X3 Reunion , how do you learn to play ?

Darkst4r · 19 Jul 2009 at 18:09

I recently got hold of a copy of X3 the reunion , once I installed it I was blown away by the vastness of the universe you can explore , the atmospheric ambient soundtrack and the sheer scope for gameplay. However , on settling down to actually try and play the game I found it ridiculously hard to fathom any kind of gameplay out of it atall.

There seems to be no tutorial , the handbook is , to put it mildly , garbage and I'm struggling to find any kind of online video tutorial etc.

Now I'm usually no dunce at picking up games quickly but this has really got me. I can fly about and shoot stuff but trying to establish any kind of trade empire is very difficult.

Do any of you play this game and if so how did you find it to start with ?

I think once I start to learn the basics i'll be hooked but it seems like a very steep learning curve indeed. :confused:

Are there previous X3 games that include a play through tutorial that would benefit me in X3 ?

Cheers

snowdog · 19 Jul 2009 at 18:14

It is indeed very steep to get into, my mate said that once you get your first factory you're hooked, but I never got that far, iirc I had 2 small ships and a big cargo ship by the time I gave up on it.
You could ask SkeeterPSA, as from what I know he played it to death and also used to send me some links that helped me to get into it.

PinkFloyd · 19 Jul 2009 at 18:22

I've played from the start a few times. Some of the missions kinda guide you through the basics of doing things (X3 Terran Conflict does it much, much better) but a lot is left to work out by yourself.
I started with having my laptop sat on a faq page, the instructions open in front of me and playing on my pc whilst getting the basics of flying, controlling the ships functions etc. It's a game you need to devote a lot of time to get somewhere with - but it's rewarding if you are patient

Azagoth · 19 Jul 2009 at 18:23

Didn't you get the big 85 page manual with it? I've just dug mine out and it's a pretty detailed introduction to the various elements of the game.

Although now I've dug that out I'm going to have play the game, and all my saves have been deleted so I'll be starting from scratch again.

Bubo · 19 Jul 2009 at 18:43

Go to the egosoft forums for proper guides and info. There is an updated manual there for download as well, the one which came with the game was only half finsihed. To give yourself a jump start creditwise there are various "hidden" items which you can get which can be sold, mainly abandoned ships. The locations of these are on the forums. It is a bit of a cheap way to get yourself going but it cuts out a fair whack of time which would otherwise need to be spent on low level trading in the beginning. Also read up on Sector and Universe Traders on the forums. Once you have enough credits to get one of these going you can sit back whilst they generate money for you. From that point on it becomes much easier.

Make sure you download the patch and the bonus pack as well.

Darkst4r · 19 Jul 2009 at 18:48

Cheers , i'll invest a bit more time in it and see how it goes. I can see it as a potentially epic game once I master the basics.

ganesh · 19 Jul 2009 at 21:02

Absolutely amazing game, which i found utterly bewildering at first, like running into a wall. However i spent some time studying guides i found on egosofts forum which helped no end. Once you get a few factories up and running you'll be hooked, a game of truly epic proportions. In this game you really do need to make all the things you want, as finding a particular type of missile may well be impossible. And on a sidenote, i found this game prepared me for eve, as i found eve very similar to play.

thaFunkster · 22 Jul 2009 at 01:40

Hey Darkst4r, I am with you. I just got a new PC and started playing this within the last five or so days. I am trying to play through the story before playing in sandbox mode.

I am stuck on about mission 3, where you are trying to retreive the crystal from that pirate, he keeps jumping, and you are supposed to buy energy cells you you can jump with him. However, I JUST CANT BUY THEM, wherever I dock, and they are available, it just wont seem to let me buy them.

Honestly, I have looked through all the walkthroughs and guides, but not one covers the basic issue of how to buy and sell, - eg what keys to press, and its really frustrating.

Can anyone help me?

----

Bubo, even the manual that comes with the game does not adequately explain how to do something so basic as buy items, its really anmoying.

Bubo · 22 Jul 2009 at 12:32

There's only one place you can dock to get energy cells, solar power plants, or SPP for short. Sounds like what you've been doing is docking at any old station and seeing they have energy cells as a "primary resource". You can't buy what the station needs as a resource, you can only buy what it makes, i.e. the product. The product of an SPP is energy cells. You have to fly around till you find an SPP, they are not in every sector. When you do get to an SPP, click on trade with station, click on energy cells, then press right cursor key to select the amount to buy, then press return to buy them.

PinkFloyd · 22 Jul 2009 at 12:37

Think you can usually buy them at trading stations too. Presuming you did the Argon start, go east from Argon Prime to the Wall - If I remember correctly there are 2 solar power plants there.

thaFunkster · 22 Jul 2009 at 13:41

Ah, ok problem solved finally, thanks for the help.

Buying and selling is not at all intuitive in this game.

wordy · 22 Jul 2009 at 14:18

ganesh said:
Absolutely amazing game, which i found utterly bewildering at first, like running into a wall. However i spent some time studying guides i found on egosofts forum which helped no end. Once you get a few factories up and running you'll be hooked, a game of truly epic proportions. In this game you really do need to make all the things you want, as finding a particular type of missile may well be impossible. And on a sidenote.

Totally agree, it's an amazing game, but it's like trying to climb Everest in shorts and flipflops to start with.

thaFunkster · 24 Jul 2009 at 05:08

OK, I have got the hang of buying and selling things now, thanks for the advice and I am starting to really like this game, there is so much to do, and you can really choose your own path while the world reacts realistically, its great.

One issue I am having is repairing my hull. I have saved about 110k credits (pretty good considering I am doing story mode and started off with about 5k, I am taking a brek from the missions so I can kit out my ship. My ship is the standard m4 buster, I have 58% damage, now all that money I have saved will only get my hull repaired to 82%! What a rip-off! So do you think I am better off just saving for a new ship? What is the best course of action here as the repair price is absolutely ridiculous!?

dalin80 · 24 Jul 2009 at 07:57

thaFunkster said:
Ah, ok problem solved finally, thanks for the help.

Buying and selling is not at all intuitive in this game.

you dock at station x, buy goods y, dock at station z, sell goods y.

easy peasy.

is your buster is stil combat capable you could try to cap a new fighter, then either sell it or the buster to repair the hull. alternatively they are some abandoned ships dotted around the universe waiting to be found...

xaldub · 24 Jul 2009 at 08:06

Best way to save money on that repair is to eject from your ship, go on a spacewalk and use your spacesuit's laser to repair your hull ! Honestly, the laser in your spacesuit is designed for engineering repairs ... not for combat. On a small ship, like an M4 fighter it doesn't take too long to repair but large ships can take an eternity. Oh, and you need to be close in for the laser to repair properly eg. within 25 metres.

thaFunkster · 24 Jul 2009 at 08:08

Ha, well yeh its combat capable. I captured a pirate buster, sold it, got around 30K for it, also sold an "unknown object" I found for 80K, so yeah, I had over 100K. So far I have probably spent around 200K repairing the hull from about 47% to 92%. Playing as I am, not a trader, that is A LOT of money....

Ill make sure if my hull ever gets damaged again, I will reload my game, this is really painful.

xaldub · 24 Jul 2009 at 08:31

thaFunkster said:
Ha, well yeh its combat capable. I captured a pirate buster, sold it, got around 30K for it, also sold an "unknown object" I found for 80K, so yeah, I had over 100K. So far I have probably spent around 200K repairing the hull from about 47% to 92%. Playing as I am, not a trader, that is A LOT of money....

Ill make sure if my hull ever gets damaged again, I will reload my game, this is really painful.

See my message above to save ££££ on those repairs !

thaFunkster · 24 Jul 2009 at 08:47

Thank you, that is soooooo good to hear, misse ur original while typing.

So what do I do? Just eject, fly close, and then "use laser" (Ill have to look up key for that). Thats it? Maaaaaaaan, I wish I had of known before, I would have been rich!!!! ahh well.

---------
EDIT: OK i tried it, but no matter what I did, it wouldnt work. I looked through all the keys etc. What is the key for space suit laser? Do I have to buy one first, or does it come standard?

Thanks.

MURDEROUS G · 24 Jul 2009 at 09:03

thaFunkster said:
Thank you, that is soooooo good to hear, misse ur original while typing.

So what do I do? Just eject, fly close, and then "use laser" (Ill have to look up key for that). Thats it? Maaaaaaaan, I wish I had of known before, I would have been rich!!!! ahh well.

---------
EDIT: OK i tried it, but no matter what I did, it wouldnt work. I looked through all the keys etc. What is the key for space suit laser? Do I have to buy one first, or does it come standard?

Thanks.

The guy that posted that is thinking of X3: Terran Conflict, which is the sequel to Reunion. I've only played X3TC, but IIRC the spacesuit repair laser was a new addition in TC due to people complaining about the cost of ship repairs. I don't believe you can repair a ship from your spacesuit in Reunion.

Cold_And_Miserable · 24 Jul 2009 at 09:11

I would avoid this game and anything made by Egosoft. They have a great imagination and the X3 universe has enormous potential but they don't have the programming talent or financing to do it.
-The game has no multi-core support and has memory leaks which means it crashes often.
-The framerates become unplayable even on core i7.
-Even if the 3D engine was on par with Unreal 3, the game is still far too tedious for it to become mainstream.
-Factories and complexes are slow to build and make the framerate drop like a stone.
-Combat is far too simplistic and the AI was programmed by amateurs.