X-Rebirth VR

After playing lots of the X-series over many years I was keen when this was announced. At its launch it wasn’t so good, but they’ve done lots of changes apparently.

A free weekend to check it out - looking forward to seeing where it is at now:

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Also if you were a fellow sucker who pre-ordered X-Rebirth on Steam (and got burned and learned never to pre-order again), the discount goes up to 50% on this.

I’ll be giving the VR version a try during this free weekend, with hope that they’ve managed to turn the original mess into a fun and well done game.

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So X: Rebirth is quite the mixed bag. On one hand they did some pretty brave things, with an (optional) touch flight control (as in you can wave your hands about, like a joystick and what VTOL VR did so well) but the start-up experience and cluttered UI sure do take getting used to. As it is free to try today, here’s my tips:

  • If you have other controllers, like a Warthog, pedals etc, then in Settings go to Controller Setup and remove the existing profiles for them. They all clash, and you’ll start with a nauseating rolling motion, which is no fun.

  • The touch activation is unusual, in to reset your VR view or to activate the touch as the stick you need to rest your thumb next to the matte circle to the left of the A/B X/Y buttons, i.e. not on the thumbstick, literally on the flat surface of the controller facade. When you get it, it makes sense, but until then a huge mystery. They need a tiny start-up video to show this or something.

  • Graphics are very X-series, with huge freighters, space stations and very X-Rebirth with those silly ‘Highways’ between systems. In VR it looks quite impressive, if not a little dated now.

  • Station landing involves no teleport movement, with left stick to rotate on touch. A terrible idea, and a good way to get about 70% if people to puke. At least use snap turn. Not a great sign when a dev something like this, in that they ignore what other VR titles are doing.

  • Combat with touch is not great, although you can use your controllers. Pointing to assign a target was hilariously bad and it felt like ‘my finger of justice’ was the daftest idea in a space game as yet.

So it’s a big game, very stylized, and some brave choices on input controls. It’s not as good as Elite (or rather let’s just call it ‘different’ as the X series vibe is an acquired taste anyway), but if they sort out a few things then I can see it as ok value. Perhaps the next X series game will get them back on form, and this was more a trial thing?

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I loved all X series games.
Preordered X Rebirth.
Tried to like it despite it being different to what I wanted, but it was so bugged I just couldn’t.

Have to try it again sometime now that it is fixed a lot.

I’m glad they did a free weekend so we could try it, looks like there is potential here, but the flight physics here feel weird and it’s giving me VR motion sickness… also seems like they don’t have the original campaign from X-Rebirth in the VR edition at least from what I could see, which is disappointing.
I think I’m going to pass on it for now, even at the 50% discount for owners of the original ($19.99), I just can’t see myself spending time with it at this point when ED does the VR so much better, hopefully they will keep working on improving it and will add the original campaign so that I can pick it up sometime down the road.

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I loved Terran Conflict and Albion Prelude - bought Rebirth and just…couldn’t. Was really sad about it.

In saying that, i think part of the sadness was that Kerbal Space Program has ruined ‘gamey’ space game experiences for me.

I really loved doing the rushed, stacked-mission delivery runs in X:TC but after doing orbital rendezvouses with proper orbital physics in KSP, the 'point nose and go that way, ship stops if you cut thrust '- play mechanics just feel wrong.

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I still have a lot of hope for the next X. Already announced and it seems they will be going back to how the old games played.

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So I saw that X-Rebirth has apparently done a bunch of updates, and the “Home of Light” edition was on sale on GOG. Anybody played it? Worth it, or should I wait for the release of X4?