Sin of a Solar Empire

[mongoose56]

I just go this game and I'm incredibly addicted to it...but i completely suck lol. I played all the tutorials and tried my hand at a few easy solo games but i keep getting completely overrun. What usually happens is I start out fine, I gain a planet/asteroid or two, create a decent sized fleet for each area. Then pirates start to wear my fleet down. The other team (I've only been playing with one othe cpu) the join with the pirates, gain one of my lost planets/asteroids. Then I try to grow my fleet with a couple Capital Ships and whatnot, then out of nowhere the other team will invade my planet with a HUGE fleet. Like literally 3 times the size of mine. How does this keep happening? and any beginner tips?

[Vindekarr]

'Aight.

 

Well a cap from the start helps, and running on an easy AI. BUT MY BIGGEST AND BEST TIP IS THIS: KEEP THE FLEET TOGETHER. DO NOT break it up to guard your sector, keep it together and use the move known as the "bulldozer"-slam into them with all your ships in a single giant swarm. Unless you're up against the vasari you dont need to proctect every world, just the ones on the border, so grab a big zergswarm and keep it together, moving as unit. Also, learn your capital ships off by heart-a Marza can out dps nigh anything, a Radiance is a fleet's worth of durability in it's own right, and the advent carrier can raid with impugnity thanks to it's millions of fighters.

 

But when the pirates come around in Raid Season, buy them off. Send the pirates to do your dirty work.

 

Secondly, what race? I play the Advent because they're sneaky, but the bugs(vasari) and the psychos(advent) are hard to play as a noob. I'd recomend you just start TEC,

 

Thirdly. Build up militarily. You'll want a few caps-I often run whole fleets of the things, and make sure they're at the max practical level.

 

You want a BIG fleet as soon as you can get it, and try and catch the AI napping, it really really helps if you can lunge forward early and smash their homeworld while they're still waking up.

 

To help you out, my usualy first 30 seconds as tec is this:

 

first thing: capital factory and 1 Kol BS.

 

second: 5 arcova scouts, all in auto scout mode.

 

third, protev coloniser

 

fourth, as many cobalts as I can afford.

 

I then bulldoze forward with the Kol using the cobalts to capture the local area. The Kol, or even better, the Radiance, my fav ship, make great early bulldozers, and bulldozing through colonies is a great early move. Another is to use them as a barrier. If you find, say a Terran world with a defense force you can crack, go around it and use that world like a wall. If someone tries to invade they've got to bulldoze the terran AI colony out of the way first,and that will cost them bruises.

[mongoose56]

So I've been playing for a few hours now and I've been doing pretty well, a lot better than I was. When I feel like I'm done for the night I'll post an update to see how i was doing, but quick question, does going into the game menu pause the game? Because I've been using it as a pause to the game like 12 times now

[Vindekarr]

Yup, you hit "MENU" at top of screen to pause-science, underworld and diplomacy dont pause however, they're in real time.

 

Some more advice for you-NEVER trust the AI, they are programmed to backstab you, oh, and dont give em more than 200 worth of metal/crystal or 1000 credits, if they do something crazy like asking for 5000 credits, and sometimes they very well do, DO NOT give it to them unless you desperately need them on side, otherwise, they'll probably make a fleet with that or do some uber-research.

 

Use the diplomacy window as a weapon-done right, you can cause some real mayhem with this, like making one empire really rich early on and then peace treatying them, so you essentialy get this rowdy military behemoth off conquering the enemy and weakening themselves in your name, while you build up your fleet and prepare your doublecross.

 

Also, try timing your invasion to co-incide with pirate raids, use those savage picts as cannon fodder to soften the enemy up and then land a killer punch with a much smaller fleet than you'd need otherwise. Dont actualy charge in alongside them, as they'll shoot at you not the enemy, but by all means, let the 'rats lead the way, they make a great advance guard, especialy with factions like the Vasari who cant afford to lose many vessels.

 

Be cunning, be sneaky, and experiment, like EVE, this game really rewards unorthadox tactics and quick thinking.

[mongoose56]

daaaaaaaaaaaamn, just played my first full game, well technically maybe not full because i only did that basic first game option when u choose what you want to pley, and i guess it lasted 6 hours. damn time flew by lol. I used a mix of all the advice (on this and other forums) and destroy the other team. This game really does have epic battles and the cinematic mode is like star wars X10 lol. As soon as I get a chance I'm guna read up on the other advice I didn't get to look at, my mind is so toasted, mainly cuz its 4am here lol

[daterxies]

yea i really like sins but that is the main problem is it takes up so much time and it goes SOOO fast. But it is a really cool game and you can have really intense epic battles ;)