Stardock CEO Brad Wardell made headlines recently with the debut of the "Gamer's Bill of Rights," a ten-point plan to revitalize PC gaming that he developed in conjunction with Gas Powered Games CEO Chris Taylor.

Always honest and never shy, Wardell has gained a reputation as an outspoken critic of many conventional responses to the problems facing the PC platform. Following the announcement, I caught up with him for a lengthy interview, covering everything from the Bill's conception to his controversial views on piracy.

Have any companies signed on to the Bill of Rights yet? What is his answer to charges of setting unrealistic goals in the interest of a publicity stunt? What does he have to say about Crysis developer Crytek's conservative stance on piracy? Does the Sins of a Solar Empire publisher read the Shacknews comments? Look inside for the answers to these, and many other questions.

The example I usually hear is that a game comes out for the PC, and it sold five gazillion copies on consoles, and on the PC it only sold a tiny number. Well first of all, if piracy was the cause of it, if piracy is so rampant on the PC, then why are the console numbers still high? If game X comes out for Xbox 360 and the PC, and piracy is the scourge, then why wouldn't it also affect the Xbox 360 sales? I mean, what's the percentage of Xbox 360 owners that don't own a PC? So that begs the question, I mean you can do a Shack survey: how many Xbox 360 owners do not own a decent PC? Read more..

The Sins of a Solar Empire world will expand with several expansions during the next year, publisher Stardock announced today.

The first expansion is titled Entrenchment and will be available later this year for $9.95.

Entrenchment will add a Starbase defense platform to each race--giving them armored bases with a variety of weapon, and upgrades that make them capable of defending an entire planet--along with turrent upgrades, mine fields and a "Subspace Inhibitor platform" which will slow down nearby enemy ships.

Other micro-expansions in development will add new diplomacy features, as well as additional technologies and ships. Development of all these expansions is being handled by series creator Ironclad Games.

The expansions will be available from the Sins of a Solar Empire website as well as through Stardock's Impulse digital distribution platform.

Publisher Stardock today revealed a preliminary change log for an upcoming update to Ironclad Games' space RTS Sins of a Solar Empire (PC), due out later this summer.

Bringing the game to version 1.1, the update includes an updated graphics engine and visual effects, new damage animations and more alongside the standard gameplay balancing changes.

The update will also debut with a new multiplayer system called Alloy, which the publisher says will eliminate the need to configure routers or change port numbers for online play.

The patch will launch as a public beta next month before its summer release. For more details, check out the complete change log.

For people with problems using the auto-updater, the Sins of a Solar Empire 1.04 update is now available as a stand-alone download. The 17mb update comes with balancing changes, bug fixes (including one for the bug where save games wouldn't remember custom game options), AI and UI tweaks, and multiplayer improvements. ... Read more

Publisher Stardock revealed that an expansion is in the works for Ironclad Games' 4X space strategy title Sins of a Solar Empire (PC).

Company president and CEO Brad Wardell told Game|Life that an expansion for the game would feature a fully-fledged campaign mode as well as new playable factions. Wardell could not specify a particular release date for the Sins expansion, but noted that it would arrive in the near future.

The title has enjoyed brisk sales since its early February debut, selling over 100,000 copies in just under a month at retail. For more on Sins of a Solar Empire, check out our review.

A Sins of a Solar Empire singleplayer demo is now available at FileShack, for those of you interested in trying out Ironclad's recently released 4X space strategy game. The 536mb download includes four tutorials, two small maps, one randomly generated medium map and a 90 minute play limit. For more on Sins of a Solar Empire, check out Nick Breckon's review of the game.

Fans of Ironclad and Stardock's innovative PC strategy title Sins of a Solar Empire will be pleased to know that the game is selling strong, with 100,000 copies unloaded after 23 days at retail.

Sins also beat out Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade to take the top spot in North American PC game sales last week, according to Gamasutra. The title is sold in stores and through Stardock's online distribution platform Stardock Central.

Stardock reports that a demo for the game will be coming soon. For more information on Sins, check out our review.

The first patch for Ironclad Games' stellar real-time space dynasty simulator Sins of a Solar Empire (PC) has been released.

Bringing the game up to version 1.02, the patch resolves several bugs, including problems with networking, and rebalances several abilities and weapons. Scope out the full changelog for the scoop on all the nitty gritty details.

Owners of the title can acquire the patch by logging into the game's official site. To learn more about Sins of a Solar Empire and the glory of galactic domination through pew-pew lasers, check out Nick Breckon's informative review.

Like spaceships? Like lots of spaceships? Wondering what the hell this game is about, and whether the hype is justified? Hopefully this review will help a little.

I'm going to knock this game around a bit, but it will be a fatherly sort of beating, tough love with well-meaning intentions underneath the gruff, abusive exterior. Because I really do love Sins. It's a well-rounded, mostly-polished hardcore space strategy game for the PC. How often do you see that on a store shelf anymore? If the concept at all piques your interest, you will likely not regret a buy.
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Joystiq has posted a Sins of a Solar Empire Q&A, asking Ironclad's Blair Fraser about his company's 4X space based strategy game which is coming out this week.

Publisher Stardock Entertainment just sent over 15 new screenshots from Ironclad Games' upcoming 4x space strategy title Sins of a Solar Empire (PC).

According to its official site, the game will arrive in "just over two weeks," with retailer listings indicating a February 4 ship date. Once released, it will be available through both traditional retail outlets and digital distribution via Stardock's TotalGaming.net.

We received new media from Sins of a Solar Empire, the 4X space strategy game in development at Ironclad Games. We have twelve Gamma version screenshots as well as a multiplayer gameplay movie.

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GameSpy has the latest Sins of a Solar Empire preview, offering impressions of the game's current beta build.

A new Sins of a Solar Empire movie is now available on FileShack, offering nearly twelve minutes of gameplay footage narrated by Brad Wardell of Stardock. You can stream the first couple of minutes below, grab the rest here.

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Developed by Ironclad Games, the 4X space strategy game Sins of a Solar Empire is currently in beta and will be released next February.

There's a preview of Sins of a Solar Empire on the Adrenaline Vault, offering hands-on impressions of the space based strategy game.

There's a Sins of a Solar Empire preview on GameShark, going hands-on with a beta build of the 4X space strategy game.

In a move that's starting to seem rather familiar, those who pre-order Ironclad's 4x space strategy game Sins of a Solar Empire through TotalGaming.net can participate in the third phase of the title's beta test, which brings multiplayer to the mix.

Beginning Thursday, September 20, the beta is open to anyone who pre-purchases the game before September 26 and supports up to ten players through either LAN or the Ironclad Online network. Along with multiplayer, the latest beta build adds new ships and bases, a new exploration system, cultural system updates, improved research mechanics, and environmental features--including space anomalies, a new planet type and planetoids--in addition to several bug fixes and tweaks.

Sins of a Solar Empire is slated to arrive on PC in February 2008.

New at GameSpot is this preview of Sins of a Solar Empire. The article offers hands-on impressions of the space strategy game.

IGN has gone sinning, checking out a recent build of Sins of a Solar Empire. Includes new screenshots from this space based strategy game.

Also on IGN is this Sins of a Solar Empire Q&A. Ironclad's Blair Fraser is asked about the game title, singleplayer campaign, real-time 4X gameplay, the graphics engine, and plenty more.