We are so used to what X4 actually does that's amazing...

[Socratatus]

I guess we end up taking it for granted, but what wowed me when I first started X4 (and still does somewhat) was starting on FOOT and looking at a spaceship of my own, which looked huge (little did I know it was a tiny ship) and then being able to walk into it and sit in the cockpit BY MYSELF all in one smooth go.

Then being able to even take off and manouever my own way out of the base and away.

Or deciding to check out the bigger ships and being kidnapped into space- lol! You never forget that.!

let's not even start on being able to stick my own pics customisation which I also really appreciate, now my ship is MINE! hah.

Then having a huge galaxy with separate AI factions all doing its own thing without me. I don't matter... unless I get involved.

I mean No Man's Sky comes close to this, I guess, but X4 feels a lot more realistic.

These are INNOVATIVE, new, different, trying to push the boundaries of what home pcs can do. And how funny to think they're about 6 years old and better at depicting space exploration than a AAA game I could mention today.

I do appreciate games like this.

[GCU Grey Area]

Agree completely.

Still remember my first few hours of X4, starting in Black Hole Sun & not having a clue about where to go, picked a direction at random & headed west, doing odd jobs for the stations I passed along the way. Eventually stumbled into PAR territory & got myself a Gorgon. Not wanting to leave my starter ship behind decided the first thing I should do was dock it on the Gorgon.

The sense of scale when I left that Elite & strolled out onto the dock of that Gorgon was something of a shock - walked all round the Elite & then checked the external view of the Gorgon, with a tiny little Elite docked on the back of it (& an even tinier human figure standing next to it). Never got that sense of scale from the old games. Adds so much to immersion. Actually feel like a pilot in X4, rather than a sentient spaceship (which incidentally was the main reason I chose this user name all those years ago).

[Omni-Orb]

It is still amazing even after 10000 hours, only just now started and finished the plots and started building space stations.

Egosoft seems to be doing good as well and its called the foundations, so I'm guessing more good for us in the future.

Like you say the sense of scale in this game is amazing it is with me in my perspective of the world knowing space from documentaries and wiki/google earth.
This game is funny in how it measures distance and speed and makes my imagination of space richer.

[Alan Phipps]

I think what is amazing is that the X games encourage real gameplay enjoyment in the immersion and playing, and (for me at least) not so much in the [speed of gaining] in-game achievements. They cater for so many different playstyles, end-goals and roleplaying preferences, and all in the same game versions too.

[Socratatus]

Great comments, guys. I may complain sometimes and criticise X4, but it's only to help what makes something great, even better. We are actually lucky to have quality games and gameplay like this as the new ones that come out aren't getting better.

[alt3rn1ty]

Well, I think most people here will all agree, it is a fantastic game that no other game can possibly aspire to achieve what it does.
You wouldn't believe that though just reading the forum and all the moans we have, but thats just desire to see it perfected in all aspects.

This small indie dev team have produced a game to be very proud of, and still refining it (as they always do).

I agree the sense of scale is one thing that really does stand out, even more so than previous X games, X4 has nailed that.
First dock I stood on I went for a wander and watched a Manorina landing in front of me, and thought "Wow!", not just because of the size but the landing effects that happen too. It feels like you are in a sci-fi movie (I still occasionally walk around the luxury 3M6S dock on my PHQ just to watch ships landing/taking off).
Then I walked onboard that Manorina to have a look around .. and you guessed it .. it took off and my next thought was "Oh, crap, how do I get back"
I ended up taking a journey in hopes that it came back to the same station, luckily it did and I got back to the starter ship.

X games are also reminiscent of a lot of old games for people like me, Bernd has seen everything I have in his life time on computers and used to programme games on the old Commodore Amiga, so has been influenced by the same games and wished for improvements to them that all of us from that generation have also wished for. And he now has an expert team in creating the X'verse.
Frontier: Elite II was one of my favourites on Amiga.