Jan 19, 2023

Introducing X TECH 5 and kicking off 6.00 Public Beta

X4: Foundations - belgoray

Once our recently announced new X4 expansion, X4: Kingdom End, is ready to be released later this year, it will be accompanied by the most extensive set of improvements to X4: Foundations since the game's original release back in 2018. These major technical changes to the game call for a lot of testing - so please join our 6.00 Public Beta!

How do I take part in the Public Beta?
Every player who owns X4: Foundations has the opportunity to download the new 6.00 beta version. In order to ensure that beta participants are aware of the risks and rules involved, we ask all interested players to visit our forum, where they will find the rules and disclaimers, as well as practical instructions for participating in the beta. Follow this link to our forum (no registration required) to find the relevant information.

X TECH 5

Our past games X Beyond the Frontier, X3: Reunion, X Rebirth and the original 1.00 release of X4: Foundations marked the biggest milestones in the development of our very own X series engine. With the upcoming release of X4: Foundations 6.00, we're taking the next step and introducing X TECH 5.

While integrating the next generation of our graphics engine with several big visual improvements (details below), as well as a new, more powerful physics engine with performance and feature improvements, we're also maintaining savegame compatibility for X4.

We would like to give you a first impression of some of the highlights of X TECH 5 that are in the first Public Beta of 6.00. We are still working on additional features that may be added in later public beta releases. We will talk about those additional features in due course.

New physics engine

Experience the thrill of space more than ever before in X4: Foundations, with the integration of Jolt Physics into X TECH 5. Whether you're navigating an asteroid field, docking at a space station, or engaging in combat, Jolt Physics adds a new level of realism and immersion to every moment of gameplay. You'll feel the full force of acceleration and deceleration as you pilot your ship, and every collision will have a tangible impact. In addition to enhancing the overall gameplay experience, the integration of Jolt Physics also brings about performance and feature improvements to X TECH 5, which you'll find listed in the full 6.00 Public Beta 1 changelog at the end of this news.

Massively improved graphics engine

A big part of what makes us very proud of the upcoming 6.00 Update to X4: Foundations is the radical improvements included in our graphics engine. Here are some of the highlights from this area of development:

🪐 Improved lighting
The main goal with the new lighting engine in X TECH 5 is to improve natural-looking sunlight in space. More vibrant colours, higher intensity suns, and a wider range of interesting lighting moods. X TECH 5 gives us many new tools to achieve this. Reflection probes greatly improve lighting situations inside cockpits, bridges and on stations, and seamlessly integrates with the screen space reflections introduced in a previous version of X4. You will also note that the shadow-casting in X TECH 5 has massively improved (new "ultra" option for shadows in the graphics settings). This greatly helps in producing more realistic visuals at greater distances.

🪐 Introduction of parallax occlusion mapping
With the inclusion of parallax occlusion mapping, X TECH 5 features a technique that allows us to add extra detail and depth to surfaces in the game. This is achieved by using a special type of texture that encodes information about the height and shape of a surface, which is then used to create the illusion of 3D depth and detail. As a player, you can expect to see a noticeable improvement in the realism and immersion of surfaces in the game, as parallax occlusion mapping allows us to add subtle details and depth that were not previously possible.

Wide range of gameplay improvements

Apart from the serious technological improvements, we have of course also added gameplay refinements and new features in Update 6.00. Please take a look at the complete changelog for version 6.00 Public Beta 1 at the end of this news. Today, we would like to put the spotlight on the following two highlights:

🪐 Position Defence
The new Position Defence feature in Update 6.00 allows players to have a single carrier-led fleet defend multiple locations while maintaining its streamlined support structure. Individual subordinate groups within the fleet can be assigned to protect specific locations, and will patrol the area until they need to return to the carrier for repairs or resupply. Additionally, these subordinate groups can be set to support other groups in the fleet if they come into contact with threats. This allows for flexible and dynamic defence of multiple locations with a single fleet. We can't wait for you to try out this new feature and see how it enhances your gameplay experience.

🪐 Live Stream camera mode
Live Stream is a brand-new camera mode in X4: Foundations that brings you closer to the action. Once activated, by hitting F6, Live Stream mode allows you to watch interesting events and scenes unfold in your game in real-time. Whether it's an epic space battle, a bustling space station, or a beautiful nebula, this new mode has you covered. One of the best things about Live Stream mode is that it automatically switches between scenes, so you never have to worry about missing out on the action. You can sit back, relax, and enjoy the show, as our new camera mode takes you on a tour of the most interesting moments in your game.

We have lots more ideas on how to refine and improve this new camera mode further, and we will keep working on it during the 6.00 Public Beta phase and beyond. But please do try it out in its current form, and share your feedback with us.

We encourage all players to participate in the beta and provide feedback on the new features in our Public Beta Feedback forum. This is just the start of the 6.00 Public Beta for X4: Foundations. The beta will be updated regularly over the next few weeks, so keep an eye on our news channels to avoid missing anything.

We can't wait for you to try out all the new content in Update 6.00 and look forward to hearing your thoughts.

📢 Note to the modding community
As mentioned in our survey summary a few months ago, X4 modders are super important to us and we are very grateful for their work. While we can't go into too much detail on this topic today, we wanted to at least briefly mention that we are working on some new modding tools for X4 and will also be improving the information available to modders in the future. For example, we plan to provide a modding equivalent to the X4 update changelog. As soon as the tools can be tested, we will inform you separately about this, and provide you with further details.

X4: Kingdom End – Wishlist now!

Enjoy a long-awaited reunion with the Boron in X4: Kingdom End, the fourth expansion for X4: Foundations, which completes the collection of the main factions in the X Universe. Discover the unique Boron ships, and fly them through distinctive systems, on a journey of discovery. Visit fascinating places, uncover old secrets and make new acquaintances. Embark on an immersive new chapter of X4!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWfQ6fHsMQA
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1990040/X4_Kingdom_End/

6.00 Public Beta 1 Changelog:

New Feature: Updated graphics engine, with Parallax Occlusion Mapping, Reflection Probes, enhanced lighting, improved shadows, and more.
New Feature: Jolt Physics engine.
New Feature: Live Stream camera mode.
New Feature: Position Defence for carrier-led fleets.
Added new bombardment assignment for subordinates.
Added command to order ships to attack surface elements on designated targets.
Added Salvage at Position and Deliver Salvage commands for use with repeat orders.
Added self-destruct command for player-owned satellites, resource probes, nav beacons, lasertowers and mines.
Added detection and penalty for theft from station build storage.
Added more gamestart information, indicating whether they are Tutorial, Guided, Assisted or Sandbox, and adjusted order.
Added option to edit Buccaneer relations in Custom Gamestart Editor under certain circumstances.
Added player HQ to Station Design Simulator.
Added Supervised Mining missions.
Added Kha'ak-specific Destroy Station missions.
Added extra Signal Leak missions for factions foreign to station owner, allowing player to earn reputation for Vigor Syndicate at Teladi stations and for Fallen Families at Free Families stations.
Added hint for missing research to Equipment Mod Workbench menu.
Added button to force station build to complete instantly in Station Design Simulator.
Added visual hint for destroyed ships in Transaction Log menus.
Added links to Object Information and Object Transaction Log from entries in Transaction Log.
Added hint about trade entries in Transaction Log to Logbook.
Added order descriptions to Interact and New Order context menus.
Added mappable hotkeys for deploying objects such as Satellites and Laser Towers.
Added mappable hotkeys for giving and aborting player squad attack order.
Added option to hold Shift while dragging on map to move orders vertically.
Added transform gizmo to station editor.
Added double-click on module in Station Build menu to focus camera on module.
Added shortcut to Manage Plots menu to console in Station Design Simulator
Added surface elements of environment object to Next/Previous Target selection.
Added options to pre-configure blacklists and fire authorisation overrides when building ships.
Added descriptions to many items in Encyclopedia.
Added information about long range scanner range and scan area to Encyclopedia.
Added distinction between enemies and hostiles to Encyclopedia faction entries.
Added distinction between friendly and allied relations to target monitor.
Added more relation perks to Factions and Relations menu.
Added option to ignore cargo space reservations when setting up trade loops.
Added option to exchange captains when transferring crew.
Added possibility to override faction logo per fleet.
Added modified hint to Continue Game option in Start menu.
Added mission highlight to transporter room button and other elements.
Added some landmark stations to Encyclopedia.
Added mission arrow towards platform guidance if not on screen.
Added animation when selecting target.
Added several new achievements.
Added new ultra shadow quality option.
Removed logbook entries for received surplus and completed trades.
Removed "transparent" border around fullscreen menus.
Removed info boxes for ships on map.
Removed venture inventory tab from spacesuit upgrades.
Removed option to turn off save compression (note: with recent improvements to saving this option is no longer advisable for normal users but remains available to modders in a different form).
Improved balancing of some Terraforming projects by making them resilient against setbacks from events such as quakes.
Improved Find Resources missions by adding guidance sphere and increasing reward according to how many Resource Probes player will probably need.
Improved room variety for certain missions.
Improved Give Seminar conversation choice.
Improved placement of data leaks to claim abandoned ships.
Improved dock position tolerance when flying capital ship without docking computer.
Improved undocking behaviour in certain dock areas.
Improved presentation when sharing transporter room with NPCs.
Improved Zyarth economy to counter it being overrun by Xenon (affects new games only).
Improved faction defence station loadout selection when responding to aggression.
Improved fighter combat movement against large targets.
Improved coordination within fleets during attack.
Improved behavior of ships fleeing from attacks.
Improved MoveWait fleet behavior immediately before performing attack.
Improved combat behavior of ships in fleet with carrier or fleet auxiliary ship.
Improved carrier behavior in combat if all fighter subordinates are on detached assignment.
Improved police response to EMP bombs being lobbed at policed stations.
Improved handling for attempting ware exchange where transport drones are needed but unavailable.
Improved amounts sold by free traders and miners when only selling, particularly across multiple sectors.
Improved missile damage and ammo consumption simulation when player not present.
Improved capital ships using forward-mounted guns in combat when player not present.
Improved reliability of attack subordinates engaging commander's target.
Improved resupply behavior to allow ships that have loadout level of 0 to automatically get repairs as needed.
Improved decision-making for when commanders recall subordinates upon receiving move order.
Improved responsiveness of attack subordinates when commander attacks new target.
Improved collection of multiple drops in same area by multiple ships.
Improved matching of corridors to rooms on Argon stations.
Improved pilot chair in Terran ships.
Improved transporter room visuals.
Improved notification and logbook entry for player-owned ships and stations being destroyed.
Improved presentation of out-of-stock items in Ship Upgrade menu.
Improved estimated arrival time of incoming deliveries.
Improved ship upgrade by allowing multiple ships with equipment from another race to be upgraded if all ships share same equipment.
Improved factory icons to indicate produced ware.
Improved Options menu by making it full-screen.
Improved messages in message ticker and logbook for attacked or destroyed player property.
Improved control mode messages to be informative rather than commanding.
Improved visuals when showing in-game scenes on target monitor.
Improved visibility by decreasing brightness of window dirt at border of cockpit glass.
Improved high and ultra graphics presets to include screen space reflections (change only applied when reselecting preset).
Improved deadzone in default input profiles for gamepads by reducing it from 50% to 10%.
Improved game startup time, and time for loading and saving savegames.
Fixed selected stories in Custom Gamestart Editor depending on Headquarters and Staff story state not resetting when removing HQ story.
Fixed being able to destroy missile drop in Flight School tutorial.
Fixed being able to assign pilots to certain plot ships which should have been restricted.
Fixed problems with Escape Plan mission if it occurs in Grand Exchange I.
Fixed Welfare Module research mission Casino station being invulnerable before mission starts.
Fixed Transport Passenger mission spawning passenger in brig.
Fixed Hack Panel missions asking player to hack panel that has already been hacked.
Fixed Hack Panel missions targeting station belonging to same faction that is offering mission.
Fixed A Pirate's Trail mission getting stuck if Wolfish Heart is destroyed in one shot, or during initial dialog.
Fixed wrong mission objective if target ship gets destroyed early during Seem Valuable mission of Split story.
Fixed Guard placement in Antigone Station corridor during Covert Operations story.
Fixed player Cover ship being owned by Argon during Zyarth's Coffin mission of Split story.
Fixed story not progressing if station to which wares should be delivered is destroyed during Zyarth's Coffin mission of Split story.
Fixed important wreck in Flight School tutorial being destructible.
Fixed conversation stalling during build segment of Advanced Scenario.
Fixed missing hints and menu highlighting in Terran version of HQ dock construction mission.
Fixed Dagobas Lahubasis Yorilos III trying to escape into own ship while talking to him on bridge during Trade Obstruction mission of Avarice story.
Fixed not being able to complete Avarice story race with L-sized ship.
Fixed Manager's Office displaying wrong trophy after completing Arcadian Endeavour story.
Fixed From the Ashes mission getting stuck if Duke's Haven gets destroyed before player can deliver manager.
Fixed Geometric Owl attacking random Xenon in The Void instead of staying put to allow players to dock during Second Assistant mission of Pioneer Terraforming story.
Fixed ship delivery missions not updating which ships to transfer after first recognised ships are removed from delivery area.
Fixed several issues with Scale Plate subscription missions.
Fixed timers for supply factory missions getting stuck at zero.
Fixed some missions having excessively long time limits.
Fixed stations belonging to civilian faction offering missions.
Fixed not being able to dock at Keepsafe after it is rebuilt.
Fixed relations between Vigor Syndicate and Ministry of Finance to be actively hostile.
Fixed certain major stations and factories sometimes not spawning on gamestart.
Fixed some stations unintentionally spawning in hazardous regions.
Fixed Yaki ships sometimes not having weapons.
Fixed generated loadouts in some shipyards/wharfs/equipment docks not matching available equipment.
Fixed subordinate traders sometimes buying from homebase and selling right back to it.
Fixed research storage targets exceeding research ware requirements under certain circumstances.
Fixed being able to activate travel mode in ship without flight assist software.
Fixed ships sometimes firing at empty space when attacking large target.
Fixed multiple beam weapons attacking same target not draining shields as quickly as expected.
Fixed lockboxes standing still after saving and loading.
Fixed ships with repair drones sometimes not repairing at expected speed.
Fixed ships that are about to dock or are executing trades in Avarice ignoring Tide warning.
Fixed case that could result in station-based miners failing to execute assignment.
Fixed traders sometimes not finding valid trades when operating in only one space.
Fixed ships sometimes trading with build storage of destroyed stations.
Fixed station trade subordinates selling station trade wares to factions prohibited by associated trade rules.
Fixed player sometimes being blamed for objects destroyed by hazardous regions.
Fixed player-owned subordinates and capital ships sometimes traversing unexplored sectors when moving between sectors.
Fixed ships trying to resupply at stations or ships they cannot dock at.
Fixed ships belonging to some factions failing to restock deployables and ammo.
Fixed ware exchange stalling if exchange partners are already parked when ware exchange order begins.
Fixed attacking ships sometimes overshooting target on initial approach.
Fixed ships sometimes ignoring collisions when interrupted while docking.
Fixed non-capital ships with subordinates that are not moving with commander needlessly attempting to synchronize movements to fleet at gate transitions.
Fixed defence subordinates sometimes losing track of ships in fleet that are not subordinates of immediate commander.
Fixed case that could prevent capital ships dealing with fleet auxiliary ships which are attached to fleets.
Fixed ships attacking capital ships or stations not using all active weapons when weapons are activated while already in combat.
Fixed capital ships intentionally destroying targets that they were directed to disable while assisting boarding operation
Fixed capital ships tending to maintain distance beyond turret range when directed to support boarding operation by destroying surface elements.
Fixed subordinates not docking if immediate commander is explicitly ordered to dock at carrier that is in command hierarchy.
Fixed case that could result in commanders ordering subordinates to dock indefinitely.
Fixed subordinates of subordinates of carriers undocking when carrier subordinate formation is changed via carrier.
Fixed ships with looped orders repeatedly trying to dock at now-destroyed destinations.
Fixed ships attacking attackers when going in for repairs or ammo.
Fixed fleeing ships erroneously concluding that second flee attempt was successful.
Fixed boarding pods becoming inactive when sent to abandoned ships when assigned marine was in transit.
Fixed illegal activities such as hitting stations with EMP bombs not triggering police response.
Fixed police ships sometimes attacking own faction's ships if those ships interrupt investigation.
Fixed ships in formation that are not subordinates doing no combat damage when player not present.
Fixed dismantled objects sometimes remaining in space much longer than they should.
Fixed wrecks being auto-selected when not flying salvage ships.
Fixed salvage subordinates not updating ranges after commander station's manager is replaced.
Fixed salvagers finding unknown wrecks.
Fixed salvage-related activities not contributing to skill gain.
Fixed pilots sometimes getting stuck when replacing another pilot.
Fixed difficulty docking manually when Collision Avoidance option is active.
Fixed Split flak turret bullets not exploding.
Fixed force effects of anomalies and some other objects not working.
Fixed small wrecks stuck in capital ship geometry interfering with player controls.
Fixed wrecks disappearing while being dismantled if player leaves area.
Fixed stuck doors or non-interactable buttons and panels on platforms after loading save.
Fixed non-interactable airlock after loading save.
Fixed invalid airlock state if cycled too quickly.
Fixed NPCs sometimes standing within objects on dock areas.
Fixed gamestart description texts being cut off under certain circumstances.
Fixed price and discount/commission information sometimes being incorrect in trade context menu.
Fixed maximum number of docked ships in Object Information menu.
Fixed missing timers on chain missions in Mission Manager menus.
Fixed station construction plan changes sometimes being lost when applied.
Fixed missing warning about changes to station construction plans when closing any menu opened from Station Build menu.
Fixed Long Range Scanner not seeing stations with Protectyon Shield Generator module.
Fixed station plots in Xenon space showing licence costs before placement.
Fixed boarding menu allowing selection of arriving marines.
Fixed crew on destroyed ships being listed in Personnel Management menu.
Fixed missing ticker message when player unlocks new Timeline entry.
Fixed missing/mismatching data in target monitor under certain circumstances.
Fixed terraforming projects showing wrong cooldown when they were never started before.
Fixed ware descriptions in trader menus not updating under certain circumstances.
Fixed scrolling in menus when mouse is over certain parts of screen.
Fixed selected object icon not appearing on Map when zoomed out.
Fixed wrecks of civilian ships being hidden on Map if civilian ships are not shown but wrecks are.
Fixed player sector not appearing on map if using space suit after hitching ride to unknown sector.
Fixed dropdown to change assignment of all subordinates in subordinate group failing to do so.
Fixed menu crash in station storage list under certain circumstances.
Fixed icons of recyclables being visible in fog of war.
Fixed mines dropped by trapped lockboxes not showing as red in UI.
Fixed Spacesuit Engines not showing hologram visuals in Encyclopedia.
Fixed Terran names for maintenance and fabrication bays in Encyclopedia.
Fixed potential damage to objects in universe from missiles that explode in Encyclopedia view.
Fixed suggestions for keyboard and mouse buttons being displayed in some cases when only playing with controller or joystick.
Fixed workers leaving lights on when production modules are inactive.
Fixed distinction between enemy and hostile factions in Faction and Relations menu.
Fixed colour of target monitor relation for neutral objects.
Fixed inconsistent information about gate and accelerator destinations in both HUD and ship computer voice.
Fixed voice playback in Timeline getting interrupted by other voices.
Fixed beam weapon sounds being considered "ambient" instead of "effects" for sound volumes.
Fixed bright line appearing in some shadows.
Fixed engine jet "flames" not animating correctly for several XS ships.
Fixed game having wrong resolution after choosing 1280x720 or similar small resolutions in fullscreen mode.
Fixed custom gamestart cutscenes sometimes being distorted.
Fixed looking in wrong direction when teleporting to Alligator (Liquid).
Fixed being able to fall off dock area of Phoenix.
Fixed Zeus docking position being too close to pier.
Fixed Zeus E XS dock being out of position.
Fixed Osaka missing some detail.
Fixed Terran L container storage having incorrect collisions container modules.
Fixed missing wreck for Atlas E resupplier.
Fixed Hokkaido (Mineral) internal rooms clipping through geometry.
Fixed mirrored ship ID on Prometheus.
Fixed gap on dockarea of Erlking.
Fixed paintmods being applied to surfaces they should not be used on.
Fixed custom logos with upper-case letters in filename not being loaded in Linux version.
Fixed performance stutter when approaching highly populated docks.
Fixed noticeable freeze when closing station editor for very large stations.
Fixed rare freeze during startup.
Fixed several causes of crashes.