X4: Foundations

How to Get Unlimited Money:
If u were like me and want to get started on making station's & buying ships well you are in the right spot. So here is a few steps to get you on the way to a Glory & Profit's $$$.

* Get onto the Game.
* Go to in game settings.
* Go to Game Options.
* Make sure Compress Save is Off.
* Open your Folder/File Explorer.
* Click on Documents.
* Click on EgoSoft -> X4 -> # File -> Save File.
* Right Click on any of you save files you want to edit.
* If u have WinRar or 7-Zip.
* Right Click to extract File / I extracted it into the save file faster way X3.
* Right Click on the Exracted File then Use Notepad++ to open file.
* Then on Top Left area Find Search then left-click it then hit FIND.
* In Find Search for these Account Id= / Player Name= / Stat id="money
* In each of those put how much u want i put 999.999.999 and in game i got
999.999.999 Cr.
* Then Finaly to Left again Find Save or Save all then close everything then go
back to game load that Save File u edit and happy Shopping everyone.

Gameplay Tips:

Stuff a new player has figured out along the way.

Tips and Tricks:
* This is just a list of some stuff I figured out for myself while playing, and
both want to remember for myself, and figured might help some other people.
* To access the in-game Tutorials, hit H. Do the tutorials, seriously.

* There is a specific travel mode, for travelling (hit shift-1, among other ways, to activate it). There is also a scan mode, which seems to be for finding secrets and stuff (shift-2), and a long range scan mode, which seems to be for finding things like stations and secret lockboxes. (shift-3)

* While wandering around stations, it's possible to find traders who are in
buildings at the docks with a large shopping cart hologram above them. You can buy crafting items from them, such as needles and bandages, and craft medkits.
This turns a really good profit, at least for me as I start out.

* There's a sort of interplanetary superhighway - these long blue ribbons you can kind of see on the map, and in space. If you fly near one, then lower yourself down (using the s key), you can lock onto it and race around at very high speed. This is awesome. It's possible to speed up slightly with x and slow down a bit with Z, so you can overtake traffic.

* Manually docking the first time was confusing as hell. Not only must you follow the easy to see green lines to the docking zone, you need to line yourself up with your pad. This is best done by looking for a hologram. You need to roll (tilt side to side with q and e), align the front of your starship (hold mouse1 and turn to face), and get yourself lined up with the centre of the pad (z and x to put throttle backward and forward, or mousewheel also works), then hit s to go down and land.

* Remember that hitting boost (tab) drains your shields. It also drains your
opponent's shields, so consider making an effort to chase them down if they've
just boosted away.

* To get missions you have to use the map screen, you don't talk to people on a
station. There is a tutorial for this. It details some requirements for accessing plot missions (level 10+ in a faction, for example, but I can't confirm this.)

* Sometimes you will overhear police radio type stuff. If a tiny ship gets marked as an enemy, for whatever reason, it seems to be safe to shoot it. You get a small bounty and a small boost to relations with the local faction.

* I think I found some space landmines! They showed up on longscan as a field of ?s, and when I got close I couldn't target them. But by running into them my ship exploded. They looked like yellow glows which I was hoping were some kind of valuable space mystery.

* Longscanning and scanning can be used to find secret stuff. On longscan, look
out for purple pings in the world (not on the map) which are invisible to radar.

* When trying to hire people on a station, click the ship you want to add them
to, then right click it and click 'select' in the popup menu. You can then assign them a role in the right hand hire dialogue menu.

* To sell a ship, Open the map then select the ship you want to sell, then right click on a shipyard or warf and select sell ship in the drop down.

How to Use Your Own Logo on Ships:
In X4 Foundations you can use a custom logo that will be shown on your ships.
This guide describes the process of getting your images to show up in game.

General:
Logo-Folder: /Documents/Egosoft/X4/[Numbers]/logos/

Valid file formats are .BMP, .DDS, .GIF, .JPG, .PNG and .TGA.

Transparency in images should work as expected, but animations in GIFs will not
play.

For the [Numbers] folder to be generated you will need at least one save-game, so the first step is to save your game at least once. After that, create the logos directory inside of the [Numbers] folder. The images you place inside the logos folder must be square and a power of two. A valid size would be 128x128, 256x256,512x512, ... and so on.

After I placed the logo inside the folder, I had to restart the game and load
the save-game. The logo will then show up for selection in the game. Press
ENTER, click the tab Player Information and then scroll down to Custom Logos.

How to Hack Data Vaults:
Data Vaults are located in space and show up as a purple ping when using the Lon-rang scanner. So far I have only seen them in Asteroid fields so you can focus on those areas to start with. Once You have a ping just fly toward it till you find the Vault.

Fixing the Vault:
In order to get the data out of the vault you need to get the vault back online. To do this first get your ship close to the vault than get out of your ship. You will need a repair laser for this part. Look for panels that are lit up in red and say presser leak detected(see first image). Just get close enough to hit it with your laser to fix it. It will turn green and say status ok(see second image). Some of these will make the solar panels align with the sun while others will open small hatches that can contain other panels that need repaired or containers you can pick up. Ones all the panels are repaired one finale hatch will open.

Getting the Data:
Now that the last hatch has opened fly over to it with you scanner going. (Default key-bind is shift+2) You will hear the static on the coms as you get closer to the spot. You will see some broken wires with a red mess of lights above them, just point towards that mess and slowly approach until you get the data.

Where do I find my savegames?:
X4: Foundations Savegames can be found here:

C:\Users\USERNAME\Documents\Egosoft\X4\save\

(You need to replace USERNAME by your actual user name in Windows)

Beginner's Guide:

I Dropped Into the Game, and Now?

I try to keep this guide as short and un-wordy as possible, so I won't tell you every single detail. You may have to click a bit yourself through the submenus, the menus are labyrinths ;)

Where here is will be depending on your start. It also defines which ship you have. I used the first start.

Do not go into a different ship! Many unsuspecting new captains have kidnapped by uninterested pilots.

F5 is quicksafe. You can manually save in different slots. You may want to use that. So far the game is less buggy than many people thougt, but you never know.

To learn what to do, press H for the tutorials. You may not be able to do some of them right now, but you can alwys stop and restart them. Their instructions are only shown on-screen, and not in the log (really Egosoft??)

Hire and Fire:
One of the first things you should do it to hire a captain. Just in case you get kidnapped even after my warning, a captain allows your ship(s) to be commandered using the map.

To hire a captain, you have a tutorial. In short, talk to any running-around NPC and hire them. Right click on the ship you want to have them assigned to (must be on same station). Click again to accept your selection (Egosoft!) and then on the right side select the role -> captain. Congratz! You have a captain for your ship.

To fire personal you have to go to your ship's details and right click -> comms. (Or talk of you stand in front of the NPC).

The guys running around on a station are as noobish as you are, possibly because they are the unemployed. But even a 0 star pilot can steer. Often in a station. In that case - if you ship is stuck - don't try to fly manually, let your captain do it. He can fly out nealy as easily as in something.

You can find better (and more expensive) crews by docking on capital ships. You can't see what you get though. New ships get (often with some stars) crews from the shipdock.

Docking:
Many find this hard. You have to align the horizontal and vertical markers to match the docking place. With a bit of trainig that works quite easily (you may have to turn around sometimes). A docking computer makes that easier, the MK II solves that completly alone.

Outfit a Ship:
On equipment stationss (and I think wharfs and shipdocks too) you can repair and upgrade your ship using the ship menu after landing. There you also use consumables like satellites.

Station Trade:
Stations don't buy or sell (nearly) unlimited stuff. Instead they offer trades - a certain amount to a certain price. Keep that in mind when getting your first big trade ship!

Also there are different types of cargo hold.

If you do the trade tutorial you will learn how to order your ships to trade manually. You can assign autotrade by right clicking and choose the option. Make sure your cargo hold is empty! Autotraders do not sell stuff already in cargo hold. No room, no trade. Credits due from trade are those that you get after a planned trade is finished. Keep that switch for trade offers in mind!

If you hover a (colorcoded) text ion the trade screen, you can see the % under or above average price!

Mining:
To mine esteroids can be quite profitable. Unfortunately there seems to be no way to make your miners mine AND sell at random stations. I think you can assign them to one of your stations (after you get one of course) later, to get resources.
To mine you need a ship with a mining laser. To see what an asteroid yields (if any) click on it. You may(?) need to make a range scan first.

The Endless Space:
X games are big. X4 is relativly small, but since two more races are planned in DLCs, it should get quite some sectors more.

The shift+1 and shift+3 modes are your friends! 3 scans (hold R two seconds) for stations and other big objects, 1 lets you fly faster.

Backspace is your friend! The complete stop brakes you way faster then just switching off travel mode. Also a must-use in the spacesuit!

Spacesuit - Repair and Capture:
Your spacesuit is very useful! You can go out of your ship in a spacesuit by using the teleporter console of your ship when in space. Unfortunately that does not work on staions.
Why unfortunately? Your suit is equipped with a repair laser, that makes repairs possible. After you buy a hand laser, you need to reassign the repair laser to a fire group.

Also, to capture a ship (where the pilot has left in a fight), you have to get out, make a scan of the ship and decipher a signal. Then you can shift+d enter the ship. You need a captain on your old ship or it will be helpless!

Assorted Tips:
Backspace is your friend! Fast brake for ships and spacesuit!

Stuck in an asteroid or station? Let your captain pilot you out of it!

Grafics FPS low? Only use FXAA Antialiasing.

Need money? Go to a station's trader (a building somewhere on the side, see crafting tutorial). Buy bandages, needles and sedatives. Use them to make Medkits. Buying price per Kit: 1K, sell price per kit: 10K. If a trader has all three, that is 100K fast profit. It's nearly cheating!

Different races, different upgrades! Each race has ship equipement that is stronger than that of the other races. It might pay off to shop around.

Player-HQ and Other Spoilers:
To get your Player-HQ, start the scanning tutorial. Find the signal (fly like you want to put it on your window) and follow the instructions of the lunatic Boron.

Be careful to put the antimatter on the right ship. It will be destroyed. Get your main ship to follow you. Fly the antimatter ship to the coordinates. Get out of the antimatter ship and into your main ship. Fly away to the coordinates given to you by guide. Then watch the show.

Crystal Mining Guide:
This is a short and direct guide to making early money by crystal mining.

Crystal mining for credits:
* Head to Argon Prime.
* Explore out the snake like asteroid field in the system
(noted in red hexagons on the map).
* Start at one end and focus on the asteroids.
* Notice on some asteroids a bright twinkle? Head towards these twinkles directly.
* Shoot directly at the crystal with your primary weapon when in range.
(Best not to use ammo based weapons so you gain the most profit of this venture.
Weapons like; Torpedos and Missiles)
* Pick up the crystals by holding down the key that activates the device used to pull free floating items into your ships hold.

Crystal types:
* Purple (Bandannite) - most common, least valuable (850cr - 1,150cr).
* Blue (Menelaene) - common, a lot more valuable than purple crystals
(8,500cr - 11,500cr).
* Green-Yellow (Aguilite) - uncommon, a little more valuable than blue crystals
(17,000cr - 23,000cr).
* Orange (Mitonene) - rare, a lot more valauble than green-yellow crystals
(25,555cr - 34,500cr).
* White (Burnite) - very rare, extremely valuable and worth way more than orange crystals
(200,000cr - 300,000cr).

Assuming you got a pile of different crystals? Sell the crystals to a trader but make sure to pick the right one, otherwise you could lose millions in credits selling to the wrong trader! Always check your prices when selling.

It is a time consuming task finding and extracting the crystals but it is well worth it early on for quick credits.

Note: There is an achievement tied to this means of making money (Called: "Miner's Luck"). By mining Burnite crystals you complete the achievement for mining the most valuable crystals in the game.

How to Train Crew or Marines:
In short: Learning by doing. They all get better the longer they survive!

Marines improve their main boarding skill the most in actual boarding missions, while ordinary crew gets better in normal ship operations like trading. Surviving a fight can also improve the skills in many areas.

Station Modules:
Stations are constructed from modules which act independently of each other but can be connected together to allow for the efficient transfer of wares between modules without the need for drones or ships. To construct a station module requires the corresponding Blueprint and for the station Build Storage to have enough wares for construction by an assigned Build type ship.

Station modules are classified according to function:
* Build: Produce, equip and repair ships.

* Defence: Heavily armed modules for protecting the station and claiming ownership of entire sectors.

* Dock: Allow ships of various sizes to dock at the station.

* Habitation: Houses the station workforce.

* Other: Used to connect modules to other modules or act as spacers.

* Production: Produces specific wares, usually by consuming other wares.

* Storage: Stores wares of the corresponding storage type.

* Venture: Special modules with unique functions which are usually the rewards of plots.

How to Land the Ship without a Docking Computer:
To land without a docking computer 4 parameters must be correct:

1.The ship nose must point in the right direction.
2.The ship must be parallel to the landing pad.
3.The ship must be located centrally over the landing area.
4.The ship must be hovering at a certain height.

How to I Get More Missions?:
Flying by stations you sometimes see mission icons appear on the radar.
Then open the mission interface (shift M) to see the actual offer.

The alternative are secret missions offered through signals revealed with the SCAN MODE (Shift 2).
These missions often pay better.

Another alternative are subscriptions: These give you many missions in a row, with little stories
around them. To get to that point you have to get good standings with a faction first and follow their invitation.

How Do I Hack Stations Myself?:
Exploring the universe, you may find parts which can be used to craft illegal hacking items:

If you have these items in your inventory, you can apply them to a security panel of a station. Panel are found in rooms like the engineering section. The hardest to hack security system is the "Turret Control Panel", as it shuts down almost the entire defence systems of a station. To hack it, you will need a Security Slicer.

Most other panel can be hacked with the Security Decryption System.

Where Do I Get Licenses?:
First get a good standing of at least level 10 with at least one of the factions of the game. You can improve your standing with many ways: Playing missions, destroying smuggling drones, help the fight against a factions enemmies or just trade with them. Once you reach level 10 you may get an invitation mission to visit the faction administrative. Talk with him and accept the honour to be promoted. This alone already may unlock some licenses.
Others can be bought once your reputation allows it.

Easy Money (Bug):
Now I will tell you about the easy money making scheme, which I sincerely hope will get fixed.

Everything is very simple:
1.On any ship you dock with the shipyard of the faction with which you are most friendly for upgrading.
2.Put the most expensive gun / equipment for all the money.
3.Fly to the shipyard of the faction with which you have a near-zero relationship, and again you dock for an upgrade.
4.Sell everything that you bought earlier.

The point is that the friendly faction sells upgrades cheaper than neutral. And the cost of installing and returning the upgrade at the same shipyard is the same. Buy for less, return for more. Congratulations, you spoiled the impression of the game :)

Maximize Your Station Profits!:
You are a beginner and have some stations built, but none make any profits for you?

Well, take a look and see if my simple and basic tips can help you maximize your income!

You require:
* Storage Modules, preferably Large
* Habitats or Bioms for workers to live in
* At least one docking module
* Connection modules, like a cross that goes upwards, as most production modules require these Production Modules, duh.
* You can get these blueprints for free when you have completed the according "Research" and flew around the station modules in Scan-Mode waiting and hoping for the data leaks.
* It’s not as rare as you think and I can highly recommend this as this can save you over 100 million credits.

Step Two: Building and Setting it up:
General Tips
* Always assign a Manager, at least one trading ship
* If basic resources are required, assign at least one miner
* Assigning ships will reduce your buying cost by a large sum, therefore maximizing your profits
* Have the ships already stationed in the sector before assigning them
(due to bugs not getting them to work properly)
* Go to your player info menu and then to the "Credit"-Symbol, where you see your station funds.
* The station funds "recommended" when hovering over the station name are what the station needs to fill their containers and storage. Fund the station generously to get it going as they buy food and materials.
* Always add Energy Cell Production (Solar panels). Expensive at first, but cost effective.
* Click on the station on the map: See whether the storage is full – then add more and see whether one of the three different types is full.
* Click on the station on the map: See whether there are enough habitats for your workers. The "most efficient amount" of those workers will be reached eventually when enough food is available.
* It’s effective to place the building slot and station either where there already is a lot of traffic or directly near the hyperspace routes
* Add turrets for defense – simply edit the module

Food Production
* Watch out as every race requires a different type of food.
* Food produced will also supply your workers, so choose the habitats together with your food production
* Where there are many station of a certain race, there will be a lot of need for food – therefore, choose a location close to many stations and lots of (already existing) traffic.
* Often requires water and ice, but supply shouldn’t cost you much

Raw Production and Refined Material
* Requires Resource Sites
* Resource Sites refill when being used up, so don’t worry about that
* Check Site with Resource Probes
* Place close or even in the resource site for easy extraction of materials.
* Your own miners fill your storage for free. This reduces your material costs to almost zero.

Most importantly!
* Do not specialize on a single product, instead: Make a production line!
* Do not simply focus on exporting Silicon or Ore. Instead: Build Microchips from the already refined silicon. Even go as far as building Nano technology!

Nanotronics, Refined Silicon, Fuel and Food are highly profitable when the production line starts at the most basic material.