New X game wishlist!! write here features you need in next X game

[spankahontis]

As i said before I understand your sentiment to ego and somewhat I agree with you. But again people don't care about egos problems and reasons. All they care about quality and what game can offer. And if it dont match their expectations it will get bad publicity..... That might not be fair but that is how gaming industry works. We can argue about reason all we want but it wont make any difference when it comes to sales and game reviews. You can for example give me 50 valid reasons why we shouldn't have all ships to pilot but majority buyers don't care about it. Anyway if they decide to cut features from original X3(for whatever reason) they should expect bad reviews like with XR.

And I don't think anybody here is becuse they want ego to fail....

Then people need to see the bigger picture, even if they don't wanna hear it.
I'm sure true X fans will see this brand is worth saving.
Be a tragedy to see the lore that has been built up over the years go to waste.

[Nikola515]

So you think whatever is left of our divided community can sustain and cover development coasts of next title ? That is one of reasons why it would best to go back to original features and bring back lost community back. We as community need to rebuild and than expand.... But that is all up to Ego and how much risk are they willing to take.

Just like you I don't want to see them fail but If they don't do something they might. I hope XR VR pays off and brings more revenue for X4...

[spankahontis]

So you think whatever is left of our divided community can sustain and cover development coasts of next title ? That is one of reasons why it would best to go back to original features and bring back lost community back. We as community need to rebuild and than expand.... But that is all up to Ego and how much risk are they willing to take.

Just like you I don't want to see them fail but If they don't do something they might. I hope XR VR pays off and brings more revenue for X4...

It's all we can do.

Seeing XR:2 complete the features that are missing through time constraints while introducing new ones will save the franchise or it will kill the franchise?

I'm hoping VR will do just that.

[Nikola515]

Damned if you do and damned if you don't...... Now the question is which side wind is blowing?

[Serath]

Not so much a game feature as a coding request ...

- No XML: Please, Please Egosoft ... use the right tool for the right purpose. There are much better ways to allow for mod/script ability than XML. XML is for human readability when human intervention is required in data transfer between encoded states. Machines neither need nor particularly care for multi character instructions when a single/double character would suffice (ofc not referring to operands, that's a different story). It's not suited for run-time environments. With that said, if you added a middle step in the form of a binary encoder for modders so the game doesn't have to use a parser to load/save/manipulate data, it would be less of an issue.

- More calculations and less pseudo real-time tracking. Yeah, we all wish we could recreate an entire world down to a fine granularity without "cheating the system" but the sheen quickly wears off when you can't even play the mini-game without stuttering let alone have a intense space battle because of all the CPU overhead churning away in the back-ground. Makes one wonder why with all the granular mass traffic tracking, there is a apparent large'ish disconnect between OOZ action time and IZ.

- More "use your brain" game play and less "frustrate the heck out of players". There is a huge difference between using your head to figure out solutions to problems and having to guess at the purpose/reason for things (more often than not leading to misguided assumptions and endless misinformation flooding the internet * cough - steam - cough *)

- Time sinks is fun and all the first couple of rounds, after that it just becomes a chore. Add to that the minor rewards in proportion to the work you had to put in and it becomes cruel and unusual punishment. I wouldn't mind it so much if it didn't seem so disconnected/unbalanced.

- Diversity is the spice of life. Seeing the exact same layout, finding loot in the exact same spot, having the exact same discussion over and over just adds to the frustration and aversion to doing "time sink" tasks. Not to mention having to chat with npc's sitting on their bunks next to the shower or casually strolling around what seems to be a jail to hire employees, lol.

All in all I love the concept of XR, it's just a couple of things that really at times makes you want to give up the ghost ... not because you don't want to think or are too lazy to do certain aspects etc, et al. It's down to good ol fashioned user friendliness and intuitive design. The simplest example of all ... just being able to name/delete save games should already be a given.

[Sparky Sparkycorp]

Not so much a game feature as a coding request ...

- No XML: Please, Please Egosoft ... use the right tool for the right purpose. There are much better ways to allow for mod/script ability than XML. XML is for human readability when human intervention is required in data transfer between encoded states. Machines neither need nor particularly care for multi character instructions when a single/double character would suffice (ofc not referring to operands, that's a different story). It's not suited for run-time environments. With that said, if you added a middle step in the form of a binary encoder for modders so the game doesn't have to use a parser to load/save/manipulate data, it would be less of an issue.

Egosoft addressed the topic of using XML in X4 in a recent thread (if wishing to discuss the XML topic further, please reply in that thread about it instead of here - thanks):

Yes, we are keeping the XML based scripting for AI/Missions. UI is still lua script.

I expect the performance would be similar regardless of which format the script is. The XML is parsed on loading the game, so after that point, it doesn't really have any bearing. Our AI and MD systems are very event driven, so not much happens until it is supposed to happen. It's the execution of the script actions which is where performance can take a hit. Of course, there have been optimisations in the script engine to help. One of which was an early-out for expressions e.g.

Code: Select all

<do_if value="$NPC.exists and $NPC.owner == faction.argon"/>

With the early-out optimisation, if the $NPC.exists fails, then the owner check will not occur.

For the most part though, it's what happens withing the expressions/actions themselves which can cause the most performance impact. This usually leads to optimisations elsewhere in the engine rather than in the scripts or script engine.

Since all of it still applies, I will quote the answer I gave last time this discussion came up:

Some of the original reasons for choosing XML for the MD were:

- Domain-specific structure (it's laid out in the form of the conditions and actions required for mission progress) and syntax (many of the conditions and actions are directly mapped to mission activities rather than just being generic programming terms)
- Missions can be created with very limited programming knowledge (while it's possible to do programmer-y things like loops, it is also possible to create simple missions entirely without this, which helps with the learning curve)
- Editing comes with built-in self-documentation as well as syntax auto-completion (most self-respecting XML editors understand schemas, and the schemas can also be used to provide the documentation)
- Easy to parse and convert to internal format (it is loaded and parsed very simply using standard XML libraries, then converted into an internal form that is that is, like the raw syntax, closely tied to its purpose, rather than using a generic third party interpreter or JIT compiler)

Now, bearing in mind that we have been working with the MD, in one form or another, for nearly 10 years, the reason we continue to use it is very simple: we have it, it works, and it does what mission developers need it to. The AI scripting system shares some key elements, such as actions and conditions, with the MD, saving a lot of effort in maintenance and development, but is, again, tailored to the task in hand. It would be a very poor use of developer time to throw all that away in favour of something different, with all the issues and unknowns that would come with it, just because some people turn their noses up at it for being XML rather than a "proper" programming language.

[ubuntufreakdragon]

Most important for economy are more ware-sinks and more variation in between these. shipyard is not enough.
there needs to be some sink for low level products like food e.g. life-support that's still active if there isn't a higher level production demanding them.
e.g. Life support again:
energy + food + water -> 1/4 of the average price in credits.
If it's not running all but basic factories stop producing anything.
or some Luxury goods how knows 3d beamers or holodecks depending on the coin purse
removing some high-tech wares for a good price(at least average)
or daily life demand soap, dishes removing low level products for 1/2 average price. and this gives you an efficiency penalty
The bigger a station grows the stronger these sinks.

[lostProfitssssArrgh]

New X game wishlist!! write here features you need in next X game

ahem, hum... backport vulkan, 64-bit and multi-threading to x3ap..? *ducks*


Long live the nameless, body-less, voice-less pilot!


More seriously, although I didn't go for X-R I'm really curious to see what X4 can bring.

In the mean time, maxing out a mature piece of code like x3ap to allow for the mythical 480 sector galaxy map, much extended gate distances and mega-fleets to fully make use of many-core (12+) cpus would be pure bliss. I might even pay for that... But I understand it might imply a lot more work than my puny comprehension of close-to-the-metal programming can grasp.

One can dream in a thread with such a name

Cheers'
LPA

[gbjbaanb]

Most important for economy are more ware-sinks and more variation in between these. shipyard is not enough.
there needs to be some sink for low level products like food e.g. life-support that's still active if there isn't a higher level production demanding them.
e.g. Life support again:
energy + food + water -> 1/4 of the average price in credits.
If it's not running all but basic factories stop producing anything.
or some Luxury goods how knows 3d beamers or holodecks depending on the coin purse
removing some high-tech wares for a good price(at least average)
or daily life demand soap, dishes removing low level products for 1/2 average price. and this gives you an efficiency penalty
The bigger a station grows the stronger these sinks.

Yes, and a feedback loop for waste - which can be used as a product in recycling or agricultural stations (grass -> cattle -> beefsteaks -> poop -> grass), and we assume extra resources like water are required to make up for losses in recycling, and so we need some ore and water mining for all stations, and recycling fabs for those smaller stations that cannot manage it all themselves (eg outposts).

[Criticalfungus]

For features, just a thought

A ship based repair beam that just gets ships up and running quickly, but just enough to limp to a ship yard in a sensible time. With the suit based laser still there for those who would rather repair everything by hand, takes longer but can do a complete repair if you have the time.

Lost track of how long I spent in the early hours of a game in a suit transferring seta and trying to repair things, slows the pace down and when my hours of gaming are limited anyway, I'd rather not spend an evening repairing a ship.