...is on sale @ Steam.

X3: Terran Conflict < < <

best. current gen. space. combat. trade. sim. ever.
buy. it.

new 2.6 patch out now, and an official bonus content patch. the x series is the best supported series of games in history, most likely. egosoft are a superb group of developers.

I'll second the buy. it.

Great game and great developer. This was supposed to be the last of the X universe games, I wonder what's next for egosoft.

i've been contemplating this one for a while.

they've got terran conflict for 9.99 and gold for 14.99, what's does the gold/reunion thing add?

i'd skip gold/reunion b/c they are earlier games. x3:tc is the pinnacle of the series.

I've got X2 and X3 Reunion, but can't say I ever got far into them. X3:R was just a mangled mess of menus that simply got old. What's new with the latest X3?
These are on my list of "Games I'd most LIKE to get into but can't."

The menu system is a lot smoother with TC, they improved the entire UI a lot. The game is no less complex though.

x3:tc is MUCH friendler and more accessible to the player, especially in the UI. i think egosoft kinda grew to agree with your compliant about the menus, krypto.

I started my adventure in the X universe with X2 The Threat. Was hard at the beginning to start running my own empire, but once I got into it it went nicely;) It gives the player enormous freedom. If you wanna go with the plot beware that X3 Terran Conflict is the final chapter. But you do not need to know what was the story before that. I recently played a bit of Reunion and yes, menus are waaaay better organised in TC;)

To make long story short - go and get it;) As was mentioned before - best developer in space sim games genre. Usually they release games with some minor and major bugs but they are always fixed and many new features and improvements introduced with time. Just look at X3 - it went from 1.0 to 2.5 Bala Gi missions, X3 TC from 1.0 to 2.6 with Aldrin Missions and New Home. Amazing;)

Now Egosoft is working on The Next Big Thing, as they called it in the last news article. Makes me curious...;)

have fun;)

Mac

I have been enjoying X3-TC off and on for the last month. My gaming is limited by job and travel demands, so I would say I get about 5-6 hours in a week. I started in the humble trader campaign and at this point, I have a little "space-semi" truck that I am cruising around in, making small deals. Love the visuals and the premise and have come to at least understand the menus, but slow going so far getting any kind of real cash flow. Good game and a steal for 10 bucks!

Is this a good game with only keyboard and mouse? Wondering if it would a good one to play on my laptop?

i use my ch hotas but most folks use keyboard and mouse, so you should be okay with that.

Cool,

I bought it last night actually, couldn't wait

I saw a link to a good game guide one time, but can't find it now, does someone have it?

It was a compilation of several game guides into a single PDF.

Cheers!

Here you go:

http://apricotmappingservice.com/x3handbook.html

ya i bought it too, downloading now.

Besides the complexity and attention to detail - it is simply beautiful to behold.

it gets even prettier once you download higher-res backgrounds and get rid of the annoying fog effect

Thanks for the info Eugene, and others. I just found the older X3 thread here, and it looks like there is some good info there.

Cheers!

I picked the game up too. I always wanted to play the X series but never had the time or energy to. I might just have that now though.

I have been playing the x-series going on 10 years and I can only say the games have gotten better. I know for some it is really hard to micro manage but I find I love it. I really had no issue with the interface in Reunion and with tc the interface it is much improved.
I have to say with Ego they let you advanced to where you can actually have input and they try very hard to improve thier games. In my humble opinion they are the best devs out there.


Bullet

i agree 100%

peppergomez, do you have a link for that hi-rez background?

I got X3 TC on the weekend, after reading this thread.

This game requires patience that's for sure.

Started as Terran fighter pilot and died quickly.
Started again as a humble merchant and I am slowly getting the hang of things. I can already tell that this will become very addictive.

I reinstalled X3 TC yesterday after reading this thread.

Great sandbox game, terrible story missions (and their presentation).

To think of a mixture of I-War, Freespace 2 and the X-series...

*drools*

This game is pissing me off... for some reason my saitek x52 controls are fubar. Every now and then they just stop working with all the axis and buttons. Then it comes back but half of the keyboard commands stop working (including f1 to go back to original view).

It is unplayable like this IMHO. I am not even sure where to begin to get it fixed... ah well. I am sure the game would have been fun.

I tried an xbox controller and the keyboard/input problem went away but it only registers the left joystick and the triggers as axis1 and axis2. there is no option for a third axis for the right stick... which makes the gamepad unplayable too... so it looks like if I want to play the game I have to use the mouse/keyboard.

have you gone into the controller mapping menu? You have to launch the game before you can get to it...

Yea, I went through the controller selector before the game and then the key mapper in game. no go.

works fine w/ my ch hotas but that might b/c it has the option as being just one device as noticed by the game (instead of a throttle, stick, and rudders)

If the X52 is similar to my old X36F digital the problem is the mode switch which is always "on" because it's on one of the three modes. I didn't have as much trouble as you but I could never use the time dilation feature for instance. There's the AUX.1 switch as well for me.

I had to put the following on the shortcut as parameters for the exe

-ignorejoy 9 -ignorejoy 10 -ignorejoy 11 -ignorejoy 12 -ignorejoy 13 -ignorejoy 14

Hope it helps you because it's very enjoyable once you get things sorted out.

Cheers,
Stonehouse

You know that is probably it. I did notice some problems with the selector switch. I'll try shutting them off when I get home. Thanks.

Being a fan of Elite, Frontier, and Free Space will I like this game?

More importantly, if I pick up the disk Gold version off of Amazon, what DRM or copy protection is in the game? Steam is a no go for me as my system is also a work machine and cannot have such a service installed on the PC.

Thanks.

Yes.

The retail version I bought a long time ago can be installed - don't launch yet! - and then patched with the latest upgrade which removes the copy protection (which iirc was some more modern Star Force or something similar).

egosoft has never used starforce. they used tages, but, like you say, the 2.6 patch removes that. egosoft rocks!

Yes, absolutely. Just keep in mind that the game is quite complex and needs a bit of patience, especially at the beginning.

Ok thanks, I'll pick it up off Amazon today. One question is this version:
Amazon link - X3 Terran conflict
the version I should get?

Yep, that's the version to get (I have the same). Install, apply latest patch (2.6), and you're ready to go.

http://www.egosoft.com/download/x3tc/patches_en.php

pepper, that's right - thanks for getting that corrected. tages was (is?) similar to the old Starforce in that it installs special drivers on your computer in order to play the sim. I didn't like that approach so waited until the excellent egosoft company removed the drm as they do pretty consistently after the initial release of their products.

I gave X3: Reunion a whirl a while back, but ended up shelving it because I found it overwhelming. I just started playing X3:TC and what a blast. The new interface is very accommodating. It's great with a HOTAS - I like that the lower detent in my X52's throttle just so happens to match the 0% throttle setting in-game.

Bought it as well via Steam when it was on sale. It certainly seems to have potential, but being too stubborn to read the manual so far all I did was flying around and somehow stumbling on the correct gateways.

...but somehow I sort of sold one of my laser guns apparently and I don't have enough notoriety to buy back my own gun!!! Or something. Not that I miss it - they're rather useless against anything larger than a rat (including those xenon fighters) And I shot all my missiles and can't buy new ones as well.

Any 'must-have' mods for this game?

yes, lots
check the links earlier in this thread- one is a link to the community library of mods. at that same scripting & modding forum, you will see several threads on the subject. at work now or i'd read off what i've got installed, mod wise. 10 or 15 min. reading on the egosoft forum will give you a good idea of must have mods.

wish me luck...i just spent the better part of this weekend installing just about every script available on the egosoft scripts and modding site. also downloaded several mods (naval shuffle, ship expansio, ddtc 1.0) and added 13 new mods as false patches (stuff like better backgrounds, more ships, colored engine trails, race invasions, more aggressive ai patrols, etc). this should be quite an exciting game, provided it runs!

Let us know how it goes!
I picked it up along with Evochron the other day. Got my X52 set up going. Installed a cockpit mod. I really like the menu system now, a vast improvement over Reunion. Now if I could just stay alive! I wish the game had a more traditional save system. If you see a mod for that, please point it out to me.

Getting a little out of hand now I've now got Evochron, X3TC, reinstalling Freespace 2, Darkstar One and Independence War 2. Right before Red Dead comes out I get the space sim bug again BIG TIME. I've never used my flight stick with them so this is all new to me and I really like it.

you can buy salvage insurance at many stations taht will allow you to save anytime, anywhere. not a mod b/c it's built into the game.

handy application that lets you view 3d models of x3tc ships and their stats

http://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?p=2765992#2765992

to make this the all purpose x3:tc thread, since there have been at least 5 diff't threads here over the last year about this game.

starting us off, a handy 3d application that allows you to view 3d models of all x3tc ships and their stats and guns:


http://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?p=2765992#2765992


link to the x3 scripts and mods library:

http://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?t=216690

the x3tc words of advice thread:
http://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?t=260909

more advice:
http://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?t=231887

Good stuff Pepper.
There's a lot to soak up about these games, gets a little overwhelming. Having some good quick resources can help.

http://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?t=162408

I find this sticky, "The Ultimate X Resource and Guides List", to be a really helpful link to the good stuff, the assembled wisdom of this very large community.

The first link ought to be to apricot's guide. That's pretty much the X3 bible.

Agreed. I actually printed the thing out AGAIN when he revised it for X3TC. Terrific amount of info in that one big source.

A couple of quick questions from Mr. Remedial about X3TC.
As I understand it I can grab a copy of X3TC from Gamersgate, install the game, and patch the game immediately to V2.6 to remove the Starforce-like DRM for play?

Also, I see that GamersGate has X3 Terran conflict for $15USD. is it worth getting this version or the X3 Gold Edition as seen in Rook_336's post?

Thanks!

Standing in for The One Who Knows...

1. Yes, so long as you do not launch the sim prior to that final patch!

2. Doesn't the Gold Edition include the earlier X3 Reunion? So if you want that one also, there you are.

I must disagree with the general tenor of this thread (and the hordes of other positive reviewiews).

This isn't an old fashioned space-sim. It isn't a joystick sim. It's very hit and miss when it comes to first person view (often there is no cockpit).

It has a time consuming 4x element that I could never fully get used to and the craft aren't as different as they initially appear. Plus the craft/environments look silly.

I'd pick up Wing Commander III or X-wing vs. Tie-fighter in preference. Even "Tachyon the fringe" was more engaging. (in my experience anyway).

imo it is a joystick combat sim if you want it to be. i have a ton of commands programmed to my ch hotas and find the combat pretty great. i can also control rolls, pitch, yaw, and incremental side to side thrusters on my stick, throttle, and rudder pedals. the game (especially x3tc) allows the player to make lots of money from combat, so it is easier to ignore the trade and build aspects of the game.

as far as the ships looking silly, to each his/her own. i don't think there's a space sim that comes close to even looking as good. install the remove fog mod, the immersive backgrounds mod, the draw distance mod, and the colored engine trails mod, and the game looks freaking marvelous. add to that the ability to install really gorgeously rendered ships from pretty much all the most influential sci fi tv shows and movies.

agree that egosoft blew it by not making cockpit lines, though. at least the modelled the nose and side wings of the ships though.

I found a mod to remove fog and dust but I guess I don't know how to install it. Got a cockpit mod which worked fine, but this thing I don't know what to do with. The dust is a little annoying.

most mods you can install as a fake patch (which makes them not a mod in that they run by default and don't have to be selected in the intro x3tc config window)- open the x3tc directory, take note of the highest numbered cat and dat file. then rename the patch into the next highest number (which is 11 i think if you have the 2.6 version of x3tc). also, you should get cycrow's plugin manager lite, which is excellent for handling mods and scripts.

thanks for the info.

I will have to read up on X3 reunion to see if I may want to play it.

Thank you, I read about people installing as a patch, but had no idea what that meant. LOL
I'll give that a shot and also that plugin manager.

Pepper,

I started playing last week and I am hooked.

So far the only mod I have installed is the no Annoying Ad-Sign mod, but would like to add your suggestions on mods as well. Please add any additional notes to the list below - I know you were having some conflicts and CTDs as stated from a previous post in another forum.


Plugin Manager Lite
http://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?t=265915


No Annoying Ad-Sign Mod
http://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?p=3276164


No Fog mod, May have conflict with the Draw Distance mod?
http://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?t=273698

Immersive Backgrounds mod, (Immersive Backgrounds can't be installed into a running game, must be new game.)
http://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?t=267427


Draw Distance mod. This mod does not remove the fog, it changes the draw distance so that you can see objects such as stations, asteroids etc through the fog up to the distance specified (100k?) Also, has conflict with the No Fog Mod?
http://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?t=220638&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0


Colored Engine Trails mod.
http://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?t=252244


Combat Mod III.
Here is another interesting mod: Combat Mod III which I wouldn't mind trying out after I finish playing my current Merchant campaign.
http://www.thexuniverse.com/threads/13553-Combat-Mod-Terran-Conflict?p=142331

Video of the CMOD3 in action:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32PvnXwFaCc&feature=player_embedded

great list!
here are some more:


race response fleets

500k communication mod

freight transporter

auto-scan for derelict ships

notification of ships destroyed

race invasions




modders to pay attention to are cycrow, apricot slice, graxxster, and lord vader

Pepper,

What do some of those mods do?

Did you solve your issues with CTDs and some of these mods?

I like the "auto scan for derelict ships".

Nice choices. I did get the no-dust thing to work, but it looks like that immersive backgrounds mod does that too. Gotta say, I like the ads in these games. Makes the universe look "lived in". LOL

Hmm, wondering if Steam will have a problem with these mods?

oh yeah...i'd never get rid of the ads. heck, the game has lots of commerce in it, so the ads are right on.

race response fleets- makes races much more aggressive about responding to attacks

500k communication mod- increases the comm distance for communicating with other ships

freight transporter- lets you beam up crates that are within a short distance of your ship

auto-scan for derelict ships- will look for abandoned ships you can claim

notification of ships destroyed- does a much better job of informing you if a ship of yours gets destroyed or under attack(?)

race invasions- similar to race response fleets (might conflict, not sure. anyone know for sure?)

Here is the entire list of mods:
http://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?t=216690

You have a point about the ads, but it seems like addtional clutter to fly around/crash into especially when you use SETA.

So can someone give me an overview of how the gameplay is? In looking at videos, it seems like it is a much more in depth version of Privateer?

if we can make this the default x3 thread...
and if a mod could combine this thread and this one: http://simhq.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/3016082/1.html taht would be great!

reading up on activating the script editor, to enable all those great add-on scripts:

http://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?t=218655

Has anyone installed the script mods on a Steam version? I've installed a regular mod and the game update/mod with no issue, but I'm concerned the steam may have an issue with scripts.

Script mods work fine with the steam version.

Thanks Jeevz!
Don't want Valve to put a hit out on me or anything.

Picked up X3:TC today from eBay..actually, it arrived today I mean. I've only just installed it and patched it up to 2.6. I did fire it up, but haven't even begun to figure it out. Beautiful graphics though..and it looks like a truly deep and complex trading/combat/resources sim. I'm interested to get into it.

Is there any training module or anything to help?

BeachAV8R

http://apricotmappingservice.com/x3handbook.html

As with all things X, it's complicated...

thanks for the thread merge, SimHQ mods!

beach,

i'd say reading the apricotslice guide, playing some of the early plot missions, reading the egosoft forums, posting here, and just flying around and discovering are the best ways to get acquainted with x3tc. oh, and don't forget to just site see...it's a mighty pretty game.

for those who want to know what mods and scripts to add to improve the stock game, you might find my thread here helpful. on page 2 i list the mods and scripts i am running without encountering game lock ups:

http://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?p=3279170#3279170

to get all these groovy scripts to run, don't forget to turn on the artificial life (AL) settings:

http://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?t=238904
http://www.arcl07.dsl.pipex.com/x3tc/pics/medusa9.jpg (screenshot)

I have been playing for over a week now with the Humble Merchant start. I have yet to see a "Blue Book" icon to start the main plot - I see all other kinds of icons like light bulbs for Think, cent for Buy/Trade, and green building blocks for Build. Did I do something wrong to mess up starting the main plot?

hmm, i'd go back to the sector you started out in and look there. i have always used the argon patriot start, so haven't used the humble merchant start.

I think I stared in Herron's Nebula, but cant really remember because I'm spending all of my time in Argon Prime trading and keeping up with my complexes. I will go search around HN.

By the way here is an awesome site:

http://eng.x3tc.ru/

nice link!!!

I have searched all over and I cannot find any main plot missions (blue book icon).

didya post on egosoft? best community forums for a game i've ever encountered. lemme know what answers you get there.

woot! just downloaded the apricotslice handbook and x3tc manual to my kindle

I found out how the plots work.

For example I want to start the Terran Plot:
----------------------------------------------------------
Terran plot (Terran Conflict)
Omicron Lyrae (or your starting sector if you're Terran)
Argon rank 1 (Federation Member)
Terran rank 0 (Citizen)
----------------------------------------------------------
I start as the Humble Merchant. I build up my rep in Argon and then head to Omicron Lyrae to start the 1st mission for the Terran Plot.

Here are the rest of the plots:
http://www.egosoft.com/support/faq/faq_a...79edaf1012bc89a

There is a known bug introduced in patch 2.6 that reduces FPS over time. I have experienced this in Argon Prime when building complexes. I tried to resolve the issue by lowering the graphics settings which have helped.

After reading through the official forums the devs are working on the issue and there is currently a beta test in progress. The drop in FPS will be fixed in patch 2.7. I cannot wait until I get my graphic settings back up for all the detail!

Again, I first started noticing the major drop in FPS when I started building complexes in Argon Prime and as well as when I started acquiring more merchant ships. So if you want to avoid these issues before the next patch I would suggest working on one of the main plots or just stick to sector trading and individual factories without building complexes.

no worries for me there. i'm still in my starting ship in the argon patriot plot, and have just started a new game.

Wow - I spent the last couple night before bed reading the little paper manual that came with X3...it seems unbelievable to me that this game/trading sim can be so complex!! Wow..if they really have pulled it off I can't wait to get involved with this game. The manual makes it seem really overwhelming though. I never played any of the previous versions..so maybe I'm a bit fuzzy on the whole back-story.

The end of the paper manual said something about there is a fan book out that builds the story and maybe can fill in the gaps. Is that true and is it worth it?

Is it called Farnham's Legend? Anyone have a copy they would loan me..

i've played x2, x3, and x3tc but have never attained empire status. it's pretty deep, and, to be fair, (at least until x3tc) not very streamlined or easy to play. my goals are pretty humble- to blow #%&*$# up, cap ships, explore and uncover derelict ships, shipwrecks and debris, and do a bit of trading.

Beach,

I have never played anything like this game either. I just picked it up from the reviews I was looking for a space sim. I jumped right into it started doing basic trade runs that were listed in the manual and learning as I go.

this post will give you an idea of how robust and detailed the commands are that you can give your ship(s):

http://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?p=2647826

what personal ship do you guys use? i'm early in the game after having used the argon patriot game start, and so am still in the argon eclipse.

my play style leans toward capping, combat missions, and exploring, and less on the trade and empire building. so, a decent speed (175 or preferably faster) and handling, good laser energy, and good shields are more important to me than lots of cargo space (i do need enough cargo space though for a varied suite of missiles). and i will have a few transport ships for automated trading and picking up cargo after battles.

what do folks like for a ship that excels in the above? are there any m6 craft that might be well suited? i read in the manual that some m6 craft are as fast or faster than some m3+ ships, i think. this ship is ideally, tough, quick, handles well, and packs a punch.

thanks.

I am currently using the Nova Vanguard. I am about to purchase a Colossus and stock it with Adv. Drones. I concentrated on building my finances rather than combat.

I read where if you increase your combat rating too much then when you attempt the plot missions that they will be too difficult to complete. The higher the combat rating the more enemies you will face. So if you have a high combat rating and all you have is a Nova or your eclipse then you will be toast. Instead you will need a whole fleet in order to complete your plot missions.

Actually, there are 5 novels from the X universe published so far, all written by Helge Kautz. I have the first two, "Farnham's Legend" and "Nopileus", both of which came with the game versions I bought. Pretty good SciFi and quite enjoyable, especially if you're a fan of the games. Don't know how many have actually been translated to english, though.

update 2.7 is out

http://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?t=279438

Update 2.7.1 is out.

http://www.egosoft.com/download/x3tc/patches_en.php

So I've had this game sitting around in my game box for... uhh... since it first came out. If I was looking to install it today, is there a set of instructions on how to get it up to date, a tutorial for first time players, or a list of essential mods to install?

there's an auto update function in the settings splash screen that will take you to the patch page on egosoft. not so much with the tutorial, though x3:tc is much much friendlier about easing new players into the game.

re: essential mods, read the SimHQ threads about the game, and check out the egosoft modding forum for x3:tc

If you haven't purchased X3 yet, check this out- the entire X series and a lot of bonus material in one package:

http://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?t=284820
http://www.egosoft.com/shop/default.asp?lang=44

I've only played X2 before getting X3TC.

So I've just installed this and now I'm looking at the list of mods, CMOD, Naval Shuffle, cockpit mod, trader mod etc.

So much info and no idea where to start. Sigh.

What mods are must haves? There really seems to be no general consensus on the egosoft forums.

Good question about the mods, it seems like there are an overwhelming amount. Page 7 of this thread has a couple people stating what they are using.

If people don't mind, could they post the mods they like/use?

Just the other night I finally started playing this. Got about 3 hours in last night, starting to get used to the basics.

So far, 'Apricot's Guide', and Fire Fish's Guide are good resources so far.

Some of my fave mods:

no fog
draw distance increase
missile rebalance
MARS
EMP
pirate patrols
500K range communication mod
immersive backgrounds
engine trail mod
turret fix
terran normandy start
terraformer hub bugfix
vanilla malt gamestarts
engine effects
hubble space backgrounds
unofficial bug fix
MARS repair drones
Mobile ship repairs
naval shuffle
remove aldrin big rock
shipexpansion

some big mods:
apricot merge mod
DDTC


You will find information about all these at the egosoft mods and scripts forum for terran conflict. Basically, have a read over the list of mods there to get an idea of what you might like.

Is there still the cockpit mod and if so how does it look. I used in the past but wonder if they might looked outdated

There are two cockpit mods out there but I don't use them b/c they use X2 graphics, which look too outdated to me. Overall though, they are pretty cool. You can find them in the scripts and modding forum on egosoft.

I am having trouble getting my gamepad working properly with the game.

It is a Saitek p3200 (http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/saitek_p3200/images/1.htm)

The primary joystick is working, but the left joystick isn't recognized in game. I would like to configure it for my strafing thrusters.

All the controls show properly and work in the windows control panel (Win 7).

Any ideas/suggestions? I couldn't find any good info on troubleshooting this.

Cheers!

Cool thanks for the link

Don't need the info on fixing the gamepad now, I am totally used to using the keyboard and mouse (just playing on my laptop).

I am totally addicted to this game.

Found a good guide on the Steam forums, X3 For Dummies

I was playing for a while, but just restarted, selling the scout ship, and just flying around in my transport making profitsss

Must buys for trading are the trading extension, best buy and best selling locators. Once you have those items, you can easily buy and sell in a sector just by pressing the 5 or 6 key, then selecting the best deal, and directly buying or selling.

This is such a good game, and I haven't gotten into combat yet even....

It's a great game, no doubt. And it's also one of the prettiest looking games I've ever seen.

Quick question.

I am just doing some trading to try to build up my bank account.

Using the 'best buys' upgrade, I saw some dragonfly missiles for a good price and bought them all up. Now I can't find where to sell them.

Am I stuck with them and should I just give them to my ships to use in battle??

It seems slow going as well getting cash. I was doing ok getting up to about 200-300K, mostly trading energy cells and ore. I am thinking I should be starting to trade other items, but not sure what good stuff is. I have moved into the Teladi space, looking at the economy there...

Any suggestions for me?

Cheers!

I've just started playing Reunion as opposed to TC, so I don't know if the following applies (especially given the random seed involved in the game), so here goes:

Yep, you're stuck with the missiles. Load a game from before you did that.
In my evolution of the game, trading energy cells from Power Circle to anything in Argon Prime is fairly lucrative; Combining this with occasional ore and silicon wafer runs makes it a pretty solid earner.
Power from Queens Space to Kingdom End is also quite good.
If you're still using the M4 class ship that you get at the start and you're using a vanilla starting point (Argon race, M4 Buster ship) then trading space fuel from Herron's Nebula to the local trading station is VERY lucrative. If you get scanned, reload. If it runs out of resources, explore and support it.

I started out doing pretty much the above; space fuel got me enough cash for my first freighter, and casual power/ore/silicon runs around the Argon system got me the rest.

Thanks!

I will reload an older save.

I think I will have to try the 'illegal' route for a bit. I still have the default Mercury with only 3000 units of cargo. I will go and start filling it up with some space fuel

Cheers!

Just a word of advice- for those new to this series, I strongly suggest playing x3:terran conflict instead of x3: reunion. It's FAR MORE user friendly, but not dumbed down.

PG,
I was about to ask whether I should get X3:R in addition to X3:TC. Should I just buy the latter, as it seems it will give many hour of gameplay? What will I miss if I forgo X3:R, or indeed some of the earlier games in the series?
Reason I'm asking is that X3 Gold is retailing for about $30 on Steam.

You might be interested in this

cool! x3:tc over x3:renunion anyday of the week.

The Super Box is a good deal, but I don't think there's time for more than one game unfortunately...

good point- you are correct

I just bought this two days ago and my first time inside the game I just stared at the screen...huh...turned to my lil girl and girlfriend...clicked quit. This is going to take time to learn, have I made a mistake...

Quick question - is this game playable with mouse and keyboard, or does it need a joystick?

A joystick should improve the immersion factor but you don't need it. I don't have one and I fly Black Shark just fine.

So if I can fly reasonably well in Freelancer, I can also do well flying with a mouse in X3?

I have been flying entirely using mouse and keyboard and find it works quite well.

Thanks.
Now my task of resisting the desire to purchase it until I have more money just got harder. Of course, it's only Ł11 at Gamersgate, which isn't much...

You'll do reasonably well once you've figured out what to do. It's basically a steer and wait, a while, before you arrive at your destination. It's outer space so not much in your way. No take offs and landings, no trimming and I don't think gravity is modeled at all.



That's even cheaper than steam. Go for it if you have any interest in space and exploration.

It's WELL worth 11 bucks.

I had trouble getting started, had a couple failed attempts. It is really big in what you can do. I found a good guide that helped me get going using the 'Humble Trader' start.

Let us know if you get it and have any questions!

IF you end up enjoying it, you've got a years' worth of gaming before you, easy. It's kinda like Oblivion Elder Scrolls, but from the POV of a spaceship.

I tried to get it, but Gamersgate, or rather whatever the payment company is, took my money and didn't give me the game. Sigh.

I've actually played x3 Reunion before, so am looking forwards to finally getting it. Hopefully the support ticket I sent off gets answered promptly, and the issue gets resolved.

Got it!

Now to download a big bunch of mods, and explore!

Ooohh... Gamersgate (US site) is selling X3 TC for US$14.95 - much cheaper than the US$19.99 price on Steam. Works out to less than S$20 in my currency. Considering some of the more popular boxed games retail at S$50 - S$70 on release, it's a steal.
Question is (looking nervously at Flying Toaster's post above) can they be trusted?
Sorely tempted to buy, but I've got Planescape Torment, Fallout 1 & 2 lined up to play on my comp, and I've yet to finish Mass Effect 2... There's no time to play all these great games!!

I'd say there's no problems with gamersgate - it was just me having stupid internet that times out at the wrong times, and I tried to use my Australian credit card, which raised red flags that took a while to sort out.

One word of caution - be careful with mods. I managed to make my game unplayable. Some mod stuck a station in Argon Prime that was essentially an expanded trade station, but nothing could dock to it. After a while there was a massive swarm of ships (including my sole auto-trader) around it, all trying to dock. So now I need to reinstall everything. Sigh.

OK I have put it off for a couple of years now and I just might have to break down and get these games. They look great and honestly look like a fun diversion from reality.

I hadn't played it for a month or so, started playing again earlier this week after talking with some guys at work about it.

Haven't got to bed before 1:30AM all week...

Great game.

You will get frustrated getting started, just post here for some help.

Cheers!

Link to a trailer vid of Xtended, arguably the best X3 mod ever made. Almost out for X3TC.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAQ7x8K6Yjg

Looks great.

More info:

http://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?t=260554&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

Xtended is out

not tried it as I am a beginner, but I have it downloaded, used the torrent

Its Here

very cool. thanks for the heads up. looks like there's a more complete/feature rich version (v2) due in about 6 months, but that it won't be save game compatible with v1.

hi, getting back into x3 tc after a hiatus. 1st time trying to play with a HOTAS. Anybody got a warthog profile out?

I might be a bit late..... but I was able to use the Warthog using one of the profiles that came with Target.... I think it was Falcon or F18??? Which ever makes it 1 controller worked.

X3 Gold for $12.49 on impulse

Linkage

haha took me a while to get off my arse and buy a computer that could run X3 Gold.

OK, a couple of more questions for the X-series knowledgeable folks...
X3 Terran Conflict has all the patches to go from v1.01 up to v2.6,v2.7 or v3.0 any of which will remove the DRM from the game as stated above.
However, I do not see any patches or info on the X3 Gold Reunion download. I assume this game being a bit older already has the DRM removed as it sold now?

thanks!


Is the soundtrack any good? I will download it and give it a listen!

After all this time I finally picked up the X Superbox in the Steam summer sale this weekend. I got it downloaded just spent 4hrs so far playing the Humble Merchant and watching Intro videos... very beautiful and addicting.

I feel the same sense of wonder and possibilities that I felt the first time I played Elite.

Looking forward to trying some of these mods, hopefully they work with the Steam version which added some steam achievements.

I really need some help with this game. I bought X3:Terran Conflict, and I'm absolutely borderline on deleting it, or keep trying.

Every time I think I figure it out, the game just craps on me with bad design, crappy tutorials, etc.

My current issue is the 3rd mission of the campaign. It gives me a wing of craft to command, but absolutely no word on how to use them at all!? Any help?

I haven't gotten that far in X:TC but the following tutorial videos in this series have been useful for me so far, maybe in the later videos it describes what you are looking for?

Definately checked those out. I wouldn't have given the game more than 10 minutes if it werent for those vids. But unfortunately they don't cover the wings, system from what I've perused. Makes me think I aught to give up combat and just go trading.

just got TC & AP,


just spent a bit getting use to the controls and blowing things up, I decided to play AP first as I quite like the idea of a big war going on...

my only question is regarding starting out, whats the difference between the Argons and Terrans? I might need to read some lore quickly to help me decide

also what are the argons and terrans fighting over?

Play TC first - there are more plots and they are longer and much more involved. I'm currently playing through AP and even with the new plots in the latest patch, the story in TC is much better.

I have to admit to being slightly disappointed with AP, but since it is technically an addon to TC I can't really complain.

who are the bad guys? the terrans or argon?