Hackbar

I hate these moronic piracy debates and the aggressive profit-protection measures that inevitably spawn them. For all you pirates out there (and I do not claim that never in my life have I pirated or stolen anything) piracy is in fact illegal and is at best morally questionable. Yes, piracy can lead to game sales in some cases because a pirated copy provides a much better idea of a what a game is like than the pathetic excuses for demos that I've seen lately. Anyone who claims pirates don't buy

BFME 2 is graphically OK and fun to play, but multi player is horrendously buggy. Expect loads of crashes and player drops if you plan to LAN it or play online. Also, I was disappointed with the detail when zoomed all the way in, but that's not too huge a deal. I'm just spoiled by the stellar graphics in Relic RTS games and keep expecting everyone else to be as good. Besides, BFME2 has plenty of other graphical effects that are very nice. As for the important part, BFME gameplay isn't half bad.

[quote]Okay, alright... I just have to ask... what games target the Chinese market?[/quote] The only one I can think of off the top of my head is the semi-MMO version of Company of Heroes that Relic is supposedly developing exclusively for the Chinese market. Not sure what the heck they're thinking there, really. I mean, yeah, it's a big market and it's not too easy to pirate an MMO, but China-only?

Anybody home? I really hope this mod isn't dead. Let me know if you need some help. (says the man with no modding skills)

Last I checked, both games were available on Ebay for around 10 USD. Amazon might have them as well, though I didn't bother to do a search. Also, you might consider investing in a CD scratch repair kit. I've used several different types and they generally work surprisingly well. There are some scratches, of course, that are beyond repair, but it's amazing how bad a disc can appear and still be recoverable.

Wow. You've done all that already? I'm really looking forward to trying it out. I've got one question, though. You made it clear that pirates hide at the outer edges of systems, and that they can be disabled, but I'm confused as to whether they're in every system or just a few. Also, would it not make sense for pirates to prefer barren "dead" systems or dangerous "portal" systems so as to best stay hidden from the authorities?

I haven't run in to 3 very much, but 1 and 2 have been the only thing that keeps me from using the Empire Tree constantly. I use it more to keep track of things than for actual command, but only because it sometimes seems to have a mind of it's own. My biggest gripe, though, is that I'd like new systems to be added to the tree contracted rather than expanded, as I find the expanded view just gets in the way except in certain cases.

I'm pretty sure they also reduce distance from home planet, as every planet with a phase stabilizer I've had went up to 90% allegiance with media hubs when it was capped at 80 or lower before.

[quote] Um.... given the strength (weak) of rebel attacks, any serious assault force (heck, even a mere raiding force!) would seriously out power any rebel forces. The only way they'd interfere is if you're trying for an AI style siege frigate raid [/quote] Actually, I've had rebels (multiple heavy cruisers and a dozen or so frigates) damage my force of a Marza (level 4) 2 siege frigs, half a dozen Cobalts, and half a dozen Javelis LRMS en

Binksy and zzz give good advice. The planet shield really does stop most bombardments cold, and even a determined force won't be able to bring down your planet before reinforcements arrive from a few jumps away. T he repair bay is something you should always, ALWAYS have on front line cities. The only excuse for not having them is if you're trying for the all-civic no-military research achievement. Even then, once you've got the achievement you can research military techs in the same ga

Binksy and zzz give good advice. The planet shield really does stop most bombardments cold, and even a determined force won't be able to bring down your planet before reinforcements arrive from a few jumps away. T he repair bay is something you should always, ALWAYS have on front line cities. The only excuse for not having them is if you're trying for the all-civic no-military research achievement. Even then, once you've got the achievement you can research military techs in the same ga

You know, as much as I find real genocide to be terrifyingly evil, I really can't see the races in Sins settling for anything less than the complete annihilation of their enemies. Consider the backstory and races' points of view. TEC: Half the planets on any given map used to be TEC. Now they're populated by ailen scum who enslave us to build their ships and suck our worlds dry of resources to rebuild and refuel their fleets, all the while fully intending to leave us behind to deal with what

While I agree that the diplomacy system needs work, the game's backstory provides a compelling reason for everyone to be hostile at game start. It wouldn't make sense any other way. I agree entirely that the player should be as free to make demands of the AI as the AI is to make demands of the player, and that the AI should act in a fashion that makes a little more sense as far as extending an olive branch while you're at war.

[quote] The rebels will fight with the TEC player who caused them, but they won't actually attack his planets. [/quote] The point I was trying to make is that, for the TEC player, rebels can actually make it more difficult to take a system, since the rebels will drop what they're doing and attack any siege frigates in the system thanks to the goofy targeting priorities, and the TEC ships, if left alone, will also attack rebel siege frigates who ar

Think of the Rebels as a mixed blessing. Sure, they're causing a mess in your system, but it's better than getting nailed with a novalith cannon. Rebels will attack everyone, even the masters of the culture that spawned them to begin with, so when the enemy shows up to take your rebel-infested system from you it's a 3-way battle. Left to their own targeting priorities, I've observed the rebel and invader fleets trying to take down each other's siege frigates rather than fighting their common ene

I agree that the AI diplomacy is frustrating as hell, especially since once an AI decides it's time for you to die, there's pretty much nothing that can salvage the situation. You can't not defend yourself against his attacks, but you lose friendship with him for doing so. Also, I seem to constantly run into a situation where I fail a mission with just one target left and only a few more seconds needed. Then the AI decides my 'failure' is intolerable and declares war on me after I sacrificed hal

I'm not sure what the problem was, but I'm going to put it down to me being outplayed for now. I went back to an autosave 45 minutes old and acted more aggressively to secure the choke point asteroid and the rebel-infested volcano planet and absolutely crushed purple. I think what happened the first time was that I assumed purple was under control based on his small share of the map and concentrated my resources on finishing the civ tech tree for the accomplishment while purple sat in his corner

Honestly, I expected my ships to do much worse with no military than they have. My complaint really is that it seems like having all the civic stuff researched and a fully-upgraded economy isn't providing me with enough resources to make up for that loss. The fact that my enemy is pumping out ships just as fast with less than half as many planets to support him is kind of confusing too.

I'm playing on Pandemonium, trying to earn the 'TEC civic research only' achievement and some others (culture and no fighters) and I've run into some serious problems. I control about 3/4 of the system, including 2 desert, 2 terran, 2 asteroid, 1 ice planet and 2 metal extractors in asteroid belts. red controls a volcano world which is overrun by insurgents thanks to my culture but which I can't take because the insurgents attack me when I show up and my fleets are busy elsewhere. Purple control

I don't think you can pause, but you can save the game and load it later if things go bad while you're away.

if there are no bounties out, they'll still attack, supposedly going for trade ships when possible. That makes them pirates. In game, however, most people treat them as somewhere between mercs and privateers. Essentially, though, they remain pirates. They attack targets with a high bounty in the hopes bf being paid for what they would normally do anyway. If they were mercenaries, you could hire them and not worry as much about them being bought out from under you, and you could direct them vague

There are some gentlemen on the forums who will be (may be even now) compiling a more detailed manual/strategy guide straight from the game data. I believe they said that they hope to have the project out within a week of game release, so it shouldn't be long. Until then, the manual thread from the beta (same guys who are making the new one) has a slightly more detailed description of the TEC and Vasari cap ships than is in the official manual. https://forums.sinsofasolarempire.com/?for

Sweet. Downloading now.

[quote] My eyes just glaze over... [/quote] Same here. The tears of pain make it very hard to make anything out by the time my eyes reach the crazy unfocused state that makes the image begin to gain depth.

I've never successfully seen one of these before, but i think I can see the (presumably) Advent doorknob ship in there.