The Devs said they backported as much as they could but too much in Entrenchment is simply not compatible with Vanillia Sins, including several of the AI updates.

Well, lets just say I'm not a big fan of digital downloads.  Call me old fashioned, but I like to have a box and a CD I can hold in my hands.  Not a big fan of buying stuff that doesn't "exist", if you get my meaning.  And I really don't trust the Internet when it comes to my money.  If Entrenchment was sold in stores in a box with a CD, even with a price tag of twice what it is now, I would have already purchased it.  So don't tell me "Just buy Entrenchment.".

Well sorry but I'm going to tell you "Just buy Entrenchment" because your hang ups about having the physical media do not discount the fact that these developers have put a lot of work in to the expansion and I believe they deserve payment for the improvements as you clearly want them.

You going to ask if Star Bases are back ported because you don't want to use a credit card online too next?  AI and Modding improvements were probably just as costly to put in as the Star Bases and Mines were (wild arse guess of a developer).

You know, I ask a serious question, and all I get are people telling me to buy Entrenchment.  And double or even tripled in price, I would still buy a box set of Entrenchment simply because it is that damn good, and I think 10 or 20 extra bucks is worth it for having physical media, instead of having to re-download it off Impulse every time it needs to be re-installed.  I am not very trusting of digital stuff.  I prefer having tangible items, and would be willing to pay extra for it.

And as far as modding and AI features, no, I don't want Starbases, or even those two extra strikecraft classes, or AoE abilities for strikecraft, or mines, or anything really but fighter physics for my ships (which the mod forums have been clamoring for since the Beta of SoaSE, due to Sins's non-existent physics where ships fight Redcoat style), plus an AI that won't retreat so friggin' much.  That's what I want. 

The vanilla AI has sucked from Day One (it was so bad at first they had to patch it so it wouldn't retreat from its own homeworld), and I really don't want to have to buy an expansion set to get an AI that won't retreat if I so much as have three-fourths of the firepower it has.  The vanilla AI will retreat unless it has an overwhelming advantage, so the only way to get a decent fight is to force it to its homeworld, by which time you own all of its planets so its Game Over by that point, and it also overrates capitals and their ability to shift the tides of battle.  Take out a few capitals, and the AI will tuck its tail and run, never mind it still outnumbers and outguns you 3:2.

Just so you don't think I'm ranting because Entrenchment costs money, my primary source of anti-Entrenchment angst stems from the fact that defenses and the AI suck ass in vanilla Sins, and I really don't want to have to pay the devs to fix something they broke.  That is why I dislike Entrenchment.  The defenses and the AI in vanilla Sins sucked, and the devs should have done something about it, instead of making me pay money for the privilege of non-broken game dynamics.

But I still have to muck around with Impulse, and send my billing info over the Internet, which is something I am not a fan of.  I don't trust the Internet when it comes to my personal info.  That includes e-mails and instant messages.

*shrug*

How do you think financial institutions transmit information these days?  Post?  (which, incidentally, has had its share of loss and deliberate theft)?  Voice calls?

And you'd rather have your bank account number and routing number transmitted, than a credit card number?  The former can be used to initiate withdrawals directly from your bank account, while the latter lets you review the statement and possibly dispute transactions before you pay.

I think leejaywu was answering Thoumsin who refuses to give his credit card # over the net, but not his bank info

The credit card companies have pretty damn good fraud prevention/protection these days. They don't like it any more than you do.

Entrenchment is hands down the single best value I've seen next to the Orange Box (which wasn't THAT much a value since I owned half the damn games in there already). I can sympathize with people who won't buy a $40 expansion pack, but you can make $10 on the street by just asking someone for some change.

i agree if you like the new features than show your support and buy entrenchment. Sounds a bit needy and beggerish of you you ask them to supply items which took them alot of time and expence to produce