[Space Sim] X3: Reunion

[TsN|Wildchild|xmen]

If you have a previous save or want to take a few minutes to do it again... get to that point and then click on everything you can in your screen. It looked like dropped goods until I highlighted it. I should have thought to take a screenshot but I was worried as ot how long I had to get to the ship. I remember when I first did the plot I had very little time before I died. Pissed me off.

[TimberWolf]

I just played a little on my plot game. Just saw your post and will see if I have a save that far back to give it a try next time.

In my game I have been seeing all the TL's out and about building stations all over the Universe. Nearly every time I see a Mammoth in Argon Prime it is already busy doing something for the GOD engine. I had finaly gotten one just a little bit ago and was waiting for it to dock at the shipyard when my worst nightmare started. The Kha'ak began jumping into the center of the sector attacking everything in sight. I had my Buster and two freebie TP's in the Trading station. In moments the local Titan was destroyed and then the local Colosses. The Argon One was launching fighters and taking concentrated fire from two Kha'ak capital ships. The entire time I was sitting stupid on top of the shipyard watching thinking that I was far enough way in my Discoverer. I had switched my view to watch the battle from Argon One's perspective. The next thing I heard was shields failing then saw The End come onto the screen. I reloaded and was able to get a Mammoth faster, but my computer had its graphical glitch just as I was docking with the Shipyard. I will play again this weekend.

My intent is to build an Ore mine and Silicon mine in Ore Belt. I will let them start going and start adding in other stations as I get the money for it and turn that into a large money making complex.

Current plan for the Ore Belt Complex:
2 1MJ Shield Prod. Facility
2 Wasp Missile Factory
1 Ammunition Factory
1 Wheat Farm L
4 Cattle Ranch L
4 Cahoona Bakery L
5 Crystal Fab M
1 Solar Power Plant XL
1 Ore Mine L (on a 51 yeild)
1 Space Fuel Distillery L
1 Silicon Mine L (on a 64 yeild)
1 Mass Driver Forge
2 Alpha IRE Forge
1 Firefly Missile Factory

The amount for sale per hour is:
3600 Energy Cells
600 Meatsteak Cahoonas
400 Firefly Missiles
360 Space Fuel
171 Mass Driver Ammunition
150 Wasp Missiles
69 Alpha IREs
40 1MJ Shields
1 Mass Driver

Estimated revinue per hour:
1,319,318 credits

Estimated cost to build:
83,722,620 credits

Estimated hours till break even:
48.39 hours

These numbers are from the ComplexCalculation and based off the idea that it all would be built all at once. I will start from the bottom and build it up as I get the money for it.

[TsN|Wildchild|xmen]

At what point are you abondoning the plot and doing this? Are you going to continue with the plot or keep it on hold for a while? I'm just curious. Are you trying for Avarice or the PHQ first before you fnish the plot?

I played for about an hour and a half last night. I was starting the part of the plot where you go after the Talon and the crystal. I had to reload three times because those damn pirates around the Talon were actually really damn hard to hit. The second time I loaded there was two busters a falcon and a damn nova gaurding the damn thing. I couldn't believe it. And me in my starting Buster with no upgrades of any kind.

On the last reload I must have found my groove as I went through the first wave of fighters before the Talon jumped. I engage my jump drive and right before I jump, literally my drive kicked in and I could see the faint outline of the sector I was in I hear, Alright I'll give it to you but I'll be back. Apparently I got a Buster to bail while I was jumping. I jump into the next sector, the Hole, and I can't find them. Yet I hear that crazy woman over the comm... come on JD I can't wait here forever hes jumping again. She said that three times, and then they popped up on my screen as my scanner found them.

Jumped two more times and finally got the Talon and finished that part of the plot. Went back and claimed my buster and destroyed three more pirate ships, one falcon and two busters on patrol and went to Argon Prime where I sent my Buster and sold it to fix my ship. I sold the buster to repair my ship, upgraded it completely and bought two something... (small weapon Beta something orange fire with a real fast firing rate.) I jump over to the pirate sector above Elenas Fortune and do some killing. I piss them off cause I see a small group flying toward me. I hop back into Argon Space and head south but they follow me. So I turn and begin laying into them. First ship up, a Nova. Great and me in my crappy Buster. I switch to all weapons and unload on him... I didn't even see the comm screen but he bailed. On the first pass. How does that happen? I've only capped one ship and have just completed the second plot mission. I destroy the other two and send old novaboy to Argon Prime where I plan on keeping him. I jump into a trading station to save it as I dont want to loose that ship. ANd Im glad I did.

Next up a group of three falcons and a harrier. With this new weapon loadout I capped two of the falcons on the first pass. My rep has jumped up twice with the Argon at this point for destroying all these pirates in sector plus my combat ranking increased twice. Jump out and send them home. I begin heading toward the south gate in Elenas Fortune when a group of five pirates jump in, two novas, two falcons, and a buzzard. I was able to get the falcons and buzzard but the novas cornered me and got me. I just wish I would have saved after the two falcon caps.

Im having more fun in this plot game than I have before.

[TimberWolf]

I am trying to get some money making stations going right now. From what I have read it will cost a lot to do the Bala Gi missions. Several players said it cost them tens of millions of credits and right now I don't have anywhere near that much money. I may just go ahead and finish the plot since I am near a very dangerous part (the Paranid have closed their Core sectors off). I don't really care about Averice, it would be nice to have it but my priority is to setup a self contained resource production site to manufacture my own ships. I also would like to extend that to include to production of my how weapons and shields. Too bad you can make your own triplex scanners or software updates.

I haven't had much time to try and capture things. I have captured a Xenon M and have it waiting in Split space with my freebie Buster Sentinel waiting for final equipment and then orders. Beyond that I did have a Yaki ship for a bit until some Pirates came through and destroyed it (I didn't bother to reload since it was practicaly destroyed any way). From what I have heard the plot is designed to be done in the starter Buster, since in several missions your in someone elses ship. So I will get several money making complexes going before continuing on the plot. My plan is to have enough money stockpiling that as soon as the plot is done I can start the Bala Gi missions. I know I need a M6 and a TL to do them all, at least. A player has found away to get around having to buy your own M6 but there is no way around the TL, you have to be on board it when it docks.

The following are the plans for the Core Pirate Sectors which will become the Core to my Empire

Current PHQ plans are:
Either Danna's Chance or Brennan's Triumph as the site of the PHQ
Freedom's Reach will be supply source for ship construction (very massive complex production site)
Elena's Fortune will be a supply source for Money Maker Sectors
Xenon Sector 101 will be a supply source for Non-Money Maker Sectors

Money Maker Sectors will be:
Farnham's Legend
Presidents End
Split Fire
Hatikvah's Faith

Non-Money Maker Sectors will be:
Nopileos' Memorial
Danna's Chance
Brennan's Triumph
Olmancketslat's Treaty
Bala Gi's Joy

Armed presence outside of the above sectors will be:
Akeela's Beacon
Light of Heart
Aladna Hill
Family Rhonkar
Thuruk's Beard
Company Pride
Rolk's Fate
Atreus' Clouds
The Hole
The Wall
Cloudbase Southeast
Ore Belt
Home of Light
Argon Prime
Red Light

Propossed Defence Groups:
2 sets of 5 Xenon LX's, one leader with two guards with their own guard (Used as Armed Presence)
1 M7 with 2 M6 and 2 Xenon LX escorts (Used as Core Sector Defence)

Again, all of these are with respect to the Core Region I am claiming as my Empire's Base. Any system with my stations in them will recieve at least the Armed Presence battle group along with any sector that falls under its area of use (such as if the trade ships can go 2 sectors out then all of those sectors will recieve some level of Military presence from me). I may have to extend the trading boarders by another sector in all directions depending on how trading goes, which means my Armed Presence group may extend over another 11 Sectors, a grand total of 26 then another 12 for my Core Sector Defence. Basicly I will have to produce ships at a constant rate, starting with the Xenon LX's, and my own weapons and shields to get all of the Core Space of mine covered before I even get a chance to Backward Engineer the M7 and begin production of that (which the first ship off the line will be my personal ship).


*EDIT*

They have a quick patch out that corrects several small errors from the Bala Gi missions and other things that were quickly identified by players.

[TsN|Wildchild|xmen]

I see a problem, with the advent of the PHQ and the ability to produce your own ships, even at a reduced rate I don't think there is enough universe for all of this. They should have expanded the universe a few dozen sectors instead of two.

There is a mod out there that has over 200 sectors in it. That would be a nice place to have a PHQ and shipbuilding capability. It would actually be worth the time of setting up a base of operations and sectioning off sectors. Hell, once you get your armada going you should be able to hold sectors for randsom but I know its not possible. Would be a nice script though.

I was thinking of putting my PHQ and my base of operations and complex in the unknown sectors in the far east of the universe... where the free nova is located. There are the largest asteroids I have ever seen there. Its out of the way so I shouldn't have to worry about roaming pirates or xenon and khaak presence and I can build my complexes a sector or two up in Teladi space where there is a shipyard and an equipment dock.

[TimberWolf]

I considered that sector for my PHQ but it doesn't appear to have enough Silicone astreroids to support the amount of construction I plan on doing. The largest one there is about 2/3rds the size of the one in Freedoms Reach. As since there are no asteroids in the next 4 sectors, if you need more materials you have to go 4 or more sectors out before you find another mine or asteroid.

Also it is far from Boron Equipment docks with their Triplex scanners, which I will equip all of my ships with. You may not do the kind of fleet building I do and it may work out well for you. It would make a nice quiet corner to hang out it with all of that free space.

I plan on using that sector to augment my weapons production and money making sectors of my core region. I hope that by having a lot of extra goods sitting in my stations out there will encurage the AI to build out there too. But for housing my PHQ, I wanted it closer to my front lines.

[TsN|Wildchild|xmen]

Makes sense as I have not done any detailed exploring into aseroids yet. And what you say makes perfect economical sense. I read that a few people have found some pretty large yield asteroids in Ore Belt and a few others but WAY OFF sector... wonder what it would take to find them all considering the sectors in theory go on forever.

[TimberWolf]

Well, I will admit I do cheat a little. There is a neat tool a player made that has most of the asteroids in X3 sorted by sector. It tells me how many of each type of asteroid there are, their sum of yeilds, the largest, the smallest, and the average yeild. It doesn't tell me their location so I still have to find them, if it does then I don't have it turned on. The version I have doesn't have all the sectors listed that I know have asteroids.

Here is some of what it says for Ore Belt:
Sum -949 Ore -634 Silicon
Max -51 Ore -64 Silicon

Here is some of what it says for Unknown Sector:
Sum -903 Ore -492 Silicon
Max -64 Ore -64 Silicon

There is something I noticed so far, the sector Barren Shores has the highest consintration of Silicon I have every stumbled on. There are no Ore asteroids. There are 37 Silicon asteroids, summing up to 660 yeild, largest being 56, and averaging 17.84.

Elena's Fortune is also a good place for Silicon to support weapon and shield fabs along side with the construction of ships. Also silicon is needed for the production of crystals that give you energy cells.

LooManckStrat's Legacy: 832 Ore, largest 51. 442 Silicon, largest 72.
Mines of Fortune: 1059 Ore, largest 51. 621 Silicon, largest 72.
Moo-Kye's Revenge: 456 Ore, largest 51. 418 Silicon, largest 56.
Rhonkar's Clouds: 120 Ore, largest 21. 326 Silicon, largest 56.
Rhy's Desire: 827 Ore, largest 51. 646 Silicon, largest 64.
Spring of Belief: 919 Ore, largest 51. 499 Silicon, 72.
Tkr's Deprivation: 940 Ore, largest 51. 538 Silicon, largest 64.

Here are the largest Silicon Yeilds:
Teladi Mines Of Fortune Silicon 72
Pirates LooManckStrat's Legacy Silicon 72
Paranid Spring Of Belief Silicon 72

Here are the Second Largest Silicon Yeilds:
Mines Of Fortune Silicon 70
LooManckStrat's Legacy Silicon 70
Cho's Defeat Silicon 70
Spring Of Belief Silicon 70

Here are the Third Largest Silicon Yeilds:
Tkr's Deprivation Silicon 64
Mines Of Fortune Silicon 64
Unknown Sector Silicon 64
Unknown Sector Silicon 64
Unknown Sector Silicon 64
Elena's Fortune Silicon 64
Rhy's Desire Silicon 64
Rhy's Desire Silicon 64
Ore Belt Silicon 64
Ore Belt Silicon 64

*EDIT*

Ummm, here is something scary that I just found on the X-Forums. Apparently the Kha'ak have a new ship too.

http://forum3.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?t=160805

The first sighting of it was a glitch but this sighting was actually in game and firing at near by ships. So we have something new to fear.

[TimberWolf]

Ok, I have to change my Core Sector idea. I just did a search of Freedom's Reach and found that all the asteroids are empty. I may have to resort to my backup idea of taking over Pirate Ally and declaring it my home. That will also be more interesting since I will have to continue to keep the pirates out of hit and clear them of Squash mines.

I have begun the Bala Gi missions. I have not completed the plot yet but was able to get my Paranid rank up high enough to get it going. So I will see how far I can go and if I can get the M7. Once I get it I will continue to work on my financial development to support the construction of home sectors for me and building of ships.

I currently have a Complex in Ore Belt containing two 1 MJ Shield Fabs, 1 Cattle Ranch M, and 1 Cahoona Backery. It imports energy cells and ore. I have it close enough to the two asteroids I want to use but I can't affort or need to use just yet. What sucks is the only place to buy Ore Mine L's are in Home of Light. I am getting low on money trying to outfit some fighters I have captured and getting that complex going. I am also running into the problem of lack of weapons in the universe that I can buy. Most races that have what I want don't like me enough to sell them too me but Argon's have almost no weapons in any of their sectors. They have plenty of shields, partly my fault, but no weapons that I can find. I can't even find any weapon factories in Argon or Boron space.

I need to go to bed soon but I want to get a couple of the Bala Gi missions done. Typing on my laptop and playing on my desktop.

I own:
1 Buster (Starter, Primary)
1 Buster Sentinel (Freebie)
1 Buzzard (Capture, Refitting)
1 Discoverer (Scout, Secondary)
1 Iguana Vanguard (Freebie, Idle)
1 M (Capture, Refitting)
3 Mercury Tanker (2 Supplying Complex, 1 Sector Trader)
1 Toucan Hauler (Freebie, Idle)

*EDIT*

Have to continue on with the story plot because they won't let me Dock at Primary Paranid Stations which means I can't complete the second Bala Gi mission. On the other hand my Ore Belt Complex is starting to recoop the invested money and my Sector Trader is getting better. Once I get enough money I will add in the needed ore mines and turn another one of the Mercury Tankers into a Sector Trader. Once the complex is completed it will be self supplying and all of the original traders will be Universal Traders.

I am having to redo my idea of Core Space for me. I couldn't find what I was hoping to find in Pirate Space. So I will have to do it the hard way and take over Pirate Ally. This will be very fun and very hard. I know as soon as I start clearing it out they will start flooding out of every hole and crack in the Universe. I will need a large fleet to begin with before I can even attempt to clear one sector and hold it let alone the three and then build in them. I will also have to be carefull of the Squash mines in them. But this will probably be for the best sinse those sectors have some of the largest consintrations of Ore and Silicon. Another benefit from this is that I should have surplus Ore and Silicon to produce money making products to sell to the Paranid, Teladi, Boron, and Argon Sectors near by. I will still have my outposts through out the Universe making me money and supplying energy cells for my fleets to jump around.

According to the X-Forum, it takes about 24 in game hours to Reverse Engineer a M7 and then another 24 to build. On the other hand it only takes about 5 hours to Reverse Engineer a XenonLX and then another to build. So for atleast the first stages of my Empires development I will consintrate on constructing large battle groups of LX's and look into having them augmented by M6's. I am going have to figure out how to get a hold of M2's and M1's. Since I said I wouldn't buy any more military ships that means I can't get them unless I can capture one to RE. I haven't found any way to buy their blueprints and it sounds like the only way to get them is to get a hold of one and RE it. Which means my capital ships will have to be M7's unless I can capture Xenon K's and J's. Or when I go to war with one of the races, if I can capture one of their ships. We will see how this develops.

[TimberWolf]

Here is some info on what it takes to build some ships. This is what a couple of players have reversed engineered and built themselves.


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ship Name- Hyperion (M7)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Energy Cells- 36680
Teladianium- 1145
Cloth Rhymes- 381
Rastar Oil- 763
Ore- 1527
Silicon Wafers- 1145
Crystals- 381
Quantum Tubes- 381
Microships- 763
Computer Components- 381
Credits- 10,820,648
Production Time- 21:40:33


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ship Name- Arrow
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Energy Cells- 1467
Teladianium- 45
Cloth Rhymes- 15
Rastar Oil- 30
Ore- 61
Silicon Wafers- 45
Crystals- 15
Quantum Tubes- 15
Microships- 30
Computer Components- 15
Credits- 432825
Production Time- 02:10:22


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ship Name- Yaki Raijin Raider
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Energy Cells- 476
Teladianium- 14
Cloth Rhymes- 4
Rastar Oil- 9
Ore- 19
Silicon Wafers- 14
Crystals- 4
Quantum Tubes- 4
Microships- 9
Computer Components- 4
Credits- 140668
Production Time- 00:33:48


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ship Name- Pirate Nova Raider
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Energy Cells- 2183
Teladianium- 58
Cloth Rhymes- 22
Rastar Oil- 45
Ore- 90
Silicon Wafers- 68
Crystals- 22
Quantum Tubes- 22
Microships- 45
Computer Components- 22
Credits- 644261
Production Time- 01:56:17


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ship Name- Xenon L
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Energy Cells- 784
Teladianium- 24
Cloth Rhymes- 8
Rastar Oil- 16
Ore- 32
Silicon Wafers- 24
Crystals- 8
Quantum Tubes- 8
Microships- 16
Computer Components- 8
Credits- 231280
Production Time- 00:41:44


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ship Name- Xenon N
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Energy Cells- 32
Teladianium- 1
Cloth Rhymes- 0
Rastar Oil- 0
Ore- 1
Silicon Wafers- 1
Crystals- 1
Quantum Tubes- 0
Microships- 0
Computer Components- 0
Credits- 9609
Production Time- 00:02:53


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ship Name- Yaki Susanowa Hauler
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Energy Cells- 1100
Teladianium- 34
Cloth Rhymes- 11
Rastar Oil- 22
Ore- 45
Silicon Wafers- 34
Crystals- 11
Quantum Tubes- 11
Microships- 22
Computer Components- 11
Credits- 324620
Production Time- 00:58:35


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ship Name- Argon Centaur
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Energy Cells- 8803
Teladianium- 274
Cloth Rhymes- 91
Rastar Oil- 183
Ore- 366
Silicon Wafers- 274
Crystals- 91
Quantum Tubes- 91
Microships- 183
Computer Components- 91
Credits- 2596956
Production Time- 05:12:08


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ship Name- Split Dragon
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Energy Cells- 6846
Teladianium- 213
Cloth Rhymes- 71
Rastar Oil- 142
Ore- 285
Silicon Wafers- 213
Crystals- 71
Quantum Tubes- 71
Microships- 142
Computer Components- 71
Credits- 2019846
Production Time- 04:02:46


*EDIT*

I have a problem with the game now that prevents me from playing. When a menu is open, such as when your docked, the game moves as if its in molassas. But as soon as the menu is closed the game returns to normal.

I played many hours on Friday with no problem. I updated my video card drivers with a set that has been checked and confirmed to work with X3 (mine were way out of date). I then proceeded to start the game after restarting and the usuall bit of updating video card drivers. The intro runs better and all looked good. I noticed the main menu was a little slow but it had always had a small delay. But when my game loaded I noticed the docking arm slowly moving every 10 seconds or so. Navigating the menu was nearly impossible. I eneded up having to ctrl-alt-del to get out. I check all of my video settings and restarted my computer again. Tried again and it still was acting up. Reinstalled the video card driveres and tried again with the same problem. I tried system restore to Friday before all the trouble began and its still there. I have since tried updating more drivers and it still has that problem.

Currently my only idea to fix it is to get my CD's from home and totaly reinstall X3. Beyond that I have no idea what is going on. I have even updated my DirectX to the latest and greatest which some have said corrected the video error I have had since I got the game. But I can't test that out till I get the menu problem fixed.

[XMEN Gambit]

sounds like maybe a transparency issue? Don't have the game myself so it's a wild guess. May be able to do something about it in your graphic options settings.

[TimberWolf]

I have yet to find such an option in X3. I have posted over in the tech support forums and they are basicly telling me that they are surprised that it ever ran on my system. One of the Forum Admins told me it might be code introduced by the nvidia patch that is causing the problem because it was geared towards the newer cards.

To see my post and the hardware configuration follow the link:
http://forum3.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php ... 15#1908515

Maybe I should post a link to my story and the Xmen forums.

[TsN|Wildchild|xmen]

Why not it sounds interesting.

On a side note I got to game some this past weekend, much to my wifes displeasure I am sure. I am knee deep in the plot right now and have just passed the mission trying to save the Don's daughter. That was a pain in the butt, but not as difficult as trying to navigate the Yaki base in a spy drone.

I don't know how much time has passed in my game but it isn't more then ten hours. I have capped nine ships and thus far have sold four. The other four I will sell here soon for repair costs on my buster. I capped two pirate ships (buster and falcon) but paid the price and was sumarily beat down in doing so. Harriers are weak ships but damnit they are fast, a group of four of them picked me apart.

I will sell all of my caps except my Nova I am going to keep that one until I can refit it and use it in place of my flagship. I got the free ship in Freedoms Reach, its abot 800km directly above the north gate. Fast bugger but real weak. I also got the ships in Family Whi, and Meanalaus Frontier. I sent them to equipment docks to get fitted for trading. I think I will finish with the Don mission and then try and get some funds and caps going. I think I will shoot for a factory as well, possibly a SPP in Argon Prime cause it is safe. I want to begin safe and not have to worry about having factory defense ships flying around.

Also, have you noticed with this plot and the patch that some of the pirate yards are blue?

[TimberWolf]

I have gotten no help from the Tech Support forum who keep telling me that the game just won't work on my system and seem to miss that it was working up until last Saturday.

I have posted the first section of my story over there in the forum and have had nearly 100 views.

You won't be able to afford a SPP any time soon let alone have the race rep for it. They aren't the most profitable any more. For Argon area I would build a 1MJ shield fab which for me always sold for themselves. Take a good look at the stations in Argon Prime then in the next couple of sectors and look for goods that are running low are not easily found near by. It is those you want to build.

The Pirate Shipyard turns blue when your doing your missions with the Don. At least it had turned blue for me prior to the 2.0 patch. I haven't tried but I read that players could sell and repair their ships there. Once you get to the point when the Kha'ak attack Argon Prime then you have reached the part of the story I am at.

My current plan is to get my X3 and X2 CD's from home while I am there. I will reinstall X3 from scratch and see if that fixes my menu problem. If that doesn't then I will install X2 and play that instead until I get a new video card that will run X3 with the new drivers.

[TsN|Wildchild|xmen]

I've got an old 3d Prophet Hercules 2 card... it was good in its day but I don't know the specs on it now. Your more than welcome to have it if it wil lwork for you.

I haven't played for a couple days and probably won't this Holiday until Sunday perhaps. Its weird as the SPP in my game seems to be smart as there are never any E-Cells in Argon Prime at all. Figured the other stations would eat them up.

I noticed a lot of single Xenon roaming in the sectors. Scouts flying from gate to gate. The only Khaak I've seen are on missions. Is there a safe place to leave your ships out of dock where no one will bother them? Like 200km above the gate lanes? I hate leaving them docked all the time but I am worried that if I don't dock them the OOS enemy will destroy them quickly.