Sins Of A Solar Empire Postmortem
I've had my gaming head buried so far up Sins of a Solar Empire that I've forgotten to do my strategy-fan duty and help spread the word about this fantastic, almost Zen space opera RTS. But before I go and sound off for myself, interested readers should check out Gamasutra's epic feature, Postmortem: Ironclad/Stardock's Sins of a Solar Empire.
Part of Sins' appeal undoubtedly stems from its free-range roots: it showed up with little to no hype after a relatively quiet development at Ironclad - itself a studio comprised of former Barking Dog Studios and Rockstar Vancouver members. Finding a publisher was no small task, but Ironclad found more than publishing partner in Stardock: they teamed up on everything from game design to marketing, and that influence shows. In-game, the technology tree and resource mechanics are a direct result of cross-pollination with Stardock's design philosophies.
The minimal HUD and Hubble-worthy visuals, not to mention the entrancing sound, are the result of such collaboration, and the strategy world is vastly improved for it. That said there were some major SNAFUs, including the lack of a single player campaign, which is an omission that really stings: Ironclad and Stardock have created an amazing backdrop with fantastic world-building detail that could be spun into any number of truly engaging stories (Ironclad: call me).
If you're a Sins fan, a strategy fan, or simply curious about a game that is nothing if not evocative, check out Gamasutra's full feature.
tiny dancer
Posted to Hot Stuff, Miscellany, Video Games on 28 April 2008
· Comments (2)
Other stuff like this: gamasutra, ironclad, pc, rts, sins of a solar empire, stardock
Once the demo released, it was tough to get a copy of Sins around here. I went to 3 stores until I finally had my will break and I went to Wal-Mart.
It was fun, and it did lack a campaign. I kind of likened it to Civilization in that respect.
I would love to play this with a group of players here. I got it and have only played a couple of games with my internet friends. So I'm still learning. >.>