On February 4, 2008 Sins of a Solar Empire will be released.  So how exactly is this going to proceed?

1) For those of you who pre-ordered:

If you pre-ordered the game but were NOT in the beta tomorrow afternoonish, Eastern Standard Time, the orders will begin to be processed. There are thousands of pre-orders to be processed so it will take some time.  Here's the insta-answer to this question "I haven't received my email yet!" answer: It hasn't been sent to you yet.  The pre-orders should complete being processed by 8pm EST. If you haven't received an email, then check your various spam filters. Otherwise, go HERE, type in your email and it should email you all info we have on you.

2) Get Stardock Central

To download the game, you will need Stardock Central. Your email will include instructions on creating a Stardock.net account (that's the account you use to logon to this website and post and such). If you want to get a head start, you can go here.

3) If you had a beta version

If you were one of the beta testers, first, thank you for your help! Sometime tomorrow afternoon v1.01 will appear on Stardock Central. That is the latest version. You will need to uninstall your existing beta first.

4) If you are buying it at a store

Once you install it and have it running, you will need to update to v1.01 to play on-line. Click on the "update game" button on the main menu and you'll be taken to where you can download the v1.01 patch. The patch is only 11 megs so don't worry.

5) If you are downloading the full game

We have leased some mega-super-duper high speed lines for the launch week. It should (better) download really REALLY fast regardless of how many people are buying.

6) If you are going to play multiplayer

If you are behind a router, you will need to make sure that port 6112 forwards to your machine. If you're doing a LAN game just make sure you have Windows Firewall either disabled or set up to allow Sins to work on it.  Also: Be aware that if you have a slow machine, that multiplayer runs at the speed of the slowest machine in the game.  So while the game will play fine on that 4 year old PC, you may want to think twice about joining a 10-person multiplayer game. It'll run but you won't be popular.

7) If you do have an older machine

Make sure you update your video drivers.  Don't do what I did with my ATI 9800 and assume that my drivers were fine. They weren't.  Same on audio drivers. Before you report garbled or stuttering or whatever sound, make sure they're up to date.

8) IF you run into a problem

Make sure you read the sticky threads before posting. Odds are, there is a common problem that pops up, we'll post a sticky post with a solution.

9) If you have a good machine

Go to the "Effects" option and turn up the graphics option. Make sure you get the full Sins experience graphically. The defaults are conservative.

10) If all else fails

Take a deep breath. Relax. We WILL take care of you.  Whether it be with your order, your PC, getting multiplayer to work, making sure you get the right package, etc. Don't worry.  [email protected] can take care of most problems.  On launch day, the fastest way to get support will be the forums because we're all hanging out here.  But remember to look up the sticky posts.

11) Waiting for your download to finish?  Try making some maps!

Today we also released the first piece of the Forge Tools package; Galaxy Forge.  It's a visual map editor for Sins that will let you craft your own custom maps.  Every map in the game was built using Galaxy Forge.  You can grab it from the Downloads Page.  And if you're having trouble figuring it out, be sure to check this Beginners Guide.

Good luck and have fun!