Sins of a Solar Empire

[ZzZGuy]

Homepage
http://www.sinsofasolarempire.com/

Unedited ingame video by Stardock detailing how the game is played and various features, 11 minutes long (you can basically skip my post with this vid).
http://www.gamespot.com/pc/str...sid=6182903&id=6182903

(note that all trailers appear to be bata and on low graphics setting)

HQ trailer
http://www.gamershell.com/news/30772.html

Youtube Trailers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQ9yWrFzk9w
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...Hq0mlM&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-caYOMXcP8

Latest Q/A from the Sin website
http://forums.sinsofasolarempi...forumid=403&aid=173627

Multiplayer Dev Blog
http://blogs.ign.com/Stardock_Games/2008/01/22/77861/

Gamespot's latest preview
http://www.gamespot.com/pc/str...=6178649&mode=previews

ING review
http://blogs.ign.com/Stardock_Games/2008/01/18/77446/

Release date is set for February 04, 2008.

*Demo: 536.21MB

Features:

* Play as the Trader Emergency Coalition (TEC)
* Learn the basics through four tutorials
* Fight on two small scenario maps against up to two AI players
* Conquer a randomly generated medium map against up to three AI players
* 90 minutes of play time

Note that when they say 90 minutes, that is per individual game, not total playable time. Only the medium map will likely result in hitting the time limit.
http://www.gamershell.com/download_23790.shtml (no registration required)
http://www.gamespot.com/pc/str.../download_6188180.html (requires registration)

The best way to describe this game is to compare it to aspects of other games, atm there is no other game like this. In basic terms it's a RTS space civilization game. The main focus of the game is empire building, with battles to further your empire.

Sins of a Solar Empire is a strategy game that has been described by beta testers as being like Total Annihilation in space to Homeworld meets Civilization

Galactic Civilization: Set in space, you explore and colonize planets, compete and war with other civilizations, build fleets to conquer your enemies and take over hostile planets.
Homeworld 2: The space battles are very much like the HW series. Although to reduce micro management they severely limited the ability to move along the Z axis (up and down), but for those who played HW this is a aspect the game can easily do without (but it would of been nice to have it anyway). You order you're fleets in real time to move to and attack targets, you see every shot, every hit and every ship.
Supreme Commander: Not quite as big but getting there scale of battles (depending on how far advanced you are), also has a zoom feature that puts SC to shame. Fleets will be a mixture of units, similar to any battle group you make in SC/TA (eg,scout first followed by heavy ground assault force with fighter cover, artillery in the rear and gunships for rapid response to a opening.)


The game has NO campaign. There is only skirmish and multiplayer, both of which have been the primary focus. A small map consisting of 1 solar system and a few planets will last about one hour, "Larger maps, with multiple stars, hundreds of planets could take months to play." Mulitplayer matches can be saved and resumed later, auto save features will allow players to reload the game without much loss of progress should one of the players lose their connection. You can also replace a player with a AI mid game (from a save) should you chose to do so. Max of 10 players, both human and AI in multiplayer matches. "Players can choose randomly generated maps to play in multiplayer or design their own within the game itself and the game takes care of sharing it out with up to 9 other players."

There are 2 resources, Metal and Crystal.

"Streamlined" interface from what i have read.

As you develop your planets and they become more populated, you can see visible sings such as increased atmospheric/space elevator traffic and expanding cities (most notable on the darkside as the planet rotates)


It appears that modding will be a big part of the game, "Wardell [game developer i assume] has said that beta testers have already managed to create mods based on popular science-fiction franchises.", as well as a modding forum on the Sins website.

Q: Is it true Sins will have no CD copy protection?

A: Correct. It will be done like GalCiv II was.

w00t


Graphics wise, playable by all but can be cranked up for people with beefy gaming rigs.

On Feb 04/05 a patch will be available with extra maps, map editor, gameplay tweaks, minor bug fixes and "other" things which has been developed since the point of no return date in which they shipped the final game version to manufactures.



To me, this game is everything i have ever wanted in a civ style game. I'm tempted to say it's a shame how little this game is hyped, but then i remember all the other "hyped" games and the under-performance they deliver. With the lack of discussion on this game, i hope i have covered all the major points in a easy to skim format and without hyping the game beyond reality.

(btw, searching "sins of a solar empire" on AT turns up nothing, in case someone claims repost)

-edit- release date was wrong in topic summary, changed to correct date of feb 04. -edit-
-edit- added ingame video link -edit-
-edit- added detail on planets and patch -edit-
-edit- added demo -edit-

 

[shortylickens]

Well, this is a repost, I know cuz I was just looking at the other "Sins" thread yesterday.

But the search doesnt work and your thread is about ten times better so you're cool.
:thumbsup:

Thanks for the info.

 

[Czar]

sweet graphics
looking promising, very polished from the youtube videos

 

[EvilComputer92]

The game looks promising, but it seems like micro management is going to be an issue, a problem that keeps me away from Civilization/4X games. How are supposed to manage hundreds of units in several battles while still keeping a watch on your planetside base building and researching operations?

 

[ZzZGuy]

Originally posted by: EvilComputer92
The game looks promising, but it seems like micro management is going to be an issue, a problem that keeps me away from Civilization/4X games. How are supposed to manage hundreds of units in several battles while still keeping a watch on your planetside base building and researching operations?

The game developers have claimed to have cut out as much micro management as possible in order to allow you to focus on developing your empire.

There is supposed to be less unit micro management in space battles then there is in the HW series for example. There is no Z axis, and some complaints i have read are that you can't micro manage the ships in battle, the larger ones just sit there taking damage and dishing it out. But as you can see from the youtube trailers, it still looks awesome.

I do not know the details of empire management so i can't say for sure your fears are unjustified.

I would assume there is still a great deal of management to be done considering the whole massive empire building thing, which is part of the fun. I won't claim this game is for everyone, but if you like RTS and civ style games you should love this.

 

[maxster]

Devs have a real good track record of updating their games based on what GalCivII showed us.

 

[TehMac]

Well this is interesting, because its basically like civilization, but real time--so in that sense, like Supreme Commander but twice as massive, if not thrice or quadrupled, so it seems the RTS genre is finally maturing past simply one arena, one small portion of a hypothetical area.

 

[AdamK47]

I'll be getting it.

 

[ConstipatedVigilante]

The main reason I find the Total War games amazing, but Civilization bores me is that there's no real time combat. You need a fast-paced break from the "you took the planet. Execute populace?" and "Your economy is booming!" messages. I saw this game advertised in GFW, but they described it as 4E (i think) game.

 

[TehMac]

It's a "4x RTS game" if that makes any sense. Meaning, the game plays out like civilization, but in real time, and with simaltaneous real time battles. If this game gets good scores, I'm hope more developers pay attention, and structure their RTS games around this, if not exactly it (obviously not exactly), and we'd get an evolutionary phase of next generation RTS games with streamlined interface, real time, battles that aren't auto calculated, and depth beyond comparison in the contemporary market.


edit; maybe I'm wrong, thats the impression I got. I'm probably wrong.

 

[AyashiKaibutsu]

Sounds like it might be what MoO3 was suposed to be...

 

[Elcs]

No Campaign?

Im not getting it. The campaign is what made the Homeworld games.

Graphics do not look like they have improved much over Homeworld2's either, viewing the HQ trailer. Perhaps its the "older games look great" feeling.

When I read the little thread blurb Space based RTS.... I thought Yes!!!! and reading the thread I feel depressed again.

 

[AdamK47]

Originally posted by: Elcs
No Campaign?

Im not getting it. The campaign is what made the Homeworld games.

Graphics do not look like they have improved much over Homeworld2's either, viewing the HQ trailer. Perhaps its the "older games look great" feeling.

When I read the little thread blurb Space based RTS.... I thought Yes!!!! and reading the thread I feel depressed again.

It's not ment to be exactly like Homeworld. It has some similar elements of it's gameplay, but that's about it. These two games are very different.

 

[ZzZGuy]

Originally posted by: Elcs
No Campaign?

Im not getting it. The campaign is what made the Homeworld games.

Graphics do not look like they have improved much over Homeworld2's either, viewing the HQ trailer. Perhaps its the "older games look great" feeling.

When I read the little thread blurb Space based RTS.... I thought Yes!!!! and reading the thread I feel depressed again.

The lack of a campaign surprised me, but among the links i posted somewhere the game makers said something along the lines of "we are counting on the players to make their own story", i take this as player made story lines (eg, modding). Seems a little cheap on their part but i don't recall anyone trying this so i'll give it the benefit of the doubt (provided they provide extensive support to the modding community). Considering that i play skirmish and multiplayer for the game, and the campaign for the story (with some exceptions like starcraft and warcraft 3) i can easily live with this, it's VERY rare i ever replay a game that has a non campaign part.

I've read somewhere that the graphic settings for HQ trailer where on minimum, but that was a while ago so i can't be sure, don't quote me on this. The fact that the youtube videos look better (at least to me) would also suggest this. Check back a while after the game is released to see what max graphics look like.

As for your last sentence, it's a space RTS civ. It is by no means a pure RTS, and from what i can gather a lot of the micro management has been taken out of fleet battles so HW2 will probably still be a better pure RTS.

If i am still living where i currently am (new job and crap) when the game is released, then i will post my impressions in a new thread and answer questions if i can.

 

[AyashiKaibutsu]

Originally posted by: ZzZGuy

The lack of a campaign surprised me, but among the links i posted somewhere the game makers said something along the lines of "we are counting on the players to make their own story", i take this as player made story lines (eg, modding). Seems a little cheap on their part but i don't recall anyone trying this so i'll give it the benefit of the doubt (provided they provide extensive support to the modding community). Considering that i play skirmish and multiplayer for the game, and the campaign for the story (with some exceptions like starcraft and warcraft 3) i can easily live with this, it's VERY rare i ever replay a game that has a non campaign part.

I think by make their own story they mean like in Civ 4. There's no real story, but there's the ebb and flow of the other civs that give it life rather than some objectives and NPCs keeping things alive. I don't really know anything about this game though. That they describe it as a RT4x game makes me assume it's going to be like MoO in real time (that's what I hope anyway).

 

[ZzZGuy]

@ Ayash
I see.



Also found a thread on the Sins forums giving some examples of how they plan on reducing micro management in combat.
http://forums.sinsofasolarempi...forumid=452&aid=170693

One example is that the ships in a fleet will pick targets intelligently. For example, if you tell your fleet to attack one of their capitals, your anti fighter frigates will not engage since they will be useless, leaving them free to repel any hostile fighters which is why you have them there. Another is the ability to set ships coming out of your production line to auto join a fleet if one is close enough, and depending on the makeup of your fleets (a ship vs ship fleet and a ship vs planet fleet) it will assign the newly completed ship to the correct fleet.

 

[ZzZGuy]

This video makes my post obsolete, everything i have stated and more from the horses mouth in a 11 minute video.

This video go into a detail about how the game is actually played, ranging from tech tree to moving small fleet combat, along with tid bits of info.

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/str...sid=6182903&id=6182903

(If anyone has issues downloading i will upload the video to rapidshare or megaupload.)

 

[lordkosc]

Game looks awesome in its final form from the photos/videos I've seen , can't wait for the full version in a few days!

 

[TestedAcorn]

I've watched the living crap out of the beta versions of this game because my friend loved it, he got almost every beta that came out. This isn't the kind of game that I like, but if you like RTS games, especially space RTS games, then you'll probably like it.

 

[TraumaRN]

I'm definitely going to be picking this game up. If it's anything like Homeworld I'll love it.

On that note I wish they'd put out an updated Homeworld with better graphics and all. But for the meanwhile this game looks awesome.

 

[Continuity28]

Anyone else remember Imperium Galactica?

 

[ZzZGuy]

Originally posted by: DeathBUA
I'm definitely going to be picking this game up. If it's anything like Homeworld I'll love it.

On that note I wish they'd put out an updated Homeworld with better graphics and all. But for the meanwhile this game looks awesome.

Well, i do know they are planning on putting out a major update for Galactic Civilizations II.

http://stardock.com/coming_soon/index.asp

For HW2, i know there are various incomplete mods floating around, if you dig deep enough you might find one.

 

[Starbuck1975]

Anyone know if the real time combat component for Sins will be truly 3D like in Homeworld, or will it be on a 2D plane like the space combat Star Wars: Empires at War.

 

[ZzZGuy]

I've been reading the Solar Empire (sounds better then Sins) website and they will be releasing a "day 1" patch (they don't like calling it a patch as it adds stuff like maps and other features they where working on after the final version of the game shipped with only minor bug fixes) which will be available the first or second day of the games release on Feb 04 (if anyone is confused by this -as happened on the solar empire forum- this is NOT a 1 day only patch).

One major "fix" in the day 1 patch will change how "culture" works with your allies. Over the course of a discussion in a thread with the developers ( http://forums.sinsofasolarempire.com/?aid=174036 ) the problem of not being able to spread your culture through allied controlled space was brought up. The day 1 patch will remove the inability to spread your culture through allied space. This adds a new demotion for enemies and friends (in unlocked teams).

From what i can gather, it'll be the same updating process as Galactic Civ2 has. I never actually updated Gal civ 2 so i don't know how that works, but it involves registering your CD key through the stardock site to download and be able to install the patch through Stardock Central update manager ( http://www.stardock.com/products/sdcentral/ ).

You do not need the CD to play the game. You do not need a CD key to play single player.

If you want you can buy the "cd key" and download the game from the stardock site. Once the CD key is registered it is logged in your stardock account and you never need to worry about losing it (/me grumbles about WiC). You can put patches onto removable media for later use as long as you register a legit CD key before hand.

Correct me if i'm wrong on anything here. Hopefully it's more easy then i make it sound.


One feature i've just learned about is that you will be able to see the progress of your planets!!!! By this i mean you can see cities (more noticeable on the darkside as the planet rotates), aerial traffic lanes and traffic moving up and down the space elevators . As your planet gets more developed you see a increase in traffic and city size.

 

[ZzZGuy]

Originally posted by: Starbuck1975
Anyone know if the real time combat component for Sins will be truly 3D like in Homeworld, or will it be on a 2D plane like the space combat Star Wars: Empires at War.

You do not have the freedom to move up and down as you do in HW2.


Static structures placed in orbit around a planet will have some Z axis variety but this is more for looks then functionality. Small ships such as fighters will go up and down along the Z axis a lot and make full use of it like in HW2, but when you reach capital ship size there is very little Z axis movement. Personally, i do not take "much" issue with this as when i play HW2, i can easily see playing with little Z axis play and not impact gameplay much.

Also take into account the scale of the capital ships in the game, supposedly they are MASSIVE in size (like say compared to the space shuttle) and if existed in reality would not have the ability to maneuver much.


When boiled down, movement and placement of structures (and asteroids i THINK) will be along a 2D plane with 3D elements.