Hi all. It's my 3rd night of playing Sins and I have just had to take a long break and perhaps call it a night. The previous 2 nights I just mashed my mind up with so much playing.

Okay, so a few questions, if I may.

(1) How long do your games usualy last on small-medium maps? My last one took 4 hours against 3 easy AI on a medium map. God it was a slog at the end. I lost all ability to micro my fleets and just clumped a few together into death balls.

(2) Do you use the pause button a lot? I am relying on a tone to keep track of what-the-heck is going on. Slowly getting to grips with the interface and terminology. Still, I spend ages just sat there looking at stuff trying to figure out what to do next lol.

(3) Is it possible to snipe the pirates early on? I get the impression their defence network is pretty solid right away.

(4) Concerning the natural defenders to systems. The good systems usualy have better ships defending it compared to asteroid fields. So is it better to grab one or two asteroid fields first while building up your fleet (and gaining resources) or is taking out the planet first a better choice financially?

(5) How great is Sins? How long till the expansion?