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Timelines DLC arcs

The Timelines DLC (ego_dlc_timelines) is structurally unique — instead of one big story arc, it’s an anthology of 20+ standalone scenarios orchestrated via a Scenario Hub. Players visit the Hub and choose individual scenarios covering different X4 themes — mining, racing, spacesuit EVA, trading, fleet battles, boss battles, refugee transport, and historical “what if” set-pieces.

Total content: 22+ scenario scripts + Hub orchestrator + Epilogue + Research arc.

Pages

Section titled “Pages”
  • Scenario Hub — Central orchestrator + game start (x4ep1_gamestart_hub)
  • Scenarios catalog — All 20+ playable scenarios organized by theme (mining / race / spacesuit / trading / fleet battle / recruitment)
  • Boss + epic scenarios — Khaak Boss Battle / M0 Boss / Presidents End / Tharkas Cascade / Dragonfyre / Refugee transport
  • Research + Epilogue — Abandoned Ships research (5 ships) + Timelines Epilogue

What “Timelines” means in vanilla

Section titled “What “Timelines” means in vanilla”

The DLC’s premise: the player accesses historical / alternate-history “timeline” scenarios via a Hub. Each scenario is self-contained — different theme, different rules, different rewards. There’s no single overarching “Timelines main story” — the Hub IS the framework.

This anthology structure makes Timelines uniquely sensitive to mod conflicts — your mod must coexist with 22+ different mission designs.

Vanilla scripts

Section titled “Vanilla scripts”

Hub orchestrator

Section titled “Hub orchestrator”
  • scenario_hub.xml (1,251,276 bytes ~1.25MB) — the central hub script
  • setup_dlc_timelines.xml (56KB) — DLC initialization

Scenarios by theme

Section titled “Scenarios by theme”

Mining (8 scripts):

  • scenario_mining_1.xml, _2.xml, _3.xml, _4.xml, _5.xml, _7.xml
  • scenario_mining_lib.xml — shared mining library

Racing (4 scripts):

  • scenario_race_1.xml, _2.xml, _3.xml
  • scenario_race_lib.xml — shared racing library

Spacesuit EVA (5 scripts):

  • scenario_spacesuit_1.xml, _2.xml, _3.xml, _4.xml
  • scenario_spacesuit_lib.xml — shared spacesuit library

Trading (3 scripts):

  • scenario_trading_1.xml, _2.xml, _3.xml

Fleet battles (4 scripts):

  • scenario_fleet_battle_1.xml, _2.xml, _3.xml
  • scenario_fleet_battle_lib.xml — shared fleet battle library

Combat objectives:

  • scenario_assassinate.xml
  • scenario_disable_capship.xml
  • scenario_seek_and_destroy.xml
  • scenario_weaken_fleet.xml
  • scenario_weaken_station.xml
  • scenario_protect_object.xml
  • scenario_escort.xml
  • scenario_waveattack_1.xml + scenario_waveattack_antigone.xml

Recruitment:

  • scenario_recruitment_1.xml

Boss battles:

  • scenario_khaak_boss_battle.xml (258KB)
  • scenario_m0_boss_battle.xml (161KB)

Epic set-pieces:

  • scenario_presidents_end.xml (192KB) — “President’s End” historical scenario
  • scenario_tharkas_cascade.xml (203KB) + scenario_tharkas_lib.xml — Tharka’s Cascade
  • scenario_dragonfyre.xml (210KB) — “Dragonfyre” scenario

Refugee transport (3 scripts):

  • scenario_transport_refugees.xml (694KB — largest individual scenario)
  • scenario_transport_refugees_engineer.xml (152KB)
  • scenario_transport_refugees_escort.xml (67KB)

Standalone arcs

Section titled “Standalone arcs”
  • story_research_abandoned_ships.xml (43KB) — HQ research unlocking 5 abandoned ships
  • story_timelines_epilogue.xml (246KB) — post-Timelines epilogue

Hub-based gameplay

Section titled “Hub-based gameplay”

Timelines plays differently from other DLCs:

  1. Player begins at the Scenario Hub (custom game start x4ep1_gamestart_hub)
  2. Hub presents available scenarios via consoles
  3. Player picks a scenario → temporarily exits Hub into the scenario context
  4. Scenario plays out with its own rules
  5. Reward earned (Reward_Notifications cue)
  6. Player returns to Hub
  7. Next scenario unlocks

This Hub-and-spoke architecture is X4’s only example of such structure. For modders adding scenarios: must register with Hub’s Scenario_Console_Interacted system.

Faction stack

Section titled “Faction stack”

Timelines scenarios involve any vanilla faction depending on scenario theme — Argon, Teladi, Paranid, Split, Boron, Terran, Yaki, Xenon, Khaak, civilian, ownerless, ministry, scaleplate, etc.

Cross-arc connections

Section titled “Cross-arc connections”
  • Race scenarios end with a “Race Ship Handover” (RaceShip_Handover in Epilogue) — race winners receive specific ships
  • Refugee transport scenarios connect to Tides of Avarice content thematically
  • Research arc unlocks abandoned ships via the Hub research

Mod conflict risks (Timelines-specific)

Section titled “Mod conflict risks (Timelines-specific)”
  • ❌ Timelines DLC required — all 25+ scripts fail to load without it
  • ❌ Mods that change game start mechanics affect x4ep1_gamestart_hub
  • ❌ Mods that override Hub-style cue infrastructure break Scenario Hub
  • ❌ Mods that disable Khaak / Xenon / boss factions trivialize boss scenarios
  • ❌ Mods that affect race / spacesuit / mining mechanics break theme scenarios
  • ⚠ Mods adding mass NPC content at the Hub location can collide with Hub actors
  • ⚠ Faction-rebalance mods affect scenario difficulty for combat scenarios
Section titled “Related”

Timelines is X4’s anthology DLC — designed to showcase X4’s varied gameplay (combat / mining / racing / spacesuit / trading) within a curated framework. Your mod’s interference with the Hub orchestrator silently breaks ALL scenarios.