Skip to content
X4 Modding Wiki

Pirate Prelude

The Pirate Prelude is the cinematic introduction to the Pirate DLC’s Scavenger content. When the player approaches a specific gate, the prelude fires — showing a Scavenger Captain and Salvage Team at work, establishing the scavenger gameplay and unlocking access to Tides of Avarice content.

  • Script: story_pirate_prelude.xml (34KB)
  • DLC: Pirate
  • Sectors involved:
    • Black Hole Sun IV (cluster_06_sector001) — base game sector
    • S1c Sector (cluster_503_sector001) — Tides of Avarice sector

Setup characters

Section titled “Setup characters”

The prelude creates two persistent Scavenger NPCs:

Scavenger Captain

Section titled “Scavenger Captain”
  • Character macro: character_prelude_scavenger_captain
  • Text page: 10177
  • Owner: faction.scavenger
  • Skills:
    • Management: 10
    • Morale: 2
    • Piloting: 7
    • Engineering: 3
    • Boarding: 0

Salvage Team (NPC group)

Section titled “Salvage Team (NPC group)”
  • Character macro: character_prelude_scavenger_salvageteam
  • Text page: 10172
  • Owner: faction.scavenger
  • Skills:
    • Management: 5
    • Morale: 3
    • (other skills follow standard scavenger profile)

Mission entry: “Scavenger Encounter”

Section titled “Mission entry: “Scavenger Encounter””

Cue: Prelude_Scavenger_Miniscene (v2)

Section titled “Cue: Prelude_Scavenger_Miniscene (v2)”
  • In-game name: Scavenger Captain encounter (cinematic intro)
  • Path/Chapter: Pirate Prelude
  • Find in game: Player approaches the specific gate (Black Hole Sun IV → S1c gate)
  • Prerequisites:
    • Pirate DLC installed
    • Setup_DLC_Pirate complete
  • What player encounters:
    • Scavenger Captain initiates encounter
    • Salvage Team active at scavenge site
    • Approach handler (Prelude_Scavenger_Approach_Gate_Ref refs md.LIB_Generic.ApproachObject_Handler)
    • DND (“Do Not Disturb”) protection:
      • Prelude_Scavenger_DND_Move_Away_From_Gate — moves scavengers if player tries to disrupt
      • Prelude_Scavenger_DND_Reset_Approach_Handler — resets after disruption
  • Where: Gate between Black Hole Sun IV and S1c sector
  • NPCs involved: Scavenger Captain, Salvage Team
  • Reward: Cinematic experience + scavenger faction acknowledged + Tides of Avarice access
  • Chains to: Pirate Criminal arc availability; other Pirate-arc unlocks
  • Code reference: story_pirate_prelude.xml Prelude_Scavenger_Miniscene (v2)

Mod conflict risks — Scavenger Encounter

Section titled “Mod conflict risks — Scavenger Encounter”
  • ❌ Mods that disable Scavenger faction break the entire prelude
  • ❌ Mods that change Black Hole Sun IV → S1c gate break trigger
  • ❌ Mods that change character_prelude_scavenger_captain macro break captain spawn
  • ❌ Mods that interfere with ApproachObject_Handler affect proximity logic
  • ⚠ Mods adding bulk salvage NPCs can collide with salvage team
  • ⚠ Combat mods that change scavenger behavior affect the captain’s appearance

DEBUG mission

Section titled “DEBUG mission”

The script includes a debug mission: Prelude_Scavenger_Mission_DEBUG for testing the prelude flow without waiting for the natural trigger. Modders can signal_cue this manually to test their changes.

Effects after prelude

Section titled “Effects after prelude”

After the Pirate Prelude completes:

  • Player aware of Scavenger faction
  • Tides of Avarice gate access opened
  • Pirate-arc state initialized → Criminal arc, The Fan arc, Erlking research, Welfare 2 research all become eligible to trigger

Code references

Section titled “Code references”
ConcernCue
Setup actorsPrelude_Scavenger_Setup
Debug missionPrelude_Scavenger_Mission_DEBUG
Approach detectionPrelude_Scavenger_Approach_Gate_Ref
DND handlingPrelude_Scavenger_DND_Move_Away_From_Gate
Section titled “Related”

The Pirate Prelude is a short cinematic moment establishing the Scavenger faction. Cheaper to break than the elaborate Boron / Terran preludes, but breaking it locks player out of the entire 5-arc DLC.