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PayPalEgosoft recently put out the Linux beta of X4: Foundations as promised, it's been running well on Linux and a fresh update is out now too.
Today, the big 2.20 patch has been released and it does note a Linux-specific bug-fix with "joystick hot-plug issues" being solved. There's quite a lot of other bugs that were fixed too including several crash-bugs, so hopefully the game is a bit more stable overall.
This patch has various improvements as well like improved carriers launching fighters against targets, ship behaviour when docking at other moving ships, subordinate handling in long distance movement and improved time taken to generate mass traffic for extremely complex stations when loading saves. There's a few new features too like multiple new encyclopedia entries to help guide you along, a player-owned shipyard tutorial and more.
You can find the full changelog here.
I will say this, it's definitely not a user friendly game. The tutorials were a bit naff but once you get into the swing of it, there's a lot of details to appreciate in it. Frankly, the tutorials were so dull they were easy to forget, I learned a lot more by just travelling around. I think if they truly want more to appreciate it, a properly streamlined tutorial is a must for such an expansive game.
For the Linux version, you don't need to opt into any beta on Steam. Just download it as you would any other game. You can grab a copy from Humble Store and Steam, no Linux build on GOG yet but I imagine it will when it's ready.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Germans keep their promises... Rockfishgames did, and Egosoft as well :)
edit: bought via the humble affiliate link ;)
Last edited by Corben on 18 March 2019 at 2:49 pm UTC
QuoteI will say this, it's definitely not a user friendly game. The tutorials were a bit naff but once you get into the swing of it, there's a lot of details to appreciate in it.X had always a rather simple tutorials and you still felt lost on the beginning, but it's really an awesome game. When I first saw X4 trailer I was like: "Wow, is this even true?"
I plan to buy it when it's ready, X3 linux ports worked really nice, so I think the X4 will be no exception.
aristorias Mar 18, 2019
It deserves way better reviews than it actually gets.
After a few youtube videos to get the basic I set off again. This time with some basic, but essential knowledge. Picked up one of those secret mission and set off while exploring and getting the hang of it. A little later I had finished two parts of the mission and had moved through a few sectors. "A little" turned out to be four hours. :D
I'll be picking this one up very soon.
QuoteI will say this, it's definitely not a user friendly game.
Yeah, standard procedure for people new to the X series is to go to the forums (https://forum.egosoft.com) and reading the beginners guide for the game you're on.
Sir_Diealot Mar 18, 2019
Another issue that I experience with it (GOG version, Terran War Pack, English) is that the video volumes are all wrong. I think what's happening is that the music that plays during the video is supposed to play at a low level but instead blasts at maximum volume, totally drowning the narrator's voice. Any idea on how to fix that?
I'll hold off on X⁴ until it's officially out on Linux and on some store other than Steam (GOG currently has the Windows version only).
aristorias Mar 18, 2019
Being a Linux user does not imply that we all use steam beta and activate proton for all titles ...
From an economic point of view, games that run on Linux only via Proton do not exist.
Last edited by aristorias on 18 March 2019 at 8:05 pm UTC
Quoting: PatolaFor some reason their engine doesn't run well (or at all) in Wine. It was true for X Rebirth (I am the maintainer of the winehq appdb page for it), and it is true for X4. So either they ported to Linux or they made their windows engine wine-friendly, if they wanted the linux crowd as players. They chose the best solution, methinks.I'm not 100% sure, but I remember reading elsewhere that Egosoft basically wrote their own Wine-esque wrapper to get things to run (apparently a good one). It's not a 100% bespoke Linux engine, but their usual engine with their own wrapper. I'll see if I can track down the source. Performance is excellent for me though, however they've done it.
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