Owen: Missions, bug hunting and 2.0

Hi everyone. This is Owen Lake (aka Xenon_Slayer), mission programmer for X3: Terran Conflict. I missed my chance to write for this blog during the initial development phase, so I’ve got some catching up to do. As you may have read in my interview in X-Universe News 35, I’ve been keeping myself busy with the latest update, 2.0. Well, where to start?

My main area of focus is on mission design and development, for both the plot and generic missions. In previous games such as X3: Reunion, these missions were programmed in the game code itself, a language called KC. Programming missions in KC gave the mission authors a great amount of freedom to do whatever they wanted, as every game function is a simple line away. Coding a mission directly into the game code has its drawbacks though. The only way to include a new mission is by recompiling the game, and distributing it with a patch, leaving community missions out in the cold unless they are accepted by EGOSOFT through the DEVNET. This system has given us some classics such as the Perseus Mission from X-Tension.

For X3: Terran Conflict, KC missions were dropped in favour of the Mission Director. The MD is a scripting tool, using XML files to store the mission itself, outside of KC. I started working with it back in 2006 along with several other volunteers. We tinkered around, making several missions and testing the MD functionality. I was not a programmer back then, and I found the MD was very easy to get my head around. Over the years, more functionality was added, giving us the jam packed MD we have today. All we needed then was mission content.

Several of us sat down to discuss what the plot of X3TC would be, including fellow mission programmer Al and X author, Helge. Many ideas were tossed around, such as exploring more about the Sohnen race. In the end, we decided on the 5 plots we currently have. I was assigned to code the Terran, HUB and HQ plots. The Terran plot was the most challenging as it was the main plot of the game and needed to carry the story along and immerse the player, while keeping the universe free and open. Most of the time, I would need to look though the list of MD ‘conditions’ just to refresh my memory of what the player could do to potentially break or exploit my mission. We really have so much freedom in X that different players may see or play the mission in entirely different ways.

We developed several small chunks of mission code which was designed to be re-usable. These ‘libraries’ are used in several parts of the plot and generic missions. The upcoming Aldrin Expansion mission in X3TC 2.0, uses these libraries extensively. The entire plot was coded very easily and within two months. The aim of the plot was to advance the Terran story further and present the player with several activities which they may not have done yet, not to mention show off some new content.

Much of the new content is obviously focused in the Aldrin region of the universe, which is very unique. The large asteroid in the centre of the sector separates stations to great distances. While the initial exploration phase is more extreme than any other in the X-Universe, it can become a chore to fly 300km from station to station. So, ‘how to solve a problem called Aldrin’. That is where Terran ingenuity (namely mine and Toasties) comes in. Using tractor beam technology, they have pulled several stations closer together. Then, using the Transorbital accelerators, they create easy, quick access between station groups.

The future of missions in X3TC is bright. We have several community missions on the script and modding forums, and a few in the pipeline for a future update. I have dived straight into the world of KC programming, adding new functionality to the MD or improving some UI. This is entirely new for me as I couldn’t really program anything this time last year. As well as adding new stuff, I have been able to do battle with my mortal enemies - Bugs!

I started testing far back in 2005, when X3: Reunion was in the Alpha phase. As we warn our betatesters, it isn’t all fun and games. Having a sneak peak at the new content is a bonus, but it is hard work to get results. Some bugs are easy to find and reproduce, but some only occur in very special, sometimes strange circumstances. A few weeks ago, we heard reports of “Zombie Hyperions”. Some ships seemed to have a mind of their own after being boarded and captured by the player. With a savegame someone had provided, I was able to see the ship was still assigned to patrol duty for the former owner. With the help of Klaus, we managed to “exorcise the demons”.

Other than the Aldrin Expansion mission in 2.0, mission development has taken a back seat for me, while I look after the rest of the game, keeping track of the bugs, organising the new text for translation and exploring the underlying code of X3. It has been a heck of an experience, but the danger was that as soon as I look at the code, playing the game would not be as much fun. While I still have not had time to play yet, I can’t wait until I do. There is so much in there that I can’t grasp it all or see it all. I’m still seeing ships during testing which I have not seen before! Just last week I saw my first Kha’ak invasion in X3TC; in the sector of Kingdom End, no less. That was fun to watch! ;-)

CBJ: Paintball

Hi everyone, CBJ here. If you've spent any time on the Egosoft forums then you probably already know as much as you want know to about me, but for those who don't I'm (in no particular order) a software developer, veteran space gamer from the original Elite on the BBC Micro generation, and big fan of pizzas.

I originally started work on this project way back before it had a name, designing and developing the new Mission Director system for creating missions. At the start of this year I was asked to lead the X³: Terran Conflict project through the final stages of the development process. Hm, now that I think about it, Bernd said something about needing to concentrate on other things - if visiting games conventions was what he was referring to then maybe I got a raw deal... Anyway, like any project there were some good times when things went smoothly and a few bad times when things looked like they might go horribly wrong, but we got there in the end and delivered the Gold Master to the publishers pretty much on schedule.

With the Gold Master finally out of the door we decided to take a day off work to relax and celebrate. Team members flew in to Egosoft HQ from all over the world lured by the opportunity to shoot at each other... with paint. A couple of chaps from Koch Media were even brave enough to join us, though one turned out to be a bit of a paintball pro and the other was clearly taking no risks as he wore full body painting overalls. Despite grey skies and intermittent rain, and the best attempts of SatNav technology to send us to the wrong place, there were skirmishes in the woods, running battles in the fields and heroic dashes to capture the flag. Some people got a bit carried away and tried to shoot their own teammates (yes, I'm looking at you BurnIt!) but fun was had by all:




After a light lunch there were more exciting activities, including trying not to injure anyone with a bow and arrow:



watching some of the less sane team members falling into a pond:



working out how many developers you can squeeze into a small space without causing a rift in the space-time continuum:



and passing the boss's wife through a hole in a net:



So, I expect you're wondering: with the game about to hit the stores and the release party over, what's next? Well, even though the Gold Master has been delivered, we're not quite through with X³: Terran Conflict yet. We've woken Owen up and he's been assigned the task of continuing to improve the game after release. In fact by the time you read this the first patch should be pretty much ready, bringing you things like an extra non-plot mission, some nice little UI enhancements, and a couple of new script commands for the more technically-minded to play with. As for me, I'm now working on *censored* and *censored* *censored*... Oh dear, the NDA censor just kicked in. I guess you'll just have to wait and see what Egosoft are cooking up for the future, but playing X³: Terran Conflict should keep you occupied in the meantime!

Alex about past and present

Hello folks,

my name is Alexander Preuss and I am a brand new staff member at Egosoft... well... in fact my career here started almost 13 years ago! That might sound a bit confusing, but let me explain:

I joined Egosoft in 1996 for the first time, and worked on a lot of 2D based advertising games as well as the adventure game Imperium Romanum. Until 2002 I worked on the Egosoft games X-Beyond the Frontier, X-tension, and X²-The Threat.

Imperium Romanum 1995

Intro XTension 2001, Intro X-Beyond the Frontier 1999

Unfortunately I left Egosoft in Mai 2002 because of family related issues. I went to the IT and
Internet business and spent most of my time in designing websites, artworks for magazines and a lot of uninteresting stuff which reminded me of how I missed working in the games industry.

During the past 3-4 years I was practicing a lot on 3D/2D artworks in my free time, and in 2005 I won the cgnetworks "Grand Space Opera" challenge with my artwork "The broken Armistice over Abalakin", and also some smaller follow up challenges.

Well... luckily and due to a chain of some funny events it happened that Bernd Lehahn and I met again... and... what should i say... I am back on board! :)

My first big Job here at Egosoft was to create the new Intro for X3 Terran Conflict. It is based on a concept by Helge Kautz and shows the line of events between the original Terraformer attack on Earth and the events which will lead to the new story.


Intro X3:Terran Conflict

Intro X3:Terran Conflict

I also worked on some of the new models which will appear in X3: Terran Conflict.



Some examples are a big Terraformer CPU Ship, a secret Terraformer object,
the Khaak Hive and the new Xenon station.



Finally I can say I am having a great time right now and doing all this cool stuff for X3TC is pure fun and it makes me proud to be a member of the Egosoft team again.

-Alex

Bobby: from fan to developer

For the next issue of the X Universe News, our regular email to the community, Bernd has asked some of the developers of X3: Terran Conflict to write a bit about their experiences over the past two years. The team that worked on this grand finale to the X series has been the biggest team to work on an X game ever, and the reason for this is that our core team was joined by some guys you may already know. So without further ado, let this series start:

Hi, I’m Bobby Wilkinson, one of the developers of X3: Terran Conflict, although some in the community probably know me better as Syklon, one of the developers behind the XTended mod. Some of the more observant may have already noticed a few XTended ships show up in some of the X3:TC screenshots shown so far. X3:TC includes what we felt were some of the best ships from XTended, which, even after being reworked to look and feel even better, should be familiar to XTended’s wonderful fans, while providing new, fun content for the rest of the players to enjoy. To mention some specifically, I’m sure all of our fans will be happy to hear about the inclusion of XTended’s Frigates (M7) and Heavy Corvettes, but with the massive amount of stuff X3:TC is adding, these are just a drop in the bucket of new stuff for X3:TC.

Before I started working on the X-series, and before I started modding the X-series, I was a player of the X-series, which goes for a lot of the other developers on the X3:TC team as well. If we weren’t making or modifying the games, we were playing them, and that gave us a great mix of ideas for improvement from multiple perspectives. A lot of the new features you’ll see talked about more as we move towards release were things that we, as both players and developers, felt were missing from previous games in the series.

Don’t let the numbering fool you, X3: Terran Conflict is more than just X3: Reunion with a bunch of new ships and missions, although there’s plenty of those as well! You’ve already seen and read hints about some of the new stuff, like boarding parties, bombers, flight wing groups, missile frigates, and a new User Interface, but there’s still plenty more you haven’t heard about yet, like non-player corporations, new and improved mission-handling, military outposts, and a bunch of new weapons. So get ready to find out about even more cool stuff as we get closer to release, not to mention get more details about stuff we’ve already mentioned, because, as both a player and a developer, I have to say X3: Terran Conflict is going to be the best game in the X-series yet.

What is X3:Terran Conflict anyway?

Hi everybody,

some of you may know the X space simulation series for PC. It started in 1999 with X:Beyond the Frontier, followed by X-TENSION, X2: The Threat and then X3: Reunion in late 2005.

Now almost 10 years after the first game was released, we are close to the release of the final chapter of this series: X3:Terran Conflict.

I have asked the guys who worked on this game for such a long time, to write a little about their work, post a few pictures and describe the features of this great new game. We are sure that X3:Terran Conflict will be the best game of the series and probably the best space simulation game today.

The X games have always been about freedom. We provide a universe and the player decides what to do inside of it. TRADE, FIGHT, BUILD, THINK are always printed in capital letters on the box and, everything you can do in the X Universe roughly fits into one of these categories.

To catch up on the old X games have a look at http://www.egosoft.com

This is the X3:Terran Conflict teaser video. It was the first piece of information released early 2008. The next few postings will show, where we went from there ;)


-Bernd