X4 Diplomacy Update (8.00) - Public Beta Now Available

[Gregory]

8.00 Public Beta 4 is now available!
- Steam News
- Full 8.00 Changelog

[Mr.Killer]

The game I started after a year of not agreeing, start to go towards the same stand, not agreeing with the game.

In short, TEL and PAR are my best friends, all of a sudden they shoot up some cargo/miners of me, without provocation, now the relation plummets and there is nothing I can do except let them destroy more from me. Why is diplomacy brought to this game just for those a-hole to sit at a table? If they know the whole picture, why can't I tell them that there needs to be peace?

Useless if we can't use diplomacy, very useless....

[Tomonor]

8.00 Public Beta 5 is now available!
- Steam News
- Full 8.00 Changelog

[KatanaNL]

Oooh, great time to start a split campaign and see what kind of diplomatic shenanigans i can get into

[Mr.Killer]

It would have been nice if you had put up a instruction sticky on how to make it work.

Hmmmm, I see nothing new here, as I tried to 'convince' the devs several things, that didn't stick, so as any manual or instructions. I posted recently the question of 'nice that there is diplomacy' but what does it do? They all just sit on their asses while through unprovoked attack I lose over 5 points of friendlyness and not through talking, just me move out of their way and let them destroy what I have been accomplished. Therefor I shall paste another one of my questions...

[Mr.Killer]

As diplomacy is a fact, the weird question pops up:

All the races (almost) are around my round table, but where am I??? I am not a race? nor stand for any other government? yet I hold from all other races a diplomat? What am I???

Did the devs not see this coming?? If I were let's say Argon, then my position would not be asking the argon government for a diplomat, I should have already had one and I did not have to work hard to get in their friendly zone, now would I???

Odd thinking of the devs.

Having 0, that means neutral relation with Yaki, I help one fellow friend out of a fight, ALL YAKI ( no, not one single but EVERY ONE) turn against me. How????
If your neighbor has a bone to pick with you, it does not mean the the whole country is against him or you. This is so flawed.

Either lose this diplomacy or make it like it is in X3, there you can send my own diplomat to the faction and talk about a truce, which may end the killing, now that is what I call a 'working diplomatic environment'

[chew-ie]

As diplomacy is a fact, the weird question pops up:

All the races (almost) are around my round table, but where am I??? I am not a race? nor stand for any other government? yet I hold from all other races a diplomat? What am I???

You are Arthus, you own that damn table.

[DarZiro]

Everything you read below will be through Google translator, so there may be inaccuracies, but I tried to make the sentences simpler.
Dear Egosoft Team,

Thank you for the fantastic Diplomacy update! I. I'd like to share some feedback based on my experience, focusing on areas that could make the game even better. My main points are about Diplomacy and one specific pain point with station building.

1. Diplomacy: "Influence" Visibility (My Biggest Request!)
* The Problem: I love the new Influence system! However, showing Influence only as words ("Low", "Average to High") feels unclear. X4 is a game of numbers (credits, resources, ship stats), so not seeing actual numbers for Influence makes planning diplomatic actions difficult. How much Influence do I really have? How much does an action cost? It's confusing at first.
* My Suggestion: Please add numerical values for Influence. A perfect solution would be a hybrid display:
* Keep the descriptive words (e.g., "Average to High") for a quick overview.
* Add the exact numbers in brackets next to it. For example: Influence: Average to High (375 / 1000).
* Also, show the exact cost of every diplomatic action in its description (e.g., "steal the blueprints: -150 Influence").
* Why? Numbers provide clarity. They allow players to plan strategically and understand the mechanics deeply.
* Bonus Idea: Make this numerical display an optional toggle in the Game Settings for players who prefer the pure descriptive version.

2. Diplomacy: Ship Prestige - Clarity & Enhancement
* The Problem: Ships like the Astrid and Royal Hydra have high "Prestige". But what does Prestige actually do? It's not clear. Also, it feels like only a few special ships have it.
* My Suggestions:
* A) Clarify Prestige Effects: Please explain what benefits high Ship Prestige provides. Does it improve diplomatic chances? Reduce action costs? Increase reputation gains? Players need to know!
* B) Add Diplomatic Ships/Modules: It would be logical to have dedicated "diplomatic" ships (like luxury "limousines" - e.g., more ships like the Astrid) OR ship modifications that can increase a ship's Prestige. I checked existing modifications, but nothing does this currently.
* C) Paint Jobs & Prestige? Should certain paint jobs also provide a small Prestige bonus? This could add value to cosmetics.

3. Diplomacy: Hiring Diplomats
* Suggestion: Could we hire Diplomats directly via the Embassy module? For example: "Request Teladi Diplomat" from the Embassy menu, without needing to fly to the Teladi Headquarters. This would be much more convenient and logical for managing a large empire.

4. Station Building: Queue Management (A Major Pain Point!)
* The Problem: This is currently my biggest frustration. When building a station from a saved Blueprint, modules are built in the exact order they were placed originally. There is no way to change this order later. If storage modules are last in the queue (as in my blueprints), the station sits idle and cannot trade for hours while non-essential modules build first. This wastes time and credits, as the station could be partially operational much sooner.
* My Suggestion: Please add a way to edit the construction queue of a station after building has started. We need buttons like:
* "Move Module Up" / "Move Module Down" in the construction list.
* "Build This Module Next" (or drag-and-drop reordering).
* Why? This is crucial for efficient station management. It allows players to prioritize critical modules (like Docks, Piers, and Storage) to get the station functional and profitable faster. The current system forces inefficient waiting or blueprint re-creation.

Thank you for your hard work and for considering these suggestions.

Sincerely, DarZiro

[Ach1mede5]

As far i can tell prestige lowers the amount of time needed for completion. I have one in kings hydra and all others in low prestige vehicles, hes the only one who needs a remarkable lower amount of time. E.g. 40 minutes vs. 35 minutes, something like that.

[Mr.Killer]

Everything you read below will be through Google translator, so there may be inaccuracies, but I tried to make the sentences simpler.
Dear Egosoft Team,

Thank you for the fantastic Diplomacy update! I. I'd like to share some feedback based on my experience, focusing on areas that could make the game even better. My main points are about Diplomacy and one specific pain point with station building.

1. Diplomacy: "Influence" Visibility (My Biggest Request!)
* The Problem: I love the new Influence system! However, showing Influence only as words ("Low", "Average to High") feels unclear. X4 is a game of numbers (credits, resources, ship stats), so not seeing actual numbers for Influence makes planning diplomatic actions difficult. How much Influence do I really have? How much does an action cost? It's confusing at first.
* My Suggestion: Please add numerical values for Influence. A perfect solution would be a hybrid display:
* Keep the descriptive words (e.g., "Average to High") for a quick overview.
* Add the exact numbers in brackets next to it. For example: Influence: Average to High (375 / 1000).
* Also, show the exact cost of every diplomatic action in its description (e.g., "steal the blueprints: -150 Influence").
* Why? Numbers provide clarity. They allow players to plan strategically and understand the mechanics deeply.
* Bonus Idea: Make this numerical display an optional toggle in the Game Settings for players who prefer the pure descriptive version.

2. Diplomacy: Ship Prestige - Clarity & Enhancement
* The Problem: Ships like the Astrid and Royal Hydra have high "Prestige". But what does Prestige actually do? It's not clear. Also, it feels like only a few special ships have it.
* My Suggestions:
* A) Clarify Prestige Effects: Please explain what benefits high Ship Prestige provides. Does it improve diplomatic chances? Reduce action costs? Increase reputation gains? Players need to know!
* B) Add Diplomatic Ships/Modules: It would be logical to have dedicated "diplomatic" ships (like luxury "limousines" - e.g., more ships like the Astrid) OR ship modifications that can increase a ship's Prestige. I checked existing modifications, but nothing does this currently.
* C) Paint Jobs & Prestige? Should certain paint jobs also provide a small Prestige bonus? This could add value to cosmetics.

3. Diplomacy: Hiring Diplomats
* Suggestion: Could we hire Diplomats directly via the Embassy module? For example: "Request Teladi Diplomat" from the Embassy menu, without needing to fly to the Teladi Headquarters. This would be much more convenient and logical for managing a large empire.

4. Station Building: Queue Management (A Major Pain Point!)
* The Problem: This is currently my biggest frustration. When building a station from a saved Blueprint, modules are built in the exact order they were placed originally. There is no way to change this order later. If storage modules are last in the queue (as in my blueprints), the station sits idle and cannot trade for hours while non-essential modules build first. This wastes time and credits, as the station could be partially operational much sooner.
* My Suggestion: Please add a way to edit the construction queue of a station after building has started. We need buttons like:
* "Move Module Up" / "Move Module Down" in the construction list.
* "Build This Module Next" (or drag-and-drop reordering).
* Why? This is crucial for efficient station management. It allows players to prioritize critical modules (like Docks, Piers, and Storage) to get the station functional and profitable faster. The current system forces inefficient waiting or blueprint re-creation.

Thank you for your hard work and for considering these suggestions.

Sincerely, DarZiro

Point 1 I really would like to see here the options we had with X3, send diplomat to faction talk about peace or something similar, this is totally missing here. They just sit around your table and do NOTHING!
Point 2 The cloudy description of some things fails me too to understand. Neat that they 'think' of something cool, but it needs more than just 'coolness' to have an addition, so I agree on this too!
Point 3 Very smart thinking here DarZiro!!!
Point 4 I tried to bring this also at the devs attention, it looked like they ignored it. (I hope not and maybe within a year or so.....or two, three?)

All in all a good description of several improvement points, but I think they either won't react to your comment or read it and take it with the update and never let you know. Sorry, I know it is a small team, but people who bought, played and enjoyed the game so far, think that their idea has ground, and they would be at ease if this would be recognized. So DEV team, please give us a sign.

[Tomonor]

8.00 Public Beta 6 is now available!
- Steam News
- Full 8.00 Changelog

[Tomonor]

8.00 RC1 is now available!
- Steam News
- Full 8.00 Changelog

[LameFox]

[RC 1] Fixed capital ship main guns failing to properly track and aim at other capital ships.

Wait, does that mean they will actually converge on the target now instead of firing past it?

[PersonyPerson]

[RC 1] Fixed capital ship main guns failing to properly track and aim at other capital ships.

Wait, does that mean they will actually converge on the target now instead of firing past it?

Yes. Tested it and the fix description is accurate.

WAY better than it was before.

[vvvvvvvv]

Finally. An RC. Shouldn't be too long now. I'm so sick of playing Elite while waiting.

[LameFox]

[RC 1] Fixed capital ship main guns failing to properly track and aim at other capital ships.

Wait, does that mean they will actually converge on the target now instead of firing past it?

Yes. Tested it and the fix description is accurate.

WAY better than it was before.

Never thought I'd see the day. That one had been there so long I figured it must be on purpose.

[PersonyPerson]

Wait, does that mean they will actually converge on the target now instead of firing past it?

Yes. Tested it and the fix description is accurate.

WAY better than it was before.

Never thought I'd see the day. That one had been there so long I figured it must be on purpose.

It's still not perfect. But gone are the days where your destroyer will just sit there afk for 1 minute not reacting to a target's movements until it's too late, requiring a re-issue of attack orders for re-alignment towards said target. That delay is now reduced to ~5 seconds, which imo makes capital ships with main guns more than capable in fighting other capital ships, even if their target is moving.

I personally think it was one of those cases where everyone assumed it was a "widely known and obvious issue" to the point where very few bothered to posted bug reports about it because they'd assumed someone else at some point had already done it, when in reality such reports were rare, so the devs had very little to work with outside of specific and artificial testing conditions.

[LameFox]

It's still not perfect. But gone are the days where your destroyer will just sit there afk for 1 minute not reacting to a target's movements until it's too late, requiring a re-issue of attack orders for re-alignment towards said target. That delay is now reduced to ~5 seconds, which imo makes capital ships with main guns more than capable in fighting other capital ships, even if their target is moving.

I personally think it was one of those cases where everyone assumed it was a "widely known and obvious issue" to the point where very few bothered to posted bug reports about it because they'd assumed someone else at some point had already done it, when in reality such reports were rare, so the devs had very little to work with outside of specific and artificial testing conditions.

Possibly. I certainly thought it was obvious, partly because it affected player auto-aim too and partly because I'd even seen it occur in some of the game's promo videos where you see destroyers fire at each other (IIRC, a Behemoth firing at Oddy E).

[Tomonor]

Good news, everyone!
Mark your calendars: The Diplomacy Update and the X4: Envoy Pack launch on September 10, 2025!

While we are waiting, you can wishlist the X4: Envoy Pack.

[Tamina]

I've wishlisted but unfortunately it only reduced the waiting time for about 30 seconds.