X4 Foundations

[Yskonyn]

I so hope this release will be good and doesn't require us to wait for a year or so of patches like, well most X releases so far, lol.

Definately looking forward to building a new space empire in a new X game!
Let the credits flow!

[mikeck]

Maybe it's just me, but looking at the videos and streams, the graphics seem a step down from X-Rebirth. The weapon effects looked....bad? Very "pew pew". The detail on the stations and ships...I don't know. Just not as good

[Yskonyn]

The flashy shader and bloom effects of Rebirth were subject of much criticism. The overall look is more like X3 from what I see.

[Geezer]

ObsidianAnt likes it.  He got a reviewer copy and posted his first thoughts after about 10-15 hours of play.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onW160fisG8

[Rayfer]

ObsidianAnt likes it.  He got a reviewer copy and posted his first thoughts after about 10-15 hours of play.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onW160fisG8

Nice video....quite enticing.  Wish I could afford it.   :-\

[Yskonyn]

Played for a short hour.
Just dipped my toe in the water but here are some preliminary observations:

- The starter station feels very much alive with ships. It cool to see the various sized ships make their way to their platform and takeoff and land in real time while standing in first person behind the fences at the walkways.

-Every station and ship has a walkable interior. You can even visit landed ships!

-Density of people is very thin so far. Only a dozen or so people walking around.
And their animations are a bit like stick figures. Not too impressive.
Animations get stuck all the time as well; an npc marshalling a non existant ship for example.

-Flight physics are like X3. They feel flat (especially if you're used to Elite) and gamey, but they get the job done.

-The menu system is insanely deep. There are stats for just about everything that all get tracked. Lots of interactivity with objects and context menu.
Quite overwhelming and will take some time to figure it all out.

-3D map is nice! You can pan, slide and zoom, but more importantly you can interact with all objects from the map.

-Performance is great on max setting in 4K on my rig so far.

-It seems like a true X game to me. Blend of strategy, trade/transport sim and space sim (lite)!

Can't wait to spend more time with it!

[Jarhead0331]

I'm struggling with settings and controls. They did not design this with a HOTAS in mind. It is much more geared toward mouse and gamepad control. The settings and menus are not intuitive and the way tutorials are managed does not facilitate a smooth learning experience. I was hoping they would have put a lot of work into UI and lessening the learning curve based on their prior experience with the series.

I don't want to be a negative nelly, but my initial impression has not been overwhelmingly positive and I find myself thinking, why am I not playing Star Citizen. It looks much better and actually seems to run much better too. 

[Grim.Reaper]

I was on the fence with this one, looks like best to side on the sidelines and wait for a future discount, if at all....

[Geezer]

Impressions and tips from another guy with early access:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4GQXz3zhsc

[Huw the Poo]

I was just gifted this!  :D

Will spend my entire Saturday playing it!  :D

[Geezer]

Gratz!  We want some impressions.   ;)

[Jarhead0331]

I think it is borderline crap in its present state. I'm very disappointed. There may be a good game to take shape in there eventually, but as of right now, its an unoptimized mess. It seriously runs like $hit on my rig, and this rig is powerful enough to run even the most demanding games on ultra settings. The controls are atrocious. The tutorials are a waste and I feel very little incentive to keep torturing myself at this point. It still has the same draw that all the X games have always had...a vibrant universe with space that feels active and alive and filled with potential, but my god, when are they going to figure out how to make a UI that doesn't make the player want to commit Japanese ritual suicide? When are they going to learn to seemlessly incorporate a basic tutorial into simple missions that serve as part of the beginning of a campaign to gently assist the player to getting started?

I'll follow this for awhile, see how it develops, see how others are getting on and then definitely revisit it, but I'm not going to waste anymore of my precious gaming time right now. If you're on the fence, my advice is to stay there....comfortably.   

[Toonces]

^ Damn.  That's a gamer's review right there.

[JasonPratt]

^ Damn.  That's a gamer's review right there.

A gamer's review of an X-game, too!  >:D

[mbar]

Thanks for the review Jarhead and for taking one for the team.