Sins of a Solar Empire's 'Micro-Expansions' Explained

Sins of a Solar Empire challenged a number of established ideas about game development — particularly on the PC. The game cost less than a million dollars to make, and was released with absolutely no DRM or copy-protection schemes. Just eight months later with over half a million copies sold, Ironclad’s first game has won […]
Image may contain Light Flare Duel and Laser

Sins_solar

Sins of a Solar Empire challenged a number of established ideas about game development – particularly on the PC. The game cost less than a million dollars to make, and was released with absolutely no DRM or copy-protection schemes.

Just eight months later with over half a million copies sold, Ironclad's first game has won a number of awards and a generally positive reception for its blend of the real-time strategy and 4X (eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, eXterminate) genres. More of a great game is usually a good thing, and Ironclad promised to deliver just that, in the form of the Entrenchment, a Sins of a Solar Empire micro-expansion.

Expansion packs are nothing new, but most of us are familiar with the idea of micro-transactions: traditionally, that means being gouged for content that arguably should've been in the game in the first place. Entrenchment – which will be available later this year – is the first of three micro-expansions priced at $10 each, which will expand upon the Sins experience. But ten bucks here, and there and then over there... pretty soon, it all adds up to real money.

To figure out whether or not Entrenchment would be some sort of unholy union between micro-transactions and expansion packs, I sat down with Craig and Blair Fraser – co-founders of Ironclad Games – for a preview, and a bit of candid conversation about what this whole “micro-expansion” thing actually means.

Sins_solar2

“Most of Sins was developed in our basement” remarks Craig Fraser. “It was sweaty, it was disgusting, we had crap computers, crap chairs.” For a game that has won over many a heart and mind, their story almost feel Dickensian: inauspicious beginnings, but with hard work and a bit of luck they can compete with the proverbial big kids at EA or Blizzard, producing a successful, genre-bending strategy title on a relatively shoestring budget. All this, on the PC – a platform almost synonymous with swashbuckling software-pirates.

Of course their success has far more to do with a consumer-centric business model: Stardock, the game's publisher, has made a name for itself by being the poster-child of the customer-first, anti-DRM movement.

Micro-expansions, on the other hand, seemed decidedly anti-consumer.

Instead of releasing a proper expansion, Ironclad plans to offer a $10 download that expands the experience, three times – once with Entrenchment , again with a diplomacy-related offering, and yet again, with plans for a third micro-expansion yet to be divulged. The trick with Entrenchment will be to offer an experience that adds something meaningful to a player's experience, while justifying its price. Buy all three, and you're out thirty bucks, on top of the initial cost of the game.

Ultimately, Ironclad's goal is to explore new terrain, without the traditional burdens of expensive budgets and lengthy development cycles. Micro-expansions can be developed at a lower cost, and quickly, while giving fans the updates they want in a timely manner. Craig explains: “the net-increase in content will be higher, but at the same time reduces our risk, and gives players more content, like, at a faster pace... Here we are, under a year, they're getting a whole new batch of high quality content, new gameplay features.”

Risk-reduction is an important factor, particularly to smaller developers. When your first game is developed by a small team working in a basement, you can't really spend years toiling on a single magnum opus, hoping the public will receive it well – bills need to be paid.

Consider this approach in contrast to the upcoming Starcraft II trilogy, with Blizzard doling out new content after an extended period of time. Or Half-Life 2's episodic content, the first two chapters being released years apart (with the third coming some time after Duke Nukem Forever). With a smaller development team, Ironclad is agile enough to release upgrades and expand their content in quick, palatable installments.

Of course, the argument is moot if Entrenchment doesn't actually deliver.

There are significant developments planned for each micro-expansion, centered around features that players have requested. With Entrenchment, some improvements are cosmetic, like attribute and equipment upgrades that actually appear on the models of a particular unit or building. There are also tactical upgrades – proximity mines, new abilities and functionality for existing units, and entirely new ships altogether.

Every structure will have a tactical function: that means flak cannons grafted onto hangars, or turrets supplemented with armor debuffs, to challenge players to improve upon their established personal strategies.

And then there are the potential game changers: Starbases, which dwarf even the mighty capital ships. These massive, expensive structures are designed to allow players to establish a forward base to produce units, serve as an economic and trading powerhouse, or even shut down an entire section of the map altogether with a barrage of firepower. But which upgrade path would you choose?

This, of course, is the benefit of the micro-expansion: The rabble clamors, and Ironclad can respond with a robust, $10 offering, in under a year.

What if you don't care about new defensive options, or still aren't convinced about paying for what technically isn't a full fledged expansion? That question is still up in the air: “The ultimate goal is no fragmentation" Craig remarks. "We don't want to split people up.” What that means for players who ponied up the ten bucks hoping to play against those who didn't, has yet to be decided.

Would it be possible to offer up $10 micro-expansions in a retail outlet?

Not quite, especially with brick-and-mortar stores taking their cut: “We make a heck of a lot more off of digital sales than we do off of retail sales,” Craig explains. More money means more patches, and more new content – in the case of Sins of a Solar Empire, that has meant over 1GB of new, free content since the game launched. I was told that approximately 100,000 of their 500,000 sales were digital, which goes a long way towards promoting Impulse, and digital distribution as a whole.

Our conversation inevitably turned to piracy. Stardock's approach to the subject has won the publisher quite a bit of acclaim (and notoriety) in the video game industry.

Blair Fraser commented on some reservations Ironclad and Stardock have about the piracy debate: “A lot of people are saying 'Sins has done so well, there's proof that pirates aren't a problem.' We don't like hearing that, because we don't like Pirates any more than any other company. The major difference is, we respect our customers.” This mantra will potentially be reflected in Entrenchment, with Ironclad as eager as gamers are to make sure that a $10 investment is ultimately worthwhile.

This notion of “respect” has been a critical component in Stardock's success. From the lack of bundled copy protection to the Gamer's Bill of Rights, the publisher has sought to minimize the impact software pirates can have on sales by creating games that are readily available for direct download, and providing an experience that is aggressively updated with regular new content. Releasing Entrenchment as a micro-expansion is intrinsic to that approach.

For fans of the game, Entrenchment means new content, for cheap. But we've all seen what EA has done with expansions for The Sims, and what's coming down the line for Spore. Will Entrenchment live up to its ideals, or fall prey to the promise of a quick buck from content-hungry fans?

An official release date has yet to be announced, so we'll have to wait until late November to see.

Image courtesy Ironclad Games

See Also: