X4: Foundations - Mount and Blade with space-ships. Now with significant Beta update

[Zarniwoop]

Terran cadet makes the easy game even easier.

It's the start for when you don't want to git gud but already be gud.

 

[pickmeister]

After a few weeks, I decided to get back to this. At first, I finished the flight school tutorial three times to feel at least slightly competent with ship controls and only after that I decided to start the actual game. Read that Terran Cadet is the best start, which it might be at least to get into fighting. But grinding rep up with the Commonwealth gets tedious very quick.

I'm about 40 hours in, just received the terraforming mission and an access from Terran Protectorate to Moon and Earth and I'm getting filtered again because most of the time, it feels like I'm fighting the game instead of playing it.

First I got three M miners (Bolo) and put them on Local AutoMine in Saturn 2 and watch them doing fuckall and being slow even at that. I'd buy L Hokkaido if I could afford it and have I had an access to Terran Shipyard (for which I need 20 rep) so I opted for Bolos instead.

Do something in the meantime, buy more Bolos when I can afford it. Read about Repeat Orders being better than AutoMine and decide to try it. And indeed, miners on Repeat Orders are about 10 times faster than AutoMine, which makes it completely useless. So I reassign all my Bolos to Repeat Orders in Asteroid Belt. One after another because for some idiotic fuckin' reason you can't do that for more than one ship, and leave on AutoMine only those that drool on their uniform (have below 1 star in piloting).

After having 11 Bolos I finally get my 20 rep with Terran Protectore and get the access to their Shipyard where I buy 2 Hokkaidos. Feelin' good.
But of course, one Hokkaido got a captain with below 1 star piloting and that retard can only do that useless Automine. So either I give him a seminar (which can be received from mission only AFAIK) or park two ships at a station and switch him with a captain that isn't retarded from the second ship (haven't tried that but I assume it is possible) or run around a station trying to find another captain which is so much fun to do.

I can't be bothered to do that so I put that idiot on AutoMine and watch him fill his cargo hold to about 10% while the other Hokkaido already returned from it's first trip to a buyer and started to mine again.

And then I realize, that I managed to almost saturate Terrans with silicon and after that, there's no one close I can sell it to. So I either build a station, get a freighter (with money I don't have) an sell it somewhere far away or build a station and factories and start producing shit. But first I'd have to buy blueprints for station modules, build them (for which, even if I have enough money, I have to wait eternity for the AI to deliver those resources because even if I had the freighter and bought all those materials, finding a build storage and docking at it is the single most annoying thing I've done in the game. And then learn everything there is about managing a station which is a whole new game which would be fine but that also means find out all those functions that are completely useless (just like AutoMine) and how to work around them.

As I wrote at the start, it feels like I keep fighting the game instead of playing it. Why does it have functions that are great on paper but completely useless in practice (i.e. AutoMine)? Why, if I want to work around these useless functions, I need to jump through so many annoying hoops (having to set up Repeat Order individually for every ship instead of a group, pilots having to be not complete inbreds so they have at least 1 star in Piloting etc.)?

I'll probably put it on a backburner for some time and return to it later. Someone wrote somewhere "There's a great game hidden behind that terrible interface." and I couldn't agree more. I'm not calling for automation as that would make the game play itself and that wouldn't be good either. But having a better interface that would guide the player a bit and either removing or tuning functions like AutoMine so they are actually useful would do a lot.

 

[Zarniwoop]

Automine DID work, amazingly well actually. Made my first few hundred million from nVidium, then moved on to factories, then a shipyard and finally ultra-megaplexes all over.

Unfortunately, as with many things in this game, the perkeltards of the world bitched about MUH BALINSE and it was nerfed to the point of being useless. In a later patch, autotraders suffered the same fate. And most recently, so were shipyards. They went from insane money printers to downright non-profitability.

 

[Perkel]

Well i got fucked by meself.

You see I created new char and wanted to try trading as in support empire rather than what i do usually aka fuck the noise I will build my own empire.

Silicon Wafer always at start are pretty good source of couple of mils as you get around 100k per run but soon you get those stations filled with wafers nad you can't sell them anymore. Unlike Refined plates which are needed by a lot of fabs and more specifically by hull parts fabs.

So I basically increased trade to 11 and two-three near sectors were running on local autotrade. Mils started flying faster than I have seen in any other game I tried. Happy with nearly 40mil in bank and huge fleet I decided to set up bases...

and this is where this nice story ends. Turns out that by me delivering goods to those hull fabs made all those new empire fabs in construction... construct... and suddenly half of universe was lacking claytronics which unlike hull parts are produced in small quantities.

Basically I can't build anything for next who knows how many hours because there are 10s if not 100s of stations in construction that are mostly build with hull parts i helped to make and all of them wait for claytronics. As soon as claytronic part is produced anywhere I can see it vanishes in miliseconds being claimed by someone else.

At this point I think only way for me is to basically find claytronic fab and completely shut it off. Force any transporter with claytronics to drop cargo lol.

 

[Crispy]

Terran cadet makes the easy game even easier.

Okay, so do you have a suggestion for a better way to get into the game and learn it?

 

[Joggerino]

Well i got fucked by meself.

You see I created new char and wanted to try trading as in support empire rather than what i do usually aka fuck the noise I will build my own empire.

Silicon Wafer always at start are pretty good source of couple of mils as you get around 100k per run but soon you get those stations filled with wafers nad you can't sell them anymore. Unlike Refined plates which are needed by a lot of fabs and more specifically by hull parts fabs.

So I basically increased trade to 11 and two-three near sectors were running on local autotrade. Mils started flying faster than I have seen in any other game I tried. Happy with nearly 40mil in bank and huge fleet I decided to set up bases...

and this is where this nice story ends. Turns out that by me delivering goods to those hull fabs made all those new empire fabs in construction... construct... and suddenly half of universe was lacking claytronics which unlike hull parts are produced in small quantities.

Basically I can't build anything for next who knows how many hours because there are 10s if not 100s of stations in construction that are mostly build with hull parts i helped to make and all of them wait for claytronics. As soon as claytronic part is produced anywhere I can see it vanishes in miliseconds being claimed by someone else.

At this point I think only way for me is to basically find claytronic fab and completely shut it off. Force any transporter with claytronics to drop cargo lol.

I remember claytronics being insanely expensive and a major bottleneck in construction. And you gotta admit, it's pretty cool how you created that particular shortage yourself. Now if you had predicted the situation you could have stockpiled on claytronics and made infinite money.

 

[Average Manatee]

It's always tempting to build more and more of whatever you've figured out that makes you money, but in a living economy situation that tends to backfire eventually. At least if you built traders then you can re-assign them to other things and make money in the meantime, unlike if you built stations.

 

[Perkel]

Terran cadet makes the easy game even easier.

Okay, so do you have a suggestion for a better way to get into the game and learn it?

Teladi is solid start if you want to get into game. It gets you scout ship, transporter and small base that also produces soja.
X3/4 early game can be incredibly painful if you don't know what you are doing. This starts let's you skip straight into what makes X3/4 games great games.

If you will stay longer then you can start from 0.

Another thing about it is that this game is pretty good AFK game. You don't need to sit non stop playing it. You can shitpost on codex as you play it which is what i do in this very moment.

Also use Autopilot constantly. It is there for a reason.

 

[Average Manatee]

Yeah a 2nd monitor to shitpost with while playing should almost be in the minimum requirements for the game.

 

[Crispy]

So far starting out on the Terran Cadet scenario is a perfect way to *actually* learn the game since you're given concise, direct orders that force you to get familiar with all aspects of the game from basic flying to docking to accepting missions, fighting, repairing damage, etc. If it translates into an opportunity to earn a lot of credits then "retire" from military service to strike out on my own then so be it.

Silly question: I'm assuming once I'm done or sick of Terran solar system activity, the rest of the areas of the game (minus potential DLC) are accessible, as long as I figure out where the correct jump gates are located?

 

[Stokowski]

Claytronics are essential for building stations.
Hull Parts are essential for building stations and ships.
NPCs don't build many Hull Part factories.
Become self-sufficient in both, while selling excess for big profits.

 

[Zarniwoop]

So far starting out on the Terran Cadet scenario is a perfect way to *actually* learn the game since you're given concise, direct orders that force you to get familiar with all aspects of the game from basic flying to docking to accepting missions, fighting, repairing damage, etc.

The basic bitch non-expansion starts are the proper way to do it. Young Gun etc. They still hold your hand (and give you free shit, just not to the same extreme as the DLC ones.) You start out as hostile to the Terrans which has always been the way of this series, but you have access to the rest of the universe.

The starts marked with EXTRA HARD or whatever, giving you a lot of money are for experienced players. At least they used to be. Now everyone can use them.

 

[Zarniwoop]

Claytronics are essential for building stations.
Hull Parts are essential for building stations and ships.
NPCs don't build many Hull Part factories.
Become self-sufficient in both, while selling excess for big profits.

If you're starting in Terran space, Silicon Carbide is also good business. They're the only race that uses it and there's never enough.

 

[deuxhero]

Oort Cloud is also great for just sicing some medium miners on auto as a Terran. Getsu Fune is also a good mine location if the AI builds anything there.

 

[Crispy]

This map is very helpful for anyone else just starting out:

https://roguey.co.uk/x4/universe/

 

[Zarniwoop]

Not just beginners.

Roguey's Site has been the premier reference site for the X series for over a decade. The map is useful for finding new sectors but the best part is the ship and weapons tables. Much easier to deal with than the weak in-game encyclopedia.

And it's sortable so you can find the biggest transport, carrier with the most turrets, etc.

 

[Crispy]

Uh, I'm assuming that's not our Roguey. Is it?

 

[Zarniwoop]

Uh, I'm assuming that's not our Roguey. Is it?

God no.

The one who made the website is clearly not retarded.

 

[Joggerino]

I decided to finally replay x4 myself. Wanted to stick mostly to vanilla but ended up installing mods for hours

Most notably I went for VRO + nosuperhighways. VRO was balanced with nosuperhighways in mind and I like all their changes so it just sounds perfect for me. I especially like how they made missile not complete shit which really bothered me in vanilla.
https://sites.google.com/view/vrowiki/Home

Other mods are smaller things like autotrade script, explorer script, a satellite mod, reaction force, fire and smoke (visual mod), better kill credit
Installed Trader seminars + Seminar prices because I remember levelling pilots being extremely annoying
Installed FOCW because apparently if the game is too easy I can use it to spice things up.

By the way, if you want to get the mods from steam workshop while not having the game on steam you can download the packed mod file from here:
http://steamworkshop.download/
Then use this unpacker
https://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?t=388403

Gonna start as terran cadet because the terran faction is my favorite

 

[GreyViper]

Its a fun game, but I agree it can have long real-time moments where nothing happens your waiting behind something trade or ship capture. Went with argon merc, first collected all the abandoned ships, went near Terra and started capturing Freelancer Katans to sell. From there start privateering other terran ships while doing anti-criminal activities near bases to keep rep balanced.
Still I think my crown achievement was snagging Asgard while acquiring a large freighter. Filled it full of marines from Averice and started fly by the boarding. Asgard in question had lost all of its fighter covers and was at half or less health after returning from Xenon space and heading towards Earth. Had to get another batch of marines after first wave died while trying to capture it. 2nd one was enough and I became the proud owner of Asgard.

But yeah rep grind every time is not fun, I know it can go up while doing trade but it does not apply to factions that won't allow docking with their bases.

I have to say the recent DLC and Averice are really good, both brought some good ships and mechanics. Love the Shi heavy fighter as my main travel model.

Anyway, CptCollins has a nice overview.

 

[Perkel]

Since i fucked myself over in first game i mentioned I decide to again do something I don't do usually. Aka go with niggers i mean split. Went there and yeah they have fast traders but sure as shit they don't haul much per run. Their L trader has barely 16k storage while teladis M has like 12k though L one is faster than M teladi one and doubly so for split M one. They are almost twice as expensive though. Their miners are insane. Super fast with good storage but much like everything expensive.

 

[Zarniwoop]

But yeah rep grind every time is not fun, I know it can go up while doing trade but it does not apply to factions that won't allow docking with their bases.

Just explode Xenons or pirates in their sectors and the rep goes up enough to allow you to dock.

 

[Crispy]

Okay, one of the early missions you get in Terran Cadet is to investigate some strange signals coming from rogue satellites, then your home defense platform gets attacked by a large Xenon raiding party, so you have to rush back and help defend it.

Uh, wow? That was p. intense. I've played other space combat games before but the amount of shit going on at once was quite impressive. Interesting that the game paused a couple of times for about one second each, I assume the engine itself was choking on its own assets flying everywhere.

The semi-random nature of the game is its greatest asset, because it seems like you can luck out and for example find valuable shit floating in space or stumble upon something totally unexpected. I also love how the game doesn't hold your hand at all. If you approach things logically, you can excel quite quickly. If you're stupid, you can die laughable easily.

Fun!

 

[Average Manatee]

Any mod suggestions? I'm currently going with:

VRO (supposed to add more variety to ships. I don't know them well enough to complain about a lack of variety but it sounds good)
NoSuperHighway (Just makes things better IMO)
No Travel for all engines VRO (Removes travel but leaves in turbo which is tactically nice and does speed travel a bit)
Early SETA (need it with no travel, just craft it at first station)
SETA Everywhere (lets you use SETA while not piloting a ship so you can stand by commanding things while your chauffeur pilots)
Disable Encounters (Recommended to stop magic ships spawning in by events)
Apologize for Attack (good for avoiding random shots pissing people off)
Average Prices Suffixes (tells you price of things on the name)
Fly By Looting (lets you loot in an AoE after battle)
Sector Satellites (makes satellites a lot better with more options, helps scouting and tracking trade and supposed to be less lag because they don't reveal FoW of a whole sector).


The slower travel definitely makes things feel better. Trade is slower, responding to fights is slower. Started with a few miners going for silicon and ore to feed AI stations (mining right next to them has low travel time so its least effected by nerfs), getting some traders to trade away the surplus refined products now.

 

[Perkel]

sounds good. Check first if VRO is compatible with 6.0. It is huge modification to balance and without compatibility game will fuck itself.

edit:yup you have to download VRO from nexus for 6.0 to work correctly. There seems to be issue of author of VRO on worshop who can't upload for some reason recent version

edit2: that is actually pretty great list, i'll be using it myself.