Spaceshipper X4: Foundations just underwent an empire-sized overhaul dubbed the empire update, which is fitting for a game that famously lets you form your own angry empirical armada of spacefolk. Among the plans on the agenda for the Xtending of X4 have been a rebalancing of ship combat that devs Eogosoft reckon is their most substantial to date as well as some handy additions like the ability to recycle Kha’ak derelicts and issue priority orders which override all other comms chatter to your troops.
Egosoft have run down all of the additions in a Steam post announcing the Empire update’s full rollout, following a good few months in beta. “We’ve made sweeping changes to every aspect of combat in X4: Foundations,” they wrote to kick off the changelog. “This is the largest combat balancing update in X4’s history. This update includes a full rebalancing of hundreds of weapons, turrets, shields, and ships to add tactical depth, make more options viable, and address inconsistencies. Additionally, turrets are more accurate, AI pilots behave more organically, capital ship movement has been reworked, and much more.”
A couple of ship-centric additions have also arrived. Kha’ak shipwrecks, for example, can now be recycled to produce a versatile new resource called Allographyne. When you’re not busy trading and transmuting what you’ve salvaged, you can build a ship showroom module back at base to show off your own craft. Fittingly, Egosoft a change they’ve made to integrate engines and shields into both S and M ship models should make the interstellar rides look more appealing, in addition to upping the variety of modules you can bolt to them.
Beyond the ship changes, the Empire update introduces Priority Orders. These are “instantly responsive ‘RTS’-style orders” hurled by pressing control as you right click, which override every other order that’s been given. Egosoft have brought these in in the name of “dramatically improves the flow of fast-paced strategic situations, eliminating the need to configure order lists and making ships act immediately”.
Rounding things out are adjustments to make map screens more readable, improvements to how NPC factions design their big space stations, and an overhaul of mining resource distribution. “Resources are now localised rather than spread across the entire region,” Egosoft wrote of the latter. “Additionally, when a resource area is depleted, new resources may emerge at a different location within the region. This creates a new dynamic around mining operations, in which resource areas must be discovered before they can be exploited, leading to fluctuating resource availability as miners automatically seek efficient mining locations.”
If you’re considering picking up X4, it’s worth checking out Nic’s (RPS in peace) X4: Foundations review from 2018. No doubt plenty’s changed in space since then, but the bones are likely the same.
