NEWS UPDATE: X³ 2.0: Bala Gi Research Missions [updated Nov 7th]

Post by **CBJ** » Wed, 1. Nov 06, 22:24

Release of the 2.0 Bala Gi Research Missions update for X³: Reunion is now getting close. The update itself is complete and all that remains is for the translations into the various languages to be finished. In addition to the new features that we previously announced, we are pleased to be able to tell you about a few more little additions.

As well as the main Bala Gi Research Missions there will also be a number of new BBS missions. Watch out at pirate stations in particular, as life there just got a little bit more interesting.
Fans of the Tractor Beam will be pleased to know that it can now also be used to tow ships, and that this even works when towing them from one sector to another.
Pimp my ship! Have you ever seen the colour variations in other ships and wished you could change the colours of your own? Well, now you can. It's a fairly basic facility, but we think it is fun and we hope you do too.
If you had dreams of Avarice but didn't have the cash, then there may be another chance for you with the 2.0 update.

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Note 1: The DVD release of X³ by Enlight is simply a re-issue including the version 2.0 update on the disk.

Note 2: The version that will be available for download for existing X³ owners free of charge will be 2.0.01. The main difference is that 2.0.01 includes other language versions, but there is also an extra BBS mission and a few additional fixes that didn't make it into the DVD version.

Note 3: Savegames made in 1.4.03 or earlier can be loaded using the 2.0 DVD release, and savegames made in 1.4.03 or earlier, or in 2.0, can be loaded using 2.0.01.

UPDATE Nov 7th, 2006
A list of changes for the 2.0.01 update has been requested a couple of times and now here it is, the preliminary changelog.
Once again please note that due to ongoing localisation works the update is not yet available. There is no reason to hammer the download page

It'll take a couple more days.

X³: Reunion 2.0.01 Readme updates wrote: Additional functionality:
Bala Gi Research missions, enabling access to Player Headquarters station and new ships (Paranid Hyperion, Argon Eclipse, Split Chimera and Paranid Medusa) through a set of exciting missions.
Player Headquarters (see detailed description in "X3ReadMe2.0.01.rtf", which is included with the update)
Two new sectors have been added: Senator’s Badlands (Yaki) and Elysium of Light (Goner)
Four new missions for the BBS boards have been added (hint: living a Pirate’s life just got more interesting)
A new shipclass has been introduced: the M7. In terms of offensive and defensive capabilities a ship of this class is situated between M6 class Cruisers and M2 class Destroyers. The Paranid Hyperion is currently the only ship of that class.
The Xenon have upgraded their arsenal as well to counter the new ships designed by Bala Gi Research Inc now roaming the Universe is the Xenon LX
New ware Software Signature Scrambler available at Pirate BBS boards. This device can mask the System Override Software from Police scans
A new weapon can now be found hidden in several sectors: the Concussion Impulse Generator. This weapon can be used to force enemy ships off course. Many M3 class vessels as well as capital ships can mount this laser
General:
Tug Laser can now be used to tug player-owned ships or ships with no shield even through gates
Mouse cursor toggle behaviour changed: cursor will now return to the setting it was at before you docked at a station. If you manually disable the cursor while docked it will remain disabled until you re-activate it or dock again
Input menus have no more restrictions regarding their supported character set. This means special characters like ü, ä, ö or also Cyrillic letters can now be used for names
Ships and stations now have a Self Destruct option. Once activated your have 10 seconds to leave the ship/station before it detonates
The shockwave of missile impacts now influence ships in the detonation radius
The minimum zoom distance for external views has been reduced
Yaki ships do now use their ship variants
You no longer need to have your CD/DVD in the drive to play X3
Fixes:
All known problems relating to ship turrets not firing have been fixed
Several minor issues relating to corrupted ship models have been fixed
Missiles should no longer be rendered black
Changed Friend/Foe settings for captured ships are now properly reflected by the HUD
Fixed an issue that sometimes caused rocks to disappear in loaded savegames, making mobile mining impossible
The auction for the sector Avarice has been re-balanced and will restart for those who missed their chance to claim that sector
Text and spelling mistakes have been corrected in various places
A number of smaller issues relating to Interface, Equipment, Sound and Missions have been fixed
Notes:
Users of the X3 Bonus Package should make sure they update their Bonus Package to the latest version, otherwise there could be conflicts with outdated scripts!
This version no longer uses the copy protection "StarForce", however this patch does NOT remove the protection system from your computer! If you wish to uninstall StarForce you may do this using the "StarForce Drivers Removal Tool" available here: http://www.onlinesecurity-on.com/protect.phtml?c=55
Also note that uninstalling the StarForce drivers might cause other software to stop working. If that happens it may be necessary to reinstall that software.
Savegame compatibility is maintained from all previous versions to 2.0.01

And finally, here is the text of the original announcement in case anyone missed it!

Egosoft wrote:In the great tradition of the X series games, a bonus for fans old and new, a very special X³ update from Egosoft.

In Q4 2006 EGOSOFT will release a final update to X³: Reunion under the title X³: 2.0 Bala Gi Research Missions.

Key features of this update will include:
An exciting mission to unlock a unique new spacecraft and get hold of the biggest construction in the X universe to-date.
Get hold of the exclusive (and unique) M7 class prototype battleship, once owned by the Pontifex Maximus Paranidia himself. This ship is lean and mean and can dock two fighter ships.
The Player Headquarters can only be built once, but will be the most powerful outpost that the player can own. With its massive storage capacity it can hold huge quantities of upgrades, repair and produce ships, and host more ships at its docks than any other station, even shipyards.
Bala Gi Research Inc. has developed a new M3+ class of ships. You will get the chance to distribute the blueprints for this new masterpiece of ship construction to the various shipyards.
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There will also be a number of little extras like a new weapon type, sectors and various other additions and fixes. The update will also no longer require the game media to be present, so you can put your CD or DVD back in its box.

Note: This update will be available free to all owners of X³: Reunion, and will be compatible with existing savegames.

Post by **BurnIt!** » Thu, 2. Nov 06, 01:12

Find the topic for the original announcement here: http://forum2.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?t=151605

pgllrdp · Post by **pgllrdp** » Thu, 2. Nov 06, 01:21

Cool great work egosoft...
When you release it ill just have 2 find a really good excuse for a month off work

illicit · Post by **illicit** » Thu, 2. Nov 06, 01:25

No DVD and no Starforce! Can't wait until I can actually play this game again!

BugMeister · Post by **BugMeister** » Thu, 2. Nov 06, 01:25

yippee!

'sounds fun..

- cheers!

Goushiken · Post by **Goushiken** » Thu, 2. Nov 06, 01:38

Drool factor is increasing

Stu Austin · Post by **Stu Austin** » Thu, 2. Nov 06, 01:44

Thanks. I completely forgot about Avarice.

laplace · Post by **laplace** » Thu, 2. Nov 06, 01:53

D'OH.

If you had dreams of Avarice but didn't have the cash, then there may be another chance for you with the 2.0 update.

And I just started a new game a month ago with only Avarice in mind

Guess I'll just return to my old saves.

Let's hope Ego's servers are able to handle the strain when people start downloading. I know I'm not waiting

Cardboard Tube · Post by **Cardboard Tube** » Thu, 2. Nov 06, 01:56

Forgive my silliness, but why would you need to tow a ship? Will you be able to tow stations properly yet?

Post by **Cycrow** » Thu, 2. Nov 06, 02:00

if you cap a ship u could tow it back to a shipyard to get repaired ?

Skeeter · Post by **Skeeter** » Thu, 2. Nov 06, 02:03

I am please you made new bbs missions, this will be one of the major additions i will try. Maybe this update will get me playing x3 now. Who knows..

Btw if english (uk not us) version is ready and localized, will it be releaed even if other versions are not?

--

Cycrow wrote:if you cap a ship u could tow it back to a shipyard to get repaired ?

Towing ships, is it fast or slow as if slow and ur in pirate sector taking a new ship you just caught is going to be a nightmare.

Hehe if you can tow enemy ships into asteroids now THAT would be cool to do.

Post by **CBJ** » Thu, 2. Nov 06, 02:08

Skeeter wrote:Btw if english (uk not us) version is ready and localized, will it be releaed even if other versions are not?

All the languages will be released together.

Skeeter · Post by **Skeeter** » Thu, 2. Nov 06, 02:09

Lol all i can say then is "meh".

Silent Shark · Post by **Silent Shark** » Thu, 2. Nov 06, 02:10

Skeeter wrote:Btw if english (uk not us) version is ready and localized, will it be releaed even if other versions are not?

I'm guessing from this:

The main difference is that 2.0.01 includes other language versions

that it means the update will contain ALL the languages, and there won't be separate downloads for each language, hence why they won't release an english version now, while we wait for the translated versions.

EDIT: I was beaten to it

.

What I want is some sort of timescale. I've no idea how long it would take to localize something like this. Come on Egosoft, give us a clue! Days? Weeks? Months?

quoick · Post by **quoick** » Thu, 2. Nov 06, 02:10

Will it update automatically in Steam or will the Steam users have to download the patch? (If it is a downloaded patch, it may be a good idea to disseminate it via Steam to save on Egosoft server hammering.)

Boomar · Post by **Boomar** » Thu, 2. Nov 06, 02:13

Nice to hear!

3 questions...

1) As i haven't had the oppotunity for "Avarice" yet... will installing this bonus pack eliminate my first chance of getting it? (so will i still have two chances or will the bonus pack just give me the same oppotunity). Im asking casue i want the sector, lol so i may only install the pack after my first oppotunity.

2) What trigers this event the first time?? i know its something about BBS missions but it is time? i've played a while, and its still unowned... sorry if it doesnt belong here, just PM me with the answer in that case.

3) I dont mean to nag at all... but as everything seems to be completed but the translating... is there a release date yet? or still Q4 2006?, just asking... *hides in shadows*

I really cant wait till this is releaed!!

*Edit* lol wow 6 posts since i started writting mine... duh, well the release date question has been asked now, but yer any answer or still Q4?

Mazer · Post by **Mazer** » Thu, 2. Nov 06, 02:14

everything sounds amazing. cant wait to get it up and running.

i am happy that it is not planned to come out in late Q4. thanks Egosoft

Post by **CBJ** » Thu, 2. Nov 06, 02:17

quoick wrote:Will it update automatically in Steam or will the Steam users have to download the patch?

Steam users should wait until either the patch is available through Steam or until another announcement is made here to the contrary.

To those asking for exact release dates, don't you think that if there were more information it would have been included in this announcement?

Silent Shark · Post by **Silent Shark** » Thu, 2. Nov 06, 02:24

I'm not after a exact date, just something vague to give us some false hope...

... I love false hope

.

Skeeter · Post by **Skeeter** » Thu, 2. Nov 06, 02:26

I would guess (uneducated guess here) a week or two. As its relativly simple to do and not much that can go wrong and if it does its easily fixed unlike bugs.