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GamePro Gives The Political Machine 2008 4.5/5

Andrew Dagley over at GamePro.com reviewed The Political Machine 2008 recently and gave it a glowing 4.5/5 score.  He talks at length about many options in the campaigns, and how issues and state political biases play out in the game.  The Political Machine doesn't disappoint, offering an excellentimprovement over the last version released four years ago - but it'sultimately hamstrung by some nagging issues and the lack offull-fledged improvements. Be sure to read the full re... [read more]

7/8/2008 By Zoomba in Political Machine News

Softpedia's Political Machine 2008 Review

Softpedia has weighed in and given their review of The Political Machine 2008.  It's a thorough review with a load of screenshoots as well.  "Get this game. Try it out and see how you do in a simple match up. Readup on the Internet about all the things that you do not understand.Read CNN or major blogs for political news. Read statistical dataregarding the voting preferences of the white male population of Ohioand then look up information on by how many votes Al Gore lost theelect... [read more]

7/7/2008 By Island Dog in Political Machine News

GameStooge TPM Contest Winner Announced

The folks over at GameStooge.com were running a contest to win a copy of The Political Machine 2008.  The contest was for anyone who submitted their own version of a campaign slogan.  There were many entries and the winner with the best slogan was announced today! The winner was Damian G. and his winning slogan was... “I’m not running for just the Right or the Left. I’m running for theup, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, A, B, B, A, start.” C... [read more]

7/1/2008 By Island Dog in Political Machine News

GamePro gives The Political Machine 4.5/5

The reviews keep rolling in and the latest is from GamePro.com.  They give The Political Machine a review and gave it 4.5 out of 5 and Editors Choice Award! "As it stands The Political Machine 2008 is a fine follow-up toStardock's earlier political gem. Though most games only last an hoursor two, the game offers enough to keep potential candidates coming backfrom just one more campaign. Political junkies will almost certainlyfind themselves sucked in, along with those who have only a sm... [read more]

6/30/2008 By Island Dog in Political Machine News

Sins of a Solar Empire v1.1 BETA Coming Soon

The next major update for Sins of a Solar Empire is coming in mid-July!  In fact, it's so huge that we're going to be offering it as an optional beta for those who want to help test it out and provide feedback.  Click through for all the details on what's coming in mid-July. [ Version 1.1 Beta Change Log ] [read more]

6/27/2008 By Yarlen in Sins News

Philly.com Press Play Reviews The Political Machine

Press Play, the video game entertainment section of Philly.com gives a review of The Political Machine 2008.  Gaming columnist, Dennis McCauley, takes TPM through its paces with Barack Obama at the helm.  He tried several running mates including Hillary Clinton and Al Gore, and gives a good perspective on what The Political Machine is all about. In the game, players assume the role of presidential campaign managerfor the candidate of their choice. A number of 2008 contenders areav... [read more]

6/27/2008 By Island Dog in Political Machine News

The Political Machine 1.03 Update Released!

The 1.03 update for The Political Machine 2008 has been released.  You can download the update via Impulse.  + NEW:  60 Seconds Interview Forum + TWEAK: Added code to increase the amount of scaling done to map objects once they surpass a certain threshold.   + Added a slider in the options window to control this.     + 1 means smaller icons with more objects, five means larger size; five is the default.     + Added "MapIconScaleRate" to ... [read more]

6/26/2008 By Island Dog in Political Machine News

gameSlave (UK) Reviews Sins

With the boxed version of Sins being released in the UK recently, gameSlave takes a detailed look at Sins of a Solar Empire. Using their very own Iron Forge engine, the rookie developer hasmanaged to re-define 'space strategy' by using a delicate combinationof control, innovation and sheer scale. Trying to make the physics of a game feel as real and as plausible as possible, whilst stillmaking it fun to play, is a delicate balancing act - yet Ironclad doesit oh so well. Go ch... [read more]

6/26/2008 By Island Dog in Sins News

Rock, Paper, Shotgun Gives Political Machine a Spin

Rock, Paper, Shotgun takes The Political Machine for a spin, and they even went as far as making Dick Cheney President.  They take a unique and entertaining look at TPM, with once again, a lot of attention to what you can make Cheney do.  "Meanwhile I’m accruing political clout and PR influence by constructingheadquarters across the country. The former buys me the support oflobby groups such as hard-right christians or gun nuts, the latter Ican spend on agents who’ll in... [read more]

6/24/2008 By Island Dog in Political Machine News

Ripten Reviews TPM 2008!

Ripten has went ahead and posted a review of the Political Machine 2008 this past weekend.  It's a great review with a great bit of humor as well.  "At first glance this downloadable game looks a bit like Civilization, but on a scale of 41 weeks instead of 4,100 years. Also, instead of a whole world to explore, you are limited to the 50 United States (suck it, Guam!), and there is no “fog of war” obscuring your view of the nation. While there is no rolling blackne... [read more]

6/23/2008 By Island Dog in Political Machine News

Reuters Takes a Look at The Political Machine

Reuters take a big look at The Political Machine 2008 today in their technology section.  I say big because this article spans 3 pages and goes in depth about the game and some of the mechanics behind it. There's also several quotes from Brad Wardell about the game and the upcoming election. " As a candidate you have to make some choices that are difficult.How people feel about illegal immigration in New York is different thanhow the fell about it in, say, Arizona," Wardell said. ... [read more]

6/20/2008 By Island Dog in Political Machine News

GameStooge is Giving Away a copy of TPM 2008!

The fine folks over at GameStooge.com are giving away a free copy of The Political Machine 2008! Entering is quick and easy, all you have to do is head on over to their contest post , and leave a comment with your best political slogan on why someone should vote for YOU in the 2008 Presidential Race.  They're accepting entries until 11:59pm EST on June 30th, with the winner announced on July 1st. Enter here . [read more]

6/20/2008 By Zoomba in Political Machine News

MSNBC Interview About The Political Machine 2008

MSNBC's David Shuster talks with Brad Wardell about the release of The Political Machine 2008.  It's a quick interview, but Brad gives some insight on some possible battleground states, and just some great info about The Political Machine 2008. Link: MSNBC Video [read more]

6/17/2008 By Island Dog in Political Machine News

A Guided Tour of The Political Machine

Just learning about The Political Machine? Take this guided tour through the game with tips and tricks to get the most out of it. https://forums.politicalmachine.com/315289   [read more]

6/17/2008 By Frogboy in Political Machine News

Pre-Order availability

For those of you who pre-ordered, the batch job for sending out emails was quicker than the batch job for activating said serials. So some users received a "account expired" message. We're about to send out a second email job to let people know that the activation has completed. We apologize for any inconvenience. [read more]

6/17/2008 By Frogboy in Political Machine News

The Political Machine released!

PLYMOUTH, MI – June 17, 2008 – Today Stardock ( www.stardock.com ) released The Political Machine 2008, the highly anticipated follow-up to its 2004 smash hit. The Political Machine 2008 is a PC game that puts players in control of the 2008 presidential campaign. Play as the campaign manager for a host of candidates including Barack Obama, John McCain, Hillary Clinton, historical candidates or design one from scratch. The game is available at major U.S. retail outlets as well as directly fr... [read more]

6/17/2008 By Frogboy in Political Machine News

The Political Machine 2008 Now Available!

Today we're proud to announce the release of  The Political Machine 2008 , the highly anticipated follow-up to our 2004 smash hit. The Political Machine 2008 is a PC game that puts players in control of the 2008 presidential campaign. Play as the campaign manager for a host of candidates including Barack Obama, John McCain, Hillary Clinton, historical candidates or design one from scratch. The game is available at major U.S. retail outlets as well as directly from www.politicalmachi... [read more]

6/17/2008 By Zoomba in Political Machine News

Impulse Arrives: Next Generation PC platform

PLYMOUTH, MI – June 17, 2008 – With the backing of industry powerhouse games and software developers and publishers, Stardock today announced the launch of its next-generation digital distribution platform, Impulse (www.impulsedriven.com). Impulse is a cohesive, integrated virtual platform for consumers and developers that is designed to simplify buying, supporting, and developing PC games and applications for Windows XP and Vista. "Impulse is a platform first, a store second," said Brad W... [read more]

6/17/2008 By Frogboy in Sins News

Brad's Impulse Launch Review

Today's the day Impulse launches to the public with much fanfare and celebration.  In anticipation of the release, Brad Wardell walked through what will be available in Impulse on release, and a few sneak peeks at what will be added in the comming weeks and months. It's required reading before you get the final version later today.  It will answer a lot of questions and hopefully clear up a lot of confusion of what Impulse is, what it isn't, and what it can and can not do.  ... [read more]

6/17/2008 By Zoomba in Sins News

Impulse this week!

For two years now, Stardock has been developing a next generation digital distribution platform.  Called Impulse, it is far more than a program that lets users purchase software and update. It is designed to open the door for developers and publishers to add new features to their programs and easily distribute them as well as providing an integrated community experience and let a player's various games all work together. Check out the Impulse preview to get a better idea of what Impu... [read more]

6/15/2008 By Frogboy in Sins News

Win a Copy of Sins at Rock, Paper, Shotgun

The fine folks over at the gaming site Rock, Paper, Shotgun are giving away five copies of Sins of a Solar Empire, the surprise strategy game hit of 2008.  The best part is that entering could not be easier!  Here's what you have to do: Here’s the question: What is the best line of dialogue ever to beuttered in a science fiction capacity? This means it must be a linefrom a science fiction movie, TV-show, or videogame. Since I'm willing to venture a guess that a lot of you are... [read more]

6/12/2008 By Zoomba in Sins News

GameSpy Previews TPM08

GameSpy's Allen Rausch recently took a near-final version of The Political Machine 2008 for a spin and put together a very detailed preview of the game. View: [ GameSpy Preview ] [read more]

6/4/2008 By Zoomba in Political Machine News

AMD now uses Sins of a Solar Empire for benchmarking

AMD has announced that Sins of a Solar Empire has joined an exclusive list of PC games it uses to benchmark their cards for optimal use. The titles AMD tests internally are Quake Wars, Half Life 2 Episode Two, World of Warcraft, Lineage II, Call of Duty 4, Sins of a Solar Empire, Command & Conquer 3, Sims 2 Deluxe and Zoo Tycoon 2. While AMD obviously runs even more benchmarks internally, these nine titles are the ones that it uses in determining the minimum hardware requirements for the GAM... [read more]

5/30/2008 By Frogboy in Sins News

Screenshots from the beta

Greetings!  The Political Machine 2008 is nearly done.  Originally, we intended to have a public beta as we do with all our other games.  Unfortunately, to make our June 17th retail release, we have to go gold in basically a week which cut the time down on when we'd have a public beta.     But in the meantime, here are some screenshots! I will also put together a guided tour of the 2008 edition. It's just so much better in every way.  I'm just finishing up a... [read more]

5/27/2008 By Frogboy in Political Machine News

Gamespot Preview

Gamespot is previewing The Political Machine 2008.  It also includes a lengthy Q&A session with yours truly in going over the various aspects of our upcoming PC strategy game set for launch on June 17th. View: [Gamespot Preview] [read more]

5/27/2008 By Frogboy in Political Machine News

PC Gamers sins again!

The July issue of PC Gamer has arrived and for fans of Sins of a Solar Empire, it's definitely a collector's item. It includes a complete modding guide that walks through Galaxy Forge and provides tips on how to create your own mods. It also includes a column by Brett Todd that goes over some of their favorite mods including "7 Deady Sins" by Danman, Dawn of Victory by Slipstream Productions, Sins Plus by UZII, the Texture Pack by Max Tael and more! And if that wasn't enough, it includ... [read more]

5/26/2008 By Frogboy in Sins News

Sins of a Solar Empire v1.05 Released

Sins of a Solar Empire version 1.05 is now available to all registered owners of the game.  This new update includes two new maps plus a number of multiplayer and single-player fixes. For a full change log, please check out this thread . To obtain the new patch, just click on the Download Updates button from the Sins main menu, or use our new Impulse client (beta). [read more]

5/21/2008 By Yarlen in Sins News

GWJ Conference Call mentions SINS

"This week Soren Johnson joins us to talk about the state of the strategy genre, working with gaming legends and what we should be looking out for in the future. Julian reveals his mail gaming roots and Shawn finds a way to compare Boom Blox and Sins of a Solar Empire." Listen to the Podcast here: http://www.gamerswithjobs.com/node/39114 [read more]

5/16/2008 By Craig Fraser in Sins News

Sins v1.05 Preview

Soon we'll be releasing the v1.05 update for Sins of a Solar Empire that should address many of the multiplayer issues some players have reported. This is a minor patch, however; more substantial updates will arrive with version 1.1. v1.05 Changes: Fixed bug deallocating particle pool memory. Fixed cargo ship related crash caused when loading a saved game. Increased the maximum length of map description text. If the text is too long, it will no longer crash the game. AI missions ... [read more]

5/15/2008 By Yarlen in Sins News

Sins Review Round-Up

It's been over three months since Sins of a Solar Empire hit store shelves, and soon it will be readily available at retail in Europe as well.  In the months since release, the reviews have continued to trickle in one at a time here and there.  Today, I have a quick round-up of a few of the most recent reviews posted for Sins.  Overall, with this latest bunch Sins of a Solar Empire has a solid 88% on GameRankings . Game Chronicles - 9.2 "I'll spare you the pun of "it wo... [read more]

5/13/2008 By Zoomba in Sins News

The issues of The Political Machine

Tonight (4:28am so technically this morning) I'm hanging out on the GalCiv II forums between compiles. The above is the issue editor for The Political Machine 2008.  In it, I must go through every conceivable issue, write a description and then put in the values. The values on position are between -10 (strongly against) and positive 10 (strongly in favor). The other variable (new in this version) is how important the issue is which is on a scale from 1 to 10. I also have th... [read more]

5/6/2008 By Frogboy in Political Machine News

Sins of a Solar Empire Post-Mortem now up!

Gamasutra has posted the in-depth post-mortem on Sins of a Solar Empire.  For gamers as well as developers who want to see how a hit game was made that was done almost completely differently than the typical publisher/developer system, you'll definitely want to check this out. It also has screenshots of very very early builds of Sins that you'll probably get a kick out of. View: Sins of a Solar Empire Post-Mortem   [read more]

4/28/2008 By Frogboy in Sins News

Joystiq Interview with Brad Wardell & Chris Taylor

Recently Joystiq sat down with Brad Wardell (Stardock CEO) and Chris Taylor (Gas Powered Games Founder) recently to talk a bit about Demigod, a little bit about Sins & Gal Civ 2, and of course about copy protection and where the PC games market is headed.  The result?  It looks like PC Gaming isn't dead afterall, and that Stardock/Gas Powered Games have some interesting ideas on where the future lies. Click to read the full interview , it's definitely worth a little bit of your... [read more]

4/25/2008 By Zoomba in Sins News

2008: A Good Year To Be a PC Strategy Gamer

GamerNode took at look at the PC game release calendar for this year and realized something; 2008 is a great year to be a PC strategy gamer!  While the article talks about genre giants like Starcraft 2, Empire: Total War and the highly anticipated Spore, do you know the game they led the feature with?  If you said "Sins of a Solar Empire", you'd be right! Highlighting Sins' scale, integration of 4X elements with real-time gameplay and an engine that performs well and looks great... [read more]

4/25/2008 By Zoomba in Sins News

Sins of a Solar Empire Arriving in Europe Soon

Stardock Entertainment and Kalypso Media are pleased to announce the signing of an agreement that will finally bring Sins of a Solar Empire to retail stores throughout Europe.  The game will start appearing at retail beginning in late May/early June, though no specific dates have yet been set. We'll post more information as soon as it becomes available. [read more]

4/18/2008 By Yarlen in Sins News

Sins of a Solar Empire v1.04 released!

Sins of a Solar Empire v1.04 is now available for download. Use THIS LINK to update to the latest version. If you are in the Impulse Beta, use the link provided here to update, don't use Impulse to update as we're in the process of updating the backend to support fast transfers of lots of little files which hasn't been perfected yet. View : Change Log Download : Sins of a Solar Empire v1.04 [read more]

4/10/2008 By Frogboy in Sins News

Sins of a Solar Empire v1.04 planned for this week

While we're not making any promises, we plan to have Sins of a Solar Empire v1.04 ready this week.  v1.04 is the first serious attempt to user-requested game balancing.  We've gotten a lot of feedback in the past few weeks with some great ideas on tweaks to each of the different sides to make the game more enjoyable to players.  Obviously a lot of time has had to be spent play testing (and yes, we get paid to do this, so there, mom!) these changes to make sure the result ... [read more]

4/7/2008 By Frogboy in Sins News

Why Demigod matters to Sinnners

Today Stardock and Gas Powered Games announced their partnership to develop and publish the much anticipated PC strategy/RPG game Demigod . Demigod is going to be a milestone PC game for a lot of reasons that will be made clear in the coming months. So why should players of Sins of a Solar Empire care?  For one thing, it means that a sophisticated ladder, match making, account system will become a reality in the near future.  You see, Stardock, Ironclad, and Gas Powered Games a... [read more]

4/7/2008 By Frogboy in Sins News

ANN: Stardock to publish Demigod from Gas Powered Games

PLYMOUTH, MI- April 7, 2008 - Stardock and Gas Powered Games announced today that they have reached a publishing agreement for Gas Powered Games' upcoming PC game, Demigod. Demigod is a team-based action game with RTS and RPG elements. Players take control of a massive Demigod with the goal of annihilating their opponent's position in a given arena while preventing the opponent's Demigod from doing the same to them. Although the game supports superb one-on-one duels, the title will truly shi... [read more]

4/7/2008 By Frogboy in Sins News