Metal is the most common resource in the game, and is gathered by building extractors on asteroids it is used to construct basic ships and structures. Credits are the general currency used by the three races in the game, and are gained by completing missions, collecting bounties, creating a trade network, and taxing planets. Sins of a Solar Empire has three main resources to gather: Credits, Metal, and Crystal.
Ironclad Director Blair Fraser asserted that the game's ' Iron engine' is specially designed with new technologies that allow it to handle very large differences in size, scale, and distance. Players can conquer neighboring planets and explore distant star systems in a 'massively scaled, fully 3D environment featuring entire galaxies, orbiting planets, clusters of asteroids, space dust and radiant stars.' Notably, there is no single-player campaign mode, but games can be played against AI opponents offline and other players online. It features a sandbox mode, allowing the player to choose different types of solar systems to unlock achievements. The playing field is a 3D web of planets and other celestial objects in the orbital plane of one or more stars.
Sins of a Solar Empire is a space-bound game.
