Silly question but...what is the purpose of X3 scipting?

[BigBANGtheory]

Can someone please explain the purpose of scripting for X3?

i.e. what sort of things will scripts achieve, how will it enhance the game and is it cheating in anyway?

[FellFromLog]

The best way for me to explain the purpose of scripting in X3 is to point you to this thread:

http://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?t=60601

and invite you to browse the various threads it links to in order to get an idea of what people did with scripting in X2. Apparently there should be even more possibilities in X3.

[Graxxus]

Depends on what you want.

You can make a script to give yourself some cash or that ship you always wanted to try out (cheat)

Or you can make some scripts to make your ships behave more intelligently like the ai project, advanced trade command mk1, tradecommand mk3, or any of the other quality scripts out there that was made for x2(ai improvements/enhancements...not a cheat) some can make life more difficult , others can make life easier...or at the very least make it easier to manage.

Something to think about however, is that the blatant cheats are easier to code by just about anybody...with some very basic understanding of scripting. Whereas the game enhancements are much more complicated and require a lot more knowledge as well as some trial and error to create without causing problems within the game. Either in doing what it is supposed to do or in being well balanced in how well it does something for its relative cost in game.

For every good thing a script does in a game it must have a price. Usually in credits with a short term initial cost (buying the extension to put on your ship) and possibly with a smaller cost over time. Thats how I generally can tell if the script is a clear cut cheat or an enhancement.

What is more fun a script that just gives you x amount of credits whenever you want or a script (usually a script package or plugin) that helps you earn money more efficiently by slightly modifying ship behaviour in game? Personally I prefer the enhancements since you still earn your way to your goal more efficiently over time instead of the cheats that just allow you to get your goal immediately.

Myself I can't wait to try out the new script packages made for X3...just have to wait for the modders out there to get used to the X3 scripting environment.

[JonusITA]

[Carl Sumner]

Scripts can add new autopilot commands to do new things. In X3 it is supposed to be able to add new Missions and BBS entries.

They can also add new behaviour to the NPC ships and stations.

Scripts can also change existing commands or behaviour by replacing the original game scripts.

In short, scripts make actions happen, but do Not change maps or video images.