X4-Timelines Feedback

[Hammerhirsch]

Hi Team Egosoft,

I would like to give you my feedback on Timelines. I still don't understand why you decided to develop something outside the sandbox. Personally, I like the freedom in x4 and the combination of everything rather than individual actions.

The camera work in the cutscenes is terrible. I would hire someone who understands staging, who knows how to set the scene. For example, when you start a race, I would like to see the participating ships up close. For example, a camera that moves from front to back through the middle. What do you do? The camera draws endless circles from a distance of 40km around all the ships, I have no idea what they look like, maybe a glimpse. The battles feel like shooting clay pigeons. For me it was more of a, get it over with quickly, than an enjoyment.

The ships though, gentlemen they are really good, I like the idea that I can still research them. Maybe you can even get Mk2 modules of the researched ship? I'll see, I haven't researched them yet. I also really like the engine sound. I like all the little improvements in the sandbox. I love the search function on the map with search suggestions and that you can then click on it to filter.

If the DLC started with my death in the sandbox or otherwise in the sandbox it would be fun activities because it would be in my universe. From a lone trader to an emperor who can travel through time. This way I waste time and in-game currency because I have to fly some trivial missions outside to unlock things.

I love X4 Foundations, thank you so much for your work, it's a great game. I really hope you don't develop in a direction that I don't like anymore. Timelines scared me alot but your work in the sandbox gave me courage again.

If you ever release a dlc that's just there to give everything a new voiceover, I'd pay for it. Voices that mean what they say would be something.

Thanks again for your work and thanks for reading. Ship and Sector DLC's ? I buy them all ^^, take my money, take it.

Best Regards

Hammerhirsch

[EGO_Aut]

Now Timelines is about the lore, the story behind X. And by the way, it's the perfect tutorial.
I enjoyed replaying historical missions and taking on roles that I wouldn't normally take on in the sandbox. It is an eyeopener to try new things in the sandbox.

[jlehtone]

Perfection is subjective. The Empyrean Curs story (of ToA DLC) within sandbox did look quite nice tutorial for some things. You are right though. The traditional tutorials are not "in the sandbox". I recall playing one or two before I did hit "Start" for sandbox (when game version was 3.10).

The missions seemed to be of three types:
* Relive bits of action from earlier games
* Events that we could not hero in earlier games, but have been mentioned in lore
* Tutorials of some tasks


Disclaimer: I have played the "graphs" (just enough to barely pass), and observed the story on that whatever, but I have not enabled Timelines in my sandbox yet.

[Hammerhirsch]

It's nice that you were able to find something that you haven't tried yet.
Unfortunately that wasn't the case for me, apart from the races and defusing bombs in a spacesuit, nothing was new to me. Timelines brings you closer to routine tasks, but I have played X4 Foundations a lot a lot so it was a boring routine task to do over and over again. Doing this tasks in a sandbox is making them enjoyable because my empire grows with that. Doing Mining and Trading Missions because of lore ....... okay tastes are known to differ. If I wouldn't unlock anything in the sandbox, I would give timelines back.

[Lukin86]

Hi Team Egosoft,

I would like to give you my feedback on Timelines. I still don't understand why you decided to develop something outside the sandbox. Personally, I like the freedom in x4 and the combination of everything rather than individual actions.

The camera work in the cutscenes is terrible. I would hire someone who understands staging, who knows how to set the scene. For example, when you start a race, I would like to see the participating ships up close. For example, a camera that moves from front to back through the middle. What do you do? The camera draws endless circles from a distance of 40km around all the ships, I have no idea what they look like, maybe a glimpse. The battles feel like shooting clay pigeons. For me it was more of a, get it over with quickly, than an enjoyment.

The ships though, gentlemen they are really good, I like the idea that I can still research them. Maybe you can even get Mk2 modules of the researched ship? I'll see, I haven't researched them yet. I also really like the engine sound. I like all the little improvements in the sandbox. I love the search function on the map with search suggestions and that you can then click on it to filter.

If the DLC started with my death in the sandbox or otherwise in the sandbox it would be fun activities because it would be in my universe. From a lone trader to an emperor who can travel through time. This way I waste time and in-game currency because I have to fly some trivial missions outside to unlock things.

I love X4 Foundations, thank you so much for your work, it's a great game. I really hope you don't develop in a direction that I don't like anymore. Timelines scared me alot but your work in the sandbox gave me courage again.

If you ever release a dlc that's just there to give everything a new voiceover, I'd pay for it. Voices that mean what they say would be something.

Thanks again for your work and thanks for reading. Ship and Sector DLC's ? I buy them all ^^, take my money, take it.

Best Regards

Hammerhirsch

Even if the story is not great for this dlc. That's what was really missing in the x4 game. A real single player campaign with a well-scripted story like x1, x2, x3 reunion and x rebirth.

The sandbox is very good but the story allows a real plus especially to start and get into the bath especially for new players too or those who like the gameplay of the game but also have a real epic story (like x2 and others).

Personally the dlc is for me correct but nothing more because it finally offers a real story mode but the problem is that this story mode compared to previous games is very average.

I am not for abandoning the sandbox mode in fact it is more like x2 or x3 reunion, offering an epic story mode with a character like brennan and offered alongside the sandbox modes.

[vvvvvvvv]

Even if the story is not great for this dlc. That's what was really missing in the x4 game. A real single player campaign with a well-scripted story like x1, x2, x3 reunion and x rebirth.

I played since X3 and did not enjoy the story in any of them. X Rebirth was specifically irritting (and X Rebirth VR), because it occasionally wanted you to do things using items you did not have.

Timelines has this well done non-english review (auto-translation):

As a completely new player to this series, after finishing the tutorial, the game suggested Timelines as the next step to familiarize myself with the universe...

Let me be clear: I do not recommend Timelines to any newcomer. These are essentially bite-sized missions cranked up to suffocating difficulty. The game tries to dump lore through awkward dialogues and the missions themselves, but honestly, aside from the Argon (human-like), I didn’t even recognize the other races. There’s an alien representative on the station early on—maybe their race was mentioned once? I didn’t remember. More characters appear later, but no one explains who they are, what they do, or how they fit into the world.

The missions themselves demand far more game knowledge than the tutorial provides. By the final mission of a chapter, you’re suddenly hit with "historic lore moments" from the past. But here’s the catch: I’m a newbie who doesn’t even know the names of the races! These lore-heavy missions don’t give me anything—just faceless characters fighting in high-stakes situations that aren’t always interesting to resolve.
P.S. I recognize the Xenon (they’re frequent enemies in missions), but I have no clue about their backstory—why they exist or what drives them.

And then there’s the Timelines’ forced integration with the sandbox. Developers crammed unlockable ships, sectors, and containers into this mode. Yes, you can play Timelines anytime, and rewards carry over to your main save. But after experiencing the sandbox, I doubt I’d ever return to Timelines. Plus, there’s no guarantee these unlocks will work properly.

Overall, this DLC feels like a rough draft for future story missions. I hope the developers hire better writers to smooth out the clunky dialogues and ease players into the lore. It might appeal to veterans who already know the universe’s history and want to witness (or rediscover) pivotal events.

To the developers: Stop locking ships, sectors, and items behind Timelines. These should be granted to players who buy the DLC outright. Timelines should be optional, not "voluntarily mandatory."
P.S. I know some missions only require Rank 1 to progress, but why does the final mission of a chapter demand Rank 8/10? You either grind earlier missions to Rank 3 or settle for Rank 2 across the board…

[Lukin86]

Even if the story is not great for this dlc. That's what was really missing in the x4 game. A real single player campaign with a well-scripted story like x1, x2, x3 reunion and x rebirth.

I played since X3 and did not enjoy the story in any of them. X Rebirth was specifically irritting (and X Rebirth VR), because it occasionally wanted you to do things using items you did not have.

Timelines has this well done non-english review (auto-translation):

As a completely new player to this series, after finishing the tutorial, the game suggested Timelines as the next step to familiarize myself with the universe...

Let me be clear: I do not recommend Timelines to any newcomer. These are essentially bite-sized missions cranked up to suffocating difficulty. The game tries to dump lore through awkward dialogues and the missions themselves, but honestly, aside from the Argon (human-like), I didn’t even recognize the other races. There’s an alien representative on the station early on—maybe their race was mentioned once? I didn’t remember. More characters appear later, but no one explains who they are, what they do, or how they fit into the world.

The missions themselves demand far more game knowledge than the tutorial provides. By the final mission of a chapter, you’re suddenly hit with "historic lore moments" from the past. But here’s the catch: I’m a newbie who doesn’t even know the names of the races! These lore-heavy missions don’t give me anything—just faceless characters fighting in high-stakes situations that aren’t always interesting to resolve.
P.S. I recognize the Xenon (they’re frequent enemies in missions), but I have no clue about their backstory—why they exist or what drives them.

And then there’s the Timelines’ forced integration with the sandbox. Developers crammed unlockable ships, sectors, and containers into this mode. Yes, you can play Timelines anytime, and rewards carry over to your main save. But after experiencing the sandbox, I doubt I’d ever return to Timelines. Plus, there’s no guarantee these unlocks will work properly.

Overall, this DLC feels like a rough draft for future story missions. I hope the developers hire better writers to smooth out the clunky dialogues and ease players into the lore. It might appeal to veterans who already know the universe’s history and want to witness (or rediscover) pivotal events.

To the developers: Stop locking ships, sectors, and items behind Timelines. These should be granted to players who buy the DLC outright. Timelines should be optional, not "voluntarily mandatory."
P.S. I know some missions only require Rank 1 to progress, but why does the final mission of a chapter demand Rank 8/10? You either grind earlier missions to Rank 3 or settle for Rank 2 across the board…

For the best solo story is that of x2 for me

[jlehtone]

If we are/make the story, then we don't need premade stories. All players do not play like that though.

[Kamiyoda]

Even if the story is not great for this dlc. That's what was really missing in the x4 game. A real single player campaign with a well-scripted story like x1, x2, x3 reunion and x rebirth.

I played since X3 and did not enjoy the story in any of them. X Rebirth was specifically irritting (and X Rebirth VR), because it occasionally wanted you to do things using items you did not have.

Timelines has this well done non-english review (auto-translation):

As a completely new player to this series, after finishing the tutorial, the game suggested Timelines as the next step to familiarize myself with the universe...

Let me be clear: I do not recommend Timelines to any newcomer. These are essentially bite-sized missions cranked up to suffocating difficulty. The game tries to dump lore through awkward dialogues and the missions themselves, but honestly, aside from the Argon (human-like), I didn’t even recognize the other races. There’s an alien representative on the station early on—maybe their race was mentioned once? I didn’t remember. More characters appear later, but no one explains who they are, what they do, or how they fit into the world.

The missions themselves demand far more game knowledge than the tutorial provides. By the final mission of a chapter, you’re suddenly hit with "historic lore moments" from the past. But here’s the catch: I’m a newbie who doesn’t even know the names of the races! These lore-heavy missions don’t give me anything—just faceless characters fighting in high-stakes situations that aren’t always interesting to resolve.
P.S. I recognize the Xenon (they’re frequent enemies in missions), but I have no clue about their backstory—why they exist or what drives them.

And then there’s the Timelines’ forced integration with the sandbox. Developers crammed unlockable ships, sectors, and containers into this mode. Yes, you can play Timelines anytime, and rewards carry over to your main save. But after experiencing the sandbox, I doubt I’d ever return to Timelines. Plus, there’s no guarantee these unlocks will work properly.

Overall, this DLC feels like a rough draft for future story missions. I hope the developers hire better writers to smooth out the clunky dialogues and ease players into the lore. It might appeal to veterans who already know the universe’s history and want to witness (or rediscover) pivotal events.

To the developers: Stop locking ships, sectors, and items behind Timelines. These should be granted to players who buy the DLC outright. Timelines should be optional, not "voluntarily mandatory."
P.S. I know some missions only require Rank 1 to progress, but why does the final mission of a chapter demand Rank 8/10? You either grind earlier missions to Rank 3 or settle for Rank 2 across the board…

For the best solo story is that of x2 for me

Story fell off a cliff after X2 IMO

Its not even that the lore is bad, your just not involved in a lot of the cool stuff anymore.

Why did I hear about the Torus getting blown up in a cutscene, why is the AGI drone swarm that attacked Sol after this relagated to background fluff???

[Tharrg]

When you finish the Timeline missions, a sandbox mission is created.

Having finished Timelines I don't consider any review valid unless the reviewer has met

Spoiler

Show

the Grandmother.

One strong criticism I have for Timlines is about beginners. Beginners should start with the sandbox game, Timelines will only confuse them. Experienced players will likely be confused about the why of Timeliens, but be able to follow the what.