No Updates/Little News in the past 6 Weeks or So. Is Sins Being Updated Anymore?

from Sins Forums

Little news has been posted in the past 6 weeks or so and there haven't been any updates in awhile.  Is Sins still being updated and receiving the attention that this great game deserves?

I thought there were going to be two more mini-addons.  Are those still planned?  What's up?  Things have gotten very quiet.  I'd hate to see this great game die.

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Reply #1 from Sins Forums Top

Ironclad is working on the second mini-expansion. It's a big overhaul to the diplomacy aspect of Sins.

 

:fox:

Reply #2 from Sins Forums Top

B) :borg: Stardock & Ironclad won't stop updating this game, you kidding. :P This game is among the best known strategy games there is. no one else has made an epic game set in space like this one.

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Reply #4 from Sins Forums Top

Yeah, I have to point out that IronClad is starting to fail at the incredible level of community involvement that made Sins such a polished initial release. Sorry, Brad, but the *crickets* are reflecting badly on the title. It's one thing to cater to the long-time fans, but you have to put a different face on to attract new players that will eventually drive the game forward, and that requires lots of visibility that doesn't seem to be occurring.

I can't speak for everyone but when I am considering buying a critically acclaimed game that's already been out for a while, one of the things I do is check out its website. When I look at the Sins site, the most recent bit of not-really-news is already almost two weeks old, and it's been a full two months since the second-oldest update which is even less newsworthy.

IronClad really, really should be updating the website more frequently, even if it's just to help us understand what they're doing and what's coming up. If there isn't something concrete that can be posted about upcoming work, some suggestions for site updates include interviews with key designers and artists, a virtual tour of the IronClad office, the kinds of talent you're looking for hiring, small contests for things like fan fiction or fan art that win signed boxes and the chance to have the asset appear in the next title, lessons learned / post-mortems, and so on.

 

Reply #5 from Stardock Forums Top

i have to agree, Stardock and Ironclad are VERY quiet, although they are only small companies.

another forum i was heavily invovled in at the time was the Bungie forums when halo 2 and then 3 came out.

Bungie released multiple items of news a week, as well as a standard weekly update. on that aspect, they were very good, and i had lots to dream about at night (omg thats gonna be so cool etc)

however, (and sorry to any fanatical Halo fanboys out there) i really think Bungie screwed around too much, concentrated on Podcasts that were entirely superfluous, concentrated on all sorts of crap... like designing a whole level in Halo 2 just for E3 that ended up getting axed anyway... and because they stuffed around instead of working, they released inferior games that could have been even more amazing than they are. Also, they had support from Microsoft, so to be honest, i really dont need a programmer coming out to promote Halo when any jock off the street could have done the same thing and kept the programmers etc for actual programming etc

SO, in the end, yeah, i would like some more news, even just a weekly bulletin to say, nothing new, still playing with this, or, sorry, Sins development on hold until Demigod is fixed etc etc. HOWEVER, if it is going to impact on deadlines and attention to detail, then axe it.

Reply #6 from Sins Forums Top

I'd like to read some update as well. I do not know what has happened since their announcement to release 1.03/1.17.

On a related note:

As a modder I find it slightly irritating that I can't use their tools because they are simply outdated. Everything has gone back to 3rd party files and trial&error methods. It's not really bad for me because I'm rather pragmatic and minimalistic in my approaches but for people doing being huge mod projects this is a hinderance as often sometimes a solid solution of yesterday can be a lose end tomorrow.

Reply #7 from Sins Forums Top

yeah...don't go comparing ironclad to bungie though. halo 2 and 3 should have been $10/each expansions to halo 1..i mean, they added what? like 5 weapons, dual wielding, and equipment, and 3 vehicles trhoughout the course of 2 and 3?

 

Reply #8 from Stardock Forums Top

yeah, didnt mean to compare on a 1 for 1 basis... but insofar as community communication, Bungie trumps IC/SD hands down...

in terms of making good games, and useful patches/updates etc, and NOT screwing around being idiots instead of working... well, i think we know who wins that one

Reply #9 from Sins Forums Top

 

I third Retroboy's sentiment that it would be good if the developers weren't so aloof.  It would also be nice if they could pay some more attention to improving various aspects of the online multiplayer game, such as allowing Galaxy Forge-made maps to auto-download and setting up a built-in in-game voice comm system.  Also, we could use a formal tutorial to encourage the horde of single players to consider playing the game in online multiplayer.  The benefit of having a larger, more active, and stronger online multiplayer community is that those people are often the most ardent promoters of a game, inviting their friends from other games and in real life to buy the game.

Reply #10 from Sins Forums Top

Most of the updates were from SD, and they've been busy working on Demigod recently, so I suspect they've left IC do get on with the nitty-gritty of the second expansion ATM.

Reply #11 from Sins Forums Top

If that's truly the case, Ironclad should have stepped up and replaced them at sinsofasolarempire.com. And Stardock should have let them know about the vacancy.

 

Reply #12 from Sins Forums Top

Give stardock a break. They have been working all hours of the day and night on fixing demigods multiplayer connection problems. Brad posted a vid of them working at 4 in the morning on it jeez.

 

Reply #13 from Sins Forums Top

Keeping the community updated is the best way to keep the game alive.

Developers should inform their players of what they're messing with or trying out. Let us know you're alive. Feed our imagination, anticipation a little.

I would rather be informed every 2-5 days on what the devs are doing about one of my favorite games than have the next patch out 2-5 days earlier.

Seriously, if you're spending 6, 8, 12 hours a day on coding, jump on the forums once a week and throw a message like:

Hi, just to let you know, we're currently trying out new codes for improving network game stability. We're also looking into cap ship's ability balance, trying to smack it up a bit so that EGG is no longer the only sensible option for a Vasari starting cap.
That and a bunch of other stuff, more on that later.
PS. Wait till you see our new neat Diplomacy tools, they're gonna blow your heads :D

Such a message takes 5 minutes to compose and it would really defibrillate the community.
What's so tough about that?

Reply #14 from Stardock Forums Top

Quoting N3rull, reply 13
Keeping the community updated is the best way to keep the game alive.

Developers should inform their players of what they're messing with or trying out. Let us know you're alive. Feed our imagination, anticipation a little.

I would rather be informed every 2-5 days on what the devs are doing about one of my favorite games than have the next patch out 2-5 days earlier.

Seriously, if you're spending 6, 8, 12 hours a day on coding, jump on the forums once a week and throw a message like:


Hi, just to let you know, we're currently trying out new codes for improving network game stability. We're also looking into cap ship's ability balance, trying to smack it up a bit so that EGG is no longer the only sensible option for a Vasari starting cap.
That and a bunch of other stuff, more on that later.
PS. Wait till you see our new neat Diplomacy tools, they're gonna blow your heads

Such a message takes 5 minutes to compose and it would really defibrillate the community.
What's so tough about that?

agreed

Reply #15 from Sins Forums Top

We are both very busy working on new material. As pointed out above and in other threads, Sins 1.17 and Entrenchment 1.03 are complete (and yes, we mentionned multiple times what was going on).

Stardock has been understandably busy with Demigod so they weren't released right away but should be very soon. Given the sheer number of patches we've issued over the last year and the fact that we are still putting out patches well over a year past the initial release I would expect a bit of understanding.

Remember, we could always do what many game companies do: release the game and then *maybe* patch it once and never hear from us again until we had a new half-assed product to shove on you. :P

In summary: the new patches should be out soon and we have more material in the pipeline.

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Reply #16 from Sins Forums Top

Quoting Blair, reply 15
Remember, we could always do what many game companies do: release the game and then *maybe* patch it once and never hear from us again until we had a new half-assed product to shove on you.

...ala Tribes: Vengeance.  It should be noted that the need for a patch is not very dire as far as I know.  I think the game is mostly in good shape right now.  (What we would love to have are some additional features for online multiplayer, but that's not the same as needing a patch to fix minidumps and desync problems.)

It's good to hear from you, Blair.  Maybe it would be easier to keep in touch if you could just try to make a point of taking a couple minutes once a week, perhaps on Monday, to post an update to the community.  I'm sure it would be appreciated.

Reply #17 from Sins Forums Top

Quoting crashmatusow, reply 7
yeah...don't go comparing ironclad to bungie though. halo 2 and 3 should have been $10/each expansions to halo 1..i mean, they added what? like 5 weapons, dual wielding, and equipment, and 3 vehicles trhoughout the course of 2 and 3?

 

Thats such an ignorant statement I don't know where to start

Reply #18 from Sins Forums Top

Quoting Blair, reply 15
We are both very busy working on new material. As pointed out above and in other threads, Sins 1.17 and Entrenchment 1.03 are complete (and yes, we mentionned multiple times what was going on).

Stardock has been understandably busy with Demigod so they weren't released right away but should be very soon. Given the sheer number of patches we've issued over the last year and the fact that we are still putting out patches well over a year past the initial release I would expect a bit of understanding.

Remember, we could always do what many game companies do: release the game and then *maybe* patch it once and never hear from us again until we had a new half-assed product to shove on you.

In summary: the new patches should be out soon and we have more material in the pipeline.

 

/Threadsolved.

 

Exactly what we wanted to hear! Thanks for the update.

Reply #19 from Sins Forums Top

We are both very busy working on new material. As pointed out above and in other threads, Sins 1.17 and Entrenchment 1.03 are complete (and yes, we mentionned multiple times what was going on).

Stardock has been understandably busy with Demigod so they weren't released right away but should be very soon. Given the sheer number of patches we've issued over the last year and the fact that we are still putting out patches well over a year past the initial release I would expect a bit of understanding.

Remember, we could always do what many game companies do: release the game and then *maybe* patch it once and never hear from us again until we had a new half-assed product to shove on you.

In summary: the new patches should be out soon and we have more material in the pipeline.

Well said!

And I will semi-agree with the author of this thread....was hoping to see a new thing on the homepage (soon)...Sins of a Solar Empire: Diplomacy Announced! (or whatever name you give it). Anyway, keep it up.

-Phal

Reply #20 from Sins Forums Top

Will they be bundling the developer.exe with the 1.17 patch?

Reply #21 from Sins Forums Top

The developer exe's for 1.03 and 1.17 have also been submitted. They will be appearing on the downloads page as per usual.

Reply #22 from Sins Forums Top

Hooray!

We never did get the 1.16/1.02 ones; I'm more than happy to skip a version though. :)

Reply #23 from Sins Forums Top

I dont think people mind that you guys are busy just that it seemed like a ghost town (ghost site? :P ). Now that I started working with scripting and whatnot (XML and SQL primarily) I certainly understand you guys are working your butts off.

The thing people were concerned about was that no news or anything at all was happening. We would all be content just with a news post that just said "busy working on other issues. hang tight". Everybody here understands the issues we just want to be kept in the loop so we know whats going on and what to expect.

P.S at least for me personally i think you guys are doing a fantastic job.

Reply #24 from Sins Forums Top

Quoting Blair, reply 15
(and yes, we mentionned multiple times what was going on).
Suggestion - make a thread in "Sins News" forum named like... "Sins News" ?... and post it there. I'm not sure if forcding players to read every single topic on the boards to dig out your news is the best way of keeping the community informed.

 

Quoting Blair, reply 15
Given the sheer number of patches we've issued over the last year and the fact that we are still putting out patches well over a year past the initial release I would expect a bit of understanding.
When your friend doesn't give a hint that he's alive for 6 weeks... you expect the worst. Seriously, five minutes spent on writing a tiny little note once a week solves the problem.

Quoting Blair, reply 15
Remember, we could always do what many game companies do: release the game and then *maybe* patch it once and never hear from us again until we had a new half-assed product to shove on you.
Blackmail Mode = ON ?

Reply #25 from Stardock Forums Top

thanks, i was thinking the exact same thing, but figured the flameing backlash wouldnt be worth it. i just wanted to say here and now that you have at least one supporter =)

We are both very busy working on new material. As pointed out above and in other threads, Sins 1.17 and Entrenchment 1.03 are complete (and yes, we mentionned multiple times what was going on).

complete as in ready? so where are they?

Stardock has been understandably busy with Demigod so they weren't released right away but should be very soon.

this was said a very long time ago in a thread by mooster... still waiting for that soon.

Remember, we could always do what many game companies do: release the game and then *maybe* patch it once and never hear from us again until we had a new half-assed product to shove on you.

a smiley face doesnt cover up a rude, overly defensive and smart arse comment

In summary: the new patches should be out soon and we have more material in the pipeline.

i am genuinely happy about this... but like everyone else has said, 5 mins to say somewhere whats going on (and not needing to resort to smart arse comments) is not going to kill anyone

I'm not sure if forcding players to read every single topic on the boards to dig out your news is the best way of keeping the community informed.

Exactly, alot of SD/IC's personnel dont have those Staff badges under their avatars... if this was a thread about something off topic, and the other people here werent kissing your ass, i wouldnt know you (Blair) from any body else on the interwebs, and i dont think searching every topic on the forums is any ones idea of being 'informed'