Issue 38 - October 2009

Introduction

A Few Words from the Editor...

Welcome to Edition 38 of the X-Universe News! It has been a few months since our last edition and many things have been happening both on and off the forums. To kick things off, we have the release of the 2.5 Terran Conflict update, which is bursting with new features and improvements. We have new news on the upcoming X-Superbox including information on how to get involved with its development. Also we'll be taking a look at other developments in the world of EGOSOFT, including its recent foray into the dynamic world of tweeting, the release of X3: Gold and introducing you to the artistic works of an Egosoftie.

Happy reading.

Toastie

X3TC 2.5 Update

Give those precious X disks a rest!

We are pleased to announce that X3: Terran Conflict 2.5 is now available! In this update, you can expect the usual host of new features and improvements. One of the most noticeable is the keenly-awaited removal of the Copy Protection, allowing you to either play without a DVD or install the Online Activation version on an unlimited number of systems.

Additionally improvements have been made to marine training and boarding operations and the boarding of Xenon ships has been rebalanced. Menus have also been tweaked to access factories in complexes, to show wing orders in the wing's context menu as well as showing marines in the player's property menu. There have been improvements also to a number of commands, including Defend Station, and some additional commands added to the Script Editor and Mission Director.

We've also taken a Plasma Burst Generator to some of the more annoying bugs - Universe Traders should no longer wander into enemy territory, ships and wings should now properly use the 'jump and fly to' command. Also fixed are the 'attack shields' command and issues surrounding the launch of multiple marines, the resupply of missiles on boarded ships, the wing jumpdrive energy display and a quite a few more.

As has been the case with recent updates, the testing of this update has involved our friends from Devnet level 3, so to them and the level 5+ regular testers and volunteer developers, we owe a debt of gratitude for making 2.5 the update it is. We at EGOSOFT hope that the improvements, fixes and features in the update meet with your approval and enjoyment!

EGOSOFT

X3: Gold for US and UK

The collector’s edition gets wider distribution

Following the popular release of the X3: Gold collector’s edition to the EU market (excluding the UK) earlier this year, the decision has been made to make this available to both the US and UK markets featuring, of course, English on the box! This edition will be slightly more updated than the previous version, in that it will include the latest update for X3: Terran Conflict, namely the copy protection-free Update 2.5. The release for this box set is scheduled for around the 30th October 2009 and as with the previous release, will be available at selected retailers as well as the EGOSOFT online shop. In addition to the imminent release of this box set, the X3: Gold collection is also available for immediate download from Steam. The digital download version offers the same great content as the boxset. Check it out now on Steam.

Here, in short, is what this edition will include:

• X3: Reunion 2.5 including The Bala Gi Missions

• X3: Terran Conflict 2.5 including The Aldrin Missions

• X3: Terran Conflict Soundtrack CD

• X-Universe Personal Uplink Access

EGOSOFT

X3:TC 2.0 Now on Mac OS

TC puts the X in OS X

Egosoft is pleased to announce the release of X3: Terran Conflict 2.0 for the Mac OS X operating system. This version of the game has been developed for OS X by Virtual Programming Ltd, a specialist software developer for the Mac platform. Mr Mark Hinton, the VP Ltd CEO and Director of New Business, stated that every effort has been made to make sure that their customers have a gameplay experience on the Mac platform as close as possible to that on the PC which, with Terran Conflict, has been quite a challenge. Since the originally-planned release, the OS X operating system has seen the advent of the widely-acclaimed Snow Leopard update, which presented VP Ltd with further challenges in the game's development. With all challenges now overcome, VP Ltd and Egosoft welcome OS X users to the X-Universe and invite them to begin a journey of exploration, commerce and endless space adventure in the ultimate chapter in the X trilogy, taking the player from the furthest reaches of the X- Universe to Earth itself.

For more information about the game, system requirements please go to: www.vpltd.com/press/X3TC

and to purchase the game by digital download, please go to: www.deliver2mac.com

EGOSOFT

X–Superbox

The X-Universe box of delights is set to bulge

As those of you who follow the EGOSOFT website and its Twitter service will have noticed, we put out a call for X fans to nominate or even provide fan-made materials, which might be selected for inclusion in an X-Superbox. The response to this, as might well be expected, was phenomenal and we’re very pleased to say that development of that package is continuing. What will be included and when it will be released is yet to be finalised, but we’re sure it’ll be worth the wait. We are looking to include scripts, mods, missions, tutorials, and ships for X2: The Threat, X3: Reunion and X3: Terran Conflict as well as guides, tips and tricks, savegames and screenshots. We’re also collecting noteworthy contributions from the forum’s Creative Universe, especially fan-fiction, wallpapers and music.

All of these treasures will be combined with our own materials, which include ALL of the X-Universe games, to make it the ultimate X-Universe collection. You can learn more about the project here. It's not too late to get involved and make a contribution, so why not take a look?

EGOSOFT

New Home Missions

Update on progress

Work is still on-going for the inclusion of this new community-made mission set in Terran Conflict and while we would have liked it to be included in the 2.5 update, there have been some delays in development, which mean that it will feature in a subsequent update. We hope that when it is released you will enjoy what promises to be an intriguing and enjoyable experience.

Toastie

Egosoft Tweets its Fans

Egosoft team joins the Twitterati

As many of you will have noticed in recent months the top of the EGOSOFT website’s news page has been dominated by the Twitter Updates section. This new tool is an ideal way of passing brief news items and updating X fans on latest developments on the website and in the EGOSOFT office itself, such as news of the Superbox, TC competitions, Helge Kautz’s new book and Alexei Zakharov’s new website, not to mention ingenious air-conditioning solutions at HQ. If you’re not really a Twitter fan or just haven’t got round to trying it yet, you’ve now got a reason to do so! Join Twitter now to become a follower of EGOSOFT! Even if you’re not a tweeter, you can still join in the debates the tweets might cause in the EGOSOFT forum!

Toastie

Alex Preuss

The award-winning art of Egosoft's concept artist

Having previously worked for EGOSOFT between 1997 and 2002, many of you who played the early X-games will be familiar with the artwork of Alex Preuss and considering some of the work he has done in the interim, we're very pleased to have him back on board and working on concepts for future projects.

In 2005 Alex won the CG Society's Grand Space Opera Challenge with this awesome entry (be advised - it takes a while to load). Since then he has collected even more accolades, as you can see from his portfolio page on the CG Society website. For more on what Alex has been up to and a further peek at his work, you can visit his website (www.abalakin.de), where you might be able to find some old X2 concept art too!

Toastie