Ironclad Games, developer of Sins of a Solar Empire 2, and publisher Stardock Entertainment have announced that an early access version of the 4X RTS will be available on the Epic Games Store (opens in new tab) on October 27 Epic Games Store (opens in new tab) on October 27. We already had a pretty good idea of that date, as it was posted on Epic's store page last month, but now we know what it will actually contain.

Good news: all the "core systems" can be tweaked to see how the celestial mechanics, diplomacy, warfare, and all that good stuff works, Ironclad co-owner Blair Fraser told me.

"If you remove part of it, the other parts won't work," he said. So we have to put everything in." But we must not reveal everything, just limit the content enough for the system to work."

One of the major changes we can actually see is the dynamism of the galaxy. The galaxy is in constant motion, with planets orbiting stars, moons orbiting planets, and so on. This means that one needs to pay attention to celestial dynamics when planning a long trip. If you are rushing a fleet to a planet that is about to be attacked and another planet intersects your route, you will be interrupted.

Along with celestial mechanics, we will see how ship combat systems have evolved. The highlight here is the turrets. All of these turrets are simulated individually, spinning around and trying to find their targets. Each missile is also a simulated shell that the turret must shoot down, but thankfully this is handled automatically. Positioning is very important, using the sturdier ships as walls to protect the glass cannon in the rear.

For more on these things, see our exclusive preview of Sins 2, which we posted last month. In a subsequent chat, Fraser went into more detail about diplomacy and other ways to interact with the galaxy besides blasting, calling these features "one of the most important and significant changes in Sins. Without being overtly aggressive, they can cooperate with rivals, undermine them, or expand their influence.

For example, if a rival demands a planet that you have been targeting, you might try to make a deal to exchange that planet for resources that the rival needs. Then, the rival may push for more demands. If your opponent gives you a world, but you don't want him to steal it a few minutes later, you might make a temporary treaty. The truce has a set time that cannot be broken, but after that time everyone is free to go at it again.

It could also develop relationships with neutral factions and open new avenues of trade. If they see rivals doing the same, they can compete with them, set up their own deals, or compete in auctions for resources, bonuses, or in the case of the pirate faction, pirate raiding abilities.

The bounty system has also been expanded. You can now place bounties on specific planets and all AI and human players will be notified, but they will not know that you are the source of the bounty. This allows you to quietly strike the killing blow while pretending to be a friend of your rival, and once you are no longer bound by treaty, you can use pirate raids and bounties to further facilitate the conquest of your opponent's worlds or to attack their trade routes and destroy their economy.

"So it's not just diplomacy," Fraser says. 'It's about how you can screw the other side in ways that are more indirect and involve less pew pew pew. I've always found these things more interesting."

Exotic resources also inspire more conflict. Resources are finite and needed for special research projects, production of titans, and construction of space bases. They can be found in ruins or on planets, generally close to the stars, and these places can be touch-and-go places with a lot of competition. Conveniently, scouts can be instructed to look for specific resources, along with neutral factions and other things they wish to discover.

It is worth noting that the trading system is unique to TEC Faction; you will only be able to play it as TEC when the Early Access version launches, but don't worry if you miss out on Advent or Vasari, you will be able to play it eventually. Also, since this build is dedicated to single-player, any multiplayer shenanigans will have to wait until next year.

Although the original game was released nearly 15 years ago, and expansions and DLC were offered until a few years ago, I have long been eagerly awaiting a sequel. The evidence, as Ironclad and Stardock have revealed so far, is plenty of reason to look forward to the early access launch at the end of this month.