Today, Stardock confirmed the availability of the Sins of a Solar Empire II Technical Preview for all pre-order customers. It is but the first step of the early access phase, according to Director of Publishing Brian Clair.
We have a lot of ideas on the game we want to try out and give fans a way to tell us which ideas work and which don't. The goal is to take the feedback we get and iterate the game with monthly public updates. This early access will be much more like an old-school-style beta program. We really want players to be able to give feedback early enough so that we can act on it, which frees us to try out ideas that may be worthy of further development or alternatively need to be scrapped.
Strategy game fans will find the following features and content in the Sins of a Solar Empire II Technical Preview:
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Universe in motion: Play on a map where phase lanes adjust as planets orbit, closing doors to some opportunities while opening windows to others as the game progresses.
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Detailed tactical simulation: New turreted weapons track targets along firing arcs, simulating realistic limitations to fields of fire. Point defense weapons shoot down enemy missile swarms while stronger units help to block incoming fire to protect vulnerable fleets.
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Enhanced/Improved planet development: Tailor colonized worlds with a diverse planetary development system. Players can focus planets towards research, ship construction, mining, or other needs based on their position within the solar system.
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Diplomatic intrigue: Neutral NPC factions will help players develop their solar empires… or hinder them.
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The new Iron Engine: The first build released publicly will focus on trying out the new, 64-bit, core-neutral game engine developed by Ironclad that supports tens of thousands of ships without any performance degradation.
- The emergent TEC faction
The Technical Preview phase will be followed by the Alpha phase, which will add multiplayer and two new factions (Vasari and Advent), and later by the Beta phase, when Stardock will focus on polish, balance, fixing exploits, and visual fidelity enhancements. The Alpha phase is estimated to occur in the first quarter of 2023, according to the official development roadmap.
Sins of a Solar Empire II is currently available through the Epic Games Store, priced at €31.99.
