X2 Faq

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Steel
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X2 Faq

Post by Steel » Sun, 9. Mar 03, 19:04

Hi all,

This is the official X2 FAQ that will be up on the website shortly. Before we (Edit: Invader has offered to translate it - go give that guy a thumb! :D ) translate this to German, I would appreciate any feedback. Thanks to Abyss and all others who helped!

Steel

******************************************
What is X2 The Threat?

X2 – The Threat is the exciting next installment in the X-Series of space simulations.

Trade your way through the space lanes and achieve mogul status.
Fight your way through dozens of interlinked missions within an all-new storyline.
Build your empire of stations and ships across the Universe.
Think if your next move could be your last as the Universe reacts to your actions.

A first person space experience designed for today’s game players with sound and graphics to match.
Discover new worlds and races, become a trader, bounty hunter, pirate, miner or a cunning combination of them all.
The uneasy peace that befalls the Universe is about to be broken; can you meet the Threat head on?

Q: What’s the Plot? Do I have to follow the plot?
No, the game offers a diverse and dynamic Universe to explore. However, some areas and technologies will not become available unless you complete the missions.
Here is an overview of the X2 – The Threat plot.
In the original game (X-Beyond The Frontier), the player took on the role of an Earth space pilot named Kyle Brennan, marooned in a distant area of space. We refer to this as the “X Universe”. Inhabited by various alien races, the player forged a living by trading goods, bounty hunting and taking on various missions. All the while, seeking for a way back home. During this time and after frequenting the different races, it became apparent that a machine-based race (known as the “Xenon”) was invading. The story climaxed with the player being instrumental in their defeat.

In X2, the player takes on the role of a pilot indigenous to the X-Universe. The story begins with our soon-to-be hero and his companion attempting to steal a ship and after a failed, action packed escape attempt in a dense nebulae, he soon finds himself aboard a security ship, destined to live out his days on the cold, prison-mining world of Artur.

En-route the ship is stopped by an impressive battle cruiser under command of a man named Ban Danna, high-ranking member of the secret service of the Argon Federation. He gave Kyle (from X-BTF) lots of help in the past in his quest to defeat the Xenon and Kyle is now a key member of the corporation known as TerraCorp.

Ban Danna is well known and respected throughout the Universe and the security ship Captain doesn’t hesitate to hand over the player when Ban Danna requests him.

Bewildered, the player is unsure what awaits him, but Ban Danna is calm and forceful as he explains that it is wrong to waste away a life on illegal pirate activities and this is his last and only chance of redemption.

The player jumps at the chance of a life outside the mining world and promises to follow a life of potential prosperity instead of piracy. A job with TerraCorp hauling freight seems a good bargain and he forges ahead in his new career.

But it isn’t long before his past catches up with him as he learns the real reason that he was saved from oblivion. Lost ships and technologies have to be found, journeys from Kingdom’s End to the new frontiers and beyond beckon, as the mystery unfolds. The discovery of a new race named the “Khaak” and their destructive intentions brings adventure fraught with danger and intrigue. The revelations from his past begin to emerge and these must be faced as he discovers his true identity and also that of his father. The correct decisions to be taken cause a dilemma with a struggle between his conscious and his loyalties.

But he must face them with strength if he is to unravel this web and meet the challenges that await him. Within a dynamic Universe and a plot expertly weaved together with a series of moving cut-scenes, planet locations and characters of interest, the story of “The Threat” is waiting to be told.

Q: What is the latest release date?
A: A rolling demo will be released shortly and the playable demo and full game should be available ******** . Register on our forums <here> to receive email updates.

Q: What system specs will I need?
A: The game should run fine on a P3 700 or equivalent, but in order to take advantage of the advanced graphics features, we would recommend a processor greater than 1Ghz, 256 MB Ram and a Direct X 8 capable video card, like a Geforce3 ti200 or above. This is a guideline only; we will finalize this on release.

Q: Can I buy the game directly here or from the publisher?
A: The publisher will be revealed shortly, and yes, you will be able to buy from either them or Egosoft direct. Of course, you can always visit your local game store.


Q: Do I need other X games (X-BTF or X-Tension) to play X2?
A: No. Whilst experienced X'ers (fans of the games) will know more of what to expect, as the scenario is similar, X2 is completely separate and has moved on considerably.

Q: Can I use my save games from X-Beyond the Frontier and X-Tension?
A: No, they are not compatible.

Q: Is X2 playable online or on LAN as multiplayer?
A: No, however a multiplayer online version, www.online-universe.net is in early development.

Q: How many ships are there?
A: There are over 70 pilotable by you. You may own as many as you like at any one time, and some types may be better suited for certain missions. There are cargo ships, fighter ships or varying size, large transports, passenger liners, corvettes, battleships and carriers. Some ships have the ability to carry varying numbers of smaller ships within them.

Q: Do I have to take missions?
A: No - the story is completely flexible and you are free to go about your business as you please. There are many smaller missions that do not affect the storyline. Other missions are more plot based and will lead the pilot into some features of the game otherwise unavailable.

Q: What other routes can the game take me down?
A: You choose. You will probably experiment with a bit of everything, but we all have our favorites! You can concentrate on building an empire, with factories dotted around the universe, creating trade monopolies and eliminating competitors. Or you could try your hand at piracy and live on the profits of others. Or you could build a fleet of ships and accept missions for the various races that co-exist within the X Universe.

Q: Did you say competition?
A: Yes. In X2, whilst there are other races, there are also freelance pilots exactly the same as you, busy either trading for profit or pirating others. So if you see a trade opportunity, you might have to be quick....

Q: It sounds complicated - is it still a game that I could play for a couple of hours and then come back to another time?
A: Of course. Even when you are many hours into the game, advanced in-game menus allow you to easily oversee and supervise all your property (i.e. factories and other ships) and also see how any mission you have accepted is progressing.

Q: I won't be spending the whole game looking at menus trying to keep track of everything will I?
A: No. X2 has a feature where you may attach an AI script to either a craft or a factory so it keeps doing what you tell it to again and again. There will be a comprehensive selection of scripts within the game, and we anticipate that many users will create their own and share them.

Q: Where? Is there anywhere I can ask for help?
A: The X2 forums at Egosoft have a huge number of experienced X'ers who will be happy to help! The staff at Egosoft also frequents these forums on a daily basis. Click <here> to access the forums.

Q: I hear it’s a dynamic economy, how does that work?
A: Trading is dynamic. Each race has a hierarchy of goods it manufactures. Some are common across the races and others specific to a race. At the bottom of the pyramid are the widely available raw materials. At the top, the luxury goods and technological systems including weapons with various products in-between.

Space is littered with factories producing these goods. Each factory requires one or more resources and they will send their own freight ships to acquire them, at the best possible price/distance/quantity calculated. This means that a factory may send its ships to one factory one trip and another factory on its next trip, even spanning dozens of sectors if required.

If the local availability of a product is low, its price will increase and likewise decrease when the quantities are increased through the manufacturing process of each factory, which takes time.

Simple monitoring of this dynamic trade can open up profitable trade routes and gaps in the market can be found. However, if you really want to become that business mogul, then you can acquire your very own factories (no limits on number) and deploy these wherever you see fit. These will then automatically fetch resource and manufacture goods using ships you assign to the task and within parameters you set on distance, prices and so forth. With the correct technology you can monitor these factories from afar and communicate with them to alter their settings.

This is an extremely good way to make high long-term profits, although it is not a requirement to complete the game and being a successful mogul will bring its own attention from others. So with success you will need to protect your assets accordingly.

Q: I am told the player can focus on mere combat is this true?
A: Yes. A player can decide to play the game any way they choose and pure fighting is a choice that some will take. It is possible to capture other ships, if you can convince the pilot to bail out. This ship then becomes another ship in your roster and you can sell it at a shipyard if you want to.

Combat is a mixture of lasers, projectile weapons, missiles, countermeasures, hull damage, shields and so on. Very much in the Wing Commander, X-Wing style of leading shot acquisition and 3D Radar to aid your situational awareness.

Of course, once you own a fleet of ships, you can simply give them commands and they will assist you in your quest. There’s nothing quite like flying with a dozen wingmen who are all there to protect you!

It would be a great challenge to complete the plot via fighting alone, but it is entirely possible. Conversely, its also possible to role-play traders, miners and so on, but most players will opt for a combination of them all.

Q: How is the game controlled?
A: Keyboard, Joystick and Mouse are all supported.

Q: Is it 1st person or 3rd person?
A: X2 is played in the first person. You sit in your cockpit or turrets on your chosen ship. You can dock, go within stations even go for a space walk in your suit if you feel the need. An exterior 3rd person view is available. There are times when cut-scenes will play as part of the plot that may bring you to a variety of locations, including planets.

Q: What types of missions are available?

A: Briefly, the game operates a bulletin board system (within stations) and a message system in cockpit. Messages will come to the player in the cockpit which are important and also they can scan the many stations news boards at will. Here they can pick up all manner of missions, from passenger cargo, freight cargo to search and destroy missions that may involve tracking a fugitive across many sectors.

Q: Whom are you competing against?
A: Trade wise you are competing against all the other ships and factories dotted around space. There are even NPC freelancer players trading the same as you. Each race has a ranking system, that in essence gives you the ability to dock with them or not. Go shooting up their cargo ships and not only will your rank fall, but also the local police ships will pay you special attention. The farther away from that race you are, the less effect it has on your rank, so there are some nice pirates sectors to explore.

Combat wise, hey it’s your game! You are against whoever and whatever based upon your own actions. You choose, although the “threat” in the title gives an indication that at some point, you might have something else to contend with.

Q: How big is the Universe in the game?
The X2 Universe is over twice the size of X-Beyond the Frontier with well over a hundred sectors. I won’t give you an accurate number as that would spoil some of the fun!

Q: What can players do to make cash besides trading?
A: Capture ships and sell them is one way, shoot up other ships and steal their cargos or take on a huge variety of missions with cash rewards. Of course, the main plot offers some great rewards.

Q: What about ships? How can I buy them?
You purchase ships from shipyards, each race has their own shipyards and range of vessels. You buy a standard model and then fit whatever upgrades you like/can afford. For example, you might want to upgrade your cargo ship for speed or cargo space, install a larger weapon system into your fighters. Some ships cannot carry some weapons, due to size and energy requirements and there are restrictions on types of cargo for some. It all depends upon your chosen career path, no ship is perfect and that is intentional. Yes, there are excellent fighting ships, but these aren’t very good at hauling cargo (small holds). A large carrier is great, but you won’t be able to dogfight in it.

There are though, ships available with default fittings, just like buying an automobile today. You can buy the standard model with increasing levels or features right upto the luxury model, or purchase the basic ship and fit your own combination.

Q: C’mon, tell me, how big is the biggest ship I can own?
A: Over two kilometres long and yes, you can pilot it.

Q: Are there lots of different weapons?
A: Yes. Many different lasers with their own power requirements, power consumption and cost and missiles, mines, remote droids and projectile weapons are all available. Certain weapons are limited to certain ship types. Plus there are some to be discovered in the game.

Q: Defensive?
A: Energy shields, repairable hulls, intercept rockets, remote droids, greatly varying speeds and handling characteristics of ships all add to the experience. While speed helps, pilot skills remain an important asset. Again, some technologies are there to be found.
Last edited by Steel on Fri, 14. Mar 03, 02:30, edited 4 times in total.

The_Abyss
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Post by The_Abyss » Sun, 9. Mar 03, 19:17

Steel - this is excellent - just what is needed.

The only addition I would consider is a link to the X News page, in the same paragraph as the link to sign up for e-mail updates. This will allow new visitors to read some of the more detailed updates, such as the varying weapons available, like X-News 8 (and hopefully soon X-News 9!!!). Btw, the News section is not yet updated I think, so this would have to be done first.

Nice intro on the background story as well - I am now getting really quite excited... :)

This may be a long leap, but as you've left the release date blank, and this FAQ will be published soon, will we therefore have a release date in X-News 9 and in the FAQ? Or am I reading too much between the lines...
Strung out on Britain's high, hitting an all time low

Steel
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Post by Steel » Sun, 9. Mar 03, 19:24

The_Abyss wrote:Steel - this is excellent - just what is needed.

The only addition I would consider is a link to the X News page, in the same paragraph as the link to sign up for e-mail updates. This will allow new visitors to read some of the more detailed updates, such as the varying weapons available, like X-News 8 (and hopefully soon X-News 9!!!). Btw, the News section is not yet updated I think, so this would have to be done first.

Nice intro on the background story as well - I am now getting really quite excited... :)

This may be a long leap, but as you've left the release date blank, and this FAQ will be published soon, will we therefore have a release date in X-News 9 and in the FAQ? Or am I reading too much between the lines...
Cheers, Yes, we need to put some links in for stuff. Release date......may even take that out. As I haven't been given one, I can't put one in.

Steel

harag9
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Post by harag9 » Sun, 9. Mar 03, 19:29

Q) can u land on planets and any location on the planet (like in elite 3) or do you die in the atmosphere like in freelancer?

Q) Is there stations on the planets to dock at either by landing or by using docking rings like in freelancer?
Last edited by harag9 on Sun, 9. Mar 03, 19:39, edited 1 time in total.

Rega
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Post by Rega » Sun, 9. Mar 03, 19:29

wow :o Steel you the man !
XMC
Mining Till the edge of The unverse

Scarecrow
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Post by Scarecrow » Sun, 9. Mar 03, 19:31

Oh yeah

Most excellent Steel and contributors

:D :D :D

This ought to wind the forum right up

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Zeruel
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Post by Zeruel » Sun, 9. Mar 03, 19:36

Sounds good Steel. I hope the german version will be up soon.
OTAKU sein is mehr als nur Anime schauen!
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UncleKnobby
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Re: X2 Faq

Post by UncleKnobby » Sun, 9. Mar 03, 19:42

Steel wrote:
Q: What’s the Plot? Do I have to follow the plot?
No, the game offers a diverse and dynamic Universe to explore. However, some areas and technologies will not become available unless you complete the missions.
Here is an overview of the X2 – The Threat plot.
In the original game (X-Beyond The Frontier), the player took on the role of an Earth space pilot named Kyle Brennan, marooned in a distant area of space. We refer to this as the “X Universe”. Inhabited by various alien races, the player forged a living by trading goods, bounty hunting and taking on various missions. All the while, seeking for a way back home. During this time and after frequenting the different races, it became apparent that a machine-based race (known as the “Xenon”) was invading. The story climaxed with the player being instrumental in their defeat.

Q: How big is the Universe in the game?
The X2 Universe is over twice the size of X-Beyond the Frontier with well over a hundred sectors. I won’t give you an accurate number as that would spoil some of the fun!

Q: What about ships? How can I buy them?
You purchase ships from shipyards, each race has their own shipyards and range of vessels. You buy a standard model and then fit whatever upgrades you like/can afford. For example, you might want to upgrade your cargo ship for speed or cargo space, install a larger weapon system into your fighters. Some ships cannot carry some weapons, due to size and energy requirements and there are restrictions on types of cargo for some. It all depends upon your chosen career path, no ship is perfect and that is intentional. Yes, there are excellent fighting ships, but these aren’t very good at hauling cargo (small holds). A large carrier is great, but you won’t be able to dogfight in it.
Not being picky, but missing 'A:' on these answers.
If this is the version that's going up.

Very good BTW, and Thanx.

Oldman
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Post by Oldman » Sun, 9. Mar 03, 19:46

Why do I feel like I've just won the lottery after reading this? :D :D :D
Companion?.....no, don't answer that, I want to find out in the game :D
Sheer bliss!.... 8)

Thank's Steel, Abyss and company :wink:

Oldman :)

Steel
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Re: X2 Faq

Post by Steel » Sun, 9. Mar 03, 19:50

UncleKnobby wrote: Not being picky, but missing 'A:' on these answers.
If this is the version that's going up.

Very good BTW, and Thanx.
Missed them, thanks, fixed.

Steel

Deleted User

Post by Deleted User » Sun, 9. Mar 03, 19:52

Zeruel wrote:Sounds good Steel. I hope the german version will be up soon.
Klar...(Yes) :D

RustiSwordz
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Post by RustiSwordz » Sun, 9. Mar 03, 19:58

Fine, fine work Steel.

Q:} One question though. If you complete the main storyline, will the game end or will we have to find out! ;)

I personally hope it will continue as normal.

:D
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Small_CPU
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Post by Small_CPU » Sun, 9. Mar 03, 20:06

Q: C’mon, tell me, how big is the biggest ship I can own?
A: Over two kilometres long and yes, you can pilot it.
:o

OK, i need X2 now :!: :twisted:

How should i survive the days until the release?

Greetings

~me

Stealth
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Post by Stealth » Sun, 9. Mar 03, 20:09

Intercept rockets?
:o
Two-km ships?
:o :o

This game is going to be one BIG hit... :mrgreen:

P88
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Post by P88 » Sun, 9. Mar 03, 20:10

Q: C’mon, tell me, how big is the biggest ship I can own?
A: Over two kilometres long and yes, you can pilot it.


mmm baby!

RustiSwordz
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Post by RustiSwordz » Sun, 9. Mar 03, 20:11

Intercept rockets. Probably like Anti-Missile Missile system. :wink:
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Chazman
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Post by Chazman » Sun, 9. Mar 03, 20:20

My My, no wonder Rega is sooooo... into space flight trading combat sims. This will be one hell of a game. :D
Reality is an illusion caused by lack of alcohol.

Tiberian Commander
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Post by Tiberian Commander » Sun, 9. Mar 03, 20:22

My computer wont run with spec's like that :(
But will buy the game and update with a new computer later in the year :)
This game is going to be a massive hit, like it should be :D if a lot know about it.

Steel when the X2 demo comes out, will the Pic's of X2 be updated and will there be a link on the demo for nubies to see EGOSOFT site.

pjknibbs
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Post by pjknibbs » Sun, 9. Mar 03, 21:00

That is AWESOME--I want the game now!!!!

One thing--isn't the name of the sector you mention near the beginning Kingdom End, not Kingdom End? Has that changed, or has the dreaded tyop struck?

Darbs
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Post by Darbs » Sun, 9. Mar 03, 21:58

Steel - very impressive. What can i say but a good job done there. The intro is great and there where even one or two bits of new info(well to me anyway) in there. Thanks :)
' I feel no pain dear Mother now, But oh i am so dry! O take me to a brewery, And leave me there to die.'

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