Sins of a Solar Empire

[Tilda]

Comming out on monday looks to be a pretty groundbreaking RTS by Stardock. Getting really positive press from most sites.
As someone at PC Gamer said, most betas you expect to suggest something and for them to say "na we tried that 3 years ago, it sucked" instead you heard "Cool idea, we'll try that tomorrow"
I'm veh excited!

IGN: Sins of a Solar Empire

 

[PLightstar]

It is looking pretty good at the moment, just got to upgrade my PC then I should be able to run it.

Conquering the galaxy looks like its guna be fun, well more fun than the 4x games like GC and masters of Orion.

 

[Mabs]

i am surely blind , for i cannot find it listed on any intertron shops ?

 

[inactionman]

Best to buy over the internet. I'll be picking this up monday.

 

[Tilda]

i am surely blind , for i cannot find it listed on any intertron shops ?

Stardock are a bit funny with their distribution.

In the US its out on stores, but they haven't got distributors for the UK, you can order/preorder a direct download or dvd set from their website.

 

[Tilda]

Sins of a Solar Empire

 

[Opt1]

I miss MOO2 and Fragile Allegiance

Only been able to get them to work very sporadically on XP..

MOO3 I do not want to remember.. was awful.

This looks nice =) Shame my PC probably won't run it well.

 

[Tilda]

They've actually had it running on PC's over 4 years old. Granted they said it didn't look anywhere near as good as it will on a top of the line PC, but still, it runs, and at a playable speed. They've done good on the scaleability front.

 

[Mabs]

had my email through will DL later.
if its pants ill send the heavies round Tilda

 

[Tilda]

I got my email, about 7pm.
I downloaded it through their servers at 890kb/s !!
I loaded up a single player game at about 8:45 to "test it out and get the hang of things"
I went to bed at 2:45 and am gagging to play now.
Love it.

 

[taB]

This is getting downloaded tonight I reckon, looks very fun

 

[Milkshake]

I've been a big Galactic Civ fan, with pretty much all addons. Though this is real time rather than turn based yes? I guess that speeds things up, but does that still give you a chance controlling a huge empire against a computer?

 

[Tilda]

yes milkshake, its real time, and utterly awesome.
Can control a huge empire (think lots of solarsystems, each system with lots of planets) against up to 10 computer players.
You can save online games so if enough FH people get it, we could get a huge game going for a few hours each week/night.

 

[Mabs]

right well
its very shiny, and rather good. still havent really worked it all out so i keep getting overrun. must practise. tis worth a look tho, those people sitting on the fence

 

[inactionman]

It's good.

Not sure about the siege frigate spam though, can be crippling (zerg a capital with 20 or so siege frigates, ignoring any defences, then watch their economy go poof, for an easy win) and the AI can sometimes use it. This will probably get resolved in a patch soon though.

 

[Tilda]

They're saying on the forums they're going to keep a close eye on it. Thats what I like about SD, they really do listen to their consumers/players and do take action if theres a problem, but they are also gamers, so know about the whole nerf/bump cycle.

One trick is to research the civil ability that lets you see enemy ships a few jumps out from your planet, that gives you some time to react. Or pop scout ships a few stops out from your planets.

 

[inactionman]

Yeah, that and sensor networks, although that doesn't really give you the time to respond. Still getting used to it though, will play again tonight.

I always seem to have a problem with crystal production, seems to be the hardest thing to get!

 

[Tilda]

Find an ice planet.
First time I played i got sandwiched between pirate city and the computer, you have to push out fast and lay claim to the resources. ice planets have lots of crystal, whereas volcanic ones have lots of metal.

 

[Litmus]

Hmm no demo or trailer to watch? i really like RTS games but un sure wether to get it with such a low profile etc.

 

[Tilda]

There are trailers and game previews on youtube and the SoaS website.
Additionally, the game has no copy protection other than CD registration for online/lan MP. So if you're bad you could just find a torrent of it to try in SP, or if you're good, buy it to support the anti-copy protection games company!

 

[cHodAX]

There are trailers and game previews on youtube and the SoaS website.
Additionally, the game has no copy protection other than CD registration for online/lan MP. So if you're bad you could just find a torrent of it to try in SP, or if you're good, buy it to support the anti-copy protection games company!

That is what I intend to do, I will happily pay for a copy next week if it is as good as I am hearing. It is a sin to continue playing a pirate copy of a great game, good developers deserve your money when they deliver a quality product.

 

[Ch3tan]

I am tempted by this, but like chodax, I really want to try it first.

 

[Milkshake]

Think I'll download it and give it a try if there isn't a demo...but being a big fan of Stardock, I'll give them some cash if I like it.

 

[Litmus]

Managed to download it from newsgroups, but onlyhad time to play it for about 20minutes. Its looks ok i just need to work out the tech tree and trade system first... One thing i did notice tho is, when i went to collonise a plannet right next to me the computer was already there guarding it with 4 frigates after only 10mins??. Same with another plannet close to me.

 

[Mabs]

Managed to download it from newsgroups, but onlyhad time to play it for about 20minutes. Its looks ok i just need to work out the tech tree and trade system first... One thing i did notice tho is, when i went to collonise a plannet right next to me the computer was already there guarding it with 4 frigates after only 10mins??. Same with another plannet close to me.

sure those arent the pirate type who are aggro to everyone ?

 

[Litmus]

sure those arent the pirate type who are aggro to everyone ?

Quite possibly then, i will play it more later tonight when i get a chance.

 

[Tilda]

Its worth noting that you get your first cap-ship free. And cap ships level up.
My general tactic is to build my cap ship and 2-4 frigs, then go to the next planet. Your cap ship will make fairly easy going of most pirates unless its their homeworld (use the retreat button) and get some nice experience too.

 

[Mabs]

the more i play it , the more i enjoy it.
i do have a tendency to zerg rather than use multiple fleets tho. had one last night that had 14 capital ships in it

 

[Ch3tan]

I got this today, looks good, not had time to play more than a quick blast though.

 

[Tilda]

Currently ranked number 1 at IGN, Gamespot and 1Up.
2 at Amazon.com, 3 at EBGames.com (EBgames sold out and are churning their way through the 2nd batch)

If anybody knows any buyers/suppliers in the EU, please ring them and ask them to stock it in the EU!