Will there ever be an online-X ?

[cobra mk2]

I get the feeling you might of discussed this one before, but could someone bring out an online version of the X-Universe. I'm sure this would be a brilliant game.

Maybe this is what Egosoft should make next(or made the last time)

You and some pals could recruit for your gang/corporation, make some money and take over a sector, and another, and another, then join up with another gang and really go to town against those a**holes over in Rolk's Fate.

Maybe throw in some research/technology stuff to design that super weapon to help win the war by christmas.
If you captured your opponents after they bail, you could bring them back to your base and throw them in jail where you could taunt them a second time.

Is there any possible way to have at least more than one player in the same game at the same time?

[brekehan]

No one to date has been able to create any massivly multiplayer online game with real time combat mechanics. To have real 3D dogfighting and massive multiplayer is a feat that everyone wants, but no one has been able to produce. One can only hope. And yes, it has been talked about for more than 5 years.

[Eandir]

Planetside is arguably "real time combat". If it weren't godawful laggy it would be pretty cool.

[KennethX3Freak]

No, never an X online game unless it looks liek crap like WoW

the server power would need to be immense, the whole game would have to be rewritten.

and i hate pay to play games!

[brekehan]

Planetside is arguably "real time combat". If it weren't godawful laggy it would be pretty cool.

How many players in a single viewable area?

[Eandir]

Something like 50-200. Good luck moving though.

[Malakie]

I get the feeling you might of discussed this one before, but could someone bring out an online version of the X-Universe. I'm sure this would be a brilliant game.

Maybe this is what Egosoft should make next(or made the last time)

You and some pals could recruit for your gang/corporation, make some money and take over a sector, and another, and another, then join up with another gang and really go to town against those a**holes over in Rolk's Fate.

Maybe throw in some research/technology stuff to design that super weapon to help win the war by christmas.
If you captured your opponents after they bail, you could bring them back to your base and throw them in jail where you could taunt them a second time.

Is there any possible way to have at least more than one player in the same game at the same time?

It would not be the X series at all with a multiplayer system.. It would ruin what we have now as an awesome simulation. Going MP means dumbing down the engine. You would not be able to have the script engine or editor, you would not be able to have random events and things going on. You would have to remove so much of what makes the X series great that it just would not be the same.

Not to mention, many of us simply hate FPS, MMORPG, MMO type games. Many are ruined anyway not just because of game play but because of cheating, children and their antics and so forth.

I also personally refuse to pay a monthly fee for something I purchased. I want to be able to play ANYTIME I want, ANYWHERE I want. That is just not possible with requiring an online connection for a game.

[GBlair4811]

I have to say, an MMO version of the X games would be really bad. It would just turn into EVE where everyone just goes about ganking each other because they can. Plus you wouldnt be able to defend your stations and property while you are offline.

However, what would be AWESOME, is to have LAN or Small Multiplayer features. 2-4 people kinda thing, maybe a little more if possible. You could just have one player (the host) load up their game, and everyone else join it. I would imagine the best way of doing this would be to either make it so that the game can be saved and it saves everyones properties etc, or just have the hosts properties shareable by everyone. The only people you are likely to play with would be friends etc anyway who you would trust to not cheat/abuse etc etc.

[humility925]

I get the feeling you might of discussed this one before, but could someone bring out an online version of the X-Universe. I'm sure this would be a brilliant game.

Maybe this is what Egosoft should make next(or made the last time)

You and some pals could recruit for your gang/corporation, make some money and take over a sector, and another, and another, then join up with another gang and really go to town against those a**holes over in Rolk's Fate.

Maybe throw in some research/technology stuff to design that super weapon to help win the war by christmas.
If you captured your opponents after they bail, you could bring them back to your base and throw them in jail where you could taunt them a second time.

Is there any possible way to have at least more than one player in the same game at the same time?

It would not be the X series at all with a multiplayer system.. It would ruin what we have now as an awesome simulation. Going MP means dumbing down the engine. You would not be able to have the script engine or editor, you would not be able to have random events and things going on. You would have to remove so much of what makes the X series great that it just would not be the same.

Not to mention, many of us simply hate FPS, MMORPG, MMO type games. Many are ruined anyway not just because of game play but because of cheating, children and their antics and so forth.

I also personally refuse to pay a monthly fee for something I purchased. I want to be able to play ANYTIME I want, ANYWHERE I want. That is just not possible with requiring an online connection for a game.

I agree everything you said and X-3 is only space-empire and fleet building game in first person shooter, sort of. There are EVE space game out there for online game. I do not know there any Single Player PC Space first person shooter game that allow you trading, combat, build a station and you get to fly capital ship personaly is I love, other than X-3 I'm tired of there many space game force only you pilot fighter or bomber, not able to pilot capital ship personal, it's bored out of me.

[KoshZdryh]

There it is ... again and again ...
This should be a sticky or an announcement ...
"The really cool X99 - online" or "X33 - now featuring multiplayer ..."

[frymaster]

if they can:

- get proper 3d-combat in a massively multiplayer game
- come up with convincing mechanics to handle what happens to your stuff when you log off (it's not like WoW - they can't disappear a whole space empire at will)
- come up with a usable alternative to SETA without turning the game into freelancer (which is a good game, mind you, I just want to keep X unique)
- balance the needs of traders, players wanting to kill evil AI, players wanting to be pirates, and players wanting to kill players who are pirates

...then I'll be interested in x-online.

the concept must have been simmering in the back of the dev's minds for about a decade now, so I'm sure they have thought of potential solutions to at least some of these issues. But they won't implement it unless they think it can be done, it will be fun, they have enough money to develop it, and it'll make them money in the future

[LordMoridin]

I think they are actually trying to make a X-Online game right? I doubt they spent all three years just making X3:Terran Conflict.

There are two important questions you should be asking about X-Online though.

1. How will it be different to Eve: Online?
2. Will those differences result in a fun game?

[pr0nflakes]

I dont get all these posts asking for what essentially is a different game.
X series has never been online and hopefully never will be. Why not go on the eve forums and ask them to make their game more like X-3 or whatever.

[Pulse]

1. You actually control your ship.
2. With collision detection and yourself piloting an M1, yes.

Ugh, i'd be petrified staying longer than 10 seconds in front of a gate, i'd get smashed by all sorts of Super Freighters, M7's, M1's and M2's.

[Mandrak]

tbh, i barely managed to get my life back from World Of Warcraft, doubt i'd survive X onlne if it ever goes live

Never tried eve, but have few friends who got divorced cause of the game, and the sad thing about it, they are NOTHING in that universe, cause they havent played from the start ;s

[Brody]

Actually, I think an online version of the X Universe is something Egosoft has seriously considered. At one point a couple of years ago I think they had an X Online Universe website. This has been heavily discussed on the forum, and I recall in years past that there was broad support for the idea.

If done correctly, an Online X game could be something special.

Brody

[B_O_L_T]

No one to date has been able to create any massivly multiplayer online game with real time combat mechanics. To have real 3D dogfighting and massive multiplayer is a feat that everyone wants, but no one has been able to produce. One can only hope. And yes, it has been talked about for more than 5 years.

I guess Jumpgate was just an illusion then.

Ego soft did begin development of x-online back in 2000 and even had a website for the game http://www.online-universe.net/44index.htm. Development continued for about 2 years until the project was dropped. There has been no news since of it being resurrected.

[supakillaii]

This?
Again?
*sigh*
No, it woud require too much time and resources, what Egosoft dont has (The latter I mean). But if they can do it like frymaster said, it'd be invincible.

[Actium]

The solution to at least some of the problems mentioned in this thread like

• too many players in a single universe
  dumbing down the game (removing large parts of the ai)
  no chance of material success when joining the universe after it has been existing for several years
  advantages of the script editor removed
  serious deathmatching

can be solved by a simple and totally anti-eve step:

Don't make it a single universe.

Do it the way it works for a lot of other games: Release a server binary and have it hosted by independent parties. Leave the script editor enabled so - reasonable - admins can use it for the greater good (like spawn an invasion, that all the players combined have to fined off). Servers will keep coming and going, hence there's always a chance for a fresh start. This would also remove the possibility of charging money for playing the game (besides buying it, of course), that would - when implemented - drive a lot of players off.
I do not have a solution for the 'what happens to your property when you disconnect'-issue, though.

This works pretty well for a mod for the FPS Armed Assault called Sahrani Life.

[cobra mk2]

When i started the thread i wasn't aware of how much this had already been discussed over the years(sometimes i'm too busy to visit the forums as often as i should), although i somewhat hazily remember the proposed official x-online that never took off.

However : 1. X-Online in my mind should be made up of lots of small games of up to 100 players hosted on whoever had the best PC/Bandwith, and each closed to the outside world.
2. It would of course be no subscription fee
3. It could be sold as part of an expansion pack,as part of a patch or as a mod.
4. Games would be arranged to be played between the players at a suitable time each day/week at the start of the game.
5. If a player is concerned about his property if he cant attend a sheduled sitting then a) his ships could be parked inside his stations/factories although the factories could be left open for business if they wished b) the ships and factories could be run by the AI. c) a friend could run their business for them.
6. These games could have a deadline to finish (maybe 100 - 1000 hours)whereby the winners are the race with the most cash.

So what do you think?