Customer Reviews

X3 TERRAN CONFLICT 20

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

First I want to save some folks some time. If you are looking for a game where you hop into a spaceship (preferably one you've seen in a movie) and go blast things for an hour or so every Saturday, look elsewhere. This game flaunts every rule ever made by game companies wishing to appeal to casual gamers. Only serious gamers willing to dedicate several hours a week over the course of months are going to have an interest in this game.

Still with me? Good, because this game is awesome. Sure, you can fly around and blast enemies in your fighter, but that's just the beginning. You'll be commanding entire fleets before you're through. You can also spend time on the economic side of things by using freighters and buying factories. Eventually, you will build an entire space empire!

The game is designed to be played for 100+ hours, quite a rare thing in these days of full price games lasting only 10 to 20 hours. How can the game keep you entertained for so long? By introducing new aspects of play! When you start, you've just got your one little ship, and then you have a few ships, then some trading ships, then some bigger ships, then factories... and so on. Each new phase requires you to learn new aspects of play. Another reviewer mentioned that this game has a steep learning curve. I don't think it's actually all that steep; it's just a very long, steady slope upwards.

The game does have its bugs. The autopilot can and will kill you, for instance, and large ships will often explode when trying to leave some of the more awesome space docks. It doesn't take long to learn the quirks of the game, though, and it will reward you with months of fun once you learn to dodge them. Be sure to check the official forums for help and some fun player-made modifications to the game.

This game is an interesting, fun space-based game allowing you to build, trade, and fight in a large playing field consisting of many large and small sectors. I highly recommend it, but be prepared for lots of issues, lots of new things to learn, and several bugs in the game that can be annoying.

Version 1.0 to 1.4 has been available outside of the U.S. for a long time, and on Steam as well for U.S. players. This version 2.0 is the first U.S. release of Terran Conflict. But you would think that with the length of time this game has been out in prior versions overseas and on Steam, more of the bugs would have been resolved--but nope, new ones being found all the time--just check out Egosoft's forum site and you will see lots of complaints.

The good: Big, lots of variety and places to explore. New ships and weapons to buy. Lots of enemies to kill. Lots of upgrades. Lots of room to build stations. Lots of missions to accomplish. Good graphics. You can create vast fleets. Has a vast forum to answer new players' questions. Lots of in-depth game play.

The bad: Lots of bugs in the game that can get annoying. Some bugs will even prevent you from finishing the game, forcing you to start over after many days of having created an empire. There is a tremendous slow-down for computers when you build the stations connected to other stations. Ships randomly crash into the stations. Enemies attack your trading ships and the game glitches and doesn't tell you that the enemy is attacking them--next thing you know, you lost 10 ships. Poor support for technical problems--I was unable to find a contact phone number to report bugs in the game, and when I attempted to post online about my problem, I never got a response that fixed my problem.

Fight, trade, build and think. It's all here and any route or combo of routes can make you a powerhouse in the universe. For many, including myself, the path to glory is almost exclusively fighting.

Because of the fact you can randomly cause pilots in heavy fighters and smaller to bail by doing hull damage (larger ships can be taken using marines), one can build up a fleet without needing to micro-manage the vast economy. Ultimately some will start building stations and NPC controlled cargo ships as a nice change of pace from pure fighting. Station loops and trading ships can be set-up to be hands free automated or micro-managable, so there are multiple gaming styles that can be used.

If you want to be a pure trader, builder, even a total pacifist, it's possible. Story lines can be ignored. This game can be played as a total sandbox. This is what makes the X series so great for a niche base of players who don't need linear plots.

In my opinion, the best way to play this game is to pick a starting persona- Defender, Patriot or Merchant being the easiest. Avoid assassin start when learning the game. Change you name, make up your own story and do whatever you want. Ignore or play the plotlines.

Plan on the first 24 hours of game play to be mostly learning how to play and some outside the game net forum reading. Once the game is learned, actual play can be a few hours for tangible gains.

I would discourage anyone from purchasing this game who is not willing to spend days to learn it and a good amount of time (weeks of non-casual play) to get into a capitol ship.

Some of the complaints about long travel times even with time compression are solved in the later game with jump drives. The clunkiness of the interface can be overcome once the hotkeys for your main commands are learned. At first, when navigating the interface though menus, it is awkward to the extreme, expecially while in combat.

Overall, if your into this type of genere, this game is worth the small investment of $$$ and a large investment of your time...

The X-series of games is considered by many to be the extension of Privateer and Freelancer, only much more intricate and in-depth. In this game, the player assumes the role of the nameless adventurer with no history. That is, unless you play the story missions. In X3, you can do almost anything you wish from being a businessman to a ruthless fighter and everything in between. You can buy almost any ship in the game such as small ships built for speed, heavy fighters, and huge capital ships. You can also build your own space stations and other orbital facilities. Of course, you need to have the appropriate reputation with a given faction to buy their ships, they obviously don't want to sell a battleship to someone they don't trust. There are many sectors which you can play in, each with their own assortment of inhabitants, space stations, and missions. The storyline missions are largely unremarkable, most players will enjoy playing the game without being tied down to any plot. The game doesn't anchor the player to the plot and they are free to do what they want, it is story optional. The universe the game is set in will change based upon your influence. I've noticed that if I place a space station that manufactures a device in a region where I'm the only one who can, the economy and regional makeup will slowly adapt to my presence.

X3: Terran Conflict is superior to the original X3: Reunion in a number of ways. First, the user interface is more streamlined and easier to use. Second, there is an additional faction you can play as. Third, there are additional ships and components you can use in the game. For those who have X3: Reunion, this isn't that large of a jump since it takes place in the same area of space with almost identical models and controls. X3: Terran Conflict is pretty much X3: Reunion with the free mod X-tended applied. However, many of the bugs and integration issues from the mod have been mostly resolved.

On the technical side of the things, patches are numerous for the X-Series and X3 is no different. It is strongly suggested you have a PC with at least the recommended specifications in order to play. Even on high-end systems, this game will use almost every resource available to it. If your PC has the necessary power, this game is visually stunning. I often found myself marveling at the planets and looking at their reflection off the hull of my ship. The voice acting and story line of the game leave much to be desired. There is no multiplayer for this or any other X game, but the modding community is very active. This means you can add in other ships and create new missions.

The X-series of games is not meant for everyone. Many players will grow annoyed at the lack of a storyline and, outside of space battles, a slower pace to the game. Given the scale of X3, the controls take some getting used to as almost every key on the keyboard will be used at some point. Newcomers to the franchise should play the tutorial missions to better understand the game and how it works. Even then, there is a steep learning curve. Veterans of the series will enjoy the added functionality and new sectors to explore. Having played X2: The Threat and the original X3: Reunion, X3: Terran Conflict improves the franchise. Every time a new version of X is released, it always seems to improve on the previous games. X3 is recommended for anyone who likes open-ended gameplay, especially if it is set in space.

First off, I have found no evidence of any "install limit" from the DVD version of the game. I play this on a computer that does not go to the internet except every few months, when I choose it to, and have found no evidence of the game requiring connection every time it is played.

As for the game itself, I found it to be an improvement over X3: Reunion in almost every way. The interface is much more streamlined, and most commands are easier to access, though some are nested in menus. The graphics are better, but there seems to be some issues with stuttering in crowded sectors that impede performance.

Be advised, this game has a steep learning curve - it takes a bit of effort to learn to play, but once figured out, it is enjoyable - as in gee it's midnight and I have a 7:00 am meeting, but just this one more thing - type of enjoyable.

It is a combination of space flight sim, with decent combat and an economic simulator. The plot can be ignored until you want to follow it, and the game can be completely played in a sand-box style, open ended with no goals other than expand you empire and follow your desired, including commercial expansion, fighting with anyone or everyone (not recommended). No territory conquest, but there are several unclaimed sectors you can use if you honk off everybody on this side of the galactic rim.

The official forums provide a wealth of information and ways to expand the game,including mods, extra scripts and an official "bonus pack" of the best scripts (under development).

I foresee many lost hours of sleep and months of play in the game for myself.

TTFN

What I've played of this game so far (not much) is pretty decent fun. It is a space combat/trading simulation. I recently remembered enjoying a game called Colony Wars for the playstation several years ago, and I did some research on its genre to seek out similar titles. I like how this game goes way more in-depth than just space combat...it'll definitely keep me busy in my dorm until I get myself a car. Graphics are awesome, just make sure you have a current graphics card to fully appreciate it.

The copy protection on this game is a killer though...it really just makes me think "Wow, way to screw up a good thing". It's called "Tages" and depending on your operating system, it will sneak a few BSODs upon you. In my case, it BSODd whenever I closed my Windows 7 laptop. I dont think thats cool at all, and I was forced to remove the Tages drivers. Now I'm waiting for a Windows 7 fix so that I may begin playing again without any anoyances.

THE most frustrating game I've ever played. I started as a merchant--it said it was the easiest, so I figured it would be the best to learn with--then there's a tutorial ship, great. I start the tutorial, after talking to the ship I'm supposed to learn how to dock. So I follow the on-screen instructions, approach the green light slowly like it says and wind up getting stuck and blowing up. Okay, let's try this again. After waiting an interminable amount of time for it to load, I'm finally back and manage to dock this time. I undock and for the next tutorial I'm supposed to blow up debris...except that the merchant ship has no guns or missiles. I try to go buy some, but my rep isn't good enough to get any guns. What am I supposed to do?? I try reloading the game at the first place I docked. (Loading...Loading...Loading...I go check on my dinner...come back, loading...) Finally the game has reloaded. I undock and lo and behold I have guns. But now I can't find the tutorial ship. F this--I try starting the game over, choosing a military ship. (Loading...loading...) This time I have guns, yay. But for some reason the buttons aren't responding correctly and I'm going from zero kps to 270 kps and the tutorial ship just crashes into me. I survive somehow. While I'm doing the tutorial I get a message saying I have a mission. Well, I'll finish the tutorial first, of course. But then I can't find the ship that sent me the message. I bring up my mission screen, which says to talk to Lt. So and So and meet him near Saturn. So I fly to Saturn, can't find him, look at the mission screen, says I have to talk to him near Uranus, which is where I was. So I go back, finally find the right ship and accompany him back to Saturn. There are five enemy ships waiting for us. I pause the game, look up how to target nearest enemy, unpause the game and then am immediately blown up. Jeez! Now I gotta reload the game (not again!) at the last save point, which you can only do when you've docked, which is back during the tutorial. I spent almost four hours doing all this. I really wanted to play this game, but it's so buggy and time consuming. Waste of time and money.

This is a fun game if you are into spaceshooters and have a lot of patience. You have to find the action by accepting missions and jobs, the action wont come to you. Fight scenes are stuttery even with good computer systems. With the recent update to version 2.1 fight scenes are the only thing that a decent pc may stutter a little at. The mechanics of the game, high graphics, high memory, and high cpu usage that causes most of the problems. Still, I give it a 4 star because it is the best, modern, space shooter out there. I'm a sucker for eye candy. If you plan on getting this then have a 64-bit operating system ready because I have seen it use over 3 gigabytes of ram before. Only 64-bit operating systems will fully use ram potential 3gb and above. It is made for Vista 64bit or Windows 7 64bit, I suggest the latter but W7 is still in testing so use at your own risk; don't use Windows 7 if you do not know troubleshooting. DirectX 10 and 11 also makes a difference in graphics quality. I upgraded to Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit and saw change in graphics that is worth noting. You will start out in the game with a decent fighter craft and some money. There are multiple game starts which you can choose from, these correspond to different pilots and difficulty settings. There are infinite amount of missions/jobs generated by game, but mainly 14 plots. No need for different game-starts to complete all 14. There is a community that makes mods for this game on the egosoft forums, I find them very useful, especially the cheat package (optional) on their forums. When I need a quick blast-em experience this is what I turn to. In-game economy system is quite in-dept and fun if you has the computer power to handle it once you become a force to be reckoned with in the XUniverse. Your own fleet of capital ships, fighters, transports, stations...a lot of power at your fingertips. Rags-to-riches?

Graphics are fantastic. Interface is complex and frustrating - there are pull down menus for flight simulator type combat. Plot - not that great as they forgot to include any kind of hook to reel you into it. The theme of build a trade empire in space - kind of cool. Some of the music is really good too.

I bought this game again because my DVD wore out. If you are into building an empire or Hijacking enemy ships for your own profit whether it be for profit or your own uses this game is for you. I just wish they would hurry and come out with another expansion. Ship repairs can take forever if you are willing to use the personal repair laser. (Leave a heavy item on your fire button and take a break.) I have had ship repairs take over 10min so don't wear out your finger. They can't put an average play time in hours on this game. Since its release I have months into my empire and still periodically find difficulties. You are not the only one building up.