What game are we all playing instead of E:D?

[Snarfbuckle]

Since I'm now able to afford a gaming laptop, I'm taking a serious look at X4 Foundations.
They have fixed the game up a bit since it launched.
Your thoughts on this game are welcome.

It's not bad but visually i think that the earlier X series was better as the visible modular design of the ships are less appealing and the 1st person view where we can exit our ships and visit areas feels amateurish.

I mean, the visual quality of ground areas and aliens feels like something done 10 years ago if that.

But, it's Egosoft so it needs a year from release to mature basically.

It's not bad, but it could be better.

 

[VR StarLightPL]

Not for me it isn't. Any game that demands a controller won't be on my to-buy list.
I'm in the minority, sure, but games like that are unplayable. I don't have the spare gaming time to build muscle-memory for a new input device.

That's a little bit... extreme to be honest. I'd suggest just borrowing one and trying, you might find it surprisingly convenient, like the rest of the planet ;-). Of course, as a periphery and tool, you should be using it for the right games. For example I would never use a gamepad in a FPS. But for witcher 3 couch gaming? Hell yea. Mortal Kombat? Hell yea. Elite on a potato laptop on the go? Hell yea, done that ;-) In DCS? Hell no Doom? Hell... maybe? Overwatch? Hell no. You get my drift

What I mean is it doesn't hurt to try. Gamepad is more accessible to everyone, that's why it's been the no.1 on consoles for years .

Since I'm now able to afford a gaming laptop, I'm taking a serious look at X4 Foundations.
They have fixed the game up a bit since it launched.
Your thoughts on this game are welcome.

There is a whole thread dedicated to X4 on this forum, I'd suggest reading the last few pages or asking there, people seemed quite happy with the game despite typical release bugs [nothing as major as Rebirth clusterpoo release]:

X4 this looks Very good

https://www.youtube.com/user/Xuniversechannel This game has so much to offer, It will use Vulcan rendering so big plus for AMD users.. really excited for this:D VR Looks promising too https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nM3TYjWfjgw Nice voice over review...

forums.frontier.co.uk

 

[Navigare Necesse Est]

That's a little bit... extreme to be honest. I'd suggest just borrowing one and trying, you might find it surprisingly convenient, like the rest of the planet ;-). Of course, as a periphery and tool, you should be using it for the right games. For example I would never use a gamepad in a FPS. But for witcher 3 couch gaming? Hell yea. Mortal Kombat? Hell yea. Elite on a potato laptop on the go? Hell yea, done that ;-) In DCS? Hell no Doom? Hell... maybe? Overwatch? Hell no. You get my drift

What I mean is it doesn't hurt to try. Gamepad is more accessible to everyone, that's why it's been the no.1 on consoles for years .
...

Huh? Why extreme? I quite think that games designed for gamepads just aren't what I like to play. And the little overlap there might be doesn't really convince to use it.

 

[VR StarLightPL]

I wrote "extreme" because of "no buy because it favours a controller" statement. Witcher 3 is excellent with a controller, Tomb Raider games are excellent with a controller, 2d indie games are excellent with a controller etc. etc. So, unless your (and Hairychris') focus is for example "sim only" or "e.d. only", you're cutting yourselves out of a large portion of games which can be played like that. IMHO all third person perspective games excel with controllers, as do all platformers. FPS is in the undisputable kb+m land, and simulators benefit by using pricey third party peripherials (not so much as niche as VR ;-), but niche nonetheless). So I don't exactly get the "controller hate", or, better put - "no controller excuses" because there is a lot of games which outright benefit from a controller control scheme. Everspace comes to mind, and in VR too. So in the end, a controller is like a tool - you use it for the right games.

 

[hairychris]

That's a little bit... extreme to be honest. I'd suggest just borrowing one and trying, you might find it surprisingly convenient, like the rest of the planet ;-). Of course, as a periphery and tool, you should be using it for the right games. For example I would never use a gamepad in a FPS. But for witcher 3 couch gaming? Hell yea. Mortal Kombat? Hell yea. Elite on a potato laptop on the go? Hell yea, done that ;-) In DCS? Hell no Doom? Hell... maybe? Overwatch? Hell no. You get my drift

What I mean is it doesn't hurt to try. Gamepad is more accessible to everyone, that's why it's been the no.1 on consoles for years .

I don't really get your drift as I already own an Xbox controller and I really suck at using it. So I don't. Bought that because I was running across games ported from console that played badly. Soon decided that extensive kb remapping and putting up with janky controls was less painful.

As I have never owned a console - so don't game on the TV* - and have played 35+ years with keyboard/mouse/stick I, as I mentioned, don't have the gaming time/inclination to learn new input methods. I'd rather play a game that has good mouse/kb support or do something else with my life (I have piles of musical instruments that won't play themselves, etc).

I'm aware that I'm an outlier, never been interested in console gaming (as already PC game) and only in the last year picked up a TV larger than 22 inches.

* Well, I do couch game I suppose but it's with a gaming laptop & mouse. I don't own a static PC!

EDIT:

I wrote "extreme" because of "no buy because it favours a controller" statement.

As I kicked that off, I actually said no buy if demands a controller (so either controller absolutely needed to play game or kb/mouse controls so poorly implemented that they are useless). Funnily enough it was the Tomb Raider reboot that made me get hold of a controller. That played terribly with kb/mouse!

EDIT: And back to the Jedi game, kb/mouse isn't great but it's OK and a lot more usable then some of those ports from a few years back were.

 

[Old Duck]

Speaking of controller vs. K&M, sometimes the poor implementation goes in the other direction. I wanted to play Space Engineers with a controller, but they treat the analog stick as if it's digital, meaning that I'm either sprinting or standing still. This is where controller usually shines over keyboard, as it gives you analog velocity. SE's controller implementation is so bad that they actually tie up a button to toggle between walk and run! That's what the ANALOG stick is for, dummies!!!

 

[ChemicalBR0]

Since I'm now able to afford a gaming laptop, I'm taking a serious look at X4 Foundations.
They have fixed the game up a bit since it launched.
Your thoughts on this game are welcome.

I bought it about 2 weeks ago. I've enjoyed what I've played so far.
granted I've only really gone through the tutorials at this point but so far it's been a fun (relatively bug free) experience

I've not set up my hotas for it yet and have been playing with M+KB which works quite well

 

[hairychris]

Speaking of controller vs. K&M, sometimes the poor implementation goes in the other direction. I wanted to play Space Engineers with a controller, but they treat the analog stick as if it's digital, meaning that I'm either sprinting or standing still. This is where controller usually shines over keyboard, as it gives you analog velocity. SE's controller implementation is so bad that they actually tie up a button to toggle between walk and run! That's what the ANALOG stick is for, dummies!!!

Oh yes, it definitely goes the other way too! And I can see that niche PC games like Space Engineers may not have a developer who can put the resources in to alternative control methods. Must be annoying.

I was complaining because when the modern way of developing for multiple platforms came in it was noticeable that PC users were left out as the big market was with consoles - I'm thinking of those old TotalBiscuit port reports where standard PC options were left out. Now we've moved on a few years the PC ports generally have better functionality but we still get the occasional stinker!

 

[Navigare Necesse Est]

I wrote "extreme" because of "no buy because it favours a controller" statement. Witcher 3 is excellent with a controller, Tomb Raider games are excellent with a controller, 2d indie games are excellent with a controller etc. etc. So, unless your (and Hairychris') focus is for example "sim only" or "e.d. only", you're cutting yourselves out of a large portion of games which can be played like that. IMHO all third person perspective games excel with controllers, as do all platformers. FPS is in the undisputable kb+m land, and simulators benefit by using pricey third party peripherials (not so much as niche as VR ;-), but niche nonetheless). So I don't exactly get the "controller hate", or, better put - "no controller excuses" because there is a lot of games which outright benefit from a controller control scheme. Everspace comes to mind, and in VR too. So in the end, a controller is like a tool - you use it for the right games.

Controller "hate" is mostly down to publishing games for PC that have crappy controls with KB/M. At least for me.

 

[lostagain]

I bought it about 2 weeks ago. I've enjoyed what I've played so far.
granted I've only really gone through the tutorials at this point but so far it's been a fun (relatively bug free) experience

I've not set up my hotas for it yet and have been playing with M+KB which works quite well

If I may ask. Where did you buy it from?
Is it only available from Steam? I cant find it anywhere else. Would like to get it on disk instead of download.
Thanks

 

[AkenBosch]

I bought it about 2 weeks ago. I've enjoyed what I've played so far.
granted I've only really gone through the tutorials at this point but so far it's been a fun (relatively bug free) experience

Tutorials were a very sore point of the game so far and are totally being reworked for the upcoming 3.0 (reports so far are pretty good), it's currently in public beta phase so you can already try it if that's your thing, or wait "a bit" (probably at least another month or two, hardly less, maybe more) for the full release.

If I may ask. Where did you buy it from?
Is it only available from Steam? I cant find it anywhere else. Would like to get it on disk instead of download.
Thanks

It's available from Steam, GoG or directly from the developer on the Egosoft site, but you'll get a Steam key even that way, sadly the game had no physical release.

 

[lostagain]

Tutorials were a very sore point of the game so far and are totally being reworked for the upcoming 3.0 (reports so far are pretty good), it's currently in public beta phase so you can already try it if that's your thing, or wait "a bit" (probably at least another month or two, hardly less, maybe more) for the full release.


It's available from Steam, GoG or directly from the developer on the Egosoft site, but you'll get a Steam key even that way, sadly the game had no physical release.

Thank you.
I'll get it from Steam then.

 

[ChemicalBR0]

Tutorials were a very sore point of the game so far and are totally being reworked for the upcoming 3.0 (reports so far are pretty good), it's currently in public beta phase so you can already try it if that's your thing, or wait "a bit" (probably at least another month or two, hardly less, maybe more) for the full release.

I'll maybe wait and go through the tutorials again, I quite enjoyed what I've played so far so if they are improving on the tutorials that can only be a good thing.

If I may ask. Where did you buy it from?
Is it only available from Steam? I cant find it anywhere else. Would like to get it on disk instead of download.
Thanks

I got it from Steam (I just like to keep most of my stuff under 1 launcher if possible)

 

[Navigare Necesse Est]

First thing that happened when trying X4 was the NPC taking off, me jumping in space suit and ending up in next sector somehow by jumping the gate in space suit.
Will wait for expansion - patch.
Tried War of the Chosen which I quite like. Got only couple of mods mostly about QoL and fixes. 1 dead soldier, but I'm reload scummer. Only ever used bondmate buff once, already in mid game and still no Psilab. It does play different to long war mod. I kinda miss the ranger gunners or wossname. But I like how I dont need to build every equipment - tho it seems inconsistent.

 

[lostagain]

I'll maybe wait and go through the tutorials again, I quite enjoyed what I've played so far so if they are improving on the tutorials that can only be a good thing.

I got it from Steam (I just like to keep most of my stuff under 1 launcher if possible)

Thanks
Never used Steam, but looks like that's about to change.

 

[Juniper]

It's available from Steam, GoG or directly from the developer on the Egosoft site, but you'll get a Steam key even that way, sadly the game had no physical release.

Egosoft ditched their publisher a couple of years ago - they're 100% indie and 100% digital now.

 

[AkenBosch]

Oh yes, I know that well , was just informing lostagain about the lack of a boxed edition.

 

[Ralph Vargr]

Ah, good. Plane's celebration week is over, and I wont be grinding for five times XP. It's back to the usual double XP for first victory per aircraft, a threshold for me to not really want to play.

 

[Juniper]

Day off today, so I decided to spin up Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order for a few hours.

Pros:

1. Good acting. Better acting than any recent SW cinema film.
2. Interesting story.
3. Fabulous environments.
4. Tomb Raider with light sabres.
5. Captures the 'feel' of Star Wars pretty well... including the incidental music.

Cons:

1. It's Tomb Raider with light sabres.
2. NO dialogue choices. The cut scenes are just a movie. In fact, you really feel as though you're just watching a (slightly) interactive movie most of the time.
3. Crashed a few times for me.

All in all, not a bad game per se, but I'd like to see a proper Star Wars RPG rather than just a platformer.

 

[LanceLord]

Now eyeballing Evochron Legacy. Has anyone played this to date? EL is a sandbox, RTS Newtonian mechanic space flight sim that focuses on a lone wolf/pilot controlled/survival game play mechanic. As the pilot, you control your reputation, wealth, ranking, and game progression (in solo or multiplayer mode). So it's basically ED with its main buy/trade/combat/exploration loop features (and slightly dated graphics). But seems to have a better capacity for emergent game play. Especially based on a good mix of structured and sandbox features/activities. I'm really baffled why EL hasn't been considered a serious ED competitor, given these similar and additional features. Many of which ED is still missing out on to date as indicated in red:

• planetary descent and atmospheric flight on earth like worlds:

• escorting/protection details
• espionage/silent running/detection evasion
• mining
• PvP & PvE combat (in both civilian and military war zone scenarios)
• SAR/emergency first response
• structured mission and sandbox contract objectives
• develop personal sandbox trade/mining/exploration plans & strategies based on dynamic economic/military/tech/political changes in star sectors
• weapon crafting
• HOTAS/keyboard & mouse/console support
• equipment crafting
• All bodies such as moons, asteroid fields, asteroid caves, asteroid surfaces, planets are tangible objects which are accessible/can be landed on
• All astronomical phenomena like nebula, stars, gas giant and planetary atmospheres can be interacted with using Newtonian mechanics. Space craft may take damage based on exposure to phenomena
• unique contract objectives (meteor interdiction, damaged satellite retrieval from planetary atmosphere, deploying modules etc)
• direct ship to ship trading/refueling/mission & contract giving in solo and multiplayer
• custom ship design and hangar storage at custom built shipyards (from FC to small fighter/trader/explorer scale).
• ability to blueprint customized ship designs for future builds
• custom built storage of cargo at custom built or existing trade stations
• detailed space, planetary, and POI exploration
• full POI space and planet shipwreck exploration/salvage (which is limited to visual flyby & data d/l in ED)
• racing
• cleaning solar panels??
• clearing paths through asteroid fields
• recruiting NPCs
• hiring and management of NPC crew members (more detailed than ED)
• fuel harvesting/refining of raw materials to fuel for sale on commodities market
• Player can direct ships in their single player fleet in PvE & PvP combat. Player can order single/multiple fleet ships to attack/defend specific or general targets.
• harvesting resources (big advantage as ED doesn't really specialize in this feature)
• SE sandbox style building of destructible stations/cities on planetary surfaces or in space. These buildings are multipurpose and can be used for docking, faction/solo HQ, storage, trade commodities hub, manufacturing/crafting ships/goods, etc. (another big advantage over ED)

Since launch, EL has retained solidly positive reviews on Steam and around the web. It appears to have matured very well to date. Definite buy once Steam does their Thanksgiving/Black Friday penny discount sales next week