I have both games and all expansions! first Entrechment still in beta testing so there are still bugs to work out but it is still great fun to play!  

As for download problems i have had no problems with impulse and i have been able to have both games on my laptop and PC. Also you will be using impulse for updates. Also its fairly easy to backup you downloaded games using the archive feature so you might as well buy online and burn you own discs.  

As for the Galciv2 demo i haven't played it in years but i guess you have a limited tech tree in the demo. In the full game there are three diffrent types of weapons which improve as you research each type of them the stinger being the first of the missile techs. Map sizes are big in both games and will take days to finish on some of the larger ones but there is lots of choices in maps sizes in both games if you want a quicker games.     

If you have any more specific Qestions just add another post and i or someone else will try to answer! also try the forums on sins and galciv2 webpages as they tend to be more active than the impulse forums.     

I bought Sins first then got GCII because of the ship builder. It seems that to really have fun with the ship builder you would want Twilight of the Arnor installed because it gives you a ship builder at the start menu which lets you dive right in with all the parts and hulls available. I have yet to really play a game of GCII because I just got it. I'm kind of new to Sins too but in playing the AI it seems that the main goal to win a game is to build the biggest fleet the fastest. I like it, it's just that it seems to become a rush to build ships rather than research or having the most planets. I'm hoping to discover more to it but for now that's my take.

thanks all I asked the same question in each forum and for now it looks like Gal Civ won out. Now just deicding on a box game or download (and risk it) now?

Why bother with a boxed version? Once you install the game you need to install Impulse to keep it up to data anyway, so you might as well go for the convenience of having it on download and save the cost of P&P (not to mention the environment).

As a long-time TBS, RTS, and 4X player...

1) SoaSE as a base game is a really excellent and unique game.  I have complaints primarily about how confusing and user-unfriendly various statistics are given (weapon damage - is it per second?  Per shot?  Per volley?  just an example) and about the borderline-ridiculous (and completely undocumented afaik) hull and weapon types there are.  For instance, fighters do xx% damage to this type of hull, but only xx% damage to this type of hull, but there's stuff like this for EVERY ship in the game.  It's R-P-S taken to an extreme, only you can only guess whether an individual ship is the rock, the paper, or the scissors, based on intuition, previous experience, and viewing the game's data files.

It must sound like I really dislike the game, but this is really just one small aspect of it.  The rest is pure gold.  A lot of fun, the games are as long or short as you want them, and pre-Entrenchment the AI can be fun to play against if you have several of them.  As for entrenchment, I'm hoping they make the AI not completely go to sleep after 45 minutes or so, as it does now.  It can have an overwhelming advantage or be stuck on a single asteroid, but in either case it just never attempts another attack of any kind.  Maybe the occasional single scout ship or maybe, maybe a light frigate...

2) Galciv 2, with all addons, is an excellent game as well.  It is the most customizable TBS I've ever played, and I highly enjoy every aspect of it except one...  which you can (and should) read about here: http://forums.impulsedriven.com/313273

I have all the GalCiv II games and well as Sins, but I have not tried Entrenchment yet.

In a nutshell, I was pleased to pick Sins up at Target for $20 but I was disappointed that it lacks much of a single-player experience compared to GalCiv 2.  It was a bit pricey to purchase all the GalCiv II games but well worth it in my opinion.  I've spent dozens of hours playing as the Terrans and Altarian Resistance and have yet explore numerous strategies nor most of the three single-player campaigns.

GalCiv 2 pros: 3 single-player campaigns and enough 4-X lovin to keep you experimenting for years.  A bargain even at about $90 when I bought all 3 games.  Modest requirements make it possible to play on a laptop without 3D hardware.

Sins: Decently-balanced RTS experience with superb graphics.  More fun multiplayer than alone, but the games can take a VERY long time if opponents are evenly matched.  While diplomacy and cultural offensives are possible, giant fleets and micromanagement are the order of the day.

Hope this helps.