Egosoft just released the latest beta version of X4: Foundation and you are welcome to test it out for yourselves!

As with all Egosoft updates – the patch notes are a bit lenghty and the final patch will be free for all X4 players.

Patch notes

  • New Feature: Resupply ships are now available and carriers can also resupply their fighters.
  • New Feature: Sector blacklist settings to prevent ships entering certain areas.
  • New Feature: Inventory management with lockboxes in space and inventory storage at player HQ.
  • New Feature: Tobii eye-tracking support (Windows-only in this build, Linux support to come).
  • Added images and background information relating to star systems and planets in encyclopedia.
  • Added logbook entries for NPC ships being built, restocked or repaired at player shipyards.
  • Added note/hint while mouse direct steering mode is active.
  • Added more variations for Build Station, Rescue Ship and Scan missions.
  • Added new global orders section in player information menu.
  • Added options for ware transfer and trade with build storage to docked menu.
  • Added inventory information to player-owned ships.
  • Added categories to object list and property owned in the map.
  • Added options to sort the object list and property owned menus by name, size or hull.
  • Added warning in trade menu if a ship cannot transport a ware.
  • Added possibility to cancel builder ship assignments before ship deploys at station.
  • Added current build progress information to the module type summary lines of station entries in the map.
  • Added option to configure autosave interval (and prevented autosave immediately after a manual save).
  • Added information about hacked research module to research menu.
  • Added information about hacked production modules to info menu and Logical Station Overview.
  • Added ability to configure Logical Station Overview graph data for each station individually.
  • Added wreck filter option to map.
  • Added interior sounds to rooms, shops and ship bridges.
  • Added mining and resupply tutorials.
  • Improved selection of multiple wares for behaviours and map filters.
  • Improved out-of-sector firepower calculations.
  • Improved resource preview in the ship build/upgrade menu.
  • Improved satellite deployment tutorial.
  • Improved performance of loading and saving.
  • Improved interface for dropping player inventory.
  • Improved map object list performance when looking at many player stations.
  • Improved faction behaviour when dealing with ware shortages.
  • Improved ship formation behaviour when flying in travel mode.
  • Improved controller support for initial ship type selection in ship build menu.
  • Improved ship docking and undocking movement in certain cases.
  • Improved behavior of free-flying police.
  • Improved defence drone handling by capital ships in combat.
  • Improved mission reward text for paint mods.
  • Improved updating of wares to be traded or harvested by station-based trading ships and mining ships.
  • Improved Logical Station Overview graph data selection.
  • Improved AI station generation logic to make selection of large habitation modules more likely where appropriate.
  • Removed Fly To objective from Build Station missions.
  • Removed ability to load construction plans that contain more venture modules than the player has available.
  • Removed ability to move an empty station plot after paying a cheap licence to a location with an expensive licence without repercussions.
  • Fixed issues with moving station plots during Build Station missions.
  • Fixed Rescue Ship mission potentially creating unowned ships which don't get cleaned up.
  • Fixed Rescue Ship mission reward calculation in the variant where the ship must be delivered.
  • Fixed warping to a different sector when getting up during specific stage of HQ mission.
  • Fixed missile range calculation for dumbfire missiles.
  • Fixed very slow mission offer display if many offers are known.
  • Fixed menu errors when opening information menu for ship under construction.
  • Fixed huge player-owned stations not displaying all stored wares in information menu.
  • Fixed encyclopedia links to ships not working correctly.
  • Fixed NPC buy/sell orders not honouring minimum amounts.
  • Fixed ships stuck waiting for upgrades.
  • Fixed error messages when attempting to unlock EMP-induced data leaks on ships.
  • Fixed dock speed limits being applied when travel mode is active.
  • Fixed ships docking at moving objects appearing to strafe very quickly at certain times.
  • Fixed police ships remaining in space where they no longer have police authority.
  • Fixed some factions' police ships not being named as police.
  • Fixed defence drones belonging to Teladi Trading Stations not docking after completing their tasks.
  • Fixed stations potentially trying to trade with other stations when they no longer have any available cargo drones.
  • Fixed ships built for invasions sometimes not performing their intended orders.
  • Fixed subordinates not responding to attacks in some cases.
  • Fixed ships attacking targets outside their engagement area when on their way to their engagement area.
  • Fixed squadron subordinates getting distracted by hostile targets encountered while on their way to join their commander.
  • Fixed subordinates of carriers waiting for the player's permission before undocking to attack if player is on board the carrier.
  • Fixed station-based miners and traders not updating their range when they or their manager improve in skill.
  • Fixed construction vessels not always being unassigned when a station is destroyed.
  • Fixed NPC ships not firing their weapons when attacking under certain circumstances.
  • Fixed turrets set to Fire on my current target only firing sporadically when current target is a station.
  • Fixed turrets set to Attack my current target periodically stopping firing.
  • Fixed player-flown ships with turrets set to mining mode only acquiring asteroids 3km away regardless of mining turret range.
  • Fixed mass traffic sometimes using the wrong ships directly after loading a savegame.
  • Fixed asteroids in certain regions sometimes ending up with negative mineral yields.
  • Fixed incorrectly-scaled rendering of paint mods when redesigning certain ships.
  • Fixed promotion of crew to pilots removing existing pilot from ship.
  • Fixed object selection failing in the map when switching between tabs.
  • Fixed cases where map continued panning/rotating even after having released all mouse buttons.
  • Fixed station building menu asking to confirm loss of changes if nothing was changed.
  • Fixed station building menu not updating when a module build finishes.
  • Fixed returning venture ships sometimes being displayed in an incorrect location on the map.
  • Fixed map object list not showing the correct player logo for player-owned sectors.
  • Fixed supply settings for Drones and Missiles in Logical Station Overview.
  • Fixed workforce information in Logical Station Overview being greyed-out
  • Fixed player map icon being very large in certain situations.
  • Fixed external view on surface elements.
  • Fixed targeting while in spacesuit.
  • Fixed loot-magnet sound stuck after auto-save.
  • Fixed tooltip text getting stuck in the station build menu when using the controller mouse emulation.
  • Fixed various NPC pathing issues on platforms.
  • Fixed NPC rubberbanding when talked to while walking.
  • Fixed detached habitation modules during AI station construction (existing station layouts are not affected).
  • Fixed factions building more defence stations than they should.
  • Fixed situation where ships could appear stuck in internal storage.
  • Fixed missing localisation of several texts in menus.
  • Fixed several localisation issues in mission texts.
  • Fixed being able to fly into planets.
  • Fixed NPCs walking in front of pilot in Demeter and Hermes.
  • Fixed Pulsar's right weapon being visually disconnected from hull.
  • Fixed Nodan lights not turning on.
  • Fixed missing mode visualisation in Nodan cockpit.
  • Fixed Xenon capital ship engines not having animated exhaust flames.
  • Fixed duplicate display on panel in Kestrel cockpit.
  • Fixed missing geometry on side of Discoverer Vanguard.
  • Fixed missing external geometry when standing on Incarcatura bridge.
  • Fixed Incarcatura bridge location.
  • Fixed menu crash when opening the map legend in certain cases.
  • Fixed several causes of crashes.

How to get the beta

Steam

  • Make sure that your savegames are backed up!
  • To start using the Beta version, right-click X4: Foundations in the Steam client
  • Select Properties and go to the Betas tab
  • Enter the password IBackedUpMySaves
  • Select public_beta from the dropdown list.
  • To return to using the non-Beta version, select NONE from the same dropdown list.

GOG Galaxy

  • Make sure that your savegames are backed up!
  • Select X4: Foundations in your GOG Galaxy game collection.
  • Click on "More > Settings"
  • On the right hand side of the page, click on "Beta Channels: OFF" and select "ON"
  • Click on the "Channel" option and select "Add Private Channels"
  • Enter the password for the "Public Beta" channel: IBackedUpMySaves
  • Select the "Public Beta" channel.
  • To return to using the non-Beta version, click on the "Channel" dropdown and select "default"

Remember that savegames made using the Beta version may not work in vanilla version.