Did anyone see this from Stardock?

[Tim Brooks]

Stardock Entertainment Unveils Sins of a Solar Empire
Wednesday, October 11, 2006

October 11, 2006 – Stardock Entertainment announced today that it has reached an agreement to publish Ironclad Games' genre-defining strategy game, Sins of a Solar Empire, bringing the title to TotalGaming.net and retail stores across North America in August 2007 for a suggested retail price of $39.95.

Sins of a Solar Empire represents the birth of the RT4X genre, seamlessly blending spectacular tactical combat with grand-scale space strategy. Players must conquer worlds, engage in diplomacy and trade with other civilizations, and use the resources at their disposal to enhance their economy, develop new technology and increase military power. They must then test their mettle on a 3D tactical battlefield, where their ships will fight it out in stunning visual glory.

"Sins of a Solar Empire is exactly the sort of game we've been looking for," said Brian Clair, Director of Games Publishing for Stardock Entertainment. "Ironclad is developing a beautiful and ambitious game that merges the best elements of 3D space-based real-time strategy and '4X' games like Galactic Civilizations II."

"Stardock is an exceptionally natural fit for Sins and Ironclad. They have a genuine passion for strategy games and an uncompromising commitment to quality," said Blair Fraser, Producer at Ironclad Games. Craig Fraser, Creative Director of Ironclad Games commented further, "We are very fortunate to work with the best — they know the genre, have a model that works and support our vision more than we could ask for. We are looking forward to a solid relationship that will push the bounds of strategy games as we know them."

More information can be found at http://www.sinsofasolarempire.com.

About Stardock
Stardock is the world's leading developer of utilities that enhance the Windows experience. Its software is used by over 10 million people worldwide and has been licensed by trendsetting companies like nVidia, ATI, Alienware and Microsoft, plus in movies and on TV. Stardock operates WinCustomize.com, the premier portal for Windows enhancement, drawing more than 3 million unique visitors each month, in addition to one of the world's largest blogging communities, JoeUser.com. Stardock is a Microsoft Certified Gold Partner. The company's website is www.stardock.com.

About Ironclad Games
Ironclad Games is an independent development studio headquartered in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. Team members' credits include the highly acclaimed Homeworld: Cataclysm for Sierra Studios, and Disney Interactive's Treasure Planet: Battle at Procyon. Innovation, vision and excellence are the core values Ironclad stands by in their commitment to developing outstanding games. The company's website is www.ironcladgames.com.

About TotalGaming.net
TotalGaming.net is Stardock's revolutionary online game-distribution service, where gamers can purchase and download over 50 titles, including the company's own award-winning games like Galactic Civilizations, Galactic Civilizations II, and 2004's The Political Machine, as well as many other premium first- and third-party PC games. TotalGaming.net offers a wide range of games for purchase without the hassles of copy protection with the unique Secure Software Delivery system, players can download the games they purchase anytime, from anywhere. Visit http://www.totalgaming.net for more information or to sign up for a TotalGaming.net membership for even greater value.

I like Brad and the guys at Stardock. This sounds interesting.

[Daynarr]

Interesting, I just saw that on Gamespot few minutes before you guys posted it here.

Sounds very interesting and promising.

[Randallw]

I'd have more to say if the games link worked, still I seem to recall the name. I might have seen some of it awhile ago. I wasn't very impressed.

Edit: got around to it. Certainly wasn't the one I had in mind. The screenshots DO look impressive enough.

[Annette]

Links fixed. Thanks for the heads up, Randallw.

[Caduceus]

This game has been on the periphery of my radar for a few weeks. Some of the screenshots look pretty fun.

EDIT: But at a release of August 2007, that's quite a ways off.

[phalzyr]

The screenshots all look like Empires at war combat (which is a good thing, the only thing I liked about that game) but if it is real time per their statment it won't be for me. I'm too much of a slow thinker when it comes to what ships to build and such. I'd be playing the game feeling rushed not rushing to play the game. I'll have to see a demo to see how they pull off the RT part, simplify rest way too much?

[Suicide Junkie]

Indeed.
The sample game story on that main page includes a point about breaking away from a critical underdog battle to deal with an enemy invasion elsewhere before returning to it and hoping things went well in your absense

[Solymr]

I think it's a bit too much to say that it's the "birth" of the RT4X genre, considering that, while might it not be major, it has existed for sometime (IG1/2, Homeworld 1/2, etc).

[President_Elect_Shang]

The screen shots look ok but nothing “new”ish. I hope they plan for more than three generic races and give it some originality; like the Eee for example. The ship set examples look good but two sets are to dark for my tastes. At least that would fit the theme. I certainly wouldn’t call it genre-defining, or most any other high powered description for that matter. Nope; I think I’ll wait for the discounted version at my local PX.

[Kana]

Solymr said:
I think it's a bit too much to say that it's the "birth" of the RT4X genre, considering that, while might it not be major, it has existed for sometime (IG1/2, Homeworld 1/2, etc).

It is being made by former HW programmers....