Lowered texture Mod?

[internalmemory]

I am thinking of entering the X-series universe. I am in great need as I have been in great need of a space simulator type game. I've played too many open world games that focus on cities and regions, and swords and magic, and guns, and etc etc - I finally want to step foot into the X universe after learning about it from the Angry Joe Show Army. My biggest concern is that my computer won't be able to run the games. I am not looking at the new game that just came out since I know for a fact my laptop couldn't run it, so rather I am looking at X3 up to X3 Albion's Prelude.

My question which proceeds the purpose of this thread is, just as a precaution, are there any optimization mods for X3 or specifically X3 AP? Any mods that perhaps lower textures or free up resources?

My laptop specs:

AMD Athlon Dual-Core QL-62 2.0 GHz
2.8/3 GB RAM
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium Edition Service Pack 2 (build 6002), 32-bit
GeForce 8200M G video card
NVIDIA High Definition Audio

[builder680]

X uses a lot of RAM and CPU power. Multiple cores don't help, you need speed. A good graphics card helps but graphics can be turned down.

Combined... your slow CPU, less than 4gb of RAM, and mobile onboard graphics card will not give you a great experience in my opinion.

A couple years ago I played this game on a 2.6ghz dual core, 4gb ram, and a Nvidia GTS 250. It was absolutely awful once the game got going due to the high number of ships/jobs being processed, though I could get some decent frames in uncluttered sectors.

Frankly I wouldn't expect too many great things from your setup (even with low graphics settings/mods). Sorry .

[internalmemory]

Hmmm I'm supposing I'm not very surprised lol. There is a reason I prefer consoles over PC. This laptop used to be used for Guild Wars but since then I've stopped playing that and used it for AoE 3 and Total War ME2 + Kingdoms - but now days it's essentially a homework and movie machine where I move it from my house to other places I travel so I can write papers and watch movies.

Would you say the same thing for X2?

Would you have any other alternative for games?

[DrBullwinkle]

are there any optimization mods for X3 or specifically X3 AP? Any mods that perhaps lower textures or free up resources?

You can reduce View Distance, Texture, and Shader Quality under Graphic Settings (in the startup screen).

Yes, I believe that X2 is a bit "lighter" (than X3) on cpu load.

Also, see this post for a list of performance-enhancing mods: Performance Tips

Would you have any other alternative for games?

Have you played Freelancer? It is the last released Chris Roberts game (the father of modern space sims). It is a bit old now (2003) but that is good if you will be playing on a laptop. It is an awesome game, although it lacks the open world sandbox of the X games.

[internalmemory]

Alright, thanks! I'll look into the look of X2 and how that looks. Hopefully the features are not so far different from X2 to X3. I have actually been playing Freelancer abit for the first time this week, I've played it afew times in the past few days, and working on mods for it like I would like to find a texture mod and maybe small additional ships/features mods. I Hate total conversion mods, for any game, ever, all of them. I buy a game to play The game, not a rehash of something someone else made that has it's own bugs and rebalances that 90% of the time make a game ultimately more buggy and harder.

Even though according to the requirements to X3, do you think I could run it? Or could I run it with the performance mods and lowest graphical settings? I'd like to get a foothold down on this game before I make any radical purchases.

[DrBullwinkle]

the-Starport.net is the place to go for Freelancer info. You can make some kinds of modifications yourself, which may suit you better than major mods.

I Hate total conversion mods, for any game, ever, all of them. I buy a game to play The game, not a rehash of something someone else made that has it's own bugs and rebalances that 90% of the time make a game ultimately more buggy and harder.

Good summary.

could I run X3 with the performance mods and lowest graphical settings?

Hmmm.... X3 works on many machines that cannot play more modern games. It is not terribly graphics intensive, so it may work on your (non-onboard) graphics card. Your memory is a bit light at 3GB. If you can find cheap enough memory then 4GB would help you with anything you do on the computer.

Cooling is often troublesome for gaming on laptops. A small fan that blows across top and bottom of your laptop may cool it better than fancier "laptop coolers" (most of which blow air in the wrong direction).

If I had to guess, I would guess that a computer that can run Vista adequately should be able to run X3 on Low or Medium settings.

Maybe.

You may be able to get the SuperBox on Steam at a reasonable price. It goes on sale periodically. The SuperBox includes XBTF, X2, X3R, X3TC, and X3AP. That would allow you to experiment with the various games at a substantial discount.

[internalmemory]

Lol yeah, when I look for mods I look for just additional things to the base game - like for instance of this - additional ships, maybe more items/weapons, untexture mods, maybe customization add-ons. Nothing that changes the story or map too much or the "universe" of the game.

and I'm hoping I can play this game decently, even if I have to play on ultra low resolution lol I will try. With most likely textures on the lowest and medium draw distance just so I don't accidentally fly into asteroids or something.

Thanks, I haven't had a steam account in ages though. What would you guess the price is? Or can I check without making a new account?

[DrBullwinkle]

Steam is required for Albion Prelude (AP) (which is the game that you really want to play) so there is no way around Steam; at least for validating the app. You can play the game with a No-Steam .exe (see the Downloads page in the left panel of this forum), but you need Steam to complete the installation.

You can shop the SteamPowered.com site before you get an account. It looks as though standard price for SuperBox (all X games except Rebirth) is $40(US) and the GoldBox (X3R, X3TC, and X3AP) is $25. If you are patient, they go on sale periodically. I have seen discounts as deep as 50-75%, but you will have to watch for them.

[internalmemory]

Sounds perfect lol. I'm pretty confident I should be able to play X2. I was just watching some of it on youtube and it looks pretty simple with graphics and effects and sounds also. I just hope the game doesn't lack too much on features and ship choices, etc.