
Aside from the obvious benefit of increased income, having more planets will also give you more logistics slots. Larger empires can support more powerful economies, which in turn enables a larger fleet. The first 30 minutes of the match are arguably the most important, as this is where both you and your opponent will lay the foundation of your respective empires.
3.3.5 Support (TEC: Dunov / Advent: Rapture / Vasari: Antorak). 3.3.4 Siege (TEC: Marza / Advent: Revelation / Vasari: Vulkoras). 3.3.3 Battleship (TEC: Kol / Advent: Radiance / Vasari: Kortul).
3.3.2 Carrier (TEC: Sova / Advent: Halcyon / Vasari: Skirantra). 3.3.1 Colony (TEC: Akkan / Advent: Progenitor / Vasari: Jarrasul).
3.2.6 Fleet Support Cruiser (TEC: 5 / Vasari: 5 / Advent: 3). 3.2.5 Repair/Disable Support Cruiser (TEC: 3 / Vasari: 4 / Advent: 5). 3.2.4 Minelayer (Vasari only: 3) ( Entrenchment/Diplomacy Only). 3.2.3 Assault Cruiser (TEC: 4 / Advent: 3 / Vasari: n/a) ( Entrenchment/Diplomacy Only). 3.2.2 Siege Frigate (TEC: 2 / Advent: 1 / Vasari: 1). 3.1.4 Carrier Cruiser (TEC: 3 / Advent: 2 / Vasari: 3). 3.1.2 Long Range Frigate (TEC: 2 / Advent: 3 / Vasari 1). 1.1 Colony Frigates vs Colony Capital Ships. You’ll find that while combat is still the biggest factor among the 4 X’s, exploration and non-violent systems like diplomacy and economy will have expanded paths as well. That said, the mod aims to add depth to the exploration and expansion aspects of the game through a ton of new features. This mod seeks to give more depth to the other 3Xs of the game by adding additional game elements or refining the existing ones to reward players who give more strategic thought to the non-combat side of the game.”
It’s up to debate whether Sins succeeded in this goal, but I think all can agree that of the 4Xs of “explore, expand, exploit, and exterminate”, Sins is much more focused on the exterminate than on the others.
“Sins of a Solar Empire is often described as a 4XRTS game, or a game that tried to merge the action and tactics packed gameplay of a Real time strategy game with the deep, complex, empire wide strategy of a 4X turn based game. Modder GoaFan77’s explanation really best describes what you get here: