Sins of a Solar Empire Beta Diary 3: The all-purpose ship strike package

 

Stardock and Ironclad Games‘ Sins of a Solar Empire is a game that should appeal to fans of the 4X (explore, expand, exploit, exterminate) genre. While I’m not much a fan of the first two X’s in that list, the whole exploit and exterminate appealed to the gamer in me. Hey, you can’t go wrong with a game that has the word “exterminate” in its game description right?

In the previous Sins of a Solar Empire Beta Diaries on QJ.NET, both Sally and Charles mentioned that the game was easy. I’d like it to go on record that I only agree with them to a certain degree. Getting into the game is easy enough, and the tutorial proved to be very helpful. However, once you get into the meat and bones of the game, players will find a pretty deep and complicated interplay between the different units.

Suffice to say, I’m not going to go over the technical aspects or basic gameplay of the game. The way I see it, if you have a computer that can run Sins of a Solar Empire and you take the time to play through the tutorial, you should be all set and ready to focus your efforts towards becoming a good player. Over the course of these Beta Diaries, I hope to discuss the different tactics and strategies that players can employ in their bid for galactic domination.

The Sins of a Solar Empire Beta Diary 3 can be found in the full article.

 

Stardock and Ironclad Games‘ Sins of a Solar Empire is a game that should appeal to fans of the 4X (explore, expand, exploit, exterminate) genre. While I’m not much a fan of the first two X’s in that list, the whole exploit and exterminate appealed to the gamer in me. Hey, you can’t go wrong with a game that has the word “exterminate” in its game description right?

In the previous Sins of a Solar Empire Beta Diaries on QJ.NET, both Sally and Charles mentioned that the game was easy. I’d like it to go on record that I only agree with them to a certain degree. Getting into the game is easy enough, and the tutorial proved to be very helpful. However, once you get into the meat and bones of the game, players will find a pretty deep and complicated interplay between the different units.

Suffice to say, I’m not going to go over the technical aspects or basic gameplay of the game. The way I see it, if you have a computer that can run Sins of a Solar Empire and you take the time to play through the tutorial, you should be all set and ready to focus your efforts towards becoming a good player. Over the course of these Beta Diaries, I hope to discuss the different tactics and strategies that players can employ in their bid for galactic domination.

Perhaps the most basic thing players have to remember if they want to be good at the game is that it revolves around your fleet of ships. Every move you make in this game will revolve around the production of ships, the quality and level of experience of each one, and whether or not you have enough ships to pursue your goals. It may seem simple on paper, but it’s not.

Since the game is still on its beta stage and the ships available in the game are still subject to modification, I’ve decided to start off with some generic ship tactics that will be useful. To start off, I will be discussing the different ships and the most basic of ship combinations.

Ships can be grouped into four different classifications: close-range, long-range, support, and bombers. Each one plays an important role in battles and a good mix of all three units will serve a budding conqueror well as it provides contingencies against most enemy tactics.

Close range ships, are fighters focused on blowing up other ships from, well, close range. These vehicles normally have decent shields and hull ratings combined with a good damage output. On the opposite side of the spectrum, long range ships aim to deal huge amounts of damage from a distance. While their shields and hull rating are pretty much at the bottom of the list, their potent weaponry more than makes up for it.

Support ships are a unit that most players tend to skip since they can’t do much damage on their own. However, these vehicles buffs the rest of your fleet making them more effective in battle. Experienced players will probably want to build one or even two of these units if they plan on beating other human opponents.

Finally, we have the bombers. These vehicles are generally crappy in space and can do very little to help your armada in a battle. However, they are a necessity since they are the only units that can bomb inhabited planets, paving the way for your invasion.

From what I’ve seen, less experienced gamers would probably build units willy-nilly and win by sheer attrition. More experienced gamers would probably stick to one or two general purpose units and focus on a single method of destruction (i.e. Javelis LRM and Capital Ships). I also found that using a mix of different units grouped into multi-purpose “strike packages” work extremely well for most situations.

A good mix of units would have a player building three close ranged fighters, two long-ranged ships, one bomber or support vehicle, and one Capital Ship per group. From my experience, three Cobalt Light Frigates, two Javelis LRMs, any one Cruiser (I prefer the Kodiak Heavy Cruiser or the Cielo Command Cruiser), and one Sova Carrier in a single strike package make an efficient all around fighting force.

In an encounter, you can normally wipe out an opposing force of equal or slightly greater strength without taking any casualties through proper micro-management. Here’s an example of one of how I handle battles with the “strike package” I just detailed previously:

Once I’ve engaged the enemy in a contested sector, I have the Sova Cruiser deploy two missile turrets while focusing all my fire on the opponent’s weaker ships such as the LRM Javelis or any of the support vehicles. After that I start picking off the enemy units that cause the most damage. At this point all that’s left is simple clean-up duty where you take out the remaining stragglers.

Another advantage of these combined force units is that they are relatively autonomous. If you use the Hoshiko Robotics Cruiser, you will find that you can leave the entire strike package in an area and have it defend against opponents with little-to-no micromanagement. Combine this with a repair platform and you’ve effectively walled off the area from invading forces.

In larger games, I tend to create six to eight groups balanced in this manner, That is normally enough to ensure a good defense for your territories and should provide you with enough firepower to introduce your opponents to your benevolent rule.

If your opponent decides to focus on one or two ships like the common capital ship Javelis LRM strategy, you might want to change the ships you will be including in each package. Players shouldn’t be afraid to vary the capital and close range ships depending on the need of your specific campaign. After that you can then dismantle the ships or keep using it depending on the situation.

In future articles I hope to discuss other specialized ship combinations as well as the basics of establishing a good economy to support your war effort. Till then, I’d like to remind you to check back here for our next entry in the QJ.NET Sins of a Solar Empire Beta Diary.