X3R and later X3TC - Starting out advice please

General discussions about the games by Egosoft including X-BTF, XT, X², X³: Reunion, X³: Terran Conflict and X³: Albion Prelude.

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orangeslices
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X3R and later X3TC - Starting out advice please

Post by orangeslices » Sun, 22. Apr 18, 03:45

Hi,

I'm new to X3.
I've just started up X3 Reunion.
I'm waiting to start X3 Terran Conflict.

May I kindly request the correct forum to ask the following:

Where or How do I learn how to Fly and Trade? I've started the Tutorial but I'm getting blasted (oh it's called Simulator). I started the "Humble Merchant".

Many thanks,

"Orangeslices" :)

Alan Phipps
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Post by Alan Phipps » Sun, 22. Apr 18, 11:52

Hi and welcome. You need the X Trilogy Universe forum which is for gameplay topics for the X games up to but excluding X Rebirth. I'm moving your thread across now.

When asking for advice, it helps if you name the X game you are playing in the thread title so I have done that too.
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Post by NewtSoup » Sun, 22. Apr 18, 14:27

If you are on the humble merchant start then you have an Argon Mercury ship which is a transporter and an Argon Discoverer which is a light fighter.


You'll have started in Argon Prime too.

First thing tell the discoverer to dock at the equipment dock in argon prime where you are.

To do this press R to bring up your property list and then click on the discoverer and then select Command (C) and go to the Navigation menu and you'll work it out from there. - - I think you may be in the Discoverer to start with - if this is the case just dock both ships at the same station so you can change ships to the mercury. You can do this by finding the ship you want to switch do in your property list, go to "Advanced" and then "Change Ships"

Once docked, sell the weapons and the shields, then move the Discoverer to the Shipyard and sell that too. This will give you a chunk of cash you can start trading with.

Next dock your Mercury at the equipment station and buy all the engine tuning and all the rudder tuning. Don't buy cargo extensions, you can't afford them yet, wait until you build up more cash.

While you're there buy a Duplex Scanner for good measure and a trading system extension.

Now undock from the station and then fly through the east gate to "The Wall"

In this sector are two Solar Power Plants. With your trading system extension you can see the prices of wares at stations without having to dock. You want to dock at a power plant with cheap energy cellls - cheap means 14cr or less. Energy cell prices range from 12cr to 20cr. You want to buy cheap and sell expensive. Dock at one of the Power Plants and fill up with energy cells.

Now you can check the other stations in the sector - to begin with you're going to need to fly towards every station until it gets a box around it so you can "Map" the sector and it's jump gates. You only have to do this once though. Once you have done this anytime you are in this sector you can view the prices on any wares at stations.

See if there's a station buying energy cells at 17 cr or better, dock at it and sell the whole lot.

Congrats, you've just started trading.

To start with, stick to energy cells until you get a feel for how it all works.
Remember, flying a transporter craft is a bit slow so don't be afraid to press J to activate your SETA - basically this makes the game run faster so you spend less time waiting while you fly about.

Good luck!
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Sinxar
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Post by Sinxar » Sun, 22. Apr 18, 20:33

First and foremost, read the manual! Not even joking. I know most games these days don't have a manual but the X3 series does, and is full of required information.

http://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steam ... nglish.pdf


Now this next one is for X3TC but a lot of it applies to Reunion. Really though, I recommend you play Terran Conflict as it is much more refined than Reunion.

Here is an old TC series with general gameplay tutorials: https://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?t=297924

Its pretty old but the game has not received any content updates since then so it is still relevant.

Just as a heads up, this game series requires some effort on your part. It is a complex game that takes a while to 'get'. Once you do though you will wonder why so much time has passed without you noticing.

Welcome to the X series!

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Post by DrSuperEvil » Mon, 23. Apr 18, 12:33

In X3; Reunion the weapon system is very different from TC and AP so you may find things confusing when you first play the other game.

Aim to save 501k credits so you can buy the Trade Command Software Mk3 from a Teladi equipment dock. This software allows you to automate your traders freeing up the player ship to do other tasks like fighting. From the humble merchant start the nearest Teladi sector is to the up and right.

Consider getting a Docking Computer equipment from a Paranid equipment dock since it allows for faster docking.

In Reunion aim to improve reputation with the Split since they sell cheap fast ships with good weapon compatabilities.

modernrocko
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Post by modernrocko » Mon, 23. Apr 18, 21:23

One thing to keep in mind with the X3 games is that there is no definitive "end of the game" - the game will continue for as long as you continue to play it.

I've only recently started playing Albion Prelude after playing Reunion for a long time a number of years ago. and I have to admit that I think AP is vastly improved over Reunion in many different ways. The only thing I really miss from Reunion is the bulletin board system on stations, there was a lot of flavor text there and other interesting bits of information or missions. Having said that, the mission system in AP feels much more streamlined and user-friendly than the older BBS system, so perhaps I miss it more for nostalgia than anything else.

Other features of AP compared to R seem vastly superior and much improved. The game itself is generally easier to approach from a new player standpoint because money seems to be easier to come by if you take advantage of things like the Stock Exchanges. There also seem to be less pirate patrols near home Argon sectors than before--I remember in Reunion having to constantly beat back the Pirate sectors surrounding Elena's Fortune because they would repeatedly chase after any of my traders passing near to those sectors. In AP these sectors seem to be mostly clear of hostiles, but perhaps that's just GoD doing its thing in this playthrough.

AP introduces a whole slew of new ships and weapons, as well as a "new" race (being vague here so as not to spoil anything just in case), and lots of new sectors to check out. Many systems have been revamped, and there are several new systems like marine boarding for capturing capital ships which I don't remember being in Reunion (but perhaps I overlooked it).

The reason I bring all of this up is because if you're something of a completionist like I am, you won't stop playing X3:Reunion until you feel you've completed the game and done everything. With X3, this isn't really possible. There's always one more ship to buy or one more sector to take over. If you're like me, you'll only stop playing when you get bored or move on to a different game, in which case you'll be missing out on all of the goodies in TC/AP.

For these reasons, I highly recommend that you finish cutting your teeth on Reunion and then move to one of the newer versions like TC or AP once you feel you understand the game's mechanics. If you stay on Reunion forever you'll be denying yourself all those fancy new toys. Just a thought. :)

Welcome to the X universe! Hope you enjoy your stay.

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Post by jlehtone » Mon, 23. Apr 18, 21:30

DrSuperEvil wrote:In X3; Reunion the weapon system is very different from TC and AP
:? X2 weapon system is different from X3, but X3R system is very similar to X3TC/AP, IMHO.
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DrSuperEvil
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Post by DrSuperEvil » Tue, 24. Apr 18, 02:40

Alpha, Beta and Gamma everything say otherwise. In reunion hyperion can use gamma PSGs and split dragon has beta PPC compatibility. Lets not forget the fancy range of the gamma PBEs. In TC/AP most weapons were overhauled.

Honved
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Post by Honved » Tue, 24. Apr 18, 18:28

If starting out as a Humble Trader in TC, there are two radically different approaches to playing as a non-violent merchant/explorer.

A - sell the Discoverer to pay for a couple of Engine Tunings, and try to buy a load of Ore from any mine in your starting sector with a nearly full stockpile of it, and sell it at a profit to a factory which uses it but is almost out of it. Once you can afford Trade Extension software, you'll be able to see actual prices, but at the start you can just go by the length of the bars to see if it's plentiful and cheap or rare and expensive at that station.

Note that Trade Stations, Equipment Docks, and Military Bases all buy and sell at Average price, so they're generally not great places to rake in a profit, but if you pick up something cheaply that nobody then seems to want to buy, at least you can often unload it there for a small gain.

B - sell the Mercury to pay for upgrades for the Discoverer, including a Mineral Scanner and a pair of Impulse Ray Emitters (purchased QUICKLY, because they usually sell out in Argon Prime after the first couple of hours), and then take Mineral Scan missions and Station Defense contracts (where the local police will eventually show up to toast the offenders, so you win without actually firing a shot). Note that some missions require special equipment, like Cargo Life Support to take "taxi" missions, or a TP class ship (Transport, Passenger) if the mission giver requires "transport" or passage "suitable" for his or her status.

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Post by siddham » Tue, 24. Apr 18, 23:15

A couple of people above have advised playing Terran Conflict or Albion Prelude instead of Reunion - I just want to say I agree with them

I am playing Reunion at the moment because I am following the X universe story from the first game - so it's a completionist thing for me.
But if you are not playing for the X storyline (which most agree is not the greatest story ever told) then Terran Conflict or Albion Prelude are a lot more developed and refined with a greatly improve GUI. Also the going is generally easier in the beginning; getting a foothold in Reunion is very slow to begin.


If you do play Reunion complete the first mission given by Ban Dana and then go explore and learn how to play the game.
Earn some money and rank with the races so you can get access to a decent and properly equipped ship before continuing on with the missions.

I found the best way to begin is to trade silicon and when you have enough cash built up trade some weapons.
You can sell infinite amounts of a weapon to an equipment dock that does not itself offer the weapon.
Lay down a network of satellites so you can monitor stocks remotely in the sectors you are working in.
Eventually you will be able to trade remotely by controlling freight ships

Oh, and read the manual and a lot of guides; there is a thread full of them above.

Finally be patient - the X games are fundamentally sandbox games

Also they are not arcade dogfighting simulators - just in case you are expecting something like that

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