Earlier today Stardock announced a brand spanking new addition (technically an expansion) to the Sins of a Solar Empire series called Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion.
Seriously, if you somehow didn’t play this back when it was released do yourself a favor and grab it from Impulse. It’s a fantastically paced and well-executed space opera RTS.
Hit the jump for the full PR, sans hyperbole.
Plymouth, MI – March 1, 2011 –
The exciting next chapter in the awesome Sins of a Solar Empire universe has arrived. A full-fledged expansion to the original, Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion draws you even deeper into the galactic struggle for supremacy with appealing new factions, terrifyingly cool new ships of all sizes, enhanced (new) lighting and particle effects for increased visual pleasure and all-new victory conditions.
“Rebellion is the first stand-alone expansion to the Sins of a Solar Empire universe,” said Brian Clair, director of publishing for Stardock. “Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion will add many new ships, refresh the visuals and integrate Impulse::Reactor features to support achievements, multiplayer leagues and much more.”
In the original award-winning Sins of a Solar Empire, developed by Ironclad Games, you are the leader of one of three civilizations embroiled in a galactic war, fighting for survival of your entire race against relentless foes. Your success will depend on your ability to manage your empire and command your vast fleets of starships to victory. Players will colonize new worlds, develop extensive trade networks, conduct research, fortify their empires with powerful starbases and fleets of ships, plus control the galaxy using the unique diplomacy system that reacts dynamically to the players’ actions. (not much hyperbole here….pretty much all true.)
* New features of Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion include:
* New Factions: Players decide whether to become Loyalists or Rebels, which unlocks a unique new tech tree granting them new technologies and ship variants.
* New Titan-class ships: Massive warships for each race that dwarf capital ships, these deadly new monsters (really big ships) are capable of wiping out entire enemy fleets single-handedly.
* New Capital Ships: A new capital ship class arrives, giving players new strategic options.
* New Corvette-class ships: Small, highly maneuverable light ships that are adept at a variety of tasks.
* Loyalist and Rebel versions of some of the existing Sins’ frigates and cruisers, each with their own unique strengths and weaknesses.
* New Victory Conditions to allow for more variety, differing strategies and shorter game sessions.
* Additional capital ship ability levels, for greater strategic choice.
* Impulse::Reactor support for chat, friends, achievements and more.
Want more? Check out the Sins webpage here: https://www.sinsofasolarempire.com/
“The exciting next chapter in the awesome Sins of a Solar Empire […]”
I agree that “exciting” is hyperbole (and since the game is not yet finished, it’s impossible to know at this stage). There are, however, a very few games which have positive or negative objective measures of quality.
Sins of a Solar Empire was objectively awesome.
This game appeals to me on many levels, but yet I missed it somehow. Every time I see an article about it I’m reminded of what I’m missing.
I played a game by The Logic Factory called Ascendancy back in the mid 90′s and with it I have very fond memories. I can only hope this game is similar to that.
What is the big pull or reason why so many people love Sins?, despite it not being wildly successful. I’m interested to know your thoughts.
Frankly, Sins of a Solar Empire (and by extension Ironclad)is Stardock’s ace in the hole, given the debacles with Demigod and Elemental. This begs the question, why milk a few more dollars from the dedicated user base when you could go for the whole shebang with a sequel? A good sequel would do wonders for the publisher’s rep, bring in some new users, and garner no small amount of press. My guess is that they have a complicated risk/reward game financing formula that takes into account any number of things the public isn’t privy to. At the very least I hope they make it a stand alone expansion. Tough sell for any new players, otherwise. All that said, I look forward to another great addition by Ironclad.
On another note, what is wrong with the copy writers doing these press releases? Terrifyingly cool? It’s like they’re trying to inspire internet memes or something.
Mostly, it fits a niche that no one else is doing. Start with your basic rock-paper-scissors RTS mechanic. Set it in space. Now you’re thinking Homeworld. Except remove the 3rd dimension. Some people used that, but the AI never did figure it out how to use it all that well.
You’ve got 3 factions. The factions all have similar ships, but they get there with wildly different philosophies. For instance, every faction has a carrier, but one faction tends to specialize in them. And there are a few mechanical tricks to make that the path of least resistance for a player. Another faction tends to use missile weapons to stand off from their opponents. These are tenancies, though– players can change their fleet mix as their needs change.
And then there’s economy. This is where things get really interesting. One faction gets to a point where they don’t even _build_ ships anymore. And so their need for an economy is minimal. Another faction turns culture into money. And the third uses trade.
Sins is a war game, and doesn’t really try to be anything else. You do get to manage an empire, but the economy is fully focused on war production, diplomacy is war-centric, and your research is not going to be into hit singles or Broadway musicals. You get to do _everything_ associated with running that war, though. Want to manipulate the metals market? I’ve made my opponent’s life difficult that way. Want to stab a friend in the back without them knowing you were the one who caused them to loose a favorite planet? You can sic other players– or pirates– on them.
The game actively discourages micromanagement of ships through some mechanical functions I won’t get into. This frees the player up to concentrate on the rest of the game.
Ultimately, the game is about building fleets of spaceships and making them blow up other spaceships. It is exactly as big as it needs to be to fill a 4hr game with interesting choices. So I’m excited they’re taking this chance to do some more work on it.
Golf Clap for the Pundit on that one.
Pretty much explains exactly why I loved that game.
Please keep making these. I definitely enjoyed reading this.
I really regretted buying Sins. I bought Sins about 3 months after release, which was apparently already too late, since everyone I knew stopped playing it by that time. I found it impossible to motivate anyone to get back into the game with me because of the length of matches. And the Singleplayer is a joke.