longtime casual X player who mostly skipped Rebirth - is X4 fun and stable enough to be worth getting?

[peppergomez]

Apologies for what has probably been asked before. I surfed 5 or 6 pages here and didn't see a thread on this.

I know Egosoft's games are usually bugfests for the first 6 months or so, and so I thought I'd post to see in what state this game is in.

My play style is pretty casual - sightseeing, some combat, a bit of trading and exploration. Not really empire building. And DEF not into the fussy micromanagement. (I've used mods in some X3 games that made the game less fussy in that regard).

So if any experienced players in X4 can weigh in on what state it's currently in, as well as how well mod support is working, that would be much appreciated. Thanks.

[NYCPCGAMER]

your answer will be here.

https://steamcommunity.com/app/392160/discussions/0/1779387743937440680/

and id say x4 isn't ready for purchase yet. although i think an update and some dlc is coming soon

[peppergomez]

thanks

[onryone]

Its definitely playable. I have put over 200 hours in game and am enjoying it. I am running it with a core i7 and AMD R290 and it the frame rate is fine with no mods. Haven't measured it but the game runs very smoothly.

There are bugs but the devs are working on it. Its a very complex programming work and bugs are to be expected.

Many of the complainers are bashing the game probably because when they try to run it loaded up with cheat mods it performs poorly.

I started with the short storyline bought a miner to mine nvidium until it stop selling, then bought traders to trade needed wares in the galaxy. From there I was able to progress rather quickly with station building and a corvette ship to get around safely.

It has a steep learning curve if you are not familiar with the X series, but if you don't know how to do something, look it up. The internet has numerous resources.

I am enjoying it and will probably put in a few hundred more hours.

IMO, its up there with Star Citizen except I don't have to buy a $1000 ship after buying the game, to be competitive.

[grapplehoeker]

Originally posted by peppergomez:

longtime casual X player who mostly skipped Rebirth - is X4 fun and stable enough to be worth getting?

That is pretty much what I asked myself too. I held off from buying the game at release for that very reason. It didn't read the reviews. I didn't pay any attention to the marketing or the hype.
However, seeing it at an attractive discount in the last sales and since I had been getting quite bored and disappointed with Elite Dangerous, I thought I'd give it a try.
So, far, I've played it for 500+ hours. I have played every starting scenario and I'm now busy with the beta version.
I've been having a whale of a time! It is very enjoyable and I've found nothing that has prevented me from progressing within the game.
I found it quite amusing and rather surprising therefore to see some complaints about 'game breaking bugs' when none are apparent to me.
While there has been an increase in available mods, for some bizarre reason, many of the modders have been using Nexus rather than the Steam Workshop. I find that a bit annoying since I dislike having to pay a subscription for player created content.
Anyhow, I've stopped using any mods at all because I've been enjoying the Ventures feature of the game and that's greyed out if mods are active.
So, continue to wait if you wish, but if you're like me, then I believe you'll enjoy it as I do ;)

[4of25]

It is very well playable now, especially when the beta 2,5 patch goes to stable branch. 2,5 will not only fix bugs, it adds a lot of new content. Big bad bugs? Never saw one. Game crashing? Not one time. It´s is stable.

I like to play it in the current state, don´t listen to all those haters. The game is very strong when it comes to immersion, freedom of choice and there is a lot to do already now. Yes it has some issues when it comes to fleet battles, but as a player with focus on stationbuilding, trade and exploration - you´ll miss a lot of fun not playing it yet.

And who needs a story in X? Come on, in all parts of X you played it once and never again. For most X veterans the story has no worth, they love the sandbox!

I´ve played all parts of X for countless hours, X2 was my all time favourite - till I got X4

[Berserk Slayer]

There's certainly fun to be had, and many cool and interesting things, but there is much frustration, as well. I have about 270 hours, a lot of which has been great fun. Sadly it is not an exaggeration to say: the overwhelming majority of times I've played this game have been ended in frustration, I'd say 8 out of 10 at a conservative estimate. There is also a dearth of ships and weapon variety that will shock anyone that played X3.

If you are looking for a full and trouble-free experience, we are definitely not out of the woods. It will get there, though. They have been slowly but surely digging us all out of the hole and I am cautiously optimistic.

[peppergomez]

Thanks all. I think I'll wait for a sale price and/or check back in 4-6 months.

PS Are there any plans for the multiplayer to enable players to actually fly and fight alongside one another?

[NYCPCGAMER]

Originally posted by peppergomez:

Thanks all. I think I'll wait for a sale price and/or check back in 4-6 months.

PS Are there any plans for the multiplayer to enable players to actually fly and fight alongside one another?

if there is multiplayer planned then it will be a first for the franchise. it will also likely get a lot of criticism etc. What they have done in terms of multiplayer is not at all what you want, and given that there is little information about a multiplayer road map, and therefore no commitment, coupled with a game that is struggling to enjoy full throated support its a tough call to say "yes, you will get a multiplayer you want and like"

[grapplehoeker]

Originally posted by NYCPCGAMER:

Originally posted by peppergomez:

Thanks all. I think I'll wait for a sale price and/or check back in 4-6 months.

PS Are there any plans for the multiplayer to enable players to actually fly and fight alongside one another?

if there is multiplayer planned then it will be a first for the franchise. it will also likely get a lot of criticism etc. What they have done in terms of multiplayer is not at all what you want, and given that there is little information about a multiplayer road map, and therefore no commitment, coupled with a game that is struggling to enjoy full throated support its a tough call to say "yes, you will get a multiplayer you want and like"

Hmm... I agree that it isn't very likely for them to implement an interactive multiplayer system, and wisely so I'd say, but that's a debate for another time or place ;)
However, the current Ventures system that they're experimenting with does provide something the OP may appreciate. The rewards for the ventures vary and are scalable from 1 hour to 62 hour trips to other player's X universes. This lends itself well to a casual gameplay experience the OP ascribes themselves to.
For example, while it only takes 2.5 hours or so to research the whole of the Boron's tech tree, it will take weeks of venturing to obtain all of the exceptional materials it would take to customise and upgrade a single ship. Without Venture rewards it would take months.

[cwsumner]

Originally posted by grapplehoeker:

... While there has been an increase in available mods, for some bizarre reason, many of the modders have been using Nexus rather than the Steam Workshop. I find that a bit annoying since I dislike having to pay a subscription for player created content. ...

Last time I checked, Nexus does not actually require a payment. The words make it seem like that, but it was really sort of a "suggested donation". I donated something later, though, they seem good. On the other hand, I also like to get my mods from Steam, it's easier.

[NYCPCGAMER]

Originally posted by grapplehoeker:

Originally posted by NYCPCGAMER:

if there is multiplayer planned then it will be a first for the franchise. it will also likely get a lot of criticism etc. What they have done in terms of multiplayer is not at all what you want, and given that there is little information about a multiplayer road map, and therefore no commitment, coupled with a game that is struggling to enjoy full throated support its a tough call to say "yes, you will get a multiplayer you want and like"

Hmm... I agree that it isn't very likely for them to implement an interactive multiplayer system, and wisely so I'd say, but that's a debate for another time or place ;)
However, the current Ventures system that they're experimenting with does provide something the OP may appreciate. The rewards for the ventures vary and are scalable from 1 hour to 62 hour trips to other player's X universes. This lends itself well to a casual gameplay experience the OP ascribes themselves to.
For example, while it only takes 2.5 hours or so to research the whole of the Boron's tech tree, it will take weeks of venturing to obtain all of the exceptional materials it would take to customise and upgrade a single ship. Without Venture rewards it would take months.

ventures is a symbol of development waste to me. but, im sure there are many people that enjoy it for what it is. In reality its a lot of nothing, to me. There is no interactivity.

[grapplehoeker]

Originally posted by NYCPCGAMER:

ventures is a symbol of development waste to me. but, im sure there are many people that enjoy it for what it is. In reality its a lot of nothing, to me. There is no interactivity.

True. No interactivity whatsoever, but I'm not looking for any.
However, for a casual player that logs in for a few hours of play each session, there's something nice about being welcomed with a notice of a venture completion and reaping the rewards. Depending on the mission that can be a variety of goodies, but in any case a few millions worth of credits is more than handy. But what I like most about it are the ship modification components that are a lot of work to gather manually and Ventures provides them for no work at all. The improvements that can be made to a ship's performance are outstanding!

[Kanaro Min]

Playable? Yes.
Entertaining? Somewhat.
Bottom line: Frustrating.

[eMYNOCK]

Originally posted by Kanaro Min:

Playable? Yes.
Entertaining? Somewhat.
Bottom line: Frustrating.

wich Title of the entire Franchise are you exactly refering to?

(and i case it hasn't hit yet, you just have described ANY title of the entire Franchise...)

[Kanaro Min]

Originally posted by eMYNOCK:

Originally posted by Kanaro Min:

Playable? Yes.
Entertaining? Somewhat.
Bottom line: Frustrating.

wich Title of the entire Franchise are you exactly refering to?

(and i case it hasn't hit yet, you just have described ANY title of the entire Franchise...)

If it didn't strike you as obvious - the title of the topic. Rebirth wasn't an X title (and the OP skipped it, smartly), and none of the X3's are described at all by my reply.

So no - I have not described any title of the entire franchise. I have replied to the OP's question.