Doctor J

Reply to TotalGaming.net is Transitioning to Impulse in TGN News Stardock Forums

Hi there. It would appear that the push to Impulse is more of a rough shove... Last week I e-mailed TGN/Stardock customer service, explaining that I had some tokens and wanted to purchase Sword of the Stars expansion game. I already have the original game, purchased retail and was concerned that a TGN purchased expansion wouldn't work with that. As I recieved no response over the weekend, and out of sheer desire for something new, I took the chance and bought it

Reply to TotalGaming.net is Transitioning to Impulse in TGN News Stardock Forums

[quote]There's nothing more insulting to any employee than to have someone say, "WE pay YOUR salaries!" I wish the token system had stayed too, but I don't think that SD is committing a cardinal sin by changing their business model. And, I think they could survive fine if I wasn't personally buying a game once in a while to "pay their salary", too.[/quote] I was shocked when I came to buy some tokens today. Now, more shocked at how poorly this change was communicated. Like othe

Reply to A victory for strategy gamers! in Sins News Sins Forums

Nice job! For what its worth, I heard about SINS from Stardock, probably via an e-mail. The GalCiv series and SINS have not disspointed me. (Hey, if you're looking for something else to work on a game with the epic feel of SINS, the stetegery of GalCiv, and with the immersion of X3 would be swell. I think our PCs can handle it at this point?)

Reply to Should ships just stand completely still in battle? in Sins of a Solar Empire Sins Forums

It sorta bugs me too that they just sit there, shooting, until they either kill what they are shooting at or die. However, I'm willing to put up with it, except I really think we should be able to set our ships up with a sort of 'pain threshold' where they automatically retreat if they are getting torn up. Maybe there is a way to do that already and I just haven't figured it out.

Reply to Strategy question in Strategy Sins Forums

Try setting up your empire with only one or two bottlenecks. HEAVILY build system defenses in both. Those will slow down, or perhaps even eliminate the attackers for you. Be sure to add several bomber hangers. Pirates, as far as I can tell, never use strikecraft and are susceptible to bombers. If they evade your turret defenses at least the bombers can work on em. An handfull of frigates, combined with a pile of gauss cannons, repair stations, and bomber support can really get you far.

Reply to race strengths in Sins of a Solar Empire Sins Forums

Well..... This is coming from my Beta experience and the current manual and about 5 hours of playing the final release. I'm sure I'll be quickly smacked down if I'm off. TEC: start out with weaker ships and higher productivity. Since T stands for Trade you'll probably find they have an economy advantage. This is the most straightforward race to play. Advent: think wizards. They have all the magic stuff, er psionic powers or whatever. I can't say much more than that. Th

Reply to how long does download take?? in Sins of a Solar Empire Sins Forums

'Twas 1 hour 10 minutes with my DSL line.

Reply to Dipping a Toe into Multiplayer in Sins Multiplayer Sins Forums

:SURPRISED: Noooooo! Please Lord KOSC, don't crush noobs! And what's wrong with Multianna? Have you got something against the Dutch?

Reply to Looking for Artifacts - Useful at Last?!!! in Sins of a Solar Empire Sins Forums

Oooh! Other planey bonuses? Yay!

Looking for Artifacts - Useful at Last?!!! in Sins of a Solar Empire Sins Forums

In Beta 3 and 4 I would search my planets for artifacts and rarely ever find anything. And if I did, it wasn't so useful by the time I got it. In my first full SINS game last night I actually found an artifact fairly early on (mid-game, when I was positioning to take the AI on headfirst). It game my ships 10% faster mana, er anti-matter regeneration. Has anyone else found that artifact-hunting has become more useful in the published game? Or, was it just a lucky find for me, f

Determining AI strategy - End of Game in Sins of a Solar Empire Sins Forums

As part of the single player startup options, on the screen where you can choose which race you are playing and what the AI will be, there is an option to set the AI's strategy. I didn't look at the options carefully, since the default 'random' strategy sounded good. However, now that I've finished that game, I was wondering if there is a way to tell what strategy the AI used? Also, if I replay the video of the game, can I watch what the AI did instead of just relive my own experience?<

Reply to Am I a crappy player when.... in Sins of a Solar Empire Sins Forums

I got me arse handed to me in less than an hour. In a sense, I don't have the 'Whaaaaa game is too slow/lasts too long!' complaint. But tonight, tonight the pirates will PAY! :(

Reply to Well, I am NOT disapointed! (lol) in Sins of a Solar Empire Sins Forums

Yay! Words of support are refreshing. I like the game too. :CONGRAT:

Dipping a Toe into Multiplayer in Sins Multiplayer Sins Forums

I started SINS in Beta 3. When it comes to gaming, I play a lot, but I spread my time around. A game like SINS takes me a long time to get comfortable playing. I have to be honest, I have not even tried Multiplayer. Here's Why: I am afraid that I'll be working real hard at it, finally sending my first colony ship to that asteroid over there when a MONSTER fleet of 500 ships sent by Ron Lugge, Lord Kosk, or Multianna crushes me under heel. Does anyone else struggle with

Tutorials - Possible Bug? in Technical Sins Forums

I only had about 30 minutes to play last night so I decided to try the tutorials just to get an idea of the changes since Beta. I started the first tutorial, "Basic" I think it was. The game started with me having no combat ships, one worker ship, a light shipyard, and the system under attack by one standard frigate and one siege frigate NPC. I cranked out a few standard frigates and they started working on the invaders, but no damage was being done to any ship or structure. Th

Reply to refunds in Beta Feedback Sins Forums

I suppose you could transfer your entire Stardock account to someone else - not that doing so would be in any way an ethical thing to do and probably violates several state and federal laws. Its only a handful of tokens, and maybe you will have time to play in a year or two. Why worry about it? By the way, congratulations!

Reply to Flagships in Beta Feedback Sins Forums

[quote]like if you jumped into a system and saw your enemys FLAGSHIP staring you in the face, you would probably poo your pants... because its their FLAGSHIP![/quote] I don't know about everyone else, but when this happens for me I think, "Oh what a big, fat, lovely target!

Reply to Battles around the sun :( in Sins of a Solar Empire Sins Forums

I haven't had to fight much around suns, since the AI is so pitiful. But.... I think the slow movement and inability to build defenses add a lot of character to it as an entry point. It seems to me a good way to defend a sun would be with carriers popping in from nearby systems rather than with the usual horde of frigates and cap ships. Pleeez though, don't make suns bigger. Getting around 'em to go to a new system is already painful enough.

Reply to this is BETA in Sins of a Solar Empire Sins Forums

Very cute. You need a hobby or something, though.

Reply to Can you enjoy the view ? in Sins of a Solar Empire Sins Forums

Welcome. [quote]So are you playing little dots most of the time because you have to manage resources,building fleets etc.and you don't have time to enjoy the view very much ????[/quote] Yep. Well, I do it that way. I have said before that when I play I sort of feel like a Harpy. Other players more or less told me to get over it. I guess I can say two things: the game is still in Beta so it might change a little (but I doubt it will change that much). Also, the other folks said

Reply to Sins Beta 4 Technical Feedback - *POST HERE* in Sins of a Solar Empire Sins Forums

Failed to find StringID: 'IDS_PLANETDETAILSINFOCARD_CULTURETAKEOVERSTATUS_ALMOSTLOST'. NOTE: Any following StringID failures will be supressed. I have the game saved right after I saw this, if thats of any use.

Reply to LordKosc's Vasari Mod (Truthful to the LORE) in Sins Modding Sins Forums

[quote]Oh well... At least he's right about them being horrific cheese with a slow start even if he is a complete asshat on every level. [/quote] What's an 'asshat'?

Reply to Sins Beta 4 Gameplay Feedback - *POST HERE* in Sins of a Solar Empire Sins Forums

I just had an idea that might make the Vasari issue work out. Make Vasari production even more expensive than it is now. Way more. BUT, make their most powerful weapon and shield techs cheap and early in the tree. Make their later techs stuff that make it cheaper for them to produce ships and upgrade planets and structures. The TEC already have cheap, but weak ships with the most powerful techs way up the tree. If done right, this would make the Vasari player try and f

Reply to Sins Beta 4 Gameplay Feedback - *POST HERE* in Sins of a Solar Empire Sins Forums

I played a couple of games, small and medium maps this weekend, with Beta 4. There weren't any bugs that I could find, but a couple of thematic issues and an AI flaw that should be addressed (I think). Thematic: The Vasari are supposed to be on the run from a god-like power and find the TEC as unorganized slave-fodder. However, in single player games the Vasari are fairly evenly matched with and often aligned with TEC players! This sort of thing makes sense for multi-p

Reply to Pink Space ponies website in Sins Clans Sins Forums

The link hasn't worked for me so far. Must be a lot of traffic! What's a pink space pony?