1UP.com Posts Sins Preview & Interview

from Sins Forums

For those of you who may have missed it or live outside North America, 1UP.com has republished the preview for Sins of a Solar Empire that first appeared in the March 2007 issue of Games for Windows magazine. Along with the preview is a new interview that goes into further detail on the game, Ironclad and Stardock.

Check them out:

GFW Republished Preview

1UP.com Sins Interview
56,247 views 47 replies
Reply #1 from Sins Forums Top
There are really four tech trees. Each race gets one unique tree, and there's a special one I can't say much about at this point.

The research trees are much larger than most RTS games

There are also a number of other units that can be acquired that aren't part of the core faction set

We're big fans of a small number of unit types, where each unit has a specific role or roles at various stages of the game and won't go obsolete.

we also allow players to customize the names of their most powerful ships for immersive purposes

it leaves us with a number of challenges, not the least of which is that units can be so far away that their 3D mesh can't be represented by a single pixel. In Sins, when units first reach this point, they're replaced by icons appropriate for their distance, unit type, orientation, and ownership. As you continue to zoom out even farther, even the first-level icons become a problem, as they'll tend to cluster. At key thresholds, the icons themselves are replaced by even more simplified representations that contain the appropriate information and organization scheme for that level of zoom.

commodities market

My favorite is when the A.I. predicts that an enemy is going to be attacking you soon; this will trigger the playing of a tension-building "trouble is coming" piece.

sounds fun. so pay attention to your music.

on bounties
can you bounty yourself? just to draw some people out of hiding.
additionally can you withdraw your input from a pool (proportional to how much has been earned)
Reply #2 from Sins Forums Top
OMG OMG 5 long pages. And its THEY best Preview of sins ever

Haha, i could even imagine that My Master (the great emperor) and i would crush Schematicsninja, and watch his puny forces getting wiped out, while i sit back and drink a cop of coffie and laughing

So much detail, its just... wounderful

Can we get a downloadable soundtrack of Blairs favorit? comon plz for this weekend

And the auto stuff for the ships, sounds great.
And the large tech-tree for each race cool.

btw wheres Craig Fraser? havent seen him since the first official sins forum.
Object Desktop - Get all of our enhancement utilities in one suite
Reply #3 from Sins Forums Top
A fourth tech tree, another race maybe?
Reply #4 from Sins Forums Top
NICE!!!!!!!!
Reply #5 from Sins Forums Top
  

...there are no words...
Reply #6 from Sins Forums Top
one thing we havent heard anything about is "Fog of war".
Yeah i know there was a big topic about it. But we havent heard any official words about it
Reply #7 from Sins Forums Top
Fog of war is...well, it's fog of war.
Reply #8 from Sins Forums Top
yeah the information about it, is fog of war
Reply #9 from Sins Forums Top
A fourth tech tree, another race maybe?

I don't see that being the case.

I think its either reverse engineering (pray pray PRAY!!!) or its a commonality between the three races (but he said he couldn't talk too much about it)
one thing we havent heard anything about is "Fog of war".

my question is how far does it extend?
I dont want fog of war to apply within 100 yards of my ships, if you get my meaning. but I dont nescessarily want to see out into far orbit.
and how will this apply in/between solar systems?
Reply #10 from Sins Forums Top
Hi Multianna,

I am still alive. My Wacom tablet pen has become permenantly joined to my index finger, making it difficult to type    After beta I'll do away with the finger and install a permanent pen appendage.
Thanks for the feedback everyone - it really keeps our Art Team pumped   
Reply #11 from Sins Forums Top

my question is how far does it extend?
I dont want fog of war to apply within 100 yards of my ships, if you get my meaning. but I dont nescessarily want to see out into far orbit.
and how will this apply in/between solar systems?

If you're in a planet's gravity well, you can see everything in it. Otherwise you can't.

Reply #12 from Sins Forums Top
If you're in a planet's gravity well, you can see everything in it. Otherwise you can't.


So, you can't hide unis on the far side of planets/behind moons?
I was looking forward to that...
Reply #13 from Sins Forums Top
yeah, I think that type of FoW needs to be included.

and I dont think moons were ever really planned on being in the game wraith
Reply #14 from Sins Forums Top
I really like the explanation of the three races, ie one doesn't have a massive advantage over the other two, there is no such thing as the generic all round race.

Sure the TEC can build lots of ships but they're rather primitive

The Vasari's technology makes warp drive look like fire but they can't build too many ships

The Advent have godlike mental powers but their ships are weak.

To me this ensures that playing as a different race ensures a different gaming experience which you almost never see and it keeps games interesting (small Vasari strike force obliterate giant TEC fleet etc etc)

  
Reply #15 from Sins Forums Top
I liked the comment about the Advent taking over an entire planet with out firing a single shot....
Reply #16 from Sins Forums Top
I liked the comment about the Advent taking over an entire planet with out firing a single shot....
Reply #17 from Sins Forums Top
the idea of a hit and run strategy being a centerpiece of vasari strategy is interesting.
Reply #18 from Sins Forums Top
I also said recently this game is a lot like Supcom, I swallow my words now. In Supcom there's not any real difference in gameplay (aside from fiddling with different experimental units) between factions.

I liked the comment about the Advent taking over an entire planet with out firing a single shot....


the idea of a hit and run strategy being a centerpiece of vasari strategy is interesting


I think I'll be the voice of the TEC then, it's nice how the fact they really aren't ready for war seems to have been extended beyond the lore and is focused in actual gameplay, for me these guys are the most interesting faction at the moment. Keep your psychics and technophiles, I'll lead the businessmen into battle anyday!


Reply #19 from Sins Forums Top
I think I'll be the voice of the TEC then, it's nice how the fact they really aren't ready for war seems to have been extended beyond the lore and is focused in actual gameplay, for me these guys are the most interesting faction at the moment. Keep your psychics and technophiles, I'll lead the businessmen into battle anyday!


Not if the Advent make you forget you are the leader!

I myself like the TEC the most too, something satisfying about old beat up ships doing battle with guns and nukes (ala Battlestar Galactica).
Reply #20 from Sins Forums Top
(ala Battlestar Galactica).


Yeah, I've always liked the old ramshackle style of ships, when you can look at a civilization and say "yes, that could be us in 1000 years" is when I'm hooked, I like it when the ships seem realistic.

I also like the Vasari, very Shadow (Babylon 5) style. Think Stargates Asgard gone bad.

Just noticed this:

Finally, while it doesn't really affect gameplay, we also allow players to customize the names of their most powerful ships for immersive purposes


Yay!
Reply #21 from Sins Forums Top
I don't know why but in pretty much every science fiction game I end up playing the humies.

The TEC look pretty cool but I have to admit I'm kinda leaning towards the Advent too.
Reply #22 from Sins Forums Top
the TEC sounds like a hit-late type group. I think they are meant to have an immediate strong armada that they can ward off enemies with, followed by a tech-spike which would make a massive number of their ships powerful.
Reply #23 from Sins Forums Top
I think ill go with the vasari. Since they sound so powerful. The advent i dont like, they have this kind of "magic" in space, and i dont like it. Dont take me wrong, its not that i hate them. I just dont feel they are my kind of race. But ill ofcourse try them all out in the beta. And then i might change my mind. But as it is atm. Im totaly into the vasari
Reply #24 from Sins Forums Top
To be honest, even though I will most likely play as the TEC, I will use the Vasari philosophy of sowing lies and dissent, as well as performing hit and run maneouvres. Also with the TEC they can use their vast economy as a weapon, and at the end of the day, if they don't like, they can file a complaint with my fleet.

As far as the difficulty of each race goes I'd say:

TEC: Beginner, a great race to start out the game with, they have a good economy and have most avenues open to them, even if they are more primitive than the Vasari and aren't the Advent "Space Wizards". They can build a respectable fleet fast.

Advent: Slightly harder to play as than the TEC, since apparently their ships are so weak, however if push comes to shove clairvoyance and good 'ol fashioned weaponry can see you through.

Vasari: Hardest, not the race you would want to be on the side of during an all out war. Armed conflict should probably be avoided if possible. However should it happen, you still have your technology to fall back on, you'll need to manage what few ships you have to survive.

This is all pure speculation, but it is the impression I got from the interview.
Reply #25 from Sins Forums Top
I doubt that you will find the TEC to be a "beginner" race. they seem to have just their own type of fight style that might take its own amount of skill.