stardock posts

Die hard fans Ironclad Games' 2008 sleeper PC game hit Sins of a Solar Empire have already gotten a small mini-expansion to the space strategy game Entrenchment. Next week those fans will get a second mini-expansion in Diplomacy while folks who have never played the original game can get it and the two mini-expansions together in the new retail collection Sins of a Solar Empire: Trinity.

Stardock is handling the publishing duties for the mini-expansion and new collection and Big Download got Stardock's CEO Brad Wardell to chat briefly about what fans can expect from Diplomacy. We also tried to get him to talk about future Sins of a Solar Empire plans but as you will read later, he's not yet talking about it.

This silent gameplay video for Diplomacy, the second (and final) micro-expansion for Sins of a Solar Empire, shows a frantic battle as a starbase comes under attack. Features included in the micro-expansion are new technologies, Trade Pacts for resource boosts, and the ability to create and issue missions to other factions and players. Also, let's not forget that Diplomacy will bring tougher and meaner space pirates into the picture. Sins of a Solar Empire - Diplomacy releases on February 9 as a stand-alone purchase or as part of Sins of a Solar Empire - Trinity, which includes the core game along with the Diplomacy and Entrenchment expansions.

Those looking for for more information on how Diplomacy changes gameplay in Sins can check out a the forum post from Stardock's CEO Brad Wardell.

A playable demo for Sins of a Solar Empire can be downloaded here.

Download HD Sins of a Solar Empire - Diplomacy Gameplay Video (31 MB)
Download the Sins of a Solar Empire Demo (536 MB)

As we await the release of the second mini-expansion for Sins of a Solar Empire, developer Ironclad Games and publisher Stardock have released a new patch for the original space strategy game and its first expansion Entrenchment. The new update can be downloaded automatically via the Impulse client.

The new patch invalidates all previous save games but contains quite a few bug fixes in terms of both gameplay and graphics along with some improvements for game modders. In related news, the beta testing for the upcoming second mini-expansion, Diplomacy, has officially ended. Anyone who pre-ordered the expansion and participated in its beta testing will regain access when the final version is ready on February 9.

Stardock's upcoming fantasy themed strategy-RPG title Elemental War of Magic may have been pushed back a few months but the game is still deep in development on its latest beta build. On the Impulse web site Stardock head man Brad Wardell gives an update on the game's progress.

At the moment the game is close to completing the first phase of its beta test before moving onto Beta 2 which will add multiplayer support for the first time. One of the big features in the game is that player characters can marry, have children and then those kids grow up and marry others. Some of the visuals of the children still need to be worked on with Wardell saying, "You can (end) up with some pretty ugly grand-children and later great-grand-children." Other features like a basic quest system are in but the 3D engine has yet to be implemented for beta testers. The final game will be released later this year.

As promised, the second of the two free new demigods is now available for use in Demigod. The 2009 released multiplayer strategy-RPG game from developer Gas Powered Games and publisher Stardock can now be updated for free to add the new Oculus demigod. If you own the game all you have to do is update to the latest version, log onto the game's multiplayer server and Oculus should be available for both single and multiplayer matches.

As you can see Oculus rides around on his own floating throne (although he can get out of it for special attacks). His main weapon is lightening but he can also recharge the mana of any friendly demigods in matches.

As we reported earlier this week, Stardock's fantasy turn-based strategy-RPG game Elemental: War of Magic won't make it's planned first quarter release and will instead come out sometime in the third quarter of 2010. However that doesn't mean you can't try out the game in a incomplete form. People who pre-order the game can gain access to beta builds before the full game's release.

The second beta for Elemental will add support for multiplayer matches and will be released to beta testers around the end of February. In a recent post on the Impulsedriven.net site, Stardock's head man Brad Wardell has posted up how folks will sign in to play a multiplayer match in the game. While you can play on an official Stardock server you will also be able to host their own servers. These servers will support custom rules and mods althoug that will be turned off in the beta version. Be warned, however, as Wardell states, "The betas are NOT fun. These aren't demo betas. These are real, painful, boring, ugly betas. The graphics engine is disabled in both beta 1 and beta 2."

It looks like there will be at least a few games that will move out of the already crowded first quarter 2010 timeline. On Monday, we reported on a likely delay for the first person shooter Singularity. Today Big Download has learned that Stardock's upcoming turn-based strategy-RPG Elemental War of Magic won't be released in the first quarter as planned.

While the game's pre-order listing on the Impulse web site shows a February 15 release date, Big Download has confirmed with Stardock's PR rep that the game won't make that date. Instead the game is now set for a release sometime in the third quarter of 2010 (between July and September). The game is currently in beta and folks who pre-order the game will be able to check out beta builds before Elemental is released. In the meantime you can enter the Publisher's Clearing House lottery . . . or not.

If you are in the current beta for Sins of a Solar Empire: Diplomacy, you got a new build to try out today. Developer Ironclad Games and publisher Stardock have got a new version of their upcoming micro-expansion to their hit space strategy game to download via Impulse.

The change notes for the new beta are quite extensive and have some new content including the addition of Pirate Missions and a new Bomb Planet mission type (that seems self-explanatory). You can still get into the beta by pre-ordering the $9.99 expansion which is expected to be released in early February alongside the new retail collection Sins of a Solar Empire: Trinity.

It looks like the team over at Stardock are celebrating Christmas a bit early. Their Impulse PC game download site has now launched their Christmas sale offering over 50 of titles with big price cuts with some as much as 60 percent off their normal price.

Among the notable titles on sale are Fallen Earth for $24.95, Europa Universalis III Complete for $11.99, Trine for $9.99, Shadowgrounds for $3.99 and Eve Online for just $9.99. They also have a big game bundle with the Meridian 4 Complete Pack. You can download over 30 games from the publisher for just $59.99, a savings of over 60 percent.

Stardock's Impulse PC game download service is trying something a little different in terms of its holiday sales this year. Instead of posting about special sales on the Impulse web site, the service will be using the Impulse downloadable client itself to alert uses to big one day sales cuts on games.

Basically if you download the Impulse client and keep it running in your Windows system tray and check on the Promotions section in Settings, you might see something like what's up above this post; a promotion for a one day sale of a game (in this case the original Galactic Civilizations for just 99 cents). At the moment the one day sale is for Demigod for just $7.50 and Dragon Age: Origins for $37.50. We will of course keep you up to date on any more sales that come down the pike.