Sins of a Solar Empire

[Island Dog]

Since we are very close to the release of the highly anticipated 4x space strategy game, Sins of a Solar Empire, I thought it was time to open a thread for discussion.

If you are not too familiar with Sins, then here are some recent previews:

• http://pc.ign.com/articles/848/848665p1.html
  
• http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=181023
  
• http://www.g4tv.com/pile_player.aspx?video_key=19985
  

[Yusuf M. Veteran]

Sweet. It's about time there's a good 4X space strategy game. I can't wait to play this!

[CoolerUK]

I'll check it out too, need something new from EVE Online

[Raa]

That reminds me of Earth & Beyond

Great game that was going to be, until EA axed it.

I might just get meself a copy of this :)

[Island Dog]

There's going to be a players chat at 8pm EST tonight. It will be on IRC channel #sins on irc.stardock.com. Feel free to stop by! :)

[obiwong]

can't wait to give this game a try!

it looks great and i've heard nothing but good things about it so far

[spaceelf]

I'm sure I'll try it eventually, too many games right now. Maybe I could finish them all if I wasn't trying to get a new job, but there you go :D

[Island Dog]

Tips for launch day.

On February 4, 2008 Sins of a Solar Empire will be released. So how exactly is this going to proceed?

1) For those of you who pre-ordered:

If you pre-ordered the game but were NOT in the beta tomorrow afternoonish, Eastern Standard Time, the orders will begin to be processed. There are thousands of pre-orders to be processed so it will take some time. Here's the insta-answer to this question "I haven't received my email yet!" answer: It hasn't been sent to you yet. The pre-orders should complete being processed by 8pm EST. If you haven't received an email, then check your various spam filters. Otherwise, go HERE, type in your email and it should email you all info we have on you.

2) Get Stardock Central

To download the game, you will need Stardock Central. Your email will include instructions on creating a Stardock.net account (that's the account you use to logon to this website and post and such). If you want to get a head start, you can go here.

3) If you had a beta version

If you were one of the beta testers, first, thank you for your help! Sometime tomorrow afternoon v1.01 will appear on Stardock Central. That is the latest version. You will need to uninstall your existing beta first.

4) If you are buying it at a store

Once you install it and have it running, you will need to update to v1.01 to play on-line. Click on the "update game" button on the main menu and you'll be taken to where you can download the v1.01 patch. The patch is only 11 megs so don't worry.

5) If you are downloading the full game

We have leased some mega-super-duper high speed lines for the launch week. It should (better) download really REALLY fast regardless of how many people are buying.

Read the full list...

http://forums.sinsofasolarempire.com/?foru...=174664#1440373

[Keito]

My problem is - I'd really like to try this game before I buy it, as I'm very picky with strategy games and have encountered it a couple of times that I bought it and didn't like it... so I kinda don't want that to happen again - even though this game looks really great from the vids and reviews of it

Is there any word of a demo or anything?

[Prince Charming]

Does the downloadable version require Stardock Central running once it's downloaded and installed (Like Steam does for example), or does it function independently? Also, I assume physical media version doesn't use Stardock Central at all?

[Island Dog]

Is there any word of a demo or anything?

A demo will be available in the near future.

Does the downloadable version require Stardock Central running once it's downloaded and installed (Like Steam does for example), or does it function independently? Also, I assume physical media version doesn't use Stardock Central at all?

If you buy electronically, then you just need Stardock Central to install, not play.

[Yusuf M. Veteran]

I hate it when this happens. No stores in my areas have the game and I don't want to pay $5 more for the digital download. I'd rather have the boxed game. Hopefully I'll be able to purchase it by next week.

[spacey]

a space RTS game could be fun right about now... however i need some reviews or a demo to see if its really good enough to buy.

[psybapunk]

when do I get to see some reviews?

[Novaoblivion]

I really wanted to pick this game up today but I am little short on cash right now :(. Hopefully I can sometime this weekend!

[MightyYoo]

a space RTS game could be fun right about now... however i need some reviews or a demo to see if its really good enough to buy.

Shouldn't be too long,

I've been playing it all day yesterday, theres room for improvement thats for sure, but the devs and publisher have been active on the official forum which is a good thing.

[Yusuf M. Veteran]

Still no word on a demo. :(

[Island Dog]

Still no word on a demo. :(

A demo should be available in roughly a month or so. When a demo is available, you will know about it. :)

when do I get to see some reviews?

More reviews should be coming in soon, but here is one.

http://www.gamealmighty.com/story-individu...a_Solar_Empire/

[Island Dog]

Just wanted to post that we have released the 1.02 update. You can download the update via Stardock Central or the update button in Sins.

Small excerpt of changes:

Fixed a bug on Ironclad On-line where games in progress would sometimes linger and show as available resulting in a "Rejected by host" message.

1. Fixed a bug on Ironclad On-line where games in progress would sometimes linger and show as available resulting in a "Rejected by host" message.
   
2. Siege Frigates now use more fleet supply and have somewhat fewer hull points.
   
3. Pirate strikes come less often
   
4. Random map options that don't have pirates now available
   
5. Various tweaks and improvements to ICO (Ironclad Online)
   
6. Various tweaks and improvements to the game UI in game (more info available)
   
7. Various small tweaks to weapons and defenses
   

Full change log can be found here.

http://forums.sinsofasolarempire.com/?foru...&aid=176182

[quigley0]

This game is absolutely stellar (err, no pun intended.)

I just played a game last night with a friend of mine against the AI for 6 hours. (Huge map. 2 stars 50 planets or something like that). We lost in the end, but, we had a great time doing it.

If you are into games like Civ4, but wished the combat was a little more realtime, than this is the game for you. it isn't turn based, but, it isn't a frantic click-fest like some RTS games.

[evo_spook]

I'm interested in this game, but again need a demo as I don't think my Windows laptop will be able to run it

Processor: Intel Pentium M 740 / 1.73 GHz

Chipset Type: Mobile Intel 915GM Express

512mb

Graphics Processor / Vendor: Intel GMA 900

Video Memory: Dynamic Video Memory Technology 3.0

Max Allocated RAM Size: 128 MB

I take this is like a modern escape velocity? Its sometimes hard to tell if those preview screens are of the actual gameplay or just the story animations.

[quigley0]

gameplay

[Yusuf M. Veteran]

I'm interested in this game, but again need a demo as I don't think my Windows laptop will be able to run it

Processor: Intel Pentium M 740 / 1.73 GHz

Chipset Type: Mobile Intel 915GM Express

512mb

Graphics Processor / Vendor: Intel GMA 900

Video Memory: Dynamic Video Memory Technology 3.0

Max Allocated RAM Size: 128 MB

I take this is like a modern escape velocity? Its sometimes hard to tell if those preview screens are of the actual gameplay or just the story animations.

Unfortunately you won't be able to run the game with a graphics processor like that. You'll need one that supports DirectX 9. As for a demo, according to this there will be one after a v1.03 update is released. Also, the preview screenshots are actual gameplay shots taken in "cinematic mode" (removes icons, etc).

[Island Dog]

If you have some feedback for the v1.03 update, then now is the time. :) We want to hear your opinions.

We hope to get v1.03 out by the end of the month (no promises though). Ironclad (and Stardock) are pretty exhausted from the final weeks of effort and the first week of launch so resting will be done.

So think of v1.03 as a few key tweaks that you think would really make the game more enjoyable not just for you but other people.

Here's an example of things we're talking about right now:

• Updated AI players
  
• More Game Speed Options
  
• More aggressive AI players replacing dropped players (i.e. active AI)
  
• AI surrendering
  
• Improvements to ICO
  
• Unit cap increases

Link

[Island Dog]

Just a reminder that tonight is "Friday Night Sinning" where people from IronClad and Stardock will be only playing, and just hanging out.

It started around 6pm EST and will go until whenever.