X³ REUNION

BASINGSTOKE, England (January 6th 2006) - To start the New Year off, Egosoft launched online today the X³ REUNION rolling benchmark and the 1.3 update, which adds significant content to the game.

The rolling benchmark utilises the in-game X³ REUNION graphics engine to benchmark the speed and capabilities of the machine it's running on. Using the very latest graphical techniques, this really does push the PC to the limit, as it takes the viewer on a tour of the X³ REUNION galaxy, highlighting all of the games key features. The benchmark can be downloaded from: http://www.egosoft.com/download/x3/patches_en.php

In addition, the 1.3 update is also now available. The update can be downloaded via the games internal up-dater or manually via the Egosoft website. Full details are attached at the bottom of this release.

About X³ REUNION:

As war escalates; in a galaxy full of battleship commanders with itchy trigger fingers; as pirates prey on the weak and unwary; a mysterious figure seeks to build a machine left by an ancient species.

Hurling you into space at a million miles an hour, X³ is the most incredible space sim ever seen. With a fast paced, twisting feature film of a plot, X³ offers galactic scale free play, state-of-the-art graphics, immense space stations, fleets of ships, A.I. that is intelligent, a complex new trading system and fast interactive space combat. Fight, Trade, Build, Think

Published by DEEP SILVER and distributed exclusively by KOCH Media, X³ REUNION is available for purchase from all good PC game stockists.

For more information on X³ REUNION please visit www.egosoft.com

For all UK press enquires relating to X³ REUNION please contact:

MEDIA CONTACTS:

DAVID BLUNDELL,

HEAD OF PR

+44 (0) 8700 276 530

d.blundell@kochmedia.com

ABOUT EGOSOFT:

EGOSOFT, founded in 1990, is one of the oldest game development companies from Germany. Its team of industry veterans and dedicated game enthusiasts entered the international stage with the widely acclaimed X-Beyond the Frontier space simulation game in 1999. EGOSOFT is now exclusively dedicated to setting new standards in the space game genre and constantly improves the level of freedom in the X Universe. For more information on EGOSOFT and its products visit http://www.egosoft.com

About KOCH MEDIA UK:

Founded in 1994, KOCH MEDIA UK develops, publishes and distributes a diverse mix of titles for home console gaming systems, personal computers and the Internet. Based in Basingstoke, the company has distribution contracts with a number of software publishers, including NINTENDO. For publishers not in the UK, KOCH MEDIA exclusively markets, sells and distributes titles. Under its own brands of DEEP SILVER and EUROPRESS, KOCH MEDIA develops and publishes its own range of gaming and educational and lifestyle software. For more information on KOCH MEDIA and its products, visit www.kochmedia.co.uk

X³: Reunion 1.3 update summary

Yes, the waiting is finally over and the version 1.3 update for X³: Reunion is now available for download! This update adds important features to the game as well as fixing a number of problems that players experienced. It also improves the game-balance in key areas such as combat and the economy.

New functionality

- Mobile mining!

- Sector enhancements

- Complete tips menu with all game tips introduced

- Destroyed stations leave wrecks

- Previously missing ships have been activated (Argon Discoverer, Teladi Osprey)

- Missiles have a new look

- Intermediate products in a complex can now be selected in the "sell for best price" menu

- Intermediate products in a complex may now be bought, sold or both (global setting per complex)

- A new ship is available: the Split Caiman Miner

Performance and options

- HUD render performance increased

- Bullet render performance increased

- CPU load reduced, increasing overall performance

- Additional user-defined graphics options

- Optimised overall shader performance

- Higher quality/speed of medium shaders

Balancing and economy

- NPC fight AI improved

- Ship collision-avoidance AI improved

- GOD engine rebalanced and enhanced to affect economy

- M1 & M2 shield generators increased

- M2 laser generators increased

- M6 class ships can now execute trade commands (buy/sell ware/best price)

- M6 class ships can now install the Mobile Drilling System (suitable for mobile mining!)

- Intermediate product distribution logic has been fixed for complex building

- Swarm missiles rebalanced

- NPC AI tweaked to allow dumbfire missile usage

- Pirate stations spawn pirate ships

- Increased NPC fights and conflicts

- Kha'ak fighters rebalanced (don't say we didn't warn you)

- Several plot stages have better balance

- Other minor balancing improvements

Fixes

- Plot elements restored to working (should work for existing save-games too)

- Plot-ending Argon rank bug fixed

- Quantum Tube Fab in Bala Gi's Joy will be re-created if necessary

- Miria contacts player after she has been rescued from the pleasure complex

- Mine for The Seed is now producing

- Several other minor plot issues resolved

- "Broken" jumpgates now really look broken

- If the storage of a complex is full the running production cycle will not exit until there is enough room for the produced goods

- Argon versus Boron battle issues resolved

- Captured ship-speed bug fixed

- Ships hitting gate following jump fixed

- Followers don't forget their command after docking

- Decreasing numbers of AI ships over time fixed

- Astronauts filling up docking slots fixed

- Fixes to several auto save and save game CTD problems

- Many other minor problems resolved

Note: Save game compatibility is maintained from all previous versions to 1.3

Since we have not been able to reproduce the reported freeze issues that some people experienced with previous versions, we cannot be 100% certain whether these have been fixed. We advise anyone who is still having such problems to report them here in the forums so that we can investigate further and provide assistance.

Note: When you first play after updating your game, your view position within your ship may be in the middle of your ship depending on what you were flying when you saved. As soon as you jump to a different sector this will resolve itself.