Madlilmart - i am from the UK and pre registered with my creditcard.

This shouldn't be a problem.  And yes, you can squeeze my brother Blair and call him george.

excellent, as soon as i get paid i will be pre-ordering damn still 2 weeks away

Several large game ads and one mini-overview have been available on FilePlanet for a good year now. The official trailer has also been out a while now and have been view many many times on You Tube as well as FilePlanet. So as to why you missed us in the first place: I have no clue.

Welcome aboard matie! Now hand me 'yer gold!

Well i havent even seen the game mentioned in denmark

Marketing is only just starting but in the meantime we've already had some great multipage articles in a variety of magazines including a couple in PC Gamer (including the backing piece) and Games For Windows as well some great coverage and feedback from 1up, gamespot, ign, gamespy and a bunch of interviews hosted on various other sites. We are also consistantly picked up by major news sites such as firingsquad, ve3d, shacknews, bluesnews and so on. Regardless, the marketing is just starting to ramp up - it will be hard to miss us come launch.

...who?

Pretty much every 4X community I visit is aware of Sins, though I think some of them are put off by the realtime aspect. I'm undecided. Imperium Galactica had realtime aspects and was a solid game so who knows. I can't imagine playing a Space Empires in realtime though. Jeeze, that'd be crazy.

I'm assuming it's going to be Warcraft 3 in space with research bolted on, sound about right?

Currently, yes-no.

There are quite some differences in beta 2.

First, there is a culture system, which allows to culture convert enemy planets. Similar to the one used in GalCiv2.

Second, the map system is similar to the system used in Space Empires V, although warping takes time, the "field" contains only one planet/sun/asteroid instead of a whole solar system.

Third, you can form alliances with the AI.

Fourth, the resource system is different, with 3 resources, 2 of them mined on asteroids or refined via trade ships and one resource (credits) got via population on planets.

Fifth, the research system. Although it's more a research system like in a RTS like Empire Earth, than a full research system like GalCiv2 or SEV.

Similarities with WarCraft 3 are:

-Capital ships in Sins are like heroes in WC3.
-Ships and capitals have "spells" ie. buffs and abilities based on "mana" ie. antimatter. Spells can be auto cast.
-There's a population limit/ship limit based on planet upgrades (instead of space farms )
-Ships have very unique roles, some are fighters (nearly melee combat, some are long range fighters, some are casters, etc.). You've got "peons" ie. construction ships that build structures (although the constructions ships are generated automatically).
-Diplomacy is similar to WC3 diplomacy. Almost no options and not much treaties.

Etc. etc.

All in all, Sins is no true 4X game, although it's more than just a RTS game. It's a hybrid for sure, although imho more on the side of RTS then 4X.

Third, you have an actual diplomacy model (which is being "improved" shortly).



Though in the next patch we're supposed to get more "manual control" over both construction ships and trade vessels.

Well, we have something which could be called a diplomacy model. Although the options available currently are laughable, compared to your usual options in 4X games.



Yeah, well I'm talking about the current beta. Can't say much about the upcoming beta 3 since it's still nearly a whole day away hint to devs to release if earlier,.

True, the current one is laughable... but we're getting a new one! (Eventually)

Hey Frightlever! Thanks for your honesty   

One of the major differences you'll notice is the much lower frequency of clicking. The pace is also slower. There are pockets of time, such as when ships are in phase space, when you can review your empire, plan your research path, set bounty on players, set up various alliances, play the stock market, customize your planet, and so on.  We've streamlined the UI, automated tedious tasks, and ramped the AI to bring the game more into the strategic realm. It's worth noting that if you want a much slower paced game with more discovery (BETA 3), you can choose a giant/specialized map to suit your playstyle. I'm sure you will hear plenty of additional feedback from the 4X-camp beta testers within a few days. To be fair, we recieve comments from both RTS and 4X players suggesting additional pull in one direction or the other. Our goal from the start has been to create an RT4X. With the additional 4X components we have scheduled for post-beta 3 development I am confident that goal is achievable. My shameless pitch for you would be, "If you we're to give a real-time game a go, this would be it."

That is quite shameless

Imperium Galactica 2 Worked wonders, and that had a large scope! Especialy later on in the game when you had over 30 - 40 planets to look after, sol campagin on hard with those damn kra'hen. ah memorys. Im looking forward to this, how does the beta activation work, shall i expect to see an email when i get home from work tomrow with the relevent information?