Well, asking for money before releasing any concrete work is not a clever move to me, especially during crisis times.

How do you expect to believe that the game will be delivered soon ? How do you then expect them to give some money away with no return on investment for now ?

I wouldn't expect that much. That is obvisouly a senseless move. There are limits to people's trust. I believe you are reaching one.

Hope it will be realeased before the end of the world though. 2012 is approaching quickly !

Nobody is charged until the beta is released, so you're not being asked to pay for anything up-front without getting something tangible.

Nobody is charged but everybody knows that at the end of the day, they WILL be charged, no matter what comes out.

The previous way to deal with customers was way better. Why this sudden change ? It is a shame because it kinda breaks the trust between devs and customers. I have been playing Sins since day 1, always paid for it as soon as it was possible, but this time it looks too early to me.

Just saying, I'm not trying to be a smart ass or to be bitching for nothing, I am just letting you know how I feel about it.

I'm not really sure what you are talking about?

Again, this was just to notify people that the discount was ending.  If you want to wait until release, hey no problem.

So the $10 discount ends Sept 31?

Pre-ordered!!!

You know why I did this even without a good amount of information I usually want before making a purchase? let's investigate.

I bought sins because I like things in space, be it wars, treks, or balls. For several games I was enthralled with all the ships and worlds and epic zoomability that was soo new to me. Then after the initial shine wore off, I started to see holes. The game became a rush from world to world as the defensibility of these worlds was sad, so sad that I put the game down for a lengthy amount of time.

Then Entrenchment came out. By the gods, the developers identified the biggest hole in the game and fixed it. Wow, this game is playable again. So I begin anew; "look at these giant fortresses, kicking ass in outer space is finally less of a pain. Wait, what's this mission stuff that keeps popping up, it's so retarded, 15 minutes to go deep into enemy territory and kill civilian structures so you like me a tiny bit more? Screw it, locked teams, issue resolved, back to ruling the universe all by my lonesome, didn't need anyone anyway."

Then diplomacy came out. Instantly bought, not waiting like last time, I think the developers are on a roll...."Mmmm..... nice try ironclad, I like the effort, the changes made were not cosmetic, you guys really did try to overhaul the whole system, but I'm gonna stick to locked teams...maybe I was too quick in buying..."

Again the shine wore off and I thought, "Any developer in there right mind would have put this game down and focused on a sequel" But no, Sins developers kept pumping out updates, fixing this and fixing that. EVEN getting the AI to finally build superweapons! Something I thought would never happen! Why do they care so much?

The point is, even if Rebellion comes out shit they won't give up on it because they have what many other game makers don't, Commitment to the fans. When I pay for a simple fix to a game that I could technically use to buy a whole other new game for, I realize I am paying for a game that has a group of people behind it tinkering away waaaaaay after it has come out and all that's left is a few true lovers of the genre.

Ridiculously long post

/END

OK - got my pre-order in.  Just to make sure everyone's clear, the pre-order price at this point is $29.95 (or $29.99).  That's exactly what I paid.  So, if you really want to wait for reviews and miss out on the beta, pay your $40 when you like.  If you want in on all that and are currently impressed with SoaSE, then $30 bucks gets you in the door. 

It might be worth clarifying this in the OP.  I was always under the impression that it was $40 if I pre-order unless I own all of the previous sins games.  It's actually $30. 

Well, in the FAQ it states that all content before rebellion will be included (Wewt) and much more, but yeah, could use some more Info to what is coming.

Also, it being standalone and "full", there has to be some awesome futures worth pre-ordering for, so I'm going to take my chances and say that SD Made the expansion worth its price. (*Crosses fingers*)

Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy ???

(Whats the difference to a credit card transfer?)

Considering all the hours I play Sins, the discount price of $30 (it cost me £18) seems quite cheap.

Something about paypal not liking products that aren't immediately made available to the customer. Once the beta is released stardock has said you'll be able to pre order with paypal, though that will probably be after the discount ends.

What I meant is that in the way it was done before, customers were given something before being asked for money.
This is not even about the money ; -30/40$- is definitely not much. It is a matter of principle, I guess.

But I will clearly buy this game if it is as good as the previous ones.
I just think it is not correct to ask for a payment for something that we have no real information about. When I order a car, I know what it will be, so I know what I pay for.

Anyway, I will not annoy people any longer. I just wanted to say that, because I believe this is what many players think, and it would be a shame to let this be between us and Sins

So ... I still don't get why everyone is freaking out.

The Sins series has a VERY good track record of releases and support. A VERY ... VERY ... good track record when compared to the rest of the game industry abroad. That alone recomends a pre-order based on the features they have listed that will be in the game.

I want to say Thank You to Blair Fraser and Island Dog for taking time out of their busy days to post in here with simple and concise answers to many of the community's concerns.

I will do exactly as I did for Entrenchment and Diplomacy ... I will wait to pre-order until there is a downloadable beta available for those that pre-order. This way I can utilize paypal. It's not a big deal at all. In fact, it shouldn't be a problem at all anyways. People are freaking out about 'people will get charged anyways'? You can cancel your pre-order if at any time you no longer want to order that item. It's really simple.

This methodology has never been an issue before for StarDock or IronClad, it's just taking a little longer than it did previously for 'MORE' information to be released. You all need to chill out.

Dont make me turn this ship around

What's all this nonsense about not knowing what you're getting?

*ahem*

You are getting more Sins of a Solar Empire!

That's really all there is to it. Either you like it, or you don't. I for one desperately need the engine boosts that have been promised since late-game is entirely unplayable - which is also why I pre-ordered when I saw the announcement on May 11th.

Honestly, 30 or 40 bucks here means a good year or two more with support for this game. How can you not jump at this? I will admit to having a strong hope that Sins 2 will be the next target, though, hopefully with a single-player campaign this time around. I really want to know more about the story and a single player campaign is a great way of delivering that. Lack of single player is the sole gripe I have with this game.

Keep it up devs! You rock!