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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRwj_Vu80m0
X Rebirth had a very bad start, but it seems to be getting better with each major patch. The major news is that the first Linux version has been released.

You have three days to download it for free on Steam, and see if it is worth it.

To get the alpha
Right click on the game, go to properties, select the beta tab, and select linux from the dropdown box.

It’s worth taking a look at the official forum post here, as there is a list of missing features and known issues.

Note: It’s 64bit only, and will stay that way.

It only officially supports the proprietary Nvidia and AMD drivers, and a list of known issues are copied below:
QuoteKnown issues and missing features:
Missing joystick/controller support
Mouse wheel doesn't work
Blurry text
Stations/ships being built look finished instantly (it's a graphical issue)
Missing: glow, blur, ssao
No Anti-Aliasing, FXAA makes everything darker
Only high quality non-legacy shaders implemented
Radar objects are white
No muffling for outside sounds
Some audio differences in loudness / pitch / effects
Transparency order issues for ice asteroids on amd-catalyst driver
Performance issues in asteroid fields
Performance issues with station scan mode
Performance issues after alt+tab on amd-catalyst driver
Long game launch time (window/screen may be black during this so please give it a few minutes)


About the game (Official)
In the distant future, the X universe faces a period of profound and irrevocable change. While the universe stumbles towards an uncertain future, countless adventures await as new enemies rise in search of power. Enter a young adventurer and his unlikely female ally traveling in an old, battered ship with a glorious past - two people alone against the galaxy, playing a key part in the events to come. The fate of the universe rests in the hands of the player...

X Rebirth represents a spectacular new beginning for the X series, offering loyal fans and newcomers alike a vast, vivid and extremely detailed universe to explore throughout the game. Varied gameplay elements such as action-packed space combat, detailed trading mechanics and high-speed space exploration with fast travel allow players to experience a truly unique space saga that will keep them hooked for dozens of hours. X Rebirth features a whole new user experience - it is easier than ever to start with, and remains as deep as fans expect it.

My thoughts
It loaded up fine, and was very quick to load. So, I don’t seem to get their logged issue of a black screen for awhile. It’s not often you get a better experience than you were expecting!

In my brief testing the graphics seemed pretty decent, apart from character models looking a bit too plain. Mouths also didn’t seem to match up exactly to what they were saying at first, but it levelled out later on.

Performance wise, it seems pretty solid! Running it on Ultra on the 970 seems to give me over 100FPS while in the cockpit!

There is stuttering when it switches to little cutscenes, but it soon clears up.

When you have an Encyclopaedia entry telling you about something, like docking at the first station, the subtitles don't continue past the first entry. Not a major issue unless you're hard of hearing, so if you are, you may want to skip that part, or wait for the game to be more polished.

The first station gives me between 80-100+ FPS, so it's smooth as silk as well. I didn't even know you could actually walk around areas like this, so it's pretty awesome to see the inside of stations. I was expecting an Eve Online like approach of mainly having a UI to interact with things, and not an FPS mode.

The pitching problems with voices is noticeable, and they are rather quiet. It's on their list of known issues though, so we imagine it will be patched up eventually.

It did eventually crash when alt+tabbed, but stability will be an issue for such an early alpha on Linux.

I'm liking what I see even with the noticeable issues, and think it could be a great game once it is polished up.

Check out X Rebirth on Steam now. Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Tags: Simulation, Steam
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39 comments
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Xeekei Mar 12, 2015
Considering I can't even launch X3: Reunion or Terran Conflict, and that the keyboard doesn't work in Albion Prelude; X Rebirth doesn't have a high bar to clear.
serge Mar 12, 2015
Work with OSS drivers with an AMD HD6950,if MESA_GL_VERSION_OVERRIDE=3.3COMPAT %command% is set in the steam launch option.
Liam Dawe Mar 12, 2015
I've updated the post with more thoughts.
Guest Mar 12, 2015
Sweet, downloading now.
pete910 Mar 12, 2015
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To be honest the egosoft ports have worked flawless for me, dont see this been bad.

Quoting: XeekeiConsidering I can't even launch X3: Reunion or Terran Conflict, and that the keyboard doesn't work in Albion Prelude; X Rebirth doesn't have a high bar to clear.

What you running Xeekei ?
Feist Mar 12, 2015
Hmm...looks pretty appealing as far as graphics are concerned.

Although, honestly I don't really know a thing about this game/series. I think I pretty much always assumed that it was some kind of "massive multiplayer" deal, and consequently of no interest to me.

However, it has mostly negative reviews on steam and I feel a bit uncertain about it's appeal. Maybe waiting for "Star Citizen" is the way to go...
Jajcus Mar 12, 2015
With 'MESA_GL_VERSION_OVERRIDE=3.3COMPAT %command%' it kind of works on Intel HD 4600 too. Though it doesn't look too great and I have no idea what I am supposed to do here, except following the orange targets. :)
pete910 Mar 12, 2015
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Well, done first mission of the campaign. It's working well here.

No issues. Have it set at ultra @ 1440p. FPS 70-80. Cut scenes are 110fps (4790k + 290x)

I don't get how the likes of Valve/Aspyr/feral/Metro guys and what not can get games to use AMD GPU's fine but Techland cant
seguleh Mar 12, 2015
Downloaded and launched. I don`t know whats good with my rig, but Rebirth works perfectly. I`ve been waiting for linux port of this game, but I was afraid it won't be palyable on my old Phenom. Ok, I did`t engage any dogfight yet, but I assume it won't be a problem.
Game seems completely different than previous X universe games, but in Rebirth U can really feel piloting own space machine. Your ship is "heavy", it has kind of inertia - my first impression was "wow, i have my own Millenium Falcon". In "wormholes" (space highways) I had serious fps drop, but I assume this won`t affect overall gameplay - that's only travel interrupt between action parts of the game (I hope so). I don`t know why they abandon stargate concept in this game, but ok, I can take it. Main issue: I can`t turn off v-sync in game, screen goes completely dark. Even with v-sync game works perfectly, but I think without it could works better.

Again, my old, good rig:
Phenom X2 3.1 Ghz, 4Gb Ram, GeForce 460SE 1Gb Video RAM, Linux Mint 17 Cinnamon 64bit.

Finally - we can play it awaiting Star Citizen and Elite: Dangerous. And if any of U don`t like multiplayer games: U have many hours of fun.
edqe Mar 12, 2015
Quoting: FeistHowever, it has mostly negative reviews on steam and I feel a bit uncertain about it's appeal. Maybe waiting for "Star Citizen" is the way to go...
The game had really bumpy start but has improved drastically since then. Unfortunately the damage had already happened and the game got very bad reviews. Egosoft has always had bumpy starts but they have very long and great support for their games.

X games requires quite much time. They are not fast paced shooters or 30h game play games. People plays these games hundreds of hours. Reviews written by people who has played only 20h hours or less should take with grain of salt.

With this price tag I would definitely buy all games from X series. If you still have some spare money after that I would buy Elite: Dangerous and later Star Citizen as well (especially if they will be available for Linux).
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