Sins of a Solar Empire announces Expansion #2

Overheal

The studio also made a brief showing of the next Sins of a Solar Empire microexpansion, Diplomacy. Diplomacy will, like the last microexpansion, Entrenchment, sell for $9.95 and will offer new gameplay content to the space strategy game. Diplomacy will add new interfaction diplomacy features and new diplomatic tech-tree options to research, including the ability to form treaties with other alien races and to trade treaties with other races. While Sins of a Solar Empire currently has an excellent space combat system, it doesn't have a way to manage relations with other space races, so the new microexpansion will draw inspiration from the diplomacy system of Galactic Civilizations II. Diplomacy will go into beta this fall and is planned to launch next year.

The big-'n-splashy reveal should happen at Penny Arcade Expo, but Stardock's already teasing a new expansion for its gi-normous real-time strategy game Sins of a Solar Empire. It's dubbed Sins of a Solar Empire: Diplomacy, and Stardock prez Brad Wardell calls it a "micro-expansion pack" that will "vastly increase the amount of diplomatic options available to players in the game and help make forging good relations with other empires a major option for would-be galactic conquerors."

Reportedly the expansion adds a new diplomatic tech tree that'll let you bolster your deal-brokering skills, adds diplomatic envoy ships (presumably to help craft treaties or facilitate dialogue during hostilities), and allows you to craft trade treaties with other factions.

The beta kicks off this fall, and it'll be a lengthy beta--the general release isn't due until winter 2010 (winter on the frontside, that is [February!! - Overheal]). I guess we should be grateful it's only half a year in testing, considering how long real diplomacy can take.
The fellow in the shot above (from the teaser post) looks a bit unhappy. Perhaps that's because he has no eyes. Or maybe it's the fact that he's chewing on plasteel (i.e. plastic-plus-steel, ain't sci-fi futurists clever?). Maybe he's feeling despondent in that pseudo-Grecian helmet. Or maybe he's secretly Iggy Pop.

Never played Sins of a Solar Empire? Oh dear. Read this, go stand in the corner for exactly 4-point-X minutes, then off with you to snatch down a copy. $30 is embarrassingly cheap.

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As of last year the game had already quietly sold 500 million copies.

Sins and the first expansion, Entrenchment, as always are here for $34.95. Or, totally free, mostly due in fact to Stardock's refreshingly liberal policies.
I want beta Now

And while I totally agree with the Diplomacy needing expansion, so too do the capital Ship battles - I'd love if they were more like Star Wars Empire at War.

Zeouterlimits

Overheal wrote: »

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As of last year the game had already quietly sold 500 million copies.

I believe you meant 500,000 copies .
Great game though, and Diplomacy does sound great.

Kiith

Overheal wrote: »

As of last year the game had already quietly sold 500 million copies

Thats some success story :P

Great game btw.

Overheal

Zeouterlimits wrote: »

I believe you meant 500,000 copies .
Great game though, and Diplomacy does sound great.

Pfft. On Earth maybe.

Mantel

Pity they take so long to do the expansions, would be nice if they worked faster at least they have a long pubicish beta test that gives them good results.

Maximilian

TBH I'm not sure its worth it. The last expansion pretty much just added starbases and tweaked a few things here and there.

There are free mods for Sins that do far more. The Star Wars one is pretty cool for example.

Overheal

if they did all 3 as one $30 expansion though, suddenly it becomes "Worth it" :rolleyes: