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[Mindmaker]

Starting with x3 should be fine. X3's main character is the son of the the one from x2, so you wont be missing any of your story. Only background events.

Good.
Just bought it on steam.
Should be able to play it today.

[Rilder]

And in X3: TC the plots are pretty much separate from any sort of character since you can do them all on any start.w

Edit: And not to forget that in R and TC the plots are optional so don't do them if you don't want to.

Also I'm seriously tempted to start a lets play of x3:TC but I don't know if i can keep it up for very long if I did.

[jnecros]

Yeah, X3 is no short-term game that's for sure, been working my current game off and on for over a year. Lets play would be hard to actualize.

It is a shame that this series is pretty much dead officially, but in a perfect world I would add a few features, beyond the obvious, control tweaks, better ai and bug fixes.

Better cockpits, yeah the mod'd ones are ok, but not great.

A strategic control room, more of an immersion thing I guess, but it would be wicked to be in a bridge commanding units rather than doing it in the ship's view.

Meaningful intelligence collection, sellable intelligence would rock and make spy ships more viable.

Bombs and bombers, not sure why there is none in the game, makes very little sense.

And the ultimate, first person control boarding action, but it would have to be at least as well done as any modern FPS. 

[Rilder]

Yeah, X3 is no short-term game that's for sure, been working my current game off and on for over a year. Lets play would be hard to actualize.

No, not that, this is more personal flaws, as in I tend to bugger off games after awhile after playing heavily, and being always more focused on a certain lady in my life means I can't really devote everything to it, plus i suck at taking screenshots regularly and my connection makes uploading a pain anyways. Not to mention I doubt I could keep being creative for long.

Bombs and bombers, not sure why there is none in the game, makes very little sense.

M8s are bombers....

It is a shame that this series is pretty much dead officially

I wouldn't say that...

[Lightning4]

It is a shame that this series is pretty much dead officially,

Um. What? The TC 2.5 patch came out last October, and they're still working on more patches/content.
Or do you just mean the fact that there might not be an X4 anytime in the near future?

Don't forget the XTM guys. They're still making a version for TC too. Considering XTM was basically a whole expansion in itself (many elements re-used in TC, actually, so not far from the truth), it's safe to assume XTM-TC will continue that.

[Ikaruga]

Actually, X3TC will be the last episode of the series.
Of course, Egosoft will make other games, probably a space sim (a rumor says that they're developing one) ...
But whatever it will be, it won't be based on the X universe or engine anymore. Which is a good thing, I think. 

[jnecros]

Bombs and bombers, not sure why there is none in the game, makes very little sense.

M8s are bombers....


My M8's use the Tomahawk heavy missle, I am thinking top down view bombing runs as seen in Star Wars al la TIE Bombers.

It is a shame that this series is pretty much dead officially

I wouldn't say that...
[/quote]

There is no X4 planned

"In Q4 of 2009 Egosoft announces that they will no longer release any further X-Series games. They instead have announced the workings of a entirely new "Space Sim" game and the name still remains unknown at this time. Expected to be released some time in 2010. They also have mentioned that it will be a superior level of quality as Eve Online, giving Eve Online a run for it's money."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egosoft

[Mindmaker]

So I've been playing the X2 demo as soon as it was available and decided that the complicated interface and controls weren't the right thing for me.

Now years later I decided to give X3:Reunion a shot, since it was said to be a lot more user friendlier than its predecessor.
So I was quite baffled, when I discovered that this game has no tutorial at all.

Any advice on how a rookie can tackle this behemoth of a game?

[Gabeux]

I had already experienced many great things in X, like being overrun by destroyers and mammoths, lost 3 UT's [universal traders] in the same sector because some argon ship wanted to make some roadkills in an unknown way....roadkilled many Khaak, when I had an Ursa or some Boron ship in X2 I also roadkilled a lot of ships and had to reload my game....etc

X is so great.
And last time I've read, Egosoft is planning in making a MMO

[alexwazer]

Any advice on how a rookie can tackle this behemoth of a game?

Oh God!! Where to start?

Unless you fancy a few days of reading guides on egosoft's forum, there's only one way to tame such a beast: head on. I would suggest you avoid plot-enabled games at the start as the plot doesn't really help, but throwing you all over the place. The humble merchant start is probably the best for starters. IIRC, you start in Argon Prime, one of the most secure sector, with a buster (med-fighter) and mercury (freighter). You can command the freighter remotely while flying the buster. Being in a friendly, relatively safe sector, you can take some time to become somewhat familiar with the controls and menus, and sub-menus and sub-sub-menus...  If you don't mind not doing any fighting right away (probably a good idea since busters suck), you could sale the buster and get a discoverer instead*. Exploring will allow to get to know more about the game; the different races resources, prices range, weapons, ships, etc.

Before you know it (not really, but meh), you'll have a small fleet of traders happily being shot in pirate sectors funding your growing empire. By the time you are ready to start building stations/spaghettiplex or buying capital ships, you'll know quite a bit more about the game. So instead of looking for vague advices, you'll be looking for precise info. Like, how many fraking crystal fabs you need to supply a 130 stations megaplex? Or which capital ship and weapons are the best to fight off the Khaak destroyer + carrier that just spawned in the sector housing your spaceweed complex?

I kinda got carried away here... The point being that messing around in-game is the best way to learn. Don't be afraid to mess up... you will even when you've become a "pro" and even if you don't, the AI will do so for you sooner or later (sooner being the most likely). Remember, losing is Fun... well the first few times anyway.


* Edit: Not sure you've got enough reputation at the start to buy anything. I wouldn't want to screw anyone over a simple oversight 


Edit 2: Yup, got carried away and completely forgot OP. I didn't get TC as it feels more like a mod than a new game. Although, considering the patch 2.5 (I think that's the one) of X3:R was just that, a patch, and added several missions, a few weapons, sectors, ships and a shiny new HQ, I might eventually buy TC. If X3 was produced by EA, that single patch would have been sold in 2 expansion packs and 3 stuff packs... So I really ought to buy TC, if for no other reason than to encourage egosoft.

I got a question for those who played both: did they change PPC/other Cap weapon or are they still the wall of projectile killing FPS faster than an immobile shieldless jaguar raider?

[jnecros]

Any advice on how a rookie can tackle this behemoth of a game?

This 'little' book will help you, a downloadable text almost 400 pages long. I do not think the spoilers are always clearly marked, so use at own risk.
http://apricotmappingservice.com/x3handbook.html

[Mindmaker]

Thanks I already started messing around a bit and I probably start reading that guide tomorrow.

But is there any way to aim with the mouse?
I can't imageine myself fighting spacebattles with the keyboard only...

[Nadaka]

I would get a flight stick if I were you and wanted to do dogfighting.

[Smitehappy]

Press space to enable mouse flight mode.

[Tofu]

I tried this game for a little while, about three hours...And I have never been so bored in my entire life.
No game should ever rely on the players  entertaining themselves WHILE playing the frackin' game! What the hell!?
You go slow as shit for the most part, and since you have to go such long distances I have to read while doing it, or possibly something else. And if I become too distracted then pirates kill me and makes me load from the last save, this effectively makes me want to hurl in disgust.
I have to travel the same distance again.
It is a great simulator, I'm sure, but at least they should have some sort of way for increasing the fun factor involved in it.  A lot of the aspects of the game were great! Really great actually.
The actual trading parts were fun, and trying to work out the prices around the galaxy was always challenging to my memory. Alot of the managing was also fun.
But seriously....I have to put the ship on auto-piloting for 10 minutes to go to the next gate, I then have to search around and shit too.
It's unnecessary beyond belief.
I don't demand instant action or something, just something to actually play.
I feel tricked for using three precious hours on this.