X3: Terran Conflict

Yeah, I figured I could, since its on there already (£19.99) but I sometimes forget that. I will do so this time, and receive automatic updates!

garion333 wrote:
Haakon7 wrote:

So, for somebody who has never played any of the X games, do I wait until this new X4 comes out, or do I give X3 Gold a shot first?

X3 Terran Conflict is all you want. Only buy the Gold version if it costs less than TC by itself.

Do you wait? I wouldn't. Every release if full of bugs and TC has been patched up real nice with a bunch of added content. It has a HORRID tutorial and the learning curve is steep at first, but that's why we're here. TC is a very good game, but fully expect to have to put 8 hours or so into it before it starts to feel natural. Not to say the time before that can't be fun, just that you'll still be fighting some of the basics: controls, what the hell I'm doing, what to do next, etc.

Edit: tannhauser'd, but my explanation is better Stele. :P

8 hours? Maybe to start manufacturing and interstellar trading. Within 2 hours you'll be popping M5s and/or trading calhoons.

Well, I am alive and well, was in the middle of the triple tornadoes. Got a chance to play a lot of video games while waiting for the internet to come back up.

Sweet mother of Menelaus, I installed this on a new computer to "benchmark" it compared to my old machine and now I'm completely sucked back in.

What scripts are people running with TC? A lot of the classic stuff was officially included in TC, but I still find that I want better nav sat scripts, jump drive scripts (give me a "jump to my position" command), and trading scripts.

Actually, what this game needs is a Minority Report 3-D interface hot-wired to a Kinect controller with voice recognition. Rather than press 6 buttons to dig through 5 menus, I should just be able to point at one of my ships on the map and tell it to dock, buy energy cells, and then jump.

Edit: Also, glad you're alive Hermler! I should have said that first.

Wow GamersGate has the Mac version on sale for... $32.

Thanks man, I appreciate it, wherever it is

Thanks man, I appreciate it, wherever it is

Stele wrote:

Wow GamersGate has the Mac version on sale for... $32.

:?

Yes, and I haven't heard anything about it other than the updates aren't as frequent.

It was ported by a third party, so very doubtful if it will come to steam.,

Stele wrote:

Wow GamersGate has the Mac version on sale for... $32.

:?

Disappointing, but at least the Mac version of TC has now been patched so it has the same content as the Windows version.

Montalban wrote:

What scripts are people running with TC? A lot of the classic stuff was officially included in TC, but I still find that I want better nav sat scripts, jump drive scripts (give me a "jump to my position" command), and trading scripts.

My favorites include:
Economy and Supply Trader offers some advantages over Sector/Universe traders, and integrates nicely with the Commercial Agent script in the Bonus Pack -- you can switch ships back and forth between being CAG's and EST's and the pilots will keep their experience levels.
NPC Bailing -- allows ships to bail in NPC-NPC fights, and lets you tweak bailing rates
Complex Cleaner -- makes building large factory complexes much easier

There are also a couple of scripts that I used to swear by, but have kept accumulating features until they ended up changing the game more than I like:
MARS Fire Control -- started as automatic turret control & way to make drones useful, now changes combat a lot
Salvage Command Suite -- from improved System Override Software, to a Swiss Army Knife of scripts

misplacedbravado wrote:

There are also a couple of scripts that I used to swear by, but have kept accumulating features until they ended up changing the game more than I like:

I'm definitely going to try out that supply trader thing. It sounds like just the right thing to bridge the gap between all my station supply ships and all my UTs.

I found Cycrow's Advanced Jumpdrive script which I had used for Reunion. It's pretty much exactly the same thing. The jump menus get a little more complicated but I love the "jump to station" command. So far I have ignored all the energy cell free jumpdrives as I remember them feeling like cheats. But constantly checking my cargo hold for energy cells is still a pain.

Oh, one more I forgot -- All Plots Complete lets you start a new game with all the plot-reward toys already in the sandbox.

I don't know if this has been talked about, but has anyone used this overhaul mod yet? It's called X-Tended. It looks like it might be pretty interesting, but seems like it might be relatively different. I haven't played this game for probably a year, although I might want to get back into it.

Citizen86 wrote:

I don't know if this has been talked about, but has anyone used this overhaul mod yet? It's called X-Tended. It looks like it might be pretty interesting, but seems like it might be relatively different. I haven't played this game for probably a year, although I might want to get back into it.

That actually looks quite awesome. Give me 100 magical free hours and I'll return with a full report.

As for scripts, I can't begin to recommend Improved Races enough. Seriously, it's fantastic - makes the universe feel much, much more alive. They'll actually wage war on each other, with huge space battles, sector takeovers, etc. It's a must-have.

A major mod that's worthwhile as well is the Ship Rebalance Mod (SRM). It adds some 74 new(and old - includes old X2 and X3:Reunion ships), and rebalances a lot of the weapons and such very effectively. Fixes issues where there are a lot of ships that are terrible and some that are so good that they are basically I-WIN buttons.

Personally, my must-have list:
Improved Races, SRM, NPC Bailing, Salvage Claim Software, MARS, Complex Cleaner, Cycrow's Cheat Package* and the Bonus Pack scripts.

* The cheat package allows me to turn on Unlimited Salvage Insurance. This allows me to save at any time freely. The game's still a bit buggy, and it's intensely frustrating to lose a long stretch of play because you were reluctant to use salvage insurance or didn't have any on hand. Also, I frequently use it to resolve oddball issues that arise.

misplacedbravado wrote:

The subgroup of hardcore fans I don't want Egosoft listening to are the space masochists -- the guys who complain that TC is just too easy. TC did a lot to be more accessible and less grindy than X3R, but then there was the Hub. (And successive patches toned down mission rewards and made boarding much more difficult, etc.)

This. I honestly don't care if Action A is somewhat more profitable than Action B, as this is a single player game. A lot of the modding I did for TC was specifically to reduce some of the more arbitrary "balance" tweaks - getting NPC bailing because boarding, buggy and difficult to begin with, was made nearly impossible because some felt they could make money too fast with it. The toned down mission rewards, too... erf. Completely unnecessary, I think.

Not that I wanted the game easier per say - make the combat as hard as possible! But I want my actions to at least feel profitable and useful.

X-Tended is awesome. It can make the game literally go on forever because of this:

Dynamically expanding universe. This is a new region of space, new sectors are being discovered and linked to the universe while you are playing.
garion333 wrote:

X-Tended is awesome. It can make the game literally go on forever because of this:

Dynamically expanding universe. This is a new region of space, new sectors are being discovered and linked to the universe while you are playing.

Ah, awesome. Because the game feels short as is right now /sarcasm

I like Wintersdark suggestions, I might give some of those scripts a try first before I load up a full mod like X-Tended

Citizen86 wrote:

I don't know if this has been talked about, but has anyone used this overhaul mod yet? It's called X-Tended. It looks like it might be pretty interesting, but seems like it might be relatively different. I haven't played this game for probably a year, although I might want to get back into it.

I said this about it a while back. Ultimately, I didn't play it long enough to see most of the new stuff, because the pace was too slow. A new game starts with only a handful of sectors accessible, and it takes a while for new ones to unlock. Sectors are larger than in vanilla TC, so you spend more time just flying. Mission rewards are much lower. Ultimately, there's a strong space-masochist streak in the modders who made it.

Addendum:

garion333 wrote:

X-Tended is awesome. It can make the game literally go on forever because of this:

Dynamically expanding universe. This is a new region of space, new sectors are being discovered and linked to the universe while you are playing.

My understanding is that it gradually reveals the (pre-designed) map, rather than generating new sectors. If you're right, it's a much cooler thing.

Thanks for the observation misplacedbravado, that might actually be a bit of deterrent. I actually thought that when I read how the sectors were bigger. Oh good, more wide open space..

You guys inspired me to install the Xtended mod and boot up X3:TC again. I never really got anywhere the first time around, so I figured it'd fun to have playing while I study for my boards. My poor aging computer immediately pegged all 2GB of system memory as used. Clearly, an upgrade is in order.

Quick question: How do I set up a simple ship to move a product from one (of my) station to another (of my) in the same sector, automatically? With all the different Universe Trader/CAG things, I'm a bit lost. I just need to assign one ship to move silicone from a mine to another station without me having to do it manually each time. Do I just have to set it up so that the ship "buys" the silicone and then "sells" it to my other station? Seems like there ought to be an easier way.

Also, anticipate some pics of some very large complexes in the near future.

I think you need to set the ship with one of the stations as a home base.

And then you can have it buy/sell the item you want to transfer, with a range of 0 sectors.

Hm, that sounds right... but I haven't played in a few months...

Montalban wrote:

Do I just have to set it up so that the ship "buys" the silicone and then "sells" it to my other station? Seems like there ought to be an easier way.

Actually, that probably is the easiest way. Set up a Manual Trade Run and have it loop continuously. IIRC, the ship will need Trade Command mk II software and a Trading Systems Extension.

Commodity Logistics Software in the Bonus Pack is designed for this sort of thing and much more complex situations, but I've never quite wrapped my head around it.

First, make the ship home base to one of the two points.

Second, set up a trade run by going to Trade -> Buy/Sell ...

Third, select the sector, station, and product you wished to buy or sell.

Fourth, it will ask how many times to repeat this run, say 99999999, which is as many as it can input, and you are all set.

EDIT: When buying or selling, it depends on where you home base the craft. If you base it at the producer, sell it. If you base it at the consumer, buy it.

Hey I was mostly right.

Hmmm. Here's my trade screen command options:
IMAGE(http://img580.imageshack.us/img580/306/tradecommandoptions.jpg)

If I try a manual trade run, it lets me pick what to buy and asks if I want to "repeat indefinitely." I choose yes, and it starts up. However, I have to be sure I set the prices just right, otherwise the ship will stop and complain that "I got here too late" to make a profit. This has turned out to be more trouble than it's worth. If anything is slightly off (prices, stock too low, etc.) the ship will send me an error message and stop working.

I'm thinking this is something the Commercial Agent software is supposed to do, but I don't have enough experience with that yet to know how to set it up properly. It seems to work well for a station that is surrounded by NPCs with the products I want to buy or stations I want to sell to, but interaction between my own stations still eludes me. It may have something to do with the Internal Commodity Logistics. I read through all of that on the forums once, but it didn't sink in.

Its right there, Buy Ware... and Sell Ware..., not manual trade run.

Hermler wrote:

Its right there, Buy Ware... and Sell Ware..., not manual trade run.

I thought I had tried that too, and I guess my comment about something always going wrong was aimed at those other options, but maybe I had only used Buy ware for best price. Buy ware seems to work ok, although now it's sucking out all the silicon from my other plex, and I need at least some to run the other. But that's a planning issue. I'll figure something out. Thanks for the help!

Regarding complexes, at first I thought I was tough stuff when I built an XL SPP with a couple crystal fabs attached. Then I thought I was big when I built a self-sufficient ore mine complex. Then I thought I had finally arrived when I built this in Asteroid Belt to avoid some of the pain of shopping all over the universe to outfit M2s and M7s. (The PBEs for missile defense)

IMAGE(http://img202.imageshack.us/img202/2476/complexab.th.jpg)

Not a great shot but you get the idea.

But now I'm planning something more ambitious in the Unknown sector next to Montalaar (Avarice) to sell illegal goods. But if you read the forums you'll see that I'm still thinking small.

Mmm, complexes. I managed to build one over yonder (Yaki space?) to build IBLs for my cap ships. But somewhere after I finished it is when I tapered off. I do want to get back to that. Think I had only produced 1 or 2 of the guns the last time I played.

Oh yeah, that guide was here, takes 40-million-ish, but very nice power on M7s

Stele wrote:

Mmm, complexes. I managed to build one over yonder (Yaki space?) to build IBLs for my cap ships. But somewhere after I finished it is when I tapered off. I do want to get back to that. Think I had only produced 1 or 2 of the guns the last time I played.

Oh yeah, that guide was here, takes 40-million-ish, but very nice power on M7s

That's a good read and a fun project. It's certainly doable, although I really need to get back to the plots and finish those up. I've been distracted with all this sandbox castle building.

I haven't played this game for a while and I might be coming back. I noticed Egosoft is going to release a new game called X-Rebirth on Q4-2011 .

I checked out your complex and the only thing I thought about is shortening the URL parameter string for that calculator from about 150 characters to 32 or less . I didn't build complexes in my game only some farms and other stuff . I don't think I have many traders either . I guess I'm afraid to leave the game free running but if I am returning after a long break i might just do that.

I did try of starting from scratch and trying out those money making schemes . From what I recall I didn't have as much luck because the AI traders beat me to the good deals.