Meanwhile, in a galaxy not that far away: https://www.gamingonlinux.com/articles/something-for-the-weekend-the-x-franchise-on-steam-is-free-for-a-few-days-and-on-sale.10849

There's also one free copy of X3:Terran War Pack waiting for its owner right here... though, as mentioned in the article above, these games are not a walk in the park.

You'll need a day to master the very basics and probably a lot of time to get all the concepts included in the game... I've been playing for some time now and I'm not even sure I've learned everything there is to learn, though I've done a lot of things in the game I initially thought I'd never be able to do (... actually I'd have called myself a delusional nutjob if someone told me what I'd be able to do when I first started playing these games).

What I can tell you for sure is that it's unlike anything I've ever played before and offers a very satisfying 4X simulator experience for any space tycoon/pilot/fleet commodore.

As a veteran from reunion and terran conflict, I am going to bump this post as the game does deserve a worthy owner. +1 goes to you WinterSnowfall.

I do slightly frown upon the link to a steam promotion on a GOG forums, however for any GOG user who is remotely interested in the genre, it is worth taking up WinterSnowfalls offer. This is a fantastic opportunity for a great experience.

WinterSnowfall, whilst I have not played albion prelude, personally I am unable to accept such a gracious gift.

I was one of those who lost the battle with this:

https://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?t=333164

Unfortunately, Egosoft will not be forgiven.

Edit versions.

Well, I've had second... and third... thoughts about including the link (I'm not exactly a fan of Steam, believe you me), but it does give anyone the opportunity to try out the games for free. I am hoping some will do so and come back here at some point to take me up on the offer.

I only ever had the retail games in my collection, but I repurchased everything and forgave them when they "joined" GOG as well. It's true that they've taken some poor decisions in the past, but I'm hoping the future holds some pleasant surprises in store for us.

And as a fan of the X3 series to another, I have to say: you really should try AP. I've also passed through Reunion and TC during their time, but I've always been a fan of the sandbox experience the games can provide, not of the main story-line. AP is the perfect X3 sandbox game.... well, ok, perhaps it could do with a bit of improvement as well here and there, but it's a leap forward from TC.

I applaud your enthusiasm, they are truly great games. I will not be playing albion prelude however, or any other Ego titles.

I argued a principle with Ego and lost. They chose to stick to their principle:steam only executables, I chose to stick to mine: fuck Ego.

X4 is in development. Ask Bernd or CBJ when that will be coming to Gog- good luck.

Please don't be surprised when they release on steam only executables again.

Edit forgot the main thing, someone needs to take you up on the offer of a great game!

I remember they DID in the end press some non-Steam X3AP dvds that can, or at least could, be bought from Egosoft directly and one can by them here on GOG but I sure was surprised when they arrived here as I also very well remember the Steam only policy announcement.

Sorry to hear that, and perhaps I'm too dumb to understand, but how exactly did they stick to their principle since they're now on GOG as well?

As to when X4 will be on GOG, I'm assuming it will be a while after its Steam release perhaps. I wouldn't give 2 dimes on what they say or don't say - if there's money to be made they will be here as well eventually. After the X: Rebirth flop I'm sure they're more than willing to diversify their income flows.

(Wintersnowfall made a mistake in the post above and corrected it very fast)

-------
Looking forward to the new round of patches for the X games that should appear here too soon.

Sort of - more like "end of the week syndrome". Damn, you caught it before I did :P.

A good question and precisely my point, they didn't stick to their principles, I will.

Read this again:

https://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?t=333164

Not only did Ego make the controversial move to a mandatory steam requirement, with a detailed explanation for doing so I may add, they later abandoned their principle by bringing it here to GOG, rendering everything Bernd,Managing Director for Egosoft said in his open letter, a seriously questionable move.

Honestly, ask Bernd and ask him directly on the Ego forums-good luck getting an answer. Ask him if his stance and open letter need to be modified to reflect whatever he feels has changed.

Meanwhile, the games that used to be steam exclusive are here now and purchasing it is funding X4- which will not be here any time soon.

edit:punctuation


Highly unlikley.

None in shop anymore but here is the announcement: https://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?t=318058

A new open letter with an apology would be a smart move. A release of X4:Foundations on GOG no later than a single month after Steam release would also be the thing to do unless they want to earn some respect for their marketing, then a day one release is the way to go. Alas, I do not work in Egosoft's marketing department, which I suspect is taken care of by a single person an hour or three now and then.

Hi Themken

the retail version still required a steam install.

I agree with what you are saying but have moved on: I amongst others lost the fight with Ego a long time ago, things will not change. I merely wished to point out the depths of depravity they sink to.

I simply will not purchase from Ego:it is the only means left to deal with their nonsense.

I want to read new diaries.

Ah, it's still up to us old veterans I guess to keep the Xenon at bay.... I've started a new X3:AP game, then parked it a while in favor of other things, but I plan to give it a spin on my new laptop soon.

So, even after all this time I still have one X3:Terran War Pack GOG key to give away... aren't there any young and aspiring pilots willing to give it a try out there?

And we finally have a volunteer! zlaywal has received the final key since he's willing to give the game a try... who knows, we might even see a new captain's log show up.

This officially marks my retirement from X3:Terran War Pack giveaways. See you in the next Xenon Core Sector!