Sins of a Solar Empire is a real-time space strategy game that incorporates a lot of the strategic depth normally reserved for traditional turn-based 4X strategy games. A lot of this magic comes from the innovative user interface concepts developed by Vancouver-based Ironclad Games.
Published by Stardock in February of 2008, Sins of a Solar Empire has become a tremendous success both critically (average review of 4.5 out of 5) and commercially (half a million copies sold and counting).
When the game first came out, Stardock and Ironclad rolled out several updates to improve balancing based on player feedback, add new features and even improve graphics.
Then, Ironclad did something truly remarkable, they went and developed a v1.1 that was, in many respects a mini expansion pack unto itself. Version 1.1 includes an ambitious new multiplayer system called Alloy. In effect, it largely eliminates the need to mess with router ports. It "just works". I can attest to the effectiveness of Alloy as someone who had a heck of a time getting multiplayer games going, v1.1 made this a joy.
In addition, the AI was dramatically updated, the graphics overhauled, and hundreds of other enhancements and tweaks made to the game. In short, the game, already good, is now dramatically better.
Below is just a little diary of some of my experiences with Sins of a Solar Empire v1.1.
My home planet from which I start.
One of the nice touches of v1.1 is that I can, by default, buy and sell resources right from the main screen. Same is true for handling of pirates.
The left side of the screen continues to show the empire tree.
Of course, what really makes Sins of a Solar Empire stand out is the sheer scale of things.
Players can set up a game with one star and a dozen or so planets. But they can also go crazy and have several star systems with many planets -- and play multiplayer with these settings where players can save games and continue them later.
Zooming out...
So you get an idea of the level of scale that is possible if you really want.
Now, I have my own wish list of things I'd like to see in a future v1.2 such as a "Faster" speed available in on-line multiplayer in terms of how fast resources are mined and how fast ships travel between phase lanes and I'd like to see more splash damage improvements for TEC but in many respects, Sins is a remarkable strategy game for being able to deliver significant depth and also good old fashion very pretty battles. 
Ironclad has a couple of expansion packs in development. The first one is called Sins of a Solar Empire: Entrenchment which lets users build starbases and a host of other structures that let players truly lay claim to territory. Another expansion for next year (tentative of course) is designed to expand the diplomatic scope of the game.
If you don't have Sins of a Solar Empire, you can get it directly at https://www.sinsofasolarempire.com. It's also available at most retailers worldwide.
Cheers!
