Having shocked the X community with the recent confirmation that development on X2: The Return had been absorbed into X3: The Reunion ahead of its intended Q3 2005 release, EgoSoft today released new details and provided a closer glimpse of what lies in store.

It’s not a move that EgoSoft has taken lightly however, as today the team outlined some of the key aspects that will define X3: The Reunion as the new “benchmark” in the space-sim genre.

Once again the game offers an open-ended gameplay experience, backed by the typically rigorous combat/trading dynamics and this time around, we’re assured an engrossing storyline that should actually help rather then hinder the overall experience. Intriguingly the first details suggest a variety of game starting positions, which allow players to choose different career paths throughout the game.

Powered by EgoSoft’s “X3 Reality” engine and boasting a ten-fold increase in visual detail, The Reunion promises to extend the visual excellence that we’ve come to expect from the series with the latest DX9 technology and pixel shader 2.0 support. Over 200 new models feature within the game including factories, stations and star-ships, making up a total of over 10,000 interactive objects within the game world. Players will also be able to explore closer to planetary bodies, where space stations often hang in low-orbit.

Combat AI has been enhanced significantly and now takes all ship classes into account; with the resulting improvements claiming to offer more exciting and believable confrontations, from individual dog-fights to commanding full-scale fleets against massive enemy armadas. One noteworthy addition is the multiple-threat targeting system, while a vast array of new weapons opens up the scope for an increased range of tactics in space.

Coming on top of the acclaimed economy system featured within X2: The Threat, its sequel introduces a new system that dynamically alters pricing relative to various factors such as “elasticity of demand”, “economies of scale” and “return on investment”. Building and establishing factories is catered for with greater precision, with a variety of new products available to manufacture and a wider variety of ship classes to trade. X3: Reunion features a significant change to the management interface, which should hopefully result in a more intuitive system along with the ability to haggle with NPC over the price of products. It’s suggested that the extent of the economy can be used as a means to conquer opponents, linking multiple factories to create an awesome production line throughout the universe.

TVG has recently chatted with the team at EgoSoft and will bring you more information on X3: Reunion and the as-yet undisclosed console version soon...