General

Q. When will Sins of a Solar Empire be released?
A. Sins of a Solar Empire is expected to be released in 2006.

Q. What platforms will be supported?
A. At this time, Sins of a Solar Empire will only be released for Windows XP however the technology, gameplay, and user interface were designed with consoles in mind. We are evaluating the possibility of a multi-platform release.

Q. If Sins of a Solar Empire was designed with consoles in mind, does this mean the user interface for a PC player will suffer?
A. No, in fact, two completely separate user interface schemes were developed: one for mouse (and optionally keyboard) and one for a control pad.

Q. What languages will be supported?
A. Sins of a Solar Empire will certainly be released in English. The Iron Engine is designed for ease of localization so, from a technical standpoint, additional languages can be integrated easily.

Q. What are the hardware requirements?
A. The Iron Engine takes advantage of the latest machines and scales to support older machines but, a minimum requirement has not been determined. We are committed to bringing Sins of a Solar Empire to the broadest possible audience.

Q. Is there an official SINS web forum?
Yes. Visit our official forum.

Multiplayer

NEW Q:  What do you mean by anonymous matchmaking?
A:  When you choose to search for a game in this format, Ironclad Online will examine the pool of other searching players and attempt to place you into a game of your selected type against an opponent or opponents of relatively equal skill.  Games played in such a manner will count towards your standing on that format’s competitive ladder.

NEW Q:  What game formats will be supported?
A:   While this will be determined in part by the popularity of potential formats in the pre-release online beta test, we expect at minimum to support 1v1 and small scale free for all game formats.

NEW Q: Will it be possible to join games in progress?
A: No, games may only be joined before they are started..

Q. What is the maximum number of players allowed within a game?
A. Up to 10 players can play at the same time.

Q. Can I play on a local area network?
A. Yes.

Q. Can I play on the internet?
A. Yes. A free subscription to IroncladOnline is included with the purchase of Sins of a Solar Empire. IroncladOnline provides internet matchmaking, statistics tracking, player ranking, and more.

Q. Will there be an Observer mode?
A. Yes.

Technology

Q. What engine does Sins of a Solar Empire use?
A. Sins of a Solar Empire is powered by the Iron Engine and Forge Tool Suite. All technology was developed in-house by experienced engine and tool developers.

Q. What graphics technologies are implemented in Sins of a Solar Empire?
A. The Iron Engine has full DirectX 9c support. For a more comprehensive list of features click here.

Q. What are the supported screen resolutions?
A. Sins of a Solar Empire has a minimum resolution of 1024x768 and a maximum limited by one's own hardware.

Q. Does the Iron Engine support modding?
A. Absolutely. Ironclad fully endorses the modding of its games for non-profit purposes. The Iron Engine is completely data-driven, has an embedded Lua Scripting Engine with console access, and is supported by the Forge Tool Suite. Modding instructions and the Forge Tool Suite will be provided.

Q. Can I record my games?
A. Yes.

Gameplay

NEW Q: How can players control the movement of capital ships?
A: Selected capital ships can be ordered to move towards another capital ship, orbital structure, or planet simply by right-clicking on them.  Issuing movement to arbitrary positions in 3D space is also possible as an advanced feature.

NEW Q: What are fighters and what degree of control will I have over them?
A:  Fighters are small, relatively agile attack craft that fight alongside their parent capital ship.  While fighters will behave autonomously and choose appropriate targets they will be particularly effective against, players can elect to assign specific targets for them.  Additionally players will have control over when to launch and dock fighters.

NEW Q: Is there ground combat in SINS?
A: RTS style ground combat is outside the scope of this title.

Q. What exactly do you mean by the phrase "real time space strategy"?
A. This means that Sins of a Solar Empire is primarily a real-time strategy game (RTS) but, incorporates some of the best features of space strategy games (4X). One could almost say it's an "RT4X" game.

Real-time refers to the continuity of play. Most space strategy games are at least partially turn based which means each player must wait for the other players to complete their turns before the game can continue. Sins of a Solar Empire is played entirely in real time, meaning players compete simultaneously and are never waiting.

Q. Can you give some examples of features borrowed from classic space strategy (4X) games?
A.

• Galaxy exploration.
• Resource exploitation.
• Enemy extermination.
• Empire expansion.
• Planet development (both on land and in orbit).
• Coordination of multiple starship fleets.
• Numerous economic and diplomatic strategies.
• A deep research and technology system.

Q.What exactly do you mean by the phrase "epic scale"?
A. The story and lore begin over ten thousand years ago, involve entire civilizations, and are planned well into the future.

Gameplay objectives include grand concepts like: conquering planets with fleets of starships, and taking control of entire solar systems.

Incredible distances and large size differences are used to create a sense of awe and to introduce new strategic elements.