X4: Foundations News

New week, new beta! The sixth public beta for the 4.00 update of X4: Foundations is now available to download.

We've fixed an unfortunate gas resource depletion issue that was introduced in beta 5 last week. If you're using a 4.00 beta 5 savegame, we're topping up gas to 50% of the cargo hold on all stations that need gas as a resource, to get your production processes rolling again. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Among other things, beta 6 also includes:

• Several enhancements to the new Coordinated Attack feature.
  
• Fixes and adjustments to the new Terraforming feature.
  
• Better map behaviour when you are under Cover for a mission.
  
• As always, various other improvements and fixes.

You can find the full list in our forum.

[h3]How do I participate in the public beta?[/h3]
Every player who owns X4: Foundations will have the opportunity to download the new beta version 4.00. To ensure that beta participants are aware of the Risks and Rules, we ask that all interested players visit our forum for both rules and disclaimers, as well as practical instructions on how to participate in the beta. Please follow this link to our forum (no registration required) to find the relevant information.

Thank you for your support during the beta phase and have fun with X4: Foundations!

This quarter, the X4: Foundations universe will be extended once again! Alongside the second expansion, X4: Cradle of Humanity, we will also be releasing the largest free update to X4 yet. The 4.00 update will not only include many quality-of-life improvements to X4: Foundations, but will also introduce a number of new features. Some of these new features were announced at the start of the beta phase, but we’ll be shedding light on more of them between now and the full public release of the 4.00 update and X4: Cradle of Humanity.

To kick things off, we'll look at three new ways to manage hostilities, i.e. what your ships can and cannot attack. To help us illustrate this, content creator Werit has prepared a video showing you what these new options really mean, how they're used, and what advantages they bring to your X4: Foundations experience.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCdHVDJECpg
Make sure you visit Werit's channel and subscribe, so as not to miss any of his helpful X4: Foundations videos.

For a short-term attack, you can choose to "mark as hostile" any non-hostile object. This generates a “relation boost”, usually lasting around 10 minutes, during which time this object will be treated as a hostile enemy. This new feature enables you to start a fight against a non-enemy object without having to fire on it manually. The 10 minute relation boost is usually long enough to ensure that a battle starts. The battle itself should then sustain the hostile state long enough for an outcome to be achieved.



For a medium-term attack, you can apply a new "fire authorisation override" setting, either globally or on specific ships. This tells those ships which factions they're allowed to attack – whether or not those factions are actually enemies. This option can be used to start a more general fight with a specific faction, by overriding the usual peaceful behaviour of your ships towards theirs. It can also be used to try and make peace with a faction that is currently your enemy. This is achieved by altering your ships’ default behaviour, which would normally be to attack, with an override instruction not to shoot.

For a long-term attack, we have introduced a "war declaration" option. This is a decision to make a faction your enemy, and to inform them of the situation. This will take effect immediately. But beware! There is no "peace declaration" option. If you decide that you want to make up with that now-hostile faction, you will have to work your way back into their good books.

To try out these new features ahead of the public release of the 4.00 update, you can join in with the current 4.00 beta phase. Just visit our forum for instructions on how to take part.

We'll be back soon with more insights into the 4.00 update and X4: Cradle of Humanity. Until then, enjoy your space travels, leave a review, wishlist Cradle of Humanity and stay safe!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1288460/

Full speed ahead towards the 4.00 update for X4: Foundations! Today we have released the first beta update of the new year. Here are just a few of the highlights from the ever-growing changelog:

• New Feature: Terraforming!
  
• New Feature: New Hostile relation status on map and HUD to indicate objects with which combat is likely.
  
• Added shortcut to Research menu from HQ-related menus, e.g. Logical Station Overview.
  
• Added Logbook tab to Object Information menu.
  
• Added option to sort Object List by relation.
  
• Added mining resource information to sector info menu and encyclopedia entries.

As always, you can find the full list in our forum.

In the coming weeks, we'll be taking a closer look at some of the new gameplay features from the upcoming 4.00 update. And yes, we will soon be able to give you more details on when we plan to release 4.00 and the X4: Cradle of Humanity expansion.

[h3]How do I participate in the public beta?[/h3]
Every player who owns X4: Foundations will have the opportunity to download the new beta version 4.00. To ensure that beta participants are aware of the Risks and Rules, we ask that all interested players visit our forum for both rules and disclaimers, as well as practical instructions on how to participate in the beta. Please follow this link to our forum (no registration required) to find the relevant information.

Thank you for your support during the beta phase and have fun with X4: Foundations!

X4: Foundations is a space simulation game in a living, breathing universe. But what does that actually mean? What can the player do in this huge game? In a series of six videos, EGOSOFT CEO and Lead Game Designer Bernd Lehahn introduces you to the huge array of activities that are available to you in X4: Foundations, goals you might want to pursue (or not), settings you should be aware of, and much more.

All six episodes are available on our YouTube channel. Enjoy watching and stay safe!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0hCP1yuNe8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1YF-Zp85LU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vtTC41ZJCo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59Dwn-PIPMA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQYz6y54wDU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJxBkub4rsI

Have you had X4: Foundations on your wishlist for some time, but been waiting for the right moment?

As part of the Steam Winter Sale we are currently offering a 35% discount on X4: Foundations. It truly is a great time to get into the game. Since releasing our latest big update (3.30) in July, we've been working hard on the next big step for X4: Foundations - the 4.00 update, that will arrive in the first quarter of 2021. If you own X4: Foundations, you can check out the current beta version of 4.00 already and experience new gameplay features like an improved fleet steering system or enjoy the new volumetric fog. Find out more about the 4.00 beta in this news.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/392160/X4_Foundations/
Earlier this year we've also released the first expansion for the game, called X4: Split Vendetta, which was very well received by its players. In case you haven't gotten it yet, you can now save 10% on the purchase during the Steam Winter Sale.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1133000/X4_Split_Vendetta/
You could also choose the X4: Collector's Edition bundle, which is also on sale. You won't just get the base game and the Split expansion, but also pre-purchase X4: Cradle of Humanity, the second expansion to X4, coming in the first quarter of 2021. In addition to the game and the expansions, you're also getting the soundtracks (MP3 and FLAC) and additional bonus material that is exclusively available in the Collector's Edition.

https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/14073/
We would be happy to welcome you to the X4: Foundations family! Thanks for your continued support, stay safe and enjoy your space adventure!