Summary
X3: Farnham's Legacy allows you to chose from different pre-defined gamestarts enabling you to decide how fast or slow paced your start in the universe will be and what challenges you will have to overcome. Thereby, the gamestart you choose affects: Your initial pilot name (you can change this in-game), your character's race, your initial starting location, your initial cash, your initial ship(s), and what equipment and upgrades are installed, the initial assets you own and your initial reputation with the different races. The start also affects, whether you will be able to play the main plot.
Some of these starts are unlocked from the beginning, while for others you will first have to play through the main plot of X3: Farnham's Legacy in order for them to get unlocked. Furthermore some starts have additional short-term difficulties, such as extra tasks to complete in order to receive certain items. If none of the predefined starts suits you, the Custom game allows you to define your own starting parameters.
Note: Apart from the above, the gamestart has no effect on difficulty levels, rewards, or anything else in the game.
Detailed Information
Tutorials (unlocked from the start)
Tutorials let you start in a Simulation sector allowing you to try out basic features of the game. Playing the tutorial gamestarts is recommended for those players who have never played an X-game before. The following tutorial starts are available:
- Flight School: Learn the basics and familiarise yourself with the controls.
- Basic Combat Simulator: Basic scenario with a few easy enemies to familiarise yourself with combat.
- Medium Combat Simulator: Medium scenario with several enemies to familiarise yourself with more challenging combat.
- Advanced Combat Simulator: Advanced scenario with many enemies to familiarise yourself with advanced combat.
Please note that once the Tutorial is over, you will have to restart the game and chose one of the other gamestarts in order to actually play X3: Farnham's Legacy.
Farnham's Legacy (unlocked from the start)
Stranded in unknown space and cut off from all your assets, you endeavour to cooperate with strangers in an attempt to get back to familiar territory.
Please note: The following gamestarts let you all start the main plot directly. You will have to play through its initial section to unlock the Sandbox gamestarts.
| Start | Name | Race | Age | Start Money | Start Ship | Difficulty | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Argon Official | Branda Brano | Argon | 37 | 20,000 | Advanced Discoverer | Average (Recommended) | While wars are raging in the universe, it is level-headed people like you who bring all parties involved to the peaceful table of diplomacy. |  |
| Teladi Courier | Joranas Dasinos Rusiris I | Teladi | 18 | 20,000 | Advanced Kestrel | Faster (Recommended) | Making your first million is the hardest, they say. But with a well-equipped ship and the profit-hunger of a real Teladi, nothing can stop you. |  |
| Boron Scientist | Lar Iaso | Boron | 20 | 20,000 | Enhanced Mako | Somewhat Slower | The Xenon, a supernova, enemy forces from outside the galaxy, or even Ancient intervention - your research into the gate shutdown revealed many possible explanations. Giving up is not an option, for you or the universe. |  |
| Split Veteran | Cho t'Hnt | Split | 40 | 10,000 | Mamba Raider | Should be a breeze | Years on the battlefield have taught you this: not every battle is won by shooting indiscriminately. Showing a little restraint can go a long way. Sometimes it is enough to just prepare for the perfect shot. |  |
| Paranid Outcast | Elmanckelttak | Paranid | 80 | 22,222 | Pericles Raider | Safe | You chose the ways of the two-eyed and were punished with the supreme contempt of your whole race. Yet, you cannot deny your heritage when new challenges present themselves. |  |
| Peace Seeker | Terrel Poler | Goner | 50 | 17,000 | Goner Ranger | Could be challenging | After decades preaching the story of Earth, the events of recent years have left a mark on you. But all is not lost. Even in these dark days, there is hope for peace in the universe. |  |
| Moo-Kye's Enforcer | Toki Silarn | Yaki | 29 | 15,000 | Susanowa Prototype | Intriguing | A target and a gun; no questions asked. That's your maxim. However, with the universe falling apart, you become curious as to whether other ways may be more satisfying. |  |
Expanded Sandbox (needs to be unlocked)
Note: To enable these game starts, you first need to complete the initial section of a plot start.
| Start | Name | Race | Age | Start Money | Start Ship | Diffculty | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Terran Spy | Yana Gisler | Terran | 31 | 200,000 | Sabre, Baldric | Hard | As a survivor of the attack on the Torus, you are sent deep behind enemy lines to monitor and collect useful information. Disguised as a peaceful trader, your real motives are far from harmonious. |  |
| Paranid Excellency | Taimanckuttall | Paranid | 120 | 333,333 | Hyperion Vanguard | Normal | Despite spending your life studying the holy three-dimensionality, it has become clear that you will need to redouble your efforts to find the missing pieces of the equation and prevent the gate shutdown. |  |
| Jonferco Representative | Daye Cornell | Argon | 42 | 4,000,000 | M5, M8, TS, M3+ | Easy (Recommended) | As one of the few Jonferco employees who were not in Albion when its gate shut down, you did what anyone else would have done in your situation: you sold company secrets to survive. |  |
Challenging Sandbox (needs to be unlocked)
Note: To enable these game starts, you first need to complete the initial section of a plot start.
These starts allow you to jump straight into the game without having to follow the plot. They require you to find and activate the Headquarters to access other plot-related items.
| Start | Name | Race (Faction) | Age | Start Money | Start Ship | Difficulty | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Disowned Lar | Epione | Boron (Atreus) | 10 | 10,000 | Octopus | Tough | Despite a noble name, your life wasn't as joyful as people might think. Constantly swimming against the tide led you to the conclusion that a simple life would be the better choice. |  |
| Rookie Buccaneer | Libaras Yahondras Yagosias III | Teladi (Duke's) | 39 | 0 | Pirate Harrier | Almost Impossible | In hindsight, trying to steal from the Yaki may not have been the best idea. Fortunately, living in the shadow of the Duke has its advantages: you got to keep your life, but not much else. Time to start anew. |  |
| Former Gunrunner | Pu t'Lt | Split (Strong Arms) | 31 | 10,000 | Asp Prototype | Interesting | After many years of running guns for the Strong Arms, you decide on a change of pace. Time to go out into the universe and make a name for yourself. |  |
| Nividium Miner | Huritis Gogoeolos Yohulis I | Teladi (NMMC) | 22 | 42,000 | Falcon Miner | Moderate | Your thirst for the precious mineral is intoxicating. Although you have lost many friends, you still can't get enough of it. Nividium is Power, Nividium is Life, Nividium is Everything. |  |
| Lost TerraCorp Pilot | Gil Braks | Argon (TerraCorp) | 38 | 5,000 | Advanced Spacesuit | X-Treme Insanity | While testing a new type of Jump Beacon for TerraCorp, something went wrong. You ended up stranded a long way from home, without your ship. Will you make it back alive? |  |
Custom/Modified
Note: All custom game options are modified from the start, and won't let you play the main plot. Steam achievements for modified games are disabled. However, ingame achievements are still enabled.
Custom game (unlocked from the start)
If none of the predefined starts suits you, then you may want to check out the Custom game, as it allows you to define your own starting parameters.
Once selecting the Custom game you will start the game in an empty sector in your spacesuit. Using the Custom Start Configuration menu shown below you will then be able to select the starting parameters to your liking. Once you're finished, click on the "Confirm and Start Game" option at the bottom of the screen.
Custom Galaxy (unlocked from the start)
This start is mainly meant for scripters/modders who easily want to test out their own scripts and/or maps. Since the start is modified from the beginning, scripts will be loaded directly without having to activate the Script Editor first. Furthermore, if you have one or more custom map files in the addon2\maps-folder (this needs to be created first) you can select them here to start the game with. By default only the <X Universe> standard map is available here.
Please note that this start does not provide a custom start configuration menu like the Custom game does.
Galaxy Editor (needs to be unlocked)
This is the ingame Galaxy Editor, which allows you to create your own maps or change existing ones. To unlock the Galaxy Editor, start any game and change your player name to "Makeanapplepiefromscratch" (without the quotes). If you did everything correctly, your name should have been changed back to was it was before. Quit the game, and the Galaxy Editor should be available from the Custom/Modified gamestart options now.
To save maps created in the Galaxy Editor, you need to have a "maps"-folder within your X3FL gamefolder ("addon2"). Likewise custom maps need to be placed within that "addon2\maps"-folder in order to be able to load them into the Galaxy Editor.
If you have further questions about the Galaxy Editor, please visit the X3: Farnham's Legacy Scripts and Modding Forum.