X2: The Threat Preview
The follow-up to X: Beyond the Frontier will have new features inspired by the classic simulation Elite.
German developer Egosoft is hard at work on the follow-up to the well-received 1999 space simulation X: Beyond the Frontier. The new game is intended to be a sort of spiritual successor to the classic simulation Elite and may bear some resemblance to Digital Anvil's acclaimed 2002 game Freelancer, in that it focuses both on trading and on blasting your way to fame and fortune.
"X2 has sort of evolved from initial influences like Elite," says design team member Darren Astles. "I still have fond memories of playing that game on a small microcomputer with a tape drive; negotiating docking and hoping a large cargo ship didn't suddenly decide to leave." As Astles explains, playing Elite often led him to formulate a "wish list" of other features to add to that classic game, including advanced graphics and sound.
Different items on Astles' wish list make the new game a quantum leap from its predecessor, which was a cult hit in Europe but never really caught on in North America. The storyline is set in the same universe as X: Beyond the Frontier, although some two decades have passed since the events that it chronicled. Most importantly, humankind is now facing "the threat" of the Khaak. This alien race, which, according to Astles, is "intent on the utter destruction of the universe," eventually turns you from a mercenary to a hero who has to assist in the defense of the known worlds. Fans of the first game will recognize many familiar characters in the follow-up. But most key figures return in slightly new roles, since they have "aged and moved on" in their lives and careers. Even the test-pilot-gone-astray protagonist from the original game, Kyle Brennan, will be making a return appearance, albeit as a non-player character who plays a major role in the war against the Khaak.
But don't expect this conflict to absorb all of your time. X2: The Threat is being developed with an emphasis on open-ended play. While you do assume the role of a Han Solo-styled space trader with a criminal past, and you do have to fulfill specific objectives over the course of your adventures that lead to a showdown with the Khaak, Egosoft is promising that you will have a lot of freedom. The universe in X2: The Threat will be more than twice the size of that featured in the original game, which was pretty massive in its own right. Nearly 150 star systems are being included, featuring dozens of mysterious alien worlds to visit and exotic alien goods to sell. Around 20,000 different objects will be in action at any given moment. Vessels will ply trade routes, space stations will turn in orbit around planets, and police ships will play cat-and-mouse games with pirates while you go about your own business.
Economics will continue to be a major factor in the game. X: Beyond the Frontier was more about exploration and making money than it was about dogfighting, and its successor is supposed to follow in those footsteps. While you will start the game at the lowest rung of the ladder with just a single vessel and very little money, you have the opportunity to become a tycoon. Along with trading goods, you'll be able to hijack rival freighters and steal cargo, mine resources, set up factories, construct expensive goods based on your own raw materials, and even build massive fleets consisting of hundreds of vessels. Money matters are being based on some basic principles, however, so Astles says that you won't need an economics degree to figure everything out.
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