Arilias

Tidus and Maimer have set up a forum for the project here: [link="http://www.adamuhl.com/freelancer"]WWW Link[/link]

Play multiplayer. Not only will you get the short-term benefit of playing against real human beings, but you'll be helping to improve the AI as well (Stardock programs their AI to emulate common player strategies)

I'm working on the mod with Tidus, and I agree that collaboration is probably a damn good idea. We're currently working on getting hosting for a web site and forum that we can use to discuss the project. If anyone whose web design education DOESN'T predate Y2K wants to help out with the site design, that'd be great as well. Ideally, we'd like it to grow into a general Sins modding site, sort of like what TLR is for Freelancer. Also, we'll need a domain or subdomain name for the site. We

Building 80 LRMs and 2 capital ships [i]is[/i] a strategy. It is also, apparently, a highly effective one. To be honest, I haven't really played enough multiplayer games to discern whether the cries of "ZOMG LRMS R BROKEN!" actually have some basis in fact or whether it's just that they're not any [i]good[/i] at countering LRMs (as in 99% of cases where something is decried as broken and imbalanced)

This sounds like an awesome idea and I hope you succeed in it. Also, there are people who thought BattleStar Galactica wouldn't work in Sins? I mean, it certainly wouldn't work in GalCiv2, since there you DIE when you run out of planets, but I can definitely see it working in Sins. Anyone who does not believe me should consult this elegant and finely crafted link: [link="http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/sinsofasolarempire/show_msgs.php?topic_id=m-1-41339987&pid=9359

[quote] I've played a few games now of multiplayer. Usually 2v2. Basically 2 guys know the map already and know where all the resources are to pounce on. Then before you can even get out the gate because all your planets have fleets guarding them you have to take out they have captured 3 planets and 2 asteroids. On top of that they know where the metal and crystal are concentrated and go right for them. So the rest of the game they just spam

Go for either a Kol or an Akkan for your flagship. The Akkan can colonize, so you don't need to waste time or resources on colony frigates, and the Kol is death in spaceship form. The Kol's probably the better choice, as you'll save more in Cobalts than you would in colony frigates. The Akkan is still an excellent ship, and every fleet should have at least one, just for the passive bonuses they give. Cobalts are completely worthless, explode when you look at them funny, and basically ju

Technically, as far as I know, each system can only have one star. However, since systems can overlap, you can just build the system with one star, create another star nearby, and drag it into the middle of the system so that it looks visually like a binary star. You'll only be able to build phase lanes to one of the stars, though.

I'm disappointed that my automatic shut-off idea has been ignored. Seriously, I can't even start playing because I'm scared I won't be able to stop until what is technically the next morning.

Threads like this help keep my battered faith in humanity alive. That said, for crying out loud, Ironclad, can the next patch please have some sort of feature to automatically save and quit at a designated time? I have enough problems without Sins eating up my free time.

I believe Dunov Battlecruisers also have some sort of antimatter-destroying ability.

Hmm... Earth is likely to be the crown jewel of the Sol System (except for the Advent, who will be more interested in Mars) so actually balancing this might be difficult. Also, I would suggest making Venus Volcanic and Neptune Gas (It's Uranus, [i]then[/i] Neptune, right? I always forget those two) If possible, I would also make it the center of a few other systems. Alpha Centauri, Tau Ceti, Epsilon Eridani, Epsilon Indi, Sirius, Procyon, Delta Pavonis, the works. These are stars with p

The Deliverance Engine allows you to spread culture remotely and very rapidly. Culture does the following: - On planets you control where your culture is dominant, you get an Allegiance bonus. This means you get more income from that planet. - On planets your enemy controls where your culture is dominant, the enemy suffers an Allegiance penalty. This means they get less income from that planet. - If a planet's Allegiance reaches zero, it will rebel against its owners a

I've been thinking about this, and something been bugging me about the game. What exactly is the lore explanation for TEC factions fighting each other? I can understand it within the Advent and the Vasari - there's probably about a hundred different sects of the Unity that all think of the others as heretics, and from what we know about the Vasari they're complete and utter bastards in every way, so it's not surprising that they have internal factions that don't get along, but the TEC has absolu

My working theory for Armistice is that it's the Akkan's captain distracting the enemy admiral by pretending to have the fleet surrender.

I haven't had a chance to play the Vasari yet, but I hear they get a major edge in hull strength and a few other perks.

How you get Refineries depends on your race, I believe. TEC research Refineries as a separate structure (it's Tier 5 Civilian, I think) while Advent get a tech that lets them convert trade ports into Refineries. Haven't played the Vasari yet.

LRMs beat Cobalts because [i]everything[/i] beats Cobalts. And yes, the AI does need improving. Fortunately, Stardock presumably has some input on future development for Sins, and Stardock is a confirmed master of the fine art of AI development.

LRM Frigates are good, yes, but a human player can beat them (the AI can't, because the AI is an idiot; this is not GalCiv 2) fairly easy by using bombers. LRM Frigates with Flak Frigate escort would be a fairly powerful combination, though.

Wow. That has got to be the most epic I have ever seen concentrated in one place. Good luck on driving the Vaskorus Arkun back into the depths of space. Hopefully the Korsul Armada will prove to be a worthier ally than the Galan Rim Union was.

The Advent's main thing is culture. They get Temples of Communion on tier two, I think, followed by a length culture tree including one tech that lets you see enemy culture spreading and another that lets you see anyway you have cultural dominance, plus the Deliverance Engine, which is basically a giant propaganda gun. Judging from the culture descriptions, they're sort of a cross between the medieval Catholic Church and the Borg. They've also got a fairly heavy shields-to-hull ratio on

Nice shot of the Progenitor in the second screenshot. *Runs* But yeah, Homeworld and Sins have nothing in common apart from being real time and in space.

I'm a huge Freelancer fan (and lead writer for Openlancer :D ) so I've also been trying to make a Freelancer map (with TEC Liberty, Rheinland, Bretonia, and Kusari, Advent Outcasts and Corsairs, and Vasari Nomads), though its difficult without the game handy to check my map positions. Using phase lanes to simulate both trade lanes and jump gates (I got around the limit on interstellar phase lanes by creating all new planets in the New York System, then dragging them into orbit around other stars

First - I must have this map. I'm an avid Freelancer fan (and Openlancer project member). Second - Er... What Dementia said. If the map is going to flip itself on you, just make a temporary version now with the systems backward, then make a proper one once Ironclad patches the bug.

I just checked the manual. Nearly all of the Kol's weapons are chase armament. They've got a twice as many foreward guns as they do broadside guns (counting both sides). The only TEC ship that's really broadside intensive is the Akkan.