Is it a shameless money grab? Most definitely.

Is the new content as bad as you think? No.

The new planet types add a bit more variety. It has annoyed me since original Sins that there were so few types. Well, here they finally are years later - if you're willing to pay for them, that is. One could also, of course, download one of the numerous mods by talented individuals and get this and much more absolutely free.

The new specialization system does add a [thin] layer of strategy to the game. You are correct that there will mostly be an obvious better choice and that this 'choice' is therefore in fact not very real, but the depth of the economic considerations are fully on par with, for instance, the decision on whether and when to build trade ports or refineries. The depth of the local system-level Sins economy has always been light, this is just another, new 'light' decision to make, and so it does add some depth. It allows you to develop your empire's 'tall' rather than 'wide' to a greater degree (a trending topic in modern 4X, see: Civ V).

Also, it should be noted that this DLC adds over 40 new exploration/planetary feature-thingies, some of which use new code that modders really appreciate. Bleh.

... and then, you hit the nail perfectly on the head with this comment:

So, what did the DLC add? Less content and less mechanic changes and a lot of awfully beta changes to the game than a PATCH did during Sins 1 times. For 4-5 bucks.

- though I don't recall "Sins 1" as the rose-tinted 'glory days' you seem to do and I think if they had been so great in the first place, the problems the original game had wouldn't be present in the game still (laughable Kol Battleship? Check, still here years later. Broken pirates? Check, still here years later).

In contrast stands a game like Natural Selection 2 which has received great - no, amazing support. Constant patches tweaking balance, news feeds from developers, major free content updates and so on. All this from the moment the game was released and with no sign of ending any time soon. Sins: Rebellion? A patch around release, then a patch here half a year later timed to come out same time this DLC is released.

WTF?

How could you possible have missed to take notice of all those Bug Fixes and balance patches for Rebellion?

Maybe there are developers who support their games more.... but there are much more developers who offer far less support.... and who shamelessly charge 40 $ for a minor addon, break your computer with DRM that makes Orwell appear an optimist and who have no hesitation to lie directly in your face.

Sure... just one more month.... and then there will be another patch for C&C 3......

Yes we promise....

6 Month later:

Wait you believed that? Muhahaha.... dumb fool, but thanks for your money. Of course there is not going to be another patch.

One year later: BUY THE ADDON now... only 40 $. We promise we will support it for a long time....

HA

HA

HA

Stardock is - thankfully - not like EA.

So honestly, your complaints are exaggerated and even unjustified in some cases.

Pirates were changed in about any way possible.... there is no way to make everyone happy... for one their are to strong... for the other to weak.

Yes, the Kol isnt a particular good ships.... but then it is not alone. The Radiance is neither und before Rebellion and the need for an AM draining ship, it was not built at all.

Forbidden Worlds adds more game changing content than the Diplomacy expansion did for twice as much.

Yes, exactly... actually the 1.5 update - among other things - assures compability between DLC and non DLC owners.

You can always "Not buy it". There is more "under the hood" of the DLC than what the average gamer sees. From the complaints i've seen it is from people that blindly bought it without looking into it first. However 5 bucks for new planets. Tons of planet bonus's. Balance, Optimizations, and bug fix's. Plus new options opened up for modders. I think it is more than a fair price. You don't honestly expect the dev's to work for free do you?

nvm

I like the modder vs. casual user response in here.  Shows how ignorant people can be if they don't educate themselves.

Most prolonged gameplay of Sins is usually through mods.  With that being said, you're paying 5 bucks for a decent code expansion.  We have new toys to play with.  Many of the mods will probable require it due to the cheap cost, too.  I know mine will once I get done rebuilding it for 1.5 (waiting on TSOP to update).