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Stardock announces dev investment fund, showing two new games this year
Developer Stardock has announced the beginning of an investment fund to support up-and-coming developers. When Stardock sold distribution service Impulse to GameStop, it earned "some unprecedented opportunities," says CEO Brad Wardell. The fiscal boon will help "to keep Stardock small and invest in start-ups."These spinoffs, says Wardell, "should produce things that will help future start-ups in the technology industry." Some of the partnerships are already underway, though "not far enough along in what they're working on to publicize anything." Wardell's plan is to reveal more about the fund this summer, with news about the companies involved coming later.Elsewhere in Stardock's customer report, Wardell says the company's internal teams are toward two new games to be revealed this year. One or both games may be the result of Stardock's work with consultant Soren Johnson, the former lead designer on Civilization 4.Wardell also says Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion was "immensely successful," and that we can expect more from that series in the future.
Sins of a Dark Age plans to evolve the MOBA genre
Over the past few years, the Defense of the Ancients-inspired MOBA genre has spawned some of the biggest games on the planet. League of Legends has become one of the most played PC games in the world, and both it and Dota 2 now pump millions of dollars per year into competitive tournaments. It looks like MOBAs are here to stay, but the genre is still relatively young and there's plenty of room to experiment with new gameplay. Upcoming MOBA Sins of a Dark Age plans to evolve the genre with the addition of a new Realm Quest feature. At random points throughout a match, quests may spawn that change the rules of the game and provide new opportunities for conflict. Developer Ironclad Games, known for its Sins of a Solar Empire franchise, hopes this will add a new strategic level to the game that favours players who can adapt to changing circumstances and take advantage of the opportunities that quests present. Sins of a Dark Age will be free-to-play on release but you can join the closed beta now by purchasing a Founder Edition package. Read on for our interview with Ironclad co-founder and producer Blair Fraser on the Realm Quest system and plans to support competitive gaming in Sins of a Dark Age.%Gallery-175225%
Steam Holiday Sale, day 9: Assassin's Creed, Prototype, Left 4 Dead franchises and more
The majority of mainstream shopping holidays have now reached a complete stop, but the sales live on – especially in the case of Valve's annual Steam Holiday Sale, which today enters its ninth day of dealing out discounted digital sundries.PC gamers can save 25 to 75 percent on every game in the Assassin's Creed series, 75/50 percent off Prototype and Prototype 2 respectively, get Left 4 Dead and Left 4 Dead 2 for a cold dead $7.49, Limbo for a spooky $2.49, Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion for an astronomically low $13.59 and Just Cause 2 for a justified $3.74.Yesterday's deals also remain active for another 20 hours or so, including LA Noire for $4.99, FTL for $4.99 and 33 percent off XCOM: Enemy Unknown. As always, flash sales and community choice sales change throughout the day.
Fanmade mod combines Sins of a Solar Empire chocolate with Mass Effect peanut butter
Sins of a Solar Empire is an award-winning RTS space battle game, and Mass Effect is an epic action RPG universe with enough lore to fill a library. What happens when you smash the two together in the particle accelerator chamber that is a fan-created mod? You get Mass Effect: Dawn of the Reapers, a full conversion for Sins that lets you command ships like the Normandy against various Mass Effect-inspired units, including those of the Geth, Volus, and Cerberus' ships as well.There's lots more planned for the mod, including even more races and ships designed straight from Bioware's epic series. Unfortunately, the mod itself isn't available to the public just yet, and the release of Mass Effect 3 pushed it back for some more lore and spec tweaks. Still, when it's available it will work with both Sins' Diplomacy expansion and the standalone Rebellion version as well.
Rebellion sues Stardock for its use of the word 'Rebellion'
It's a strange day for Stardock when we say this is the second-weirdest lawsuit involving the company that we've seen today, but it's true. UK developer Rebellion (makers of the 2010 Aliens vs. Predator game) has decided to sue developer Stardock (publisher of Sins of a Solar Empire) because of the name of the latest Sins of the Solar Empire expansion, Rebellion. The court documents say that Rebellion (the studio) has a trademark on that word, and accuse Rebellion (the game), of causing customers "to mistakenly believe that the developer of the game Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion is in fact plaintiff Rebellion."The developer of the expansion is actually Ironclad Games. But the lawsuit claims that from the logo and game name to a YouTube description for the game (mentioning "the developers over at 'Rebellion'"), Stardock knowingly profited off of the "Rebellion" trademark.The litigation asks for Stardock to be enjoined from selling the game any further, to turn over any infringing materials, and for both damages in the case as well as the court and attorney's fees. Presumably, the complaint will next go in front of a Michigan judge, who will then decide on whether or not the issue can move forward.
Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion sells 100K, breaks Stardock records
Stardock has announced that Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion, the latest stand-alone expansion of the acclaimed RTS hit, has broken company records and become its fastest-selling release to date. The game has sold over 100,000 units since its launch last month, which is not only a solid number for any indie game but also beats the first 30 days of the original Sins of a Solar Empire.Though the original Sins was also released at retail, Rebellion was not, and the digital plan ended up working better than any of the company's PC retail releases. Stardock's CEO, Brad Wardell, said he believed that selling the game on Steam would take sales away from other channels, but Steam sales of the expansion "didn't cannibalize its GameStop or direct sales."Releasing digitally had other benefits as well, like letting Stardock announce the release at the last minute. Wardell says both of Stardock's other games this year, Elemental: Fallen Enchantress and Political Machine 2012, will follow the same launch plan.
Sins of a Solar Empire added to Steam, more Stardock titles coming soon
Stardock and Ironclad Games' Sins of a Solar Empire: Trinity, the bundled collection of the epic space armada RTS and its mini-expansions, is available now on Steam. After selling over 2 million units, mostly through Stardock's Impulse digital distribution system, the game is finally warping over to Valve's service. "With the sale of our former PC digital download technology to GameStop earlier this year, we no longer have any conflicts of interest in offering our titles to other digital distribution channels," said Brad Wardell, CEO of Stardock. "We are starting with Sins of a Solar Empire: Trinity with other titles being made available over the coming weeks." Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion, a "full-fledged expansion" of the series and not a sequel, is expected to launch next spring. Stardock plans to add more of its catalog in "the coming weeks." [Thanks, Daniel] %Gallery-15134%
Sins of a Solar Empire Trinity is $21 this weekend
The full Sins of a Solar Empire experience, known as Trinity, is on sale this weekend through Impulse. The game is 33% off, bringing the total asking price to around $21 in United States, Earth credits. Trinity includes the original Sins of a Solar Empire, along with micro-expansion packs Entrenchment and Diplomacy. It should be noted that Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion, which is described as a "full-fledged expansion" to the series, will be available later this year. Brian Clair, director of publishing for Stardock, told us in early March that Rebellion will build upon the gameplay introduced in the original Sins and its micro-expansions. You'll have to make the strategic decision whether to grab Trinity now or save the credits to go toward a fuller cargo bay (at, likely, a higher cost) later. %Gallery-15134%
Stardock announces Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion, 'free to play' dev tools for Impulse SDK
Stardock announced a new Sins of a Solar Empire expansion today, subtitled Rebellion. In a separate press release, the company revealed a major update to its game development platform, Impulse Reactor, which will allow developers to implement "free to play" gaming through the Impulse digital distribution network. The Impulse Reactor update is expected to go live this month and will add features to the SDK enabling "free to play" elements for games running on the Impulse platform. If you're one of the millions of players that has dropped coin on Riot Games' League of Legends or Turbine's DDO or Lord of the Rings Online, you've probably got a good idea of the potential here. As for Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion, it's described as a "full-fledged expansion" of the 4X RTS space series -- not a sequel. Brian Clair, director of publishing for Stardock, told us that, like the original, Rebellion will not feature a single-player campaign, but will build upon the gameplay introduced in the original Sins and its micro-expansions. Given the timing of the Rebellion announcement alongside news of the upcoming "free to play" options added to Impulse Reactor, we asked if this next Sins would be a free-to-play title. "Definitely not," Clair said, though pricing has not been set. Rebellion will support achievements, multiplayer leagues and other features. Speaking to concerns voiced by players that don't have the hours to set aside for a standstard multiplayer match in Sins, Clair said, "We're going to continue looking at ways to address that for folks who want to get a game in under an hour." Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion is expected to be released in late 2011; however a Stardock representative told us the company is taking the "done when it's done" approach to development.
Sins of a Solar Empire for $4; Mass Effect and Dragon Age bundles part of Impulse sale
Impulse's Memorial Day sale this weekend has Sins of a Solar Empire at the heavenly price of $4. Go buy it now -- full stop. Whatever nit-picky issues the 4X strategy title may have can be thrown out an airlock at that price point. It may lack a single-player campaign to teach the ropes of glorious galactic armada warfare, but setting up a medium-sized map using normal AI is a good place to start. Which reminds us: Gratuitous Space Battles is also on sale. Impulse also has a more mainstream space opera experience on sale with the first two chapters in the Mass Effect saga bundled for $42. Want something not involving spaceships? There's a Dragon Age: Origins bundle, which includes the original game and Awakening, for $48 -- that'll definitely keep you busy all weekend. Check out the rest of the Impulse weekend sales after the break. %Gallery-15134%
Braid, other PC titles on sale this weekend on Impulse
This weekend the Impulse digital delivery store has a handful of games on sale including the critical and commercial darling Braid. Knocking 50% off each title, the sale also includes Sins of a Solar Empire from publisher Stardock -- also known as the guys and gals behind the Impulse service. Have a few extra dollars left over from the holiday season? Here's what you can get with that extra coin: Alganon -- $21.69 King's Bounty: Armored Princes -- $27.73 Sins of a Solar Empire -- $18.47 World War 2: Time of Wrath -- $22.82 Majesty 2: The Fantasy Kingdom Sim -- $16.30 King's Bounty: The Legend -- $16.30 Braid -- $5.42 Supreme Commander: Gold Edition -- $16.30
Sins of a Solar Empire 'Trinity' set coming
Stardock has announced that an all-inclusive collection featuring its fab Windows-based 4X strategy title Sins of a Solar Empire, its first expansion, Entrenchment and the upcoming Diplomacy expansion will release on February 9 for $39.99. In addition to availability on Stardock's own Impulse digital distribution service, the set will make its way onto shelves across the US in something called a "box." Anyone who pre-orders Sins of a Solar Empire - Trinity via Impulse will get instant access to the beta version of the Diplomacy expansion, which seems like a good strategy to us.
Labor Day 'Impulse' buy: Sins, Demigod and Dawn of Discovery on sale
With what we're told is the weekend of Labor Day ahead of us, an Impulse sale is trying to do its best to keep us indoors on this last unofficial weekend of summer. The Impulse store currently has some great titles at deep discounts.Stardock-published games Sins of a Solar Empire (with Entrenchment) and Demigod are both only $20. Meanwhile, the economic real-time strategy sim Dawn of Discovery is $25. There's plenty of other deals, including World of Goo for $10, so try not to spend those last fleeting days of summer inside. We dare you.[Via Big Download]
Sins of a Solar Empire 'Diplomacy' beta begins fall, releases winter 2010
The second micro-expansion for PC sleeper hit Sins of a Solar Empire will release in winter 2010. The Diplomacy add-on will increase the number of ambassadorial options to players in their conquest of the galaxy. You know, sometimes it helps to talk through the issues. Ironclad and Stardock plan to have a beta for the expansion this fall in order to work out any Vasarian bugs. Entrenchment and Diplomacy have both suffered delays while jumping into the digital distribution galaxy. A third micro-expansion for Sins was previously announced, so the full 4X RTS space opera experience should be completed sometime next year -- unless there are more delays, of course. %Gallery-15134%
Second Sins of a Solar Empire micro-expansion might take a while
With one out of the three planned "micro-expansions" for their flagship strategy title Sins of a Solar Empire under its belt, developer Ironclad Games has begun discussing changes included in the second batch of new content. Here's the good news: Ironclad is deep-sixing the current diplomacy system in favor of a deeper, more functional one. There's other minor changes as well, such as the inclusion of new terms of victory -- but peaceable relations seem to be the name of the game in expansion part deux.Here's the inescapable bad news: Due to the radical changes the second expansion will bring about, it'll be a while before its ready to launch. Considering the first expansion missed three of its tentative launch windows, Ironclad co-founder Blair Frasier was gunshy when it came to revealing the release date for the new expansion. In his own words: "It'll be done when it's done." Brilliant.
Trailer of 'Entrenchment' for Sins of a Solar Empire shoots lasers, flies around
We already told you about developer Stardock's upcoming expansion "Entrenchment" when it was announced last August. We told you about the delay that hit the expansion and pushed back its release window and then when it finally got dated (we were so proud!), only to get pushed back to February 25th (what a downer!). Well today, we've got no bad news for you. The brand new trailer you see above and the less than brand new screenshots you see below in the gallery are all we've got for you on the Impulse digital download service-exclusive expansion coming in a few weeks. We apologize for the squished format of the video but we get what we get and we don't get upset. %Gallery-34571%
Sins of a Solar Empire's Entrenchment DLC delayed until Feb. 25
We're "Vasari" to report that Sins of a Solar Empire's first "micro-expansion," Entrenchment, has fallen out of warp and suffered a delay until Feb. 25. Only available through Stardock's Impulse digital distribution service, the $10 add-on was recently given a Feb. 11 release date. Stardock's Brad Wardell stated the extra time will be used to incorporate more feedback from the open beta. The expansion was originally expected to release sometime late last year. Hopefully production of the next micro-expansion, featuring diplomacy upgrades, will go a lot smoother than Entrenchment's development. Gallery: Sins Of A Solar Empire: Entrenchment
Sins of a Solar Empire: Entrenchment digs in Feb. 11
Sins of a Solar Empire's first "micro-expansion," Entrenchment, received an official release date today of February 11. The $10 add-on, which will add several powerful defensive structures to the grand 4X RTS, will only be available through Stardock's Impulse digital delivery service.Entrenchment is the first of three mini expansions expected to enhance tactics this year. The next addition will add diplomacy features and the last is still under wraps. With this much tactical choice, we fear having to put a week aside to actually finish a basic mid-sized match.[Via Big Download] Gallery: Sins Of A Solar Empire: Entrenchment
The Best of Big Download: December 15-21
This week is the last one in 2008 that will likely have a lot of major gaming news but Big Download still has lots of plans to cover the past year and looking ahead to 2009 in the next several days. In the meantime let's look at the highlights from the past week:Exclusive features Contests: We have lots of contests that we are running this week. You still have time to enter for your chance to win a free copy of Galactic Civilizations II, Demigod, Prince of Persia, a Red Alert 3 game and swag pack or game codes for GoG.com. Reviews: We have our final verdicts on Prince of Persia, Strong Bad Episode 5, and American McGee's Grimm: A Christmas Carol. Cities XL preview: We go hands-on with the upcoming ambitious city sim game from Monte Cristo. Left 4 Dead game guide: Our final game guide for Valve's shooter takes a look at some of the more interesting achievements. Countdown to the biggest PC game news stories of 2008: What was the biggest story in 2008 for PC gamers? We give our picks for the most memorable events of the past 12 months. Big Download's 2008 Rose Ceremony: We give out roses to those folks and groups who made news in PC gaming in 2008 and refuse to give roses to others. GamerApps - GamerDNA: We take a closer look at the new social networking site for games. Indie Showcase: Our weekly look at the indie games scene takes a look at some new artistic minded browser based games. Big Ideas: Our weekly look at game themes takes a look at in-game health features. Big Iron: Our weekly hardware column gives out their first annual hardware awards Freeware Friday: Our weekly look at free games takes a look at the B-movie game inspired title Cottage of Doom. Virtual Bargain Bin: Our look at cheap games takes a look at two games that have been released for free at GoG.com, Beneath a Steel Sky and Lure of the Temptress.
Sins of a Solar Empire v1.1 available; features AI, graphic, trade upgrades
Stardock and Ironclad have put a capital (ship) amount of work into the free Sins of a Solar Empire v1.1 patch. The crisp Advent laundry list of fixes and upgrades is incredibly long, but many players will be happy with the simple fact that the buy/sell and pirate window is now on the main screen.Stardock also reiterated that those who pre-order the recently delayed $10 Entrenchment expansion will be included in the upcoming beta, which will have its details "announced soon." Now, in all seriousness, could Sins pretty please get a campaign mode to flesh out the lore?
