Account Cart Search

Stardock Game News

Latest Articles

Elemental: War of Magic on Facebook

We have setup a fan page on Facebook for the upcoming PC game, Elemental: War of Magic .  The fan page on Facebook is another place fans can get together and post article, links, etc. about Elemental.  We will also have some giveaways in the future as well, so you definitely don’t want to miss out on that! If you are on Facebook, just head over to the page and hit the “become a fan” button.  See you there! Link  – Elemental Facebook page ... [read more]

7/8/2009 By Island Dog in Elemental News

Sins of a Solar Empire v1.17 and Entrenchment v1.03 Released

Ironclad Games and Stardock are pleased to announce the release of Sins of a Solar Empire v1.17 and Sins of a Solar Empire: Entrenchment v1.03 today.  The updates for both games are now available via Impulse for all registered customers. The updates include: + Rebalanced all races' carrier cruisers to help prevent "kiting" around the gravity well. + Improved pathfinding in regards to travelling between gravity wells. + Updated Marza Dreadnought's Missile Barrage ability to ... [read more]

6/11/2009 By Yarlen in Sins News

Sins of a Solar Empire & Entrenchment Updates!

The v1.17 update for Sins of a Solar Empire , and the v1.03 update for Entrenchment are now available!  These updates can be obtained via Stardock’s Impulse . Highlights of these updates include: Rebalanced all races' carrier cruisers to help prevent "kiting" around the gravity well. Improved pathfinding in regards to travelling between gravity wells. Updated Marza Dreadnought's Missile Barrage ability to last longer while doing less damage; also updated particle fx. ... [read more]

6/11/2009 By Island Dog in Sins News

Sins of a Solar Empire v1.17 and Entrenchment v1.03 Change Logs

Sins of a Solar Empire v1.17 and Sins: Entrenchment v1.03 are currently in testing, with a planned release sometime late next week if no showstoppers are found. We've posted the change logs for both games at the links below; check out the very latest. Sins Change Log: https://forums.sinsofasolarempire.com/354826   Entrenchment Change Log: https://forums.sinsofasolarempire.com/354827 [read more]

6/3/2009 By Yarlen in Sins News

Sins CE Boxes Sold Out!

Just a quick note that we have sold out of the Collectors' Edition boxes for Sins of a Solar Empire. Those who order the game's boxed edition direct will recieve the standard version instead. Stay tuned for more updates! [read more]

5/12/2009 By Yarlen in Sins News

GameSpot’s GDC Preview of Elemental

It seems everyone is still trying to catch up from all the news from this years GDC, and GameSpot has posted an interview with Brad Wardell with the topic being Elemental: War of Magic.  “To begin with, Wardell reiterated his commitment to getting the game into a testable, playable state earlier than usual. Stardock plans to run a "beta zero" phase, where a working prototype of the game, using extremely simple art assets, will be made available to a small group of beta testers to... [read more]

4/1/2009 By Island Dog in Elemental News

The Showdown Is On! (Round 2)

Ironclad has defeated Sony and advanced to round two! Thanks for all your support! But now the Escapist's Developer Showdown between Ironclad Games and Konami has begun and we need all the troops rallied! Help Ironclad win this contest of wills by heading over to the Escapist and casting your vote for them in the Western bracket. You will need to create and validate (via email) an account with the Escapist in order to vote and have it count. Visit the URL below to create your account - regist... [read more]

3/23/2009 By Zoomba in Sins News

Sins v1.16 and Entrenchment v1.02 Released

Ironclad Games and Stardock are pleased to announce the release of Sins of a Solar Empire v1.16 and Entrenchment v1.02 today.  These latest updates make more gameplay balance changes, bug fixes and more.  Registered customers can update their games immediately via Impulse ( http://www.impulsedriven.com ). For the latest changes to Sins of a Solar Empire, please see: https://forums.sinsofasolarempire.com/343750 For the latest changes to Entrenchment, please see: https://forums.... [read more]

3/19/2009 By Yarlen in Sins News

The Showdown is On!

The Escapist's Developer Showdown between Ironclad Games and Sony Online Entertainment has begun! Help Ironclad win this contest of wills by heading over to the Escapist and casting your vote for them in the Western bracket. You will need to create and validate (via email) an account with the Escapist in order to vote and have it count. Vist the URL below to create your account - registration is free: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/global/registration/register.php Once yo... [read more]

3/19/2009 By Yarlen in Sins News

Escapist Developer Showdown with Ironclad

The Escapist  has announced the 2009 March Mayhem: Developer’s Showdown and Ironclad Games is in it!   Ironclad Games is one of the 64 top game developers that will be going head-to-head in a bracketed tournament to see who gamers believe the best developer is! The Escapist and game developer fan communities vote on The Escapist to see who will move to the next round until there is only one developer left standing. Last year many gamers who played Lord ... [read more]

3/16/2009 By Yarlen in Sins News

Blair Fraser Interviews with Gamers with Jobs

Gamers with Jobs has recently posted an interview with Ironclad's Blair Fraser to discuss all things Sins of a Solar Empire. This is a phone interview, so strap on your headphones or power-up your speakers and head over to the URL below: http://www.gamerswithjobs.com/node/43967 [read more]

3/12/2009 By Yarlen in Sins News

Crispy Gamer Interviews Blair Fraser About Entrenchment

Crispy Gamer has published an interview with Ironclad Games' Blair Fraser discussing Sins of a Solar Empire: Entrenchment. In the interview, author Tom Chick questions Blair on why the decision was made to focus on turtling and much more. Read the entire interview at: http://www.crispygamer.com/columns/2009-03-10/rush-boom-turtle-sins-of-a-sins-developer.aspx [read more]

3/11/2009 By Yarlen in Sins News

IGN Reviews Sins of a Solar Empire: Entrenchment

IGN.com, which gave Sins of a Solar Empire the PC game of the year award in 2008, has posted their review of Sins first micro-expansion, Entrenchment. “Last year's Sins of a Solar Empire was an undeniably amazing experience; so much so, in fact, that it won our game of the year award. But that doesn't mean that the teams at Ironclad or Stardock are resting on their laurels. They've recently released the first micro-expansion for the game, Sins of a Solar Empire: Entrench... [read more]

3/4/2009 By Island Dog in Sins News

Entrenchment Unit Basics and Tips

Entrenchment Unit Basics and Tips (Reference supplement to " What's New in Entrenchment? ")   This certainly isn’t all encompassing but it’ll give you a feel for the categories of the new toys, what their function is and I give a few tips on how I like to use them. See the above link for more information.     Defensive Upgrades The first time you start up an Entrenchment game pause it and open up the research windo... [read more]

3/4/2009 By Blair Fraser in Sins Developer Journals

Entrenchment Feature List

Sins of a Solar Empire: Entrenchment Feature List (Reference supplement to " What's New in Entrenchment? ") " After nearly 15 years, the war which raged across dozens of star systems is nearing a stand-still. The great fleets of the Trader Emergency Coalition, the Vasari Empire and The Advent are near stalemate. With the fronts temporarily stabilized, there is time to regroup, and entrench. Great defensive battlestations are being deployed and critical choke p... [read more]

3/4/2009 By Blair Fraser in Sins Developer Journals

What's New in Entrenchment?

Wh at's New In Entrenchment?   I’m getting non-stop questions from people wondering “What’s new in Entrenchment?” and I can’t blame them. They are justified in asking because there is no single place to find an easily digestible list of the new material. My excuse is that I felt the change logs were more than sufficient however when I was brought back to reality I realized how impossible it would be for anyone not in the b... [read more]

3/4/2009 By Blair Fraser in Sins Developer Journals

Sins of a Solar Empire: Entrenchment Gameplay Example

Developer Ironclad Games and publisher Stardock Entertainment have teamed up to bring you the first micro-expansion pack to Sins of a Solar Empire. Right now, we plan on doing 3 of these micro expansions and then rolling them together as a single traditional expansion pack.  The intro pricing for each micro expansion is about $10 so you get a ton of new features for a tiny price. Based on sales so far, it seems gamers do like the idea of being able to pick up expansions in bite-si... [read more]

3/1/2009 By Frogboy in Sins Developer Journals

Sins of a Solar Empire: Entrenchment Released!

Ironclad Games and Stardock Entertainment are pleased to announce the releases of both Sins of a Solar Empire: Entrenchment v1.0 and Sins of a Solar Empire v1.15 today.  Registered customers may download the update to Sins and Entrenchment via Impulse ( http://www.impulsedriven.com ). Special thanks to all of the beta testers for helping us to make Entrenchment a truly unique addition to the game! [read more]

2/25/2009 By Yarlen in Sins News

Sins Entrenchment Beta 3 Now Available

Ironclad Games and Stardock Entertainment are pleased to announce the release of Sins of a Solar Empire: Entrenchment Beta 3!  Sins of a Solar Empire v1.14 is also now available.  The latest updates are now available for registered customers via Impulse ( http://www.impulsedriven.com ). Please note that you must fully uninstall both Sins of a Solar Empire and Entrenchment for this build!   For more details and the latest changes, please see: https://forums.sinsofa... [read more]

2/20/2009 By Yarlen in Sins News

Entrenchment Beta 3 Change Log Posted

Beta 3 for Sins of a Solar Empire: Entrenchment is on the way and we've got the latest changes for everyone to look over: https://forums.sinsofasolarempire.com/340287 [read more]

2/19/2009 By Yarlen in Sins News

What do Developers Eat?

Ever wonder what fuels the developers at Ironclad? I'll start with a typical day and see what fools will follow... Breakfast: Banana, Multigrain Bagel and Cream Cheese OR Cereal & Berries Lunch:   Sandwich with Krakowska Sausage, Edam cheese, Spinach, Mayo, Onion Mustard and Tomato. Green Giant Garlic Pasta Broccoli Carrot Mix. Hazelnut & dark chocolate bar Take Out: Gyro, Greek Salad, and a donut. Supper:   Fast and dirty - Annies cheese pasta ... [read more]

2/11/2009 By Craig Fraser in Sins Developer Journals

Sins Entrenchment Set For February 25

Stardock Corporation announced today that the first micro-expansion to Ironclad’s Strategy Game of the Year, Sins of a Solar Empire: Entrenchment , is undergoing further incorporation of beta feedback to maximize quality and will now be available February 25 for download on Stardock’s digital download platform, Impulse ( www.impulsedriven.com ).   "One of Stardock’s key strategies for success with past games has been the incorporation of player feedback from ... [read more]

2/9/2009 By Yarlen in Sins News

Dev Diary: The Hunt for the One Sync Bug!

Dev Diary: The Hunt for the One Sync Bug!   Tired but Wired!   Well I have to say I really, really detest sync bugs - probably more than all of you combined. But as of this moment I am elated despite being utterly exhausted (it’s 4:04am as I type this sentence) because I’ve found and tracked a sync bug that has been in Sins for a VERY long time. One of the great joys of making games is tracking down the nastiest bugs, the kind that hound you for days, mont... [read more]

2/7/2009 By Blair Fraser in Sins Developer Journals

Sins of a Solar Empire: Entrenchment Beta 2.5 Now Available

The next beta update for Sins of a Solar Empire: Entrenchment is now available via Impulse for registered customers.  This build contains a number of balance tweaks, bug fixes and - hopefully - will prevent crashes related to running out of memory. For the complete change log visit: https://forums.sinsofasolarempire.com/338638 [read more]

2/4/2009 By Yarlen in Sins News

Sins of a Solar Empire and Entrenchment Updates Now Live

Ironclad and Stardock have released the v1.13 update for Sins of a Solar Empire and Beta 2 for the Entrenchment micro-expansion today.  Both updates are now available exclusively via Impulse ( http://www.impulsedriven.com ). For more details on the Sins v1.13 update, see the change log at: https://forums.sinsofasolarempire.com/337903 For more details on what's changed with Entrenchment Beta 2, see the change log at: https://forums.sinsofasolarempire.com/337896 [read more]

1/29/2009 By Yarlen in Sins News

Sins of a Solar Empire: Entrenchment schedule

Our story so far... Last month the beta for Sins of a Solar Empire: Entrenchment was released.  We have been very happy with the reception the first expansion pack has received and we've gotten a lot of great feedback and suggestions. This week we plan to release beta 2 which has a new implemention for mines and tons of other things.  Based on the feedback for this, we'll have a firmer date for the final release.  Tentatively, the release date for Sins of a Solar Empire: ... [read more]

1/28/2009 By Frogboy in Sins News

IGN Previews Sins: Entrenchment

With the release coming up very soon, Steve Butts over at IGN put in some time with the Sins of a Solar Empire expansion, Entrenchment, and gives a great in-depth preview. “Next month Stardock and Ironclad will be releasing the first ever micro-expansion for our 2008 Game of the Year, Sins of a Solar Empire. Titled Entrenchment, the new addition to the Sins franchise brings a host of defense-oriented improvements that should help players beat back the dreaded pirate surge and also put... [read more]

1/27/2009 By Island Dog in Sins News

Sins Nominated for an Academy Award

The Academy of Interactive Arts and Science has released the nominees for the annual Interactive Achievement Awards.  Sins of a Solar has been nominated for the Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year! "The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences® (AIAS) today announced the nominees for the 12th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards®.  The nominations for the peer-based awards have been dominated by blockbuster game, LittleBigPlanet (Sony Computer Entertainment America) with... [read more]

1/26/2009 By Island Dog in Sins News

Maximum PC 2008 Game Awards

We are well into 2009, but the PC game awards for 2008 have not stopped yet, but we aren’t complaining!  The latest news comes from Maximum PC which has published their top PC game awards for 2008, and Sins of a Solar Empire made the list. “Sure, it’s a 4X (eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, eXterminate) space-exploration RTS and plays a lot like a real-time version of the board game Risk, but it’s one of the most fun and engrossing multiplayer RTSes we’ve eve... [read more]

1/23/2009 By Island Dog in Sins News

ICO Server Downtime

The ICO server will be unavailable this afternoon (January 19, 2009) while we do some maintenance on its hardware. It should be back online tonight.  We apologize for the downtime. [read more]

1/19/2009 By Yarlen in Sins News

Sins 2008 Awards Wrap-up

There is no doubt that Sins of a Solar Empire had a spectular 2008, and I'm quite confident that will also be the case in 2009 as well.  Over the last couple weeks we have posted about all the different awards that Sins has been honored to receive, along with notable mentions from various websites and even TV programs. I have compiled a list of some of hte most notable awards and mentions that Sins of a Solar Empire received last year, and I wanted to share that with everyone here. L... [read more]

1/16/2009 By Island Dog in Sins News

Elemental Interview at Rock, Paper, Shotgun

Rockpapershotgun.com has an interview with Brad Wardell about Stardock’s upcoming title, Elemental: War of Magic.  The interview covers a few things, including a chat about user-generated content and more! “Brad Wardell: The in-game tools of Elemental are designed to let players create their own items, their own worlds, their own graphical elements to the world, their own creatures, their own races and pretty much anything else they might want to expand the game. They&... [read more]

1/16/2009 By Island Dog in Elemental News

Looking for Elemental: War of Magic Avatars?

Well look no further.  Community members Spartan, Luckmann, and landisaurus have taken some time and created some very cool looking avatars with resources from Elemental: War of Magic. You can use these as your forum avatar on the Elemental forums, or other forums as well.  There are a bunch of choices, and we thank them for taking the time to put them together for the community. Check out their post which has all the avatars . [read more]

1/13/2009 By Island Dog in Elemental News

Win a Sins Prize Pack from Neoseeker.com

Neoseeker.com is running a contest where they are giving away five prize packs that consist of: 1 Collector's Edition of Sins of a Solar Empire, signed by the developers. 1 Ironclad t-shirt - winners get to specify the size. 1 free download key for Sins of a Solar Empire: Entrenchment (when it's released) This contest will run until January 12th, so you still have plenty of time to enter.  Head over to Neoseeker.com for more information and contest rules.   [read more]

1/6/2009 By Island Dog in Sins News

GWJ Gives Sins Best PC Exclusive Game of the Year

The fine folks over at Gamers with Jobs has given Sins of a Solar Empire the award for Best PC Exclusive Game of the Year!  Not only that, Sins was also a runner up in the Game of the Year award.   Link: 2008 GWJ Community Game of the Year Awards “As a rule, we at Gamerswithjobs avoid putting together any kind of intenal Game of the Year awards, primarily because the debate over the value and standards of such a thing would result in bloodshed, assault charges an... [read more]

1/2/2009 By Island Dog in Sins News

Sins in Gamasutra’s Best of ‘08 PC Games

The Best of 2008 lists keep rolling in, and Sins of a Solar Empire makes it into the Top 5 PC Games list from Gamasutra. “One of the year's great success stories was this space strategy title from Vancouver-based Ironclad Games, which put the small developer on the map and scored another hit for its increasingly influential publisher Stardock. Ostensibly a member of the "4X" genre of domination-oriented titles, Sins of a Solar Empire, with its explicit focus on battles and its re... [read more]

12/31/2008 By Island Dog in Sins News

Gamespot Best Strategy Game

Sins of a Solar Empire is the winner of 'Best Strategy Game' at Gamespot's Best of 2008 Awards. "Sins of a Solar Empire boldly goes where no RTS game has gone before, deftly combining the empire-building of 4X strategy games (explore, exploit, expand, exterminate) with the tactical precision of real-time strategy. " Read more here: http://www.gamespot.com/best-of/genre-awards/index.html?page=11 [read more]

12/24/2008 By Craig Fraser in Sins News