1. Slow beginning. The one turn off for me about space games is that early engagements never take place. Mainly due to the fact that a small fleet will be decimated after the long travel through space to the enemy. Is this somewhat the case in Sins?
You'll definitely be occupied with the game at the start of the game; it's not boring. In the beginning you are looking over the map and contemplating what your strategy might be. You can in fact have early game engagements depending on your players' starting positions. Sometimes you might get into an early game fight over a planet that's between you and an opponent. You might also "rush" attack your opponent's planets or vice versa.
2. If I buy the game, should I buy the expansion right off the bat as well?
Just about everyone who plays the game regularly in online multiplayer has the expansion and most of the available games require the expansion, so plan on dropping $10 on it.
4. Obviously matches will take a while depending on a variety of variables from the size of map you're playing on, skill level, amount of players, etc.. What would you say an average online 2vs2 match lasts for? And can you save online matches to continue later (much like Age of Mythology's)
A 2v2 would probably be decided within about an hour. Most 3v3, 4v4, and 5v5 games are decided within an hour-and-a-half and most are over within two hours or not much longer, but some can go on for a while longer if they are competitive. Often, once the game has been decided, players on the losing team will say "gg" and begin quitting with the game ending when the last opposing player either quits or surrenders. So, most of the time it is not necessary to go through the motions and mop everything up though sometimes there are sore losers who will just minimize the game and refuse to quit, forcing you and your allies to mop it up.
5. SHOULD I STOP ASKING QUESTIONS AND BUY THIS SUPERBLY AWESOME GAME?
Well, you should be aware that although the game must have sold over 600,000 copies, only a tiny percentage of purchasers ever considered playing the game in online multiplayer and that, very sadly, the online multiplayer player counts are far, far lower than what this game deserves. Lately I've been seeing about 130 people playing online during North American prime time. Generally, it isn't too difficult to find a game during North American prime time, but it might be hard to find exacly what you want in terms of game settings, number of players, and skill level.
Also, most players are pretty experienced now, so it might be difficult for a new player to get online and be immediately competitive. Of course, you should spend two or three weeks playing single player against the AI, but even if you become a great single player, you'll discover that the online multiplayer game is a very different animal and that you are going to have to take your lumps at the beginning.
The other large concern right now is that the online multiplayer player counts might drop below a self-sustaining level, even during North American prime time, once Starcraft 2 is released.
