Note: It has been mentioned to me that this article might come across as if I am speaking on behalf of all players. While I believe that many, especially casual fans, may share my opinion on the DLC, I want to clarify that this is only my perspective. Some readers may agree or disagree with parts or the entirety of this article, and that’s perfectly fine. Thank you to Pons on Discord for the feedback!
A swing and a miss that landed among the stars... not in a good way, unfortunately.
One of my favorite franchises has to be the space sims X Universe series. On X4 alone, I have logged more than a thousand hours, making it my sixth most-played game of all time, poised to overtake Skyrim soon at 1,069 hours. To that, we can add X-Rebirth with 241 hours and an untracked amount of hours on X3: Terran Conflict, which I estimate to be in the same ballpark as X-Rebirth.
Believe me when I say I want only the best for the future of Egosoft's creation. It holds a special place in my heart and always will.
Sadly, the new DLC X4: Timelines, released on June 20th, is a predictable disappointment. Currently sitting at a Mixed review with a 45% user approval rate, it briefly dipped into the "Mostly Negative" category on Steam, and the vocal majority on Reddit seems displeased with this new optional content. What happened?
7.0 update
Let me preface this by saying that the accompanying free 7.0 update, unlike the paid DLC, is a massive success. Players are always happy to get new free content, and this update delivered with ship redesigns, new sectors — some rich with resources!—and an endgame challenge, a popular trend in many strategy games (often called an "endgame crisis"). Based on user feedback, this addition is extremely welcome. I admit I have yet to experience this myself as I started a fresh game to fully explore the 7.0 update, but Bernd Lehahn, founder of Egosoft, has shown a keen understanding of the player base's wishes. He explained that when players have everything — massive fleets, numerous stations, and a robust economy — having those efforts culminate into a clearly defined use is thrilling. Plus, it's fully optional!
In addition to numerous quality-of-life improvements, especially to menus and submenus, such as the addition of the hotkey wheel, I can't overstate my joy at the improvements to fleet AI. While there is still more work to be done, Egosoft's commitment to refining its existing product is evident. The changes may not be as flashy as No Man's Sky's updates, but despite their similar themes, they are two very different games with goals that do not overlap. Besides, ensuring what happens under the hood can be just as important as adding new features.
Sadly, it seems Egosoft took this philosophy a little too literally.
Lack of clear previews & Captain Collin's Interview
Captain Collins, a space-themed streamer and YouTuber closely associated with the X4: Foundations game, conducted a live interview with Bernd Lehahn a few days before the DLC's release. Captain Collins did wonderfully as always, and it's always a pleasure to see developers answer questions from their community.
However, this interview was when I started having doubts about the upcoming DLC.
Mr. Lehahn mentioned that the idea for Timelines came from a programmer who pitched the concept, wrote supporting documentation, and then Egosoft decided to proceed with it. This gave me pause for the first time. While it's commendable that the small studio is open to in-house talent, it left me wondering if a programmer truly understood the complexities of game design. It's not impossible, of course — many are passionate and skilled — but the lack of clear expertise was concerning.
This realization made me question what I knew about the DLC. It dawned on me that very little information had been released. The core concept of the DLC remained unclear, leading my mind to fill in the blanks — mostly accurately, as it turned out. "Timelines," I wondered. A story-based DLC featuring time travel to explore the history spanning the entire franchise? I worried that this meant relying on old content instead of innovating. But perhaps they would do so in a fun and creative way?
Nope.
Before continuing with my criticism, I want to commend the team's attempt to make the new DLC as unintrusive as possible. This shows that they aren't completely disconnected from players' enjoyment, and it's evident that the DLC was not a cheap cash grab.
However, hearing Mr. Lehahn later explain that the Timelines story would happen in a separate gameplay segment, disconnected from the universe sandbox, would have made my heart sink had I not been too preoccupied with the massive heatwave we experienced, leaving me incapable of feeling anything but exhausted.
A departure from what players want
Some problems begin at the conceptual level. First, the DLC does not allow for seamless transitions. Since it's in a different menu and gameplay environment than the main game, any progress made in the main game is irrelevant to the DLC. Effectively, it's a new, lesser game using the same mechanics.
But the issues don't end there. There seems to be a disconnect between what the players want and what the developers provided.
I play X4: Foundations as a sci-fi economic empire simulation. If I want to play a space arcade game, I usually play Everspace. However, I still enjoy the combat in X4. It's generally well done, and it directly supports my economic ventures in the game.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe there were two racing missions in X4 before Timelines. I remember those missions being painful and annoying. I wished I could skip them. It's not a huge deal, but it was one less enjoyable experience in an otherwise great game. It seems other players echoed my frustration when they found out that Timelines includes even more racing missions.
The DLC is also marketed toward "newer players in the franchise," yet even veterans seem to struggle with its difficulty. This spike in difficulty is reflected in the combat missions as well. The developers and defenders of the DLC state that those missions are "optional," in the same sense that any video game is optional. Unfortunately, nearly all the content included in the paid DLC is locked behind those missions. If a player does not participate in these "optional" missions, they will not be able to earn the new ships.
There is hope, however! In a Steam comment, I noticed that the X4 developers have acknowledged that many players are 4X strategy fans and are considering incorporating more mechanics from that genre into future updates. This realization could lead to more strategic depth in the game, aligning better with player expectations and preferences.
Narrative struggles
While not revolutionary, the lore in the X universe is comprehensive enough to pique the interest of story seekers. However, it has traditionally struggled to deliver a compelling in-game narrative. The technical support often falls short, with subpar voice acting (and in some instances in the early days of X4: Foundations, I would say that some character delivery was, bluntly, abysmal and among the worst I've ever experienced in any video game) and character models that feel stiff and dated.
I sometimes wondered if they had written themselves into a narrative dead-end. After reflecting on it, I realized I was wrong. During Captain Collins' interview, I learned that the X universe even has well-received novels. So why did I, as a writer, hesitate about the potential of the X universe story?
The simple answer is that games tend to lack cohesion and often return to a status quo. While I won't claim to be an expert in X universe lore, the biggest narrative conflict was probably the Paranid conflict. However, I expect future installments to depict a canonical peace and reunification between the Holy Order of the Pontifex and the Godrealm of the Paranid. Sadly, this doesn't involve much from the player's perspective. You undertake a few forgettable missions that seem like they could have been handled by any billionaire in the game because the biggest hurdle is delivering stations and ships.
I strongly believe that Timelines was ultimately the opposite of what was needed to expand the X universe story. The franchise keeps relying on its pre-existing history, which has existed since 1999, instead of moving forward with a new narrative. To avoid a narrative deadlock, they need to change their storytelling format significantly. They must be bolder and create stories that make the player feel impactful. Compelling and complex characters with whom you form lasting bonds (not you, Dal Busta) and macro-scale conflicts that evolve throughout the game are the way to go.
A look at player reviews
While the DLC isn't extremely polarized, most people describe it as "meh." Fans of the series are glad to support the developer because they consistently improve the game year after year. With no subscription services and the absence of new titles in favor of focusing on their flagship project, new DLC is necessary to keep the studio afloat. Now that the studio is independent, the studio leader may need to consider bringing in serious talent and experts to avoid a mishap like X4: Timelines. They may soon realize that while many people are passionate about the franchise (myself included), goodwill can only go so far. A lack of confidence in a studio can, as I'm sure they know, lead to low sales.
Conclusion
Not everything about the game is bad. Once more, Alexei Zakharov provides a fantastic soundtrack and some of the missions are enjoyable. I also want to commend Egosoft for their continued efforts and I greatly appreciate the poll asking players what they want for the future of the franchise. However, they have had several decades of experience to grow and flourish and it may be time to have a moment of introspection to consider what they want to do. Even if there were few attempts to replicate the genre on the scale they do it, they are undeniably the best at what they do -- even when compared to the giant that is Star Citizen with its disgusting budget. I may be overly critical and come off as negative in this blog post, but this is because I, like many other players, see Egosoft for what they truly are: a studio with immense potential that wastes it by making decisions. If players say they want more stories, it's not enough to just write a story; they need to bring in established veterans with proven track records in the industry to figure out the best ways to implement said story within the gameplay.
This isn't meant to be a hate letter to Egosoft. It's a touch of hard love because I want more. Despite this DLC not being a success, I remain hopeful though: in an interview, the lead dev said he was ready to expand his studio at long last. The ball is in court to see if he's going to make the right choices and bring in the right people.
Only time will tell. But not Timelines because that's not what we wanted.
What are your thoughts on the X4: Timelines DLC? Do you agree with my assessment, or do you have a different perspective? I would love to hear from both the players and the developers. Leave your comments below!
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