X3: Terran Conflict

[Sir T]

Go back to the top of the thread. Bhodi gives a list of the must have mods in the first couple of messages.

Ahh sorry. Missed that. Thanks.

[bhodi]

I think I'm going to put together a quick tutorial radicalthon to get people over the hump of starting and getting into this world. Screenshots, etc, since video isn't happening.

[Ceryse]

Ran into a.. problem, of sorts. Things have been going fairly decently; set up several traders, explored most race sectors and have a nice number of fights to choose from; haven't made the jump to an M6 yet as I've been enjoying the fighters a lot. Except when I run across hostiles with flame-throwers. In my Sabre (which I pull out to use for fun), its a one-shot death if I get hit. In my Advanced Perseus, which is fully upgraded, its also a one-shot death if I get hit; and if multiple hostiles have it.. I can't win. I'm generally lucky if I can make a single pass without getting hit. I can generally dodge the first two, maybe three shots from a ship, but the fourth always gets me. Its over even sooner with multiples.

I've managed to solo kill dual M6es, yet flamethrowers, especially on M3s make for a very frustrating experience.

Also; is there any way at all to lower your combat rank? I'm at the 23rd-ish combat rank, and missions are becoming less and less fun due to the kinds of enemies I end up having to face. Was just fooling around in my Sabre and a Xenon-patrol mission popped up; took it, even at Very Hard. A J and a P were what spawned. I guess I'll have to start going for an M6 and bigger for myself soon.

[bhodi]

There's a solution to both.

Against the flamethrowers, you just need to stay out of range. Their range is short, around 850 meters, and your guns should have twice that range.

You can reduce your combat rank with cycow's cheat script. That's one of the main reasons I install it.

[Ceryse]

Thanks for the tip on the flamethrowers.

You can reduce combat rank with the cheat package? How? I looked through the commands and the only thing I found even remotely close was race notoriety. Didn't see anything for combat rank; and the thread for the script had people saying it can't be modified by scripts.

[bhodi]

Oh, I guess I was wrong. I thought it did. I was thinking about race rank.  Time to get a M6 it looks like :)

Also, if you don't do any combat for a while, your rank will drop. Basically, leave SETA on and go to dinner or something - you'll come back with some money from EST and hopefully a lower combat rank.

[Thrawn]

Suddenly the old EvE tutorial feels like the best, most informative thing ever.

[ajax34i]

Heh, heh.  Long ago I posted a question on the Egosoft forums and they answered it, but also told me that it was a big bother for them to do so.  Fuck them, haven't posted since, or played the game, or tried to get any of my friends to play it.

[Reg]

This is the nichiest niche game I've played in ages.  The unpolished and buggy quest system is particularly fun. I did manage to complete the Terran quest line though. It was worth plowing through it and reloading and retrying a million times to get it to work just for the cool ships they handed out as prizes.

[Sky]

I booted it up and shot the first guy that talked to me. Hey, there was a pointer to his ship and everything. Then I died in a hail of missiles.

Buy it.

[Thrawn]

I booted it up and shot the first guy that talked to me. Hey, there was a pointer to his ship and everything. Then I died in a hail of missiles.

I had a similar experiance, however I shot he first thing that showed up in red brackets and red on my map.  The I died in a hail of..something. 

[Ceryse]

I keep trying to love this game. It has its moments, definitely. Finally actually managed to get further into the game but the crashing was getting pretty ludicrous (alas, I'm fairly certain it was due to MARS, something I've come to consider essential to playing this game), so I'm trying a complete re-install and everything.

Lot of problems with this game, though I've found I can (generally) live with them with a bit of cheating here and there (oh, my brand new ship that I damn well went broke getting and upgrading blew up on trying to un-dock, because it clipped the station? etc., etc.). But if I have to re-start the game (again) I think I'll go insane if I don't just auto-reveal all sectors. And its always fun to lose rep on missions because turrets miss (even with MARS, I found the turrets on my Springblossom had a <20% hit rate) the target and slam into that big ass Boron transport I'm on a plot mission with. I went from 9th faction rank with the Boron to 3, just on that one damn Final Fury mission.

Might look into modding for this game; I wish the combat was a fair bit slower, especially with capital ships. They go down just too quick and mods I've seen that address this also do other things I don't want. Also found out you can, technically, mod combat ranks and such, but with the Mission Director format which almost no one in the X community seems to touch or really understand. Bonus?

[john4]

I read a lot about the game, and never ended up buying it (or even downloading it) for one simple reason- I could not understand how the game is anything but single-player EVE.

Flying around space, getting faction (equivalent to skill training) to fly bigger ships?  Eternal struggle to gain more money? Distinct gradient in the difficulty of enemies as you travel away from "Empire" space?

Is there some aspect to the X series I am missing?

[Reg]

That's really strange Ceryse, I have MARS installed too and I don't think I've had a single game crash. Hopefully a reinstall will help.  Your other problems though I understand. Even on autopilot once in a while I"ll crash into something and explode instantly and have to reload the damned game.

Money has stopped being a problem though.  Mission rewards go up with your faction so at 11 with the Argon an Easy station defense mission earns me a million credits or so.

[Ingmar]

I read a lot about the game, and never ended up buying it (or even downloading it) for one simple reason- I could not understand how the game is anything but single-player EVE.

Flying around space, getting faction (equivalent to skill training) to fly bigger ships?  Eternal struggle to gain more money? Distinct gradient in the difficulty of enemies as you travel away from "Empire" space?

Is there some aspect to the X series I am missing?

The impression I have (second-hand) is that the combat is much more interactive than Eve's.

[bhodi]

The missions are more in depth, but you're playing in a sandbox. Also, unlike eve there isn't a lot of 'dead' time - you can speed the game up.

In the end, it's a sandbox - you make your own goals beyond those given in the missions. That said, you can pretty much go from mission chain to mission chain and experience most, if not all, the game has to offer.

Ceryse: Get a prototype shockwave cannon and use those in your turrets. They won't miss again :)

[Lantyssa]

The impression I have (second-hand) is that the combat is much more interactive than Eve's.

Combat is dog-fighting.  At least in the smaller ships.  I haven't done anything with the larger ships simply because I like being in a fighter.

It's the spiritual successor to Elite and Privateer with more options for running an empire if you want.

[Ceryse]

Well, I'm dead certain the crashes were caused my MARS (crashes only occurred when a Goblin would get blown up, get launched, or when certain MARS scripts kicked in). Started a brand new campaign  and will soon be able to test if the complete re-install helps. Made sure to install MARS last, just in case. Just not a game I'll play if I can't play without MARS, its become that crucial in removing tedium.

Money was only an issue for me in my last campaign because I purposely held off on building a large trading empire. Just had a few ships going. Was going to go full bore after the Terran campaign and a few other missions got wrapped up.. which is about when I went for the reinstall.

Still, I think it says something when I've had countless problems, the game has a ton of issues left in it that were never addressed by Egosoft or modders.. and by and large.. much of the game remains enjoyable. The start blows chunks, but once I can get to a good M4 tricked out I start having fun. The Sabre remains one of my favourite ships... in my last game I actually managed to nearly take down a M2 in it by exploiting blind spots and speed. Almost being getting it down to <50% hull before making an error on a blind spot run and smacking into the M2 and dying. Took forever, as I could barely out-damage the shield regen with its weapons, missiles and drones.

Bhodi; my load-out for my Springblossom had mostly Experimental EMPCs in the turrets due to cash flow/rank issues with what Prototype Starburst Shockwave Cannons I had in my manual slots. Mainly because I was afraid of turrets costing me even more rep. I think the two Prototype Matter/Anti Matter Launchers I had in turrets did I good enough job of that (oops). Still havn't played with anything larger than a Springblossom, as I keep having to start over. Twice now I've had corrupted saves (once was my fault..), and now re-installing/re-starting in the hopes of MARS working without crashing. Ended up auto-revealing the sectors because I just couldn't take manually exploring them all again.

If I can get MARS to work decently (and it really is my only technical issue; the game runs fairly well, with only the slight hiccups when large fleets jump in) I might go for one of the Invasion mods, as well. Universe is a touch.. stale after awhile.

[Reg]

So, are people still playing this?

I just finished my first factory complex and it's happily grinding out energy crystals for the universe. Now that it's set up it's basically just free money forever. My high Argon reputation means outrageous mission rewards as well. So far, I'm happy just running around in my Springblossom but it won't be long before I can afford one of the super expensive capital ships.

I'm not sure why I'd want one though. Is capital combat any fun?

[Hawkbit]

I'm not, just uninstalled it last night actually.  Glad I spent the $10 to see it though. 

Basically, playing this deep of a game single player made me want to play EVE.  And playing EVE makes me realize I've got entirely too much shit to do IRL to spend that kind of time on a game.  So in the end, I'm getting caught up on work.  Gee, X3, thanks.  I think. 

[bhodi]

So, are people still playing this?

I just finished my first factory complex and it's happily grinding out energy crystals for the universe. Now that it's set up it's basically just free money forever. My high Argon reputation means outrageous mission rewards as well. So far, I'm happy just running around in my Springblossom but it won't be long before I can afford one of the super expensive capital ships.

I'm not sure why I'd want one though. Is capital combat any fun?

Sadly, not really. I bought a tiger and it's basically the same, only with bigger guns. Ships go down almost as fast. There are mods that make it a bit more epic, though. As a goal, I would definitely pursue the hub missions - it sounds like you're about ready.

[Ceryse]

I'm still playing; sorta. I think my copy is cursed, or something. Something always doesn't work (right now its the Automated Satellite Network which is wonking out, always saying it can't find friendly sectors anywhere, when all but Xenon/Kha'ak and Yaki sectors are friendly...) but I've dealt with my crashing issues.

I haven't done much in the way of factories. Or.. anything, actually. But I'm running amok in my Springblossom (again!), with about 190 million in the bank from my EST traders and about to upgrade to an M2 because of my combat rank.

I took a M2 for a spin on a previous play-through while sorting out my crashing issues with MARS and my sound drivers. Solo jumping into Xenon sectors and killing all I surveyed? Kinda fun. Kinda disappointing as well, but still. When my M2 mowed through about 30ish M3-M5s, a couple M6s, an M1 and two M2s I kinda shook my head, then panicked when I saw my shields were actually down. If using Capital ships... MARS is a must. I tried without it and.. its excruciatingly painful to watch the moronic turret AI at work.

Once I finish the plot missions I think I'm going to have to install one of the mods that adds proper race invasions into the game and slows down combat. The X Universe is.. stale from that perspective and by then I figure I'll begin building my own empire, starting from Gaian Star, Maelstrom and the two Unknown Sectors there. Sufficiently "off-the-grid". Not entirely sure how I'll work in the HUB gates. I plan on wiping out the Split, though. They annoyed me.

[Kail]

I'm probably giving up.  Just running in to too many hurdles.  Sound is cutting in and out, and I can't find a fix, so I shut it off.  Can't hear the tutorials now, so I have to switch on subtitles every time I start a new game.  But they show up real small on the bottom of the screen, and I miss half of them, so I have no idea what's going on half the time anyway, and the tutorial (even for the terran campaign) seems half-assed at best.  So I don't really know what I'm doing or what's going on, and the game so far seems boring and empty.  Maybe it gets really interesting once you know what you're doing, but I'm spending stupid amounts of time doing basically nothing but flying in a straight line.

[CastleBrav0]

Once those two are done, I tool around some more, earning cash, Getting a high boron rep especially, until I can start a quest line in the sector Kingdom's End. This quest line (and where it takes you, and what you get) is so great I'm not going to spoil it here. It's a good entrance into the 'larger' X3 universe, though.

What's this Boron quest line that you're talking about?

My Boron rank is Queen's Knight (rank 9), and I'm in Kingdom's End now, but there's no quests available except an anti-smuggling mission. 

I've tried so many times in the past to get into X3 but I could never get over the learning curve.  I finally picked up X3:TC on Steam during the holiday sale and actually put some time into the game and I've found that I absolutely love it.  It really does let you do so much, it's amazing.  I'm up to 150 million credits, but I still haven't tried much combat.  Every time I do, I get my ass handed to me.  I picked up a Split Mamba Raider and equipped it with 4x High Energy Plasma Throwers (HEPTs) and a 25MJ shield, but I still get raped every time I go into combat.  I've been using the mouse flight mode, but I'm going to try switching to classic as others have suggested and turning on auto-aim (after switching my RMB to bore site fire). 

Whenever I'm in combat though, regardless of whether or not I can hit a moving target, with 4x HEPTs firing, my energy gets drained so damn fast that I end up not being able to shoot anymore.  Should I reconfigure my weapons to only use 1x or 2x HEPTs at a time instead of firing all four at once?  Should I get some different lasers?  Since I started off as a trader, I know basically nothing about weapons or missiles.  What should I be using on the Mamba Raider?

[Ceryse]

What's this Boron quest line that you're talking about?

My Boron rank is Queen's Knight (rank 9), and I'm in Kingdom's End now, but there's no quests available except an anti-smuggling mission. 

It doesn't start in Kingdom's End -- it can start in any random Boron sector once you get above... 8ish rep. Also need around a minimum of 6 Trade rank. Since the quest line does have a massive effect on the game, for the player especially, I'll include what it kinda is about in a spoiler.


I'm purposefully leaving this quest line for a bit and finishing all others I can first and build up my trade empire.

but I still haven't tried much combat.  Every time I do, I get my ass handed to me.  I picked up a Split Mamba Raider and equipped it with 4x High Energy Plasma Throwers (HEPTs) and a 25MJ shield, but I still get raped every time I go into combat.  I've been using the mouse flight mode, but I'm going to try switching to classic as others have suggested and turning on auto-aim (after switching my RMB to bore site fire). 

Whenever I'm in combat though, regardless of whether or not I can hit a moving target, with 4x HEPTs firing, my energy gets drained so damn fast that I end up not being able to shoot anymore.  Should I reconfigure my weapons to only use 1x or 2x HEPTs at a time instead of firing all four at once?  Should I get some different lasers?  Since I started off as a trader, I know basically nothing about weapons or missiles.  What should I be using on the Mamba Raider?

Going to the Classic Mode for combat, along with RMB=boresight, Auto-Aim ON (Fight Command Software Mk1 and 2 are essentials) resulting in me getting my ass handed to me by M5s and M4s to my M4 and I being able to out-fight M6es and swarms of fighters. I also swapped back inverting the mouse for it; I hate moving my mouse down to have my ship go up.

A Mamba Vanguard would be a bit better for combat than Mamba Raider, as it has twice the shielding and a bit more energy power (but my favourite fighter is easily the M4 Sabre, probably due to it being the one I have the most experience with; I'm actually worse in combat with most M3s and especially with Commonwealth weaponry like HEPTs and such compared to EMPCs). Regardless, for equipping your Mamba, I'd try going with (and I can't recall off-hand the energy requirements/rate of fire for some of these, so Bhodi or someone else could [should?] correct my bad advice, as I don't play with Commonwealth stuff much);

4xHEPTs
2xEBCs
2xPACs
Turret: Using MARS, keep an IRE, PAC and a PBE in your cargo bay, if possible, and it'll switch as optimal.

Then set them up using the Weapon Groups so that Group 1 is all 8, Group 2 is 2xHEPTs and 2 EBCs, Group 3 is 2xPACs and 2xEBCs, and so forth.

Group 2 would then become your primary fire mode once combat has started and you need more staying power, because EBCs are ammunition based. This means the 2xHEPTs going won't drain your energy as fast (or not at all? at which point you can try adding in either a third HEPT to the group, or a PAC or two and see how energy usage is). Group 1 is when you need to drop all the firepower at your disposal, although just the EBCs and HEPTs might work, as they have a longer range than the PACs.

Group 3 you just experiment with depending on what your needs are in combat; Group 4 I always leave as a single weapon with high shield damage, low hull damage for when I'm looking to get a pilot to bail.

This is why I, generally, didn't fare as well with Commonwealth fighters as I did with the Sabre. M3s and such have a lot more firepower potential, but they blow through their energy reserves very quickly, whilst my lowly Sabre barely runs out of juice with its 4xEMPCs firing all the time. The key with the Commonwealth ships is to vary your load-out as needed, primarily with something ammunition based. Means you have to cart around some ammo in your cargo holds, but will up your fire-power by not draining your energy, allowing your energy weapons to do their work longer.

[Lantyssa]

It's been a while so I don't remember my exact weapons configuration, but mixing guns is good.  I go with a few heavy hitters (HEPT I think) and then some lesser draining ones like PACs.  I have them linked so I can fire one set, the other, or both.  Even within a series you may want to mix alpha, beta, and gamma weapons.

[bhodi]

If you're having juice issues, switch to weapons that require ammo. In general, they are better, and you can leave the energy for the turrets. You can hold a LOT of ammunition an if you have a resupply ship handy, even better.

[veredus]

If anyone is interested in getting an actual disk for this, found this at my local Target in the $9.99 section.

[koro]

For anyone curious, X3 Terran Conflict is $10 on Steam right now until the end of the week, with Gold at $15. I plan on jumping on this deal this time since I missed it last time.

What's the difference between X3 Gold and Terran Conflict? The OP says that TC contains all the original stuff, so if that's the case what is the point of Gold?

[bhodi]

The point is to get you to pay more money. Don't buy gold.

[koro]

Alright alright. I was just wanting to see what Gold actually has for that extra $5 before I decided.

[WayAbvPar]

Bought the Gold version of this over the weekend 

I really like it, and want to play it, but i am running into the ]LAA issue. I have spent about 5 hours now trying to run down a workaround for the fix listed in that thread, but I can't find a .exe extractor that works with Win7-64. Universal Extractor throws an error, and the innounp won't install (it is designed for 32-bit systems).  Really frustrated and about to scream at Valve for a refund. Anyone else run into this?

[Reg]

Can't you just get someone to run the extractor and email you the file you need?

[WayAbvPar]

That might work. Utterly ridiculous that I have to do anything like this though. Grrr.

[bhodi]

That is pretty clownshoes. Sorry man.

P.S. Vista sucks.