#Sins of a solar empire vasari strategy plus#

You may research these sub-branches at different rates, but since capital ships consume much greater amounts of your resource capacity than frigates or cruisers, it is in your best interests to keep both at a similar level otherwise it is difficult to maintain a good balance between capital ships and the smaller frigates and cruisers. The two sub-branches of this tree increase the number of capital ships you can maintain in your fleet and the percentage of your income needed to supply your fleet. Undoubtedly, the tech tree youвЂ™ll most want to concentrate on early in the game is the one governing your fleet capacity. These stations are relatively cheap to produce however, meaning that you can cherry-pick items from near the top of the research tree quite quickly. However, there is a dependency on the number of research stations you have for each tree (military or social) to unlock each tier of research. Relatively few research items have prerequisites, so you donвЂ™t need to slavishly plough your way through the entire tech tree if thereвЂ™s one particular thing youвЂ™re after.

#Sins of a solar empire vasari strategy plus#

There are separate trees for military technology and societal advancements, plus a separate tree that governs your fleet capacity. The differences between each faction really manifest themselves in the tech tree, which is pleasingly complex. Personally, I prefer the Advent, if only for the haughty cruisers which reply вЂњWeвЂ™ll consider itвЂќ dismissively whenever you give them an order вЂ“ a very nice touch. The races are quite nicely balanced, and it will probably take you a couple of play-throughs before you find a favourite.

The Vasari arguably have the technological edge of the three factions, having some weapons that will bypass a shipвЂ™s shields entirely. Finally, the Vasari are the dastardly aliens of the piece, being equipped with very tough (but very expensive) ships. Naturally, they have a very different philosophy to the TEC, utilising energy weapons (rather than ballistic weapons, such as autocannons) and have a balanced fleet that utilises the strengths of their hive mind, being very mutually supportive.

The Advent are a sect of religious nutters that were cast out by the TEC for worshipping вЂњthe UnityвЂќ, a religion which heightens psychic powers. The TEC represent the typical hero-human society, having no real special powers to speak of, but being very industrious and having a fleet that lends itself to the mass production of ships. Like any self-respecting RTS these days, Sins features three playable factions: the Trader Emergency Coalition (TEC), the Advent and the Vasari. Thankfully, Sins sidesteps the biggest ones, stumbling into only the odd interface niggle вЂ“ but more on that later. Obviously, the potential pitfalls of merging two genres like this are as huge as they are plentiful. It takes вЂ4XвЂ™ (eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, eXterminate) gameplay, normally associated with turn-based strategies like Civilization, and marries it with a grand-scale real-time strategy, making the game play like a cross between Galactic Civilizations II and Supreme Commander. Sins of a Solar Empire isnвЂ™t a standard real-time strategy, but what one of those self-consciously cool tech-evangelists would call a mash-up.

Why would I want to bother piddling about conquering one pitiful little dirtball when thereвЂ™s an entire galaxy out there just waiting for my harsh, but ultimately fair, leadership? Sins of a Solar Empire offers just that opportunity of galactic domination youвЂ™ve been waiting for. For me, itвЂ™s more a symptom of my megalomaniac complex. You might not think it to look at me, but I actually have something in common with James Bond.