Well, up to now there is something I don't like about the situation: It's tuesday! I wish I could enter some sort of cryo-stasis or something till friday afternoon hehe.
No, really, I spent about 5 hours yesterday with a single player small random map, and I'm loving almost every bit of it. There will probably be a couple of things that can be improved, but so far this game is already, like someone said before, the first real strategy game that plays in 3D. And another thing I love about it, which I believe to be closely related to the former, is the somewhat slow pace of battles. It is great to have time to actually think in terms of overall strategy while battles unfold. For instance, tactical retreats are now a perfectly viable option, while in most RTS is win or die when you launch an attack.

Like I said, I started with a single player small random map, and I just can't imagine what it has to be like to be in a 10 player huge galaxy multiplayer game. Though I'm sure I'll eventually find out

Hehe. I too got sucked in for longer than I intended yesterday. I helped do some beta testing back during Beta 3 and also played Beta 4 some. The difference between beta 4 and the final game is amazing! I love the new interface and the idea of the missions that the AI players give you so you can gain (or lose!) status with them is great. That way I know somewhat how they view me and it also gives me something fun to try for if I want.

Haven't got very far in a game yet, but I think the AI will definitely be able to own me now on hard since the first fleet of the hard AI I encountered kicked my butt all over the place. Of course, I am playing the Advent so I don't really know how to play them very well yet since this is my first game with them.

Oh well, will get back to it tonight! Should take at least 10 hours to beat the map I put myself on

Some of us are trying just that and have been for some time.

Sins will get more trolls than most games because RTS players have been conditioned to expect things to blow up all the time.

For the last what? 5 years action games masqerading as strategy games have taken the title RTS. Even Warcraft 3, a great GAME, was no strategy game. How much strategy is there in having a hero leading a horde of units into someone's base is there?

Supreme Commander, a game I like, is barely a strategy game. It's mostly about figuring out the optimal number of engineers to help build crap to overwhelm the enemy in a virtual stand off. Supreme Commander is mostly for the person who can micro manage the fastest. The annoying tactic of sending little units aroudn to attack mass extractors wouldn't work in Sins because your resources are quite tough.

I think the #1 reason Sins is a great game is that it really is about strategy and not little tactical tricks. In SC, good players can literally set the balance of the game with 3 or 4 units early in the game to wreak havoc. That's not strategy. That's tactics. No empire has ever fallen because of 3 or 4 guys. In Sins, 3 or 4 units can't do crap early on. It's a EPIC STRATEGY GAME.

HOI or Europa Universalis are true RTS's.

But like others have said, you'll have people who will be expecting to go "blow stuff up" instantly who will be shocked that you can't conquer an interstellar empire by sending your first frigate to the enemy home world and destroying its logistical underpinnings.

It can be arranged... are you closer to the Stardock or Ironclad office?

The only Sin I can see with this game is that it didn't come with a good dose of the Flu out of the box.

I'm a little unhappy with the game...because it's taking up so much of my time I should be using for school . There are quite a few balance issues that still need working out but the good far overshadows the bad, this is easily the best RTS I've ever played.

Finally a game were the sum of you decisions are what determine the outcome

I just got done with a game. And it's almost 3am. I'm so screwed!

QFT

My love of this game increases with each day.

Reason #491: You can play a 7 hour multiplayer game with your friend withou a single hicup right out of the box!