14 DAY TRIAL // Sins of a Solar Empire is a strategy title that’s focused on fleet to fleet engagements, with a variety of ships that can be used to implement a lot of interesting and sometimes surprising strategies, but players cannot compete in space if they do not pay attention to how they develop their planets and systems.
One of the new elements introduced in the New Frontiers version of the game is a choice of specializations for all planets that are under a faction's control, which gives a player the option to either turn them into industrial or social powerhouses.
This ties in to the wider extreme customization trend that has become important in Sins of a Solar Empire since the Rebellion expansion was launched.
Basically, the player is better off choosing a path for their playstyle, starting with the faction that they want to play, and then trying to research as many techs and to develop as many planets as possible in order to boost the advantages that they have.
I tend to first develop my civilian technology in order to get a solid flow of resources and trade, only to then focus on my military machine, which means that initially I tend to focus on defensive fleets and system-based defenses.
This actually means that initially I only have a small sliver of resources to spare and that planet specialization has never been high on my list, even if Sins of a Solar Empire makes it a prominent feature on the planetary screen.
Once I manage to create a solid powerbase, I quickly ramp up my production of actual ships and that’s where I love the way industrialization can help me.
Basically, planets generate more income, create units later and the only penalty is that my population decreases slightly and my influence does not extend as far.
I chose three of my better-developed planets to improve using industrialization, and they quickly became the production center for my empire, even if one of them was briefly sieged by the enemy forces.
Sins of a Solar Empire can become hectic in the late game, and I often forget to improve my planets when I am focused on attacking enemy systems and on the destruction of their fleets, which makes the new mechanic only marginally useful at the moment.
But it’s nice to see Ironclad Games trying to give players more options in New Frontiers, and I plan to try and see how the social choice works out in an upcoming match.