Dear X4 players,
Thank you for purchasing X4: Timelines and for sharing your feedback about this new expansion, whether in the form of Steam reviews or in the various comment sections of our communication platforms.
We are pleased to note that the free 7.00 update for X4: Foundations has been well received, and we continue to believe in our strategy of improving and expanding the base game with large, free updates. Your purchase of expansions supports us in this endeavour.
In response to the feedback on X4: Timelines, we've selected a few frequently asked questions that we would like to respond to here.
[h2]Q: Enough with the secrecy! What does Timelines bring to my X4 sandbox/my X4 open universe?[/h2]
Each Timelines mission description indicates whether it unlocks something, and explains what you need to do to obtain it (this just involves completing the mission with at least a 1-star rating). It also tells you where in the sandbox you'll find the unlocked ships or sectors, so that you can head over to your current Open Universe game and grab them.
In addition to mission-specific unlocks, there's also a significant additional reward when you complete the story in the Timelines Facility. To complete this story, you'll need to talk to characters (the ones in yellow clothing), witness story scenes, and explore the Facility separately from the missions.
The sandbox content can also be unlocked through custom game starts. The "budgeted" custom game start requires you to have completed the Timelines story at least once, similar to other story-based unlocks in previous X4 expansions. The "creative" custom gamestart, which marks your game as modified, gives you access to all of the unlocks even without completing the story.
Below is the much-requested complete list of specific items that you can be rewarded with in your X4 sandbox as part of X4: Timelines:
[h3]Ships[/h3]
S Ships:
- Elite Sport (a well balanced racing ship) + limited ship and equipment blueprint research + paint mod - unlocked by nodus "Asteroid Dash"
- Theseus Sport (this heavy beast is fast on the straight, furious in the corners) + limited ship and equipment blueprint research + paint mod - unlocked by nodus "Station Circuit"
- Kestrel Sport (this racer keeps going when other racers do not finish) + limited ship and equipment blueprint research + paint mod - unlocked by nodus "Spaceport Stride"
- Dart (an unreasonably fast racer for the reckless, which pilots with a stronger sense of self-preservation may prefer to keep as a trophy) + limited blueprint + paint mod - unlocked by X4: Timelines storyline
- Cutlass (this dependable, classic Terran fighter takes you all the way back to 2146) + ship and equipment blueprint research + paint mod - unlocked by nodus "Signal Strength"
- X-perimental Shuttle (they don't make 'em like that anymore) + limited blueprint + paint mod - unlocked by X4: Timelines storyline
- Xenon F (with 4 guns, this heavy fighter is twice as scary as any previous small Xenon ship) + paint mod - unlocked by nodus "Impeded Extraction"
M Ships:
- Odachi (an uncompromising but beautiful ship that set the bar for Terran corvettes for centuries to come) + ship and equipment blueprint research + paint mod - unlocked by the graph 6 terminus "Flight of the Dragonfyre"
- Xenon B (this barbarian among corvettes sacrifices shields and turrets to go all-in on powerful, fixed guns) + paint mod - unlocked by the graph 2 terminus "Attack on Antigone"
L Ships:
- Sapporo (originally a sturdy Terran deep-space explorer, later refit to fill in as a nimble light destroyer and saviour of humanity) + ship and equipment blueprint research + paint mod - unlocked by the graph 6 terminus "Flight of the Dragonfyre"
- Xenon H (compared to its slightly larger siblings in the K class, this destroyer has noticeably better turret coverage leaving it with virtually no unprotected angles - this is your chance to claim and own an historic Xenon capital ship!) + paint mod - unlocked by the graph 1 terminus "The Fade"
[h3]Systems[/h3]
- Hatikvah's Faith (unlocked by graph 3 terminus "Brennan's Trial")
- Nopileos' Memorial (unlocked by graph 3 terminus "Brennan's Trial")
- Matrix #101 (unlocked by graph 3 terminus "Brennan's Trial")
- President's End (unlocked by graph 4 terminus "President's End")
- Mitsuno’s Revelation (unlocked by X4: Timelines storyline)
- Mitsuno’s Defiance (unlocked by X4: Timelines storyline)
- Mitsuno’s Sacrifice (unlocked by X4: Timelines storyline)
[h3]Points of Interest[/h3]
- SCA Free Port, a special trader that has a chance to sell wares that are otherwise only available from drops (Nopileos' Memorial)
- Xenon M0 wreck (Matrix #101)
- Kha'ak Obliterator wreck, with Memento Mori station (President's End)
[h3]Faction[/h3]
- QUE – The Quettanauts make their home in Mitsuno’s systems, and trade using a new barter-based economy mechanic. They are at war with Xenon, Kha'ak, SCA and Yaki.
[h2]Q: Is X4: Timelines really just a series of unrelated missions with leaderboards?[/h2]
X4: Timelines tells a new overarching story that progresses through its missions. However, it also requires you to explore the Facility and interact with NPCs, or sometimes overhear conversations between NPCs, between or after missions. We very much encourage you to do this!
Completing the overarching story in X4: Timelines also unlocks an epilogue to that story. You'll find this epilogue in your regular X4 sandbox game, and your aquatic friend Boso Ta will assist you here if you cannot find the start of the epilogue yourself.
Playing this epilogue in the X4 sandbox unlocks, among other things, the X-perimental Shuttle and Dart ships.[h2]Q: What is there to do in X4: Timelines that is interesting for seasoned X4 players?[/h2]
Missions in X4: Timelines offer gameplay activities and risky situations that players might typically not experience, or not even know about, in their open-universe game. The available scenarios also provide a "quick fix" of X4 for players who may not always have time to play a lengthy session, or to worry about the impact of what they do on their Open Universe savegame. This makes them great for experimenting and improving skills, and can even serve as additional tutorials for core X4 gameplay activities.
[h2]Q: Why is X4: Timelines so difficult?[/h2]
There seems to be some confusion about the difficulty levels and the resulting star ratings when completing a Nodus. Achieving 2 or 3 stars is already a good result. It is never mandatory to earn 5 stars. While a 5-star rating is possible, it is sometimes very challenging or requires a unique trick or strategy. You do NOT need 5-star results anywhere to progress in the game or unlock anything!
Additionally, the story of the Timelines Facility revolves around the enigmatic "higher-ups" and their intentions. They send you on missions (Nodus) that are "technically unwinnable". These might be historically significant moments where different outcomes were possible, and while you CAN make a difference, your side may still ultimately fail. The "higher-ups" assign the score, after all. By following the story, talking to NPCs in the Facility in between playing the missions, you will ultimately learn more about the intentions of the "higher-ups".
Finally, there are secretly "hacked" scenarios with special connections to each other that initially seem impossible to complete with multiple stars. Only later will you discover other factors that can help you achieve a higher score even in these scenarios.[h2]Q: How has the development of X4: Timelines and the 7.00 update contributed to the overall improvement of the Open Universe experience in X4?[/h2]
The endless possibilities and permutations of the Open Universe are still at the core of X4. Improving that experience is , of course, an ever-ongoing effort. However, watching various different types of players hammer away at specific, repeatable, isolated gameplay loops in Timelines scenarios helps us tremendously with improving those aspects of the game.
The development of Timelines has encouraged us to place more focus on the second-to-second and minute-to-minute gameplay than ever before. The myriad of fixes and refinements to sound and visuals, missiles, turrets, AI navigation and docking, the camera, and many, many other systems will add value to the game that will be of great benefit to all players.
The vastness of space can be scary. It is dear to our hearts that Timelines and the 7.00 update help to make the first couple of hours a little less daunting for new X4 players, while at the same time making space more vast and scary for our increasing number of X4 veterans.
[h2]Q: Is this where you’ll be taking X4 in the future?[/h2]
Put simply, no, this is not the direction in which we're planning to take the game more generally.
We see plenty of positive feedback about our massive, free 7.00 update. While recognizing the criticism of the Timelines structure, we would like to point out that the one would not exist without the other. These are two sides of the same development process; all the development effort that we put into creating one also improves the other. Yes, the main structure of the X4: Timelines story takes place outside the sandbox, but the effort employed to deliver that also adds directly to your open universe experience and existing pre-7.00 savegames (see list above). As a side-note to this, we also believe that, as with many of the improvements we make to the base game, X4: Timelines has the potential to become an interesting playground for future modding opportunities.
So, with 7.00 and X4: Timelines finally released, we are now keen to discuss with our community how future X4 updates and/or expansions will return to the model of having more of their content take place in the Open Universe. We are confident that our choice to continue making base game updates available for free, and only to charge for new content such as ships, sectors and missions, will allow us to carry on providing the best value for new and veteran players alike.
On that note, we'd like to tease with you a little preview that we hadn't originally plan to discuss publicly yet, but have decided that we should share with you under the circumstances! We are currently in the early planning stages for the next major steps in the evolution of X4, in the form of versions 7.50 and 8.00 (please note that the actual version numbers used here are just placeholders at this point).
Over the past few years, the proportion of our players who enjoy "4X" games, and who have discovered us through that genre, has increased significantly. As a result, several key points on our list of improvements for versions 7.50 and 8.00 are designed to enhance the ability to initiate and control large battles, with a focus on the AI to support that (which is, by the way, something that can also be conveniently developed and tested in some of the more advanced X4: Timelines missions). It’s still too early to go into detail, but rest assured that we will be continuing to work on X4, and that the journey doesn’t end with version 7.00!
[h2]Q: I'm experiencing UI issues and/or crashes with X4: Timelines. What should I do?[/h2]
If you're having this kind of problem, then please start by making sure that you deactivate any third party mods that you may have previously installed. Many mods will need to be updated to be compatible with version 7.00, and you will need to wait for the authors of those mods to indicate that that has been done before installing them alongside the latest version of the game.
After disabling mods, run a full file verification using the Steam/GOG tools to make sure there are no "leftover" mod files, and avoid loading saves that were made while the mods were active. In most cases this will solve any issues you're currently experiencing.
"The Sapporo class was created as a non-combatant exploration vessel to be used to scout out new locations for the Terran to colonise. As the Terraformer conflict ramped up, the Sapporo was quickly redesigned to perform as a mobile command and control centre, able to oversee larger battles and provide a powerful pivot point for any battle. It still maintains several features of its originally planned role, such as its high speed and manoeuvrability."
"The Dart was initially released as a mail-in kit project, to which an aspiring racer could subscribe and have parts shipped to them periodically. Due to its popularity, the Dart was quickly offered as a ready-to-fly ship, and the project took no new kit customers. It is easy to identify a kit-built Dart from a production one, as the tooling for the rear titanium fins was recreated due to complaints about the fins' shape not fitting that of the rest of the ship. Despite being discontinued, the kits remain remarkably popular, and incomplete kits regularly sell for beyond the price of a production ship."