Sins of a Solar Empire - 4X empire building meets RTS

[Daveman]

www.sinsofasolarempire.com

This looks like it could be the most positively badass space-based empire-builder and strategy game ever. It blends elements of EVE Online and other 4X games with real-time strategy gameplay like Homeworld (the team is largely made up of the guys who made Homeworld: Cataclysm). The team says they've found the balance between the slow pace of empire building and the fast pace of combat.

I wanted to get into EVE but there's a monthly fee and a steep learning curve. This looks like it could be an even better version of Homeworld 2, my favorite space game ever.

It won't be out for a while but the trailer is at least up on the website.

EDIT: Forgot to mention that there will be a fully-implemented single player mode as well as a subscription-based online mode. LAN playing will be free, which is awesome. Sounds like a great LAN game if the game will let you work on the same team. :)

[Odin]

WHOA!! Stardock, of Galactic Civilizations fame, is working on this!

I can't ****ing wait.

[Gryph]

This sounds awesome. Thanks for posting about it.

[Karthik]

Is it similar to Imperium Galactica?

[hanged_man]

Looks awesome ...Hope its simple and not with thousands of menu to go through or lot of stuff to read ...im getting really lazy in the last couple of years

[Tang Lung]

Looks awesome ...Hope its simple and not with thousands of menu to go through or lot of stuff to read ...im getting really lazy in the last couple of years

Yeh, It looks incredibly cool, but I'm hoping it's not going to be a hotkey fest.

[Daveman]

Well, at least it's reassuring to know that it's being made for English primarily. Anybody who's ever tried X3: Reunion knows how maddening that game was. :mad:

If they can find the balance correctly this could be incredible. Like Homeworld but with economy.

[Daveman]

Anticipation has gotten me into Homeworld 2 again. Anybody down for a match in the next couple of days? I know somebody's got it around here. I can't remember which one of you convinced me to buy the game in the first place. :D

[Daveman]

Uberbump.

Game is Gold and will be out on Tuesday. Anybody else planning on picking this up? It's actually only $40, and I think they scrapped their plans of charging a subscription fee for online play, which is good.

[Niap!]

Just watched a few gameplay videos. Graphics look nice, gameplay looks good too. I'm sold :cool:

[Reaper]

Uberbump.

Game is Gold and will be out on Tuesday. Anybody else planning on picking this up? It's actually only $40, and I think they scrapped their plans of charging a subscription fee for online play, which is good.
I'm kinda conflicted. If it has a subscription fee, I won't like it, also I hated Galactic Civlizations, but that doesn't seem to matter as it is possibly a different team working on it. On the other hand, it looks great. I liked Homeworld other than the fact you couldn't speed up time (which made it a chore sometimes).

[Daveman]

Seems the "Subscription to Ironclad Online" is nothing more than an in-game browser with stats-tracking. It's all free.

I wish it played in a 3D area like Homeworld rather than a 2D plane, but I guess they can justify it in terms of story in that all the fighting takes place around planets, so ships need to stay with the orbit of the planet. Or something. Military is only one part of the game anyway I guess. I can't wait!

EDIT: Seems the movement is 3D after all. God. It sucks that I have to wait until the weekend after it comes out to get it.

[Karthik]

Eat your heart out Supreme Commander (http://forums.sinsofasolarempire.com/index.aspx?aid=165996)

[Kalki]

God damn. :eek:

[Daveman]

I figured it would be a week or two before I got to run out to Best Buy so I preordered it and had them mail it to my school address. Hopefully it'll come tomorrow!

[Wamplet]

Not bad with all them ships there.

Let us know how it is Daveman

[Daveman]

Still waiting for my copy, but check this video out
http://www.gametrailers.com/player/usermovies/171716.html
sexy

[Mountain Man]

Haven't really looked into this game much, but the little bit I've read sounds extremely promising. Apparently you can set your fleets to automatic and allow them to wage war on their own leaving you manage the empire, or you can take active control of things guide the battle yourself. I've also read that you can pause at any time and still issue orders, conduct research, etc., so things never need to get overwhelming.

And it's only $40 you say? Hmm....

[Daveman]

I think part of the thing I really like is that when you get a huge mass of ships together you select them all and hit the "Set Fleet" button. That group gets its own bar on the side of the screen that can be easily selected and monitored, and it acts like a fleet from then on. No more handling complicated tactical groups that don't allow for much multitasking. Homeworld 2 tried this idea with its strike groups but the smaller scale of the game made it more or less meaningless, as it was used for aesthetics more than logistics. I've been checking to see if it's come all day today. Hopefully.

[Rider]

Hmm... doesn't look too interesting really. Just SupCom, but in space instead of on the ground. I might check this out but I'm not expecting too much...

[Daveman]

I think the unit specialization and scale is different from SupCom. There are a lot of threads on the official forum asking if it's like SupCom and there's always a violent reaction. :D

Anyway it didn't come today. Hopefully tomorree.

[boglito]

No story makes boglito a sad little boy :(

Btw, except for the awesome zooming, which every rts should have, it really isn't all that similar to supcom, which in my oppinion, is much more fun.

[Mountain Man]

Well, after reading a few previews and perusing the official forums and seeing nothing but praise for the game, I did the total impulse thing and picked it up. I actually like it. The scale is huge, the pace is slow (a good thing, in my opinion), and there's a lot of depth. I really haven't had a chance to wrap my head around the whole game yet, but I like the fact that you can pop out of a battle, cue up some research, check your economy, and zoom back into the battle again without missing a beat. Ships take a long time to die, so battles aren't over in seconds like you see in a lot of RTS games. It's pretty easy to keep a handle on multiple battles.

The interface is well done as well. For example, you can select a planet and do anything the planet is capable of. In other words, say you have a capital ship factory and a frigate factory at a planet. You don't have to zoom into each factory, select them, and then issue a build order. You can just click on the planet and then cue up your build orders accordingly. Those kinds of touches are all throughout the interface.

The game also plays smooth as silk and looks outstanding on my aging rig. I can zoom from a single fighter all the way out to the galactic view and back again without a hitch, and this is with most settings on "High" (no bloom or bump mapping since that kills my framerates). The game looks to be very polished.

So first impressions are good. The game seems relaxed but challenging with a lot of depth, and the technology under the hood is solid. Now to spend some quality time with the manual to figure out all the nuances.

Here I'm fighting off a pirate raid:

http://www.picupload.net/t-8ee3d908107d9b9bc6bfae51872e4bbb.jpg (http://www.picupload.net/uploads/8ee3d908107d9b9bc6bfae51872e4bbb.jpg)

[Daveman]

Gah, I'm jealous. I checked my mail three times today to see if it came. No dice. :(

[Karthik]

So did anyone buy it directly from TotalGaming?

[Mountain Man]

A couple of out-of-the-box impressions:

http://blogs.pcworld.com/gameon/archives/006444.html
http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/sins-of-a-solar-empire/849840p1.html

We might very well be looking at the strategy game of the year.

[Daveman]

Yeah for me it looks like it's going to be between this and Empire: Total War. Assuming both deliver.

And by "deliver" I mean WHERE THE **** IS MY GAME?

[Aegeri]

A couple of out-of-the-box impressions:

http://blogs.pcworld.com/gameon/archives/006444.html
http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/sins-of-a-solar-empire/849840p1.html

We might very well be looking at the strategy game of the year.

Most likely. This is such a brilliant game on every level, combining 4x mechanics with RTS gameplay and does it right.

[thefly]

Installing my copy right now. :)

[Mountain Man]

An example of the scale of this game.

First shot, a close-up of a fighter squadron:
http://www.picupload.net/uploads/4fe74c62b374ad4ec495dcdde705f03f.jpg (http://www.picupload.net/s-4fe74c62b374ad4ec495dcdde705f03f-jpg.php)

Zoomed out to a planetary view. The fighter squadron is represented by icons in the upper right:
http://www.picupload.net/uploads/3f088fa92307d7339d660a916389a7dd.jpg (http://www.picupload.net/s-3f088fa92307d7339d660a916389a7dd-jpg.php)

Zoomed out to a solar system view. The planet (Naboo) is in the upper left:
http://www.picupload.net/uploads/83dfab912df8cda70a2d9551e41c8f29.jpg (http://www.picupload.net/s-83dfab912df8cda70a2d9551e41c8f29-jpg.php)

Fully zoomed out. The planet is in the lower left:
http://www.picupload.net/uploads/77f1d29a26f7bfe0c9b7845a88b98df3.jpg (http://www.picupload.net/s-77f1d29a26f7bfe0c9b7845a88b98df3-jpg.php)

Edit: Changelog for the upcoming patch:

http://forums.sinsofasolarempire.com/?forumid=402&aid=175509

[Daveman]

Can you give your planets custom names? I assume "Naboo" wasn't randomly generated?

[thefly]

Still trying to get my mind around this game. I think I'm trying to micro-manage too much. It does run smooth on my 3 year old rig, and looks great. I'll probably wait till the patch before I go into the more in depth scenarios.

[Superczar]

http://www.sinsofasolarempire.com/images/screenshots/Sins_Gamma_1680_2.jpg

Am I the only one who gets an Ordos vibe right there? :D

[peoplessi]

Should I get this? Onlinedowload is the only option, the reviews and videos haven't really given too specific picture of this. First I thought it was 4X, but it seems to be more in vein of Total Annihilation or Supreme Commander. I liked the more tactical approach of CoH and Opposing Fronts too, but now and then I tend to play really heavy strategy games, as Hearts of Iron 2: Doomsday or Armageddon Empires.

[Mountain Man]

Can you give your planets custom names? I assume "Naboo" wasn't randomly generated?
You can rename any planet after securing it. I like giving my planets names from the Star Wars universe. I do the same thing in Civilization IV with the cities.

----------

Should I get this? Onlinedowload is the only option, the reviews and videos haven't really given too specific picture of this. First I thought it was 4X, but it seems to be more in vein of Total Annihilation or Supreme Commander. I liked the more tactical approach of CoH and Opposing Fronts too, but now and then I tend to play really heavy strategy games, as Hearts of Iron 2: Doomsday or Armageddon Empires.
I suppose part of that is because people like posting screenshots of the pretty graphics instead of research trees (military and civilian!) and diplomacy screens.

The best description I've thought of is that it's an RTS with the pacing of Civilization IV. The scope is more macro oriented than a typical RTS in that you can automate structure placement around your planets and let your ships do their own thing when attacking or defending (they're actually quite intelligent from what I've seen, making good decisions concerning target priority), giving you more time to focus on research and empire management, though you can still micromange fleet encounters if you wish. Another thing you won't find in a typical RTS is a culture rating. Similar to Civilization IV, you can use cultural influence to make other planets easier to capture and your own more difficult to capture.

Basically, it's a slow-paced, epic RTS.

[peoplessi]

Sounds something totally new. Somewhat in between of CoH and HoI2.

[Mountain Man]

Sins of a Solar Empire is pushing back hard against what Stardock’s Brad Wardell calls the “consolization” of the strategy genre.

. . .

“I think that a lot of strategy gamers are finding that there is a ‘consolization’ of strategy games,” [Stardock CEO Brad Wardell] tells Next-Gen. “That is, the games are being made for people with a very short attention span. And all the people who like traditional strategy games and want to sit down and play a game for an hour or more have been kind of left out in the cold, because all the features and depth that would make a game fun … were taken out.” . . . With the upcoming Sins, which releases February 4, Wardell says certain game setups can result in a game lasting months. This is not an in-and-out game.

. . .

[W]hile console RTS games have begun to bridge the strategy gap between PCs and consoles more than ever before, there’s still a right and wrong way of trying to bridge that gap, according to Ironclad's Steve Mackay. He takes issue with how multiplatform RTS games have been handled from a design standpoint.

“Artistically I think distilling game mechanics into a form that's more suitable for the controllers and relative screen real estate consoles have to work with is an interesting challenge,” he admits. “In a best case scenario, any compromises made to do so won't detract from a game's potential or vision on more traditional strategy game platforms like the PC, but the past releases of cross-platform RTS games seems to show that this is the exception rather than the rule."
http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=8933&Itemid=2

[Rider]

Okay, I got some playtime in and I have to say that I was quite wrong about this game. It's a LOT of fun! The mechanics are very well worked out so that managing (micro & macro) your empire doesn't feel tedious or tricky. It all works very well together.

I did notice that this game seems to focus more on combat then traditional 4X games, but in this particular case that's not a bad thing at all. It gives you a paced, interesting and multi-faceted game that has a lot of dept and can be just plain "KABOOM YEAH!" fun as well!

These guys have my money :D

[ryche]

I'm thinkin about buyin this, how hard is it to learn? *sigh*

[Rider]

I ran through the tutorials before playing, that took about 10 minutes... then a practice match... in about half an hour from the start of that game, I had pretty much the basics figured out. But then... I've played most mayor RTSes to date... so I have a bit of experience :)

Overall it might be tricky at first, but once the first bumps are overcome, it's a pretty smooth ride. I did lose the first match though... kinda misjudged the AI and the Pirates...

I found a good guide at the Sins forums for pirates and later attacks, namely, this one (http://forums.sinsofasolarempire.com/?forumid=402&aid=175318). Helped me out a lot! Played several hours on end... on a single match! I'd say I'm nearly done, but I really oughta get me some serious sleep first :D

[ryche]

I bought it. I'll give my opinion later once I play it :)

[Mountain Man]

I'm really enjoying it, though I'm not much good at it at the moment. But this is one of those rare games that's a joy to play that even getting your ass kicked by AI over the course of two-hours is fun.

Oh, and Stardock, the publisher, doesn't use any kind of copy protection, so you can store the CD somewhere safe after installing the game, which is nice. It's also getting some seriously good buzz. See the post in the official forums here (http://forums.sinsofasolarempire.com/?forumid=403&aid=175880).

[thefly]

I'm really enjoying it, though I'm not much good at it at the moment.


Ok, that makes me feel better. :) I really enjoy this game so far, but I still suck at it bad. But I don't feel it is the game's fault (read Master of Orion III :mad::mad:)


I certainly haven't ever played a game quite like this one.

[Mountain Man]

Ok, that makes me feel better. :) I really enjoy this game so far, but I still suck at it bad. But I don't feel it is the game's fault (read Master of Orion III :mad::mad:)
My thoughts exactly, and that's the thing that's going to keep me coming back for more. The frustration factor in this game is very low, perhaps because you have plenty of time to react to any situation.

[ryche]

The 5 minutes in the tutorial I've enjoyed it so far :)

[Rider]

So... is this a US based release? Because I'm having some trouble finding it here in the EU...

'fraid I might have to go import it...

[Mountain Man]

So... is this a US based release? Because I'm having some trouble finding it here in the EU...

'fraid I might have to go import it...
Stardock supports digital downloads, and they have it set up where you can just download the game or pay slightly more for the download plus a boxed copy, so that might be an option for you. Check it out here (http://www.sinsofasolarempire.com/store.aspx).

Speaking of getting the game, has poor Daveman gotten his copy yet? He's the fanboy here, so it doesn't seem right that he's had to wait the longest.

Edit: From what I've read on the official forums, the game won't be released in Europe because European publishers have all told Stardock that there's no market for this kind of game in their region, so it looks like digital download and/or import is the only option for EU gamers.

[Daveman]

Speaking of getting the game, has poor Daveman gotten his copy yet? He's the fanboy here, so it doesn't seem right that he's had to wait the longest.

No :(
I was checking three times every day and I just got an email yesterday saying they had finally shipped it. It was in Chicago last night so if there's a God it'll get here by the time the post office at my school closes so I can play it on the weekend. I don't know how the shipping industry works but if they started driving it from Chicago overnight it should come soon. I don't want to have to wait until Monday because I won't have time to play it during the week.

I'm glad you guys like it, though, makes me feel good that I won't be disappointed.

[Mountain Man]

Ah, man, tough break. I know how aggravating it can be to wait for something that you're really anticipating. Hope you get it before the weekend!

[Daveman]

Hurrrrrrrr still in Chicago it seems. God dammit.

[thefly]

I'm going to play this game all weekend!!

[Mountain Man]

Patch 1.02 is out. Apparently this is normal for Stardock, where they respond quickly to player suggestions with frequent patches. Here's the change log:

The first offcial post-release update to Sins of a Solar Empire has been released. Below is what's new. You'll need to update in order to play on ICO.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gameplay / Balance:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-Tutorials moving into bad states at random fixed.
-Siege frigate survivability decreased.
-Pirate raid frequency decreased slightly.
-Later stage missions to destroy ships and structures have had their expiry times increased.
-Clairvoyance: duration increased from 30, 45 60 seconds per level to 50, 100, 150 seconds.
-Guidance: cooldown changed from 20, 15, 10 seconds per level to 20 seconds at all levels.
-Guidance: ability cooldown rate changed from +20%, +35%, +50% per level to +40% at all levels.
-Guidance: duration changed 20 seconds at all levels to 15, 30, 45 seconds per level.
-Reverie: friendly units will no longer auto-acquire enemies under the effects of reverie as attack targets.
-Reverie: duration increased from 15, 20, 25 seconds per level to 20, 30, 40 seconds.
-Gravity Warhead: range decreased from 7000 to 6000 at all levels.
-Gravity Warhead: cooldown increased from 18, 16, 14 seconds per level to 25 seconds at all levels .
-Gravity Warhead: antimatter cost raised from 80 to 100 at all levels.
-Gravity Warhead: duration changed from 12 seconds at all levels to 12, 15, 18 seconds per level.
-Gravity Warhead: Speed reduction changed from 15%, 30%, 45% per level to 30%, 45%, 60% .
-Gravity Warhead: Acceleration reduction changed from 20%, 40%, 60% per level to 60%, 80%, 120%.
-Nano-Disassember: range increased from 4500 to 6000 at all levels.
-Nano-Disassember: antimatter cost decreased from 85 to 75 at all levels.
-Ion Bolt: antimatter cost increased from 65 to 85 at all levels.
-Ion Bolt: cooldown from 9, 11, 13 seconds per level to 10, 12, 14 seconds.
-Shield Projection: radius of effect increased from 2500 to 5000.
-Game update rate change hooked to - and = buttons (singleplayer only).
-Two new pirate-less maps.
-First tutorial now handles players spending their ability point before they were intended to and thus not being able to spend it when instructed.
-Phasic Transmissions research is now effective even at max fleet supply research.
-Reduced Phasic Transmissions supply bonus from 20% down to 15%.
-Stopgap fix for market exploit until new market dynamics are fully tested.


---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Graphics:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-Shield projection's bubble less opaque.
-Various new ICO art.
-Fix bug where skybox is always the same.
-New Advent bomber icons to better differentiate them from fighters.


---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Networking / Multiplayer:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-Phantom games causing "Rejected by Host" error fixed.
-Multiplayer lobby screens now have Map Designer tab.
-Whisper functionality for ICO
-Refactored join game screen.
-Fix for not seeing friend's games.
-New chat friendly ICO font.
-ICO user names are now sorted.
-Self and friends are colored in ICO channel player list.
-Events for players entering and leaving channels.
-ICO nows preserves history when changing channels.
-ICO logged in user count now displayed. This number will only update when you change channels or login.
-Added some default lobby names.
-Reorganized numbered lobbies to increment sequentially as they fill.
-Added notification of what channel you are in.
-Fix for rare multiplayer lobby crash when host leaves a game in ICO.
-Various new ICO message strings.
-ICO server now ignores case when searching for channel names.


---------------------------------------------------------------------------
UserInterface / HUD:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-Added counter descriptions for all frigates and fighters.
-Game menu now mapped to F10 by default instead of Esc so people can repeatly press Esc to close any submenu they be in w/o going all the way to the escape menu.
-Fix rare bug in group selection.
-Various strings cleaned up.
-Hooked up proper double clicking to text lists so clickng on something already selected doesn't try to join a game when it shouldn't.
-Hooked up ico-player name lists (both selecting player and chat lobby player names) to double clicking.
-Added infocard keybindings for quick-select buttons.
You can download the update from the start-up menu.

[Aegeri]

Yeah, I remember the updates and other things for Galactic Civilisations II. They are very prompt on things like patches and respond well to things.

Honestly, if there is a defender of what PC gaming should be, Stardock are it. Seriously.

[Superczar]

Ah hell, no demo??? :(

[Mountain Man]

Yeah, I remember the updates and other things for Galactic Civilisations II. They are very prompt on things like patches and respond well to things.

Honestly, if there is a defender of what PC gaming should be, Stardock are it. Seriously.
I couldn't agree more. I really didn't know much about them until a few days ago, and now they're on my list of favorite developers.

----------

Ah hell, no demo??? :(
In a month.

http://www.picupload.net/t-be4642968539fd5038a7eed07f6141e2.jpg (http://www.picupload.net/uploads/be4642968539fd5038a7eed07f6141e2.jpg) http://www.picupload.net/t-dae8f4c2e9f02f64332d1a00abfb92b2.jpg (http://www.picupload.net/uploads/dae8f4c2e9f02f64332d1a00abfb92b2.jpg) http://www.picupload.net/t-af5fc9086a767fe032b19a4a452fec40.jpg (http://www.picupload.net/uploads/af5fc9086a767fe032b19a4a452fec40.jpg) http://www.picupload.net/t-2f2e32569fa09f7ce110568640ee3afa.jpg (http://www.picupload.net/uploads/2f2e32569fa09f7ce110568640ee3afa.jpg)

[thefly]

So far it seems a blend of Civilization, Homeworld, and SimCity. I have no real complaints so far.

[Daveman]

Stardock is the publisher. Ironclad is the developer.

Also I hate you thefly.

EDIT:
Can you rename your ships?

[Rider]

Capital ships, yes. Others, no.

[Mountain Man]

Stardock is the publisher. Ironclad is the developer.
Technically, yes, but Stardock was involved in the development to such an extent that they were all but co-developers. One of the Ironclad developers said that they were in daily contact with Stardock, and that both companies definitely had a hand in shaping the game.

[Rider]

Just in case anyone's still using Win2000...

Here (http://forums.sinsofasolarempire.com/?forumid=408&aid=176363)'s a guide on how to get it to work without having to install it on an XP machine elsewhere. Also includes linkage to the dlls used to make it work under W2K.

It's also on digg (http://www.digg.com/pc_games/Getting_Sins_of_a_Solar_Empire_to_work_on_Windows_ 2000).

[Mountain Man]

Just finished a free-for-all against two AI on the easy difficulty level and beat them without much problem. The final guy was fun to crush because I had to push him back from two different fronts to keep him from sneaking in behind and recolonizing planets that I had wiped out.

I think it's time to try the next difficulty level.

[Superczar]

How's this game compare difficulty/gameplay-wise with say Empire Earth? Empire Earth could get kinda nasty when the AI was able to reach the last couple of Epochs, it would end up being a constant pitched battle, it was if each side had no advantage...

[Mountain Man]

The AI has some quirks at the moment, but it's not bad. Early- and mid-game it's pretty formidable, but it apparently has some trouble with late-game strategies. One of its favorite tactics is to mass siege ships and go after your planets, which is annoying but not especially hard to counter.

One thing to remember is that Stardock is not your typical publisher/developer in that they spend a lot of time post-release adding new features and enhancing existing features in response to player feedback, so I expect the AI is one area that's going to see some attention.

Edit: I played around with the map creator a little bit and got some interesting results. Here's a galaxy similar to what I posted earlier in this thread:

http://www.picupload.net/t-e6be5985e02ebd5415f298cb7caad1c3.jpg (http://www.picupload.net/uploads/e6be5985e02ebd5415f298cb7caad1c3.jpg)

Now I pull back a little further. The above galaxy is in the lower-right of this image:

http://www.picupload.net/t-895edc66c32cdf8be33596c9b74bc65b.jpg (http://www.picupload.net/uploads/895edc66c32cdf8be33596c9b74bc65b.jpg)

You're looking at a 20- to 30-hour game right here. Apparently the size of the map is limited only by what your system can handle.

Reviews have started rolling in. Currently an 88% average at MetaCritic.com (http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/pc/sinsofasolarempire?q=sins%20of%20a%20solar%20empir e).

[Daveman]

Got my copy today.

Holy hell this game is well designed. After a run-through of the tutorials I was off to play on 1-on-1 against an Easy, and it's remarkably easy to pick up on the basic mechanics of the game. The realtime empire-building doesn't even feel like empire-building for the most part, it feels like you're playing Homeworld on a massive scale with more than one mothership. I've still only got one fleet, but it's far more satisfying than in Homeworld (where a single big fleet would win the game without challenge) to slowly build up a fleet and a series of planets linked together. The game really stands out for me because of how well-done the civilian side of everything is. Like the Civ series, running a military empire is great, but it's a good strategy to focus on trade and, if you can pull it off, pursue that avenue almost exclusively. The ability to take over a planet (with only minimal military involvement) culturally is absolutely crucial for this. Civ4 allowed it and it made non-military strategies viable. Being able to do it here is awesome.

I've only played for about 2 hours and I'm already in love.

[Mountain Man]

I'm taking on 4 normal AI on a medium sized random map. It's fun but hella tough! They're basically taking turns attacking me so that just as I'm regrouping after one attack, another one comes in on my other flank. I have teams locked, so I know they're not coordinating attacks, but I'm still getting pummeled. I haven't given up any ground, fortunately, but I'm also having trouble gaining it because any time I send out an offensive force, I have to bring them back to defend one of my worlds. But even though it's frustrating, I'm still having a grand time.

Oh, and here's a cool tip: press CTRL-SHIFT-Z to remove the UI for screenshots.

http://www.picupload.net/t-f4b0d3ac4490e7f6ba69796b972e3a92.jpg (http://www.picupload.net/uploads/f4b0d3ac4490e7f6ba69796b972e3a92.jpg)

[Superczar]

Will the AI attack the other AI as well?

[Mountain Man]

Will the AI attack the other AI as well?
It's my understanding that they will. It's just that in this match for whatever reason, I look like to a big bullseye to the AI players.

[Daveman]

This game is really hard when you're playing more than one enemy. Even if they're not coordinated.

[thefly]

Are you playing on easy, Daveman?

[Daveman]

2 easies, 1 normal. :(

I beat 1 easy pretty handily once I got the mechanics down, but the tricky part is knowing how to pace research and development with exploration and military power. I rely too much on my capital ship without building a lot of frigates like the AI does, and I build too many gauss cannons when I need to rely on my fleet for defense.

[thefly]

I still suck at this on the easy level. :) I got into a stalemate on normal and just gave up.

[Superczar]

but the tricky part is knowing how to pace research and development with exploration and military power.

Yeah, same thing with Empire Earth, and even Galactic Battlegrounds. Only thing that helped me in Empire Earth was I went and built a HUGE wall very quickly to stall the AI from invading...

[Mountain Man]

Yeah, the AI can be pretty ruthless. I like it. :)

It's always nice to cost your opponent a leveled up capital ship when he tries to invade one of your planets:

http://www.picupload.net/t-bdf223b26b4b96fd3256056639c0228a.jpg (http://www.picupload.net/uploads/bdf223b26b4b96fd3256056639c0228a.jpg)

Edit: Ah well... I finally surrendered my 4 player FFA after four and a half hours. I realized what was happening was that one of the AI players was basically out of the game. I and the other two AI had pretty much reduced him to a few planets, and the other two AI had taken over opposite sides of the solar system with me caught in the middle. I simply didn't have enough ships and resources to protect both flanks, especially when they'd attack me simultaneously on opposite sides with these big ass fleets. I really don't think there was any way I could have won that one unless I had played far more aggressively at the start.

[Daveman]

I really don't think there was any way I could have won that one unless I had played far more aggressively at the start.
I think this is the key. I kept trying the same 4-player FFA and kept getting my ass kicked until I went aggressively at the beginning for the surrounding planets. If you're playing as TEC, just build a fleet of 5 or 6 Light Frigates (the name fooled me early on, I didn't realize how important they are, even late game) and go after all the neighboring neutral planets. Sending a Scout in either direction is helpful as well, but make sure he gets out as soon as there's resistance.

You should be able to establish a foothold in either direction early, and you can scout the borders farther out to see which way is easier to attack. Get some basic research done and get your free Capital ship out and attack the next weakest planet. Having one or two planets beyond your capital isn't good enough. It's all resources early on.

[Reaper]

Wait. So one drawback is there is no campaign mode? That's unnerving. Not going to keep me from buying it, but still it sucks.

[Rider]

They've already mentioned on their forums that they might actually add a campaign in a future patch. Sounds like a bit of an oversight to me.

[Mountain Man]

Light Frigates (the name fooled me early on, I didn't realize how important they are, even late game)
Yep. Unlike a traditional RTS, there is no unit obsolesce.

I think another problem was I was playing on a random map, so it wasn't really balanced unlike some of the included designed maps. The layout of the phase lanes was pretty wacky, so it ended up that I had to hold three key choke points spread out across my empire at all costs. Retreating and regrouping simply wasn't an option. Unfortunately, with huge attacks coming at opposite sides of my territory, often simultaneously, my defenses were being slowly chipped away faster than I could replace them.

But even though losing in that scenario was frustrating, I still had a great time in that match.

----------

Wait. So one drawback is there is no campaign mode? That's unnerving. Not going to keep me from buying it, but still it sucks.
I really don't think it's a drawback. Games like Civilization IV and Stardock's own Galactic Civilization series don't have any kind of campaign.

[thefly]

I'm not a big fan of campaigns. They pretty much just box you in to what you can do. SOASE is pretty freeing.

[Daveman]

Yeah it's like Civ 4. A campaign wouldn't really make sense, since they usually present features one at a time or incrementally. The game doesn't work without each of the features.

Having two huge fleets go around defending things while you build a third one in the background (with 5 capital ships) is a great feeling. Especially when you get to the last enemy planet and they've got it all fortified. And you come with 14 capital ships and 60 bombers and blow them all to hell in a matter of minutes.

[Rider]

Heh, in an earlier match I decided to remove the Pirates as well. That last attack on their homebase was quite a sight to behold :D

[Daveman]

Yeah I always do that when I've either got myself sufficiently defended or when I've already taken out my enemies. It makes for an easy experience boost for your capital ships. Pirates are also completely defenseless against huge numbers of bombers. They can hardly fight back.

[thefly]

Wow, we play very differently. I'd like to get an MP game going soon.

[Mountain Man]

A 3DR match would be fun, but I don't know if I could dedicate that much time in one sitting.

[peoplessi]

That's the only thing that has kept me from buying time, the time consumption :(

[Daveman]

A 3DR match would be fun, but I don't know if I could dedicate that much time in one sitting.
You can save MP games...

[Inanimate Carbon Rod]

I really enjoy most RTS games... but they should never last more than ~1 hour.

[thefly]

I would agree with that, but this game is like a turn based game, except in real time. That doesn't make sense, but that is about the only way I can think to describe it. It isn't like you need a stopwatch to time your every move.

[Mountain Man]

You can save MP games...
Yeah, I know. But it's hard enough trying to coordinate everybody for one play session, let alone multiple ones. But I suppose if we can work out the details, I'd be up for it. Course I'll probably get my ass handed to me, too, but hey ho.

[Rider]

So... wanna compare schedules then? ;)

[Daveman]

Yeah it definitely feels large enough in scope and slow enough that it's not just a bigger RTS game. It definitely has the feel of Civ 4, even though it's realtime.

[Simon Charles]

I've sort of been wanting to get this game since I love Stardock (their community support is awesome) but I'm afraid it'll end up like Galactic Civ 2 for me.

As much as I love the genre, I could never love another game of that kind after Alpha Centauri. GalCiv2 temporarly gave me the Alpha Centauri goosebumps but I lost interest überfast for one simple reason : I could NEVER understand what the hell was going on anywhere or why a given unit would not do a task I assigned it to.

Simply put, the most basic task in GalCiv2 -- moving a ship from point A to point B -- was beyond my grasp. I select the f** thing, click on a f** destination... and nothing. There's no feedback as to what happens when, no reason for why it abruptly stalls halfway, no indication of what I'm doing wrong when losing a base, etc.

I could never get past the beginning of the bloody game. So while the race customization felt like Eve Online (and gave me a woody), I could never make a game out of it because I couldn't figure out where my ships were, how many moves they had left and why the hell they were being destroyed.

So, my question is, will Sins change my mind? Or is it as obtuse as GalCiv2? Cause I wanted to love that game so bad. I tried hard. I got into the lore, I felt like the leader of a space society, I researched the tech, I colonized planets... and yet nothing. After 20 minutes, I was bored out of my skull from utter confusion. Is Sins any different at all?

[Daveman]

It's really accessible. A quick game or two (after the tutorials) and you'll have every bit of it (beside the strategy!) down. Ships even form into fleets automatically if you set one up and send ships to it. Logistically, it's simple to let run on its own.

If losing a ship in the scale of the whole thing is a concern, it's not an issue. If you're looking for a Scout or Colony ship there's a drop down menu that lets you click on the kind of ship and highlights them for you and tells you where they are. When zoomed out, every planet has three bars along the side, filled with little marks representing what's around the planet. The left side is for your ships and your allies' ships, the bottom is for planetary structures, and the right bar is for enemy ships. Highlighting any of them shows exactly what's there, so you can see where your ships are and click on the bar to select them and order them.

It's really easy to manage, because it has to be.

[Simon Charles]

Thanks, but I didn't understand a single thing you said. I'll take that as a sign this game is not for me.

[Destroyer]

Eat your heart out Supreme Commander (http://forums.sinsofasolarempire.com/index.aspx?aid=165996)

OMG is there a demo for this game?

[Rider]

Thanks, but I didn't understand a single thing you said. I'll take that as a sign this game is not for me.

That would be a terrible waste.

Just try it out. :)

Edit: Multiplayer Matchmaking Social Group (http://forums.3drealms.com/vb/group.php?groupid=35) started. I suggest moving any "let's MP!" talk over there :)

[Mountain Man]

OMG is there a demo for this game?
In a few weeks according to the developers.

Simon Charles:
Wow... is GalCiv 2 really that obscure of a game?

As for Sins, it's pretty accessible. You can micromanage as much as you want, or you can set everything on autopilot and simply go about managing your empire on the macro level. And at least in the single player skirmishes, you can pause the game and still issue orders, queue up research, etc. so if you ever find yourself getting overwhelmed, just hit pause and then assess the situation (though there's currently a quirk in the game where some things aren't acknowledged/updated while the game is paused, but the orders are still getting through; you just have to briefly unpause the game then pause it again to get some things to "take").

Personally, I think this is the best RTS I've ever played, but if you're on the fence, well, as I told the fellow above, the demo will be here soon.

[Simon Charles]

Simon Charles:
Wow... is GalCiv 2 really that obscure of a game?

To me, yes, it's undecypherable past the first 20 minutes. The whole thing is simply too steep. I'll keep an eye out for the demo though.

[Daveman]

Thanks, but I didn't understand a single thing you said. I'll take that as a sign this game is not for me.
It's easy to tell where your dudes are and what they're doing. It's easy to manage everything.

[Mountain Man]

In short, the interface is outstanding.

[Daveman]

I'm playing a 6 system game with one AI teammate and 8 opponents, all normals. The map has 5 players on two systems at the edge of the galaxy, and four empty systems in the middle to be exploited. After the first few hours it was clear that my teammate and I were going to take hold of our system, and from there there was no real resistance as we took over the middle systems and now we're attacking the enemies on the other system.

Unfortunately, there wasn't one clear, dominant team on the other system that could give us any real competition. I have a fleet of 13 Capital Ships, 52 bombers (about half of them from Light Carriers, which are excellent), a bunch of Kodiak Heavy Cruisers (which are also superb), and a bunch of Flak Frigates. Zooming in too much turns the game into a slideshow, unfortunately, but it's damn fun to see my fleet obliterate a half dozen Capital Ships before they can run away! :D

[Daveman]

Just finished the 6-system game. Just over 9 hours. Not too bad, and it can be done in a weekend (it seems), but I imagine it would take at least twice as long without the teammate, and definitely even longer playing online against a better opponent. The normals are tough but if you attack them early and get a slight lead you can pretty much run over the rest.

[Aegeri]

Pfft. You guys should see some of the Gal Civ games I've played on huge galaxies with maximum opponents. I've had games go for several months before a huge and [invariably] bloody resolution.

[Mountain Man]

Since there's no limit to the size of maps you can make in Sins, you could theoretically have a game last for months.

[Superczar]

How does this game do "resources", do you have to go "mine" several different resources ala Galactic Battlegrounds or Empire Earth? Or is it more simplistic?

[Daveman]

Planets with population generate tax income, and you mine for crystal and metals on asteroids that are around planets. I find myself with an excess of metal almost all the time but it can be turned into crystal in the black market. You can research higher levels of mining efficiency and refineries so you can get quite a lot of economic power if you're willing to devote time and money to research it.

[Superczar]

OK, so it's only a couple resources then and not a half dozen or so, I wish they'd hurry up with a demo...

[Mountain Man]

Yeah, resource management is pretty easy.

[thefly]

I had this great chess match going on tonight at about midway of a four hour game. I kept chasing an enemy's fleet with one massive fleet. They kept running, and despite their losses at each planet, I knew this could go one for a long time. So I went for it and pulled off the best pincer attack I've ever executed in a strategy game. It was great.

[Aegeri]

Since there's no limit to the size of maps you can make in Sins, you could theoretically have a game last for months.

This is what I like about Gal Civ 2. You can just keep upping the size, planets and such to see how long it takes to destroy your computers CPU.

[Needle]

Man, this game needs work. It's fine if you play against humans or 2 - 3 AI players, but everything beyond is a ***king joke.

Essentially, the AI is cheap as hell. First they'll fight among each other, but the longer you play, the more of them will ally (I guess they don't have to do those retarded "missions"). Eventually, you'll face a huge alliance of almost every AI player in the game.

Also, their stupid bomb-planet-and-run-away tactic might be efficient, but it's NO FUN AT ALL. They practically never stay and fight once my fleets arrive. And even the best planetary defense does nothing if they can depopulate a planet in mere seconds.

Oh well, I guess playing big maps with many AI enemies simply isn't an option right now. :(

[Daveman]

Get a small fleet of Light Frigates and a Capital Ship (your first one is free) and attack your closest enemy early. If you can stunt the growth of one of them you'll take them over without much problem and then you'll have it easier. Early expansion is hugely important.

[Mountain Man]

Essentially, the AI is cheap as hell. First they'll fight among each other, but the longer you play, the more of them will ally (I guess they don't have to do those retarded "missions"). Eventually, you'll face a huge alliance of almost every AI player in the game.
The workaround until Ironclad improves the diplomacy is to play with locked teams.

Also, their stupid bomb-planet-and-run-away tactic might be efficient, but it's NO FUN AT ALL. They practically never stay and fight once my fleets arrive. And even the best planetary defense does nothing if they can depopulate a planet in mere seconds.
The defenses are only supposed to slow an invader down, not stop him dead in his tracks. Usually if you bring a large fleet into the system quickly enough, the AI will turn tail and run before they can do any serious damage. Scouting and researching the tech that allows you to detect phase lane jumps will help you anticipate attacks and minimize damage.

[Daveman]

The defenses are only supposed to slow an invader down, not stop him dead in his tracks. Usually if you bring a large fleet into the system quickly enough, the AI will turn tail and run before they can do any serious damage. Scouting and researching the tech that allows you to detect phase lane jumps will help you anticipate attacks and minimize damage.
Actually, at the higher levels, a few Gauss guns and a LOT of hangar defenses filled with bombers will absolutely destroy anything they try and throw at you. The bombers will all go after any capital ships in the well and take the shields down in just a few runs, before it even gets close enough to strike the planet. Early in the game it's a horrible strategy, though, as it wastes your resources. It only works late-game.

[Needle]

Get a small fleet of Light Frigates and a Capital Ship (your first one is free) and attack your closest enemy early. If you can stunt the growth of one of them you'll take them over without much problem and then you'll have it easier. Early expansion is hugely important.
I've been playing very agressive right from the start and took over an enemy empire early on. I have more worlds than anyone else. Doesn't help me though, since there are still 8 pissed AI players left, which are now doing nothing but raining fleets down on me, constantly, from all directions. I'm now regulary being attacked by combined fleets of ships from up to 4 different factions.

[Daveman]

Well if no strategy is working, like MM said, just lock the teams. It should prevent it from happening.

[thefly]

So what is your favorite race to play? So far, the Advent is the one I like to use the most.

[Mountain Man]

I really haven't gotten a handle on any of the races to pick a favorite as right now they all feel pretty much the same to me (though now that I think about it, I have yet to take the Vasari for a spin).

Right now I'm playing a 2v2v2 with locked teams, and it's been an interesting game only because I've not been attacked by the AI once. My AI partner has been attacked a few times, and I've had to help him fend off the invaders, but my own planets have been untouched. And this is after almost 2-hours of playing. Now I have this huge fleet of like 60 ships, and I'm just rolling through enemy territory with little resistance. Not sure why things worked out like this, but they just did (this is on normal difficulty).

[thefly]

I haven't tried the defensive, cultural path yet. I think that might be more appreciated on the most difficult setting.

Frigates for the most part seem to be pretty universal, but the capital ship abilities plus the economic/culture side seem to be the more nuanced part of the game. I think.

I'm not positive, but I think the races receive different benefits from planets.

[Mountain Man]

Gamasutra.com reports that Sins is the current top seller in North America:

North America:
1. Sins of a Solar Empire (Stardock)
2. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Activision)
3. World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade (Blizzard)
4. The Orange Box (EA Games)
5. SimCity 4: Deluxe Edition (EA Games)
After finishing second in North American PC software sales twice in the weeks following its release earlier this month, Stardock's real-time strategy title Sins of a Solar Empire climbs up to take top honors in this week's sales results. Given its impressive sales performance in the face of competition from PC favorites like Call of Duty 4 and The Orange Box, Sins of a Solar Empire is likely to remain a strong chart force in future weeks.
Congrats to Stardock and Ironclad!

[Simon Charles]

Can't find a demo anywhere. I need a science-fiction fix and it's either that or Tabula Rasa.

[Superczar]

Can't find a demo anywhere. I need a science-fiction fix and it's either that or Tabula Rasa.

Mountain Man said soon for the demo a page or 2 back... I want to play a demo too... :)

[Mountain Man]

Here's the latest update (http://forums.sinsofasolarempire.com/?forumid=403&aid=300547) from the developers. They say that patch 1.03 is in testing, and their original plan (though not mentioned here) was to get the demo out after 1.03 and before starting work on the next patch, so I'd say the demo is probably another couple of weeks out, unfortunately.

[Daveman]

They set a date for the demo a while ago, I think it's mid-March.

[thefly]

So I built up three choke points with massive fleets and great defense (repair platforms which I hadn't used before) and went out to eat and left the game running. I returned about 90 minutes later, and still had control of those planets.

Lately I haven't been trying to finish games. Instead, I've just been experimenting with different approaches to the game. Next I'm going to try as close to a pure cultural takeover as I can.

[Daveman]

Yeah that's what I've been doing too. Maybe I need to step up to hard difficulty, but it seems like as soon as I get an early advantage I roll over my opponents. They might fight back and beat me a bit but for the most part it's one-sided. Online would be cool but I don't have the time to devote to those games.

[ryche]

I've only played 1 solo game and a few online games with a friend who's got it and I'm enjoying this game a lot. Them pirates are annoyin as crap though lol and didn't seem like whenever I increased bounty would they actually attack anyone but me :(

Still I'm enjoyin it a lot. That novalith cannon thing is just sweet lol. I love how it fires when I'm not even attackin any specific planet atm. :D

[Daveman]

If you put a bounty on the head of an enemy that has their own system without pirates, the pirates won't go after them.

[Mountain Man]

Hey, check out this mod (http://forums.sinsofasolarempire.com/?aid=301418&p=1#1621991). It enhances the particle effects in Sins making them brighter and with bolder colors:

http://www.picupload.net/t-82783abe3a7499a568fd764225af93c5.jpg (http://www.picupload.net/uploads/82783abe3a7499a568fd764225af93c5.jpg)

The impact on performance appears minimal, but I'd be willing to turn down other graphics settings just to keep these new particle effects.

Installation is a cinch, and you can turn the mod on and and off in-game (Sins is very mod friendly. Look under "Options -> Mods").

[thefly]

I play without pirates. I find them annoying and don't add much except to my anger level.

[Simon Charles]

Really been wanting to get this (I need some SF badly) but I'm a bit strapped for cash -- the demo will make or break it.

[Simon Charles]

Patch 1.03 should be out soon. Lots of fixes and additions, including the ability to turning off them pesky pirates.

http://forums.sinsofasolarempire.com/?forumid=402&aid=303642

[ryche]

I like being guarded ;)

This is a really fun game. Anyone who likes RTS and this kind of play should pick it up. :)

Mod looks groovy

[Simon Charles]

I want to love this game badly but I fear it's gonna end up exactly like GalCiv2. An absolutely awesome game that hits every SF spot right and that I should normally love and drool all over... and yet I hate it. It bores me to tears. I give up after 10 minutes every single time.

[ryche]

:(

Hope the demo comes soon.

[Daveman]

Well it's certainly far from boring!

[Mountain Man]

I want to love this game badly but I fear it's gonna end up exactly like GalCiv2. An absolutely awesome game that hits every SF spot right and that I should normally love and drool all over... and yet I hate it. It bores me to tears. I give up after 10 minutes every single time.
Wow, really?

[Daveman]

I think the fact that it's realtime makes it instantly more interesting...

[ryche]

New patch available.

[Mountain Man]

New patch available.
:woot:

[Mountain Man]

Played an interesting match last night. I forget the name of the map, but it was a 4-player free for all against the AI. With the patch introducing more time to complete diplomacy missions and less penalty for failure, I found that I was actually able to play a diplomatic game for the most part.

By completing missions for one player, I was able to forge a peace treaty with them which protected one of my flanks and freed up my fleet to become more offensively oriented. So I started focusing on wiping out one enemy, but it just so happened that the other AI who I was not allied with started giving me missions related to the enemy I was attacking, so my relationship with them shot way up and I secured another peace treaty.

I then proceeded to combine my entire fleet into one, 80-ship monster armada and rolled over the one AI. In the meantime, my other two allies were still at odds and attacking each other, and one had managed to whittle the other down to a skeleton fleet and only four planets, so I broke the treaty with the weaker and my remaining ally and I wiped him out in short order.

All told, it was around a 4-hour game. Here's a screenshot of my final assault before securing victory:

http://www.picupload.net/t-2e72667401946df1e94adb1d9c8e8727.jpg (http://www.picupload.net/uploads/2e72667401946df1e94adb1d9c8e8727.jpg)

[Daveman]

Wow, you really don't go heavy on capital ships...I always keep my capital ships right at the limit, and I keep the limit right on par (or ahead of) my regular fleet limit...

[Mountain Man]

Wow, you really don't go heavy on capital ships...I always keep my capital ships right at the limit, and I keep the limit right on par (or ahead of) my regular fleet limit...
Yeah, that's why I don't play online, because dudes like you would totally kick my ass (and here I was actually proud of my fleet. :().

[ryche]

Looks awesome. I have yet played anythin besides TEC. Is there really any difference between the races?

[Taril]

Want to play this. But gotta wait for the demo to see if it will run.

[Daveman]

Looks awesome. I have yet played anythin besides TEC. Is there really any difference between the races?
The frigates and cruisers for the most part play the same, and a lot of the basic research is the same, but the advanced research and capital ships do change strategy a fair amount. Plus different voice overs!

[The Stinger]

Any word on the release date for the demo?

[thefly]

The frigates and cruisers for the most part play the same, and a lot of the basic research is the same, but the advanced research and capital ships do change strategy a fair amount. Plus different voice overs!

I believe the different factions also benefit from different types of planets. Build times are different as well. I'm not sure if diplomacy is more effective between the three. It is a simple game to play but super complex when it comes to the subtle stuff. It is a weird, fun game.

[Mountain Man]

Any word on the release date for the demo?
Now that 1.03 has been released, it's next on their agenda.

[Daveman]

I believe the different factions also benefit from different types of planets.
Yeah I forgot about that. The Advent do really well with desert planets, which I love because there's lots of logistics slots available.

[Daveman]

My Sins directory seems to be corrupted, and I don't have my disk on me this week, so I can't play the game all through spring break. :(

[thefly]

Hm, did it corrupt after the new patch?

[Daveman]

No, I accidentally unplugged my external HDD and it corrupted some files. It was doing it with the old version, and I thought patching it would help, but it didn't. I just need to reinstall.

[Mountain Man]

No, I accidentally unplugged my external HDD and it corrupted some files. It was doing it with the old version, and I thought patching it would help, but it didn't. I just need to reinstall.
How can unplugging an external hard drive corrupt your game files? :confused:

At any rate, you can always download the full game from Stardock in a pinch and install it that way.

[thefly]

Well, that still sucks, but I'm glad it wasn't because of the patch.

[Daveman]

How can unplugging an external hard drive corrupt your game files? :confused:
That's all I can think that could've caused it. It messed a few things up, and it had to run checkdisk for errors because I didn't properly disconnect it or turn it off first. Unless it's something else. Regardless I need to reinstall.

At any rate, you can always download the full game from Stardock in a pinch and install it that way.
Can I do this without buying the game again? :confused:

[Dogy]

Anyone know how to install mods with 1.03? The instructions that came with the mod don't apply, as the Ironclad Games folder is nowhere to be found.

[Daveman]

Can I do this without buying the game again? :confused:
So I can! Stardock Central automatically detected that I own the game. Awesome!

[Niap!]

Anyone know how to install mods with 1.03? The instructions that came with the mod don't apply, as the Ironclad Games folder is nowhere to be found.

I haven't installed any mods yet, but the folder should be located at C:\Documents and Settings\<User Name>\Local Settings\Application Data\Ironclad Games\Sins of a Solar Empire. The mods, screenshots etc folders are in there.

[Dogy]

I haven't installed any mods yet, but the folder should be located at C:\Documents and Settings\<User Name>\Local Settings\Application Data\Ironclad Games\Sins of a Solar Empire. The mods, screenshots etc folders are in there.

Ah, I was looking in the wrong folder.

[Mountain Man]

So I can! Stardock Central automatically detected that I own the game. Awesome!
Yeah, Stardock's pretty cool that way. As long as you registered with them when you bought the game (and you had to in order to get any of the patches) then you can download the full game whenever you want.

So it looks like your spring break won't be a dud after all. :D

[Superczar]

http://superczar.net/ubb/Demoplz.jpg

Waitin' sucks... :(

[Daveman]

Pirates being annoying? Get a novalith cannon and take them out in one shot. :)

[ryche]

I love the novalith cannon JUST for that reason alone.

[ryche]

From Blue's News
Sins of a Solar Empire Patch & Expansion Plans [March 19, 2008, 08:37 am ET] - 6 Comments
GWJ Conference Call Episode 76 on Gamers With Jobs (http://www.gamerswithjobs.com/node/38197) promises hints about plans for a Sins of a Solar Empire expansion as part of their conversation with Ironclads' Blair Fraser about the PC RTS game. I can't access the podcast myself, but maybe you can, and if not, we can take comfort in knowing an expansion is in the works. On a semi-related note, the Sins of a Solar Empire Website has news on upcoming two patches, saying their current plan is for a version 1.04 patch, which "will contain some balancing updates based on player feedback, more computer AI updates, and other game play tweaking." This will be followed by a version 1.1 patch described like this:

This will be a more significant update providing a considerable overhaul of the multiplayer system with more features and updated networking code to make it more robust under a whole series of circumstances. I can't go into too much detail but it's pretty cool stuff. v1.1 will also include new graphical options including one with very high resolution textures.

[Superczar]

How do you go from a 1.4 patch to a 1.1 patch, that's retarded... and an expansion, what about the DAMN DEMO!?

[Mountain Man]

How do you go from a 1.4 patch to a 1.1 patch, that's retarded...
Read it again. The next patch is 1.04, then after that will be 1.1.

As for the demo, they've said all along that they'd start work on it after 1.03 was released. Well, 1.03 was released about a week ago, so I expect the demo will be along shortly.

[thefly]

How do you go from a 1.4 patch to a 1.1 patch, that's retarded... and an expansion, what about the DAMN DEMO!?

Just buy the game, you'll like it. :D

[Niap!]

Their post release support is excellent, I look forward to the coming improvements. Also good to know they have an expansion in the works.. :love:

[Superczar]

Read it again. The next patch is 1.04, then after that will be 1.1.

As for the demo, they've said all along that they'd start work on it after 1.03 was released. Well, 1.03 was released about a week ago, so I expect the demo will be along shortly.

Ah, my mind read 1.4, not 1.04... :doh:

Cocaine's a helluva drug...

I would buy it but this game seems like it will be one that I enjoy a lot or get frustrated too easily with depending on the learning curve / speed of the game... :o

[Niap!]

I would buy it but this game seems like it will be one that I enjoy a lot or get frustrated too easily with depending on the learning curve / speed of the game... :o

If you liked Homeworlds style camera control you'll feel right at home, but with the option of easily zooming in and out to see everything from any angle. Theres plenty of configuration options when you start a new game, you can change the speed of: income rates, build speeds, ship speeds, research etc. Theres 3 settings for each: slow, normal and fast. Then over on the AI side theres 4 difficulty settings: easy, normal, hard and unfair. Once you pick a skill level you can also pick from a few more AI options: aggressor, fortifier, researcher, economist or random.

The interface is very well done and easy to pick up, 3 different races to play in 3 different sized maps: small, medium and large. Depending on what your in the mood for (slower paced or action packed) you can pretty much toggle a few settings and have at it. :D

[Taril]

Just buy the game, you'll like it. :D

I would but I have to find out if it will run well enough to warrant buying it.
I know ill love it if it runs.

[Dogy]

I would but I have to find out if it will run well enough to warrant buying it.
I know ill love it if it runs.

Minimum Requirements:

* Windows XP SP2 / Windows Vista
* 1.8 GHz Single-Core Processor
* 512 MB RAM (1 GB for Windows Vista)
* 128 MB DirectX 9 3D Video Card (Radeon 9600 / GeForce FX 6600 and above)
* DirectX 9.0c Compatible Sound Card
* DVD-ROM Drive
* 3 GB Hard Drive Space
* Keyboard and Mouse
* DirectX 9.0c

Recommended Requirements:

* 2.2 GHz Dual- or Quad-Core Processor
* 1 GB RAM (2 GB for Windows Vista)
* 256 MB DirectX 9 3D Video Card (Radeon X1600 / GeForce 7600 and above)

That's like NOTHING for system requirements.

[Karthik]

Does it run on DirectX8 cards?
:D

[Daveman]

It's also important to note that the recommended specs are actually way more than is necessary. I'm slightly above the recommended video card, but under the recommended processor, and I run the game seamlessly, full detail and AA.

The learning curve is pretty easy as well. After a couple of games against easies, you should be able to compete against a couple of normals.

[thefly]

Uhm, the computer has been kicking my ass since the latest patch. The last two games I couldn't find any crystal. It seems to me this last patch really slowed down everything in terms of economic and researched development. Maybe I have just been unlucky.

[Daveman]

The last two games I couldn't find any crystal.
I think it depends on the map. I was completely used to being short on crystal, but my last game was completely short on metal.
It seems to me this last patch really slowed down everything in terms of economic and researched development. Maybe I have just been unlucky.
Actually they've sped research up. It used to be that there would be one item of research running at a time. Now you can run one military, one civilian, and one logistics research item at once.

[thefly]

Maybe that is why I am out of cash all the time. I need to adjust my play style for this patch. The computer players seem to pump out bigger fleets a lot faster than I was used too.

Also, is there a way to offer diplomacy missions to computer players? Like, "Give me 1000 credits or I will be displeased?" I can't seem to find a way to do that, but they offer those to me all the time. I know I can create peace/trade agreements, but I want to demand cash damnit!

[Daveman]

No, you can't, and it's pretty lame. Giving them resources doesn't seem to improve their opinion of you, either. You can send over ten thousand credits and they'll still not want anything to do with you. It's pretty goddamn lame, but the game is more fun with locked teams anyway.

[thefly]

The diplomacy part of the game is pretty crap, which reminds me of Civ4. What is the point? The computer puts out unreasonable demands, the player of course declines, and the computer then gets pissed. If the player pays the tribute asked for, the computer still will treat the player like shit.

But hey, let me offer a peace treaty. WE REFUSE TO MEET THIS REQUEST! Oh, ok, I'll go shove this legislation up my own ass instead. Thanks buddy.

[Daveman]

Well it can work, you just have to focus on pleasing one or two specific opponents. After two or three successful missions (having lucky objectives helps) they'll accept ceasefires. One more after that and they'll accept a peace treaty, and you don't even have to wipe them out to win.

[thefly]

That is what a I hate about diplomacy. I have to please them, but I can't make deals where they have to please me. I haven't tried the locked teams. I'd rather just try and crush the other players with fire power since the diplomacy is not balanced.

I wonder, do the computer players make demands against each other that the human player cannot?

[Fraeon Waser Duhni]

Haha, this diplomacy discussion reminds me of a MOO2 game I had where I blackmailed one of the AI players to fork over its planets. All except one, of course. Then I attacked the player with half of my fleet and I got myself served by just this one ship that the AI had.

Yeah, still waiting for that demo.

[TBZ]

Does it run on DirectX8 cards?
:D

From the official site:
Minimum Requirements:

* Windows XP SP2 / Windows Vista
* 1.8 GHz Single-Core Processor
* 512 MB RAM (1 GB for Windows Vista)
* 128 MB DirectX 9 3D Video Card (Radeon 9600 / GeForce FX 6600 and above)
* DirectX 9.0c Compatible Sound Card
* DVD-ROM Drive
* 3 GB Hard Drive Space
* Keyboard and Mouse
* DirectX 9.0c

So, no it doesnt, sorry :(

[Mountain Man]

I would buy it but this game seems like it will be one that I enjoy a lot or get frustrated too easily with depending on the learning curve / speed of the game... :o
The game is actually quite leisurely to play with playtimes ranging in hours instead of minutes (a three-hour game on a small map is not at all unusual).

As for the learning curve, the game is easy to learn (the interface is outstanding) but difficult to master. There's a lot of nuance here that will take some time to learn.

So, yeah, your best bet is to wait for the demo.

[Marcos_Edson]

I'm enjoying this game a lot! :)
I'm running it on a 1.6 GHz computer, 1 Gb of RAM and a GeForce 6200, only time I really had lag was when I brought a TEC fleet to take out a pirate base, I guess with 500 ships around it just had to be slow... :D

[Karthik]

So is Sins shader heavy?

[Daveman]

I don't think so. It says it requires a DX9 card but I bet you could make it run on a DX8 card if you turned everything down...and you might have to play zoomed out the entire time.

[KaiserSoze]

http://superczar.net/ubb/Demoplz.jpg

Waitin' sucks... :(

What?

http://www.fileshack.com/file.x/11955/Sins+of+a+Solar+Empire+Demo

:D

I'm downloading it now. My brother has the full game and says it's great. We shall see....

[Mountain Man]

Wow, that came out sooner than I was expecting. I figured they had another week or two at least.

Edit: Interesting. According to a dev at the official forums (http://forums.sinsofasolarempire.com/305055), the AI in the demo is actually from the 1.04 version.

The demo AI has been improved - part of the changes that will be in 1.04.

[Taril]

Well that was disappointing.
It ran like crap even with the graphics turned down all the way.
oh well... sigh

[Mountain Man]

Your system must be museum quality if it can't run Sins with all the settings at minimum.

[Marcos_Edson]

Well that was disappointing.
It ran like crap even with the graphics turned down all the way.
oh well... sigh

:eek:

[Taril]

Its my graphics card. I have an on board Intel one.
My machine is from last year though. Runs Vista.
Hell runs WoW just fine. Just doesn't seem to like Sins.
But yea for the exception of WoW i play older games.
I dont have a real graphics card.

[Karthik]

Its my graphics card. I have an on board Intel one.
My machine is from last year though. Runs Vista.
Hell runs WoW just fine. Just doesn't seem to like Sins.
But yea for the exception of WoW i play older games.
I dont have a real graphics card.
I officially acknowledge Sweeny's call of 'Intel is destroying PC gaming'.

[ryche]

I have hated Intel for the integrated graphics chips for years. Ever since I think it was called an i740 or somethin.

[Simon Charles]

Downloading now at snails per seconds. Hope I like it.

[thefly]

Your system must be museum quality if it can't run Sins with all the settings at minimum.


I installed it on my work laptop that runs Vista and has some type of low end Nvidia graphics card. It really ran like shit with pretty much everything turned off that I could turn off. It eventually stabilized and ran "ok" but it was really lagging. Of course, the laptop wasn't designed for games.

It does run great on my home PC and I just have a 6800GT OC in it. Though really, I usually just play in zoomed out mode. I rarely zoom in to watch the battles.

[Simon Charles]

Wow... glad I didn't purchase this game; I got bored halfway through the first tutorial. Not for me. :(

[Mountain Man]

I got bored halfway through the first tutorial.
Short attention span?

Yeah, so the tutorials aren't the most exciting thing in the world, but you might want to at least try an actual match against the AI before writing it off.

[Simon Charles]

Short attention span?

Very.

[superevilcube]

I'm downloading the demo. I'm awful at RTSs, but I still like playing them.

[Superczar]

Cool, got it but don't have any time at the moment to play - maybe tomorrow afternoon...

[thefly]

Heh, just won a game using only capital ships. Didn't build one frigate or cruiser. I think next game I'll just use frigates only. :D

[Superczar]

Finally got to play the demo, just did the tutorials. Not bad, I have everything jacked to the max and it seems smooth, only gripe is that asteroids are hard to see in the space b/g. Seems to be a bit of a Empire Earth-ish learning curve that a few hours of playing the real game ought to help...

[thefly]

Won a game using only frigates. I guess cruisers are the next.

[Daveman]

Good luck in the early game!

[thefly]

Yeah, that might not actually be possible to use only cruisers. I'm not sure if anyone of them can colonize a planet.

[Tang Lung]

I'm downloading the demo, but I have a strong feeling it's not going to work on this PC, which would completely suck If was the case..

[Simon Charles]

Is there something fundamently wrong with me? Everything in this game's pedigree tells me I should drool over it yet I find it utterly boring and lifeless. Honestly, what's wrong with me? Clearly I'm at fault here, not seeing the good stuff. All I feel is utter boredom, molasse-laced gameplay to the point of uninstall, just like GalCiv 2.

WTF is wrong with me?

[Daveman]

Maybe you are looking at it wrong? Try seeing it as a real-time Civilization or Total War game rather than a large-scale Homeworld. Or try seeing it as a large-scale Homeworld instead of a real-time Civilization or Total War game. :D

Also, if you're giving up before the endgame (I don't know how the demo is structured, I'm assuming the game goes all the way through to the end?), you should definitely complete a game. There's tremendous flexibility in how you want to get the upper hand and finish your opponent, and there's something seriously satisfying about having a fleet with 50+ bomber squadrons (who needs fighters when you've got Flak Frigates?) and absolutely decimating the enemy's main fleet.

[Simon Charles]

Maybe you are looking at it wrong? Try seeing it as a real-time Civilization or Total War game rather than a large-scale Homeworld. Or try seeing it as a large-scale Homeworld instead of a real-time Civilization or Total War game. :D

I tried both. Either way I was bored out of my skull after 10 minutes of the first map. There were something like 7 or 8 planets. I sucked it up once and played all the way through for a few hours... nothing happened. I got nowhere. I saw one enemy scout the entire time and that's it. When I quit I looked at the map; the enemy had 6 of the 7 planets all conquered. I was still around my main planet not able to build anything because I had zero metal and no way of getting more. Deleted that demo mighty fast. I couldn't figure out how to build a fleet even after doing the tutorials. Boring, boring, boring. :mryuck:

[thefly]

I thought you were a game tester. I would think game testers could figure stuff out pretty easily.

[Simon Charles]

I thought you were a game tester. I would think game testers could figure stuff out pretty easily.

That's two wrong thoughts. :D Anyway, enough Sins bashing from me. I don't like it, others do. Good for them. Enjoy the game.

[thefly]

That's two wrong thoughts. :D

That doesn't really make sense. You are or are not a game tester? That is what you've said before and is in your "about me" part of your profile.

[Mountain Man]

Sins of a Solar Empire post mortem (http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3638/postmortem_ironcladstardocks_.php)

[Destroyer]

I got this game a few weeks ago and I gave up on it after a couple of hours. I just dont have to time to get into a game like this. I think i have gone from being an extreme gamer to a casual gamer. :(

[boglito]

Sins of a Solar Empire post mortem (http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3638/postmortem_ironcladstardocks_.php)

I'm glad they had the decency to list "lack of singleplayer campaign" as "what went wrong #1".

[thefly]

Single plater campaigns are boring. I like it the way it is.

[Reaper]

Single plater campaigns are boring. I like it the way it is.
Not really. Although it is a great game, a campaign wouldn't hurt.

[Karthik]

Ok...so I it the bullet and bought the game when I bought the boxset of Icewind Dale. I tested the game on my cousin's laptop and noticed the game didn't ask for the cd key during installation or during gameplay(single player, haven't tried mp because there's no internet connection there at all).

Anyway, my manual mentions that SoSE comes with Impluse thingmajing. Is it mandatory to install this thing to:
a) Play multiplayer games
b) Download updates

[Daveman]

What? I don't know what Impulse is. As far as I know all it takes to get updates and play online is registering your CD key on the website.

[Karthik]

Ah, I see. Thanks by the way.

[Mountain Man]

Impulse is Stardock's answer to Steam. It was originally to be included with Sins but wasn't ready when the game shipped, so they kept it in development for a few more months. I think patch 1.05 is available through direct download (click the "Update" button on the game's launcher menu), but all future patches, including the upcoming 1.1, will be available through Impulse only.

[Mountain Man]

Stardock announced today that the award-winning and best-selling PC strategy game, Sins of a Solar Empire, will feature several micro-expansions over the next year. The first expansion pack, Sins of a Solar Empire: Entrenchment is currently in development and will be released late 2008 for $9.95 via Stardock's Impulse digital distribution platform (www.impulsedriven.com).

. . .

Specifically, Entrenchment promises to bring fans a Starbase defense platform for each race (extremely powerful and armored bases housing a variety of weapons and other upgrades capable of defending an entire planet), turret upgrades for each race to make them more powerful (not only stronger than the current versions, but also upgradable with long-range weapons), mine fields and a Subspace Inhibitor platform that will slow enemy ships within its range.

. . .

Ironclad has two additional micro-expansions in development as well. One of which adds new diplomacy features to the game and another that will add new technologies and ships.

http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/sins-of-a-solar-empire/906558p1.html
I have mixed feelings about this. I like the idea of mini-expansions, and $9.95 is certainly an attractive price, but I hope we don't ultimately get less content for every $40 than we would get in a typical expansion.