X Rebirth Launch Trailer Takes to the Stars

[Andy Chalk]

X Rebirth Launch Trailer Takes to the Stars

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The X Rebirth launch trailer features a gorgeous journey through some rough intergalactic neighborhoods.

I've yammered a bit about X Rebirth in the past but I think it bears mentioning again, just for emphasis, that the X games, above all else, are big. Not "big" as in a sweeping, epic tale with 100-plus hours of story-driven role-playing action; just really, really huge.

That size, and the near absolute freedom given to players from the moment they first step into the cockpit, can be intimidating. "What do I do?" is a common reaction, and "Whatever you want" usually doesn't come off as very soothing. But that's really how it works, and once you get yourself into that mindset, the experience can be pretty fantastic.

The X Rebirth launch trailer doesn't get into the plot, the competing races or anything like that, because the truth is that most players don't care. X pilots want to explore the spacelanes, make money, build a fleet and be a part of the universe, while the chips fall where they may; and the truth is that while most X trailers, including this one, have been well-packed with gunfire and explosions, it doesn't have to be that way and for many players isn't. It's almost inevitable that you'll shoot at something sooner or later but combat can be tough, and there are always other things to do.

X Rebirth comes out on November 15, exclusively for the PC.


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[Zaydin]

I've got it pre-loaded right now; just waiting on launch now. Been waiting two months for the game, and it's been a rather aggravating wait. I've had it easy, though; some people have been waiting two years for the game. Hoping to be having fun in space tomorrow

 

[gigastar]

Sadly im looking at waiting another week before the last parts of a new PC that can run this game will arrive.

 

[Weresquirrel]

Confound it X, stop making me want to buy you! I can't afford you dammit! This is just mean.

 

[Zer0Saber]

Oh yes, it will be mine, oh yes.

 

[aPod]

Manual is already posted:

http://cdn3.steampowered.com/Manuals/2870/X_Rebirth_Manual_English.pdf

My system may be able to run it on low settings. But I never got over the learning curve for X3.

Supposedly the learning curve shouldn't be as harsh in Rebirth.

 

[1337mokro]

I'm lukewarm about this. I could never get into the other games simply because I seemed to be unable to figure out why it was impossible for me to sell any goods and I didn't care enough about the initial 2 hours of just flying through completely empty space to figure out how the game worked.

There is a difference between freedom and freefall. Freedom is being handed a set of lego's and then told to do whatever you want. Like Minecraft for example. A freefall is being air dropped in the jungle and then told to find the lego pieces scattered across a 100 square kilometer area so you can start having fun.

X was always the latter to me. I'll keep an eye on this one to see if they at least put SOME effort into actually getting you started in one of the roles you picked or if it's still a big freefall into inevitable apathy and boredom.

 

[Atmos Duality]

Hopefully the dogfighting and lore will be good enough to stave off the problems its predecessor had.

Namely, the inevitable decline into mindless trade-grind; leading into apathy and the inevitable uninstall of disappointment. *sigh*

X3 bored me. A lot.
It wasn't even so much the massive ingame economy, or the complicated system.
It's just that it lacked ANY sort of "personality", which I need to feel engaged in a large "sandbox" style game like this. (something that some of the old Wing Commander games had in spades)

I'm definitely not buying until I see proof that the game is FUN, and not just a mindless, soulless trade simulator.

 

[JonB]

If you're conflicted, thread participants, we will be reviewing this game. Not immediately at launch, because we want to give it some time, but there will be review.

 

[nexus]

I'll check out initial reviews before I get this..

Really looking forward to this being any good. The X series is interesting - virtually the only franchise delivering a space sim. I just couldn't get into the older ones because they're stale, with hardly any motivation to do anything. Graphics, sound and UI (and many other things) need much improvement.

We'll see if it's improved this time.

 

[drednoahl]

Been waiting for this for about five years, but I'm not expecting it to be anything special at launch...hoping yes, not expecting. Egosoft are quite a small developer and it wouldn't surprise me if they've bitten off more than they can chew; I'm still optimistic though even with the restrictions they've put upon the player (which is basically the same as the ones as they did with 1999's X beyond the Frontier) and the time they have taken to release it. I'm looking forward to getting my hands on the engine and seeing how it can be modded more than anything; the modding community on the Egosoft site is awesome and no doubt will make some incredible stuff. Other than that I'm hoping Egosoft have managed to add much needed character to the game because most of the X games lacked it.

It's worth noting that X Rebirth being "next gen" and all, needs a 64bit version of windows and is properly multithreaded unlike previous X games...sounds cool but most of the "next gen" games I've come across have been buggy at best so I can understand those who are conflicted.

I'm shocked to see it as number 1 best seller on Steam given it's not out yet, not been reviewed, not been hyped and it's up against AAA stuff like COD and AC. For a niche game by a small dev that is genuinely trying to push gaming boundaries - that's one hell of an achievement in my book.

 

[briankoontz]

Manual is already posted:

http://cdn3.steampowered.com/Manuals/2870/X_Rebirth_Manual_English.pdf

My system may be able to run it on low settings. But I never got over the learning curve for X3.

Supposedly the learning curve shouldn't be as harsh in Rebirth.

The bunch of videos the developers put out show this to be true. It's easier, but it's still a huge complex game. Which is to say, it's fricking awesome.

 

[Strazdas]

Supposedly the learning curve shouldn't be as harsh in Rebirth.

That seems to be the case. The manual only lists four missiles. X3 had at least a dozen different types. Pretty good indicator that Rebirth had dialed back the senseless minutiae a bit, which will help with the learning curve.

so having less became better now?

 

[siomasm]

Supposedly the learning curve shouldn't be as harsh in Rebirth.

That seems to be the case. The manual only lists four missiles. X3 had at least a dozen different types. Pretty good indicator that Rebirth had dialed back the senseless minutiae a bit, which will help with the learning curve.

so having less became better now?

In some cases, yes.
For instance, a restaurant with a 6 page menu, front and back of options means more work for the cooks in having to prepare a larger variety of food, while people might not even like half of the options available anyhow. Keeping it down to 2 pages of specialized food that you do very well can help to give the restaurant an identity, make it easier for people to decide what they want and enjoy it rather than get overwhelmed with options.

Not dissimilar from games where menu= Features, Cooks = devs. The feature creep in starbound for instance is akin to a 8 page menu and growing, half of their features I don't recall anyone asking for and aside from the sycophants on the forums I doubt many necessarily wanted.

OT:
Going to wait for some reviews.