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Dhruin
Stranger In A Strange Land
Joined: 20 May 2002
Posts: 1825
Location: Sydney, Australia |
These are some very early impressions...I've only played for around two hours, doing the tourist thing and just looking around.
First, performance is better than I expected. I have a solid mid-range system (P4 3Ghz, 2Gb RAM, 128Mb 6600GT) and after hearing complaints on the official forum from people with 7800GTX-charged beasts, I was worried. At 1024x768 with everything else turned up across the board, I probably get 20-30fps in Argon Prime. Not spectacular but quite playable...if I turn it down to medium textures I expect it will be fine.
It looks spectacular. No doubt you've seen the screens, so I'll leave it at that. The first thing that hits you is the scale has changed. The universe is much more realistically proportioned and the art shows more realism - planets loom, the stations are huge, transporters are looooong ships that look like they would do bulk transport. In fact, everything looks much better designed for the job. An obvious example is the Energy factories...they are now huge structures with massive "umbrellas" of solar cells that look like they fit the purpose.
The other obvious change is the interface. The cockpit is gone, with only some interface icons and the radar in the corners. While the old keyboard shortcuts are still there, it feels rather different because the mouse is now quite powerful. Right clicking the mouse moves between a pointer for selection and direct steering control. Selecting the mouse pointer and double-clicking an object starts a default action -- double-click on a station to automatically dock, or double-click on a friendly ship to move within range and follow it, for example. It's much better...but as an old X player, takes some getting used to.
Other than looking radically different, I haven't done much yet. Clearly there's a lot of changes. The central sectors are so far the same (Argon Prime, President's End etc etc) but internally a lot has changed. I noticed Argon Prime has no Energy factories, for example. None! A look at the radar reveals "taxi" ships and "police" ships...
That's about it...more to come when I get the time.
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Wed Nov 02, 2005 6:04 am |
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EverythingXen
Arch-villain
Joined: 01 Feb 2002
Posts: 4342
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2 GB RAM is a 'mid-level' system now?
Awwww.... crap.  I have a Radeon 9600 (not pro) and 1 gig of ram in an AMD64 2800+. It will suck if this doesn't stand a chance.
I liked the cockpit but I could see it getting in the way of a mouse pointer. I still won't touch the mouse in combat, though.
Hopefully it's at a local store by Tuesday (NA release is the 5th I believe).
_________________
Estuans interius, Ira vehementi
"The old world dies and with it the old ways. We will rebuild it as it should be, MUST be... Immortal!"
=Member of the Nonflamers Guild=
=Worshipper of the Written Word= |
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Wed Nov 02, 2005 1:45 pm |
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Dhruin
Stranger In A Strange Land
Joined: 20 May 2002
Posts: 1825
Location: Sydney, Australia |
Well...2Gb is high but I see lots of people talking about dual-core CPUs and 6800GTs, so I figured my 6600GT is midrange. I probably undersold it, though.
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Editor @ RPGDot |
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Thu Nov 03, 2005 1:18 am |
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dteowner
Shoegazer
Joined: 21 Mar 2002
Posts: 7570
Location: Third Hero of Erathia |
Looks like my AthlonXP 1800 with GF3 is a regular historical site. Perhaps X3 is beyond my reach even if I was ready to plunk down the $50.
_________________
=Proud Member of the Non-Flamers Guild=
=Benevolent Dictator, X2/X3 and Morrowind/Oblivion Forums=
Sorry. No pearls of wisdom in this oyster.
RIP Red Wings How 'Bout Dem Cowboys! |
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Thu Nov 03, 2005 2:51 am |
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Holywhippet
Eager Tradesman
Joined: 02 Nov 2005
Posts: 44
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I suspect that X3, like X2, is more limited by the CPU than the video card or RAM. You'd need a certain amount of RAM to play, but the most tasking part of the game is keeping track of all the ships and stations in all the sectors as well as what is going on around you.
The graphics are nice, but most of what you see is empty space or a static background.
It's not out until later this month here in Australia and I decided not to import it. I'll want the 1.3 patch first - I've heard the 1.2 patch actually breaks the plot so you can't complete it. |
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Fri Nov 04, 2005 2:54 am |
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Ican
Captain of the Guard
Joined: 16 Feb 2003
Posts: 185
Location: UK |
I picked up this game, despite the bad reviews it's been getting on the Egosoft forums. Basically, if you loved X2 you will like this, but be warned it should really be called X2:Reprise ( not Reunion ).
The game content is virtually identical to X2 ( yes, the economic and combat models have been enhanced, but still retain much of their original feel ) and graphically there has been a significant improvement. In my opinion however, the code is not well optimised hence the reason why so many people are finding this game runs like a snail in a glue factory.
A further indication that the game has been rushed, is the inability to mine asteroids for ore, despite being able to outfit your ship with the appropriate gear. You can break asteroids down into smaller chunks for transfer to your cargo bay, but the game code hasn't been implemented to actually allow this last step to happen. Shoddy. Especially considering the "career" path of mining was fully realised in X2.
So, why should you get this game? Well, I still retain some confidence that Egosoft will patch this game up to a suitable standard. This certainly was the case with previous "X" incarnations, and there is no reason to believe this one should be treated any differently. If you are a genre fan ... have faith. Otherwise, stay clear until considerable enhancements have been made. |
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Fri Nov 04, 2005 7:25 pm |
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Danicek
The Old One
Joined: 15 Dec 2001
Posts: 5922
Location: Czech Republic |
quote:
Originally posted by EverythingXen
2 GB RAM is a 'mid-level' system now?
Awwww.... crap. I have a Radeon 9600 (not pro) and 1 gig of ram in an AMD64 2800+. It will suck if this doesn't stand a chance.
And how about my 800Mhz Athlon with 256 MB RAM and 4200Ti GPU?
Oh, well, X2 wasn't published here and think X3 will follow it. |
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Wed Nov 09, 2005 9:10 am |
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EverythingXen
Arch-villain
Joined: 01 Feb 2002
Posts: 4342
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The people on the ego boards, some of them, are funny.
The game WAS meant to be an expansion pack. It has expansion pack written all over it, from what I can tell. Enhanced combat model, enhanced economic model, enhanced graphics, continuation of the laughable plot...
They only made it 'x3' when they realized that some of the changes they wanted would make save games incompatible. People hate when expansion packs did that soo..... ta da it becomes another part.
It's even priced like an expansion pack.
Now, if only it would freaking release already... I pre-ordered on the 4th (not much of a pre-order, heh) and now... uh... well, last I heard it was the 15th. Sigh. Still, it makes not getting far in the game before the 1.3 patch comes out easier.
_________________
Estuans interius, Ira vehementi
"The old world dies and with it the old ways. We will rebuild it as it should be, MUST be... Immortal!"
=Member of the Nonflamers Guild=
=Worshipper of the Written Word= |
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Wed Nov 09, 2005 4:16 pm |
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Ican
Captain of the Guard
Joined: 16 Feb 2003
Posts: 185
Location: UK |
Good plan , I'd strongly suggest to hold off playing too much until patch 1.3 at least. At the moment there are corrupted save game issues, problems with broken plot missions, performance issues ( seemingly arising from the HUD overlay ) and missing content eg lack of ability to mine asteroids, no explosion graphical effects for destroyed capital ships ( a placeholder fighter explosion is used in its absence lol - could you imagine the Death Star in Star Wars blowing up, only to be met with a puff of smoke ?  ).
Get the game ...but don't be over concerned about any delays receiving it |
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Wed Nov 09, 2005 6:53 pm |
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Dhruin
Stranger In A Strange Land
Joined: 20 May 2002
Posts: 1825
Location: Sydney, Australia |
The v1.2.01 patch doubled my framerate in my some sectors - outstanding.
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Editor @ RPGDot |
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Sun Nov 13, 2005 11:20 am |
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Ican
Captain of the Guard
Joined: 16 Feb 2003
Posts: 185
Location: UK |
I only noticed a marginal improvement in performance with that patch 
Still, I have a PC that only just meets the recommended specs. The upgrade I'm planning soon should solve any performance issues.
It's encouraging to see Egosoft patch the game speedily. Hopefully mobile mining will be in X3 soon  I've started the game on extreme mode, and only just managed to save up for my first Mercury freighter ... about to buy a super-freighter now. Itching to crunch a few asteroids though
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Sun Nov 13, 2005 11:55 am |
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Chekote
Where’s my Banana?!?!
Joined: 08 Mar 2002
Posts: 1540
Location: Dont know, looks kind of green |
Well its supposed to be out now. Gamestop is showing that its shipped.
I am gonna pick it up on the way home tonight. *Schoolgirl scream*
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IMHO my opinion is humble |
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Tue Nov 15, 2005 3:51 pm |
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EverythingXen
Arch-villain
Joined: 01 Feb 2002
Posts: 4342
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I've been waiting for my pre-order for two weeks. Called today and got a 'uh... never heard of it'.
To which I said "I already paid in full so I would suggest checking again."
Sigh. I was looking forward to playing on my day off (tomorrow). Of course, I've been saying that since the 4th...
_________________
Estuans interius, Ira vehementi
"The old world dies and with it the old ways. We will rebuild it as it should be, MUST be... Immortal!"
=Member of the Nonflamers Guild=
=Worshipper of the Written Word= |
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Tue Nov 15, 2005 5:10 pm |
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Chekote
Where’s my Banana?!?!
Joined: 08 Mar 2002
Posts: 1540
Location: Dont know, looks kind of green |
The store clerks at gamestop are not very reliable. But their online tracking system has been 100% reliable so far. Once it says its available on the site and no longer listed as a pre-order, you can be certain that it will be at the stores the next day.
It changed yesterday. 
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IMHO my opinion is humble |
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Tue Nov 15, 2005 5:12 pm |
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EverythingXen
Arch-villain
Joined: 01 Feb 2002
Posts: 4342
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Well, no X3 for me until the weekend at least. Eatern Canada is apparantly a low courier priority according to EB.
Oh well. Each day that passes gives them more time to fix things.
_________________
Estuans interius, Ira vehementi
"The old world dies and with it the old ways. We will rebuild it as it should be, MUST be... Immortal!"
=Member of the Nonflamers Guild=
=Worshipper of the Written Word= |
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Tue Nov 15, 2005 8:45 pm |
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