Sins of a Solar Empire

Studio

Ironclad Games

Publisher

Kalypso Media Stardock

Erstveröffent-
lichung

February 4, 2008 June 26, 2008

Iron engine

Real-time strategy , global strategy

Game mode

Single player , multiplayer

control

Keyboard and mouse ,

system advantages
preconditions

1.8 GHz single core CPU, 512 MB RAM (1 GB in Vista), 3 GB free hard disk space, 128 MB DirectX 9.0 graphics card, DirectX 9.0 sound card

medium

1 DVD

Current version

1.191
1.82 (rebellion)

none

Sins of a Solar Empire (English for sins of a solar empire is) a Space real-time strategy , which was first published in the US on 4 February 2008 and in Europe on June 26 of 2008. It was developed for Windows - PCs , the Canadian company Ironclad Games . It is distributed by Kalypso Media in Europe and by Stardock in the USA . The game still belongs to the sub-genres of global strategy games and space simulations. The Entrenchment extension appeared in February 2009, followed by the second Diplomacy extension in February 2010 . The Sins of a Solar Empire: Trinity package includes the game and both expansions. In 2012, the third expansion, Rebellion, was released as a standalone addon. In June 2013 the first DLC Forbidden Worlds was released for the Rebellion version , and in November 2013 the second, Stellar Phenomena . The package “ Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion - New Frontiers Edition ”, which contains the Rebellion version of the game and the first expansion to it, “ Forbidden Worlds ”, has also been available in retail stores since mid-2014 . On June 19, 2015, “ Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion - Ultimate Edition ” was released in Germany , which, in addition to the main game, contains both DLCs, a soundtrack CD and a printed manual.

game

The aim of the game is to expand and defend your empire. To do this, you have to conquer other planets and eliminate opposing civilizations. This is done primarily by building a fleet of spaceships. Late in the game you can also develop and use the three special weapons for the three races TEC, Advent and Vasari. The three resources metal, crystal and credits are available. You can always buy or sell metal and crystal to expedite upcoming transactions. A technology tree for the areas of military, civilian and fleet capacity enables the player to unlock additional ship types and structures, to improve the combat ability of his fleet (e.g. better shields, better lasers, torpedoes, etc.) or to set up defense systems such as gun platforms or repair yards . Your own economy can also be made more efficient with trading posts. The game surface is one or more solar systems with a certain number of planets. At the beginning of the game everyone owns a planet and can see the two or three neighboring planets, but does not yet know their specifications. Only when any ship of the player has reached this celestial body does the player know the type of planet (e.g. desert planet, volcanic planet, earth-like planet, gas giant, etc.), its resource capacities and other information. Not every planet can be colonized, for this the neutral defense fleet of the planet must be switched off and a special colonization ship must be used. Non-colonizable celestial bodies such as asteroid rings, plasma storms, magnetic clouds, however, sometimes have resource asteroids with the associated extractors that are indestructible and can be captured with a certain ship.

The game takes place in real time, a healthy balance between building a fleet, colonizing and researching military, defensive and economic developments is recommended for success. In an actual battle between two or more fleets, the individual player does not need to achieve a particular click strength; it is usually possible to have his ships fight "automatically" without any problems. On the left side of the screen all planets, all buildings around them and all ships are always displayed. By clicking on this bar, you can switch over in a flash. It is also possible to zoom in on the game surface to a single ship and out to a complete view of the entire galaxy system.

Sins of a Solar Empire does not have single player campaigns, but has a series of achievements that can be achieved and thus played through the game.

The Iron Engine is an in-house development by Ironclad Games for their first game Sins of a Solar Empire . The development and runtime environment enables so-called 4X strategy games .

Extensions

The main features of the game's extensions are explained here.

Entrenchment

In addition to the features of the main game, the "Research" interface has now been expanded to include a "Defense" research branch. The player now has the option of laying minefields, and he can also build a powerful battle station per orbit, the star base, which he can individually equip with various offensive and defensive abilities until there are no more ability points available. At the TEC and in Advent this will be realized with a new cruiser, which is intended exclusively for the construction of the star base, with the Vasari the colonization frigate must be expanded to include the corresponding ability through research. The usual military orbital structures have also been improved and some additional capabilities have been added. In addition, each race receives an additional cruiser: TEC and Advent now have an offensive cruiser that specializes in the destruction of orbital structures; the Vasari is their mine-laying ship, with which, unlike the other two races, two different types of mines can be laid down.

Diplomacy

Here the diplomacy system has been completely revised and expanded. In addition to a new research tree "Diplomacy", relationships with other players are no longer measured in terms of satisfaction levels from 0–100%, but in points from 0.00 to 20.00, with 0.00 not representing a lower limit and points also in can sink into the minus range. Depending on the number of relationship points, different pacts are unlocked. In addition to the already known ones such as trade agreements or armistice, the player also has six race-specific pacts available, but these must be researched beforehand. Relationships with a player of another race bring six additional pacts from that player, but these can only be offered by the other player. There is also a diplomacy ship, which can be sent to other players in order to maintain relationships, and now also for the player the possibility of hiring other players for an assignment, the fulfillment or refusal of which then increases or decreases the relationship points accordingly Reject orders from other players immediately. The pirates can also be hired for special jobs, regardless of their recurring raids and the amount of the current bounty. There is also now the possibility of a “diplomatic victory”, since diplomacy points are collected over all diplomatic actions (concluding and breaking contracts, placing, fulfilling and rejecting orders, etc.). In this case, whoever has reached a certain number of points first wins, how much exactly depends on the number of players.

rebellion

The standalone add-on contains all the features of the previous extensions. The most serious change in this add-on, however, is the division of the three main races into loyalists and rebels, so that there are now a total of six different factions. In addition to the abilities of the main race, each faction now also has its own abilities. There are also two new classes of ships: Titan and Corvette. Each faction has its own titan, which, like the capital ships, has special, individual skills. However, its construction must first be researched in 4 stages and takes place in a special "titanium foundry", and each player can only have one Titan at a time. Each of the three main races will also receive a new capital ship that can be used to hijack enemy ships. There are also four new optional ways to win: The first is to be the first to complete a specific, very costly and time-consuming research. In the second case, each player receives a flagship at the start of the game and loses the game if it is lost. With the next, there is a neutral planet somewhere in the galaxy to conquer, and the winner is whoever can keep it under his control the longest. The fourth chance to win is that the main planet can no longer be changed, and each player loses if their main planet is destroyed.

Forbidden Worlds

The first expansion to "Rebellion" brings four new types of planets (ocean, iron, greenhouse, barren), and each individual planet can now optionally specialize in social engagement or industry. The specialization in social engagement increases the population, the population growth and the rate of cultural spread, but reduces the speed of shipbuilding and trade income. Conversely, specialization in industry increases the trade income and the speed at which ships are built, while the spread of culture and the population decrease.

Stellar Phenomena

With the second expansion to "Rebellion" the following changes: There are more planet types (ship cemetery, destroyed moon, radioactive cloud, antimatter fountain, ice field, comet), most of them uncolonizable, as well as three new star types (neutron star, pulsar, black hole). In addition, there are random events that can be activated or deactivated before the start of a game and which also exert pressure on the player. For example, there can be sudden ups and downs in the game's economy, planets can be hit directly by a plasma storm, a magnetic cloud or the like, new, neutral enemies appear or players can contact planets affected by "open rebellions" with a Lose blow and must first fight against a larger rebel fleet before these planets are safe again.

Outlaw Sectors

Outlaw Sectors was released on June 22nd, 2016 and focuses on pirates, the black market and planetary militia who can support the player as NPC factions.

5 Year Anniversary for Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion

The 5 Year Anniversary Version appeared in 2017 and stands for the update v1.9, which upgrades the game primarily with 4K graphics.

Ratings

Metacritic calculates an average rating of 87%, based on 52 reviews. Critify, on the other hand, determines 82%, based on 23 reviews.

Individual evidence

Web links

[Metacritics-1] ttp://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/pc/sinsofasolarempire

[Critify-2] ttp://critify.de/games/pc/1399/sins-of-a-solar-empire/