Sins of a Solar Empire Preview

[Kamalot]

If you are a big fan of galactic strategy titles such as Masters of Orion and Galactic Civilizations, it probably behooves you to flip on over to Adrenaline Vault (http://www.avault.com/?p=1234) and check out their preview of the upcoming Sins of a Solar Empire. Research new technologies, built gargantuan fleets of vessels, colonize planets, harvest minerals from asteroids, and conquer the cosmos.I was lucky enough to participate in the beta of Sins, and what I saw made me very excited about the full product. The game starts you out with a single planet and a few pre-built units, and you begin by exploring nearby locations connected to you via jump points on a map. You research new technologies, such as better ships or more efficient harvesting, build up an armada and infrastructure for the planets and asteroids you have explored and colonized, and defend your borders while trying to expand them. You meet other players (human or AI, depending on how you’re playing) and can even engage in diplomatic actions such as research and trade agreements. The combat and exploration play out in real-time, but the gameplay is really about pacing, as it’s still as deep, engaging and rewarding as any great turn-based offering. The end result is an excellent blend of strategy and excitement sure to thrill and challenge players of both turn-based and real-time genres.By the time FTL drive is invented, we'll have a generation of commanders already prepared to settle the stars.

Official Site (http://www.sinsofasolarempire.com/index.aspx?c=1)

[Itchyeyes]

I've been in the beta for several months now and the game is pretty impressive. I've been holding off on playing for a little while now as I don't want to spoil it too much before they release the full game.

[PathMaster]

Reminds me of this (http://sourceforge.net/projects/solar-empire/) and a game from a long time ago that was 2d and had a similar title and play.

[Telefrog]

I've been in the beta for several months now and the game is pretty impressive. I've been holding off on playing for a little while now as I don't want to spoil it too much before they release the full game.

What are your impressions so far? Can you compare it to any past games?

I'm interested in the game, but the races look pretty generic to me and I'm not sure it's worth me jumping into the beta.

[lockwoodx]

Sounds like a MOO2 clone. How close did it come will determine my interest level.

[MrMeatshake]

jump points? :( man, i still play MOO1 even now. i find it hard to believe how rubbish all the attempts have been since it!

[Thumper]

I'm really looking forward to this game. I've never played a 4X game before but I've started really getting into science fiction lately. After seeing it in PC Gamer a few months back I've been trying to scrounge up more information on it.

[Itchyeyes]

What are your impressions so far? Can you compare it to any past games?

I'm interested in the game, but the races look pretty generic to me and I'm not sure it's worth me jumping into the beta.
It's really hard to compare to any other game. The closest thing recently would be Stardock's other game Galactic Civ 2. It's a lot more action oriented though, and of course real time instead of turn based. The biggest impression that it leaves on you is the sense of scale. The game is massive and you can zoom to just about any scale you can imagine.

As of right now, you only have access to one race in the beta, part of the reason why I haven't played it in a while. That of course gives it a rather generic feel. I'm not sure how the addition of other races will really change the game, ie if they'll play very differently.

[lockwoodx]

It's really hard to compare to any other game. The closest thing recently would be Stardock's other game Galactic Civ 2. It's a lot more action oriented though, and of course real time instead of turn based. The biggest impression that it leaves on you is the sense of scale. The game is massive and you can zoom to just about any scale you can imagine.

As of right now, you only have access to one race in the beta, part of the reason why I haven't played it in a while. That of course gives it a rather generic feel. I'm not sure how the addition of other races will really change the game, ie if they'll play very differently.

So it's an online RPG version of Starcontrol 2?

[BleedTheFreak]

Holy crap! I wrote that artical! Thanks for linking to it, I'm glad people are reading it. ;)

[Voodoo]

I been in this beta for a few months. It is pretty hardcore and since it is a fully real time 4x game (which is multiplayer too BTW) it can get out of hand very quickly if you are not careful. Great game though. This game is basically if you take GalCiv2 and make it fully real time.

[dbh1973]

Holy crap! I wrote that artical! Thanks for linking to it, I'm glad people are reading it. ;)
Hopefully they've been proofreading it too. ;)

The only recent 4x game I've really been enjoying is Gal Civ 2 and it's expansion. Sword of the Stars was a letdown. Hopefully Sins of a Solar Empire will be as fun as Gal Civ 2.

[PathMaster]

Ah, remembered the game it reminded me of: Solar Vengeance (http://www.answers.com/topic/solar-vengeance).