Just a buyers beware, because it isn't clear from the article, and it isn't readily apparent from the advertising either, until you actually play the game for a bit:

Although it says "DRM free" on the tin doesn't mean it actually is.

Now not everybody may care, but some people do, and here is why:

Parts of the game require GOG Galaxy – which as we all know doesn't exist for Linux – to unlock, specifically a fourth option at starting the game as a Teladi character. This definitely requires modding the game [External Link] to unlock on Linux.

Also, the so called "Ventures" require you to be online and registered with Egosoft's servers, which allow you to click a button and "send" ships "into other universes" to "collect" rare items and gather crew experience (you don't get to see any of that, they just reappear some time later); some of which you may get without this feature, albeit much less frequently; others you don't.
I haven't tried whether this part works on Linux, and I refuse to, not least because I don't see it as a desirable feature, nor a particularly brilliant example of "gameplay" design.

It remains to be seen whether Egosoft will expand on this "online" feature, or see the error of their ways and remove it, which I doubt – they have already invested [External Link] into it, and it looks just too tempting to introduce more nifty "features" that let you click a button to be rewarded. And why would they even bother with such trivial nonsense if it weren't that one fine day, that button suddenly requires you to authenticate with the payment provider of your choice?

For the record, I am enjoying the game, and I'm glad I bought it on GOG where at least you have an option to refuse being always monitored online, if at a price.
For the time being.

I will definitely not preorder any future X games, and only even consider buying them once they are proven to be truly free of surveillance DRM and microtransactions. I wonder if alleged "piracy" makes up for even a fraction of the "losses" you "incur" over the guaranteed income you lose by alienating your audience.

Cheers Egosoft, this is coming from a fan of your games from day zero.

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Quoting: Liam Dawe

Quoting: Valck

Quoting: Liam DaweThey really need to get this right too, if they manage to it could really turn things around.

I don't know, but I've been enjoying the game for over 250 hours now with v2.50... there are certainly bugs to be fixed and things to be improved, but it's not like it is completely broken and not fun at all. Nothing that "really needs to get" fixed immediately because you absolutely can't play, and certainly nothing that needs turning around or else it goes in the completely wrong direction.[snip]

I'm not saying it's completely broken. The bit you quoted is in relation to the next update and DLC release.

I get that. But what "things" do you think "really" need "turning around"? That's some strong emphasis there IMO... what am I missing?
All I see from Egosoft is a continuous stream of bugfixes and improvements, for X4 specifically, but also for all of their history.

I mean of course there are design decisions I personally would like to see reversed, like those "space highways", or requiring an online connection for "achievements" in a single player game and linking game features to them...

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Quoting: Liam DaweThey really need to get this right too, if they manage to it could really turn things around.

I don't know, but I've been enjoying the game for over 250 hours now with v2.50... there are certainly bugs to be fixed and things to be improved, but it's not like it is completely broken and not fun at all. Nothing that "really needs to get" fixed immediately because you absolutely can't play, and certainly nothing that needs turning around or else it goes in the completely wrong direction.

One might argue that they should have delayed the launch itself instead of launching a half finished product last year, and I'd agree – but it has been that way with Egosoft for the past twenty years when "X: Beyond the Frontier" was launched, and they have always been criticized for that (and apparently still haven't learned ;) ), yet they have always followed up their borked releases with bugfix patches and updates that not only fixed stuff but improved gameplay.

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Quoting: Patola

Quoting: ValckA few sour grapes though: It seems you can't get achievements with the GOG Linux version (might work on Steam, idk). Not that I care at all about achievements, but apparently they are a requirement for playing as one of the races, which sucks.

There is no such requirement, I am happy to say. Achievements do not unlock anything from gameplay in X4: Foundations.

Egosoft support staff seems to say otherwise [External Link], as did mod [External Link] developers already shortly after X4's launch, and my personal experience backs that up. Maybe you're using the Steam version; as I said, I don't know whether that has the same issue. Or maybe you just didn't know about things because they are hidden from view.

When you start the game, there are three options to start with – two Human characters and one Boron. Once you have finished a part of the storyline, a fourth option is supposed to become available [External Link] – playing as a Teladi character.
Only it doesn't if you didn't get an achievement validated by the DRM library, which requires either Steam, or GOG Galaxy. There is no GOG Galaxy for Linux, so no achievements, so no additional game start.

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X4:Foundations, after a previous abortive start when it came out on GOG (was pressed for time, and the tutorial wasn't exactly helpful). So far, I'm some 120 hours in and enjoying it greatly.

A few sour grapes though: It seems you can't get achievements with the GOG Linux version (might work on Steam, idk). Not that I care at all about achievements, but apparently they are a requirement for playing as one of the races, which sucks.

And "ventures" are a joke, I mean come on, "your" ships can "appear" in other players' universes, what does that have to do with multiplayer? All Egosoft has to do is grab their list of player names, seed a random number generator with it, and everybody can play "multiplayer". Would even work offline... just update the list with each patch... Hey, they could even use that as a selling point – "massive offline multiplayer"!
Not that I'd be interested in them, either; I have played the X games from the very beginning and have never felt that multiplayer was the one thing that was missing. I'd like to paint my ships in rainbow colours though, and apart from a mere handful, guess what - paint mods require you to participate in "multiplayer". Cue "it's just COSMETIC" in a Jim Sterling voice; I feel your pain, Jim, I really do.

So far i haven't felt the need to install mods, but those juicy paint schemes, man...

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Quoting: Liam Dawe

Quoting: Purple Library GuyThat is somewhat confusing. So what are the original developers of KSP doing?

Working on KSP ;)

If only. The original developers were let go or left (history is a bit unclear about the exact circumstances) prior to the acquisition by T2. AFAIR some of the current developers have been with the project before the takeover, but not from the get-go.
Felipe "Harvester" Falanghe, whose brainchild KSP was, wasn't even informed about KSP2, much less asked aboard.

I'm seriously torn about this – as much I'd love an updated KSP2, developed from the ground up by a competent dev team who say they know what they're doing (which they still have to prove, nobody knows which part of Uber they were associated with and in what function), I think the hobby project-labour of love-approach by a few geeks fulfilling their childhood dreams has worked out exceptionally well for what it has become. IMO it started to fail when marketing demanded its share, aka. a "release" as opposed to an eternal beta. "Release" 1.0 happened, infested with bugs only introduced to meet the hasty schedule, and has limped along ever since. Which, on the risk of repeating myself, it does remarkably well for what it is and where it comes from.

I'll be happy to see if a "professional" studio can come close to that, if and when it does. Until then, I'd advise everyone to take the hype with a considerable dose of scepticism.

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I find the emphasis on their partner "to help their game engine take better advanced of multi-core CPUs" somewhat of an interesting spin.

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Quoting: KimyrielleGreat to see Epic doing -something- not totally evil, for a change.

Makes you wonder about their ulterior motives, doesn't it...

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category/Unity
Thanks ;)

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Bought, even before this article went up. Except for Rebirth, I own and have enjoyed every game and expansion in the series, ever since it first released what seems like half a lifetime ago.
While Egosoft do have a history of releasing not-quite-finished products, they also – and that's much more important in my opinion – have a reputation for fixing and supporting their games for years after release.

I only mourn for the boxed version that didn't make it, what a joy that would have been.

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