X3: Reunion and X3: Terran Conflict... Just what I needed.

Sooo... after my first two bilious posts on a pompous old man denigrating my favorite pastime and a developer torturing it's own customers... I decided to have a "nice" post about a game I discovered, strangely enough, via Steam.

Yes... I hate Steam, but it's not all bad.

Anyway, X3... what can I say about this game?

It's both amusingly simple... yet outrageously complex. It's a space trading and combat game in the vein of Elite, Privateer (the one based in the Wing Commander Universe) and Freelancer... just to name a few (try google-ing "Elite like games"); and it incorporates some RTS elements and large scale economics...

"Hang on, 'economics'?" you inquire with a hint of disdain...

Yes, economics; but nothing more tedious than supply and demand... the main thing being that this is a living, breathing universe where a glut of some resource in sector A, could mean obscene profits in sector B where the same resource is scarce...

Supply and demand... Easy, right?

There's also significant facility to automate much of the trading and industry. Leaving you to add more ships and buildings to your empire while you simultaneously command your more combative ships to various ends. This is where the game shines... You can purchase various ships from the races in the universe and send these ships to do your bidding... Anything from simple scouting and mapping, to patrols, interceptions and all out war.

If you so desire, you could decide you didn't like a particular race and attempt to wipe them out... It's not recommended but you could try. :D

There seems to be roughly three stages to the game:
1. Scrape together money to start your trade empire...
2. Feed profits from your young trade empire into more ships for trading and start building your industry.
3. Finish building your industrial complexes with some structures specifically to supply your own ships with weapons and such; build up your combat fleets.
3a. Kill everything you don't like the look of with LAZARZ!!!

I'm just starting to move into stage 2... Been messing around with a ship called a "Corvette" which is something between a heavy fighter and a "capital ship" or Destroyer. I've been blowing up lots of pirate fighters and a few pirate bases while my trade ships have been making me Millions; good fun.

At one point I tried to start building bases too early and found I didn't have the cash to really get it going, I had to revert to an old savegame or face going further into the game with an albatross around my neck...

And that is the main problem with this game, it lacks the pick up and play aspect of most games today... If you were to pick this up, I must insist you read up on it before you load it up so you can plan a little and avoid the easy stuff ups. The site below is run by an enthusiast of the game series with his own forum, guides and discussions of the game (I think this may be one of those cult followings).
http://apricotmappingservice.com/

X3:Gold (X3: Reunion and X3: Terran Conflict together) is on steam for $30 US, a price I honestly see as being a STEAL seeing as I've already played just X3: Reunion alone for around 20 hours and I only got it a week or so ago. You may also be able to pick it up in stores but I'm not sure of that.

Anyways, I've had enough typing about X3, I'm going to play some more and maybe buy me a destroyer!

I'll see ya in space...