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We took the chance to make some changes to X3: Terran Conflict and X3: Albion Prelude again. This time we added a borderless window mode, which allows you to play the game in window mode but without having to deal with an overlapping taskbar. This also fixes some menu display issues (truncated text lines in menus), which previously could appear when using normal windows mode under Microsoft Windows. Furthermore we improved the performance in busy sectors, which will especially be noticeable in larger battles.

X3: Terran Conflict 3.4

• Added Borderless Window mode (fixes menu display, Windows only)
• Added Borderless/Window mode resolution listing for QHD standard 2560x1440
• Improved performance in busy sectors

X3: Albion Prelude 3.3

• Added Borderless Window mode (fixes menu display, Windows only)
• Added Borderless/Window mode resolution listing for QHD standard 2560x1440
• Improved performance in busy sectors

Always good to see these games still getting some love One question, are these updates likely to cause any issues with older mods? Only it seems to me that most of the popular mods for TC and AP aren't likely to be getting compatibility updates these days because their authors have moved onto other things.

Any chance we could get a list of the files changed, e.g. if only the executable and a handful of scripts have changed since the last version of X3TC/X3AP? Copying that forward would be a lot easier than having to rebuild my entire modded directory off the latest Steam files in their entirety.

Borderless Windows!

I'm so happy right now. This missing feature bugged me for years.
I'll take that as a good omen for X4.

Raider480 wrote:Any chance we could get a list of the files changed, e.g. if only the executable and a handful of scripts have changed since the last version of X3TC/X3AP? Copying that forward would be a lot easier than having to rebuild my entire modded directory off the latest Steam files in their entirety.

Go to your steam directory and have a look at any files that changed on the day you did the update - for me it appears to be:

addon/04.cat/dat
13.cat/dat
X3AP.exe
X3TC.exe - though you'll want the nosteam version of these anyway.
and a heap of changelog and pck files.

I am speechless that TC is still getting updated.

Raider480 wrote:Any chance we could get a list of the files changed, e.g. if only the executable and a handful of scripts have changed since the last version of X3TC/X3AP? Copying that forward would be a lot easier than having to rebuild my entire modded directory off the latest Steam files in their entirety.

As usual the list of changed files for X3AP is available here. The list for X3TC should look the same with the respective TC files (with the exception of the one director file):

• Documents\Changelog_xx.txt
  t\0002-****.pck
  t\0001-L007.pck
  
  Within .cat/dat 13:
  
  L\x3config.obj
  L\X3galedit.obj
  L\X3intro.obj
  L\x3story.obj

imperium3 wrote:One question, are these updates likely to cause any issues with older mods? Only it seems to me that most of the popular mods for TC and AP aren't likely to be getting compatibility updates these days because their authors have moved onto other things.

It's rather unlikely that any of the changes in these updates causes conflicts with any script or mod for X3TC or X3AP. Litcube's Universe is the only currently still developed mod that changes the .obj files, so I would be careful with that. Apart from that, if you're using the NoSteam.exe for X3AP, make sure to download the updated version from here.

Anyone know what kind of performance increase we're looking at here? I'd love to go back to XRM from X3LU but the performance gains are so nice....

The performance improvements will depend on the situation. They are not huge, but they should be at their most noticeable in situations where the are a lot of bullets flying around. If your game was previously limited by GPU constraints rather than CPU then you probably won't see any difference at all.

XanII wrote:I am speechless that TC is still getting updated.

I guess that's called German dedication. One of the reasons I love Egosoft. (but not the highways )

LOVE the updates for TC and Albion!! Yea!!

This is why I have supported you guys from the very first days of old and X Beyond.. way back when my pc could not run it even! LOL

Performance improvements are always welcome, especially if it helps with large battles. Thanks.

Did GOG game files get an update to the X3 Terran War Pack which includes both X3TC and X3AP ?

I ask because the version numbers on GOG are :

1. The highest is 3.3, not 3.4 (which you would expect to be 3.4 with X3TC being included)

2. Confusing - See the patch versions in the following screenshot ..



3. And usually I get an update notification on GOG, there was no prompt to tell me this has been updated at all.

They have received the update, but they may not yet have made it available.

Thanks CBJ, it may well be the update already (GOG have weird ideas about versioning sometimes), the last files I downloaded from them were version 2.3.0.6 which I believe equated to X3AP version 3.2 ..

.. So to get to 3.3 they have obviously updated since, but it may have been an update I missed which did not prompt me.

Anyway, going to install these newer GOG files to what I had previously, and see what I can found out about it.

Hmm, the X3AP launcher says its version 3.2, so looks like I need to be patient

Thanks for making great updates to such an old game and for pushing them to GOG too. I actually was using window mode 1440p so those changes are welcome (I had to use a tool like Borderless Gaming before to avoid the taskbar issue, great to have native support instead).

Performance updates to my fave game x3tc? that hopefully can propagate to Litcube's and Mayhem mods?

EgoSoft, you see that big gravity wave approaching on all sensors?

Put your ear plugs in, because that's the big cosmic HUZZAH! coming your way.

myrmidon wrote:Performance updates to my fave game x3tc? that hopefully can propagate to Litcube's and Mayhem mods?

They were general engine optimisations, so they should do.

myrmidon wrote:EgoSoft, you see that big gravity wave approaching on all sensors?

Put your ear plugs in, because that's the big cosmic HUZZAH! coming your way.

Great, now we have to replace our windows

CBJ wrote:The performance improvements will depend on the situation. They are not huge, but they should be at their most noticeable in situations where the are a lot of bullets flying around. If your game was previously limited by GPU constraints rather than CPU then you probably won't see any difference at all.

Are these improvements in the .exe or .obj files?

"Bullets In Progress" is the largest performance impact in LU right now. If this has been fixed in the .exe, LU will get a large weapons update.