🚀 go-pugleaf

"Memnoch" <memnoch@nospampleaseimbritish.ntlworld.com> wrote in message 
news:nu9im1p6kqqpuitks43qof8qrqtd2980bq@4ax.com...
> On Wed, 02 Nov 2005 20:31:12 GMT, Jeff Holinski <nospam_Holinski@shaw.ca>
> wrote:
>
>>I liked space games, but I'm not sure what to make of X3. The info on
>>their web site shows a lot of the games graphics, but not much about
>>gameplay. (and the video told me NOTHING)
>>So far, my favorite space game was Freelancer and X3 has some pretty
>>high competition to live up to.
>
> IMHO it is a much better game than Freelancer.
>
>>First of all, is your ship controlled from an invisible cockpit, or do
>>you use an arcade type chase view? Or better yet, does it have a real
>>cockpit view?
>
> You are viewing the world from your cockpit but there isn't a virtual 
> cockpit
> unfortunately. You can view the craft from almost any angle from outside 
> the
> ship if you wish and fly it that way as well.
>
>>Is it joystick control only, or can you use a mouse? If you can use a
>>mouse, is the vertical axis reversable?
>
> Mouse or joystick. Don't remember a reverse control but default is down to
> pull up.
>
>>I assume you can buy different ships as the game goes on. Can you own
>>more than 1 ship at a time?
>
> You can own as many as you can afford I guess. But considering some of the
> larger capital ships can cost up to 100 million that will be a ways of 
> unless
> you cheat.
>
>>How's the sense of scale? One of the few flaws in FL was that
>>everything seemed too small. (the stations, the planets, and the solar
>>systems)
>
> You can't actually visit the planets but they do look huge, as if you were 
> in
> low orbit. Other space ships and stations are huge. Factory complexes are 
> even
> bigger.
>
>>What happens when you dock at at a station? Just a trading screen, or
>>something a bit more elaborate like in FL?
>
> They have removed internal docking in stations, except for the trading
> stations. Each station will have a docking pylon to which 5 or 6 ships are
> clamped. In game the reason for this was station owners were tired of 
> having
> internal structures repaired because of lousy pilots. I suspect the real
> explanation for this may be a for gameplay issues, although I can't think 
> of
> one at the moment.
>
>>How is trading in X3?
>
> Same as in X2 really.
>
>>One of the things that I didn't like about FL is that once you found
>>one of the REALLY high paying trade routes you could just repeat it
>>over and over till you got rich. You'd think after a few dozen runs
>>supply and demand would change.
>
> The economy goes up and down very fast so you will have to change your 
> routes
> every so often or you make next to no money. For instance I bought a large
> freighter that can hold 9000 units of cargo. Different containers are
> different sizes so the size of the goods affect how much you can carry. I 
> went
> to a station selling energy crystals and pretty much bought them out. The
> price went from 12 credits to 17 straight away. Similarly when you go to 
> sell
> them the price will be high till you dump everything on them and then the
> price normalises.
>
>>Is it all scripted missions, or can you just fly around and explore if
>>you want?
>
> You don't even have to follow the plot if you want but they are scripted 
> up to
> a point. When you start the game you have six choices. The first three 
> have
> the main plot and are marked Easy, Normal and Hard. The difference being 
> start
> money and equipment. The last 3 choices are the same but no plot to 
> follow.
> But you can completely ignore the plot if you wish after the first 2 
> missions.
>
>>While Freelancer was my favorite, I've also played and liked EVE
>>online, Homeworld, and the first Independance War. (didn't like the
>>2nd one) Feel free to compare X3 game features to any of them.  :)
>
> Many comparisons really. The seem to have stolen some ideas interface wise
> from Eve. The trading is much better than Freelancer although I suppose is 
> not
> as good as Eve as it is player driven being a MMORPG. Not as combat 
> oriented
> as Homeworld although you can play it like that if you wish. I-War wasn't
> really freeform without mods so is difficult to compare really. I-War 2 is 
> a
> big favourite of mine but X3 is hands down better looking than any that 
> you
> mentioned except maybe Eve.  But the flight model in I-War elevates it to 
> a
> special place for me not really comparable to anything except Frontier.

I'm seriously toying with ordering X3 from GG today (yes, resistance appears 
to be futile).  Given that I've played all its predecessors, will I really 
be getting enough bang for my c $47 bucks (including S&H and sales tax)?  In 
your opinion, how much "new game" does X3 deliver?