History VideoGame / SinsOfASolarEmpire

* GutturalGrowler: The Vasari are an entire race of bad [[Franchise/MetalGear Revolver Ocelot]] impersonators.

*** [[TheFederation Loyalist TEC]] wants [[HoldTheLine to ride out the war through superior defensive capabilities]], [[GuileHero diplomatic maneuvering, and economic superiority]] - even if that means [[MoralDissonance ceding entire systems and leaving their populations enslaved or mind controlled]]; [[HeWhoFightsMonsters Rebel TEC]] wants [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge to crush everyone in expansionist warfare]] and react violently against what they consider to be [[WithUsOrAgainstUs "defeatist," "collaborationist", or other similarly treasonous philosophies which involve dialogue or reconciliation]] - however, they are [[DeathFromAbove not]] [[MadeASlave without]] [[GettingSmiliesPaintedOnYourSoul their]] reasons for this [[NeverBeHurtAgain mindset]].

* BadassBeard: The TEC narrator / Kol battleship captain sports one

** There is a mod that replaces standard TEC pulse lasers with thin red beams that pulse. This changes nothing in the gameplay (although, the mod may reduce your fighter/bomber count gained in expansions), but makes it look and sound more realistic (less like a ''StarWars'' blaster and more like pulsing hum). The mod only affects TEC lasers, though. The Advent ones still travel to target.

* GameplayandStorySegregation: According to the lore, the TEC Rebels, Vasari Loyalists and Advent Loyalists are all hostile and uncompromising, while the TEC Loyalists, VAsari Rebels and Advent Rebels are more open to diplomacy. Yet in the actual gameplay, all six factions are equally capable of forging and maintaining alliances with anyone.

There are three factions in the game. There's the Trader Emergency Coalition, [[TheAlliance a semi-cohesive organization of human]] worlds who have banded together to try to defend their worlds from aggression, using [[KineticWeaponsAreJustBetter Kinetic Weapons]], heavy armor and {{Macross Missile Massacre}}s. There's the Advent, {{transhuman}}s who [[TheExile were exiled]] by the traders' ancestors many years ago for tampering with PsychicPowers, CrystalSpiresAndTogas and FrickinLaserBeams, and are now back for {{Revenge}}. And there's the Vasari, ScaryDogmaticAliens who once ruled [[TheEmpire a huge interstellar empire,]] but whose worlds have been gradually swallowed by... [[NothingIsScarier something]]. Every ship sent to investigate this menace has disappeared, except for one ship which returned with its crew [[GoMadFromTheRevelation driven mad]]. The remnants of a Vasari colony, now surviving as nomadic PlanetLooters, have fled to this corner of the galaxy, leaving warning buoys behind them... and watching in dismay as those buoys wink out, one by one. All while the humans, who they initially thought would be easy targets, dragged them down into a HopelessWar.

* WeWillUseLasersInTheFuture: Because of their usefulness, energy weapons are used by everyone, with the Advent emphasizing them almost exclusively, the Vasari using them heavily in conjunction with their signature Phase Missiles, and even the TEC who are far behind the others in energy-based technology - use them as secondary weapons to supplement their kinetic firepower or as main weapons for some of their larger vessels. Both FrickinLaserBeams and actual plasma-beam styles exist, in every faction.

* FrickinLaserBeams: Vanilla laser weapons are fired in pulses, taking a few seconds to get to the target. Inverted with "beam" weapons, which are sustained-fire plasma/laser weapons that hit instantly.
** There is a mod that replaces standard TEC pulse lasers with thin red beams that pulse. This changes nothing in the gameplay (although, the mod may reduce your fighter/bomber count gained in expansions), but makes it look and sound more realistic (less like a ''StarWars'' blaster and more like pulsing hum). The mod only affects TEC lasers, though. The Advent ones still travel to target.

* LargeHam: Planet-bomber Capital Ships seem particularly susceptible:-

** Pirates and some Titans and corvettes in ''Rebellion''

* WaveMotionGun: The Advent Radiance Battleship's Cleansing Brilliance, and Advent Loyalist Coronata Titan's Unity Mass.

* FanFicMagnet: The ExcusePlot. It's so vague you can fill in the holes with pretty much anything.

* AuthorTract: A {{downplayed}} example with ''Forbidden Worlds'' planet bonuses. Certain types of societies give different bonuses/ disadvantages, but some are undoubtedly better than others. For example, [[PrivatelyOwnedSociety Free Market Society]] gives positive bonuses for all planet attributes, while [[AnarchyIsChaos Anarchic Society does the opposite]].

* ChummyCommies: The planetary modifier "Ordered Society" from ''Forbidden Worlds'' improves mining output and taxes but penalizes culture, allegiance and trade income. Definitely preferable to many other "Society" modifiers and a boon in certain circumstances. In a bit of [[AuthorTract commentary]] on the nature of such societies, the icon for this trait is a honeycomb.

* NoBiochemicalBarriers: Averted; planets and atmospheres of different types have different defense and population thresholds.

* NeutralsCrittersAndCreeps: ''sINS'' features SpacePirates, who actually ''can'' be made nice to. For about an hour if you give them a BegoneBribe bigger than someone else's (they are aware of what a steamroller they are, having [[GlassCannon traded shield generators for]] MoreDakka, and ZergRush to compensate for their individual fragility). If the "Space Pirate Raids" option is turned off, they camp out with a huge fleet to guard a single, low-habitability asteroid base at a crossroad of HyperspaceLanes. In the ''Rebellion'' expansion, TEC Rebels can make them permanent allies, and even hire them through their Broadcast Station buildings. Each neutral world also has [[HardCodedHostility Hard-Coded Hostile]] fleets consisting of a handfull of weak units that are never replaced. However, they at least stay home, unlike those bloody pirates.

* EnergyWeapons: Used by everyone, with the Advent emphasizing them almost exclusively, the Vasari using them heavily in conjunction with their signature Phase Missiles, and the TEC using them as secondary weapons to supplement their kinetic firepower. Both FrickinLaserBeams and actual plasma-beam styles exist, in every faction.

** However, the history of the Vasari is similar to that of the Rakata from ''KnightsOfTheOldRepublic''. Both were alien conquers who ruled over a galaxy-spanning, multitude-enslaving empire which eventually collapsed from within.

* ButThouMust: Locking teams before the game begins more or less nullifies the impact of missions: you still get offered them, and still accrue ire when you ignore them, but teams are locked, forcing TeethClenchedTeamwork! There is still an incentive to keep on your allies' good sides though, because high RelationshipValues grant access to "pacts", each of which improve both players' ships or economy in some way.

* DefenselessTransports: Carrier Cruisers and Colonizers don't have any weapons of their own. But capital ships that carry [[SpaceFighter Strike Craft]] are armed.

** TEC Loyalist: A mixture of ''Economists, Industrial, Brute Force'' and ''Spammer.'' Their manufacturing ability is practically unsurpassed and coupled with their strong economy and the fact that the TEC have some of the least expensive frigates and cruisers of any faction, they can easily build massive fleets of extremely durable warships and overpower enemies with sheer numbers. Oh, the Loyalists also get their superweapon earlier then the other factions and have reduced construction costs for said superweapon. They also get a lot of defensive bonuses, their Ankylon Titan specializes in fleet support and are able to deploy two starbases around a planet [[spoiler: and ''five'' around a star]].

** Advent Loyalist: Mixture of ''Technical, Loyal'' and ''Researchers.'' They are capable of advancing through their TechTree ''very'' quickly and their ships excel in long range firepower but lack durability; their ships have powerful shields but very weak armor and hulls. They get access to culture early and are more proficient in its use. Their Coronata Titan is capable of mind-controlling entire planets.
** Advent Rebel: Same as the Loyalist but adds ''Spammer'' to the mix. They get a research ability that allows them to respawn destroyed frigates and cruisers. Their Eradica Titan packs ''a lot'' of firepower, is able to heal itself by cannibalizing other ships and when it does get killed, it will become invulnerable and continue wreaking havoc for two minutes before going down.
** Vasari Loyalist: ''Elitists, Rangers'' and ''Espionage.'' The Vasari tend to have fewer, but more expensive units that have extremely hardened hulls. Their ships tend to use Phase Missile technology, which have the possibility of completely bypassing the shields of enemy ships. The Vasari Loyalists can generate income with their capital ships and can set their Vorastra Titan as a mobile capital world. They can also completely drain planets of resources, leaving dead husks behind.
** Vasari Rebels: Also ''Elitists, Rangers'' and ''Espionage.'' They pack the same powerful but expensive ships as the Vasari Loyalists, and go even further with upgrading their Phase Missile technology. Instead of focusing completely on self-mobilization, they get a lot of abilities that allow them to support their allies more effectively as well as making for powerful offensive tools - such as their capability to add jump engines to their already-mobile Orkulus Starbases and effectively convert them into very powerful spaceships. Their Kultorask Titan is more of a fleet support ship than an all-out combat titan, but is still capable of heavy offensive power and is very hard to kill thanks to its abilities.

*** [[TheFederation Loyalist TEC]] wants [[HoldTheLine to ride out the war through superior defensive capabilities]], [[GuileHero diplomatic maneuvering, and economic superiority]] - even if that means [[MoralDissonance ceding entire systems and leaving its populations enslaved or mind controlled]]; [[HeWhoFightsMonsters Rebel TEC]] wants [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge to crush everyone in expansionist warfare]] and react violently against what they consider to be [[WithUsOrAgainstUs "defeatist," "collaborationist", or other similarly treasonous philosophies which involve dialogue or reconciliation]] - however, they are [[DeathFromAbove not]] [[MadeASlave without]] [[GettingSmiliesPaintedOnYourSoul their]] reasons for this [[NeverBeHurtAgain mindset]].

** TEC Loyalist: A mixture of ''Economists, Industrial, Brute Force'' and ''Spammer.'' Their manufacturing ability is practically unsurpassed and coupled with their strong economy and the fact that the TEC have some of the least expensive frigates and cruisers of any faction, they can easily build massive fleets of extremely durable warships and overpower enemies with sheer numbers. Oh, the Loyalists also get their superweapon earlier then the other factions and have reduced construction costs for said superweapon. They also get a lot of defensive bonuses, their Ankylon Titan specializes in fleet support and are able to deploy two starbases around a planet.

* JustOneMoreTurn: Ohhh you better believe it.

* LightningBruiser: Late game Vasari fleets. Their ships have a nasty combination of damage, shields, and hull armor that makes engaging them in a straight fight nearly impossible if both sides are closely matched. With phase stabilizers and a Kostura Cannon their entire fleet can show up anywhere on most maps in one jump making them nearly impossible to set up hardened defenses against or sneak attack.

* EnemyMine: The TEC Rebel ''Truce Among Rogues'' upgrade allows their Radio Stations to hire pirate ships, and causes pirate fleets to leave their territory alone.