My first impressions:
-The graphics are way better, I like the shadow effect
-Looked just like a movie and much more real (had the "star destroyer" effect of flyover mentioned in one interview)
-Played for 1 hour and built a titan (loyalist) it looks incredible
-Liked the sound and effects for the new "flak" attack
-New corvettes look cool, are they actually decisive in battle? I don't know yet. Able to mass produce; could be.
-"Moon" planet - good way to replace asteroids
-New phase jump effects are top notch
-Liked the jump "wave" from the Titan; add some smaller ones for other ships? (maybe I'm just missing them)
Improvements I wish to see:
-Switch back to the 2D movement arrows and area of attack layovers, took up a lot of viewing space, looks cheap I think
-Make the TEC beam weapon look more full and wide, looked weak
-Allow Bailknight to work his magic on the attack effects. These looked real, but his mod made them over the top (looked crazy cool)
-In the previous Sins game and expansions, I noticed that when your cursor moved off of any physical part of the ship you were looking at, even if it were in-between holes in a ship, the infocard disappeared. Now it seems there is a bubble around the ships that keep the infocard up. When zoomed in on a capitol ship it the infocard takes up a lot of room and when you want to look around it gets in the way and moving your cursor just a little is easier than a lot. Also zooming in on fighters and bombers near capitol ships is harder with the "bubble" effect. You always end up zooming in on the ship and not the fighters and bombers. I'd like it changed back to how it was.
Problems:
-Seem to slow down slightly (jumpy enough to notice) when zoomed (very closely) in on explosions or when target is being hit by weapons and explosion effects
-Settings: Ship detail: High, Planet detail: High, Refresh Rate: 60Hz, Debris: On, 4x Anisotropic, 4 samples Anti-Aliasing
-Graphics Card: GT 540M 2GB
-i7 2720 QM @ 2.20 GHz
-Could reduce settings, but they look way to cool right now
Overall:
-Can't wait to mess with the Vasari, and even the TEC Rebels, haven't played with them yet. Like the screen where you choose, allows you to see all the differences. Good for new players. Want to see particle effects on Titan cannon for TEC Rebels.
-Very good. The graphics really blew me away and I was excited about that. The improvements make me want to just watch it all unfold in cinematic mode, but it's hard to manage strategy in that way. Amazing Job. Worth the wait. Can't wait for the finished product.