I'd like to buy the game

1. I would say no.

2. I would say yes, in my opinion Entrenchment is a much better game (I don't just want your money).

3. Yes you can and I'd encourage you to do so.

4. An hour or two. You can also adjust the speed settings for slower/faster. You can save online/LAN matches to pick up later.

5. Yes.

6. The demo is quite outdated. The game has improved drastically since that was released.

1. depends. ultimately, the whole game is about finding an appropriate balance between scouting, expanding / colonizing planets, economy and building up a strike force.

appropriate means that especially on very small maps (where your homeworld lies just next door to the enemy´s), you would want to focus more on pure military force to quickly crush your enemy and neglect the other things, for example.

so, (very) early engagements CAN take place, but it is more likely that you build up your fleet on the way. you will lose a few ships in the beginning due to neutral factions who are guarding the colonizable planets, but it is not until you encounter your "real" enemy that you really have to worry about that.

it is not the case, however, that your ships are somehow damaged because of the travelling, if that is what you meant. they lose antimatter (which is used for special abilities and regenerates over time) during the flight, but otherwise remain fully operational.

2. definitely yes. it makes the whole game a lot better, the starbases alone make a huge positive difference.

3. yes, as said before by blair. i´m not 100% sure, but it should work the way that both installations are considered "your" game (the same account). so you two won´t be able to play online at the same time, but LAN should work perfectly.

4. again, as said by blair already, 1-2 hours, depending on game settings. it is more likely though that one (human) faction eventually gives up when it is obvious who is going to win.

5. yes IMMO, there is still some work to do with overall (unit) balancing, but the developers are on a good way.

gl hf

And Blair answering you in the middle of the night should be a pretty good indication.

Rock, I hope you've noticed the close attention that Ironclad pays to Sins. If you've not already done so, look through the numerous thread here in these forums. In these times where games are flashy and shallow, promise much and deliver little, it's almost surprising that a game like Sins (with enormous depth) exist. Regular updates are a bonus, as is new content like Entrenchment and the following two exp packs "when they're ready".

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You'll definitely be occupied with the game at the start of the game; it's not boring.  In the beginning you are looking over the map and contemplating what your strategy might be.  You can in fact have early game engagements depending on your players' starting positions.  Sometimes you might get into an early game fight over a planet that's between you and an opponent.  You might also "rush" attack your opponent's planets or vice versa.

Just about everyone who plays the game regularly in online multiplayer has the expansion and most of the available games require the expansion, so plan on dropping $10 on it.

A 2v2 would probably be decided within about an hour.  Most 3v3, 4v4, and 5v5 games are decided within an hour-and-a-half and most are over within two hours or not much longer, but some can go on for a while longer if they are competitive.  Often, once the game has been decided, players on the losing team will say "gg" and begin quitting with the game ending when the last opposing player either quits or surrenders.  So, most of the time it is not necessary to go through the motions and mop everything up though sometimes there are sore losers who will just minimize the game and refuse to quit, forcing you and your allies to mop it up.

Well, you should be aware that although the game must have sold over 600,000 copies, only a tiny percentage of purchasers ever considered playing the game in online multiplayer and that, very sadly, the online multiplayer player counts are far, far lower than what this game deserves.  Lately I've been seeing about 130 people playing online during North American prime time.  Generally, it isn't too difficult to find a game during North American prime time, but it might be hard to find exacly what you want in terms of game settings, number of players, and skill level.

Also, most players are pretty experienced now, so it might be difficult for a new player to get online and be immediately competitive.  Of course, you should spend two or three weeks playing single player against the AI, but even if you become a great single player, you'll discover that the online multiplayer game is a very different animal and that you are going to have to take your lumps at the beginning.

The other large concern right now is that the online multiplayer player counts might drop below a self-sustaining level, even during North American prime time, once Starcraft 2 is released.

Thanks for the replies guys

Centurion, you certainly demoralize me a bit but so long as there is a great community there's always a game that can be found by challenging a fellow member.

As for the experience, online does go a little wild but will never get it till I do it.  Much like starcrafts.  It's a huge leap between single player and multiplayer games.

Again, thanks Sweegs, Annatar, Han, and Blair (especially if it was the middle of the night ;))  I look forward to buying the game real soon!

Well, I'm not trying to demoralize you.  Rather, I'm just trying to paint an accurate picture of the situation.  If your interest is online multiplayer you need to seriously consider the issues I raised before purchasing the game.  If you plan to play during North American prime time then you'll probably be able to find games without much problem for the next couple of months.  In general it isn't too hard to find games between 4 pm and 1 am U.S. EST, but like I said, no promises about being able to find games with certain settings or player skill levels; you play who's available.

[DT]WHIPperSNAPper/DirtySanchez