Egosoft is confused

[lyubarskiy]

Let me start off by saying that I am a huge X3 fan. In fact, to show my support for egosoft, I waited for discount on the game to expire and bought it at full price. (NEVER AGAIN)

In an update from ego, where they were excited about the amount of people playing the game and the amount of copies they sold, they acknowledge some bugs but mainly say that they are happy that many people are enjoying it and that they were practically shocked by how well the game sold.

EGOSOFT YOU ARE CONFUSED.

The reason a lot of people bought the game, is not because of the game that you made. It is because they believed it to be a complex game, a hardcore space sim, a game where you can get lost for month on end. A lot of the new customers were also the people looking for such an experience.
So please don't think that great sales meant that you finally built a more accessible game.
On the contrary. You took simple things and made them hugely complicated, but less complex (I didn't know such thing was possible)
You took out the things that worked, left the things that didn't, and made some mindboggling decisions.

So please don't be happy and excited that many people bought this game, and that it was a success, sales wise. Be sure however that you have lost the fan base that will NOT buy the next iteration of your game on day 1. They will wait for reviews, and feedback, many will pirate. I for one will never buy another game from you until I pirate it, test it, see if I like it, and only then buy it if it's any good. (I have never pirated a game in my life, but I tired of being disappointed, SimCity, ARMA3, Project Godus, XR)

This is all I wanted to say about your excitement.

Now let me vent my thoughts and uninstall the game.

1) Minigames
Minigames have been the target of much hatred over the past years, and companies try to avoid them as much as possible. Why did you decide to make the whole game one big mini game is beyond me.

- Highway whackamole. Not fun, illogical. If you did want to do something with highways, why not give us upgradable motor to become faster. And eventually try to weave through slower moving traffic. Heck, you could leave the system in place now, but after drafting and gaining speed, let us keep that speed. Let us slingshot past the ships, let us catch thy enemies in front. Let us reach impossibly high speeds.

-Opening boxes. Why? What is the purpose? Borderlands had lootable crates, (Which by the way style wise look a lot like your crates). However borderlands had something of value. Random weapons, armor etc. XR has junk.

-The worst of them all, the little icons on HUGE stations. Who thought of that? I want to trade by finding lower prices wares and selling at higher prices where the demand is high. I do not want to find "coolant leaks"
Moreover, I have no idea where to find what. I need to find a mechanic, I have to fly around the whole station sniffing every nook and cranny in hopes of finding not only a place where you can dock, but also a place where a mechanic can be located.

-Drones hacking. Whose great idea was it to make me sniff the side of a station at 49m or less, and to make it worse, I need to double click to see hack, while my ship wobbles around cause I am trying to aim my mouse which is also the control of my ship To top it all off, I have half the galaxy on my ass trying to shoot me, because you guys thought that it would be great idea to start the campaign with the main part of population hating your guts. So when I hear shields low, I teleport back to my ship to find that I am being raped!

-A few more minigames I cant be bothered to talk about.

Mini games don't add fun or value to games. Just like gimmics don't add value to tech i.e. controlling your phone with your eyes.

2) Trade.
It is just simply broke and way more confusing that it should be. Add the unresponsive and frankly retarted A.I. and you can completely remove the word Trade from the game.
3) Mine.
Have no idea how to pick up, where to pick, how to automate. (Maybe I just didn’t get to really explore it)
4) Build.
I am completely lost. You can’t build anywhere, you can’t anything you want, you can’t build empires. Lost again.
Remove the word build.
5) Fight
This is a joke. I only saw 2 generic thin fighters which look identical as far as I can tell. The only difference, is one blows up with 2 shots and the other with 4-5 shots.
I was able to destroy a capitol ship with starter weapons and starter shields. HOW?
The main feature which is next/previous/close target is missing.
Here is how you fight. ZOOM, PEW PEW dead.
Here is how you fight capitol. Go to the back of the ship. Shoot at engines, destroy engines, and continue shooting till dead.
Only one weapon? Seriously?
So let’s remove the word FIGHT

We are left with THINK.
And think I do. I think, why and how did they build this game. Who did they target? How did they plat test?

Now General UI. Can’t tell what my speed is and what other ships speed is.
I can’t figure out what weapons do to shields, or hull, or how they work. Also, I have more buttons that “N” Why do I have to sit there NNNNNNN to find the right weapon. I have 18 programmable G keys, (I specifically bought Corsair K95 for THIS GAME!)
Now radar or map? I mean there is a Big SCREEN which says NO SIGNAL. The funny thing is, if you click on one of the freeways, you do get the basic sector map, why and how they didn’t think to include a minimap is beyond me.
Now the actual map is a mess. However why no zoom? Why can’t we use arrow keys to look around the map? Why can’t we just slick on the map?
FOV is set at 60? Why can’t we change it? Why do you want me to look through a peephole?

SORY FOR THE RANT. I HAD TO VENT!
EGOSOFT, I think the engine has potential, and can really turn into a great game. But you have to scratch this mess and start over. Call is X4 and forget about this mess. No gimmicks, X3 was straight up, with no minigames, and it felt like a world, in fact it felt more believable than this game. XR is an insult, but there are some hints that this engine could produce a game we would love to play.

EDIT: Just remembered another thought I had. If you cant make a feature
work well or look well don't include it at all.

I.E. First person Space stations exploration, if you know you are only going to have 3 stations that look unfinished, and people NPC that give you nightmares that don't include them.

"Hidden tunnels" They are all in the same spots with the same stuff! Doesn't add anything don't include it.

The need to go inside space stations and spend time to find the right merchants to sell or buy stuff. It get annoying after 3rd try. Why do it?

The minigame where you have to hit a sound wave while talking to NPC. Why include it? What does it even mean? It's not challenging, it's not engaging, it's not funny or cool. Why include it?


Here is a great review, which sums everything up nicely. I only disagree with the statement about highways. I think they give immersion. If only the whack a mole mini game was handled differently.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvKZnyvBDVI

[RinWin]

If Egosoft don't know how they ****** it up yet. Then there is no hope.

Too many of the problems will take months it fix. (or longer - 7years this game has been in development!)

Did this game even have beta testers?!

[lyubarskiy]

I actually have another question. In what state did the very first X3 game come out and what features did it have?
Was it better or same? I am sure it couldn't have been worse.

[retroxify]

I don't always approve of posts, but when I do, I approve of this one.

[98abaile]

I actually have another question. In what state did the very first X3 game come out and what features did it have?
Was it better or same? I am sure it couldn't have been worse.

It's not really a fair comparison, X3 was buggy as hell but it was built on the design of X2 and so many of the core concepts remained or were improved on. XR isn't built on anything and is just a complete mess.

Put best, X3 was a GOOD game riddled with bugs, XR is a BAD game riddled with bugs.

[lyubarskiy]

I do remember the bugs in X3 R. But I also remember feeling like I was in space and I could do anything that I want. Here I feel like bugs are bugs, but I can't do anything, I feel claustrophobic.

[Swallen]

Very good post. Some people will think there are too many of these all saying basically the same, but I feel it's important to keep this kind of frustration visible, in hopes Egosoft will get the message.

What I don't understand at all is how could Arma 3 disappoint you. Seriously

[lyubarskiy]

Very good post. Some people will think there are too many of these all saying basically the same, but I feel it's important to keep this kind of frustration visible, in hopes Egosoft will get the message.

What I don't understand at all is how could Arma 3 disappoint you. Seriously

It felt very unfinished. The plane physics are bad, choppers feel weird, sounds, land, a lot of it just felt very unpolished and old. Felt like arma 2 with slightly better graphics.

But some of the decision making did it for me. Like the clunky and absolutely the worst action menu.

A lot of the things in that game just put me off

[Kruniac]

Oh hey. Look. Someone who said the same thing I did in my post. Yet I'm such a troll.

+1 for the OP.

[UnclePaulie]

Totally agree with OP, its a sign of guilt when the people who made the game cant and wont defend it .

[lyubarskiy]

Oh hey. Look. Someone who said the same thing I did in my post. Yet I'm such a troll.

+1 for the OP.

Amazingly enough, this is the first time I see people trolling about how good the game is and not the other way round.

[JDCollie]

Indeed, X:R capitalized on the goodwill built by the previous games in the series. At least in my case, that resources has unfortunately been expended. I sincerely hope Egosoft releases an X4 eventually, but even when they do, I will approach it with a great deal more trepidation.

As for those saying X:R will be good once the bugs are patched? bull. Patching the holes in my bicycle tires won't change it into the Ferrari I paid for.

[Weentastic]

I like the idea of dodging ships in hyperspace, that actually sounds fun. As it is I spend most of my travel time with a low res ship texture crammed in my face. The highways need more rings around them, as it stands they just look stupid and illogical floating yellow worms. If they ran through little substations that defined their curve's control points, I would take them as a part of the universe, not a blatantly obvious fast travel mechanic.

I will also say I like that capital ships and stations have subsystems, though station subsystems often seem to be pointing into itself due to the rather random way they are put together.

Also, when I dock at my own capital ship, why am I not on my bridge talking to my captain? What do you mean everybody I hired to run the ship is randomly crouching around the cargo bay? I might buy into the indirect control scheme (a la dwarf fortress) if I got to sit on the bridge and bark commands to my captain and crew. Then it would actually fit the narrative that perhaps a capital ship is too much for one man to pilot. There Egosoft, in a few ****** minutes I turned one of your dumbest, most unguided mechanics into something worth working for, that, when polished, would actually be quite interesting.

[CutterJohn1]

-The worst of them all, the little icons on HUGE stations. Who thought of that? I want to trade by finding lower prices wares and selling at higher prices where the demand is high. I do not want to find "coolant leaks"

Yes. Trade in X3 was "Find unserved/underserved demand by carefully scrutinizing the economy, fill that demand using trade ships or stations."

In XR it seems to be "Find the randomly generated instances where the NPCs sell at a loss for no reason whatsoever"

Moreover, I have no idea where to find what. I need to find a mechanic, I have to fly around the whole station sniffing every nook and cranny in hopes of finding not only a place where you can dock, but also a place where a mechanic can be located.

The hilarious part is every other NPC does know where to find what, since you can ask them to point out where these people are, and they will give you detailed directions.

[lyubarskiy]

-The worst of them all, the little icons on HUGE stations. Who thought of that? I want to trade by finding lower prices wares and selling at higher prices where the demand is high. I do not want to find "coolant leaks"

Yes. Trade in X3 was "Find unserved/underserved demand by carefully scrutinizing the economy, fill that demand using trade ships or stations."

In XR it seems to be "Find the randomly generated instances where the NPCs sell at a loss for no reason whatsoever"

Moreover, I have no idea where to find what. I need to find a mechanic, I have to fly around the whole station sniffing every nook and cranny in hopes of finding not only a place where you can dock, but also a place where a mechanic can be located.

The hilarious part is every other NPC does know where to find what, since you can ask them to point out where these people are, and they will give you detailed directions.

Yep, I realized that after. but what a pain in the ass to navigate that console UI.

And then if there isn't a person you are looking for, they AI just says, "I don't want to talk to you"

HOW RUDE!

[asteroidz33]

To me the marketing sounded like "Its the X you remember, but more deep (new modular cities etc) and streamlined"

Then when the game ships, the spin is "We never meant XR to be X4"

I think thats whats pissing people off more than anything.

If they had came out and said well make a simpler game to fund X4, might have helped pass the pill, but then would people have bought it like they did

[Pantaji]

- Highway whackamole. Not fun, illogical. If you did want to do something with highways, why not give us upgradable motor to become faster. And eventually try to weave through slower moving traffic. Heck, you could leave the system in place now, but after drafting and gaining speed, let us keep that speed. Let us slingshot past the ships, let us catch thy enemies in front. Let us reach impossibly high speeds.

Pretty much this. I think it is much more "realistic" and "immersive" to control your speed and try to weave traffic as is done in real life. If you are too aggressive maybe a police chases you and gives you a ticket. Weaving traffic to go faster is more rewarding and more interactive than finding the fastest ship, stay behind it, and afk.

[orcinus]

EGOSOFT YOU ARE CONFUSED.

You could say that Egosoft were having...

[ external image ]

... An X-istential crisis.
YYYYEEEAAAAAAAAAHHH!

[Black_Sails]

-The worst of them all, the little icons on HUGE stations. Who thought of that? I want to trade by finding lower prices wares and selling at higher prices where the demand is high. I do not want to find "coolant leaks"

Yes. Trade in X3 was "Find unserved/underserved demand by carefully scrutinizing the economy, fill that demand using trade ships or stations."

In XR it seems to be "Find the randomly generated instances where the NPCs sell at a loss for no reason whatsoever"

Moreover, I have no idea where to find what. I need to find a mechanic, I have to fly around the whole station sniffing every nook and cranny in hopes of finding not only a place where you can dock, but also a place where a mechanic can be located.

The hilarious part is every other NPC does know where to find what, since you can ask them to point out where these people are, and they will give you detailed directions.

Where did you find these pleasant NPCs at? Mine tell me (even with good faction standing) "I don't know..its..uh..gone" or "Sorry, no time to chat!" or "Go boil your head!".

[lyubarskiy]

- Highway whackamole. Not fun, illogical. If you did want to do something with highways, why not give us upgradable motor to become faster. And eventually try to weave through slower moving traffic. Heck, you could leave the system in place now, but after drafting and gaining speed, let us keep that speed. Let us slingshot past the ships, let us catch thy enemies in front. Let us reach impossibly high speeds.

Pretty much this. I think it is much more "realistic" and "immersive" to control your speed and try to weave traffic as is done in real life. If you are too aggressive maybe a police chases you and gives you a ticket. Weaving traffic to go faster is more rewarding and more interactive than finding the fastest ship, stay behind it, and afk.

I know. There are just so many other better ways that they could approach this. Why choose the worst is beyond me. Actually as with everything in this game, it seems like they sat down and specifically chose the worst choice. The decision making process is mind boggling.