An introduction

from Sins Forums
Hi,

I've been playing a fellow Stardock strategy game, Galactic Civilizations 2: Dark Avatar, for some months now. I'd heard of Sins quite a while back(soon after I began playing GC2), but considering it as a cliche RTS clickfest, I generally ignored, merely keeping a half-an-eye on the progress of the betas on these forums. Slowly, the clickfest expectation wore down but I wasn't quite convinced.

Meanwhile, I played GC2:DA and developed techno-turtler strategies for my rare-planet games, and this eventually got monotonous(on Masochistic difficulty) so I tried out the 2 campaigns and beat them. For variety, I even tried a gigantic galaxy game with a decent colony rush, but eventually found an exploit that let me buy off planets from the AI for cheap prices and effectively stunt their progress for an easy win.

Recently, a Sins marketing barrage swept onto the GC2 forums and attracted my attention away from the general Twilight beta progression that I was watching from afar(I hadn't bought Twilight). A game example by Frogboy(a damn good marketer), general Sins discussions and the recent rave reviews that Sins has got have all had a convincing anti-clickfest effect.

So I decided to eventually try and get this game. 'Try' because it will:

1. Not happen before March. (:(
2. Require some convincing. X-(

In the meantime(the agonizing meantime watching y'all thrash away at the galaxy), I've decided to find out more about this game. I found out about the cash/metal/crystal economy, the infrastructure system, and the research system that's very different from GC2s.

I've also learnt a bit about the intriguing Sins combat system with gravity wells, special abilities, firing arcs, strikecraft, who-kills-what, etc. It makes GalCiv's combat system look pathetic, primitive, and downright stupid, but then, Sins appears to be more centered around the war aspect(the fun part :) ) when GalCiv is not centered around anything in particular.

The really appealing parts of the combat system are the way that fighters/bombers can harass bigger ships while being invulnerable to everything but flak or other fighters, and how you can take down a fear-inspiring dreadnought like the Marza or Vulkoras(whatever it's called) simply by getting a heavy-hitter behind them and opening a blast into their rear.

And, it's amazing how everyone has a different opinion of what the best capital ship is. At least until no one has done enough research to put a 'stupid' badge on any of them(several features in GC2 have obtained 'stupid' badges from expert players). :p

I'll ask a few questions now:

1. How do strikecraft work? Do they have to be stored in a carrier or hangar, or can they operate independently within a gravity well(i.e, requiring carriers only for phase-jumping between planets). And can they continue operations within a gravity well if their carrier is destroyed or jumps to another planet? If not, what happens if the carrier does get destroyed?

2. Are gravity wells 3d? That is, can you place stuff above a planet and below it, or just in a 2d disc? Or in combat, could you take control of a bomber squadron yourself and fly it around to shoot enemy flaksters from underneath? Basically, can you exploit the z-axis to a useful extent?

3. Are there any disadvantages/advantages of different kinds of weapons like beams, cannons and missiles, or are things based on the individual weapons/ships?

4. What's the name of that Advent capital ship in all the screenshots? Y'know, the quintessential space battleship with the imposing bridge and the blue lasers blazing from the front end? I just had to ask this question. :d

5. Why is the term 'frigate' used for nearly every spaceship in the game? Constructor frigate, colony frigate, trade frigate, siege frigate, LRM frigate, support frigate, blah, blah, blah. In GC2, 'frigate' means general purpose medium-sized warship which slaughters fighters but becomes useless the moment it faces anything larger. Here, it means anything that is not a cruiser or capital ship, but can move around and phase jump under it's own power.
18,116 views 6 replies
Reply #1 from Sins Forums Top
1. How do strikecraft work?
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They operate both of out carrier ship hangars (either light carrier cruisers, or capital ships). If their host ship is destroyed, they're treated as homeless and eventually run out of fuel and die (this is represented in the game as a slow hp decay with no host ship). However, they can't jump on their own to other gravity wells - they need to be docked with their host.

2. Are gravity wells 3d?
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Gravity wells are spherical, but you can't control building placement on the z-axis (they do, however, have z-axis variations when you place them, so it looks nice). Ships you can freely control on the z-axis.

3. Are there any disadvantages/advantages of different kinds of weapons
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There sure are :)

4. What's the name of that Advent capital ship in all the screenshots?
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The Radiance Battleship!

5. Why is the term 'frigate' used for nearly every spaceship in the game?
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It was probably easier to classify so that people wouldn't get confused. There's a separate frigate/cruiser factory and capital ship factory. It's just easier on the naming, I guess :P
Reply #2 from Sins Forums Top
No need for me to echo Annatar, except to agree with everything he said, and to add:

3. Are there any disadvantages/advantages of different kinds of weapons
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Yes, but not based explicitly on the beam/mass-driver/missile type of the weapon, rather based on the armor type and weapon type. For example, bombers do a lot of damage to LRM frigates because LRM frigates mount "Very Light" armor. Similiarly, flak frigates do a lot of damage to fighters/bombers, but very little to other frigates because the frigate armor is too heavy for the very small flak shells.

5. Why is the term 'frigate' used for nearly every spaceship in the game?
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All told, somewhat less than half the ships are "frigates". "Frigate" is simply a size classification, iirc between "Corvette" and "Destroyer" (neither of which are in the game, but "Cruiser", even larger, is). Frigate hulls are used to make the "workhorse" units, not large enough to be spectacular (like Battleship hulls) or mega-specialized (like Cruiser hulls in this game), but big enough for a simple role: building stuff, colonizing, scouting, front-line-grunt-work, fighter-killing, or planet-bombing. All about the same size.

As for a question you didn't number: pacing. The game, at least on Slow and Normal speed, is at a *very* leisurely pace. I was able to walk away from the machine for minutes at a time and just listen for audio cues. I play the game zoomed out 90-95% of the time. If I wanted to, I could stay zoomed out the whole game (I couldn't control the precise intra-grav-well placement of my defense structures or fleets then, though). Honestly, often it's "slower" than GalCiv because I can't just hit "turn" a bunch of times to advance through the lulls. Thankfully that will be remedied in the patch coming out within the next few days which will allow in-game speed changes (thanks Devs =) ).

I highly recommend the game.
Sins of a Solar Empire II
Reply #3 from Sins Forums Top
The recommendation isn't needed, I'm already bedazzled.
___
By what I hear here, the Advent sounds awesome. If one could get high up on antimatter and shielding technologies, a combined arms fleet would be nigh-invincible.

The Radiance's Animosity ability can keep the enemy fleet(including fighters and flak?) stupidly attacking it while Guardians pool in their shield strength to keep the tank operations running. These acts buy time as return fire from the Radiance, Guardians and bombers thrash the enemy. It would be a total turkey shoot until antimatter runs out. Or so it appears(I've never played so I can't tell).

BTW, is the Advent's addiction to crystal supposed to be a problem? Doesn't that mean that you can just sell your useless metal supplies for cash or crystal in return, or use them to put bounty on your enemies?

Yes, but not based explicitly on the beam/mass-driver/missile type of the weapon, rather based on the armor type and weapon type. For example, bombers do a lot of damage to LRM frigates because LRM frigates mount "Very Light" armor. Similiarly, flak frigates do a lot of damage to fighters/bombers, but very little to other frigates because the frigate armor is too heavy for the very small flak shells.
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One more question: Are there different tech lines for missiles, guns and beams, which result in upgrades only for ships with that kind of weapon? Like researching, say, missiles, will provide a stronger attack to your bombers, but will it give any bonus to beam-shooting capital ships?
Reply #4 from Sins Forums Top
One more question: Are there different tech lines for missiles, guns and beams, which result in upgrades only for ships with that kind of weapon? Like researching, say, missiles, will provide a stronger attack to your bombers, but will it give any bonus to beam-shooting capital ships?
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Different weapon types have their own researches and they only affect those particular weapons (whichever ships/structures have them). So missile research will only help bombers, LRM frigates, and any capital ships that use missiles (varies).
Reply #5 from Sins Forums Top
Yes, but not based explicitly on the beam/mass-driver/missile type of the weapon, rather based on the armor type and weapon type. For example, bombers do a lot of damage to LRM frigates because LRM frigates mount "Very Light" armor. Similiarly, flak frigates do a lot of damage to fighters/bombers, but very little to other frigates because the frigate armor is too heavy for the very small flak shells.
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Actually, fighters do extra damage against LRMs is the normal example. I'm not sure if bombers get the damage bonus or not, however.


One more question: Are there different tech lines for missiles, guns and beams, which result in upgrades only for ships with that kind of weapon? Like researching, say, missiles, will provide a stronger attack to your bombers, but will it give any bonus to beam-shooting capital ships?
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Weapons upgrades generally take the form of increasing the damage from a specific type of weapon. So you can upgrade missiles which will increase the damage of any missile system, but that may or may not give a bonus to a given ships.

For example, if I'm playing TEC I can research a laser upgrade, which will boost my Cobalts and all capitol ships... but if I have a Kol, the autocannon upgrade is better because a much larger percent of its damage is done via autocannons than lasers.
Reply #6 from Sins Forums Top
Thanks for the info. "LRM", I believe, stands for Long-Range Missile frigate?

Actually, fighters do extra damage against LRMs is the normal example. I'm not sure if bombers get the damage bonus or not, however.
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If fighters can dice LRM frigs, doesn't that mean other light weapons like Flak guns can cut 'em up too?

Also, how does 'antimatter' work as a game mechanic(I know about real antimatter, though.)? I understand that it is depleted by using phase jumps and special abilities, but how is it replenished, and can it be transferred at will to different ships withing one fleet, or stolen, or bought?