Any chance of a multiplayer X?

TheCoolSideofthePillow

I really love these games. IMO, they are simply the best space sims ever. However, I am really big into multiplayer gaming. Multiplayer gaming is what really started my obsession with video games in the first place, and I prefer to play with other people than by myself.

With how big the X universe is, even in the single player games; all the features it has that could easily lend to good co-op or competitive style play with other people, I think it would be amazing to see a new X game come out with multiplayer features. Imagine large scale battles where every ship involved is a unique, real life human being and not an NPC. You and your friends could board the same ship and have a pilot moving around while everyone else takes up gunner positions on the turrets. The economy would grow and evolve like a real economy, influenced by all the player's in the universe.

I know I can't be alone on this. I am sure it's crossed many people's minds while playing these amazing games. I wouldn't want it to take away from the singleplayer sandbox experience, but I also, personally, can't see many obstacles in designing a system that includes both, especially since many of the existing game mechanics could easily remain the same and the game would be pretty balanced, even for a world consisting of mostly human players.

gbjbaanb · Post by **gbjbaanb** » Sat, 11. Feb 12, 16:24

no.

now go search the forum for the many, many reasons

Really, this has been done to death over the years. I think many people would like a multi-player X, but the technical difficulties are quite large and I don't think there would be consensus on how it should play.

EmperorJon · Post by **EmperorJon** » Sat, 11. Feb 12, 16:26

I've just tried to find the big list of threads, unfortunately I can't.

TheCoolSideofthePillow

gbjbaanb wrote:no.

now go search the forum for the many, many reasons

Really, this has been done to death over the years. I think many people would like a multi-player X, but the technical difficulties are quite large and I don't think there would be consensus on how it should play.

And what technical reasons would those be? I know this has been discussed before, but every single time a multiplayer X is brought up, no one actually mentions what these technical issues actually are. Personally, I think this situation is much like that with die hard Elder Scrolls fans when it comes to a multiplayer version of the series; they are afraid of change and don't want a game that changes the fundamental element of the series by going multiplayer because it might become the popular thing and eventually phase out the singleplayer experience.

I program games as a hobby. I look at games from the perspective of a designer. And I can tell you right now, that the only technical problems making a multiplayer X would have would be implementing a good, stable netcode that could incorporate many players at once. As I said in the OP here, most of the features in the existing singleplayer game would not need to be changed at all for a multiplayer version/addon.

slice · Post by **slice** » Sat, 11. Feb 12, 16:38

this is just begging for ......

so what is this then

the URL\IP is owned by egosoft, its been up since the days of X2 but not been updated as far as i can tell
http://www.online-universe.net/44index.htm

Maxumous · Post by **Maxumous** » Sat, 11. Feb 12, 16:46

here is one thread :- http://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?p=1046695
ed. http://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?p=1553030
ed. http://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?p=1039125

Catra · Post by **Catra** » Sat, 11. Feb 12, 16:50

[ external image ]

links to every "i want multi!" thread ever

multiplayer faq

And what technical reasons would those be? I know this has been discussed before,

doing your research is not hard. so go do it.

Maxumous · Post by **Maxumous** » Sat, 11. Feb 12, 17:00

To be really honest, There's a lot of money involved in multiplayer games.
Servers and updates ,support. The amount of people to keep it running. Its a lot to ask for a small company, its not Blizzard. I think CBJ said also it was risky. You the player needs the support to keep it running and you need a lot of X-players to keep the Cash coming in. If it doesn't go well it could possible ruin a small company.
You think they really want to go down that root.

xeb0 · Post by **xeb0** » Sat, 11. Feb 12, 17:06

I'm a newby here, but I'd also enjoy a multiplayer version of the game.

Not for competitive reasons, but I like the idea of organizing resources to better defend trading sectors, or take out xenon. Being able to talk with another person about that stuff would be a lot of fun.

EmperorJon · Post by **EmperorJon** » Sat, 11. Feb 12, 17:13

Catra wrote:[img]
links to every "i want multi!" thread ever

Thanks, multiplayer and author Gazz on the forum search returned nothing, and still does, when I tried it...

Eisenkalle · Post by **Eisenkalle** » Sat, 11. Feb 12, 17:14

I thought somebody would post a number/list of already related threads

Typing "multiplayer" in extra search and just reading the first several topics/posts, as usual: No, no, never!

/marking this topic not to be watched for replies

EDIT: lol thank you Catra!

David Howland · Post by **David Howland** » Sat, 11. Feb 12, 17:14

Those costs are only necessary if you go for the modern internet MP game.
I would never play a game on the internet anyway. My friends and I would love an old fashioned MP version that many games have done for a lan network or even turn by turn on a single machine. This type would only require the development costs, no internet costs at all but ES seems to be turning its back on anything that does not include the internet!

brucewarren · Post by **brucewarren** » Sat, 11. Feb 12, 17:35

That LAN idea is mentioned and rejected in CBJs excellent FAQ that Catra linked.

The probability that someone will think they have new way to do it is very high.

The probability that they will actually think of something that Egosoft
has not already considered very carefully and rejected for sound reasons
is precisely zero.

Over the years the number of times this has been raised is almost beyond count.

At the risk of sounding pushy, I suggest that FAQ and Gazz's thread
should be stickied.

Falcrack · Post by **Falcrack** » Sat, 11. Feb 12, 18:45

gbjbaanb wrote:no.

now go search the forum for the many, many reasons

Really, this has been done to death over the years. I think many people would like a multi-player X, but the technical difficulties are quite large and I don't think there would be consensus on how it should play.

CBJ wrote:Q. Why has there been no multi-player mode in an X-series game to date?
A. Ignore all technical arguments you see. Most of them have never been an issue, and some were only relevant years ago when the idea was first mooted. Only a few present serious challenges and none of them are insurmountable with sufficient development. However, that brings us to the real reason there is no multi-player: because the money to undertake that development has never been available.

CBJ wrote:Q. So will there ever be a multi-player X-series game?
A. It has always been Egosoft's intention to create one. Every successful single-player X-series game contributes to the chances of that happening. The trick will be to find the right way to present it so that publishers want to fund it, and the right way to develop it so that single-player fans don't suffer. In my personal opinion (and it is just that: a personal opinion, not a statement, official or otherwise) Egosoft is in a better position to do both than they've ever been, and if things continue to go well then multi-player may yet see the light of day.

I think a flat out no is not the correct answer. You could say "probably not", but if X:Rebirth is a huge hit, they may yet fund the development of some form of multiplayer.

Seriously, why do some folks get all adamant and huffy whenever someone raises the point of multiplayer? You'd think they have a fan-boy mentality or something.

Mustur · Post by **Mustur** » Sat, 11. Feb 12, 19:39

EmperorJon wrote: Thanks, multiplayer and author Gazz on the forum search returned nothing, and still does, when I tried it...

Type this in google search:

site:forum.egosoft.com multiplayer gazz

It's much quicker and, in a lot of cases, better then a forum search. Also google keeps a cached page, in case the forum goes down.

/Sorry for off topic

Catra · Post by **Catra** » Sat, 11. Feb 12, 20:04

think a flat out no is not the correct answer.

if you dont have the money to do something, then it is a flat out no.

Virtualaughing · Post by **Virtualaughing** » Sat, 11. Feb 12, 20:20

Or a search before post ...... ;p

Zaitsev · Post by **Zaitsev** » Sat, 11. Feb 12, 20:43

TheCoolSideofthePillow wrote: And what technical reasons would those be?

Let's see ...

- Realtime updates for position, heading and speed for every ship in the game. That alone could turn the whole game into a lagfest due to the amount of data needed to be exchanged, and if you and your team mates explore enough and have a big fleet it will make the problem worse.

- Realtime updates for position, direction and speed for every bullet and missile in the game. Preferrably with minimal lag, so your team mate actually know you hit him (or her) right now, not next week. Again, more data to chew through.

- Updating trade transactions, resource usage and money across the board, again preferrably in realtime so you don't dock at a cattle ranch and try buying argnu beef that isn't really there, because your buddy swooped in ten seconds ahead in his Mistral SF and bought everything, including the kitchen sink.

Those are the problems I can think of off the top of my head, and the amount of data you would need to share among the players is astronomical to say the least. Not to mention that it would take a fairly beefy system to process all that data, and it would probably be a true nightmare to program. I don't think "Multiplayer require EVGA SR2 (a dual CPU motherboard), at least 16 GB of RAM and gigabit connection" would be such a hit.

Also, it's not a matter of a simple addon, and if you take TC as an example the game simply isn't built for that kind of stuff. As I understand it there are very few ways for the game to communicate with third parties and they are generally slow and cumbersome at best, which returns us to our old pal lag. Even if you rebuilt X from scratch it would become an EVE clone instead of X, due to the problems I mentioned earlier.

Macrixen · Post by **Macrixen** » Sat, 11. Feb 12, 20:49

well if you want an online equivalent to the x universe.. my mind goes to EVE but it is still no the same

InvrSmall · Post by **InvrSmall** » Sat, 11. Feb 12, 21:24

Negativity surrounds this subject yet again.

It could be done but just not in the usual way. A multiplayer element for X would not have to simulate everyones universe at once. Think 'community space' where players could warp in with their current ship to chat and discuss the game and maybe even PvP in designated sectors with their ships.

How many times when you were completing the Hub plot did you have to sit twiddling your thumbs whilst waiting for the resources to be generated. In this dead time you could jump to 'community space' in your ship and hang out whilst your transport ships go about their business in the background.

This could be very helpful for new players too as if they have questions about the game they could jump to this on-line area and chat about Transport routes, Ship specs, factories and stuff.

I do believe that this could work if a bit of thought was put into it rather than the flatout no reaction that the subject always receives.

So does anyone else think this could be do-able or am I the only one in this corner ?

Any chance of a multiplayer X?

Any chance of a multiplayer X?

Depends!