X3R + X3TC + X3AP ---or--- X3R; X3TC; X3AP?

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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Belphegorn
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X3R + X3TC + X3AP ---or--- X3R; X3TC; X3AP?

Post by Belphegorn » Mon, 10. Nov 14, 17:15

Hi,

I'd like to play the X3 games but I don't know if X3 Reunion, X3 Terran Conflict and X3 Albion Prelude are all stand alone titles or do they install into the same folder. The reviews and descriptions say they "add a lot of content" so I assume they are all ONE game and each add-on enriches the world with new features but I may be wrong. Could you please explain if those games are separate or do they all make a grand X3 Experience when installed together.

Thank you!

Alan Phipps
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Post by Alan Phipps » Mon, 10. Nov 14, 17:21

X3:R and X3:TC are separate games that happen to use developing variants of the same game engine. X3:AP is an expansion of X3:TC that uses many of the same base gamefiles with an extra addon folder of new files but it plays as if a separate game to X3:TC. Each of the three games uses a different save, profile and screenshot folder to those of the others.

There is a limited lore and story progression through these games, but play of the previous titles is not at all essential.

I hope that helps.
Last edited by Alan Phipps on Mon, 10. Nov 14, 17:23, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by CBJ » Mon, 10. Nov 14, 17:23

To all intents and purposes they are three separate games. They have different plots, each game builds on the last in terms of features, and their savegames are not compatible with one another. Note that X3AP requires X3TC because it is an "add-on" and shares a lot of the same assets, but it's still separate in all the ways mentioned above.

Edit: Alan beat me to it!

Belphegorn
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Post by Belphegorn » Mon, 10. Nov 14, 17:30

Thank you for quick responses! So if I wanted to create my private space empire and do not worry too much about plots and focus on content (ships, stations, etc) instead which one of the three do you think I should play? :)

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X2-Illuminatus
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Post by X2-Illuminatus » Mon, 10. Nov 14, 18:18

X3AP, as it offers the biggest amount of sectors, ships and stations.
Nun verfügbar! X3: Farnham's Legacy - Ein neues Kapitel für einen alten Favoriten

Die komplette X-Roman-Reihe jetzt als Kindle E-Books! (Farnhams Legende, Nopileos, X3: Yoshiko, X3: Hüter der Tore, X3: Wächter der Erde)

Neuauflage der fünf X-Romane als Taschenbuch

The official X-novels Farnham's Legend, Nopileos, X3: Yoshiko as Kindle e-books!

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oddible
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Post by oddible » Mon, 10. Nov 14, 22:53

On this forum, most people recommend starting with TC, then playing AP, skipping R. Often people recommend just playing AP for some of the improvements and installing the mod that lets you play the TC plots in AP and playing that first. TC has more and better plots than AP. But the AP plots follow the TC plots so you want to play a full playthrough of the TC plots then restart the game playing the AP plots.

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Post by daniel001 » Tue, 11. Nov 14, 01:13

oddible wrote:TC has more and better plots than AP.
Problem is, TC has the Hub-Plot, which you must complete partially to get Access to the last third of the Game Plots.

Wasting dozens of RL Hours into this single Questline (which basically turns down to a simple "gather horrendous amounts of a few Ressources) is just a waste of time when you can play Albion Prelude instead.

Musicker
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Post by Musicker » Tue, 11. Nov 14, 01:40

Please note: The above is an opinion not held by all, or possibly even a majority of the people who enjoy this genre. Some (many, if I may be so bold) enjoy a challenge, and yes.. gathering together massive amounts of resources to achieve a goal, is a challenge. Not the kind of challenge all people enjoy, but some people do look at it as an obstacle to be overcome to achieve the end result. I am one of those. I have completed the entire X3:TC Hub plot 3 times in my playthroughs and never regretted a single hour spent.

Just sayin. :P
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Sabrina Bergin
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Post by Sabrina Bergin » Tue, 11. Nov 14, 01:54

Musicker I commend you, yes the hub requirements are a chore but they can be ignored or rather completed in the background as it were whilst one constructs an empire that will provide you with multiple options in how you play the game. Having said that it is not a chore I would have undertaken three times in a row.

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Post by DrBullwinkle » Tue, 11. Nov 14, 01:59

It is worth mentioning that TCAP - Terran Conflict plots for Albion Prelude (dillpickle) offers a superior way to play the plots of TC while enjoying the improved gameplay of AP.

As a bonus, some of the missions are improved, including options to TC's Hub plot so that it can be played in a way that is enjoyable for all players.
  • Fine Print Department: TCAP will mark your game modified. However, you gain more than you sacrifice by making that tradeoff.

    Probably. ;)

    YMMV

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DiArmada
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Post by DiArmada » Tue, 11. Nov 14, 11:03

Belphegorn wrote: if I wanted to create my private space empire and focus on content (ships, stations, etc), which one of the three do you think I should play?
X games in general are great for people who like to do their own thing.
you can put the story line missions off until you're ready for them, if ever.
in some X games I didn't play the story line at all. (X2)
since X3;Reunion it's possible to connect stations together in a complex.
but large crystalfabs were introduced in X3;TC, making things much easier.
so if you're mostly interested in stations and ships I'ld recommend TC or AP.
Last edited by DiArmada on Wed, 12. Nov 14, 00:26, edited 1 time in total.

Belphegorn
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Post by Belphegorn » Tue, 11. Nov 14, 17:14

So, if I start "an empire" in TC and at some point after finishing TC's plots decide to move to AP, will my empire prevail or will I be starting from scratch?

:( You say it's an add-on so YES, but it has separate launcher so NO.. (?)

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Post by X2-Illuminatus » Tue, 11. Nov 14, 17:17

You can't use X3TC saves in X3AP.
Nun verfügbar! X3: Farnham's Legacy - Ein neues Kapitel für einen alten Favoriten

Die komplette X-Roman-Reihe jetzt als Kindle E-Books! (Farnhams Legende, Nopileos, X3: Yoshiko, X3: Hüter der Tore, X3: Wächter der Erde)

Neuauflage der fünf X-Romane als Taschenbuch

The official X-novels Farnham's Legend, Nopileos, X3: Yoshiko as Kindle e-books!

CBJ
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Post by CBJ » Tue, 11. Nov 14, 17:36

Belphegorn wrote:So, if I start "an empire" in TC and at some point after finishing TC's plots decide to move to AP, will my empire prevail or will I be starting from scratch?

:( You say it's an add-on so YES, but it has separate launcher so NO.. (?)
No. As I said very clearly in my first reply:
CBJ wrote:...their savegames are not compatible with one another.

Belphegorn
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Post by Belphegorn » Tue, 11. Nov 14, 17:56

:lol: Sorry, gotcha! Thanks again.

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TTD
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Post by TTD » Tue, 11. Nov 14, 23:08

s/m has a save converter for Reunion to TC, but not TC to AP.

That is why many use the tc for AP mod

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