Combat arena mode

[Falcrack]

I would love it if we could have a separate game mode where could set up a skirmish in a single system. Each side gets the same budget, and can purchase and place their units before the skirmish starts. Maybe you could set up both sides, so you could playtest different combat styles and strategies.

Incidentally, this would be a great way to introduce a limited form of multiplayer, because you would not have to share data for the whole X4 universe. Just the system in which the fight is taking place. It could be paired with Ventures perhaps, so you could take your fleet from your single player game via a Ventures module and challenge someone else's fleet from their game in a skirmish in an isolated system disconnected from the larger X4 universe.

[flywlyx]

This is what I expected Timeline to be about—sending the player's fleet to participate in the epic battles of X's history. But it turned out to be just a minigame.

In multiplayer, the fleet AI is simply too weak, making combat very one-sided unless the opponent's fleet is significantly stronger than the player's. Alternatively, it could be more like an auto chess game, where no one has direct control over their fleet.

[Ragnos28]

I would spend the budget on Chimeras with 4 thermal + 1 torpedo launcher. I win

[Falcrack]

I would spend the budget on Chimeras with 4 thermal + 1 torpedo launcher. I win

But what if your opponent does the same?

[Ragnos28]

I would spend the budget on Chimeras with 4 thermal + 1 torpedo launcher. I win

But what if your opponent does the same?

Then may the best split win

[Raptor34]

I suppose the biggest issue is needing to code some kind of commander AI, but what I imagine is having a couple of connected sectors, maybe up to 12 factions which you can set as teams. No need for a budget, you can just add ships to each of these factions as you want, though some kind of "budget" to track when too many ships could cause performance issues would be helpful, a soft suggestion, not a hard limit. DW2 for instance tells you when having too many star systems would require how many cores or how much RAM but doesn't preclude you from actually playing on those maps.
Then of course they all just shoot each other until one faction comes out on top.

Bonus: RTS mode where you have a simplified economy, like the Terran or Xenon ones where you also fight to secure resources to build up your fleet.