X -Rebirth Announced

[Scott Tortorice]

Another vid on X Rebirth, this time on the revamped trade system:

[video=youtube;thnJTvXtkFs]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thnJTvXtkFs&feature=player_embedded[/video]

It is much improved - I hated X3's trade system that kept so much information hidden from you. However, I am a bit concerned about the idea of needing to fly over station hot spots for some interactivity. That might get tedious.

I really have my fingers crossed on this one. It looks like the space sim I always wanted. And Egosoft has a good record with their previous space games. But I am concerned about this game on launch. Complex games like this rarely arrive in good condition. What is more, the game is due out in about a month and there have yet to be any hands on previews...something that concerns me. :OHNO:

 

[Scott Tortorice]

Okay, I actually found a game demo from GamesCom. Two vids from the same guy:

1

[video=youtube_share;nBpIHzI9Jdw]http://youtu.be/nBpIHzI9Jdw[/video]


2

[video=youtube_share;uN3y3XiazHs]http://youtu.be/uN3y3XiazHs[/video]


I have to say that I love the art direction. The game has a very dark, industrial EVE-like look. My favorite sci-fi style.

 

[Nexus6]

I agree with you about the art direction, but I"m concerned about the FPS-only mode. Never liked those kinds of games, the Deus Ex series being the big exception.

 

[Scott Tortorice]

I agree with you about the art direction, but I"m concerned about the FPS-only mode. Never liked those kinds of games, the Deus Ex series being the big exception.

When it comes to these immersive space sims, first person is the only way to go for me. However, that is not to say that a third person experience couldn't work too (see "The Mandate" in that space games article I just posted). The X series was always first person, so that is probably never gonna change.

Speaking about X Rebirth, I am having serious concerns about the condition of this game at launch. The only previews I could find were of that starting system - that seems to be all that Egosoft included in the press demo. This is starting to remind me of Rome 2 (which is getting better, BTW): a press build that is highly polished, but the unseen portions of the game not so much. Not saying that is happening with X Rebirth, but seeing how massively complex this game is going to be, I am VERY suspicious that we haven't gotten to see anything outside of the starting location. What is more, if you closely watch that vid, you will see missing assets and placeholder stuff...even in the press build. Seeing how the game is due out in three weeks, I just don't see this launching well. Fortunately for me, there are no TF2 items to get with a pre-order, so I should be safe from repeating my Rome 2 folly.

 

[Nexus6]

Glad you mentioned Rome2. I was wondering if you'd given up on it. So you say it is getting better? That's cool.

Concerning player perspectives, I still think Bethesda did it best with their RPG's. That is, giving you the option of playing in TP or FPS. I think TP is more immersive, and I always felt FPS lacked realism due to the limited range of vision which of course is much wider in real life. Still in all, I did find in the Bethesda games that it was usually best to switch to FP mode in combat, and anyway I like having the option. Also, I find that remaining in FP mode for lengthy amounts of time sometimes makes me dizzy and nauseous.

BTW Scott, you mentioned Star Citizen somewhere. In someone's dubious mmo awards article, he cited Star Citizen as the game most likely to attract weirdos. lol

 

[Scott Tortorice]

New trailer:

[video=youtube;9Bb_jCP1mJo]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Bb_jCP1mJo&feature=share&list=UUK3UIFmOHO vI3n1FVRsDYGw[/video]

I hope it has a good launch because it looks great. But, again, seeing how ambitious this title is, I fear this is going to be another game that releases as a paid beta. But please prove me wrong, Egosoft.

 

[Scott Tortorice]

Please be a good launch...please be a good launch:

[video=youtube_share;ODJa_Hh_sqY]http://youtu.be/ODJa_Hh_sqY[/video]

Guess we'll know in two days and some hours. No pre-order from me, but it might be a day 1 purchase if the initial reaction is favorable. X3 was an amazing game. Sadly, it was also incredibly difficult to get in to. This looks like it will be far more immersive, especially for the player new to the series.

 

[Scott Tortorice]

Woohoo! Dodged another bullet! :banana: X: Rebirth is, sadly, as buggy as I feared. I have no links to share but if you want a good read, visit the official Steam forums. Suspected this. When they refused to release the GamesCom demo, I thought something might be wrong. Not happy about it, I would much rather have been contentedly playing a new awesome space game, but I am happy that, as with CoD Ghosts, I held off and saved some cash. Egosoft never abandons a game so I suspect XR will be a solid game in a few months, but I am already waiting for Rome 2 to mature, no need to lay down another title and watch dust gather.

Spot on:

Oh I have no doubt they are gonna fix it.. but I think I've had it.

Every, single, god damn game I bought lately has been a complete disaster on release. This can not go on like this. It is unacceptable.

Of course, it's my own damn fault AS USUAL for supporting games from developers that I loved (once).

Maybe I should have seen the signs, no early reviews, long NDA...

This is it. I am done with buying games before they are out and tested and reviewed. Seriously, **** this ****. I am getting too old for these experiences.

My feelings as of late, too. Time to dust off the old minis....

 

[Scott Tortorice]

We are gathered here today the mourn the passing of yet another great franchise....

http://forum.egosoft.com/viewforum.php?f=127

7 Years, people... 7 friggin years...7 Years for Oblivion set in Space. Yes...

I can't understand why this game took 7 years to develop. It's not as complex as an Elder Scrolls chapter, which calculates far more than a simple space themed game.

In theory, a game like this, could be done in less than 3 years by a decent group of 20 developers. Seriously, what were they doing during all these years? I want answers from the developers, not some childish fanboy of the forums.

Reply:

I tell.

It took so long because it was so complicated taking everything out that made X2 and X3 so special.

Alone removing the SETA and coming up with a halfassed excuse to do so, oh boy, that took long. But THANK RHONKAR we have zey supertollen Highways or whatever they are supposed to be. Couldnt live without them.

Does anybody know how much the speed of your ship is? Do we get some "afterburner" thrusters like in Freelancer or even better, "slipspace" devices like in I-War 2? I'd personally hate tucking around at 150m/s, without a SETA, that'd take 20 minutes to dock on a damn station.

Then it took very long to design an über-awesome ship, because, you know, we didnt have the choice to pick a ship we want in the other games. Oh wait...

And finally, instead of these tiny-whiney sectors it needed to be bigger sectors. Instead, just lock everything, so the player is forced to complete quest stages like back in the olden days of certain other games, when you "cant use this Sword coz my level is 1 to low, rofl so fight with your fists noob". Yeah, that took at least 4 years to design, and I can feel the devs, that can really leave you scarred.

and

I would really like to give a constructive critique of the game, but I can't. I feel like egosoft has betrayed the trust of every die hard fan that pre ordered the game. I feel like they totally threw their core audience under the bus.

I hope Elite: Dangerous doesn't go the console port route. It's my last hope obi wan.

and

I don't even know what to say. It's all been summed up by so many others...

How can anyone play this game and come to the conclusion that X has been taken in a positive direction? It's such a mess that even years of modding probably can't fix it.

I'm heartbroken, honestly.

I've been a big fan since X2, I just can't believe anyone at Egosoft thought this was going to fly. There's no way they played this game and thought, "our fans are going to love this!"

I spent all day trying to find a reason to like this game. I can't. It's just so fundamentally...bad.

I don' have the words....should have..sent..a....pissed off poet....

:upset:

Long short: Egosoft has done to the X series with X: Rebirth what Ubisoft did to the Silent Hunter series with Silent Hunter V: dumbed it down into a shadow of itself. At least that is what I am reading on the forums. Very sad.

Something tells me this might blow up into a Kereberos level disaster over the next few days. opc1:

Did I mention I started setting up my miniatures paint set again?

 

[Scott Tortorice]

THIS. THIS is the self-inflicted poison that is ultimately going to kill gaming:

Yep........I dunno, I'm gonna keep playing it till I can get a station and get it running. i assume theres GOT to be some depth somewhere. I never would have even been able to figure out how to play X3 without this community so I assume theres just a lot of unexplained stuff. But man, having to walk in the stations sucks I actually think the voice acting is ok and they at least tried to present the plot in a more normal and overall I think better way, but in all honesty the graphics really arent even that much better. Theres too much clutter and it slows my fps noticeably. Why cant I just right click on my ship in my squadron and tell it to go dock somewhere to stay safe or hell do anything for that matter? Theres software upgrades to be had that can hopefully smooth things out a bit. But so far my heart is squished between this and Rome 2. Either I'm getting old and jaded or theres just something wrong with the way games are made these days. Between Diablo 3, Civ 5, Rome 2, X:R, Gran Turismo 5, Mechwarrior Online (which is actually decent just failed dev promises for new game modes) I really want to just give up video games altogether. Dark Souls 2 may be the last game I ever buy.

I feel your pain, bud.

I will say that this is one of the reasons why I actually like Free to Play. At least we get to try the game in detail before being expected to pay!

EDIT: Thread emoticon updated to reflect reality.

 

[Scott Tortorice]

Yup...it is a Sword of the Stars 2 level fiasco:

http://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/x-rebirth

User score: 4.3.

My initial review was a 5. It was mainly due to poor performance/graphics ratio. In any case. the graphics look like they are from 2006 (except space). Space in this game is awesome though and it is probably the only thing that keeps me interested. But here are objective bad parts of the game:
1. Why is there only one (maybe two) types of female npcs? Moreover its an old hag with saggy boobs who is in tights and speaks in a young schoolgirl voice...wtf? Whenever they try to put some glasses or hats on any of the npcs, they look crooked and out of place...cmon. Moreover, NPCs just stand in stations and ships like statues, not doing anything...immersion breaker.
2. The stations are all pretty much the same (found 3 varieties one of which is the inside of a ship u dock into). The loot that you might find on the stations is always the same and in the same location. Finding anybody in the station feels like a choir and doesn't add anything towards immersion.
3. Poor UI, very poor. Kill it with a spade, stab it in the brain, get rid of it...makes me want to cry.
4. Your companion is annoying...her "Shut up Betty" needs to stop. She needs to be vented out of the ship.
5. The MAP! Just look at this blinking horrible zone/sector/galaxy...ugh...cant call it a map.
6. Bugs. Many of them. I couldn't complete the tutorial when i had to buy and sell some energy cells. At least in X3 AP if NPCs cant do it, you can do it for them. Here though, you cannot do it any other way but through an NPC and when its bugged....cant complete mission.
7. No proper controller support.

Warning: (Tears incoming).
I want to like this game...i really want to, I still cannot believe we all got ripped off so hard. I feel cheated and if i had a chance i would have refunded my game...I would not recommend it to anyone ever and egosoft...I lost all the respect i had for you. Never ever ever i will buy a game from you.
(Tears Over).
Guys, I know i told you to wait for the patches and get it when its on sale...but, now I got to say stay away from it entirely. Do not buy it.

No critical reviews because...no review copies were sent out prior to release. Yeah, that is always a good sign.... :blab:

 

[Nexus6]

I'm almost sorry to say that I tend to give more credence to the negative player reviews on Metacritic than the positive ones, as that site is well-known for its large number of fan boys. That is, glowing reviews posted by people who, suspiciously, have no other reviews posted on Metacritic.

Concerning this game, it never interested me. I never could get in to those Chris Roberts 'Wing Commander' style first person games, which is also why I'm not excited in the least about Star Citizen. In fact I read somewhere in someone's mmo list that Star Citizen is the mmo most likely to attract pervs! :laugh:

 

[Scott Tortorice]

Remember this fiasco of a game? Well, by all accounts it is not so much of a fiasco anymore. The posted reviews at Steam and Metacritic are still negative, but those seem to be carryovers from the disastrous launch. I've been checking out the various forums since the 3.0 mega-patch and now the comments are much more positive. There are still some issues to be sure, mostly concerning AI stuff, but the community is now much more upbeat about the game than they were at launch (and how couldn't they be? ). But even new buyers seem very happy with the game.

Seeing how the next Elite: Dangerous expansion is probably delayed to June, I think I might take a chance on this, especially seeing how you can get a copy on Amazon for $13. :laugh: It would be a real shame if Egosoft did fix the game to a level that delivers on many of its original promises but the game dies a slow death anyway because of the damage done by the inexcusable launch. I hope this taught them a lesson.

Anyhoo, here is an overview of XR at the time of the 3.0 patch (the game recently had another big patch taking it to 3.5, so additional changes came after this). It does look good, I must admit. Sort of like Silent Hunter in space, which is what I was hoping this game was going to be at launch.

[video=youtube;Duj3gFZYEP0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Duj3gFZYEP0[/video]

BTW: found a thread with a posting by one of the devs that said that the team is starting to make a new X game using this same engine, as well as saying that more DLC for XR is a possibility (I suspect it is more than that as a) a good expansion would be a way to try to re-write the Rebirth narrative, and b) Egosoft always loved expansions).

 

[shunwick]

X-Rebirth is indeed much better now than at that disaster of a launch. Egosoft have a bit of a history of releasing buggy games and then fixing them. However, now that Steam are offering refunds they will have to be more careful about prematurely releasing games and they are not the only developer looking at this nervously.

Of course, now they have the option of going Early Access but at least players are then forewarned that they are not buying a completed product.

Best wishes,
Steve