Another preorder opportunity has just popped up on the steamy service known as Steam, and this time, it's all about trading goods, raping galaxies, visiting planets and colonizing worlds full of hot virgins. That's right, X3: Terran Conflict is coming soon to a PC near you. Or, more likely, in front of you.

On October 17, players will be able to download the full, digital, product worldwide, while the retail boxed outlet is heading to European stores in the same day. In case you don't know the new and enhanced features that this game will offer, here is a short list:

- A brand new user interface allow full control using only the mouse
- New and improved mouse flight controls
- Several new races and factions, including Earth's primary military force, the Terran United Space Command
- Independent, non-player owned corporations, complete with unique ships and stations, offering new friends or foes to players
- New group management system allowing for better control of large numbers of ships in your fleet
- Over 100 new ships and several new ship classes
- Double the amount of distinct weapons
- The ability to board and capture huge capital ships with your own mercenaries and soldiers

Despite having gone gold earlier this month and receiving what looked like a final release date for October 3, X³: Terran Conflict isn't quite ready to be put to the test by its hardcore fans, after all. But don't worry, it won't be much longer. According to a recent update posted by German developer Egosoft, they had to push back the game's release to October 10, "due to unforeseen delays in the production process".

Aside from fixing whatever is wrong with it, the devs are also promising to "sweeten the waiting time" with more screenshots, videos and blog entries. And speaking of videos, we seem to have missed a few of them during our extended summer break. Well, no matter, here they are now.

X³: Terran Conflict was announced with a small bang by the self-centred devs from Egosoft, along with their partners from Koch Media. Ze Germans enjoy deluding themselves into thinking that the game will be ready to launch in Q3 2008, but by that time they'll probably decide they want to do another "full blown sequel" again (remember X²: The Threat X³: Reunion?), and go straight for X4.

The only conceivable logical reason why they would stop at X³ is that there is no special superscript character for the number 4, like there is for 2 and 3. Pretty clever, huh? And with that imba argument, I rest my case. Now let's see what they have to say:

"X³: Terran Conflict is a brand new, stand-alone game set in the universe of X³. It is the culmination of the X trilogy, with a grand finale that takes us all the way back to Earth's own solar system. Gamers can take on the roles of different characters in the X universe, or of a Terran military pilot, and experience a multitude of stories in the largest X universe ever featured - for X³: Terran Conflict will offer more missions than any other X game before. Meanwhile, X³: Terran Conflict will pose questions such as: How has Earth changed in all these years? And how will relations between Earth and its counterparts in the X universe develop?"

In space, no one can hear you snore.