# Sins of a Solar Empire **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [December 9, 2008, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sins-of-a-solar-empire/476455 "2008-12-09T21:33:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2008, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sins-of-a-solar-empire/476455/1 "2008-12-09T21:33:49Z")
I just downloaded this last night. It came recommended in a recent thread, and it appears to be my kind of immersive RTS sort of game. I’ve literally only put 30 minutes into it so far, but I can see some good and bad. Has anyone else played this? What do you think of the controls, the interface, etc.? Any tips for a noob just getting started? ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2008, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sins-of-a-solar-empire/476455/2 "2008-12-09T21:55:14Z")
\*\*xtisme \*\*should be along to help you out. I never got it, and I regret it, but I didn’t have time at the time, and now I’ve got too many games. I don’t even know if it’d run on this laptop. ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2008, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sins-of-a-solar-empire/476455/3 "2008-12-09T22:07:36Z")
It should run on even low-end semi-modern laptops as it ran just fine on my ancient desktop before its CPU melted, at least. The graphics won’t be as good, but meh, the game is still fun. There are a few old threads out there about it, but yeah, the controls and UI are both awesome. It’s a hugely fun game. Some early starting tips: -choosing the psychic hippie race and researching the technology for your cap ships to continuously gain experience can really make a difference -hangars. Build hangars. A stiff defense of bombers and fighters will chase off anything but the most determined assault on one of your worlds, and should buy you enough time to get your fleet into action. ---
**Author:** ![Roulette](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8dc957/32.png) [@Roulette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roulette)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2008, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sins-of-a-solar-empire/476455/4 "2008-12-09T22:08:04Z")
I enjoyed it. Honestly, I enjoyed it enough that I really got involved in Stardock publisher. It’s not without flaws though. I was hoping it would be a little more 3d, but it plays more 2d. Also, every time I played a game, I eventually reached a point where the game became repetitive. I really couldn’t put my finger on it, but the game just seemed to flat line once the borders were drawn and the weaker empires wiped out. It just lacked that continuing advancement for me. I’m not sure why. But it was a lot of fun. I put at lot of hours into it and enjoyed it thoroughly. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2008, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sins-of-a-solar-empire/476455/5 "2008-12-09T23:09:27Z")
It’s a pretty good game. It’s got no real 3-D aspects to it, and the fact that you can’t really control what’s going on in a battle makes it less fun than, say, Homeworld is a bit of a downcheck, but given the scale on which you can play, it would be damn near impossible to micromanage at that level anyway. I’d love to play it in PvP, rather than against bots. It would be an awesome game that way. ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sins-of-a-solar-empire/476455/6 "2008-12-10T00:23:09Z")
I’m a fan of it. ---
**Author:** ![PopeJewish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@PopeJewish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PopeJewish)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sins-of-a-solar-empire/476455/7 "2008-12-10T05:10:48Z")
I only got to play a little of it, but I really enjoyed it. THe scope was amazing, but it was easy enough to manage all your units even despite that fact. My biggest complaint was that ships don’t turn in place if you want them to turn around. If I told a few units to retreat they’d invariably move forward, into fire, make a long arching turn that took them into several other lines of fire, and then they’d burst into a firey death. If they’d just turned in place like a ship in space is perfectly capable of doing, things would have gone over much more smoothly for them… insolent bastards… ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sins-of-a-solar-empire/476455/8 "2008-12-10T14:56:14Z")
> [@PopeJewish](#): > > If they’d just turned in place like a ship in space is perfectly capable of doing Doesn’t inertia prevent this? ---
**Author:** ![troub](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troub/32/14802_2.png) [@troub](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/troub)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sins-of-a-solar-empire/476455/9 "2008-12-10T15:28:45Z")
> [@FinnAgain](#): > > Doesn’t inertia prevent this? Not if the ship is sitting still to start with. IIRC, even stationary ships make such arcing turns. I haven’t played it in months, damn grad school. ---
**Author:** ![troub](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troub/32/14802_2.png) [@troub](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/troub)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sins-of-a-solar-empire/476455/10 "2008-12-10T15:40:05Z")
Can’t edit, but of course I realize that “stationary” in space is. . .well. . .everything’s relative. But regardless, if everything else is moving in the same direction at the same speed, so your ship _appears_ stationary on the screen, the maneuver would still have the effect of rotating in place. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sins-of-a-solar-empire/476455/11 "2008-12-10T23:43:57Z")
Yes, one presumes spaceships would be built with thrusters allowing them to pivot on an axis and apply their jets or other main mode of accelleration in a different direction, unlike a jet airplane, which cannot easily do so because of needing to stay aloft in the air.