New X game wishlist!! write here features you need in next X game

[ajax34i]

There are lots of possibilities for abandon ships and ships in distress out in the depths of space so why don't Ego make use of this?

Have you ever created something and put it out on the internet, only to have ZERO visits, no signs that anyone has seen it?

That's why they don't do it. Even procedurally-generated, it takes effort to code it, and most people don't want to go through the boredom of flying in empty space for half an hour for just a small chance to find something at the end.

And it's a small chance: volume of space increases with the cube of the distance, and the direction you pick is random.

We would need some sort of scanner to advertise to us that there's something at half-hour-of-boost-speed away, so that we can head that way. Or, like in the X3 games, we'll just use a cheat to find the stuff, if it's desirable enough.

[ajax34i]

As far as on topic, unlike S1lverhair above, I like the X series, and I like to play the X games, because the features that they have, the missions, the building, the trading, and the fighting, while individually each gets boring after a while, the fact that I can switch between them whenever I get bored, or restart the game, is awesome.

One feature that X3TC/AP had, that I liked, was that combat evolved, because of the fight rank. Early game, combat is M4/M3 vs. similar sized, but as you advance in fight rank, suddenly capitals enter the scene and your puny M3 is no longer sufficient. I wish for a way to control the progress, though, so that I can stay in the M3 stage for as long as I want. Perhaps have "rank" missions, where completion of the mission progresses you to the bigger ship combat (maybe you gain actual military rank).

Similar to this, I like the plot in X-Rebirth, because it forces constraints on the gameplay. Most of my X3AP games were "friends with everyone, even the Yaki", somewhat boring. I've played the X-Rebirth plot to the end, and had a blast with it. I didn't play it mission after mission, though, I took long breaks to capture ships and trade into the hundreds of millions. So it didn't get boring or repetitive. Maybe it helped that I also tried to keep an in-character log using the "Log Everything" mod.

So what I'd like to see in the next game:

1. Lore.

All 5 races having avatars to interact with. And story, plot, because that furthers the lore. Hopefully Egosoft remembers how super-popular the last patch for X3AP was, because it had so many plots. We like the missions; they provide a bit of guidance in an otherwise too-open and too-huge universe, where build, think, trade, fight becomes repetitive and pointless without some sort of plot.

2. Ships.

They're part of the sci-fi space sim genre, they're why we play these games. No more constraints on what we can fly, please. And, if possible, balance the ships: not by making all of them equal, but by making each of them best-in-class at something.

As an idea, not sure if it's feasible (but you're already doing a little of this with the drones having different capabilities), expand the capabilities of the ships beyond just shooting and carrying cargo, into remote repairs (or shield boosts), electronic jamming (target jamming, autoaim jamming, etc.), tractor beams (flight path jamming), combat scouting / target painting for cruise missiles, and so on. This opens up the tactical combat gameplay a bit, and offers more opportunities for balancing ships to be good at something.

The big DPS capital ships should need to be escorted by target painting scouts, various jammers, shield support escorts, etc., to be effective; any un-escorted big ship should be vulnerable to a number of jams or disabling effects. When encountering a full fledged fleet, it should be possible to disable the assisting escorts first (easy to kill) to get at the big capital.

3. Freedom.

I believe that the middle ground between "you're on railroad tracks" and "do whatever you want" is the best. As I said, I loved that the plot made PMC aggressive, and placed restrictions on travel, because: a. I knew it would end, and b. It was better than the open game gamestarts. Feel free to do that again, and it should be fine as long as "open gameplay" starts are provided, and whatever the end situation is fixable somehow. Otherwise, please keep the fight, think, build, trade gameplay options.

4. Continued support.

I think we all love it when Egosoft releases patches or DLC's, especially if they contain plots, ships, areas, etc. Egosoft, I know you want to release new games, but please keep the current game going with continued patching. If it's not possible to set up a side team to release more content for the current game, please set up more interaction between the modders and the devs.

[CaptainCanuck]

I would like to see something like a heavily armed salvager.

Purpose: To salvage all those dead husks of ships lying around. or Even after you have destroyed that capital.

This could be done with a unique drone type only available to that Capital - possibly a Frigate class where you could call it in and tell it to salvage that husk

Just an idea but I think it's worth looking into. I am sure there is value to the dead ships out there.

Thanks for Reading

[drfz]

1) (better) modeling of capital ship bridge commanding interface. we don't ask an appointement with commander adama, just a more efficient way to command, at least, ours capitals ship.

that could be considered as another way to "fly" other ships. ( last hours of my X gaming session , months ago ... , were played actually ON the bridges of my capitals ships. wich caused a shitstorm of bugs ... and lead me to stop to play X:R


2) better ... path finding , formation standing etc etc etc etc

[Free Trade Inn]

Can we please at least have the option to play with the classic mouse keyboard combo?

One of the main reasons I have hardly touched rebirth was for the lack of this option.

Cheers in advance

FTI


<Since this new thread started in X Trilogy Universe yet only discusses Rebirth and X4, it can merge with the appropriate Rebirth thread. Alan Phipps.>

[baric]

I am confused. I only ever played Rebirth with mouse and keyboard as I did all previous versions...am I missing some sarcasm in the OP?

[RAVEN.myst]

LoL, indeed! I, too, have also only used mouse+k/board in all the games, including Rebirth. However, I do find Rebirth's interface lacking some functions, particularly in terms of hotkeys - perhaps the OP [FTI]meant something along these lines? (I'm guessing, here...)

[DorianEU]

Something like this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4P4adTuZkMI

[RAVEN.myst]

Miner Inconvenience

I just couldn't resist commenting on this clever pun - I like it

@CaptainCanuck: nice idea.

@ajax34i: 1, 2, 3, 4... +1 to all! (Ummm... would that make it "2, 3, 4, 5"? ) I completely agree with all of those. EDIT: I just went back farther in the thread, and saw your earlier post of 5 points: +1 to all of those, too (so... +9, then? heheh)

[RAVEN.myst]

In Rebirth you get the choice storyline OR free sandbox mode.
It would be nice to see an integrated storyline which you can start whenever you're ready (if ever)

The way it is in the X3TC/AP. This is something that has also been on my mind, lately - multiple (or even unlimited) entry points into the plot. In TC, only one gamestart (which had to be unlocked, too) besides the non-scenario "custom game" didn't give access to the main plot, though it gave credit for it being completed, so all other plots could be undertaken. In AP, I really like how there are two paths to follow, more or less equivalent but with some differences, and here any gamestart (again except "custom game", which I don't really count) can enter one of the plots. This could be even better if the player's early actions and allegiances ended up determining which path opens up - but that's neither here nor there. So in TC and AP (and also in Reunion, for that matter), a player could assume a character of any race and vocation, and eventually participate in and complete the main game (though there WERE a couple of text/voice inconsistencies - such as how the Terran commander NPCs in the TC first plot interact with any PC as though he/she were Terran, regardless of origin...) Despite some inflexible inconsistencies, at least the option is there.

In Rebirth, a major gripe for me is the fact that there is only one way to play the plot - by playing a plot game. None of the ever-growing number of game-starts offers that chance, which for me pretty much disqualifies them from contention past a quick look-around. This is sad, and such a waste. Why not start in "Teladiania", which connects directly to Albion (hell, the scenario STARTS RIGHT NEXT TO that gate!), and then get embroiled in the PMC-HoA civil war and the DeVries discovery etc once the player enters Albion? Furthermore, although it would certainly involve a bit of work and creativity, a way to play the plot having started in Omicron could be designed.

So, in X4, one of my biggest hopes is the multiple game-starts of the previous Xs, and them all (or perhaps almost all) serving as entry points into the story mode.

[UnknownObject]

What about a "brand new" race? The Old Ones are reconfiguring the gate routes - maybe, they would think it's time for a new race to be meeted?

[RAVEN.myst]

What about a "brand new" race? The Old Ones are reconfiguring the gate routes - maybe, they would think it's time for a new race to be meeted?

Good idea - the old lore can be expanded with addition of new material. There's plausible logic to it, too - as races expand their territories, they are eventually bound to encounter new things, and some of these "new things" could be new peoples. Hmmm, would it be a benevolent race, but perhaps harbouring a dark secret or past, or would it be hostile, as our purple-pyramid pals were, from X2 to X3TC... (plus their recent cameo appearance.) Or perhaps they could be totally aloof and unapproachable, utterly enigmatic, far in advance of the other races, and strictly bound to non-interference by an equivalent of the Prime Directive, and yet their help or technology or knowledge could be crucial to the salvation of the universe from some other nameless horror deep in the intergalactic void but headed this way... (This could be the basis for a multi-path campaign, where the player must design a way to acquire the needed knowledge, tech, or assistance - by somehow stealing it; by perhaps diplomatically persuading the aloof race that its involvement is preferable to the alternative; by making contact with a renegade or heretic faction within that race, which believes that it's a powerful race's responsibility to assume a more active role in the protection of the universe; by manipulating relations or military situations in a way to manoeuvre the aloof race into inevitable conflict, and so fighting off the threat by powerful proxy... the mind reels with possibilities... )

[Nikola515]

What I want to see is actual working AI as well ability to fly capital ships.

[Thufar]

I'm not so sure this request is for the next game, but maybe for one thereafter. I like the diversity increase in mining of gasses and ores from X3 to Rebirth. I'd like to see that expanded something like Eve Online did where various kinds of ores are mined and when processed, yield different resultant metals. Additionally, I'd like the experience of a Metallurgical Engineer to not only decrease cycle times of the factory, but better yields in the refining process and increased chances of finding bits of the most rare or precious metals. Lastly, I'd like to see the remote areas of space populated with those rare metals, and perhaps guarded by pirates and the like. Give us something to strive for, the protection/ownership of hostile and valuable space (later game content???).

I didn't play Eve long for the griefers, but that mining/refining system I thought they really got right.

Regards,
Thu

[Nikola515]

That would actually good idea.... But i would recommend for them to build two separate economics in game. For exame economy what we have in XR and fake economy where is unlimited sink (simular to X3 microchips complex but we can make less money with the). Ore such as gold or silver could produce jewelry that is in high damand but not not needed for real economy....

[Spectre01]

One thing I think will make managing big fleets easier is to introduce "drag select" like in any RTS games, it can be used in either the normal FPS view, or the In-Sector top down view. And once you have your fleet/unit selected, you can mouse over any enemy and with a single click your selected unit will attack, like in a RTS game. And maybe add a feature from Homeworld, which if you hold down an attack key, then drag the box over all enemy unit to tell your own units to attack anything enemy that's been selected.

And add some kind of "behavior" setting so that you can set what kind of enemy ships under your command will attack first when you use that "attack drag select" over enemy ships. ie. All S size ships will targets enemy S size first, then move on to M and L, XL. XL will go for XL instead of chasing after a S.

And maybe also add group numbers? (crtl+1,2,3... like every single RTS games)

For capital ships, if player can't have full control, maybe gives the player the ability to order the cap ship that the player currently on(or just about any capital ships) move around like in Homeworld sensor mode, where you can order your unit to move in XYZ but you still can't have direct control over it. It makes the player really feels like a captain of the ship while still have some degree of control about where exactly the player wants the AI to move their capital ship to.


If we are going back to X3's "sectors connected by gates" style, makes each sector a LOT bigger (more room for bigger fleet) if the station size is gonna be compared to XR's station size. And for moving around in-sector, add some kind of "cruise drive" that disable your weapons but makes the ship move waaaay faster, like the cruise drive from Freelancer, which also auto-shutdown when a ship is near a big enough object.

[BigBANGtheory]

One thing I think will make managing big fleets easier is to introduce "drag select" like in any RTS games, it can be used in either the normal FPS view, or the In-Sector top down view. And once you have your fleet/unit selected, you can mouse over any enemy and with a single click your selected unit will attack, like in a RTS game. And maybe add a feature from Homeworld, which if you hold down an attack key, then drag the box over all enemy unit to tell your own units to attack anything enemy that's been selected.

And add some kind of "behavior" setting so that you can set what kind of enemy ships under your command will attack first when you use that "attack drag select" over enemy ships. ie. All S size ships will targets enemy S size first, then move on to M and L, XL. XL will go for XL instead of chasing after a S.

And maybe also add group numbers? (crtl+1,2,3... like every single RTS games)

For capital ships, if player can't have full control, maybe gives the player the ability to order the cap ship that the player currently on(or just about any capital ships) move around like in Homeworld sensor mode, where you can order your unit to move in XYZ but you still can't have direct control over it. It makes the player really feels like a captain of the ship while still have some degree of control about where exactly the player wants the AI to move their capital ship to.


If we are going back to X3's "sectors connected by gates" style, makes each sector a LOT bigger (more room for bigger fleet) if the station size is gonna be compared to XR's station size. And for moving around in-sector, add some kind of "cruise drive" that disable your weapons but makes the ship move waaaay faster, like the cruise drive from Freelancer, which also auto-shutdown when a ship is near a big enough object.

Yep this has been a suggestion for many years mainly because it has been the only solution to date proven to work... We have it captured in the DevNet ideas subforum. A year ago Bernd talked very briefly about using lists and command queues for this which from a programing PoV makes sense but it all needs to be hidden behind a nice presentation layer that is doing the work. What ever happens I think we are still quite some time away from seeing the results I hope ES seeks user experience feedback on this feature from players/persons that have some experience. I think at least one of the ES developers as I recall has played HW and they are certainly aware of its interface (probably sick of me talking about it by now)

[Spectre01]

@BigBANGtheory

Good to hear. I'm pretty sure they know what I was talking about from constantly seeing that HW picture in your signature, lol.

Anyway, another thing I hope they may address is the in-game progression. In the X3 era, you normally starts with a single weak ship. You start taking on missions and trade from here and there to amass your credit. Then you move on to bigger ships either for better fighting or making bigger trade. And eventually, build your stations to make the ware to trade. You then move on to use that credit to build up your own fleet, whether it's for your own station security, or just want to fight stuff and see things go boom in a spectacular fashion.

I believe that maintain your own huge fleet and make use of them are the series's "end game". It acts both as a credit sink and a goal to work toward. AP kind of partially solve it by introducing war. But it's either you must participate or stop it from happening, which is kind of a put off.

And one last thing that I hope for is having multiple side missions mini-plot like in TC. They don't even needed to be 100% voiced, just some texts is enough. So storywise, it would be structured like Elder Scroll Skyrim, where you have your main plot line, but you can choose not to follow it. And then there's a bunch of side plots that has its own beginning and end that doesn't impact the main plot. And modders can have enough freedom to add their own mini mission series.

[thrangar]

I would like to be able to play completely sandbox and have available to me by purchase or rep/standing all ships equipment and stations that are exsisting in the game code

Having the PHQ (preferably race styled) have a UI or screen room where I can run my empire/ would also like said interface in traders/luxury upgraded ship TL maybe where I could interface and run empire from there also

I would like different landing than what is in X3 ap( don't know whats XR) the hanging off a teat thing is not good enough

I would like all large or top line of stations to have the ability to access turrets that come with station/ in otherwards...warp to said turret form either close to station or while docked with station

[mr.WHO]

IMO they need to adress 3 worst nightmares of every single X-game to this day:
- terrible AI and pathfinding
- terrible GUI for late game player empire management
- player insignificance due to enemy spawn out of thin air (there should be a way, even if hard one to obliterate a faction or at least supress them to the point they are nothing but niusance)