout series waiting for about...

        I generally try and do something similar, but in my case I often preempt my queue with games I want to play at a given moment. I've had a full play through of the Fallout series waiting for about 4 years and a Baldur's Gate play through stalled in Siege of Dragonspear for at least two years. Their day will come but at the moment I've been on a real sci-fi kick lately so I haven't really been interested in picking away.

        2 votes
        1. Pavouk106
          Link Parent
          I can't do series in one go. I did Fallout 1 and 2 one after the other, but haven't started 3 yet (finished it some time ago on PS3, but want proper playthrough on Steam Deck). I wanted to do...

          I can't do series in one go. I did Fallout 1 and 2 one after the other, but haven't started 3 yet (finished it some time ago on PS3, but want proper playthrough on Steam Deck). I wanted to do Divinity: Original Sin 1 and 2 back to back, but after around 60 hours (amd firat game finished), I had enough - second one has to wait.

          I do play one game to finish though. Even if it becomes tedious and I really want to either jumo on another one or just stop playing because I had enough. I know (from 20+ years experience) that I won't be able to return to the save game and that means I have practically wasted a lot of time on a game I will not finish - this keeps me from finishing even those game I wouldn't be able to otherwise.

          My game queue is full for this year. I can tell.you five games everytime you ask. And they will be different everytime you ask, too.

          I do Witcher 3 now. I want to (re)play Breath of the Wild. And Talos Principle. And Morrowind. And Jedi: Fallen Order. And Kingdom Come: Deliverance. And X4...

          1 vote
      2. [2]
        SunSpotter
        Link Parent
        FYI, since you mentioned you have a Steam Deck, it’s definitely playable on the Steam Deck, but it’s going to be a little rough. I recommend enabling some sort of AI upscaling to improve frame...

        FYI, since you mentioned you have a Steam Deck, it’s definitely playable on the Steam Deck, but it’s going to be a little rough. I recommend enabling some sort of AI upscaling to improve frame rate without cranking the resolution to complete potato quality. Even still there will probably be some fuzziness to distant objects and text because FSR and XeSS are not perfect.

        2 votes
        1. Pavouk106
          Link Parent
          I have tried it already (like a year ago) and I switched to X: Rebirth because of the performance. Rebirth is not bad, but X4 will be better (I presume), so I stopped playing after some 50 hours...

          I have tried it already (like a year ago) and I switched to X: Rebirth because of the performance. Rebirth is not bad, but X4 will be better (I presume), so I stopped playing after some 50 hours or so and I will try X4 again.

          I have lbserved that enabling shadows drops the framerate like a rock. The same goes with line of sight/distant objects. But these two are things you want enabled for thegame to look decent. I'm also battery-saver, so I don't run full power on Steam Deck and prefer at mot 9W TDP (where fan stays somewhat silent). Those factors don't really combine in X4, or at least they didn't the last time I tried. I'm also native resolution and no upscaling (like FSR) afficionado, which doesn't add to already bad mix...

          I know what I do to myself :-) But given that I have like 5000 hours of many different games to play I can't say there won't already be Steam Deck 2 when the time comes for X4 playthrough.

          Thanks for the heads up though!

          1 vote
    2. Thomas-C
      Link Parent
      Had you played any of the previous games? I was a huge fan of the original X3 and Terran Conflict, so it's been kinda difficult when I've tried to get into X4. I haven't tried it since 5.0, so I'd...

      Had you played any of the previous games? I was a huge fan of the original X3 and Terran Conflict, so it's been kinda difficult when I've tried to get into X4. I haven't tried it since 5.0, so I'd be interested if you're able to describe how it's progressed a bit.

  2. Finnalin
    Link
    Nice! X series is one of my favorites and x4 has been pretty great the last few updates!

    Nice! X series is one of my favorites and x4 has been pretty great the last few updates!

    3 votes
  3. [5]
    DawnPaladin
    Link
    Interesting. I don't know much about this game; how does it compare to Elite: Dangerous?

    Interesting. I don't know much about this game; how does it compare to Elite: Dangerous?

    1 vote
    1. overbyte
      Link Parent
      It's a singleplayer sandbox that you can greatly influence from your actions without the constraints of an online game where everyone is synced to the story, or just let it play out on its own....

      It's a singleplayer sandbox that you can greatly influence from your actions without the constraints of an online game where everyone is synced to the story, or just let it play out on its own.

      Watch a capital ship battle from the comfort of a station you built. Get lost in a new sector and ask NPCs for directions. Start from a single ship running errands then build a massive fleet and take over a sector setting up your own trade routes, or don't. Keep flying your own ship, hire a copilot to do it for you so you're not glued to the seat, or command your entire flotilla from your carrier and play it more like an RTS/4X game instead.

      5 votes
    2. streblo
      Link Parent
      I pretty much agree with exactly what @trobertson’s comment. The only thing I’ll add is that X4, unlike E:D and Star Citizen, puts the player first. It doesn’t try to be some sort of live service...

      I pretty much agree with exactly what @trobertson’s comment.

      The only thing I’ll add is that X4, unlike E:D and Star Citizen, puts the player first. It doesn’t try to be some sort of live service multiplayer game that wants you to play in a certain fashion. It’s just a sandbox, and you can engage with it however you want. If you want to start the game with millions of credits and a fleet of carriers, you can do that. If you want to start from nothing and work your way up you can do that too.

      In my opinion if you like sandbox games, emergent storytelling, are the kind of player who likes to tinker, and aren’t afraid of a little bit of wiki reading to learn the different game systems you should really play this game — it’s quite good.

      2 votes
    3. borntyping
      Link Parent
      I've put a lot of time into both over the years. The major differences are that X4 is a completely solo game, with a partially randomised universe created for each save game, and that it's...

      I've put a lot of time into both over the years. The major differences are that X4 is a completely solo game, with a partially randomised universe created for each save game, and that it's generally a more management oriented game. ED's ships are far more detailed and there's a big focus on the UI all being "in-universe", whereas X4 has simpler graphics (though still pretty!) and a lot of focus on some very bare management UIs used to focus on the economic parts of the game.

      You'll still fly your own ship around, but depending on how you play you might sit in a passenger seat with an NPC pilot flies the ship, or sit in an office in a station, all while managing entire fleets of ships. Most games still start you in a tiny one-person equivalent of the Sidewinder, though the largest ships in the game are carriers and builders that dwarf even the bigger ED ships.

      Trading focuses more on setting up your own production lines and repeating routes than finding good opportunities or loops. Ship customisation has a similar level of complexity, mostly focused around factions providing different versions of components that optimise for different stats. Combat is a little simpler when you're flying a ship directly and fighting one-on-one, but wars and other mass combats can have hundreds of ships involved. Like ED, the parts of the game you focus on are very self-directed.

      Singleplayer also means support for mods, or multiple saves with different starts and different choices leading to a different universe. Factions quite actively fight each other, and even before any player choices are made two saves might end up with zones being owned by different factions.

      1 vote
    4. [2]
      Comment deleted by author
      Link Parent
      1. trobertson
        Link Parent
        Kinda weird that you started with the negative comparisons, seeing as they are completely different games (as you said!). The biggest things that X4 does that other space games don't do: X4 is a...

        Kinda weird that you started with the negative comparisons, seeing as they are completely different games (as you said!). The biggest things that X4 does that other space games don't do:

        • X4 is a fully simulated economy (wartime economy, specifically)
        • The player can fully engage with that economy
        • All ship construction depends on the economy - 100% of the resources that go into a ship must be produced somewhere, and shipped by someone
        • Exactly the same deal with building stations - whether they be economic stations, military stations, shipbuilding stations, or some other purpose
          • You the player will be designing, building, owning, and profiting from the stations that all other space games take for granted
        • Sector ownership is dynamic and regions can (and do) change hands
          • You can conquer the galaxy, for real, if you want. Your player faction can genuinely take over sectors
        • Quests
          • minor quests are either economic jobs or military jobs
          • Questlines shape the factions of the galaxy and determine faction merges, wars, ceasefires, etc. They also open up new portions of the map - the Kingdom's End questline, for example, reveals another ~8 sectors (iirc) that you can't get to until you do the quest
        • You can stand on the bridge of your flagship and watch while your fleet engages your enemies
        • Or you can pilot your flagship, or your destroyers, or your frigates, or your fighters, and let the AI take primary control of your fleet
        • Similarly, you will also have economic fleets that can automate a lot of the logistical challenges your stations will face. Or you can pilot one of your traders yourself (really smart in the early game)
        • Lot of awesome mods! But probably avoid these on a first playthrough because otherwise you won't know what you want or need

        Elite definitely has the best pilot feel of all the modern space games, but that's about all it does. X4 is trying, and mostly succeeding, at being an engaging space world rather than an engaging space ship.

        7 votes
  4. Grimmcartel
    Link
    Well this is something I hadn't expected to find here... Back in 1998 (I think), I picked up a copy of X Beyond the Frontier from the local game store, and got hooked. It was the first 4x game I...

    Well this is something I hadn't expected to find here...

    Back in 1998 (I think), I picked up a copy of X Beyond the Frontier from the local game store, and got hooked. It was the first 4x game I played, and I stuck with the series all the way through Albion Prelude. I created a fan site, learned how to model ships, and finally got inspired to create my own universe because.of the influence from this franchise and it's fans.

    Maybe X4 will stoke up the creative fires again for me so I can get started on another book 😊