Thank you very very much, i have been playing only about a month and a half now, i think, 6 or 7 weeks, almost 8. And it is great fun. There is lots to enjoy and i am getting my feet wet in the modding, haha, great fun there and very supportive and friendly people. Great job! Thanks for everything, looking forward to the expansions. 

-Teal

Are you talking about being able to change model appearances, like the turrets/hangars getting visual upgrades, thus creating the ability to deform models to create permanent effects (as an example, if memory serves the HW:Cataclysm ship infection thing changed their appearance permanently), or something else too?

Inquiring minds want to know!

EVERYTHING!!!

No really, I can't honestly think of one thing that I really dislike about this game.  Anxiously awaiting Entrenchment...even the beta would be kewl right now.

Or the vasari utility ship No.2 whos got the most irritating sound alive!!!! Go round with him and you'll end killing you're own ships in less than 30 secs out of irritation!

Might try to implement that as ability "Sound Chocker"....sends a massive scream at nearby enemy vessles (ie. opponents computer) resulting in such fear and irritation that he cannot retreat out of the phase well until the screaming vessel is destroyed!!

HA Ha Ha (probably the only one laughing at this but what the hell...is funny in my head )

Justin S.

INTERFACE: This is Sins' greatest achievement among many great achievements. The game comes with dozens of strategy game breakthroughs like the empire tree, intuitive fleet control, and the ability to automate just about everything that the rest of the industry is (or at least should be) scrambling to catch up with. An interface any less genius would have made Sins a real chore to play. As it is, the scope of the game makes the interface only sufficient, but even that is a tremendous achievement. We're running interstellar empires without confusion and with very little micro. Thank you.

SETTING/CULTURE: It's important to have factions that players can have an identity with. A Sins LAN party has attitude. Vasari players speak in low, raspy tones about phaaaaaase space and the pride of their armada. Advent players vow revenge and go through life attempting to psionically overwealm people. TEC players are self-defensively indignant and talk like air traffic controllers. Changing favorite factions is at least as much about leaving behind emotional attachment as it is switching strategy.

GRAPHICS: I never thought Sins had utitlized its engine to the maximum potential. Homeworld 2 did it better, frankly (I may post on ways to improve graphics without changing the engine later). But from a purely technical standpoint, Sins is an immense achievement. Everything is rewarding, informative, and stylish. Space battles are full of satisfying explosions and dramatic weapons fire. Ships are distinctive and interesting at every zoom level. There's a tremendous sense of scale. The game is fun to watch.

GAMEPLAY/BALANCE: Factions are unique but not confusingly alien. There are endless interesting strategies that are fun and interesting to implement. The game is very well balanced and has intuitive counters without being a simple rock-paper-scissors.

PACING: So many RTS games these days lean toward a pacing that demands more of the player in terms of quick thinking and reflexes than even some FPS games. Sins is a breath of fresh air. In a world where "our base is under attack!" really means "our base will be half gone by the time you can get your camera over it!", Sins takes a calmer approach without feeling slow. There's always something to do but it's never overwealming (though with the new game speed being considered, it will be possible to make it play like all those other RTSes ... whatever. I guess some people are into that. It's nice if you're crunched for time).

SUPPORT: I've been a hardcore gamer for more than a decade but this is the first game with which I've become active in the forums. I did it because it doesn't feel like a bunch of malcontents griping about what they wish the game had been, it feels like a community of people working to make the game better. Constant patches and upcoming expansions show that Stardock is really interested in what its customers have to say.

LEVELLING: This is something I would like to see be a bigger part of Sins but is still excellent. Levelling up capital ships is genius - all the abilities keep with the general description of the race and the ship but present tantalizing opportunities and new strategies, often in the midst of a battle.

Sins doesn't really do anything poorly. It's weaknesses are when it doesn't do something enough - that is, when it isn't as Sinful as Sins can/should be.  But judging from the arc the game has followed postrelease, we have only great things to expect from the future.

Bottom line: Big design changes are probably not a good idea. Implementing a new mechanic is risky but the players trust Stardock with good reason. Tweaks and improvements are really the biggest part of Sins. In a game with this scope, there are always little ways to improve.

I love how it says in big letters "KOL" on the side of the Kol Battleship, more cap ships need some signature symbols or words on them IMO.

Love most of the TEC voice themes, the colony frigate going "o-o-o-ooookay.." or "If.. that's what you want heh." when you tell it to attack cracks me up every time!

Love some of the new planetary bonuses... more please!

Love the new artifacts.. again more please!

Love the graphics on most weapons, especially the beam and wave weapons, though most of the TEC cannons leave a lot to be desired, needs brigther tracer shots in there if nothing else.

Love the new and unique looks of all the fighters/bombers.

Love the split up tech trees ('defense' and 'offense' respectively) that you can simultaniously research.

Love the pirates, love the way the ships look, love the way they talk in text.. but they need sound themes for when you get them. (via Advent Domination)

Love the fact that you can see where you rate as far as empire, economy and military at all times, though it would be nice if there was some listing of who else was where in the standings. (would make that more interesting for online play too, go after the big guy!)

Graphics in general are 10/10 for me, there's some textures that could use a small improvement but it would just bog down memory more and wouldn't be worth it.. if you want any better graphics play Eve. (but be warned Eve sucks)

Love the different types of planets but there REALLY needs to be more, perhaps include most if not all of Uzii's "sin's plus" planets in a future patch?

Love all the new defensive structure upgrades. 10/10

Absolutely love seeing an entire fleet jump into a system, totally epic every time and it's something you won't find in any other game.

I could go on all night but I suppose I'll stop there.

I like the uniqueness each race has and being able to play as any race. The difference between thier ships, weapons and abilities makes for a different way to play the game both tactically and just for the feel. Generaly you can play the game the way you desire and still have the desired outcome.

The gaphics, visual effects, ships, planets and stars are also well presented. Like wise the main inter face is both visually pleasing and easy to use. Music also is good and effect sounds go well with effects.

One of the things I realy liked was being able to create my own unique galaxy's with 1.1 and 1.2, plus tweeque a few other things like some of the ships abilities a little, to customize the play, with the forge tools. Whilst we wern't able to do this with the beta the maps that I had made previously all worked well which was great.

All in all very impresive and I look forward to the future updates and the full release. I feel confident the Ironclad team  will do a fantastic job, just as they already have.

For me, it's the fleet-centric nature of the combat.  Many sci-fi games never really create the complex reality of fleet warfare, both in terms of fleet composition considerations and the broader strategic decisions of when and where to commit (i.e., risk) a fleet.  Only Sins makes me want to watch Midway or Sink the Bismark (or the BG season one movie).  That says a lot about how well Sins captures the realities of fleet warfare, something I hope gets more detailed as the game matures (along with the ships!). 

One thing I would like to see added one day is changing the training of capital ships 'crews' to capital ship 'captains'.  Crews are too anonymous.  Instead, I think it would be cool to train specific individuals to command your beloved caps.  For example, after training a captain, you should be able to go to a screen and see a little profile shot with his name and maybe even offensive/defensive bonuses that he would bring to a cap ship or a fleet if his ship is the taskforce leader.  Get it?  Sort of like how princes and generals work in the Total War series.  I think this would add even more personality and distinctiveness to the caps (I mean, who here hasn't wept when their favorite cap brews up in battle? ).  It would also add a bit of a personnel management element to the game as you are forced to decide who to place in command of what ship based upon his abilities and who is best suited to lead an entire fleet into battle.

Speaking of which, maybe we could have a cap roster added where we can see a listing of each cap by name and its status (active, destroyed, location, etc)?

I love:

- The ability to name your planets, and importantly, your ships. Oh boy have I been waiting for a game where I could have fleets led by the EAS Behemoth or the Ajax Excelsior and have them launch from the shipyards orbiting the planet Gallanighor... I would love a few more (like just 5) character spacings if possible!

- The relations between CapShips, frigates, and cruisers. None can work without the other, and they combine so well on so many levels. Every ship has a job to do, and if you don't include variety, you're leaving your fleet open to attack. The CapsShips are your game-breakers and do a very good job of that.

- The fact that CapShips have different weapons on all sides. There's nothing better than seeing a Kol unleashing broadsides at passing ships while its cutting beams slice open whatever is in front of it, or watching a Sova slowly turn to present its broadside laser batteries... Or in contrast to that, the uniqueness (and tactical vulnerability/strength) of the Marza with its huge forward-firing DPS with bank upon bank of different weapons blasting out, combined with its complete vulnerability when flanked by smaller, faster ships.

- The Advent weapon sound effects. I love them so much! Got to be some of the very best laser sounds in sci-fi history there.

- Fighters and bombers, at the appropriate tiny size, and in squadrons! Also the fact that they can be built on a variety of Caps (completely realistic) but of course specialised with carriercaps and smaller carrier cruisers. Another thing I've waited so long for a sci-fi game to do properly.

- The music. Reactionary, and very nice. Calm and ignorable when managing your empire, dramatic and orchestral when zoomed into battle. The sound in the game is of the highest quality, except, for me, the ship responses. I don't want to order a ship around and have the captain grudgingly agree to do what I told him like he is allowed to have an opinion on the matter. I want him to formerly/grovellingly 'Yes Sir!' me when I tell him to empty the trash bins! Also, the Marza captain, while appropriately brutish for his ship type, sounds like he can barely tie his own shoelaces, let alone command hundreds of crew on a ship half a mile long...

- The fact that I can play it without a disc.

- No invasive spyware DRM on my pc.

- The general attention to detail (the sun reflecting off things correctly, general use of lightsourcing, planet traffic, gibs). I would love to see a little more progressive damage graphics on ships (the smoke and flames look great but how about some buckled armour plates?), but I'm aware that this is something only the very closest zooms would see and therefore probably isn't regarded as important.

- Research queuing. Brilliant idea, saves me so much time and concentration.

- Saveable multiplayer games. This is completely revolutionary. There are so many games out there I and my friends love but never bother trying to play multiplayer because we know the games will take too long to complete (Supreme Commander is a prime example, a waste of one of the greatest RTS games ever made). With Sins, we can come back to our games whenever we have a spare hour or two, and even replace one of our players with an AI if they can't make it to finish the game. This feature is absolutely massive, massive for me and people I know.

- The dev support. It's often mentioned but it can never be said too much how important and appreciated it is that the dev team actually engage with their player-base and talk directly to them. Not only that, but it seems ideas are taken on board and genuine engagement leads to changes players actually ask for. I know one of Ironclad's statements said something like 'we're creating a product that our customers actually want, that's why we're successful', and that couldn't be truer. Could there be a more obvious, common-sense approach to business-modelling? You produce what people want to buy, not whatever franchise you are obsessed with pushing at that moment. And you avoid scaring people off by making your game support a wide range of hardware, you don't try and peek and pry through people's computers, and you don't make them jump through hoops to activate their game then make them connect to the internet in order to be allowed to play it...

All in all, I pretty much love all of Sins, and I'm desperate for more of it!

First of all, I was a defensive nut even before entrenchment. Basically, what I like about sins the most is how awesome your fleets can become. My favorite part of the game is greeting an enemy invasion fleet at one of my planets with my best fleet and all the defenses the planet has to offer. And the best part: Not even sure if I'm going to win. It really gets the andrenaline going.

So really, I suppose, I like the very immersive experience. The feeling of pride in my fleets, that I am invested in their success or failure. It's not some mindless unit producing game where the object is to beat your opponent. You command your empire! Please, don't ever let that be forgotten.

In order to talk about what I like about SoaSE I need to say what is lacking. My first big issue that really doesn't affect gameplay is the fact that I don't feel like people live in my empire. Sure the space elevators are nice but there is no real story behind this place. We know very baic information about all of the factions, something easily remedied be a story/campaign mode. I like the idea of random events like asteroid collisions, ship crashes and even mutinies. It would be cool if, maybe, as a planets population increased, colonies with little to no economic or military value were built automatically. Maybe, also, give the captains of my ships names and distinct voices. I know this is a lot but it would really add a soul to such a great game.

This said, I love the game. Best I've ever played.

I like Sins of a Solar Empire.  Period.

More specifically I really like the balancing you guys have done.  While a lot complain that all the factions are too similar (IE just reskinned) that is actually a gross overexaggeration.  While it's significantly more similar than something you might see in maybe Command and Conquer or Starcraft, it's the similarities that keep everything very well balanced while giving each faction their own feel.  External Beta testing is probably the reason the units got so well balanced, but it's still no less impressive.

Deep Space Skyboxes.  These are very nice and add a touch of color to what most people consider bleak.  My only suggestion is maybe have more.  I'm not sure what licensing or copyright problems might happen (I wouldn't imagine there'd be many, Mass Effect used a lot, but who knows) getting ahold of some high res Hubble shots for some of the skyboxes would be great (With options to scale down the res depending on PC config).  I don't think a lot of people realize just how beautiful space is, and nothing illistrates that more than the various Nebulae shots that the Hubble Space Telescope has taken throughout its life.

Planetary Bonuses: These add a little more depth to the planets you conquer, and also make certain ones more strategically important than others.  Again, it could do with some expansion, even up to the point of reskinning some planets depending on their bonus.  While there probably isn't any more logical variety with basic planetary changes (Ice, Terran, Desert, Volcanic, Asteroids) subcatagories based on planetary bonuses would be nice.  Most noticable with the Volcanic planets, they planets just seem painfully all too similar.

AI: It must have been some feat for such a small team, as many of the large Developers can't make decent AI without giving them crazy cheats.  But somehow you have made a very competent AI that is annoying and crafty enough for you to believe it's actually thinking.   Any additional improvements are always welcome, but I just wanted to take special time to say good job with the AI programming.

KOL battleship: It's just badass.

Capital Ships:  A very nice alternative to "Hero" units, these are very fun to build and deploy and really sell the whole "Huge interstellar war" theme.  The only suggestions Is make them a bit bigger, and make them a little less succeptible to force fire swarms.  It just seems like taking down a capital ship amidst a fleet should be a little more difficult than it is now.

An amazing feat, Sins of a Solar Empire brought me back from a Console lackey, to a PC gamer (I even orded a new Graphics card, so I think Nvidia should send you a thank you letter) most of the unanimous improvements suggested are not gameplay related at all.  Which again, is amazing since evenhigh profile games get tons of bitchreports about game tweaks ect.

Improvments summary:

*Many Many Many more planetary skins.  Make the galaxy as diverse as it should be

*More Music, the Music in sins I think is Fantastic, the composer nailed the feeling of each race and the dynamic shift from being in a galactic vew to a cinematic close in is just icing on the cake.  However, given how long a Sins game can last, more is always better!

*Better Sense of scale.  The scaling is already very good, but some of the planets should be tweaked a bit.  Mostly in regards to Gas Giants, Terran and Volcanic.  I'm sure many people know making a "To scale" game in space is impossible, a Star would take up 99% of the screen if it was matched to scale with the planets size.  But a bit bigger couldn't hurt.

*More Scenarios Obviously, even with the Galaxy forge, not everyone (Or not even one in two hundred thousand people) are a competent Level designer, and we look to professionals, so any more professionally made maps by your talented team are always welcome (I assume more are comming anyway)

Suggestions - consider making a checkbox option where the phase lanes, health, & other suchwhat are always visible.  Oh, also, consider making the white phase lanes for wormholes visible in the same way as usual phase lanes.  Have tight clumps of ships auto-drift apart a bit more, big battles tend to be a cluster#@$% and sometimes a bunch of ships can't even move.

Praise - Beautiful animation & effects.  Seems like good balance (in the vanilla version, at least).  Auto-scouting scout AI seems a bit wonky for my taste, but the idea is gold.

Blargejarble - Suiseiseki is the last boss of the internet, desu.