X4: Foundations introduced the series’ first ever online mode just before the holidays, which isn’t quite as big a change to the normally single-player space sim as you might think. Online ventures let players send their ships and crews into the universes of other players, but it’s not possible to join them. It might be an online mode, but it’s not a multiplayer mode. 

The system, while available in the live game, is still in beta, so ventures may go awry in unexpected ways. Every player now has a venture platform and venture dock that can be constructed on any station or the HQ. From there missions can be selected and ships sent out on jobs. Check out the video walkthrough below. 

Online ventures are optional, but it doesn’t sound like it will really have much of an impact on your game. You might spot some ships that have been designed by other players flitting through the galaxy, but they'll be controlled by the AI.  Right now, there’s no risk to your ships, but Egosoft plans to eventually add aggressive missions and appropriate consequences.

I used to spend an unhealthy amount of time playing the X series, particularly 3 and its standalone expansions, but the massive disappointment of Rebirth really knocked me out of the series’ orbit. Judging by X4’s reception, I’m not sure that’s going to change soon. And that's a shame. Elite keeps me busy, but X is a very different kind of stellar sandbox. I can't become a proper business tycoon in Elite or command a fleet—my ambitions have to be a little bit smaller.

It might be time to crack open X3: Terran Conflict again. 

I really liked X2: The Threat, Egosoft's 2003 open-world space sim. I never made much headway in it, because it's such a huge, sprawling game (and generally speaking, when left to my own devices I will screw around endlessly), but it was beautiful and serene, and the soundtrack was magnificent. The sequel didn't do much for me, though—most of what it added, I wasn't interested in—and X: Rebirth, which arrived in 2013, was a straight-up disaster—enough to earn it a spot in our "Worst Launches in PC Gaming History" list. 

But Egosoft didn't give up, and today it's trying again with the release of X4: Foundations, its "most sophisticated universe simulation ever." Like previous games in the series, it enables players to fly everything from single-seat fighters to massive freighters and capital ships, engage in piracy, build bases and trade empires, command fleets, and take part in small and large-scale battles.   

"In X4, you can start your journey from a number of different gamestarts and as a number of different characters, each with their own role, set of relationships and different ships and technologies to start with," Egosoft said. "No matter how you start, you are always free to develop in any other direction. Focus on exploration, make money with illegal trading and theft, command large battle fleets or become the greatest entrepreneur ever. It's all up to you to decide." 

Is it less of a mess than its predecessor? I haven't played it yet so I can't speak from personal experience, but it's got "mixed" user reviews on Steam—67 percent positive—and while that's not the sort of thing you usually see plastered across the back of the box in bold letters, it's a hell of a lot better than X: Rebirth. That's a start. 

X4: Foundations is available on Steam, GOG, and the Humble Store.