X-Tended - Terran Conflict (XTC) (Update: - Manual available! - 12/10/10)

[Kapakio]

The cap is not in PC limitations, but in the X3 engine. No matter how powerful you PC is, you will suffer low performance with a lot of sectors.

[aXeL_UK]

Ok,

No offense, however you've either not/misread my last post. i.e the whole paragraph asking ES to raise the limit in the game. Exactly where would one have adjusted the cap in 'PC limitations'?

And a more powerful PC WILL run more sectors than a less powerful PC. That much is just common sense. My OC'd Q9650 runs the engine better than my Q6700 ergo it will cope with more sectors.

[joe0035]

At this point is there a date when we can see the release??

[aka1nas]

Ok,
And a more powerful PC WILL run more sectors than a less powerful PC. That much is just common sense. My OC'd Q9650 runs the engine better than my Q6700 ergo it will cope with more sectors.

No it won't. The X3 engine is massively CPU-bound and single-threaded. Single-core performance is barely improving with new CPUs, and many of the bottlenecks in the X3 engine are design-related (collision-avoidance/detection ) and load scales super-linearly with the number of objects in space.

The difference between those two CPUs is fairly minimal, you either had a configuration issue with your old setup or changed something else during the same upgrade that was previously bottlenecking you (did you get a new GPU at the same time?).

[Aragon Speed]

At this point is there a date when we can see the release??

Not at the moment. We could speculate, but currently that is all it would be - speculation. We would rather not raise peoples hopes only to have them dashed. Be assured, as soon as we have a rough idea on a release date, we will let everyone know.

[Kasabian]

Anyone know if this mod will include the classic X2 ships? Or the missing X3 ships like the Starburst, Aarrow and such like?

Mods that add new ships are all fine and dandy, but what TC is missing is the old ships, would be great to see them again.

[Aragon Speed]

Just adding the missing news article from the old thread so all info is in the same place.

[ external image ]

XTC News 14th July 2009.

It's been a while since the initial announcement we made, so we thought we had better tell you something about the new mod rather than just veiled suggestive comments and pictures. ^^

So what are some of the things we have been up to?

First of all we have an announcement that some will love, and others will hate, so let's get this out in the open now. We have created an entirely new universe from scratch. We have been hinting at this for a while with the teaser stories we have been posting on TXU, but it's time everyone knew.

This was a difficult decision as we know that a lot of people will not like the fact that they will not be in the normal universe (Not to mention, from our point of view, the amount of work that is involved to do something like this). The plain facts of the matter are that with all the new sectors ES added to the map in TC (and then even more in the 2.0 patch, although by then we had already started work on the new universe), the possibilities for expansion were severely limited. This on its own was not enough of a reason to create a new universe, and we were originally going to use the current universe and not add new sectors, but the more we thought about things we wanted to do, the more we realised how difficult it would be to do them in the current universe. Then a stormer of an idea surfaced that we simply could not leave out of the mod once we had confirmed it was possible, and this idea would simply not work in the current universe. The idea itself will be announced at a later date as it is one of our large features and we do not wish to tell you about yet. Yeah I know that's cruel, but how else will we keep you checking in for new info? (If anyone can guess what it is before we announce it, I will personally send them a pack of chocolate chip cookies. ^^ XTC Team and Testers are excluded from this promotional offer... )

Another thing we took into consideration is the performance in TC. If we added extra sectors to the vanilla map, these would need populating with stations and ships. More jobs in an already stressed universe was not good in our opinion, what's the point in making a mod the size of XTC if the game engine cannot handle it? Even if we didn't add new sectors, we thought about the extra strain our additions would cause with the extra scripts etc we will have running in XTC, and we figured that everyone's machine would just cough, splutter and fall over dead. So we went for a new universe. This universe is smaller than the standard TC universe, but by no means small. It is about the same size as the standard X3R universe. By reducing the amount of sectors slightly we have also improved performance in the game.

The new universe has plus points and minus points from a players point of view.

The minus points are that you will have a universe that is entirely different from the one you are used to, so nothing will be familiar and safe, and you will have to explore the whole universe to see what is out there again. All ES plots and starts will be unavailable as they will not work in a different universe.

The plus points are that you will have a universe that is entirely different from the one you are used to, so nothing will be familiar and safe, and you will have to explore the whole universe to see what is out there again. All ES plots and starts will be unavailable as they will not work in a different universe. ^^

The team have had constant requests for the XTM ships that didn't make it into vanilla TC to be added to the new mod. As this was pretty much a foregone conclusion we haven't said much about it, but just to put everyones mind to rest we can confirm that they have been added to XTC.

Recently we have had a new member join the team. Trickmov of X3R 'Sector take over', 'Player owned equipment dock' and 'Statistics centre' fame is now working with us, so expect good things to come from this pairing.

We have introduced a working in-game difficulty system that can be manually set to different difficulty settings to tailor the game to each players skill level. This setting can be changed at any time from within the game itself, suppressing and replacing the current ES system in use.

XTC will include XXL fabs for all you complex builders out there. For those that are not familiar with this type of mod, this adds many larger factories to the universe for sale that produce products in larger amounts than the stock factories, this allows you to build complexes using less factories to get the same amount of resources (or the same amount of factories in a complex that really churns out the goods ^^).

Player configurable shield, weapon, and missile complexes. Self contained mini-complexes that are pre-built by the races. You just need to place them and tell them which products you would like them to produce.

Mobile factories (From XTM) also make a return in XTC so you can build all those nice weapons, or produce E-cells etc while on the move. After listening to our fans feedback (complaints ^^) and due to the new menu system available in TC, all control scripts have had a major overhaul for efficiency and ease of use as well.

All scripts in XTC have been written from scratch to include the new functionality in the TC script editor, and have also been written with a large and complex mod in mind from the start. This time around we have designed the scripts system to take growth into account and to hopefully provide a more stable and enjoyable X-Tended game.

Exploding ships will now cause blast damage. The range you can be damaged at, and amount of damage an explosion will cause is scaled to the size of the ship going boom. Don't sit next to that flaming M2 when you are in an M5. ^^

Ever wondered why huge capital ships where designed without a way for the crew to escape if they are going to explode? Well now they do. Any NPC capship that is about to explode will release emergency escape pods that contain the (lucky) crew members that managed to get to one in time.

M1's now will act a little more like carriers. Any damaged ship that docks at a carrier will be slowly repaired by the carrier's maintenance crews.

Sector station defence forces that will respond to threats. If you attack a station ships will be launched from the local trading station to deal with the incursion.

Pirate stations will slowly build themselves defences over time, the longer they are there the stronger their defences will become.

You don't want\don't like any of the above options? Not a problem, most of them can be individually turned on or off depending on your personal preferences.

The final thing we would like to announce is a new newspaper system. This is our take on replacing the (in many peoples eyes) missing BBS system from X3R. The core of this system has been designed so that it is easy to add your own news to. The core files for this system will be released as a separate mod soon, and before the release of XTC. This has been done so everyone can have a universally compatible news system whether they are playing XTC or Vanilla, it's just the news articles that will be different depending on which universe you are playing in.

That's all for now folks, I hope we have wetted your appetite more this time around. ^^

The X-Tended team.

[Aragon Speed]

Anyone know if this mod will include the classic X2 ships? Or the missing X3 ships like the Starburst, Aarrow and such like?

Mods that add new ships are all fine and dandy, but what TC is missing is the old ships, would be great to see them again.

Adding the older X2 ships has been discussed, but no decision has been made yet. On the plus side adding them in would create more variety, and a more realistic universe (A new model car does not suddenly make the older models disappear off the roads overnight). On the minus side, updating all the models and textures to X3 standards is a major piece of work that would take months of time we could be using elsewhere.

If we do decide to add them in, it would not be for the first 'base' release anyway, but in a later update.

[Kasabian]

Yes, it would be a lot of work, but most definitely worth while, it would make the game more complete, adding a link to past games through continuity. The designs are already well known so creating them probably would not be quite as hard as coming up with completely new unique ships. Glad it is not a definite no and the topic is still on the table, I miss some of the old designs they really were nice.

I am looking forward to a release, keep up the good work guys!

[X2-Eliah]

Another problem with the old X2 ships that AS did not touch is that they need severe rebalancing, which is quite a pain actually. They all can mount far less lasers than X3 ships, which pretty much nullifies their combat abilities, and their shielding has to be revised too, especially for the "beyond M3" league. And they really do need major texture-work to make them good looking in this engine. I would even claim that updating old models is a tougher work than making new ones, as you don't really have the option to be creative and inspired - you are just doing "mopping up", fixing the stuff that isn't right. As for in-game usefulness, I recall how in XTM, almost no-one used the Mamba MkI, or the Osprey MkI, or Centaur MkI - they were all pretty much obsolete, and the only novelty was seeing them used by the traders.
With a larger ship base in X3-TC, those old ships would be even more 'out of place'.

That said, this is certainly still up to discussions.

[Kasabian]

Obviously they would needed balanced, just like any newly added ship.

Yes, all the old ships are outdated, they would not stand up to any new ships, especially in combat. But that is not the point of adding them, it would be the novelty, the continuity, adding more depth to to the game. It gives the universe a sense of history and lets the player have a chance to reminisce.

Some cars are severely outdated yet we still prize them and use them, either because they are cheep or because they are classics. I see X2 and the missing X3 ships filling that hole. They certainly will not add to the game in regards to being able to compete against new ships but they would be cheep alternatives or classics, adding to the overall atmosphere.

It would be a fair bit of work I agree, fixing models, adding new textures and they probably would be low priority on the list of things to do, but they would be worth it. Anyway that is all I have to say on the subject, I will just go back to lurking again and see what the future holds.

[strude]

Since this is a new universe, will you be re jigging the "ware chain"? Different base wares (or different combinations of existing wares) used to produce different secondary ware, and so on and so forth...

Would be a good opportunity to make the required resources "make sense" for the final products. For example, it's always puzzled me why warheads aren't required to make missiles.

[zombie-uk]

Oooh If your thinking bout adding the classic X2 Ships.... bring Back The X2 Argon Titan! I love that Ship. Hated seeing its broken wrecks strewn about the X-Cosmos.... in places such as The Unknown Sector near Light of Heary, President's End and the beautifuly burning fires of Cyclone's Fury in the Pirate Sectors.... They dammned Pirates butched and Cannibalised a once proud and Strong Vessel..

Bring back the mothball Fleet! Ooo how bout creating a Junk yard type sector where you stock the olde style ships and can buy them at a Junkyard Shipyard type Dock? Like the Xenon Sector 101? I do miss the Colossus oldie too. Fantastic memoirs.

[SpenzOT]

I guess you could make the X2 Capital ships like you made the X2 corvettes in X3:XTM: heavier armed and heavier shielded TL's.

They could be a really poor-man's fleet, but I would think they would be regulated to either being TL's or being border security vessels.

[gueganteng]

there is always a place for old ships in the universe.. they can be the cheap option for its class..

an old M2 doesn't always have to win against a new M7. but it can still hold its own against new M6 and or poor equipped M7.

old fighter ships has a nice place in pirate shipyard's with custom paint job with a cheap price tag.

i would love to fly on old M2 for roleplay (custom start?), or for stronger alternative heavy TL doing its thing in dangerous areas.

old ships definitely adds flavor to the already rich game.

[Mr. Reeves]

Cool!!

[ZeakTanir]

U guys taking thoughts/suggestions/ideas or u just teasing us with your fancy pics XD

[aka1nas]

there is always a place for old ships in the universe.. they can be the cheap option for its class..

an old M2 doesn't always have to win against a new M7. but it can still hold its own against new M6 and or poor equipped M7.

old fighter ships has a nice place in pirate shipyard's with custom paint job with a cheap price tag.

i would love to fly on old M2 for roleplay (custom start?), or for stronger alternative heavy TL doing its thing in dangerous areas.

old ships definitely adds flavor to the already rich game.

The X2 ships are mostly so crappy in comparison that they would all be quickly wrecked. Having them out of the picture isn't too far off the mark as they wouldn't last long at all in the X3 Uni.

For example, an X3 M3 would take down an X2 M2 pretty easily. The X2 M2 only has 675MJ of shields, only 3 weapons per turret, and not much in the way of anti-fighter weapons. Stat-wise, it's like an X3 TL without the cargobay or station dropping ability and worse weapon selection.

If they are going to try to rebalance the old ships stats somehow, then it isn't the classic model anymore. I'd rather just see them then make new ships that are "inspired" by the classic models than try to retcon the X2 ships into something feasible.

[imperium3]

Personally I can see uses for old X2 ships (though there wouldn't be much point in importing ALL of them!):

Capital ships: Cheapo capitals. Used by pirates and civilians (and probably Teladi military, they wouldn't be able to stand up to "modern" capital ships (an old m2 might be in serious trouble against most m7s) but capships are capships, so fighters better watch out. Old carriers may actually be quite useful, sure firepower may be lacking but that's not the point of a carrier. What were X2 hangar bays like?

Fighters: Pirates get their own fighters! They would probably be the main users of these old things, and though they may be old, beggars can't be choosers...

The main advantage of including these ships is that it would really underline the difference between what private military companies and individduals can put together, compared to a modern, powerful, high-tech military belonging to a multi-system empire (in the Terrans' case, one system).

Plus it would be funny to see a bunch of pirates in a rusty old Titan Mk1, frantically fleeing from a squadron fo Tigers...

[Aydan]

If i'm not wrong, there was somewhere stated that all ships from XTM made it into the new mod. As far as i remember, they already had some X2 M3s and M6s, including things like earthfleet corvette in their budget. So there will be already X2 ships included.

The problem is, X2 ships don't match the X3 standards, and apart from the nostalgia and role play, there is no use for them. I can't remember pure excitement somewhere here or on other boards about the old models. Assuming the release date is month away, there will be more than enough work left to do, as there is no release date given. I'd rather like to see a working mod without major bugs, than an old Titan