Different quick start options and fleet pattern options sound like a good idea.  They also need to make a couple maps intended specifically for online multiplayer--symmetric maps or at least balanced maps where everyone gets an equal starting position.  Better yet, they could enable auto-download for custom maps or figure out a way to allow the players or the game host to choose a starting configuration (all 5 players on each team bunched together, staggered, one person on each team in a suicide spot, etc.)

More on optimization...

Cease the use of TGA formatted textures they are memory hogs, and one of the main causes of the 2 gig problems of the past. DDS is far more efficient, and pretty much the gaming standard.

Do not use textures larger than what they absolutely need to be. 4096 is a ridiculous resolution for ANY RTS. No texture in sins should be larger than 2048 resolution with the exception of the backgrounds. Why use a 512 res particle texture when 256, 128, or even 64 res looks identical in game (to me at least) no matter how close you focus? In an RTS game with a shit ton of units on the map at once "bigger does not always mean better".

Same with the meshes. Original Sins got it almost right. Right poly counts in the right slots. Entrenchment, and Diplomacy upped the ante on the poly counts big time... Especially for the Advent Starbase. Think about how many units the AI will spam, and our poor video cards before you add the extra eye candy. Again bigger does not mean better. More polys does not make a better model in an RTS. Model, and texture smartly. If people want even more shiny graphics that is what mods are for.

Check your spelling, and have others proof read your gameinfo, and other data files thrice over. If something is not being used in the current version of the game like a texture, or mesh null then REMOVE IT, and all text entrys in EVERY reference file that calls for it. This goes for textures, and other files that load from the core game despite these files, and textures not being used in game. TSOP did just this, but i am sure much more can be done from a developers point of view. Sins STILL has tons of potential to this day.

That may be true about the TGA's with RLE compression, but TGA's as far as i know do not utilize mip mapping like DDS does. I think it is the mip mapping that made DDS the standard, and 90% of the video cards are designed to use it. I can accept "some" loss of quality if it provides better in game performance. In a 3rd or first person shooter where detail is king i can see why you would want better image quality. However Sins is an RTS type game. It still suffers from the curse of having ether quality, or performance.. It seems even in todays standard most RTS type games cant have both.

i would personally rather wait for a sequel, even if it takes much longer, theres only so much you can add in an expansion, and its already been almost three years 

This is probably what it really boils down to.  How many people actually purchased Entrenchment and Diplomacy?  It would be interesting to know and surely Stardock and Ironclad know the sales figures, but I can't imagine they'd ever talk about it.  It also makes you wonder about the attractiveness of producing a Sins-2.

Is it possible that many people played Sins and enjoyed it but put it down after a couple weeks and that the game really didn't have much staying power for most people?  I know that might seem inconceivable to us hardcore fans, but look at how little traffic this discussion forum receives.  Look at how low the Ironclad Online player counts are.  Sins sold well and received numerous accolades, but perhaps many purchasers really didn't like it that much.  It would be interesting to hear what Ironclad and Stardock have to say about that.

Sins 2

• Z Axis
• Ship Refit option (take a ship to a yard for upgrades)
• More Races 
• More Planet types
• Moving turrets and other ship parts
• Target engines or weapons individually
• Reverse Engines (slow)
• Download mod or map from lobby
• New Player can join existing game in progress (take over AI or watch)
• Troop Ships for taking planets or ships
• Build-able jump gates
• AI characters that gain experience and can be transfered to other ships
• Jump in a fighter to take part in the battle

Modding sins is great but it could be made a little easier to add races and planets like a manifest for races or a small UI that is user friendly so once a person creates a race anyone can just add the files to there mod.

A model database that people can share there models for everyone and maybe get karma every time someone grabs one.

Tell me how to place a structure above or below the planet or making a 3d map instead of a see through ground map.

Already possible since entrenchment... capitalship, like starbase can use various mesh for various level of upgrade/research

But that's my idea also I would also like to see subsystems like in the Homeworld series and maybe even to capture buildings and ships? Destroy a frigate facility's sub systems and take over.

I think that i was already done in the Evils Tesla Tri-pirate mod, or with the rogue races in 7DS and certainly in other mod that i don't know... 

@myfist0

- More races

Already done by several mod

- More planet type

Already done... DS mod, Uzi mod, etc

- Moving turrets and other ship parts

first one already possible, second one already done in the B5 mod ( soon in the star war  empire mod )

- Build-able jump gates

Already done in the B5 mod

- Troop ship for taking planets or ships

I think that the Halo mod is working on the first one... second one is very similar to boarding/capture from several mod

- Modding sins is great but it could be made a little easier to add races and planets like a manifest for races or a small UI that is user friendly so once a person creates a race anyone can just add the files to there mod.

Very similar to the project that i wish start new year

Point is that a lot of thing is already possible with the actual game, modders have show it... so, i don't think that it will not be a big problem for Stardock/Ironclad to implement it in the actual game...

I agree, modding capabilities should definitely get expanded and made more user-friendly. I would suggest making integrated GUI modding tools like Galactic Civilizations has. 

To what is related the "multi-player" part... is there thing who can be made in single player who will not work in multi-player ?

or maybe take all those mods you listed and put them together for us. Then see if it will even run.

i plan to make a tool who will somehow allow it

Moving ship parts is just a work around using FX. What happens late game when the limit is reached, NO SHIP PARTS.

For info, usual ship render use a FX too !!! The problem is not the FX but the particle effect linked to it... now, to be honest, since the Manshooter/balknight mod, i have edit my sins .ini and increase the particle effect from 6000 to 16000 because some firing/explosion effect was dissapearing... since, no more problem and no ship part who dissappear... and i don't think that it use a lot of resource more... let say that you have a usual ship with 10k poly and a other one with 2 x 5k poly ( one for the fixed part and one for the moving )... both case have 10k poly, both use identical shader ( FX ) and calculate position of a moving part is not very different to calculate the position of a moving ship...

Also for multiple ship meshes, if you upgrade 1 ship, all the ships change. How about upgrading a CS at a ship yard without every ship getting the upgrade in the middle of space.

This something not yet possible to my knowledge... it is why i have not comment about it... in fact, all the point that i have not comment from your post ( the majority of them ) are thing that i think is not possible with the actual engine...

Now, there is something that i wish for a sins II, related to weapons... weapons need variable arc of fire... now, a weapons located on the side can shoot from -+ 90 degrees... in some case, due to the shape of the model, the weapons shoot trough the ship itself... will be great if a left/right arc of fire can be included in the entity file for weapons...

And Kodiak cruiser, thats just a brick with guns. I know TEC are oriented on industrial and functional designs, but BRICK WITH GUNS?

Simmer down folks...

We already have a list of stuff to want in an expansion.  I was just curious what you all would look forward to in a Sequel to Sins. 

And I've been working on a new race for Sins - its not easy to come up with that many ship designs that are original, yet noteworthy.  Yes some of the ships seem "simple"  But thank goodness Ironclad got the game out the door and we all are still having fun with it.

I'll add the good Sins 2 Ideas to the bottom of the post here in a little bit.

Keep it civil

EDIT: Added another good idea to the Expansion section, and added the SINS 2 ideas.... Keep it up, I think Ironclad could have some good stuff come out of here!