SoaSE: why the hell did nobody tell me about this?! (or, a ripoff of RJ's thread)

yesterday i downloaded the demo of Sins of a Solar Empire.
no one warned me how fun/interesting/addictive it was. pity the demo only lasted 90 minutes.
the game is really good, and the combat in it is quite interesting. there are some nice videos from SoaSE as well.
when i get the full game and finish a round or two ill post a full review.
anyone else have SoaSE, besides Veho Nex and Monk?
maybe one day we can all get together and play a match or something.

About a year ago Stardock and Sins became pretty famous around these parts. Their stance on DRM and especially their "Gamer's Bill of Rights" made a huge splash.

Glad to hear you are enjoying the game Hooah! :2thumbsup:

by the way, is "entrenchment" worth it?

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Originally Posted by Hooahguy

by the way, is "entrenchment" woth it?

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Entrenchment really beefs up the defensive side of the game. If you are a turtle player like me, it's definitely worth it as it adds star bases! :thumbsup:

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by the way, is "entrenchment" woth it?

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I'd say yes. Normally, I'm opposed to things that encourage turtling, but in Sins you'll frequently get into situations where you have to "trench" against a superior opponent or you're being attacked by two players. Also, starbases can be used offensively by constructing them in enemy gravwells. Nothing quite ruins the day like an enemy starbase hovering over your homeworld at the 20-minute mark.

i looked up the "gamers bill of rights" and im very impressed. EA sure could take a hint from stardock.

EDIT: also, id like to comment on the battles and how some say that they are boring.
well true, sometimes if you have a small engagement they are kinda boring, and you hope that the enemy will die so you can get on with colonizing a planet or doing something else.

but people were also saying how there were no ships scurrying around and zooming places while in battle.
my response is that fighters do zoom around and fire at things, its just the bigger ships, like frigates, cruisers, and capital ships that stay still. this makes sense. when in any sci-fi movie have you seen big ships do tactical maneuvers other than sit and fire at each other? only the small ships dart about. good move by stardock.
im becoming a fanboy, arent i? :tongue3:

also, are graphics updated in Entrenchment? it looks like it is.

maybe we can get an org tournament going in a few months?

Say, anyone ever played Space Empires 4/5?

Here's a trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPjZFyXyjWA
Here's a massive battle with drones only: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrNmfSQREzk

I found Space empires 5 to be bugger to get into for more than 5 minutes.

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Originally Posted by Greyblades

I found Space empires 5 to be bugger to get into for more than 5 minutes.

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Takes a while to get used too, but its plenty of fun.

EDIT: The tutorial is good, isn't it? I played SE 4, so I knew how to play SE 5 basically. And SE 4 tutorial was quite good.

The SE 5 tutorial is abit too long for me with about about 50 sections and I end up rushing it and missing important bits. It doesnt help that its all text.

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but people were also saying how there were no ships scurrying around and zooming places while in battle.
my response is that fighters do zoom around and fire at things, its just the bigger ships, like frigates, cruisers, and capital ships that stay still. this makes sense. when in any sci-fi movie have you seen big ships do tactical maneuvers other than sit and fire at each other? only the small ships dart about. good move by stardock.

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I'd like to add that in battles between decent micromanagers, the ships don't really stand still because the players themselves move them. There's a good deal of maneuvering going on in important battles, such as getting damaged ships out of harm's way, choosing optimal targets, avoiding fixed defenses (or "pulling" enemies into them), moving ships with multiple weapons banks to bring all firing arcs to bear and so on. Micromanaging is quite easy in SoaSE (because of its slow pace and shield mitigation mechanic), but still rewarding.

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Originally Posted by Greyblades

The SE 5 tutorial is abit too long for me with about about 50 sections and I end up rushing it and missing important bits. It doesnt help that its all text.

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Well, they're a small developer. They don't have the resources to make a RTW-like tutorial for a complex game like SE 5 is. In text, it saves resources and time to focus on other issues.

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Originally Posted by Crandaeolon

I'd like to add that in battles between decent micromanagers, the ships don't really stand still because the players themselves move them. There's a good deal of maneuvering going on in important battles, such as getting damaged ships out of harm's way, choosing optimal targets, avoiding fixed defenses (or "pulling" enemies into them), moving ships with multiple weapons banks to bring all firing arcs to bear and so on. Micromanaging is quite easy in SoaSE (because of its slow pace and shield mitigation mechanic), but still rewarding.

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ships have more than a few main guns? i didnt notice that in the demo, but then again i only used light frigates and a capital ship.

All capital ships have multiple weapons banks, for example the Kol battleship has fixed mount beams in the front and autocannons to the sides with pretty good all-around coverage. Some ships like the Advent Mothership and Akkan or Dunov battlecruisers have the most firepower to their sides, the siege types (Marza) tend to concentrate their firepower to the front. Of normal units, flak frigates have 4 turrets each covering a different quadrant and Illuminators have a stronger front beam plus two weaker sidebeams. Or something like that, it's been a while.

every time i read this thread i want the full version of this game more and more.
argh, why does amazon take so long????
oh wait, its only been a day since i ordered.
EDIT: my current background image

i cant get the download version because my internet connection, if you recall an earlier thread, isnt so great for big downloads.

anyhow, gamestop has it for $20. oh bugger. i paid the same amount (after shpping) for it to come in a few days instead of just going to the store and getting it now. not checking nearby stores FTW.
EDIT: wait, can i buy the cd for the first game then download entrenchment? it seems like entrenchment would be a smaller download.

Huh, remember the old days where full games were half that?

impulse reminds me of steam.

:shrug:

Imagine Sins with Homeworld 2....
*drool*

Imagine Sins with actual combat resolved via Homeworld 2.

aw... just as things got interesting my demo time was up.
i was attacking the enemy home planet with seven light frigates, three capital ships, and a missile crusier and all of a sudden three enemy capital ships and a slew of light frigates showed up. then the demo ran out. :drama2:

yay sins came today. at first i had some trouble installing it because i still had the demo installed, but i soon resolved that issue, and after installing i have to download bout 1.43 gb of updates. dang.

You ever want to online play shoot me a pm.:yes:

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Originally Posted by scottishranger

You ever want to online play shoot me a pm.:yes:

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sure, just wait a week or so until i can finally beat the "easy" level AI first....
:laugh4:

If you wish to play MP, I'd suggest practicing aggressive (non-turtling) strategy from the get-go. Works against the AI too. This is an excellent beginner's guide for MP:

http://forums.sinsofasolarempire.com/359340

Edit: One thing that popped into mind that isn't in this beginner's guide is the role of capital ships. A common new player mistake is to have too many capital ships. They're not mainstay combat vessels; instead, they affect the battle with their special abilities. Pound for pound, frigates have more combat power.

well, a report on my first game (i was TEC) of sins:
sorry for the low quality screens- xfire takes low quality screens so i cant help it.

early on i snagged an ice planet then a volcano planet near me, then an asteroid near that, then another ice planet. seeing that i was toe to toe with my ally (advent), i began pushing out the other way, towards my enemy (vasari). by that time i got a kol class ship, and with six light frigates in support i took another two planets and another asteroid. by the time i was done, i was able to build a marza class battleship, and i sent the entire fleet to attack a visari planet which was next to my home world.
but while they were there a huge enemy fleet complete with two capital ships arrived at one of my planets where all i had to defend was a light frigate, a gauss platform, and a hangar defense platform. as soon as they arrived i began pumping up the building of light frigs, and after about a half hour of fighting i was able to drive away the enemy fleet. that was when i sent my attack to the enemy home world. as i was almost done with wreaking havok on the enemy home world, the two capital ships arrived and a nice battle began, resulting in the wreckage of the enemy. in the end i captured the last enemy planet and there was peace everywhere.
in hindsight it would have been cooler if i hadnt locked the teams.

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Originally Posted by Hooahguy

well, a report on my first game (i was TEC) of sins:
sorry for the low quality screens- xfire takes low quality screens so i cant help it.

early on i snagged an ice planet then a volcano planet near me, then an asteroid near that, then another ice planet. seeing that i was toe to toe with my ally (advent), i began pushing out the other way, towards my enemy (vasari). by that time i got a kol class ship, and with six light frigates in support i took another two planets and another asteroid. by the time i was done, i was able to build a marza class battleship, and i sent the entire fleet to attack a visari planet which was next to my home world.
but while they were there a huge enemy fleet complete with two capital ships arrived at one of my planets where all i had to defend was a light frigate, a gauss platform, and a hangar defense platform. as soon as they arrived i began pumping up the building of light frigs, and after about a half hour of fighting i was able to drive away the enemy fleet. that was when i sent my attack to the enemy home world. as i was almost done with wreaking havok on the enemy home world, the two capital ships arrived and a nice battle began, resulting in the wreckage of the enemy. in the end i captured the last enemy planet and there was peace everywhere.
in hindsight it would have been cooler if i hadnt locked the teams.

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My favorite faction is the vasari. Dark fleet ftw.

i started a new game. im TEC, an ally who is also TEC, and two enemies who are also enemies. 4 solar systems in one galaxy. 5 stars in total if you include the center stars and the mass of planets around it.
so far its going really well. my personal system had 3 planets and 2 asteroids. i conquered all but one of the planets quickly and didnt build any of them up too much. just build mining complexes and a gauss platform, as well as the random military/civic station. i amassed a big fleet (notice the symbol i chose?) to attack the last planet in my system, whcih was packed with enemy crusiers and frigs, but then the visari attacked my undefended planets and until then my invasion was put on hold but now that ive driven away the visari i can launch the attack.
anyhow, heres my empire after about two hours of playing and fighting:
http://screenshot.xfire.com/screensh...530d60be38.jpg

Jews in space.

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Originally Posted by Veho Nex

Jews in space.

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that definitely should be running in the background as i play sins.

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Originally Posted by Veho Nex

Jews in space.

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Mel Brooks is the greatest Jew in existence, no doubt. ^_^

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Originally Posted by Hooahguy

well, a report on my first game (i was TEC) of sins:
sorry for the low quality screens- xfire takes low quality screens so i cant help it.

early on i snagged an ice planet then a volcano planet near me, then an asteroid near that, then another ice planet. seeing that i was toe to toe with my ally (advent), i began pushing out the other way, towards my enemy (vasari). by that time i got a kol class ship, and with six light frigates in support i took another two planets and another asteroid. by the time i was done, i was able to build a marza class battleship, and i sent the entire fleet to attack a visari planet which was next to my home world.
but while they were there a huge enemy fleet complete with two capital ships arrived at one of my planets where all i had to defend was a light frigate, a gauss platform, and a hangar defense platform. as soon as they arrived i began pumping up the building of light frigs, and after about a half hour of fighting i was able to drive away the enemy fleet. that was when i sent my attack to the enemy home world. as i was almost done with wreaking havok on the enemy home world, the two capital ships arrived and a nice battle began, resulting in the wreckage of the enemy. in the end i captured the last enemy planet and there was peace everywhere.
in hindsight it would have been cooler if i hadnt locked the teams.

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That's almost identical to my first game in Sins :laugh4:

My first game was me as the Advent(unbeknownst to me :sweatdrop:) and the AI as the evil TEC. Fun game...

now that i realize it, i really need entrenchment. the fact that once you get by the enemy fleet, taking planets is easy is too boring for a game as awesome as Sins.

Ai in entrenchment is driving me insane!! I will be fighting along the front and they'll slip 4 or 5 seige frigates by destroying 2-3 worlds before I can even think of sending my fleet after them.

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Originally Posted by Veho Nex

Ai in entrenchment is driving me insane!! I will be fighting along the front and they'll slip 4 or 5 seige frigates by destroying 2-3 worlds before I can even think of sending my fleet after them.

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Construct a couple of turrets or keep a rapid reaction squad of LRM in a good crossroads planet.

I wish it was that easy. Unfair seems to cripple my monetary income to an extreme. I was getting Negative 22 a second for credits but positive 12 and 24 for crystal and minerals. It was also usually in one of my newly colonized solar systems.

Well it is called Unfair, what on earth did you expect? :clown:

I find Hard to be the best setting to play Sins on, but that's just me. The Ai seems to handle itself well and stay in the roles assigned. For instance attacking a defensive scripted AI on hard is quite costly if you're not careful. :sweatdrop:

I was testing out a 2v1 strat and killed the unfair defender first. I cant seem to get a bead on the unfair researcher.

Any chance we could get a Sins MP game going sometime this weekend with Orgahs or mostly Orgahs? The spouse is away, so I could theoretically play at any time including evenings US time.

with or without entrenchment? Are they interplayable?

They're not compatible. I'd prefer 'Trench, but regular Sins is fine too. Whatever suits most people.

Would be useful to know preferred times and game settings. Like I said in the previous post, pretty much any time from Fri to Sun is fine by me. I'm flexible with settings too, but if we decide to play a large game we should make sure that everyone has a rig capable of running it.

Ha, I've run into a minor drop in FPS when amount of ships gets into the 4 digits. Thats on a 8 player match though.

im in! can we make it sat. night? 10 pm EST? its the sabbath for me before that, so i cant join before that time. but i could join in later if you guys dont want to wait for me. or we can make it sunday.
also, i dont have entrenchment yet. i know, im trying to get it....

also, lets try to be n00b friendy in the match, shall we? :beam:

I can't play Sunday... as I am headed back to marin county that day, it would have to be Saturday night.

Saturday evening / night US time it is then.

I'm newbish too, played around 20 games of regular Sins but never Entrenchment online. I usually don't play SP, but I guess I'll have to refresh my memory a bit...

So, that's four people who are potentially playing. Any others?

I will play, but I only have regular sins.

Saturday night is good.

ok im out. my dad banned me from my laptop (which i play Sins on) from use at home so i can only use my laptop at school.
sorry.

So, we're back to four and looks like regular Sins. I wouldn't mind starting earlier than 10 pm EST - the earlier, the better.

As for game settings, should we go for 2vs2 or larger games involving AI or pick-up players?

hmm, if we do 2v2 I get the Crandaeolon.


So just so I can check we have:

VehoNex
Crandaeolon
ScottishRanger
Gelatinous Cube


Edit: I've been having internet issues, my modem keeps resetting itself, hopefully I will have it resolved by tonight.

Also, when is the game going to be?

I'll be available in about 9 hours 8 hours from the time this post was written, maybe even earlier. That'd be 2200 GMT or 1800 US East Coast time.

I say we go like 6pm EST. Normally decent multiplayer games will last for like 3 hours.

I have no problem if we pick up some PUGs either

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I say we go like 6pm EST.

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That's fine by me.

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I have no problem if we pick up some PUGs either.

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We could do 4vs4 against random dudes. (read=smurfs of guys with 1000 games under their belt)

Ha... I've got about 15 games online under my belt. If you guys all have vent I might have a server we could use.

About 1 hour to 6 pm EST by my reckoning, we still on?

I have Vent 3.0.5 but not any of the older versions (some people prefer those) due to a hard drive wipe. Still, Sins isn't a particularly fast-paced game so I guess we'd get by with the text chat.

Edit: heh, we posted at the same time. The best host would probably be the one located geographically closest to most of our players, i.e. one of the Yankees. I have hosted some games before, though, so I can do it if needs be. Some kind of name with 'Org' in it would probably work, password 'gah' if we need one.

Ok, so who wants to set up the game? Whats it gonna be called?

I have the newest version of ventrilo (If thats what vent is?)

text is fine by me though. Either way.

okay. I dont think I can host though, my firewalls messes with it.

Im uhhh... California based. I think I am the far left for hosting. I can host though. Do it all the time in CoH

Im Midwest America. I suppose I could try just turning off my firewall, but Idk if that will work.

Probably not a good idea to completely turn off the firewall. I guess we could try Alloy, but that has been kind of quirky in the past (screwed up replays and so forth) so I'd rather not. Anyways, I can host too if you Yankees can tolerate 200+ pings since I'm located in Finland...

BTW, anyone seen Gelatinous Cube anywhere?

Well, I play with Germans and Russians all the time in CoH. Also I havent seen GC on at all.

here, if anyone wants to try and get on so i can test this, i set up a game called ".org" and the password is gah

Can't see it. What's your ICO name?

scottishranger atm.

Its been a while since iv made a game. Im not entirely sure its right

Wait, hold on, just realized I made an LAN game.:doh:

Im making a new one.

I'm in channel "Orgahs"

Gah, i appear to have forgotten my account login...

Still have 15 minutes.... and No GC in sight.

gah, why cant I logon? This is ridiculous

Whats it saying?

Cant find username

even though I have the exact same username and password for the Sins forum, and the game is registered to my account

nvm... caps doesnt make a difference. ummmm.... How about spaces?

my account name is Trajan2012. I dont have any spaces.

I mean before it. Its done that to me where I would have typed " jkarinen" and I didn't notice the space. Try restarting the game?

nah I tried that too. and iv restarted the game. no joy

Your username is Trajan. I just tried it, said incorrect password. While with the 2012 it said account not found.

Can't add a Trajan2012 to the friends list. My ICO name is Crandaeolon, just the same as in this forum.

Edit: I could actually add a 'Trajan' to the list, but that player is not online.

just tried that too, and my password wouldnt work.