Must have mods? Do you even need mods to enjoy this game?

[naisha]

Hello,

As per the title, im wondering if I need any mods to make the game more enjoyable/fun to play.

Im considering in buying the game (after waiting for several patches, updates, dlcs, essentially for the game to mature) and all its dlcs but having played past games, x2, x3 quite alot i quickly found out that in order to really enjoy those games you needed a few mods at least.

Is it still the case with x4?

How is automatic trade handled?
How is management of multiple stations handled?

Essentially, how is faction management?

Most importantly, how is fleet management/control implemented?


Are there any must have mods?

That sort of thing.
Thank you in advance

[Alan Phipps]

Ask about the vanilla game all that you wish in this forum, but requests for very subjective recommendations about mods (and their inevitable subsequent discussions) belong in the X4 S&M forum and where your style of gameplay and personal preferences will be important. A common recommendation is to play vanilla for a while first to get a feel for the mechanics and only then consider which mods change the vanilla gameplay experiences and aspects that you do not care for much.

Prior X2/X3 experience is not really that relevant in regard to X4.

[aard00]

I agree it's very subjective. For me, I've enjoyed it immensely without any mods and am embarrassed to post how many hours I've sunk into it. I also wasn't really expecting anything other than an X game, which to me means it's not going to be perfect, it'll be a bit rough around the edges, but I'm generally happy to look past that and just have a blast playing what's there. And there is a lot to enjoy.

[Panos]

Hello,

As per the title, im wondering if I need any mods to make the game more enjoyable/fun to play.

Im considering in buying the game (after waiting for several patches, updates, dlcs, essentially for the game to mature) and all its dlcs but having played past games, x2, x3 quite alot i quickly found out that in order to really enjoy those games you needed a few mods at least.

Is it still the case with x4?

How is automatic trade handled?
How is management of multiple stations handled?

Essentially, how is faction management?

Most importantly, how is fleet management/control implemented?


Are there any must have mods?

That sort of thing.
Thank you in advance

I do not use mods nor are needed for Automated trade or multiple stations. Especially the latter is can be done with cargo drones if you have stations closer than 20km from each other. No need for freighters.

[Buzz2005]

I do not use mods nor are needed for Automated trade or multiple stations. Especially the latter is can be done with cargo drones if you have stations closer than 20km from each other. No need for freighters.

this is not true anymore, since 3.0 they removed station to station cargo drones trading

[Panos]

I do not use mods nor are needed for Automated trade or multiple stations. Especially the latter is can be done with cargo drones if you have stations closer than 20km from each other. No need for freighters.

this is not true anymore, since 3.0 they removed station to station cargo drones trading

Indeed, this changed in 3.20. Haven't played any of the old saves since 3.10.
Thnx for reminding me

[Ezarkal]

The game is very enjoyable without mods. I've played vanilla since launch, and only started using mods recently.
So far, the mods I used are not huge game changer either, but rather minor QoL improvements, such as free access to paint Mod*, and the like.
(I compensate the lack of venture with another mod that allow me to craft advanced ship Mod parts, which is one of the main things that venture truly provide IMO... along with paint Mod, but the other mod already took care of that.)

This is very different from XR, where I was using 30+ mods and couldn't imagine the game without them.

So yeah, I find X4 vanilla gameplay pretty good. But then it's really up to each person to decide what he want to use or not.



*Here I I use "mod" to describe full game modification, and "Mod" (capital M) to describe in-game ship modifications, a feature of the game.
Yes, it can get confusing pretty fast.

[dtpsprt]

Pointing at the elephant in the room I have to say three things:

1. Autotrading and Automining (a very nice feature that did not exist in X2/X3) are "locked" behind pilot experience (except Automining in a single sector) which is very slow to reach the required level.

2. The "modular" design of Stations makes managing them the combination of complex instructions (at least they work, if only poorly documented) by the player and experience of the (necessary) Manager. At least Manager skills advance rapidly.

3. Fleet movement has always been a thorn in the foot of Egosoft.... it still is. The absence of Jump Drive and the implemented Travel Drive, along with the existence (not in all sectors than God) of highways that not all ships can use, makes movement of Fleets a bit "iffy". Their Combat behaviour is again dependent on skill and it's glacial advance...

It's all up to you to make your decision, play some vanilla (maybe for 3-4 hours) and then start "shoping" for mods if you think you need them. Personally I play both moded and unmoded games (the mods can be stopped) depending on my mood.

[Drumma]

I am approaching 600 hours on my first game save. I only use two mods; the mod that removes space-dust and the mod that accelerates NPC crew skills. The Space dust mod is on all the time but the Crew Skill mod I turned off once I had several 5 star pilots and crew. I don't want every crew member to be 5 stars as that takes away some of my fun managing people.

I'm having a blast just playing X4 "almost vanilla". Those two mods are all I've ever used and I didn't load them until ~300 hours of game time. I think the game is very good w/o mods.

[naisha]

Thank you all for your replies, I will buy the game and start playing vanilla. After reading this thread and others around the web, seems a lot of people are ok with vanilla.

In the past, having played all releases since x2 the threat, there were mods that i and many others considered must have. Glad to see that it may not be the case for this release

[Falcrack]

I am approaching 600 hours on my first game save. I only use two mods; the mod that removes space-dust and the mod that accelerates NPC crew skills. The Space dust mod is on all the time but the Crew Skill mod I turned off once I had several 5 star pilots and crew. I don't want every crew member to be 5 stars as that takes away some of my fun managing people.

I'm having a blast just playing X4 "almost vanilla". Those two mods are all I've ever used and I didn't load them until ~300 hours of game time. I think the game is very good w/o mods.

I like the autominer and autotrader skill tweaks mod. The levelling speed remains the same, but it lowers the bar in terms of stars needed for autotrading and automining. Most new pilots with this mod are sufficiently skilled for basic autotrading with at least a 1 sector range.

[aurumgallente]

as for me Egosoft doesn't do games, it does mod constructors where you need to build a game that suits you. Vanilla game balance is questionable for me but mods could fix it and extend your gameplay experience far beyond vanilla content. Fortunately today you can install mods with a couple of clicks.

[SunofVich]

I've been using VRO mod with it's recommended mods. Been a blast so far.