X4: Foundations

X4: Foundations allows players to conquer a vast Galaxy. Build your empire from the inhabitants of different planets, races, and factions. Explore space on various ships, starting from a small scout to an aircraft carrier. Conquer those whose planets, ships, and resources you desire. Manage your own empire and influence the market economy in the Galaxy. Improve all aspects of your power – military, trade, and diplomacy.

X4: Foundations is a sci-fi space sim for a single player, a sandbox in a huge open world with elements of strategy, business, and management. It features first-person and third-person views. The new game in the X series is not a continuation of X3: Terran Conflict and X Rebirth, but uses many familiar mechanics in a simplified or altered form.

X4 is a complex simulator of space everyday life, against which Mass Effect looks like an arcade machine. The player travels on their ship between planets, stations, and star systems, completing a global task: to become the best in diplomacy, trade, production, or military power, or even all at once.

Key innovations:

The events of X4: Foundations take place in an interesting and large galaxy with its own lore, which can be read in the game reference.

Humanity has long integrated into the galactic family of aliens of various forms and species, having lost sight of Earth. There are known to be 13 major races, but at the time of the release in X4, 4 of them are represented, as well as 3 factions – traders, pirates, fanatics. You will have to deal with them and build relationships.

The galaxy in Foundations has been made more understandable for exploration by dividing it into sectors, and each sector has become unique in its own way. The main points of interest in Foundations are star systems connected by fast and secure hyperlines between major hubs.

The developers made sure that each system is unlike the others. Some specialize in trade, others in mining resources, some in processing them, and others can be diplomatic and political capitals.

There are delights for those who love to explore the world – space anomalies, abandoned ships, black holes, asteroid belts, and more.

The release version of X4: Foundations essentially did not contain a storyline. There was a short and very simple quest chain where the player acquired a headquarters, as well as quest chains from several factions.

Foundations is a classic sandbox, so be prepared to entertain yourself by setting goals and achieving them. As is customary, the player starts from scratch and initially engages in the simplest tasks – transporting goods, completing quests, or destroying pirates.

Over time, their capabilities grow, and they can buy several transport ships for trade and set their actions by script to avoid manual management.

Similarly with production (more miners, factories, and foundries) or military affairs (more fleets with more powerful ships). With the right approach, one can quickly start buying entire star systems and influence the lives of their inhabitants — this is in theory.

At the time of release, the only thing that could be done was to farm and process resources to become a production magnate. Then one could build a mega factory, buy an aircraft carrier, produce bombers and fighters for it, add several destroyers, frigates, and a dozen smaller ships to the fleet, and that's it.