X4: Cradle of Humanity (Release Date March 16, 2021, 6pm CET; Livestream at 5pm CET)

[Gavrushka]

New pirate faction! Oh, boy! I only had half my small trading company waffle-stomped out of existence by current marauding pirates and Xenon shortly after officially having a stable revenue source. Can't wait!

You know how delicate it is to balance between players who do not have enough to shoot at, the players that are already shot at more than enough, and the players that ... (gosh, there are so many fundamentally different viewpoints).

Most of us presumably agree that more of the same is not necessary and the new acquaintances should have novel stomp routines.

The issue with pirates isn't that there's too many of them. It's that they're impossible to defend against once you build an empire. Their effect is a permanent running cost on the business with damage that has to be manually fixed up over time. There's no simple way to check what damage they've done and which means that stations need continual checking to make sure they've enough ships to operate well enough.

The game has some police functions, we should be able to have a strong police force that actively scans for pirates and brings in local patrols to destroy them if the pirate is discovered.

I agree that there has to be a more proactive approach to dealing with pirates, but there is a simple way to check what you've lost. (I had to turn off pirate harassment notifications as there could be as many as 4 or 5 in a minute.) - Anyhow, if you go to your logbook, and search with the word 'destroyed' all the red entries stack, showing what you've lost and when, interspersed with lost stations from all factions too.) The losses aren't huge, but certain factories and sectors seem to be perennial hotspots, making targeting a response a little easier.

Does eliminating pirate bases stop the threat, or is this an element of X4 which spawns rather than simulates?

[Raptor34]

You know how delicate it is to balance between players who do not have enough to shoot at, the players that are already shot at more than enough, and the players that ... (gosh, there are so many fundamentally different viewpoints).

Most of us presumably agree that more of the same is not necessary and the new acquaintances should have novel stomp routines.

The issue with pirates isn't that there's too many of them. It's that they're impossible to defend against once you build an empire. Their effect is a permanent running cost on the business with damage that has to be manually fixed up over time. There's no simple way to check what damage they've done and which means that stations need continual checking to make sure they've enough ships to operate well enough.

The game has some police functions, we should be able to have a strong police force that actively scans for pirates and brings in local patrols to destroy them if the pirate is discovered.

I agree that there has to be a more proactive approach to dealing with pirates, but there is a simple way to check what you've lost. (I had to turn off pirate harassment notifications as there could be as many as 4 or 5 in a minute.) - Anyhow, if you go to your logbook, and search with the word 'destroyed' all the red entries stack, showing what you've lost and when, interspersed with lost stations from all factions too.) The losses aren't huge, but certain factories and sectors seem to be perennial hotspots, making targeting a response a little easier.

Does eliminating pirate bases stop the threat, or is this an element of X4 which spawns rather than simulates?

SCA are spawns. Personally I just set global orders to comply and set up treasure ships as bait. We need more data tbh, so we can actually check what is better.

[Y-llian]

The game has some police functions, we should be able to have a strong police force that actively scans for pirates and brings in local patrols to destroy them if the pirate is discovered.

Agreed. I'd even be in favour of having to build police ships and assign them to a police system. Most of us tend to use the treasure ship system which means we're de facto building a police force anyway. Raptor34 is right, we do need more data. Also, from what I've read in other threads, some players argue that a true pirate style play isn't as well developed as it could be. I've dabbled with this, had quite a bit of fun, but I always gravitate back to my old love of empire building and it's here, that those pesky pirates are like a never ending parade of mosquito bites.

[Raptor34]

The game has some police functions, we should be able to have a strong police force that actively scans for pirates and brings in local patrols to destroy them if the pirate is discovered.

Agreed. I'd even be in favour of having to build police ships and assign them to a police system. Most of us tend to use the treasure ship system which means we're de facto building a police force anyway. Raptor34 is right, we do need more data. Also, from what I've read in other threads, some players argue that a true pirate style play isn't as well developed as it could be. I've dabbled with this, had quite a bit of fun, but I always gravitate back to my old love of empire building and it's here, that those pesky pirates are like a never ending parade of mosquito bites.

Just to clarify I was specifically talking about data regarding how much I lose when just complying with pirates vs. needing to replace ships.
But honestly I think one of the problems with pirates currently is how obvious they are, I think player's reasoning is that if I can just skim a list and easily scan and reveal pirates then obviously the AI should do the same, which while more realistically you wouldn't have the very obvious HOP Pillager Behemoth Sentinel showing up, instead you'll have the perfectly innocent PAR Courier Tethys Sentinel/Gorgon Sentinel which all scans indicate they are perfectly innocent ships. Except they are carrying a full load of Ion Blasters which they really shouldn't have. Even better if you have new weapons which are optimized for piracy, stuff that could slow you down or disrupt shields/weapons.
I have made a suggestion here before viewtopic.php?f=146&t=427976&p=4961042& ... e#p4961042 and someone does make a good point that it is very WIP feeling atm. Well, they work at least, I have had pirate ships sell stuff to me before, a Behemoth Sentinel coming in to dock with my aux ship to sell me stuff, too bad it was a Xenon gate and since I was IS I think it got blown up before it can do stuff. So SCA pirates do act as pirates rather than FAF terrorists.

[phrozen1]

About the "reward"-statement in the gamescom stream (at about 17min):

I don't get it? Why don't give the player meaningful reward for the missions?
It also in the Split Vendeta missions where you invest huge amounts of credits and get almost nothing for it.
(Sometimes the missions even have negative economical outcomes because of faction and relation-changes.)
It doesn't need to be a special ship but for example positive impacts on the economy.

Am I the only one dreaming of planet-hub-stations?

But anyway. This statement sounds like you don't want to reward the player for his time-investment on purpose.

[palm911]

i am not very pleased with the new terran fighters seem in the video ,m i can see those large wings clipping with a lot of things.

do hope aTF is back, and th3eir ship designs does not disappoint

the tokio like ship, is Meh. looks good but not even close to take my breath away as it was done with the split capital ships

[mr.WHO]

i am not very pleased with the new terran fighters seem in the video ,m i can see those large wings clipping with a lot of things.
do hope aTF is back, and th3eir ship designs does not disappoint

Egosoft said that there wil be two new factions, so no ATF.
However one silver/mettalic asymatric fighter has some subtle ATF vibes.

the tokio like ship, is Meh. looks good but not even close to take my breath away as it was done with the split capital ships

Judging by the size, amount of turrets and only one small docking pad - this is clearly an L-size freighter or miner - it' very questionable that Egosoft put freighter as a poster ship, but probably other ships are not ready yet (other that Kyoto looking destroyer - to me much better choice for poster ship).

[Axeface]

Egosoft said that there wil be two new factions, so no ATF.
However one silver/mettalic asymatric fighter has some subtle ATF vibes.

The fighters definitely have an ATF vibe, not in the shape, but in the details - the large indented areas with a darker accent are very much like atf textures from X3. I think these fighters are what we are going to get, and both factions are going to use the same ships.
I also think its a freighter not the Kyoto. Or, it could be their aux ship.

[mr.WHO]

I also think its a freighter not the Kyoto. Or, it could be their aux ship.

Nope, it's not Aux ship because it has only one small docking pad - in gameplay trailer you can see Asymetric fighter docking to it - unles that fighter is actually the M-size, this make this ship an L-size and relatively small.
Actually you can see the small docking pad on that Destroyer looking ship and it's much smaller in relation to ship hull.

[Raptor34]

I also think its a freighter not the Kyoto. Or, it could be their aux ship.

Nope, it's not Aux ship because it has only one small docking pad - in gameplay trailer you can see Asymetric fighter docking to it - unles that fighter is actually the M-size, this make this ship an L-size and relatively small.
Actually you can see the small docking pad on that Destroyer looking ship and it's much smaller in relation to ship hull.

Well, its the MMBS obviously, which was once a TL. Maybe if we are lucky it will be a new CV, otherwise just a L Transporter.
How did the MMBS work back then anyway? Was it basically the Terran Mammoth for all intents and purposes? I mean stuff like players can hire NPC ones and build stations and all the other stuff NPC Mammoths do for the Argon.

[mr.WHO]

Well, its the MMBS obviously, which was once a TL. Maybe if we are lucky it will be a new CV, otherwise just a L Transporter.

How much you want to bet on that Terrans will use vanilla CV model?
Split CV don't have unique model.

I hate to say it, but if Egosoft have problems with CV then we really can't expect to have TWO ship sets for Terran factions.
At best it will be like in Split Vendetta where ZYA had most of ships, while FRF had just 2-3 unique ships and raider variants.

[Raptor34]

Well, its the MMBS obviously, which was once a TL. Maybe if we are lucky it will be a new CV, otherwise just a L Transporter.

How much you want to bet on that Terrans will use vanilla CV model?
Split CV don't have unique model.

I hate to say it, but if Egosoft have problems with CV then we really can't expect to have TWO ship sets for Terran factions.
At best it will be like in Split Vendetta where ZYA had most of ships, while FRF had just 2-3 unique ships and raider variants.

Not if they combine an L Transport with the CV. Or would it be an XL Transport? Come to think of it I don't think I've even seen what my CVs look like when working. But I figure they just send drones out.

[Shehriazad]

So am I right to assume that there'll be no big/moderate patch anymore until 4.0 (or a beta a few weeks before that) hits us?

Itching for new stuff and with "end of the year" actually not be insanely far off I'm wondering if this is gonna be a dry span

[Falcrack]

So am I right to assume that there'll be no big/moderate patch anymore until 4.0 (or a beta a few weeks before that) hits us?

Itching for new stuff and with "end of the year" actually not be insanely far off I'm wondering if this is gonna be a dry span

I bet they have a couple incremental patches before 4.0 arrives.

[mr.WHO]

Not really - there is ony 3 months if they aim for Christmass time release.
3.0 was beta for nearly 3 months, so they should roll 4.0 beta in October.

[tomchk]

Not really - there is ony 3 months if they aim for Christmass time release.
3.0 was beta for nearly 3 months, so they should roll 4.0 beta in October.

AMA said probably not BY October, but that could mean not before October ... ? Hopefully it'll be in October or at least early November!

[Shehriazad]

Eh a Beta patch in October would be cool...but I still kinda doubt it? I mean I can only "win" if I'm wrong so I wouldn't mind being wrong.
I mean 4.0 and DLC are separate entities, anyway...I still have this looming feeling of the next DLC being a christmas present and not a Halloween spook

[palm911]

so here is a question :

what about the posibility of relocation HQ? that was initially promised for 3.0 ? do you guys think it will be possible to see that feature at 4.0 ?


i can think of something very easy, see what they did with the venture module? i can just be dismantled and rebuilt using the limit module, and wherever the science module goes . the boron and the argon guy goes. XD

[Raevyan]

so here is a question :

what about the posibility of relocation HQ? that was initially promised for 3.0 ? do you guys think it will be possible to see that feature at 4.0 ?

We probably will never see that feature.

I’d also like to see them actually fixing the god damn game before adding new half baked poorly implemented new features. Some mechanics are still not working since Rebirth/X4 release. Sure new features sound great at first but the more you play the more problems become visible to you. Almost every aspect of the game is riddled with bugs. They should really stop adding features and go fix them and completely overhaul the whole AI...

[palm911]

We probably will never see that feature.

i am sure it will, they promised it . they will do it.

egosoft is a great company , they stick with their games. also , this one is also a very complex game, what i can say is i have seen non stop improvements since launch.

since is a single player game , in my books i can have more patience than a game that could be abused by others in multiplayer.