Everthing is to easy

[phrozen1]

With the new flight model combat became even more easy.
You have to try hard to even get hit and you can boost out of danger anytime.
Xenon are no thread in 99% of games.
Nobody is a thread if you have some Ships.
Trading is far to easy.
Moneymaking just takes time and has no real obstacles.
When you got money you can make more money.
Most mission are a walk in the park.

Why is everything balanced for toddlers?

[alt3rn1ty]

There are no difficulty settings in X4, so it has to be inclusive in its design for young / old / twitch reflex warmongers.
Mods are the way if you want harder
I think "Rise of the Ossian Raider" is one such mod, VRO does aswell I think .. I dont know I like the vanilla game the way it is.

Have a read of this topic viewtopic.php?t=430388

[Bozz11]

without mods like getting paid, VRO... this game is lame.
I stop playing vanilla for years now... Where is the fun in this combat.
Also now you getting plots where you basically get free ships, the X shuttle is one of the most OP ships in the game and you get it for free.
Now you get the H.Q for free.
You get a destroyer for free in the first 5 minutes.

I mean where is the creativity in making engaging story, reward you for something you've done.

What saves x4 is that they are mods that really make it interesting, otherwise it's boring.

Hyperion story should start in a random sector, choosing from some of the most isolated, so you actually need to explore a little... Not just get contacted 5 minutes after the start of the game and getting it for free because you passing by... Same for H.Q, enter the sector and they give you one of the most important installation in the universe... ey come drink a beer and I give you my space station !

[jlehtone]

Why is everything balanced for toddlers?

You are in uncanny valley. You can already see "everything" as easy, unlike the "toddlers", but fail to invent challenges with the things available in the vanilla.

[Targ Collective]

Jlehtone is right. The barrier for achievement is low because the game has to be accessible to all gamers, whatever the level of interface-fu. If you want to have a challenge, then it is there. Complete the terraforming projects - all of them - and with Terran methods helping things along. Shape the universe by making all the conflicts you can, or decide to resolve them. Decide the Xenon need to be wiped completely from the X Universe and do a Terran Intervention on them.

You're seeing quests and checklists and finding them too easy. Take control of your gameplay, be your own checklist. I've discussed three goals for the game that could be considered endgame goals and none of them have an objective screen! The challenge isn't really about checklists in this kind of game. You'll still find them - in fact Timelines is just for that kind of gameplay! But you're supposed to be able to make your own goals.

With a game like X4 it is much more fun to earn Achievements through normal gameplay, and only if you find earning them fun, but I reluctantly concede that getting all the achievements could be considered the ultimate endgame goal.

That's before we consider mods. I'm going to wait until Vanilla isn't enough before getting into modding the game but the mod scene is, frankly, insane - there are people out there making AAA quality game mods for this game and they're free.

Your options are plentiful. Find something to do, making your own challenges is the key.

[adeine]

Decide the Xenon need to be wiped completely from the X Universe and do a Terran Intervention on them.

Unfortunately this is a 'goal' that achieves itself well before 'endgame'.

[LameFox]

I had to chuckle at that. Wipe out the Xenon? Try keeping them alive outside of Tharka's Cascade and ZYA space.

[jlehtone]

Yes. I could be mildly shocked, if "Build infrastructure that helps Xenon to flourish" is one of those "too easy" goals.

[phrozen1]

I don't think making up artificial limits or goals is a valid argument at all. That's the opposite of immersion.

Many want the game to be challenging by itself. There are a huge number of threads about this over the years, and the game just gets easier...
I want obstacles hindering my expansion and more decisions with bigger consequences.
All we got is the Xenon-Crisis, which is totally artificial in a "living" universe simulation. Absolutely contrary to the main game-design.

Why is there no Opponent to the Player?

I want to have the option to be challenged more and more as I get stronger, and I can't understand why this is still not possible in vanilla.
No one ever said the game is too hard, but it keeps on getting easier...

I still love the game, but I'm just puzzled why it is the way it is.

[decifer]

• Send all ships you get for free to patrol duty in a Xenon sector, turrets disabled.
• Don't sell anything you picked up from dropped crates to traders.
• If you capture a ship, don't do fly-by boardings but properly disable it instead, with all the reputation hits and implications that come with that.
• Don't build megafactories that just create money out of thin air (or ores/gases). Just build, what you really need to achieve your current goal.
• Start a war with a major faction. Unite the Paranid and then make them really angry at you. Or make a full pirate playthrough, where everyone hates you.

Yes, the Xenon are meh, the missions are not that hard and there are a lot of handouts. But the choice to utilize all of that and not create challenges for yourself is yours. I don't think the game was ever ment to keep you constantly entertained just with missions and guided content.

[GCU Grey Area]

I don't think making up artificial limits or goals is a valid argument at all. That's the opposite of immersion.

Some self-imposed rules can add to immersion. For example, play as an arrogant Split who thinks 'all Split gear is best' & consequently will only use Split ships & fits them exclusively with Split equipment (including their frankly abysmal shields). Alternatively play as a penny pinching Teladi who considers mk1 gear to be perfectly adequate for their ships & refuses to pay a single credit more than the bare minimum when outfitting their ships. Such rules make the game noticeably harder, add to immersion & enhance the replayability of the game - each new game can focus exclusively on a single faction's stuff & have a different rule set to keep things interesting. It's how I prefer to play anyway.

[vvvvvvvv]

I don't think making up artificial limits or goals is a valid argument at all. That's the opposite of immersion.

That's how all sandboxes are - there usually is a completely broken way to obliterate the game and every obstacle in it. When you've found it, you'd need to do a conscious effort not to use it.

Also. immersion is a matter of viewpoint.

For difficulty, take an Elite with mk1 argon tech and try to take on small xenon Mosquito group. It will be challenging.

[jlehtone]

I don't think making up artificial limits or goals is a valid argument at all. That's the opposite of immersion.

Making up goals for yourself is the very point of sandbox. That is the game, not the "build, trade, fight", which are trivial.

Why is there no Opponent to the Player?

I want to have the option to be challenged more and more as I get stronger

Okay, you have Elite. Your opponent has Elite. You fight. What happens? Opponent dies. Game over?
No matter how strong you are, the challenge will not get harder unless the opponent grows much faster. Even then ...

If opponent does grow much faster, then what say players, who do not want or have no need to compete? Nothing pleasant.

Besides, there are already too many miracle spawns. A big thing in X4 is the "economy", how ships and stations are made from ore and gas. We can kill Xenon easy, because we can strike into their vulnerable logistics. Our "opponent" would only three choices:
* Be strangled and famined before they get big
* Spawn from nothing instantly
* Get big because we artificially let them

Killing an infinite enemy gets boring quick too. We had those in X2 and X3.

[LetMeIn11]

Why is there no Opponent to the Player?

I want to have the option to be challenged more and more as I get stronger, and I can't understand why this is still not possible in vanilla.

You just play like a casual. Start with a faction of your choice and make your reputation align with your faction reputation (e.g. if you're in HOP, set -30 for ARG, PAR and others), ignore HQ and all researches(yes, even the in-sector teleportation), and try to bring your faction to the glory, good luck.

[flywlyx]

Besides, there are already too many miracle spawns. A big thing in X4 is the "economy", how ships and stations are made from ore and gas. We can kill Xenon easy, because we can strike into their vulnerable logistics. Our "opponent" would only three choices:
* Be strangled and famined before they get big
* Spawn from nothing instantly
* Get big because we artificially let them

Killing an infinite enemy gets boring quick too. We had those in X2 and X3.

Enemies simply dying off on their own is even worse—if I had to choose between the two, I’d go with the infinite option.
That's why I suggest Egosoft improve their endgame crisis, as this has become a common practice in games nowadays.

[flywlyx]

You just play like a casual. Start with a faction of your choice and make your reputation align with your faction reputation (e.g. if you're in HOP, set -30 for ARG, PAR and others), ignore HQ and all researches(yes, even the in-sector teleportation), and try to bring your faction to the glory, good luck.

Impossible, NPC factions have expansion limits; they won’t grow indefinitely. You should understand the game first before setting a goal.

[Alan Phipps]

Whenever I find myself thinking something along the lines of 'Everything is/seems too easy', then any combination of these follow-ons invariably comes to my mind:

• 'Then I probably don't understand the problem.'
  'It's bound to be a trap.'
  'It's intended to build up false confidence, for now.'
  'Maybe if I just carry on then things might change?'

[LetMeIn11]

Impossible, NPC factions have expansion limits; they won’t grow indefinitely. You should understand the game first before setting a goal.

You just treat green sectors as your faction's sectors. Also, in the global orders menu you **always** whitelist your faction(even for the "Only me" rules), and it sorta works.

[flywlyx]

You just treat green sectors as your faction's sectors. Also, in the global orders menu you **always** whitelist your faction(even for the "Only me" rules), and it sorta works.

Then it's not harder, just less convenient. NPCs still don't know how to defend their shipyard—players can still travel drive straight to it, destroy the building module, wait for the builder to arrive for repair, destroy the builder, and the faction is basically dead after that.

[charlie1024]

I don't think making up artificial limits or goals is a valid argument at all. That's the opposite of immersion.

Many want the game to be challenging by itself. There are a huge number of threads about this over the years, and the game just gets easier...
I want obstacles hindering my expansion and more decisions with bigger consequences.
All we got is the Xenon-Crisis, which is totally artificial in a "living" universe simulation. Absolutely contrary to the main game-design.

Why is there no Opponent to the Player?

I want to have the option to be challenged more and more as I get stronger, and I can't understand why this is still not possible in vanilla.
No one ever said the game is too hard, but it keeps on getting easier...

I still love the game, but I'm just puzzled why it is the way it is.

Well, I think you haven't played previous X4 versions, and I think you'd better to play other games, not X4 maybe.

You seem always want to compete with other things. Then, I don't think X4 is in point of your wishlist.

Even, this game has been easier than the previous versions because in the past, XENs were too powerful.

This game is sandbox game, so you can do what you want. But, this is not only for you. This game is for all worldwide players.

So, you can do what you want to do. Getting over this limit is, I think, impossible.