Sins of a Solar Developer

This is a notificiation.

from Sins Forums
Alright, gentlemen.

I'm a deaf gamer, and I recently purchased Sins of a Solar Empire and just installed the game, patching it right now.

I have very reasonable expectations from all new and experienced game developers: Inclusion of Subtitles in ALL products.

Why? As I said, I'm deaf. If I watched a cutscene with no subtitles, I would be left in the dark on what the @!$% is going on. So in an hour I'll be able to provide a final verdict on Sins of a Solar Empire.

I do not like having my money wasted like Ubisoft did for Assassin's Creed (their developers said that they didn't have time to input subtitles, despite the fact that it was a widely-advertised and promoted game - failing to do so becomes counterproductive in the long term).

Once I make my final verdict on Sins of a Solar Empire, and if it is negative, I would expect my money refunded in full. Thanks to GameStop's policy of not refunding PC games after the packaging is opened, it is impossible to provide quality estimates on a game's product until after it has been played - thus voiding any chance of a proper refund.

Given the fact that I'm deaf, and this type of retail policy exists, it becomes an extremely financially wasteful pastime for me to engage with when there is not enough data on a game when it launches.

So, see you in an hour or sooner.

-NK
28,104 views 17 replies
Reply #1 from Sins Forums Top
Ok. I've played it enough to formulate an adequate opinion. It is good, and there are captions to cover necessary aspects of gameplay. This is a keeper.
Reply #2 from Sins Forums Top
Phew :)  Glad you can play ok NKato!
Multiplicity - Control multiple PCs using one keyboard and mouse
Reply #3 from Sins Forums Top
Firstly, there's a reason game reviews exist. There's a reason you can't return an opened game...but you shouldn't need to. Pop over to a good review site/subscribe to PC Gamer and read a review of the game, or play a demo. I haven't bought a game without playing a demo/reading the review in like 9 years.

Secondly, the game story is accessible in a much more detailed format inside the manual, if you're into it...and I would recommend reading it. There was obviously quite a bit of thought put into the story

And thirdly...I'm unsure about subtitles. There's not too much speech in SoSE, so it should be somewhat easy, but at the same time the amount of people who would actually -use- subtitles is incredibly small. The sound is decent, the music is excellent, but I don't really think it is necessary for gameplay, nor do I think even your experience would be improved much with subtitles.

About the only real issue you might have is that there are audio cues for when you're attacked, when pirates are launched, etc...but for the most part you can just look at the event windows in the bottom left.


Reply #4 from Sins Forums Top
Man, that's pretty unreasonable. 'Game has no subtitles, I demand my money back'? Did it *say* it had subtitles? And you posted BEFORE YOU EVEN PLAYED? Needs more sour grapes and sense of entitlement, I think. Game doesn't have a colourblind mode EITHER, so my mate always attacks the wrong guy when I say 'kill the blue dude'. He should get his money back too! :CONGRAT:
Reply #5 from Sins Forums Top
I was going to post something snarky and sarcastic but Pnakotus is pretty much dead-on. Developers shouldn't have to and don't cater to every request, and the "I'm not going to do any research, just blindly buy the game and then complain if the game doesn't have X feature" is reminiscent of another thread we had on here recently.

Had it not had subtitles, you could have just asked nicely for someone to sub them or explain the game story anyway. It's a pretty arrogant attitude to make this "notification" the way you did, especially in the condenscending way it was worded.
Reply #6 from Sins Forums Top
Man, that's pretty unreasonable. 'Game has no subtitles, I demand my money back'? Did it *say* it had subtitles? And you posted BEFORE YOU EVEN PLAYED? Needs more sour grapes and sense of entitlement, I think. Game doesn't have a colourblind mode EITHER, so my mate always attacks the wrong guy when I say 'kill the blue dude'. He should get his money back too!
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Unreasonable it may be, but some people will sue you over making such remarks, stupid as it is. I do feel sorry for him, because he is in a relative very small percentage of gamers who have special needs that most others do not have. The devs should make it so as to cater to his needs. But personally I would be pissed if i had to see substitles everytime i see the opening video or any cutscene. Sure, the devs could make a option of turning subs on/off, but then i would be pissed if the devs spent time on a feature i would never use and neglect some other, more important(for me) aspect of the game.

Bottom line, the devs can not please everyone, and sadly people who are the minority often get the shorter stick. Until the devs have more time and money that is, then they will make us all happy. :)
Reply #7 from Sins Forums Top
The only thing that doesn't' have text is the opening movie (which i've never watched in full) and the speech when you give a unit orders "This is how space junk is born!".

All alerts, such as planet under attack, has text near the bottom left and there is 4 boxes which show alerts that is the same as the speech. (Though me I'd play way worse not hearing it. I don't notice those boxes any. :x Just too bad it's usually a scout OMG ABOUT TO DESTROY MY BASE ALERT ALERT)
Reply #8 from Sins Forums Top
Man, that's pretty unreasonable. 'Game has no subtitles, I demand my money back'? Did it *say* it had subtitles? And you posted BEFORE YOU EVEN PLAYED? Needs more sour grapes and sense of entitlement, I think. Game doesn't have a colourblind mode EITHER, so my mate always attacks the wrong guy when I say 'kill the blue dude'. He should get his money back too!
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I'm colourblind too, quite heavily infact. And if my friend asked me to attack the 'blue guy' I would quite frankly tell him he's an idiot and that he should refer to players by their name.. not their colour.

So I guess in this instance, not only does your reply qualify as idiotic.. but so does your obvious ignorance of your friends condition.

As for reading reviews.. I don't recall a single review I have ever read that said 'Hey, deaf people.. this game will be fine for you'. But fortunately, the original poster has now greenflagged the game for any other potential deaf people who were also considering buying the game.

Reply #9 from Sins Forums Top
Unreasonable it may be, but some people will sue you over making such remarks, stupid as it is.
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Gabal: Seeing things from different points of view should never be viewed as lawsuit material. where are you from?

WTH is it with people being so greedy. I object strongly to the concept that people think they can even suggest a lawsuit over someones opinion that doesnt agree with everyone else..

..wait for it...

Ok now flame on or laugh/whatever you choose. *back to the point of the OP*

I cant imagine how sins would be without sound, then again people do not understand how i can play games with my eyesight so bad. (glasses yes, coke bottles..no thanks) I fixed most of my problem by purchasing a High def tv, and using it as a monitor. Easy to read text lol. Glad to hear things are good for ya.

have fun :)

Reply #10 from Sins Forums Top
I'm colourblind too, quite heavily infact. And if my friend asked me to attack the 'blue guy' I would quite frankly tell him he's an idiot and that he should refer to players by their name.. not their colour.So I guess in this instance, not only does your reply qualify as idiotic.. but so does your obvious ignorance of your friends condition.As for reading reviews.. I don't recall a single review I have ever read that said 'Hey, deaf people.. this game will be fine for you'. But fortunately, the original poster has now greenflagged the game for any other potential deaf people who were also considering buying the game.
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Wow, that's some brilliant satire there.

Oh wait, you were serious? Do you think games should have a colourblind mode? No? Then shut up. Yes? I'd love to see that work in multi. Does this guy deserve a full refund due to this? Maybe. Should retailers be forced to do so? No. So what's you're point? Or is it just 'I'm colourblind and you hurt my feelings'? Clearly my example should have been 'lol make it playable for blind people too'!

Whoops, I forgot it's totally okay for you to pointlessly troll ('idiot', 'ignorant', etc), but this somehow makes my original point vis a vis lack of accessibility features in all games less valid and the demand for a full refund ridiculous TOTALLY WRONG. :CONGRAT: I know if I was deaf I'd totally assume all games had subtitles and then cry like a little girl when they didn't - and demand a refund ON THE INTERNET before I even PLAYED it, and then say 'nah it's fine I was just being an ignorant knee-jerk guy'.
Reply #11 from Sins Forums Top
Ok, I'll bite (bad pun), since I was disappointed by the lack of subtitles in the intro as well (not because of hearing issues though, I just enjoy reading). But at least all he major events all ave cues in writing (and although they come by fast, can be brought up by clicking on the various cards). Just in case you were wondering what the intro said though, I wrote it down, and took screencaps of the corresponding visuals for good measure. I tried just putting in the text at the bottom of the images but was unhappy with their look, so linking to them and the images hopefully is enough. The manual is much more detailed though.

We don't know who they are.

We don't know where they came from.

(no audio)

But we do know that they are desperate and they've been on the run for a long, long time.

They arrived in trader space almost ten years ago, on the day my son was born.

At first we didn't stand a chance.

A millennium of peace and prosperity makes you soft, but things can change quickly, regardless.

It's been a long time since then, we've put up a hell of a fight.

When the Aluxi Dynasty fell, the Trade Order suspended it's agenda, and rebranded itself the Trader Emergency Coalition; a single authority backed by the wealth of the central worlds.

The situation was looking so hopeful that Command withdrew the weary first generation, and sent us home to our families. I even thought my life might become normal again--until they returned.

Our ancestors had found them one thousand years ago, hidden away on remote desert planet. A sinful society of deviants.

Breatheren or not, we could not coexist with such creatures.

Our ancestors knew what had to be done, there was no question they were lost to us, and they had to be removed.

And that they were, an entire planet expelled into the depths of space.

Now they call themselves the Advent, they're even more twisted and powerful than they were in the stories used to frighten us as children.

With most of our forces tied up on the alien front, they're ravaging the undefended sectors, that's why decommed veterans are being forced back into service. There's no one left to defend our homes, and the sons we hardly know.

(Music)

Hopefully no one at Ironclad has a problem with those images up on a Photobucket account. If they do I hope they say so, I don't need to lose the various things I have in there over it. And now the entire intro is committed to my memory, because my head isn't filled with enough less than useful material.
Reply #12 from Sins Forums Top
TheRedMaw your a legend!
Reply #13 from Sins Forums Top
I'm colourblind too, quite heavily infact. And if my friend asked me to attack the 'blue guy' I would quite frankly tell him he's an idiot and that he should refer to players by their name.. not their colour.So I guess in this instance, not only does your reply qualify as idiotic.. but so does your obvious ignorance of your friends condition.As for reading reviews.. I don't recall a single review I have ever read that said 'Hey, deaf people.. this game will be fine for you'. But fortunately, the original poster has now greenflagged the game for any other potential deaf people who were also considering buying the game.Wow, that's some brilliant satire there.Oh wait, you were serious? Do you think games should have a colourblind mode? No? Then shut up. Yes? I'd love to see that work in multi. Does this guy deserve a full refund due to this? Maybe. Should retailers be forced to do so? No. So what's you're point? Or is it just 'I'm colourblind and you hurt my feelings'? Clearly my example should have been 'lol make it playable for blind people too'!Whoops, I forgot it's totally okay for you to pointlessly troll ('idiot', 'ignorant', etc), but this somehow makes my original point vis a vis lack of accessibility features in all games less valid and the demand for a full refund ridiculous TOTALLY WRONG. I know if I was deaf I'd totally assume all games had subtitles and then cry like a little girl when they didn't - and demand a refund ON THE INTERNET before I even PLAYED it, and then say 'nah it's fine I was just being an ignorant knee-jerk guy'.
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No.. it was satire.
Reply #14 from Sins Forums Top
What I don't understand is why you would go out and purchase the game, then come to the forum and threaten cause a scene if the game doesn't meet your standards. Instead, you could have come here before purchasing the game and started a thread asking the community about the subtitles in the game and if the audio prompts also have text feedback. It just seems backwards to me, almost like you were looking/hoping for a fight with the devs.
Reply #15 from Sins Forums Top
Thank you TheRedMaw. Kind of you :)
Reply #16 from Sins Forums Top
Wow RedMaw, thats.....amazing.
Reply #17 from Sins Forums Top
heck, I've got great hearing but I still prefer subtitles being included (I like OPTIONS...lack of options is always bad).

I like subtitles for the fact that sometimes I have to play with the sound low (the wife is a school teacher and goes to bed around 9pm on weekdays).

Mostly I like subtitles to be able to read the dialog being spoken as sometimes I can't make out what the voice said, sometimes the Blackhawks game is streaming over internet radio or the DirecTV-enabled comp we keep in the comp room (mostly to watch the Blackhawks or any hockey really while we are working/playing), or she's listening to NPR or something...whatever...point is, sometimes I just can't hear the game for whatever reason and I enjoy being able to know everything that is being said (this is especially true for RPG's, not so much for RTS).

ps RedMaw rocks!