GAME-A-WEEK - X3: TERRAN CONFLICT (PART ONE)

Sometimes we dive into something without looking, and we end up in over our heads.  The only thing that I knew about the X³ series was that they were in-depth space simulators, and that they had a small but rabid, passionate fan base. I had no idea how deep that rabbit hole went.  And so I'm going to have to do multiple reviews for this game; one preliminary first impressions, and one once I've explored more and really gotten a handle on the mechanics.

Let's take a look, shall we?


What were my expectations going in?
Mildly high, I think.  This is one of those series that has a very dedicated following.  It's a smaller, sort of underground indie series, but most of the people that play it have been playing since the original X: Beyond The Frontier.  I'd heard legends of how deep this game can go, often hearing it compared to a singleplayer version of EVE Online.  One of the things that sold me was hearing that it has excellent space combat, something I've been craving for a while now (especially since playing the disappointing Dawnstar).

So how was it?
Er....good?   I think?  So far?

I'm going to first throw it out there that this is one of the most user unfriendly games I've ever played, at least in recent memory.  It's really not that difficult, controls-wise, once you get used to it, but the game doesn't hold your hand.  It doesn't guide you, it doesn't even tell you what to do.  It basically leaves you in the middle of a forest full of wolves and says "Go ahead and find your own way home, it'll be a good learning experience."  It took me three deaths and new characters to learn that oh, there IS a flight school tutorial!  They just don't really tell you.  You're dropped in the middle of a busy shipping sector, and ONE of the many little ships flying around will train you.  Not the one that's highlighted, though...that just takes you to your first mission.  Hell I even missed the tiny little popup that told me the only way to save my game.

And yet...somehow, when you figure things out?  It's rewarding.  Frustrating, sure.  But you get to have those little "haHA!" moments where you manage to solve a problem yourself.   I'm not saying I prefer this to the game actually giving me some inkling of how to play it, but it's still not bad.  Instead, I spent a lot of time alt-tabbing out of the game trying to find user-made walkthroughs and beginner's guides.  It's not ideal, but I managed to make it work.

I'm starting to sound like I don't like the game; this is not the case.  It's incredibly frustrating, but that's not a bad thing.  Once you figure it out, the basic ship gameplay is pretty good.  The game gives you a few simple "safe" missions before it throws you into any dogfights.  It teaches you how to warp from sector to sector with jumpgates, how to follow your squad, etc.  Even the first few battles you're thrown into are against fighters that are targeting the large carriers, not you.  So while learning the controls and UI may be a bitch and a half, the game can be fairly forgiving.  I just wish that

Where the majority of the complexity comes from is the non-combat gameplay.  This is the area of the game that I have come nowhere near figuring out.  It's definitely not a "Here's your X-wing analogue, go shoot bad guys" kind of game.  Outside of combat, it's very in-depth, and very slow.  This is not a casual game by any stretch of the imagination.  It's a very good game, if you're into this sort of thing, but there's a ton of depth and complexity to learn before you really get a handle on things.  There's a whole fluctuating stock market of trading goods and credits.  You begin with a small ship (unless you pick the Merchant, who starts with two), and work your way up to entire fleets at your command.  You can start an army, be a mercenary, become a trader/merchant, you name it.  But first you have to figure out the endless charts and menu systems.  I have yet to crack that code, but I'm determined to.

Visually, the game is beautiful.  A bit dated, but none the worse for wear.  While X³: Terran Conflict was released in 2008, its graphics come from its predecessor, X³: Reunion, which was released in 2005.  The series' "Reality Engine" reminds me very much of Valve's Source Engine, in that it may not pack a powerhouse of fancy effects, but it still provides very crisp, clean visuals that will likely stand up to the test of time very well.  Particle effects like beams, explosions, and weaponry are fairly lacking, but the models and textures are very detailed and crisp.

What really impresses about the graphics is the sheer sense of size and distance.  Some of these ships are absolutely enormous, and yet you are able to get up close to see individual windows.  To give you some perspective, the Orbital Defense Station in the middle of the picture above is several kilometers in length, and that screenshot was taken from about 30 km away.  And yet still you're able to see them from that distance with remarkable clarity.  The game sectors are so enormous that you're given something called SETA (Singularity Engine Time Accelerator), which speeds up time when traveling in a straight line.  When your ship maxes out at 230 m/s, and something is 40-50 km away, the SETA can be an absolute godsend.

Funny thing about that Orbital Defense Station?  Yes...you CAN buy it.

As big and close-up as it looks, this station is still 3.49km away

The game's audio is a mixed bag.  Voice acting is terrible, mostly made up of foreign actors attempting to sound like native English speakers.  I'm sure in the original German language, the acting is great, but being a very small dev team, hiring an English-speaking voice cast was probably not in their budget.  Still, it kind of gives the characters a sort of multicultural flavor that works in the game's favor.  The ships computer's voice is a bit intrusive, though I can't help but giggle at the awkward pronunciation of the words "Oort Cloud" whenever I have to make that jump gate.

The score, on the other hand, is absolutely stellar.  Taking cues from some of the Star Trek films and some of the other epic sci-fi greats, X³: Terran Conflict offers a grand, sweeping score that has given me chills on numerous occasions.  This is one of those soundtracks that I am definitely going to be hunting down, by legal or illegal means.  It feels more like a film score than a game score, and it contributes significantly to the open, endless frontier feel of the game.

So right now, I've played for a few hours.  I still only own my one little Sabre fighter, with only a few thousand credits to my name.  I can barely afford new shielding and weapons, let alone a fleet of my own ship.  So I have a very long way to go in this game, and an entire universe to explore.  I've learned how to dogfight, learned the hard way how to repair my ship without paying an arm and a leg.  I have to admit, it's kinda neat being able to go EVA at any time and repair your ship.  Movement in EVA is slow and awkward, but understandably so.  But I'm still kind of taking baby steps through the game.

Now that I've given a not-quite-brief first impression, I am going to take more time with this game.  I am determined to figure it out, learn the ways of the universe, and make a name for myself and my future fleet.  It concerns me, reading that people spend hundreds, even thousands of hours in this game; I don't have that kind of time.  But hopefully I'll be able to at least make some headway with it, and get a better feel for things. 

And when I do, I'll happily write Part Two for this.

Play time:  Not nearly enough  
Finished:  Barely even scratched the surface  
Recommended:   Yes, but it's a very niche title.  It's definitely not for everyone.  
Available For:  PC