Sins of a solar empire

I'm surprised there was no topic for this game, seeing how it's only about two years old.

But....I just beat a ten hour long game as TEC. I think it's the longest I've spent on any single mission/scenario/level in a videogame.

Play a match on a huge randomly generated map. Say hello to a 20+ hour match.

I've played a 28 hour match once. But I brought the entire galactic sector under my heel.

That was back when I played the TEC; I mostly play Advent now. Goddamn I love their bombers.

(unpatched/updated game here)

So, what kind of play-style do you see the aliens' "Drivers" using?

Waitwaitwaitwaitwait

Are "Drivers" a fourth race or just another name for some existing element in So SE I am not aware of? I stopped following news about this game a long time ago, so I honestly dont know.

I think the drivers are each race's superweapon. Right?

Plus, I love it except for the usual complaints. A.I (in the original at least, I got the Trinity version a while ago) is stupid, no campaign mode (although considering the style of play I can't imagine how they'd incorporate a campaign mode into the game)... other than that a really good game.

edited 4th Dec '10 9:53:42 AM by theLibrarian

"Drivers" = My name for the Ultimate Evil chasing the Vasari. I mean drivers in the same context as the Huns driving those barbarian groups across Europe. You get me?

edited 4th Dec '10 8:18:43 AM by Colonial1.1

Ah.

-drums fingers-

Soooo... Zerg Rush? Lightning Bruiser Necron-style?

I'm guessing some kind of Cosmic Horror buried beneath the homeworld's surface until it woke. Although that doesn't explain how it got to the other planets.

edited 4th Dec '10 2:20:53 PM by theLibrarian

It destroyed their fleet. Therefore it must have its own terrifyingly huge hordefleet.

I just know someone will be making/made a mod with the "drivers" as a playable fourth race.

I'm thinking it might be your typical Super Ultimate Robots Of Mass Destruction. What, there's no trope for that? bullshit.

also, I still only have basic Sins without the micro-expansions and patches. I don't really feel like buying the expansions for the little they offer, but do the patches fix the A.I? It's way too easy even on hard. And unfair A.I is in on of the patches....mumble.

So, I just got this game, Trinity specifically, for Christmas, and I wanted to rez this subject as I'm about to play it.

Dammit, the AI is a bastard. Nothing for a good while and then randomly throws five times my fleet at me on two planets and just steam rolls me. What the hell?

Dammit, the AI is a bastard. Nothing for a good while and then randomly throws five times my fleet at me on two planets and just steam rolls me. What the hell?

That sounds like good AI to me. That's exactly what I'd try to do.

edited 27th Dec '10 10:28:29 PM by SuperDimensionman

The AI is too calculating for me. For example:

When you invade one of their planets with a force more than 2X theirs, they will always retreat to an adjacent planet. This is on all difficulty levels, and the only exception is their Homeworld.

This means if you want to destroy their fleet, you have to chase them around first -.-

edited 27th Dec '10 10:32:58 PM by Carbonpillow

Well, upon reading a walk through, I'm apparently trying to turtle with the wrong race and using the wrong units. I hate it when static defenses aren't as useful as ships.

edited 27th Dec '10 11:38:38 PM by Deboss

Well hangers are useful for those few siege ships that get through. And wait till you try out star bases with all the trimmings. They're just annoying.

Also, once you get into triple digit ship battles, they tend to be less epic and more number crunching :P. I'd wish those frigates would actually move around and dodge something. A missile frigate should not 1v1 a lev6 Battleship.

Well, I'll try a game where I don't invest ninety percent of my resources into static defences. Are the repair nodes worth while? Are any of them?

My problem is that I'm turtling wrong apparently. Upon watching somebody else play I think I figured out why.

This is a game that wants you to build fleets and swarm the enemy, whereas my play style is such that I prefer to pile on the static defenses early and tech up to mid or late level units and then march out steam roller style and crush everything in my path.

I haven't figured out how the star base dealies work though.

edited 28th Dec '10 3:28:24 PM by Deboss

The easiest way to play the game, for me at least, is to always be on the offensive.

Build a fleet, invade a planet, colonize a planet, increase economy and research, build another fleet, repeat. If you're fast with it, soon you'll have so much momentum that nobody else can compete with you. In a free for all game, the winner is usually decided by early midgame. Well in multiplayer anyways, cause the game AI could theoretically win a match, but I suppose it will take them some time.

The problem with fixed defenses is that they're completely useless in late game, even starbases. The problem with this is because:

1. There is a limited number of tactical slots for each planet. The first type of orbital defense is some kind of cheap gun/laser/missile platform. These are worth as much as a wet towel in combat, even early game. Hangers are okay, especially if you fill em with bombers. But you can only have a few hangers per planet, which means they're support for either your defending fleet or a starbase.

2. Defenses are a waste of resources. The resources you put into defenses can be better put into research, economy, or fleets.

3. Defenses can't move(duh). If you really must protect a vital planet (chokehold planets are the most important bar none) build up a defensive fleet full of fighters. These are both mobile and more powerful then any defensive grid. A def fleet can also protect several planets at once.

Well, I tried again. Played a different game set this time. I did a 2v2 on that "Kross" whatever map cause I figured I'd have an easier time with just a front line and somebody to watch my back. Lasted about three hours and save scumed twice. Once because I fell into my habit of forgoing ships to get more research done (gotta break that habit) and once because of a bad timing issue where I went on the attack just as the other guy launched an attack on my home planet and got my fleet cut to ribbons. Quit when I my ally got kicked off his home planet and I was looking at a two front war. It was a pain in the ass though, every planet was an ice planet so I couldn't get any metal.

Static defenses are really only worthwhile with the TEC or Advent. Advent have increased hanger capacity for their platforms, and the TEC has techs that upgrade the repair rate for repair platforms, increase the anti-matter regeneration rate in their territory, and extend the range of their Gauss platforms.

And even so, those are really only useful for keeping the enemy fleet from fucking over your planet until your defense fleet gets there.

Hm, I keep getting the aliens while on random instead of the psychics or the TEC. Do you think switching to TEC until I've started winning games would make it easier?

Actually managed to win one. Mostly thanks to my partner being a higher level and not getting its teeth kicked in half way through.