Let me start by saying that any game that keeps me up until 5:30 the next morning the first day I receive must be doing something right.

I've played several games so far, played different races, modified what seems like a million options, and even once (with the tech victory condition off) completed research on all tech available! What amazes me most about this game is two fold.

First, the sheer number of options available. Straight up in a sand box game you get to decide how big of a galaxy you play in, how the stars are laid out, how often there are stars, how often there are planets around those stars, and then how many of those planets are habitable. On top of that you can choose from 10 different races, and completely customize those races or your own race. Then in the game you have a Fable-esk system where the galaxy reacts to you based on your choices. I haven't even mentioned the ship creation, or the other million obvious chioces you get. Beyond the obvious things, you can mod the heck out of this game! Even a n00b like me can edit an xml file to make some significant changes! To sum it all up, it really is a sandbox. You can do whatever you want, make the game play however you want, all without that bully down the street kicking over your castle (unless you count those damn Drengin!).

Second, the support is truely amazing. It really is. Yes, I've had my fair share of problems (couple of crashes, a few weird glitches), but what game doesn't? Back when Baldur's Gate came out I had a top of the line system, but when I'd hit the save button the game would crash! I've played Morrowind and jumped into a corner that I couldn't get out of. I could go on for hours, as I'm sure you all could too. So what's the difference here? The developers (despite making almost all of their money from other products) have spend literally HUNDREDS of hours on these very boards helping us. If we have a problem, they work their ass off to recreate it and solve it. If we have a good suggestion, they listen and sometimes even implement it into the next patch. When was the last time you posted on a forum and got your suggestion put into a game? Certainly not from Blizzard, or EA, or Atari!

I wanted to write this post in opposition to all the one-liner posts like, "THIS GAME SUCKS, IT CRASHES ALL THE TIME." Those posts are always the same. A developer hops on, asks for the .err file, rarely gets it, if they do and then manage to solve the problem, do they get a thanks? No. So here it is.

THANKS!