each of the three factions is guilty of some very unpleasant deeds and have some very unpleasant characteristics about their society. 

the Vasari subjugate and enslave what they consider "lesser races".  they also ruthlessly strip down planets of natural resources, knowing that they're temporary and expendable since the Vasari exile fleet is just going to move on in a century or so. 

the Advent are religious fanatics who react violently to "non-believers". they're also obsessed with revenge against the Trader Worlds for sending them into exile. 

the Trader worlds are basically bigots and out of control capitalists. they could not tolerate the different society of the Advent so they threatened them and forced them to leave. they couldn't unite against the common Vasari threat until it was almost too late already because they were too concerned with protecting their individual profits. the Trade Emergency Coalition (TEC) is a totalitarian military junta formed at the last minute to confront the Vasari. 

Entrenchment indicates a change in all the races' philosiphies towards war: they are focusing on defense.

I think that the next expansion will take this to the next level. I think it will indicate that each race will evolve in its own unique direction. 

Whereas Entrenchment indicates that all races are focusing on one thing defense, I think that the next few expasnions might have the races focus in different areas.

Of couse, the next one is still on non-combat, but I think we will see more and more differences between them.

That is an interesting thought. It is questions like these that make me want to see a campaign.

To be fair to the Traders, the original Advent people, when contacted, apparently broke all the moral guides which the Trader Coalition was founded upon. However, this wouldn't of been a problem at all if the Traders never made contact, which was purely a result of expanding trade routes. Furthermore, then the Traders demonized the Advent, and used them as fantastical monsters in stories to justify expelling them.

I was under the impression that the main reason TEC was hugely unpopular was because the individual planets would be forced to give up self-rule instead of simple greed. Kind of like the ancient Greeks, in a way.

Me, personnaly I think that the Trader's true Sins lie in thier past (hence the reference to what the Advent call the "Great Wars of Antiquity") all throughout the TEC there are references to how violent and destructive humanity was until the Traders formed.  The sins of their past seem to be dominating their future, as the TEC seems to be losing the war the most.  I get how the Vasari have sinned, and how the Advent continue(?) to sin, but the TEC continues (to me, anyway) to be the race that holds the future of the galaxy, by unlocking the destructive ways of thier past. At least, for now, anyway.  If not, the Vasari's retribution is marching this way...

Also, w/ Entrechment being out now, Will the Sinners or the Saints be able to re-group and attack?

Koda0 (^)

 

If this is supposed to be a debate over who has sinned the most, I think it is Vasari>TEC>Advent. If it is who is suffering the most, I'd have to say Vasari=TEC>Advent, mainly because the Advent have already suffered the loss of their homeworld and seem to have taken much TEC territory.

Maybe I'm sympathetic to the Advent because I don't think revenge (for this crime anyways) or psytech (and whatever techniques were used to gain their powers) should count as Sins, though they can certainly be weaknesses. The real Sins of the Advent seems to be their fanaticism (though they've yet to give any specific examples so this is kind of an assumption) and their caste system. I know the latter has been debated in regaurds to the extent of female and "super" psyonic domination of Advent society, but it seems to be pretty significant. Of course Diplomacy or what comes after it could change all of these assumptions.