Multiplayer for X Games

[Monkeyone]

Well, if they could release the code to X2, someone could develop a MP aspect. The ability to host a server for 4 to 6 people is all I am looking for.

agreed. x2 is an old enough game now. they could release the code for the sake of all space junkies out there. just like freespace 2...

PLEASE ... any more than 4 human players would be a real bonus...mabee even a server brouser :Drool:

[CBJ]

I appreciate that the search is not working, but this has been discussed at great length on any number of occasions. The reason for the absense of multi-player have also been explained, and they are very simple: cost.

I cannot believe how many of you seem to think, and the moderators especially, that when we say "multiplayer" we mean massively multiplayer. Most of us would be happy to have a four player limit and be restricted to lan play. In reality this is all that I want.

No, it is just that that is even less likely to happen. It still costs money to develop and with that type of multiplayer the chances of there being enough additional sales to cover the cost of development are vanishingly small. At least with an MMO there is some way to earn some money to pay for the development.

agreed. x2 is an old enough game now.

Nonsense. It is only two years old, and the publisher is still selling it. Even if Egosoft wanted to, which I very much doubt they would, they would not be able to.

[Submarine]

what educational aspects?

X was praised in the Times newspaper because it simulates a manufacturing economy.

Besides which, you really do have to think to play the game.

[Cycrow]

EDIT: oops, wrong thread

[dotC0M]

I appreciate that the search is not working, but this has been discussed at great length on any number of occasions. The reason for the absense of multi-player have also been explained, and they are very simple: cost.

I cannot believe how many of you seem to think, and the moderators especially, that when we say "multiplayer" we mean massively multiplayer. Most of us would be happy to have a four player limit and be restricted to lan play. In reality this is all that I want.

No, it is just that that is even less likely to happen. It still costs money to develop and with that type of multiplayer the chances of there being enough additional sales to cover the cost of development are vanishingly small. At least with an MMO there is some way to earn some money to pay for the development.

agreed. x2 is an old enough game now.

Nonsense. It is only two years old, and the publisher is still selling it. Even if Egosoft wanted to, which I very much doubt they would, they would not be able to.

CBJ -- I can see the point you made about cost. Obviously we need to pay the great programmers that would work on the game but is there no way to release MOD tools or code so those that MOD could actually create the multiplayer experience?

I understand development has costs but if you have a community WILLING to help build a multiplayer aspect to the game, why wouldn't you take advantage of that and help out? Obviously someone would have to be dedicated enough to want and sit and hammer this all out but from the looks of it, lots of people would enjoy MP X3, even if it's just LAN play.

I know with Freelancer, you can only go out to the mine, get stuff, sell it at a base and go back and mine so many times before you get bored. There's not much else to do in that game besides that. X3 is SO much more advanced and the gameplay is so much better than even a LAN version of the game would be awesome.


I am very willing to lend a hand to the development of the MP function in X3. I wish the dev's or powers that be, would give us a bit of insight into getting this done, and possibly some help. A MP version of X3 could definately be beneficial, let alone FUN as hell!

[RavenIII]

I quickly glimpsed over the last few pages, but didn't read into detail... don't get me wrong, I'd absolutely love a X-Lan game... but with the current coding here are the things they'd have to change in order to do it (I'll include the necessary opposite (what they could change to)):

1) There has to be more than one player, and for that to happen, there has to be more than one "tag" as I'll call it... my brief run-in with the scripts in X2 showed me that everything belonging to the player was "tagged" as owned by "player". There'd need to be more than one ie "Player_1", "Player_2" and so-on.

2) SETA as someone mentioned, it'd need changing, they offered some sort of distortion like a comet... this I've also thought, have the ship use SETA, and just simply speed it up... ticking can be there, to keep the old effect... but everything else moves at it's normal pace. (It would also stop people using SETA to make mucho profits from the factories... good/bad... I dunno!)

3)... Erm, for now there is no 3. I'll simply say that many more things would need changing, in order to make the changes above... and that could be extremely complex... even for a small team of modders... as it'd mean potentially ruining the game.

Internet would also be a problem, as bandwidth for now isn't enough to send the tonnage of information down the line... But there are figurable ways round this (although some are completely necessary).

Cheers,

RavenIII.

[Misinformed]

what educational aspects?

X was praised in the Times newspaper because it simulates a manufacturing economy.

Besides which, you really do have to think to play the game.

Really? Thats put me off reading The Times. I mean come on what can the player learn, buying low and selling high gets you a tidy little profit, there are far more thought provoking economic models out there. If you dont want to hear about EvE stop reading now.

Eve's player driven economy (you cant fully appreciate what the player driven economy is like in EvE unless youve played it for an extended persiod of time) makes X3's 'living' economy look rudimantary in comparsion. Yet to my knowledge (prove me wrong) it hasnt recieved hounerable mention in The Times.

Back on topic, i think the fundamental design of X3 and X2 since they bear similarities. Is that they are in no shape to have a mulitplayer component added of any scale.

For one due to the drawn out nature of the game it would require players to be on for very long periods of time, together. And if one person were too disconnect do you carry on the game? This would be a problem if the two players are competing against each other. SETA as noted earlier will speed up time for all players and cannot be removed as is your primary mode of transportation aswell as reducing the time it takes to get things done in X3. Want to spend 3 hours waiting for a mammoth to move a station into position anyone? Also it would speed up time for all involved, what happens when not everyone wants seta x10 on during combat?