X-TRA POLLS Round #13 | Which game started your journey into the X-Universe?

[Tomonor]

Greetings, Members of the X-Community!

We are celebrating 25 Years of X games and the X-Universe!
Celebrate with us during the Steam Space Exploration Fest with tons of discounts on our games!



The last poll has concluded and we've received valuable data on your least liked activities in the game.
Thank you for voting, especially if you took the time to voice your opinion and provide us with feedback!

The next poll is: “Which game started your journey into the X-Universe?”
Notes: We are interested in which was your first X game. We'd also love to hear where you got your game from, e.g.: from a magazine's CD, in a store, or maybe through Steam/GoG?



How does the Poll work?
Every two weeks, we’ll be rolling out polls in the forum where you can weigh in on crucial aspects of our games. Your votes will play a key role in helping us gather valuable insights to shape the future of our games!

But hold on, there’s more! Beyond just data collection, we’re keen on fostering discussions and hearing your thoughts. Alongside each poll, there’s a dedicated discussion thread going on where you can share your insights, ideas, and feedback related to the poll topic. It’s not only a great way to engage with fellow gamers but also an opportunity for us to gather additional valuable input.

However, it’s important to note that while we value your input, the results of the polls won’t necessarily guarantee implementation or consideration.
These polls are primarily for fun and data gathering.

So, get ready to have your voice heard in The X-tra Polls! Let’s shape our beloved X-Universe together!



Previous Polls:
Poll #12: What are your LEAST FAVOURITE activities in the game?
Poll #11: Which main weapons do you prefer to use on your player ship(s)?
Poll #10: What are your favourite methods for gaining quick money?
Poll #9: In what way do you modify X4: Foundations?
Poll #8: Which factions do you usually consider your adversary?
Poll #7: Do you leave your game running when you're Away From Keyboard?
Poll #6: Have you played multiple gamestarts?
Poll #5: What type of ship do you primarily use?
Poll #4: Which is your favourite race of the playable races?
Poll #3: How long have you been playing your current savegame?
Poll #2: Which phase do you enjoy the most in X4: Foundations?
Poll #1: In your opinion, which X4: Foundations expansion was the most worthwhile?

[Alan Phipps]

X2 CD box set bought from WH Smith (a UK book and stationery chain that also sold computer games) in 2004.

[Feloidea]

X² The Threat, included with a gaming magazine. Saw it and the space sim caught my attention (avid Wing Commander fan and I was itching for something like it), bought it just for the game and had a good time. Shortly after there was a similar offer with X³ Reunion which I grabbed too, after that I was actively on the lookout for more X on Steam.

Sometimes these things work out.

[Tomonor]

X² The Threat, included with a gaming magazine. Saw it and the space sim caught my attention (avid Wing Commander fan and I was itching for something like it), bought it just for the game and had a good time. Shortly after there was a similar offer with X³ Reunion which I grabbed too, after that I was actively on the lookout for more X on Steam.

Sometimes these things work out.

For the record: same story here.

[Falcrack]

Got my copy of X3 Reunion from a store, I think maybe Walmart.

[birdtable]

X Beyond the Frontier ... forgot where I bought it, just a random purchase, little did I know at the time how addictive it was to become.

[Ormac]

X2 The Threat pick-up in a Discount Bin in 2006 On a whim.

The space setting intriged me along with the broad range of approaches that it suggested where possible [TRADE, FIGHT, BUILD, THINK].
I'd seemed to have missed out on the Wing Commanders and the space genre of the 80's and 90's

Tried it, and enjoyed the atmosphere of this Direct X 7 Game in a Direct X 9 world and the freedom to approach everything however I wanted.
A month later after getting an understanding of what I was doing I bought X3 Reunion on disc.
Gosh was the atmostphere familiar and an epic enhancement.

Enjoyed spliting my time between the two titles.

[BitByte]

I bought X4 Foundations Collector's Edition from GOG.
I saw previous X games (X3 (don't remember which one and X-Rebirth) while my friend played them but never tested at that point.
Since then I bought for myself also X-Rebirth and X3 Terran War Pack from GOG but not yet played them.

[Boronenkumpel]

A CD of X² Foundations my parents brought home from some trade convention (CeBIT I believe?)
That one was missing the patch that allowed the story to progress, I didn't figure SETA existed and didn't understand
the throttle controls (I was a child *shrug*) so I didn't get very far, but i was fascinated.
A few years later I got the X Gold collection through Steam, and finally finished X². Many, many times over^^

[Maze Morgenstern]

I've seen a Comrade play X³:R on a Bundeswehr training course, that got me interestet in the game.
Shortly after back home, i went into my lil'sis room to ask her something and she had that x²-CD from a gaming magazine laying on her desk. I instantly borrowed that CD and absolutely loved it.

[jlehtone]

I did build a PC, with GeForce 6600 GT. It had a bundle of two games. I did install one without knowing anything about it. Game starts. Cut-scene starts. I made assumptions about what the game is about based on that and started to frantically hit Esc, etc to abort and get out. I got out, and uninstalled the game. The other bundled game was not my cup of tea either, but the exit was not as abrupt.

Months later I was so bored that I did try the first game again. It was not what I had initially expected. It was X² The Threat.

[chew-ie]

Day 1 / X:Btf

[MegaJohnny]

X3: Reunion - my dad had taken me to the video game shop, I spotted it and was wowed by the blurb on the box (and the art style, which is still beautifully unique), and never went back

It was my first space trading game, so I had no idea what I was doing - traded energy cells in the starting Buster for peanuts until I got the huge dopamine hit of a pirate bail.
I've been totally spoiled by X's full-simulation model now - I'm always disappointed when I see obvious spawning patterns in another open world game, because in X you know the "wildlife" was already there before you happened upon it.

As random trivia, I won X3:AP from a quiz run by the community I was in at the time. If you're familiar with a dog's IQ increasing when there's a treat on the line, that's not far from what happened to me

[CulunTse]

I became addicted when X:Rebirth had a free weekend on Steam, I think it was to celebrate the 2.50 or maybe 3.50 release?

I distinctly remember being annoyed about the Teladi-Outpost sectors, because it caused so many of my traders to take gate-shortcuts through the new, but radioactive zones.
That cost me quite a few ships!

Other than that, I really liked X:R, despite its rough edges.
Because I didn't have any prior X-perience, I came in unbiased, and actually appreciated the storytelling.
Storytelling is something that I think X:R did better than X4, but I wouldn't go back for the world.
Stationbuilding and empire-control is just orders of magnitude better in Foundations!
I could already tell in X:R that the engine was intended to grow beyond what XR needed of it, and am really happy with how X4 is using all that future-proof potential of X-tech 5.

Rough edges: At some point I had to do XML-edits to progress the main plot; the DeVries drone station was finished, but the mission-progressing animation never triggered.
I solved that one by hacking the mission XML to point at a different station-ID, one that I was building myself, and was about to be completed. I'm still proud of myself for figuring that out!

That plot-fixing experience, and my general enthusiasm also resulted in my greatest contribution to the X-universe: the modding guide [PSA] Steps to make your mod work on Linux+Mac. It's impact is still felt in X4, and I am so, so happy that zero of the mods I used in X4 had problems on linux!
And I still feel all that effort was a tiny tiny price to pay for the hundreds of hours of fun X:R gave me, and that was before clocking another few full-time days in X4!

[Duncaroos]

Bought X3TC via steam.

During Uni one of my roommates was playing it. Got hooked pretty fast.

[linolafett]

One of the many who got hooked on Xbtf from a german pc magazine in 2001

[xant]

X-BtF in 1999, but I don't remember how I got to the game in the first place. Was there a demo available on a CD from a gaming mag or something? Because if yes, it might have been by chance that I got the demo, fell in love with the game, and then instantly bought it.

I was impressed by the beautiful sectors, the great music, and I just loved trading simulations, just as I loved space sims. Having a game combine both was huge.

When X-Tension came out, I was kind of sad to see the Xperimental go. Stayed with the series ever since, and it's 25 years by now. How the time flies by...

[CBJ]

A colleague brought the X-BTF demo into the office I was working in at the time. I was so excited by it that I went straight out to the nearest shop and bought a copy of the full game. I was hooked right away, but I had no inkling where that would eventually take me!

[euclid]

X2 was a christmas present in 2003. Got totally addicted to it.

Cheers Euclid

[Uwe Poppel]

And here's another one of those who got hooked on X-BtF in 2001 by a German PC magazine and then couldn't get away from playing X games.