How can I start the new Timelines plot in existing game

[JinkoSiz]

So I kinda already chose my start and played for a while and now I want to start that Timeline plot or atleast open the territories with the new faction. How can I do that and can I at all? Mind you I started my game after 7.5 and after getting Timelines

[Alan Phipps]

Timelines is in effect a separate game with a different 'start' and saving mechanics that also happens to unlock a few items in the main game. You can freely dip in and out of each version gameplay without overwriting saves or progress in each, or risk spoiling anything by doing that.

[JinkoSiz]

Timelines is in effect a separate game with a different 'start' and saving mechanics that also happens to unlock a few items in the main game. You can freely dip in and out of each version gameplay without overwriting saves or progress in each, or risk spoiling anything by doing that.

So I can basically start a new game in Timelines, finish em, and return to my previous game and have access to new faction?

[Alan Phipps]

Well, at least you can gain access in sandbox gameplay to some souvenir ships not available in vanilla any other way. The devs' announcement of Timelines is here and its Wiki page here.

This is what dev CBJ had to say about it.

[blackphoenixx]

So I can basically start a new game in Timelines, finish em, and return to my previous game and have access to new faction?

Pretty much this, yeah. TImelines missions are entirely separate and save progress separately. As soon as you've unlocked something in Timelines it'll appear in any open universe games, new or not.

[alt3rn1ty]

When you play Timelines, your progress gets saved to a separate .xml file.
So when you come out of Timelines, and then load your normal game save continuation, the game has a look in that file and unlocks whatever you unlocked doing Timelines, and it becomes a part of your normal game aswell.

Have a read of the Timelines FAQ .. Contains spoilers ..
viewtopic.php?f=146&t=463317

[Scoob]

I had a bit of an issue with something resetting. I.e. I did some Timelines stuff, started a new game and found certain things. I then later started another new game, but things I had discovered previously weren't present the second time around. For me, it was ships I'd unlocked in Timelines, and found in that original game, simply were not present in a subsequent save. I'd not overwritten anything.

Note: this used to happen long before Timelines. It seems that the file that saves these "achievements" if you will, can sometimes be reset by a subsequent game where you didn't hit those milestones. I.e. Say I get a new game start option because I completed a given plot line. However, when next starting a new game, I don't select that new game start, but select another one. In that subsequent game I DIDN'T complete that plot line. I then start yet another new game and I've lost that "you completed this plot line" game start option. Or I have a lower Custom Start budget then before.

What I'm saying is that things can break down. Though, in theory, once you've unlocked something in Timelines it should stay unlocked. However, in my experience that isn't always the case. Don't know why, just know I was missing certain ships when I started a fresh v7.50 beta game (vanilla) to help testing. Various Timelines ships I'd unlocked, simply were not present in this new game.

Note: after completing Timelines missions, I think you'll get a message when you next load you main Save, detailing things like derelict ships and newly opened gates / sectors. Well, not details as such, but that they exist... somewhere.

[Alan Phipps]

@ Scoob: That appears to be intended.

[alt3rn1ty]

Maybe if you backup the Userdata.xml and Userdata_Signed.xml before you start a new game, then after starting the new game, quit, and then copy the old ones over the new ones. I think now you will be past them being reset, and your old data is back in place, and there shouldn't be any problems as your signed one still pairs with the userdata (no bytes have changed) ..
.. Might be worth giving it a shot, if you still have the old userdata files that is. Maybe too late now.

If desperate, see this topic viewtopic.php?t=463567
And follow the link and what Chew-ie says

[Submarine]

I had a bit of an issue with something resetting. I.e. I did some Timelines stuff, started a new game and found certain things. I then later started another new game, but things I had discovered previously weren't present the second time around. For me, it was ships I'd unlocked in Timelines, and found in that original game, simply were not present in a subsequent save. I'd not overwritten anything.

Note: this used to happen long before Timelines. It seems that the file that saves these "achievements" if you will, can sometimes be reset by a subsequent game where you didn't hit those milestones. I.e. Say I get a new game start option because I completed a given plot line. However, when next starting a new game, I don't select that new game start, but select another one. In that subsequent game I DIDN'T complete that plot line. I then start yet another new game and I've lost that "you completed this plot line" game start option. Or I have a lower Custom Start budget then before.

What I'm saying is that things can break down. Though, in theory, once you've unlocked something in Timelines it should stay unlocked. However, in my experience that isn't always the case. Don't know why, just know I was missing certain ships when I started a fresh v7.50 beta game (vanilla) to help testing. Various Timelines ships I'd unlocked, simply were not present in this new game.

Note: after completing Timelines missions, I think you'll get a message when you next load you main Save, detailing things like derelict ships and newly opened gates / sectors. Well, not details as such, but that they exist... somewhere.

This makes me rather anxious about starting Timelines and I wonder what I need to do to start a new sandbox game with all unlocked content thereafter. My current sandbox is beta testing and I plan to start Timelines but will Krampus nick all my stuff if I try to restart again?

Achievements in X4 have never been logged in a reliable player record, like a Steam achievement is. If you want an expanded budget start for example you have to load a preexisting game directly before starting a new game in the same client session and then you only get the options that prior game provides.

There is no player account system like some games. I would have thought this would be the real answer. A player account which logs all best achievements in all games and makes them available in budget starts, plus the ability to export/import the player account from/to a client installation, like you can with budget start conditions.

Plus Scoob, if you did not restart Timelines this is not intended behaviour, just another example of the client not knowing anything about its player.

[alt3rn1ty]

This makes me rather anxious about starting Timelines and I wonder what I need to do to start a new sandbox game with all unlocked content thereafter. My current sandbox is beta testing and I plan to start Timelines but will Krampus nick all my stuff if I try to restart again?

Your Timelines progress is stored in the userdata.xml file, and the userdata_signed.xml version of the same file.
If you have a lot of progress, backup your documents / egosoft folder, just in case of SSD catastrophic failures in future.
I just restarted a couple of days ago with a Custom Budgetted game, and all my Timelines progress was carried forward, so things like the unlocked ships / sectors and even the Sandbox unlocked Grandmother mission are still there waiting for me to discover them again. Already did the Grandmother quest, got the Quettanaut sectors opened up and the Xperimental shuttle is part of my properties, just got the Xenon H today etcetera.

Just dont ever use the Reset Timelines button if you want to preserve things, that will wipe out everything earned.

[Scoob]

I just create a Custom start now, and use that to unlock Timelines stuff. Not a clue why I lost progress previously. Same PC, same common Egosoft folder in My Documents. I do create new instances when I play modded, but my issues were with the default GoG-managed folder. I wonder if running a modified game at any point somehow overwrites things? I mean, I played 100% vanilla, unlocked most Timelines content for my vanilla game. I then played a modified game - separate instance, but shared My Documents/Egosoft folder of course. Next time I was beta testing, I used the default GoG-managed folder (100% vanilla, never been anything but vanilla) but noticed various ships were missing, that'd I've previously discovered. I made NO changes to the common Egosoft folder. I back up my saves regularly, and any BP's I've made, but that's about it. I NEVER overwrite the entire folder. Ever.