X4: Timelines - Best Features

X4: Timelines - Best Features

X4: Foundations has received five expansions in the form of optional DLC. Among these, X4: Timelines is the most recent. X4 is a space simulation game that enables the player to build fleets, construct stations, and run a complex economy. They are also free to complete the many quests and missions as they do so.

With a unique blend of first-person space combat action, and strategic management of galaxy-wide assets on the game map, X4 has few true competitors. X4: Timelines addresses one of the few criticisms of the game to date: that it is not friendly for casual players, who cannot invest hundreds of hours into the game. Here are some of the DLC's best features in this regard.

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Reduced Speed Mode

Great For New Players

The X4: Timelines DLC adds a very useful new feature to the game that will really help new players out. Players can now choose to run the game in reduced speed mode, which slows everything down. It can make combat in space easier, and can also give players more time to issue fleet commands in combat.

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Players can think of this new feature as anti-SETA. Where SETA mode speeds up the game by a factor of 6, reduced speed mode is a variable speed setting that can go as low as 25% of normal game speed.

External Camera Rework

Take A Good Look At Your Ship

X4: Foundations has always been a visually stunning game. However, the original first-person and third-person chase cameras didn’t show this off as well as they could. The cinema camera that was added later helped, displaying various happenings from around the X4 universe as a showreel. But there was still no simple way to get a good look at the player’s ship from a specific angle.

X4: Timelines fixes this problem. The new third-person camera controls are comprehensive. These new camera controls allow the player to set the height, distance, and lateral angle the camera is viewing from. FInally, players can take fantastic screenshots of their favorite ships.

Reimagined Argon And Teladi Ships

New High-Quality Models

Over the last few major updates and DLC releases, Egosoft has slowly been revamping all the capital ships in the game. Last time around, it was the Paranid that received a little 3D modeling love. This time, it is both the Argon and Teladi.

All the Argon and Teladi capital class ships have been given fantastic new models. These are much more detailed than the old versions, and look amazing. Teladi ships are so much better, they no longer look like flying mushrooms. Argon ships look much meaner, instead of like a flying horseshoe as they did before.

Space Racing

A Tough New Challenge

No space simulator game is complete without space racing. In X4: Timelines, racing abounds, and players can undertake a number of new racing scenarios. These races are far from being a pushover, and the player will need to be at the top of their game to actually come in first.

Many of the Timelines scenarios award special ships for completing them. In the case of the space racing scenarios, there are several small, fast, and agile ships that the player can unlock by winning races. Once the player has unlocked a specific ship, they will have access to it in sandbox mode.

New Storyline

With A Serious Twist

As with every previous DLC for X4: Foundations, the new Timelines DLC adds a new storyline and plot to use as a starting point. But this time around, it has a major twist. Every previous new player start scenario so far has taken place in the sandbox universe. The new Timelines start takes place outside of reality, in a strange dimension.

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The scenario starts with the player flying an M-sized cargo ship, which is under attack from pirates. The player attempts to fight them off, to no avail. Just a few seconds before the ship is destroyed, a strange NPC appears on the bridge. They offer the player the chance to save themselves, by leaving their current life behind and shifting into a different dimension that is outside of time. This leads the player into a playthrough scenario where they need to complete Timelines mission scenarios.

New Endgame Content

For Advanced Players

Anyone who has played X4: Foundations for some time, will eventually end up at a stage where they literally dominate the galaxy, with a number of huge fleets and an economy that is larger than all the other factions put together. Once a player hits this stage, they have few options other than restarting, or attempting to set up some kind of challenge for themselves to accomplish.

In X4: Timelines, this kind of player has a new challenge to face. Once they hit a particular stage of the game, Boso Ta will contact them about some new sensor research that has become available. The player can complete this research if they wish, which will trigger an endgame crisis scenario against a significant alien threat.

Timelines Missions

A New Way To Play X4

X4: Timelines offers a completely new way to play X4. Traditionally, the player picks one of the starting scenarios and follows the scripted content to its conclusion, or simply plays in sandbox mode, ignoring all the quests. Timelines adds a third way to enjoy the game, which is more suitable for casual players.

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Once the player chooses the new Timelines start, they can then take on bite-sized mission scenarios, which offer different kinds of challenges. This could be winning a race, defending a research ship, or winning a capital fleet engagement, among others. The player is given an overall score for their effort, and players compete online. A high score table displays the names of the players who scored the highest points overall. This is a fun new way to play X4, and it sets a precedent for the way that Egosoft can add new content to the game.

X4: Foundations

Platform(s) PCReleased November 30, 2018Developer(s) EgosoftGenre(s) Simulation