BT: I’ve been reading over the official Sins forums a bit lately and hearing about some of the stuff you guys originally thought of tinkering with – like a fully 3D universe with a realistic physics system for interplanetary gravity? Why did you want to add that in, and then why did you take these ideas out?
CF: Sins has always been a fully 3D universe. Traditionally depth of gameplay takes priority over polished graphics and controls in the 4X genre. Typically combat makes up only a portion of the overall game. Tactical ship controls, a realistic scale, detailed textures and effects take a backseat to the big picture or ‘grand-strategy’ experience. In a space simulator, moving a single ship in True 3D is a trivial matter, but in other games where ships can number in the hundreds, and you are busy managing an entire empire, this can be a UI nightmare for the user.
True 3D space in a 4X title would place too much focus on combat, diverting valuable resources away from other systems such as trade, diplomacy, planet management, empire building, and so on.
In Sins of a Solar Empire, we automated most of the UI, made significant advances in the camera and zoom controls as well as graphic optimizations which made a real 3D environment possible for an empire-level game. We felt a real 3D viewpoint was essential to convey the game’s epic scale and visceral combat experience - which would have been impossible with an isometric or even a fixed 3D camera. Ships in Sins can also be moved in any dimension, but it doesn’t provide the player with a material advantage, by design. We wanted to reward players for focusing on strategy as opposed to meticulous micromanagement, so the role of commander and emperor would be equally balanced.
Planets, asteroids, stars, space anomalies, and structures are placed on random x,y,z coordinates, within a set range, to simulate the gravitational forces of the system. The only limitation for player controlled units is manual placement of structures on the z-axis. Probably the most noticeable difference of a real 3D environment is being able to travel around and interact with a full sized, 3D planet. Popular space sims typically limit planets to flat backdrops.
The realistic physics systems for the galaxy were scraped because they were boring and detracted from the gameplay. They turned the game into a simulation which just wasn’t what we were going for. Some of the remnants are still in the code.
BT: Piracy is pretty big topic right now and, with games like Mass Effect and Spore threatening increasingly draconian DRM ‘protections’, some gamers are worried about the state of PC gaming. Sins though came with no copy protection at all if I remember correctly, so what’s your take on all this? Is there a way to stop the pirates without punishing the customers?
CF: We’re all stuck in an unfortunate vicious cycle. As pirating increases, DRM increases, which in turn forces people to pirate.
From what I understand, Mass Effect has since backed down a tad after listening carefully to their fans. SecuROM seemed a bit ridiculous in my opinion. At the same time you can’t blame developers for retreating to the console if they can’t receive the fruit of their labour.
Until a real solution presents itself, Stardock and Ironclad will continue to reward legit gamers and make the purchasing process are smooth as possible. The last thing we want to do is treat our customers like criminals.
BT: Do you think your lack of protection helped boost sales overall, or did it harm them?
CF: I believe there was a net gain. There were many self-confessed pirates out there who bought our game simply for our anti-DRM stance – even those who knew nothing about the game surprisingly enough. Purchasing Sins was a way for many people to put their money where their mouth is, “I support anti-DRM.”
BT: Was piracy a big problem for you with Sins? We know you’ve sold a lot of the games, but have you any idea of the piracy figures?
CF: Well I can say we were pretty depressed when we first saw our labour of love strewn across the net. If I had the numbers to give you I wouldn’t. There will always be someone, that to discredit any findings to justify their belief, claims that piracy is not as big a problem as it is.
CF: Sins has always been a fully 3D universe. Traditionally depth of gameplay takes priority over polished graphics and controls in the 4X genre. Typically combat makes up only a portion of the overall game. Tactical ship controls, a realistic scale, detailed textures and effects take a backseat to the big picture or ‘grand-strategy’ experience. In a space simulator, moving a single ship in True 3D is a trivial matter, but in other games where ships can number in the hundreds, and you are busy managing an entire empire, this can be a UI nightmare for the user.
True 3D space in a 4X title would place too much focus on combat, diverting valuable resources away from other systems such as trade, diplomacy, planet management, empire building, and so on.
In Sins of a Solar Empire, we automated most of the UI, made significant advances in the camera and zoom controls as well as graphic optimizations which made a real 3D environment possible for an empire-level game. We felt a real 3D viewpoint was essential to convey the game’s epic scale and visceral combat experience - which would have been impossible with an isometric or even a fixed 3D camera. Ships in Sins can also be moved in any dimension, but it doesn’t provide the player with a material advantage, by design. We wanted to reward players for focusing on strategy as opposed to meticulous micromanagement, so the role of commander and emperor would be equally balanced.
Planets, asteroids, stars, space anomalies, and structures are placed on random x,y,z coordinates, within a set range, to simulate the gravitational forces of the system. The only limitation for player controlled units is manual placement of structures on the z-axis. Probably the most noticeable difference of a real 3D environment is being able to travel around and interact with a full sized, 3D planet. Popular space sims typically limit planets to flat backdrops.
The realistic physics systems for the galaxy were scraped because they were boring and detracted from the gameplay. They turned the game into a simulation which just wasn’t what we were going for. Some of the remnants are still in the code.
BT: Piracy is pretty big topic right now and, with games like Mass Effect and Spore threatening increasingly draconian DRM ‘protections’, some gamers are worried about the state of PC gaming. Sins though came with no copy protection at all if I remember correctly, so what’s your take on all this? Is there a way to stop the pirates without punishing the customers?
CF: We’re all stuck in an unfortunate vicious cycle. As pirating increases, DRM increases, which in turn forces people to pirate.
From what I understand, Mass Effect has since backed down a tad after listening carefully to their fans. SecuROM seemed a bit ridiculous in my opinion. At the same time you can’t blame developers for retreating to the console if they can’t receive the fruit of their labour.
Until a real solution presents itself, Stardock and Ironclad will continue to reward legit gamers and make the purchasing process are smooth as possible. The last thing we want to do is treat our customers like criminals.
BT: Do you think your lack of protection helped boost sales overall, or did it harm them?
CF: I believe there was a net gain. There were many self-confessed pirates out there who bought our game simply for our anti-DRM stance – even those who knew nothing about the game surprisingly enough. Purchasing Sins was a way for many people to put their money where their mouth is, “I support anti-DRM.”
BT: Was piracy a big problem for you with Sins? We know you’ve sold a lot of the games, but have you any idea of the piracy figures?
CF: Well I can say we were pretty depressed when we first saw our labour of love strewn across the net. If I had the numbers to give you I wouldn’t. There will always be someone, that to discredit any findings to justify their belief, claims that piracy is not as big a problem as it is.
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