x3-LAN-Multiplayer (Egosoft, READ!!!)

[Carlo the Curious]

Maybe perhaps of telling people that due to lack of funding, etc, etc, that an MMO/multiplayer can not be implemented, the devs should make a decision and an announcement what they plan to do next, as in their upcoming future projects. The original poster is right that the same answer to a persistent question is getting to be tiresome and also can potentially sent the wrong impression.

I don't see how the two are connected.

People persitently asking the same question because they couldn't be bothered to run a search or they think asking again is somehow going to increase the chances of multiplayer - that's tiresome.

I rather doubt that Egosoft announcing they're working on another_project_01 would make the slightest difference.

EDIT: Also, I really doubt many people interpret "We don't have the money for an MMO" or "Implementing feature x wouldn't be cost-effective" as "The company is going bankrupt".

[maphys]

People persitently asking the same question because they couldn't be bothered to run a search or they think asking again is somehow going to increase the chances of multiplayer - that's tiresome.

Amen to that...

The worst bit is how people seem to think that the developers are stupid or lazy - that they haven't thought of basic ideas on how to implement this, or haven't considered cost saving mechanisms for development. These guys (Ego) have done a great job, they release patches that would be sold as expansion packs in some communities and their reward is a long background drone about how turning a single player game into a multiplayer game must be easy or that they clearly haven't thought about it as hard enough. Or that TC is just a rebadged XTM with extra bugs in. Or that their disinclination to hop when someone shouts frog is a sign of the end of the company.

Devs - do what you want, when you want. I'm confident that the results will be outstanding as usual.

And I know that none of them will hear that but I just felt it ought to be said!


M

[g04tn4d0]

BUT it shouldnt be to complicated to imply a at least a LAN-Multiplayer function !

If it was that easy, they'd have done it. Still, you're welcome to try

And how exactly do you propose for SETA to work?

Well, we would remove SETA... and not miss it in exchange for multiplayer.

[Pirate hater]

BUT it shouldnt be to complicated to imply a at least a LAN-Multiplayer function !

If it was that easy, they'd have done it. Still, you're welcome to try

And how exactly do you propose for SETA to work?

Well, we would remove SETA... and not miss it in exchange for multiplayer.

And the game becomes unplayable for players who enjoy trading....

[AjaxDude]

There could be a way to implement SETA into LAN multiplayer. One person would send a "SETA request", and if all say yes, SETA will activate. The same goes for deactivating it. So SETA can still be in the game.

And if Egosoft is having "money troubles" maybe they should find a publisher that will give them decent money.

[amtie]

No offence to Egosoft, but publishers look for games that will sell (this is a niche market), and that are not_so_buggy_and_unoptimized at release. So, there's probably little chance of them finding a publisher, unless it's the 2.0 upgrade (which isn't really a release... more like re-release).

As for SETA, forget it, implement 'cruise engines' like those in freelancer, with probably the exact limitations (no firing weapons, missiles, etc).

[Mightysword]

As for SETA, forget it, implement 'cruise engines' like those in freelancer, with probably the exact limitations (no firing weapons, missiles, etc).

This is a good example for simplistic thinking, or the "it's so easy why Egosoft doesn't do it" line of thinking.

sigh ... if you only pay just a little bit attention on the design level, cruise engine and seta have next to nothing in common.

[g04tn4d0]

BUT it shouldnt be to complicated to imply a at least a LAN-Multiplayer function !

If it was that easy, they'd have done it. Still, you're welcome to try

And how exactly do you propose for SETA to work?

Well, we would remove SETA... and not miss it in exchange for multiplayer.

And the game becomes unplayable for players who enjoy trading....

Not at all. I don't even use SETA. No SETA on Eve Online, either. People trade all day long on Eve even though it can take forever to get to where you're going.

[g04tn4d0]

As for SETA, forget it, implement 'cruise engines' like those in freelancer, with probably the exact limitations (no firing weapons, missiles, etc).

This is a good example for simplistic thinking, or the "it's so easy why Egosoft doesn't do it" line of thinking.

sigh ... if you only pay just a little bit attention on the design level, cruise engine and seta have next to nothing in common.

I'm afraid you're quite right on this one. That's why I said that the only real solution would be to remove SETA and not put anything in its place other than player patience. If a accelerated-travel (cruise drive) or instant-travel (warp drive) solution were implemented, it would completely screw up the game mechanics because X3TC isn't designed to handle those modes of travel (NPCs, trading, etc).

[Gazz]

If a accelerated-travel (cruise drive) or instant-travel (warp drive) solution were implemented, it would completely screw up the game mechanics because X3TC isn't designed to handle those modes of travel (NPCs, trading, etc).

Compared to developing a multiplayer capable engine from scrap, changing the 2-3 core "fly" script commands sounds rather doable...

[s_mak]

actually, if egosoft did announce plans for their next project, it might get people who wants multiplayer off of their back. Since there is something else that they can look forward to and think about, instead of "can we have multiplayer in X3TC" for the n-th time.

besides, newbies have a right to ask this question, but how it is handled and answered by the devs speaks volumes about egosoft's public relations strategy. And the end result can alienate certain section of the community. Given how small the space combat flight sim's market are in comparison to the rest of the pc gaming market. Can Egosoft afford it???

[Carlo the Curious]

besides, newbies have a right to ask this question, but how it is handled and answered by the devs speaks volumes about egosoft's public relations strategy. And the end result can alienate certain section of the community. Given how small the space combat flight sim's market are in comparison to the rest of the pc gaming market. Can Egosoft afford it???

When the devs respond to the question itself, the answer is usually polite.

What gets responses that you might not consider to be polite is uninformed comment about how easy it would be to implement multi-player and get financing for it - which is hardly surprising.

EDIT: typo

[andymac]

but how it is handled and answered by the devs speaks volumes about egosoft's public relations strategy.

Firstly, comments posted by the Devs on these forums are their own opinions, not official Egosoft statements, so it says nothing about Egosoft's official PR strategy.

Egosoft has a long history of supporting their products after release. Admittedly, some release have clearly been rushed, but that's normally the publisher's fault, and there are many software developers who DON'T stand by their products, so ES are to be applauded for this.

Additionally, ES have a great recoird of providing significant additional content for free. Even the much-lauded Stardock don't do this! As a plus, the Devs even provide technical support for modded games - this is as rare as hen's teeth. Bravo to ES again.

Thanks to all this, and more, ES have an extremely loyal fanbase who support whatever they do. There's no PR problem at all.

It's worth remembering that satisfied customers tend not to make much noise. A few noobs wanting ES to butcher their game to remake Freelancer does not make a consensus!

[pjknibbs]

No offence to Egosoft, but publishers look for games that will sell (this is a niche market), and that are not_so_buggy_and_unoptimized at release. So, there's probably little chance of them finding a publisher, unless it's the 2.0 upgrade (which isn't really a release... more like re-release).

Exactly who do you think sets the release date for the game? I'll give you a clue--it isn't Egosoft! If publishers were looking for these unbuggy, optimised games, then why don't they give the developers longer to produce them?

[h2kbro]

My opinion is that they should have multiplayer options.

I think a great way to approach this would be to have a dedicated server released with the game. This would enable the community to host servers that would save the players information so you would not have to start over every time you played and Egosoft would not have to do any form of hosting. The server could save the information every so many minutes so if it crashes it can be picked up where it left off.

This would make it to where you could have a similar x-universe experience with multiplayer options and only with the people you wanted to play it with.

I think this would be more enjoyable then the MMO options out there today and would produce a much larger player community.

[Gothsheep]

Freelancer did it...

Sorry if this point has already been made, but I skipped ahead a bit in this thread because I want to make this point?

Did Freelancer do what you're asking? Yes, they did.

In fact, Freelancer proved the model to not be economically viable. It's because of Freelancer that we now know that such a thing is not going to repay the development costs. People simply aren't buying these kinds of games for this reason. Not in the numbers that offset the development cost. The people who would be inclined to play the game multiplayer like that are the same people who would be inclined to play it singleplayer, and Freelancer's relative failure proved this. That's why Freelancer 2 was canceled, and why nobody, including Egosoft, has tried that model sense.

[pelador]

It's worth pointing out that Freelancer didnt have a model of keeping track of ships in the universe engine. Apart from player ships it would randomly generate sector content as far as ships were concerned. And you only had one ship to worry about, thats even before considering all the extra features.

So although they are both space sims, they are not quite the same "animal" when comparing for validity.

[comsublant5]

All they would need to do is have a Uverse you could spawn, with rules that can be voted on by players. Like - SETA Time Acceleration hours everyone could agree on to allow for money dumps daily. (Example: 7am-1pm) Cause you gotta think there would be none otherwise. Then I believe Ego's part to be played here would be the "game verse clock and Xverse tank" like a verse players can log in and out of as time ticks. So with EGOsoft's need now for servers just to play local games like that, there would probably be a monthly fee. Unless they just made a version of the game that aloud this style of operation with servers people can make themselves. However, I believe sanctioned MODS for this new mod could be a type of C-Store to sustain the cause for all at Egosoft. Could be a personal plugged in style Eve, for those without friend who are Sci-fi like many. There could be "members" wanted forums to help get max players. But I believe if it was a log-in thing there could be board posts with Age of Verse, Age of players (game age) that way the game operates on "Player Slots Available" that can be logged in and out of. Say an In-activity boot or someone quits. That way new players could join in if they liked. Egosoft, if you need a hire an Idea's guy look me up. I want this as much as the next guy.

It would be great to play with friends and have log-in slots for 4-6 ppl.

[Alan Phipps]

A reply to and on a three and a half year old necro thread. See this.