X3: Reunion

[hrvojej]

Official site

Gamespot Q&A

While previous incarnations of the X series have been fun but somewhat lacking, especially in the AI/universe-that-feels-alive section (which also means they were glorified sandboxes instead of challenging games as such), this may finally be something really great. I've been wanting to play a "corporate Elite-like" game for a very long time, and if this game can deliver, I know what I'lll be doing for Christmas break.

Anyway, I just thought to bring it to the attention of fellow open-ended-gameplay fans.

Cheers,

[Xiahou]

Anyone get this game? I heard this game was pretty horrible on release, but was seriously improved after some major patching. Anyone know?

I liked X2 well enough, so I'd possibly be interested in this if it wasnt awful.

[BDC]

I was going to buy it, but it looked half-finished so I didn't. I did enjoy Xbtf and X2 in the day though. Bit slow starting, and after losing everything I found it hard to bother to start again. Really needed better auto-saving...

[Reverend Joe]

The only game like this I have ever been able to get into was Freelancer. Sure, it wasn't nearly as complex or introcate, but it really felt much more alive, especially the ability to land on planets; plus, everything was so much easier. Freelancer was almost like a demo for a perfect game in this genre: promising, great controls and environment, but on the whole just too shallow to last.

Almost forgot: Freelancer was also great for blowing the hell out of random people.

[Xiahou]

I was going to buy it, but it looked half-finished so I didn't.

That was what I heard too- that it was shoved out the door half-finished. But then, in a more recent review, I saw they made a huge(120MB) v1.3 patch that some are claiming make the game quite enjoyable.

That's why I was wondering is anyone actually got the game and could confirm/deny that...

[Somebody Else]

I have the game. I have the patch. I like it. I liked X2.

Though, as far as games go, definitely not one to randomly pick up and have a go at, this needs a serious expenditure of effort to get the hang of (and indeed to make any progress whatsoever).

I've got the beginnings of a trade empire going, that is, 5 ships and 1 station (and some random ships I captured, but they aren't part of my merchant fleet).

I've got a long way to go to get the same sort of galactic colossus of an empire I had in X2 (station loops, multiple capital ships, etc.)

Some of the combat has been tweaked too. Whereas in X2, I was able to take a corvette down with a heavy fighter (and a bit of nifty flying), capital ships are much more resilient (though, I was able to handle small flights of heavy fighters in my lone interceptor). The PSG has been emasculated (but there's a coupla new weapons I haven't got to try yet).

[Xiahou]

Cool, thanks.

So, in your opinion, is it enough of an improvement post-patch to pick up for $30 or should I just stick with X2?

I havent played X2 in months, but was thinking of reinstalling it.... unless I decide to snag X3.

[Zenicetus]

I bought X3 soon after it came out, played a few months, then retired it just a few weeks ago. Mainly it was to free up playing time for GalCiv2 (and RTW:BI!), but I felt I had gotten about all I wanted out of the game. I didn't play X2 so I was new to the series, although I've played most of the major space games (Wing Commander, Freelancer, Freespace, Tie Fighter, Independence War, etc.).

I can't say that I really loved X3, but it was fun for a few months. The best features (IMO) are the eye candy for exterior ship and station models, and the way you can play a freeform sandbox trading empire game.

The worst features (again, IMO) are that it has minimal diplomatic interaction with the main factions once you're an equivalent superpower, and little interaction with other pilots or station occupants. The universe feels remarkably lifeless and static in sandbox mode. And the campaign is basically a throwaway... more of a tutorial than a campaign.

Also I had a real problem with the cheesy space physics and universe model, that doesn't really live up to the impressive graphics you see. Planetary systems are little checkerboard boxes with everything crammed together, so it has a board game feel, even though you're flying a cockpit-level simulator. There is a ridiculous arbitrary speed cap on ships that really kills the immersion for me. And yes, I know that speed caps have been around in space games since Wing Commander, but I guess I've been spoiled by games like Independence War 1 and 2 that have big planetary systems and semi-realistic spaceflight physics. The enemy pilot AI is poor, so combat is really basic 2D turn and burn.

On the positive side, the game has a very active community of modders that are tweaking it in various ways. A patch was released to fix the most serious initial problems, and the devs seem to be working on future improvements. Bottom line: there aren't any other choices if you want a cockpit-level space game right now, unless you want to get into an online game like Eve Online... which sounds very interesting, but I just don't have the time for it.

[Somebody Else]

Take X3. 30 dollars is a piddling sum. And it looks so much prettier.

[Duke Malcolm]

I played X2 once, but it was so slow to start. It was fun, yes, but the game took so long...

[FesterShinetop]

There is a new playable demo out for this one. For the people who want to give it a try before buying... it is a big whopping 900MB sized demo...
I haven't tried it yet but I will as this game sure sounds interesting, especially after the first few patches.

[FesterShinetop]

Well... I've installed the demo... played it for 5 minutes (it looks amazing!), got an error message that threw me back to the desktop and now every time I try to start the demo I get a "File not found" message...
I've read a few reviews as well and the major point of critique on this title seems to be the amount of bugs and the fact that it was released before it was actually finished...
A demo that won't start up anymore after 5 minutes of play doesn't give me a lot of confidence so I am steering waaaaay clear of this one
Pity though... as it looked and sounded very promising...

[phred]

FYI, the demo uses Starforce copy protection.