- Smalltalk used to unlock a random reward if you managed to convince an NPC on a platform that you had something interesting to say about a topic. With 1.25, the smalltalk mini-game still works the same way, but rather than getting a random reward, the NPC will now offer the player a choice. For example, if the NPC is a dealer of some kind, you can ask him to give you a discount, or you can ask him if he knows a qualified NPC for a certain job, and he will tell you where to find the best one in your vicinity. For example, the next time the player needs a good pilot, locating the best pilot on a station will be much easier.
Smalltalk is pointless and should be removed. At least it is useful now wich is better than before, at least for the players wanting to use it.
- Another new feature is the ability to hire agents on stations which will make sure that you are always kept up to date on all trade offers from that station. This feature can be combined with the trade computer extension to minimize the need to collect trade offers on stations manually. There is also a new feature that allows the player to see all trade offers per station from the station's info menu.
If I understood it correctly, the Agent
only updates the station trades were you hired him. Boring icon hunting still remains for all the other stations. This is a rather weak and not very useful feature. A global sector Trade BBS would work far better.
- The target locking update introduces a secondary method of setting a target object which is very similar to the targeting functionality seen in the X3 games. You can now press Shift F to get a lock on the object closest to your crosshair, or Shift E to get a lock on the nearest enemy by distance. Once this targeting mode is activated, the player can press page up and page down to cycle through more objects of the same category in clockwise/counter-clockwise order (or in case of enemies: closer/farther-away target). The other methods of dealing with target locks still work in parallel, but before the event monitor can show environment objects again, the player must first release the last explicit target object - by clicking in empty space, for example.
This should have been since day one. Glad we are getting some of the basics after some months after release. Sounds like the future map-to-event monitor will complement and improve this wich seems interesting.
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- Support for Steam Workshop integration: We will soon start releasing a number of tools on Steam to help modders work on X Rebirth. We are also working on full support for the Steam Workshop in order to make it possible for everybody to easily install mods by merely subscribing to them, and by making it easy for mod developers to distribute their work through Steam.
This is by far the best thing to have news about since game release. Only drawback is that its not here yet!
- Map on event monitor: This was already mentioned before. The first step will be to enable the map rendering on the event monitor whenever it currently shows no signal. We will then introduce some configuration options so the player can decide whether to view the map zone map on the monitor or the current text information.
Having a proper map in the first place would work best before adding this. Unless the only map to show is the highway map, wich would be nice anyway.
- Improved support for joysticks and other input devices: We are working on improving the input mapping menu and the general support for input devices. There have been numerous individual requests in this area, and we are trying to keep this as flexible as possible so X Rebirth can be configured to make best use of all kinds of input devices.
I personally dont bother to use a joystick with space games, but I guess this are good news for players that do. Cheers for you
- Improvements to menus: Improving our menu system is a big task, but some features that we've heard requested often could materialize within the next one or two months. A good example of this is a more powerful text based filtering system for menus akin to the trade menu. After we have added text input menus for renaming your ship, the next step will be to enable this functionality in live menus allowing the player to filter quickly with their keyboard.
Cant understand what exactly this filtering thingy is all about, but the real detail that I do care is "improving our menu system" . Since I consider the actual menu system total rubbish hearing they want to improve it rather than redoing it is a big fail for me. Cant see the actual UI being any better than the old X3 menus, wich were far from good. This news are truly a dissapointment for me.
- 64bit EXE: Right now X Rebirth only runs on 64bit Windows because of the amount of memory required, but it is still a 32bit executable. We are experimenting with a new 64bit executable that could potentially improve several issues. Rolling out the 64bit EXE will probably happen as a beta in parallel to the 32bit EXE. Depending on the feedback, we will then gradually move away from a 32bit EXE.
This was unexpected. Its good news to hear they are trying everything to make the game run better. Good job.
- Providing interaction functionality with NPCs from space to minimize forced landing: I know many people do not like being forced to land on stations for frequently repeated tasks. The first step to address this will be to have a list of all NPCs on a station available from the station info menu, and to then make some activities possible remotely. You will still probably need to be in the vicinity of the station - so that drones can take over the transport of acquired goods for example - but you only have to land to play missions and to pick up or deliver people.
So NESA mod is of the first to be adopted "oficially" into the game? This is a good addition and easily solves most of the problems with tedious station walking and NPC hunting, giving players a choice when they do want to go for a walk or not. Good news.
- Highway redesign: We've heard a lot of criticism on the way the highways behaves, so we are experimenting with radically different gameplay inside the highways. It's still too early to provide details, but as soon as we have a prototype, we will probably make this available as a beta. How soon this will then be rolled out for public release will then depend on feedback we receive.
Maybe another adoption of one of the highway mods available? If Egosoft comes up with something totally different that is actually good they will gain from me the first "positive point" since release.
But other big problems with highways remain pending to be talked about, like overuse of it and the "metro conmuter" feel to the game wich is a big inmersion killer. Having clear sight from inside (another mod adoption FTW) and general emptiness outside highways could get a check too.
Dont get me wrong, Im happy to see progress but cant help to feel its too little and taking too long, and most are not the biggest problems in the game (although are the fastest to fix I suppose).
Also seems Bernd is not willing to talk or discuss anything about the game, and keeps himself to only forum lurking and own choices in next features to add. No discussion, no polls, no questions. Pretty big fail on his part again. But Im willing to overlook this if he is thinking that the time to talk about next big things is not here yet, and minor additions and fixes (not bug hunting) are the only thing to consider now.
yet this is dissapointing. I want to know if the current vision for the game still holds or a change in direction is going to happen in short future. Bernd current ideas on this "space game reimagining" totally sucks for me and none of the listed features makes any diference to that. Knowing if I should give up on X:R and Egosoft and never bother anyone here again would be nice. And I bet some people here would agree on that.
Windows 10 64b
