Game start suggestion: super mega nightmare mode.

[Zetoss]

Started XR for the first time in a long while yesterday but was turned off in less than 30 seconds by the prospect of either having enormous resources served on a silver plate from the start or doing the main story all over again for the Nth time. Stopped playing all X3 games the moment XR arrived so maybe my memory is fuzzy but wasn't there at least Some pretty brutal game start to choose from back then?

I'd love to get dropped in a lowest possible tier Skunk deep in hostile space so that every minute for the first hour is just a struggle not to get blown away and build my empire from that unlikely survival instead, after gaining a bit of trust from any faction with a shipyard since many of the big shots thought I was at the heart of the recent mess and set my rep to -10. There is no sense of accomplishment in being granted a whole bunch of resources right from the start and smoothsailin' it to the top, feels like a hollow victory without pride. Not that getting a few billion takes more than a handful hours but getting to the point of making that profit accessible leaves a sweet sense of "wow I'm made of awesomesauce" that lingers until the end.

Honestly not really super into X:R after 2000 hours spent, just need a quick 3 week fix of space games to survive until X4 comes out a couple of years after the sun burns out. Also would love to see a similar game mode in X4, so this is a wish for both the current and future X universes that my distant descendants may enjoy.

[Santi]

Totally agree, and the reason I rate X Rebirth in the easy category together with X3 AP.

I have very fond memories of doing trade runs with a mostly unarmed trade vessel in X2 and the certainty that if 2 pirates fighters intercept me, I was toast. Total loss, not only of ship, but of the majority of my money invested in valuable cargo too.

There is nothing wrong by being obliterated by everyone at the start of a game like the X series when there is such a scope to grow overpowerfull.

[birdtable]

Totally agree again .... If you can have different starts ranging from "easy" to " everything gifted" why can there not be a true challenge.... Not the "Hard" at present just shoot for longer with weaker weaponry but the testing choices that were in X3 Terran Conflict ..... Give people millions and millions if that is what they want but don't forget those that don't.
I remember when Observe first brought out Transcend for Rebirth there were complaints it was too aggressive,, which is fine if you enjoy the trade side of the game and a fair comment but instead of being given an alternative the aggression was removed altogether.
I enjoy the aggression and the trade but I want to be challenged, to get a sense of true accomplishment not be pandered to ... If we can have easy peasy gameplay why not the opposite.
There is a vast array of mods that make it easier/cheats so why make the vanilla game easy as well.

EDIT ... and not just the first hour,,, the whole game.

[RAVEN.myst]

It should come as no surprise to any of the regulars here that I agree 200%! (We're both Geminis - so why can't we EACH cast a vote?! ) The tougher the start (and the game in general, from that very first point onward) the more satisfaction we both get from it... And we're very happy to see that we're not alone! (besides each other, that is.)

EDIT: PS: Zetoss, thank you for bringing this up, and thus hopefully drawing some attention to it.

[GCU Grey Area]

Also agree - some of my favourite starts from previous X games were the ones where you were pretty much shoot on sight for most of the major factions (e.g. Khaak Invader, Enemy of the State). Thing which IMO really holds back that style of gameplay in XR is the lack of of fully developed pirate factions with which the player can trade their stolen goods, upgrade their ship, hire marines, etc, at least in vanilla. CWIR mod played as a Heretic Vanguard does have some possibilities in this regard, though the player still starts with far too much stuff IMO (immediate suicide mission for all free ships is my usual solution for this problem).

[spankahontis]

All for more Pirates and more Faction hostility but I find that the problem is there is nothing that increasing numbers or even a new Game Start would change when Stations are indestructible.


If they have to, restore partially the 'God Engine' like CWIR has done.
Allot more interesting when the universe changes.
God Engine can be an option in the menu, for those that want it.

[Nikola515]

I think survival mod would be better idea

Item drop- Missiles/mods for skunk have extremely small drop chance.

Shops&Prices- All weapons,shields,missiles and drones are extremely expensive.

New crafting- We should be able to drones and missiles.

Usable items- Items that can temporally boost ship stats. Something like stealth,fix hull, recharge shields, improve damage by %, add weapon stats (fire,ion,cut rough shields), 30s unlimited weapon cooling,30s unlimited boost....

Brutal Economy- Discounts are small and had to come by (for player stations). Also your trading is based on your reputations (if you are spacedick nobody will trade with you and if you are natural you will get some traffic but not as much if you have good reputation.

Get rid of highways- Travel would be harder and it would take more time to get somewhere.

Adding more enemy or making them stronger is not the answer to make game harder. I think Fallout 4 did awesome job all though they should cut time when it comes to eating and drinking.

[Zetoss]

While a "survival mode" somewhat similar to the one added to Fallout 4 would certainly please some players I'd be incredibly firmly opposed to it being declared as a "hardest difficulty" since it turns the game into a tedious "maintenance simulator" where one needs to perform endless mind numbing repetitive tasks. Being a fanatic X games and Bethsoft Fallout games player with thousands of hours played in several of them I see merit in Nikolas suggestion not as a difficulty setting but a separate mode in itself, I'm a little unclear if that's specifically what's suggested but it wouldn't hurt to have the option for those so inclined. I love insane challenges that 99% of players would never want to even try but the prospect of having to tend to thousands of pointless little actions that automated systems could do for me would detract enormously from the joy of taking on a staggering challenge and just focusing on enjoying the thrill and reward. Likewise I absolutely abhor the thought of being able to use more "consumables", missile ammo is the limit of what I can stomach in the department of using consumables to gain an edge. Unsurprisingly I played 1000 hours of Survival in Fallout 4 but quit back to Very Hard because it just annoyed me having to do boring stuff and the combat was ridiculously easy, however I've not used a stimpak or chem since... I can't even remember, I normally never use such pride slaughtering cheats unless somehow quest required or while trying to learn how a game works. I even forget they exist, who in their right mind uses power armor and stimpaks against a mere dozen super mutant warlords?

Getting back to it, "no highways" wouldn't add challenge, just make the game plain insufferably dull, can't get on board with that concept in any way really. Also impossible to properly integrate in story mode without changing a bunch of events and conversations.

TL;DR: Consumables and other altered functions of the game = not bad idea but in a very clearly separate mode disconnected from difficulty in itself. Also thread is still about game starts in particular, not changing any of them but just adding one extra. Also sorry for being overly chatty.