XVT had a two fold problem, half was the poor internet implementation but the other half was that the product didn't fulfill the genre's expectations.
Its predecessors (Tie Fight and X-Wing before it) had large, complex and well written story lines which following engaging missions paths. This was 80% of the game, as the graphics were relatively poor compared to sprite-based shooters of the time.
I remember the deep disappointment of booting XVT for the first time and realizing it had no story, and a terrible UX. I was launched into an offline lobby and only had the option to play some very uninteresting and un-engaging missions.
Put that on top of a completely unplayable multiplayer mode, it ended being a poor decision to make a game based on a technology they couldn't support -- when a perfectly valid offline story mode would have made up for it fine. So instead they charged another 49.99 on top of 69.99 for an add-on (and people complain about IAP) that gave the features the original box promised.
If you like the space shooter genre and you like them to have an interesting story line, then also take a look at Freespace and Freespace 2.
For me, those two are the pinnacle of the space-shooter genre, even more so as Freespace 2 was open sourced and attracted a very large community of not just programmers but also artists which resulted in a game that's still being active developped with quite current graphics and sound.
You can get the game on gog.com and use the Java-based[1] installer to get the open source engine and assets installed
The multiplayer is so great that we still gather together every year and fly missions for a night. Balance of Power added great coop missions that needed team-play and sticking to your role.
The most interesting thing - historically - about XvT was that it was one of the first games that completely skipped single-player campaigns for multiplayer. Everyone screamed "madness" back then. See where it got us ;).
Its predecessors (Tie Fight and X-Wing before it) had large, complex and well written story lines which following engaging missions paths. This was 80% of the game, as the graphics were relatively poor compared to sprite-based shooters of the time.
I remember the deep disappointment of booting XVT for the first time and realizing it had no story, and a terrible UX. I was launched into an offline lobby and only had the option to play some very uninteresting and un-engaging missions.
Put that on top of a completely unplayable multiplayer mode, it ended being a poor decision to make a game based on a technology they couldn't support -- when a perfectly valid offline story mode would have made up for it fine. So instead they charged another 49.99 on top of 69.99 for an add-on (and people complain about IAP) that gave the features the original box promised.