X3TC/X3AP Public Beta

Post by **CBJ** » Thu, 16. Jun 16, 12:01

We have set up a Public Beta version of X3TC 3.2d and X3AP 3.1a. These are technical updates only and do not contain any new gameplay features. This Public Beta is available for the Windows version of X3TC and X3AP only, and only on Steam.

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Before downloading this public Beta version, please make sure you read, understand and agree to the following disclaimer.

Disclaimer

The public Beta program allows you to try out our next update or patch and provide feedback before it is released. As such, we cannot guarantee that it will be free of bugs. In particular, while we will endeavour to maintain compatibility, we cannot guarantee that savegames made with a Beta patch or update will be compatible with the final released version.

Before running any Beta version, please ensure that you back up your savegames so that they can be restored if you find any problems.

Instructions

1. Make sure that your savegames are backed up!

2. To start using the Beta version, right-click X3TC or X3AP in the Steam client, select Properties and go to the Betas tab. Enter the password IBackedUpMySaves then select public_beta from the dropdown list. If you wish to try the X3AP 3.1a Public Beta then you must also install the X3TC 3.2d Public Beta, otherwise it will not work correctly.

3. To return to using the non-Beta version, select NONE from the same dropdown list. Remember that savegames made using the Beta version may not work when you do this. If you wish to revert to X3AP 3.1 then you must also revert to X3TC 3.2c, otherwise it will not work correctly.

Note: Please avoid re-posting the above information. If you wish to tell other people about this Beta program, please post a link to this announcement so that people joining the Beta are aware of the risks and the disclaimer.

Note: Problems encountered while using a modified game will be considered invalid. Please make sure your game is a clean, unmodified game before you start.

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Release Notes

X3TC 3.2d

• Updated to the latest Steam API.
• Fixed selection of wrong graphics card on systems (particularly laptops) that have dual graphics.
• Fixed issue with menu performance on systems with particular AMD graphics hardware and driver combinations.

X3AP 3.1a

• Updated to the latest Steam API.
• Fixed selection of wrong graphics card on systems (particularly laptops) that have dual graphics.
• Fixed issue with menu performance on systems with particular AMD graphics hardware and driver combinations.

Moonrat · Post by **Moonrat** » Fri, 17. Jun 16, 16:32

Fantastic guys... lots of kudos to EGOSOFT. The fact that you're still prepared to support your products and provide updates like this to some s/w which is now almost 8 years old is something to be proud of!! There's not many other companies out there that would do that...

BlackArchon · Post by **BlackArchon** » Fri, 17. Jun 16, 19:32

Wow, a new patch! Will the list of changes grow bigger in the future?

willdunz · Post by **willdunz** » Sat, 18. Jun 16, 04:04

Can I use 3.0 NoSteam executable after this update?

ghot222 · Post by **ghot222** » Sun, 19. Jun 16, 17:29

I really can't thank you guys enough for this.

Suffered from this FPS menu lag for years now, managed to sorta of fix it (not really) using the CPU trick, but now it is actually fixed for me and my r9 280x.

Thank you!

Edit:
So the fix won't work with the 3.0 No Steam exe, so no custom install locations for mods.
But if you install the mods in the actual steam folder and play using the regular exe the fix will work, even with mods.

The only problem is, if the regular game updates, you have pretty much no way of stopping it, the only option being "only update when game launches".

Post by **CBJ** » Sun, 19. Jun 16, 20:39

BlackArchon wrote:Wow, a new patch! Will the list of changes grow bigger in the future?

There are no plans to add to the list for this patch.

willdunz wrote:Can I use 3.0 NoSteam executable after this update?

No, the changes are in the executable, so using an older one will mean you are back to using the unpatched version. We'll be issuing an updated NoSteam executable with the changes in when the Public Beta is over.

Sinxar · Post by **Sinxar** » Sun, 19. Jun 16, 20:49

ghot222 wrote:Suffered from this FPS menu lag for years now, managed to sorta of fix it (not really) using the CPU trick, but now it is actually fixed for me and my r9 280x.

Thank you!

Thanks for the confirmation that it works.

I had this issue with my old HD 4870 and the R9 280. Strangely when I upgraded to Windows 8.1 the problem went away on its own, in 10 the issue didn't resurface.

Unfortunately for my R9 280, X3TC and X3AP weren't the only games with weird issues with AMD cards so I just tossed it and got a GTX 970.

ghot222 - What OS are you using right now?

Tycow · Post by **Tycow** » Sun, 19. Jun 16, 22:31

Can report that AP is now successfully detects my nVidia 970m, even when the nVidia control panel is set to autodetect and defaults to the Intel integrated GPU!

Good work.

Post by **CBJ** » Mon, 20. Jun 16, 01:06

From the way your post is phrased, Tycow, I can't tell whether the game is now using the right graphics card and your final words are genuinely positive, or the wrong one and they are meant in sarcasm! Could you just clarify, please?

Tycow · Post by **Tycow** » Mon, 20. Jun 16, 01:48

Lol, yes, after rereading that I can see why.

Bottom line is the patch is working correctly!

X3AP.exe correctly found the 970m in the graphics options, rather than the Intel GPU. I double checked this by leaving X3AP.exe on the auto detect GPU option in the nvidia control panel, rather than forcing it to use the nvidia GPU.

So I say again... good work!

Post by **CBJ** » Mon, 20. Jun 16, 11:46

Thanks for the clarification. Good to hear it's working.

ghot222 · Post by **ghot222** » Mon, 20. Jun 16, 14:03

Sinxar wrote:Thanks for the confirmation that it works.

I had this issue with my old HD 4870 and the R9 280. Strangely when I upgraded to Windows 8.1 the problem went away on its own, in 10 the issue didn't resurface.

Unfortunately for my R9 280, X3TC and X3AP weren't the only games with weird issues with AMD cards so I just tossed it and got a GTX 970.

ghot222 - What OS are you using right now?

Hey, no problem !

So, in my case, I remember that I had the problem in windows 7 with an older card (xfx1950 I think, years ago) but using an old driver dll fixed it.

In windows 8.1 I already had the r9 280x, still had the problem, but this time I couldn't use the old driver dll (not compatible).

And recently, not more than 2 weeks ago, I switched to W10 and the problem persisted, but the new beta patches fixed it completely, played the whole day yesterday without a problem, even modded (Litcube).

I really never had real issues with AMD, and to be honest I actually prefer their products.

BlackArchon · Post by **BlackArchon** » Mon, 20. Jun 16, 21:10

CBJ wrote:
BlackArchon wrote:Wow, a new patch! Will the list of changes grow bigger in the future?
There are no plans to add to the list for this patch.
...

This is rather disappointing when there are so many suggestions what players want (http://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?t=378073).

Well, I hope that you put all of your effort into X4!

vexter · Post by **vexter** » Mon, 20. Jun 16, 21:48

Thanks for the update.

Ya know, I bought rebirth even though I had tried it at a friends and hated it, just to support the company.

Please make X4.....

YorrickVander · Post by **YorrickVander** » Tue, 21. Jun 16, 17:21

Unfortunately I don't have hardware that had issues with the current live version. Would it be possible to add a borderless window mode though? The Linux version has this but not the Windows

Post by **CBJ** » Tue, 21. Jun 16, 17:48

BlackArchon wrote:This is rather disappointing when there are so many suggestions what players want (http://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?t=378073).

This is a purely technical update. It does not preclude the possibility of us doing something with some of those ideas in the future. That possibility has not gone away just because of the time that has passed since we last talked about it.

YorrickVander wrote:Unfortunately I don't have hardware that had issues with the current live version. Would it be possible to add a borderless window mode though? The Linux version has this but not the Windows

Again, not as part of this update, but we are aware that it is fairly high on some people's list, so it would definitely be considered if and when we get the chance to do some more substantial work in this area.

YorrickVander · Post by **YorrickVander** » Wed, 22. Jun 16, 00:53

Sounds good, thanks

Post by **CBJ** » Wed, 6. Jul 16, 15:36

This update is now on general public release (Windows only).

Post by **Alan Phipps** » Wed, 6. Jul 16, 20:32

Now also discussed here.