We need your help! What makes Sins special?

I think that the save feature is just amazing. The ability to leave a game and jump back into it a day or a week later....its hard to believe no one has ever done this before now.

Multiplayer that is.....lol

Hmmm.. of the top of my head:

Game side of the house;
1. visuals & sounds
2. Interface
3. Functionality
a. save
b. options
c. network
d. scalability
4. Modding ability and promised tools
5. dynamic game play

Business side of the house:
1. License policy
2. Lack of restrictive DRM
3. Support policy
4. Upgrade policy
5. Interactive environment

Remember the old star wars game Rebellion? RTS on a galactic scale that really sucked! Rebellion tried to do what Sins accomplishes.

Star systems, planets, fleets fighting throughout the galaxy, and no need to micromanage.
And the game has pirates! (what a great idea AAAAR!)
The game is not only beautiful and epic, but fun to play.

Iron clad has managed to create the ultimate space strategy game.

i love the excellent blend of the game. You have all of the advantages of turn based empire building with all of the advantages of an rts. Another huge positive is the ability to have 10 players to a game. Most games that attempt to incorporate a galactic scale conflict have to separate logistics and strategics on a galactic map and a tactical map. This limits the game to 2 players (generally) SINS allows the player to simple zoom in and command the battles. At first i was skeptic thinking that perhaps some of the advantages to standard rts's would be lost because one wouldn't have as much control over their ships movement capabilities and exploiting weaknesses. (running circles around an Imperial star destroyer and staying behind it in EAW for an example) but this is simply not the case. Even more important however is the ability to run multiple battle with multiple opponents at a single moment. It really stretches your thinking skills, and more importantly your opponents, and of course one thing we all cant deny is that SINS is not a limiting game unlike many others. A great way to show it is that (in my opinion) the pop cap is set remarkably high compared to most games. This truely allows for an ,whats the word, Unrivaled experience.

I've been doing my best to do some grassroots marketing, but I can't think of much you can use... But if you need a testimonial, you know how to find me. And a lot more people

One more thing I forgot, a none restrictive distribution model.

I'd like to thank you guys for making sins so easy to shamelessly promote. I have found through the powers of science that whenever anybody tapes together multiple games in a wish, they are in fact asking for sins, and I notify them of such. As of yet, I have yet to see anybody refute this obvious wisdom once I showed them the copy on my laptop except for a poor unenlightened soul whose add got in the way. Yeah, I'm going to south america to be a sins missionary if I keep it up, aren't I? But the converts have been surprisingly willing so far, most likely because you have most of the cool parts of

What makes Sins special?

The reason that came immediately to mind once I read the question is this: Space! I started gaming when I was 7, on an Apple IIE. In my seventeen years as a gamer, most of the most memorable games for me were space games. Master of Orion, Star Control, X-Com, Wing Commander, Star Wars, were all big games for me, and over the past 5-6 years, I have seen NO really good space games come out.

Sins fills the niche, and to combine that with the vastly appealing RTS format, is a winner for certain.



The second reason that comes to mind is this: Strategy vs. button mashing! For argument's sake, say half of gamers like strategy, and the other half like button mashing, Sins is an RTS that finally appeals to strategy players! I personally hate button fests, and don't play most games online for that reason. To have an interstellar field of play, and so many simultaneous strategic options is going to be candy for my brain!

I hope those two reasons help, verbose as they are.

Good day!

The gameplay itself is really like nothing I've played before. The cat-and-mouse game that capship hunting can become, the pacing that allows for a fleet to home in on your worlds while your own fleets dash through phasespace in a desperate attempt to crush the enemy fleet before they tear through your defenses... it's pretty unique. The resource system, while vital to your survival, sorta fades into the background -- something you're always aware of, but doesn't require constant attention (okay, gotta build more peasants... bah!).

Someone mentioned Rebellion above -- that's the closest thing that sprung to mind. I loved Rebellion despite its many flaws, so, well, Sins just takes that much further.

Of course, beyond that, the battles are great, and can only get better once the Advent and their flashy beams get in the mix. Planetary/stellar graphics are great and emphasize the size differences among units, and provide awesome backdrops for the battles.

Oh, and modding. While I'm not the type to generally do a full-on mod, I do like to tinker. Sins caters to that already, and we don't even have the modding tools yet.

Edit:


It bears mentioning, because I think companies need to hear stuff like this. I never would have bothered with GalCiv2 if it weren't for this policy (as it was how I became familiar with the game and decided to purchase), and that goodwill and trust for Stardock was part of why I initially pre-ordered Sins (not something I'd ordinarily do at full price!).

What makes Sins Special?
ME and eet

cause its stardock, its special...
at least, thats what i hope, cause if you support sins like galciv2, with patches and feature upgrades and an open ear for community desires this game will shine like a bright star in strategy heaven...

you are on the right way, but please dont become as arrogant as EA / Ubisoft cause success (especially financial) changes ppl...

and multi and me

Okay, i have bought the game through preordering from EB games, so i have not played it. But from what I have read from the beta feedbacks, it confirms what many previews have said about Sins, that is it really have successfully put RT4x into a RTS mode of game play with unlimited number of units and arguably the same amount of depth as any RT4x. I know the devs made comparison between Galciv2 and Sins in terms of depth of gameplay, and have stated that it is not as in depth as Galciv2 in terms of shipbuilding and other aspects of game play. But i think Sins do make up for it in other aspects. Well one is in terms of scope. The size and length of a game session is as long or longer than a Galciv2 game. Because the number of planets can be much more than in Galciv2. Also, the number of units which can be modded is unlimited. To be able to save your game on online muliplayer session is really a god send because it avoiods the problems that disconnections causes which detracts from the playing experiences.

Brad seriously, i think the biggest thing going for Sins is that it really has confirmed what many previewer has said for many years, that to make something like Civilization type game in a RTS mode has not been done ever, and Sins is a first successful attempt in trying to accomplish such a feat. It will be an awesome game, but it won't be a perfect game because there will always be room for improvements. However given what you guys have done so far, I think it has already make the game very special. Let's put it this way, you have fulfill many sci-fi loving computer game playing geek's dream come true, or to make it many steps closer.

special huh?

lots of people touched it: the kind if scale and pacing is quite unique in a rts and its what I like a lot. you get the feel of an empire, everything supports it, from the massive fleets, to the huge distances between planets and the scale of objects like the various ships and planets and suns. I like the premise of strategy vs clickfest in that it really matters a lot where you position your forces, where to attack and defend, when to counter attack or do a sneak strike, when you need to withdraw your forces.

also while staying manageable the games gives a lot of depth as to the paths you can pursue. you can go for economics and hope to crush the enemy with superior numbers and a constant stream of ships or go for military getting newer ships and upgrading existing ones. each of the ships has a base role and in addition one or more secondary roles which makes pretty much every shipclass a valid option and useful if you know how to deploy them. in spite of that, battles are not predetermined, skillful tactics can still win you a battles with bad odds. and if the improved combat ai and the fleet stuff works as well as I hope, you can do that, but you dont absolutely need to, it would only be an extra factor.

bounties and pirates: just a new and cool system of economic warfare that can be a big factor in the right situations. it might keep you from executing a planned attack on your enemy if you dont have the credits to outbid your opponent or even force you back to deal with them. or you can use them to divert your enemy or soften him up for your own attacks or just to keep him busy while you deal with another opponent. not to say it also influences other players as well. tens of thousands of creds can be tempting.

further the scalablity, it runs on a lot of machines, even pretty bad ones as my old rig showed, but it still lookes beautiful on highest settings if you have the power for it.

the zoom. this integrated interface and feel contributes so much as there were many games where you did have an over-map and the tactical battles, but it gets much more interesting and challenging if its all on one map and you need to dynamically respond to enemy movements.

neutral battlegrounds with abilites: they rock. some make nice places for a stand or ambush, others just provide a puffer zone. nice way to implement terrain in space.

colony penalty. I forces you to consider quick colonising vs developing vs agressive play style, since getting more planets as early as possible need not always be the best move. you need to look at the planet and think whether its benefits and the resources and time you have to spend to get them align with your strategy and are better than alternative courses of action.

lots more I guess.

nothing here for the better...

It needs a story with great characters... until it has that it is me too. Why is WoW on top? you can create your own Character and Pretend with friends. With Crysis It needs GREAT DirectX 12 insanely fast graphics.

Too many space/SF games resued the same graphics over and over and over again with the same story.

i could write a long text about what makes Sins special but instead ill tell something about myself.

It was the year 1998 when i finally found the perfect RTS, named Starcraft. From that moment on i played it till pretty much last year (with a few breaks inbetween).
I am/was really into this game but was it really just Starcraft that kept me playing it for so long?
No, defiantly not. Through all the years i tried countless of other RTS (all major ones like AoE, WC3, C&C etc.), was even in several beta's (last one was the beta of Company of Heroes) but never again found a game which kept me playing for more than a couple weeks and there was never this feeling that u play something "special".
So its now nearly 10 years ago and im still stuck with my first love Starcraft and i was already sure that prolly only Starcraft II can be a worthy successor.
I knew about Sins since quite some time and always kept an eye on it but i wasnt too sure what to expect from it till i decided some weeks ago to preorder it (was bored and needed something new to game ).
Then i started to play it and you know what? Just after 2 LAN games with my brother i knew that this is going to be a great game and i had the same feeling i had 10 years ago when i played Starcraft the first time.
Sure both games have not much in common if u just look at the ingame things but there is more to it.
When Starcraft was released it changed RTS gaming. It set new standards for RTS, brought new features and ideas into RTS gaming and was the first RTS to be a great multiplayer success.
Blizzard at this time was also no huge company and they tried to listen to their community and supported the game for many many years. You simply knew that the developers created the game with passion and that their main interest was to make a game fun to play and not a game which makes the most money for them (though obviously in the end it did ).

This might be the biggest compliment i can give to Sins and its developers when i say that Sins is since Starcraft the first RTS that feels special.

Of course times have changed and there is now a lot more competetion out there compared to the time Starcraft was released and Sins has also never received the same public attention but this alone says nothing about its quality.
I dont know if Sins can be a major success and become a RTS everyone knows and plays but one thing i know for sure is that it would fucking deserve it if that happens.

I have to agree. SC was my first and only RTS love. Yet right now I cant even entertain the thoughts of SC2 since first playing Sins. I should note when I play Sins I listen the Black Aria and The Ninth Gate soundtracks and they really add to the experience gives me that certain somethin', somethin' feeling that I got from SC back in thr day.

I can only imagine what it will be like with all the functionality enabled. Custom heroes, ships, races, GUIs, trade, espionage, black market, diplomacy, tech, unique flavors, ultra high modifiability, network & team play, and excellent save and record system and so much more...

The only thing it is truly lacking right now is a highly articulated full blown story and lore dimension. When I think of Sins I think of SMAC & Battlestar combined with SC and Starship troopers.

What I would truly love is for SD or IG to contact Arthur C. Clarke to write a narrative and then develop it into the background story and lore. It might seem a little late for that but really it is not and given the nature of the marketing right now it can be spun really well.

There are also many other fine writes out there. One can get a good list here.

With something like that going for it I dont see this title becoming anything short of a super nova in the gaming world in short order.

No, addictive gameplay put wow on top. Most players ignore the story.



Somehow, I doubt SC2 will be a "worthy successor". If only on the grounds that they don't appear to be making any efforts to advance themselves, just update the old game.

well thats why i said "can", im also not sure yet. Now i dont want to discuss SC II here but it has a reason that Blizzard doesnt change too much. The simple reason is that the starcraft community doesnt want huge changes.
But like i said that can be discussed at another place and tbh with Sins on the horizon i dont need to worry about SC2 anymore.

You guys are fantastic, but you take too little credit.  It's the feedback we've gotten during the beta from our testers that helps make Sins so special!  It's what you've all told us that you wanted in the game, or wanted tweaked, or improved that is almost certainly going to ensure Sins' success.  No other company we're aware of elicits this kind of open constructive interaction with its customers.

All of you deserve applause.

Pssh. We gamers give feedback wherever we go. Most developers just don't listen.

And when he says "give feedback" what he really means is that we whine, moan, complain, harass, bicker, and throw tantrums over every aspect of the game. Thanks for putting up with us Ironclad and Stardock, and thanks for listening!

I like this game because: it has space, it has ships, it has planets, it has different races all perfect parts of any sci-fi themed game.

What it needs IMO is space monsters

As far as Space Real time games are concerned, sins is the first in a while with easy interface and a combat system that doesn't rely on huge micromanagement. Fantastic tech tree helps, as do very concrete limitations to planetary defense and fleet size.

I'll reply to this thread properly once i dive into final product - its bit too early i think - but if you insist, this is what attracted me to it so far:


- large scale space strategy (yes i like space!)

- juicy little mix of RTS and 4X

- multiplayer features like "save" mid game

- scalability in a sense that game can last anything between 1hr and 1 month - lol

- i also like "indie" feel, mood and attitude surrounding the game

- community seams to be uber cool! (rare these days yet very important!)


But as i said - expect proper feedback in about 3 weeks time

Until then eeeeeeeeeeee to one and all


PS: @aldarian - glad i am not the only one with sig anymore hahahahaha