Sins of a Solar Empire gets “friends with benefits” update

The problem with Sins of a Solar Empire — and it’s a very real problem — is that I can’t get far with it. I start up a game, as depicted in the above screenshot where the Halcyon class carrier Merciless and a few Disciple Vessels are fighting a tiny independent faction that’s taken up residence around the ice planet Daedalus. We need that planet for its rich stores of crystal. And really, this is just the opening move of the game. It’s not the least bit spectacular in terms of the overall scheme of things. It’s like fighting one of those throwaway gnoll creeps in Warcraft III.

So why am I spending so much time slowing everything down to super slo-mo, flying the camera around, taking screenshots, and admiring the space opera of it all?

Sins of a Solar Empire is too gorgeous for its own good, and that invariably gets in the way when I just want to sit down and actually play the darn thing. Which is what I was trying to do today. Developer Ironclad just released a hefty update that reworks the diplomacy system. Read the details here. In brief, there’s a whole new system of what you get for being friends with other players and how you get it.