Industry information...

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Tropguey (5)

Posted 12 years ago.

Hey all,

I'd love to get more information about station production, product interdependance, etc out on the web. This site seems like the place to do it.

The first thing I would like to work on is a ware locator, aka: I'm playing X Rebirth, and I need Fusion Reactors, so I look in Trading, darn no one I know sells any. So I come to roguey's site, search for Fusion Reactors, and get a list of NPC stations that might sell them. (This is technically possible atm, but it's, no offense, very complicated).

The next thing, and that's a long way down the road, is to be able to plan a coherent and self sufficient set of stations before building them. Obviously for X Rebirth it would be totally different from, but similar in principle with http://www.altanetworks.com/x3/x3tcocc.html the X3 Complex Calculator.

I'd also like to help write guides on building stations and managing their trade.

--

I'm pretty much unknown to the community of X games, I've played for years but kept to myself. I'm a web programmer by trade, CompSci degree in pocket, I can handle any programming job in any language but assembly. But still I totally understand you can't just hand me your php code for me to continue you work.

However, to be honest, that is kind of what I'm asking.

Let's start small, to build trust, dump me a little project now and then, even it's a CSS you're having trouble with Smile

Roguey, please PM me for more detailed info & contact info or anything else.

-Vespy

Roguey

Rebelguey (24)

Posted 12 years ago.

hi there,

well I kind-of expected sooner or later someone to ask about the web-side of things regarding x-rebirth. I must say its not been easy although whether that just my feelings, I dont know. However havnt seen many other fansites yet - given the launch its understandable. I have found some of ways egosoft have things rather more complex than it needed to be.

Whilst I wont hand-over any code (as you can understand, ive been working on it for a long time), I am willing to help. Hopefully that good enough?

First thing I would suggest is to use a XML method of building a site - I wouldnt recommend too much database tables to be honest. Sometimes it useful to have some; to look-up names of objects. However the bulk of the information needs to come directly from the XML. In some cases you may need to look up 100+ xml files for a single item. I am guessing you are quite experienced with XML? what web programming language you using? PHP?

If you do build a site, hopefully there can be a good communication between the two. Too many x-sites keep to themselves, and barely help each other out. Basically you have to fend for yourself.

as for PM. well there isnt one here. Although if you want to keep things private, then the best way would be to email me. Although posting here might help others if they are thinking of building a site too.

BarrenEarth

BarrenEarth avatar

Proguey (12)

Posted 12 years ago.

@Roguey

Kinda hard to run a fansite for Rebirth when there are no fans... less than 2000 people played the game yesterday Sad

Roguey

Rebelguey (24)

Posted 12 years ago.

Kinda hard to run a fansite for Rebirth when there are no fans... less than 2000 people played the game yesterday
- BarrenEarth

I do think things will improve if/when ego sort out all the bugs, and if they improve some of the major gameplay elements. There are enough people out there who care about space-sims - a genre developers thought was dead. SC improved just how wrong they were.

BarrenEarth

BarrenEarth avatar

Proguey (12)

Posted 12 years ago.

http://www.vgchartz.com/game/52871/x-rebirth/Global/

They only sold 55k copies of the game total... and sales post week 1 were down 86%

Nice knowing you Egosoft.

Vespy

Tropguey (5)

Posted 12 years ago.

Hey all,

Hello Roguey,

First of all, if you're English and a Rugby fan, and since I'm French and a Rugby fan... The two London teams Wasps and Harlequins won 47 to 6, and 37 to 3 against Grenoble and Paris' Racing Metro 92 in the Amlin Cup and the H Cup, respectively.

So I hate you, but it's rugby, so I'll shake your hand anyway (like a vice grip crushing a steel pipe).

Either way, grats on the wins. *forced grin*

If you have any starting filters for the game XML, I'd love to see them. I know it's your code and I might just steal your shit and go elsewhere, I have no intention other than to learn and to share that knowledge freely.

I fully understand you don't wanna release your code... I'll prove myself Smile

Maybe I've been working under Open Source too long, but seriously, please lemme get at least the listing of files your accessed in the .cat/.dat files for what you're already started to do with stations and wares...

thanks, and fuck you on that rugby score.

-Vespy

Roguey

Rebelguey (24)

Posted 12 years ago.

erm.. oookay? well I dont really watch sports. Watching a bunch of guys get dirty isnt my thing. Smile

what do you mean by starting filters? the first step is to extract all the cat/dat files, then look in libraries. In there you will find many of the XML's you are looking for. The folder index is another important folder, as index.xml tells the game where the game-files are.

I did start writting some guides on them too, here.

Vespy

Tropguey (5)

Posted 12 years ago.

ok,

sorry, yes, I knew that much. I'll be quiet for a while, after that drunken accident I posted above.

Cheers, thanks, sorry Smile

Fallent

Fightguey (6)

Posted 12 years ago.

Kinda hard to run a fansite for Rebirth when there are no fans... less than 2000 people played the game yesterday- BarrenEarth
I do think things will improve if/when ego sort out all the bugs, and if they improve some of the major gameplay elements. There are enough people out there who care about space-sims - a genre developers thought was dead. SC improved just how wrong they were.- Roguey

http://www.vgchartz.com/game/52871/x-rebirth/Global/

They only sold 55k copies of the game total... and sales post week 1 were down 86%

Nice knowing you Egosoft.
- BarrenEarth

VG Chartz only includes retail sales so far as I am aware though. I would of imagined the majority of Rebirth's sales came from Steam. Or am I mis-informed?

That 87% drop off after only a week is a telling sign though. Hope Egosoft enjoyed their first week sales, because they're not going to be getting anymore!

Tigereye31890

Tigereye31890 avatar

Tropguey (5)

Posted 12 years ago.

I believe this is likely an over exaggeration. It was on the top sale list on steam for quite some time with other larger hit games that stayed behind it for nearly a weeks time, even though those games had just been released as well. However I wouldn't argue that its sales were likely low over all.

No worries, a true Space sim will find us in the void some day. When it does I shall salute to all the failed Space age games that utterly flopped and failed so harshly to the weathering stupidity of developers on their customer betrayals, and still we will thank them consciously or other wise as they helped create it.

Roguey

Rebelguey (24)

Posted 12 years ago.

well surely the graphs on steam should give you a pretty good idea? It seems to be holding at 2,000'ish shown here.

@Vesp no worries, ive done a few drunken posts before Smile

SyberSmoke

SyberSmoke avatar

Tropguey (5)

Posted 12 years ago.

Well the thing is to compare the sales of Rebirth to other Egosoft games. It is not unfair to say they really have been a niche game studio for some time and really the sale of games has been rather small. That they have been around for so long on small numbers...is a sign they know how to survive.

That said, Bernd has already stated in interviews that they view the game a success through how many it has sold. That online they have sold more copies then all of their games over their life times (not total of all their games). So they could have sold several hundred thousand copies through steam and that is enough to make them happy.

I doubt they are going to run out of funds any time soon after this, and it does sound like they have learned a thing or two. So...we will see. It would just be a shame if they fell through because really...there are so few studio's willing to make these games. I am more willing to root for ES because I would not like to see one lost even if they did not release the title well.

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