Things and stuff and things.
Tatiora's Articles
May 10, 2023 by Tatiora
Stardock Announces Groupy 2 , the Only Universal Tab Experience for Windows  Groupy 2 enters public beta today Join the Beta Now Stardock announced Groupy 2, a program that brings a universal tab experience to Windows. Groupy is a powerful tool that keeps information tabbed and organized by allowing users to drag and drop multiple applications and documents together, grouping them in a familiar tabbed interface for easy access.   Groupy 2 is designed for ...
April 21, 2023 by Tatiora
Earlier this week, some coworkers and I piled into a couple of cars and drove out to Ann Arbor for a showcase of games created by students from the University of Michigan (UM) and Eastern Michigan University (EMU). They throw this showcase twice a year at the end of their semesters and it’s a fun way to meet people who are passionate about games and all of the work that goes into making them. I went last December and had a fantastic time, so I was excited to get to go again. ...
April 13, 2023 by Tatiora
It feels like the idea of going to Mars has been in the minds of humankind for a very long time. We often fantasize about colonizing the Red Planet in Sci-Fi shows or movies or wonder ‘what would it look like?’ if we were to create a game that set up an offworld operation there, like we do in Offworld Trading Company . Every day, it seems like we inch closer and closer to a reality. We’ve had quite a few unmanned missions to Mars - Opportunity, Curiosity, Pers...
March 17, 2023 by Tatiora
We love pie here at Stardock. And also - perhaps irrationally so - have a reverence for the number pi, too. We’re well-rounded in our interests! …if you think that’s it for pie puns, I’m sorry to tell you that’s a half-baked idea. There’s plenty more where that came from, and I’m just getting warmed up. Sorry, let’s move on! When it comes to pi, I could go on forever and ever and... AHEM. Earlier this week on 3/14, we held our an...
March 9, 2023 by Tatiora
We knew that when we announced Sins of a Solar Empire II that people were going to be excited. When we launched the Technical Preview back in November, there was one question everyone was asking right from the onset: when would we add multiplayer? Our multiplayer update came out of opt-in on February 21st and since then has been widely enjoyed by everyone who has played. We know how fun it is to be able to play with your friends - and we also know how long a good game of Sins can go when o...
March 3, 2023 by Tatiora
Need a splash of color in your day? Don't worry, we've got you covered with some brand-new wallpapers for your desktop - one for every day of the week! Click on any of the images below to go to WinCustomize.com and download them for yourself. These vibrant backgrounds for your Windows PC will help create a unique experience any time you log in. I like to change my wallpapers pretty often to suit my moods and interests, but it's really nice to lean into more abstract imagery and let the flow...
February 24, 2023 by Tatiora
If you’ve lived in a specific place for most or all of your life, it’s easy to take certain local traditions for granted. I admit that even now, as many years as I’ve lived, it’s easy to forget that not every experience that I have here in Michigan is an experience that exists elsewhere.  Just about everyone is familiar with Mardi Gras and the wild celebrations associated with it down in good ol’ New Orleans, but here in Metro Detroit many of us call the ...
February 17, 2023 by Tatiora
We’re all familiar with the idea of “comfort food,” right? For some people, that means a heaping plate full of homemade southern fried chicken, while for others it might be something as simple as tomato soup out of a can with some grilled cheese. Alternatively, some might not find food to be a comfort at all and may find some peace in other things. I think “comfort activities” covers the concept fairly well as a blanket term. A comfort activity could be r...
February 9, 2023 by Tatiora
I spend a lot of time staring off into space. To clarify, I don’t mean that literally - I don’t have a super-powered Webb Telescope, you know - but these pockets of deep thought are meant to lead to some creative thoughts and interesting answers to odd questions.  While sometimes it’s a miss, in most cases I’m able to light on an idea and run with it. When I write fiction for fun, I tend to focus more on themes that fall within the high fantasy genre...
January 26, 2023 by Tatiora
I’ve worked at Stardock long enough now that when I think about the possibility of domineering robot overlords, this is the face I see: A screenshot of the Yor from Galactic Civilizations III. To be fair, there are plenty of other possibilities - all equally as unnerving - but let’s talk about the Yor , here. Unfamiliar with this synthetic race of murderous machines from the Galactic Civilizations series ? To be fair to them, they don’t really consider thei...
January 19, 2023 by Tatiora
The storied legacy of Sins of a Solar Empire began way back on October 10th, 2006 - announcement day! This was long before my time at Stardock - or before I’d even heard of it, for that matter - but fortunately for me, our forums hold a great deal of history that’s just a few search queries away. From Brad’s welcome post: “Stardock Entertainment, the creators of Galactic Civilizations, and Ironclad Games which includes developers from Homeworld: Cataclysm, have...
January 12, 2023 by Tatiora
Space has always fascinated me. I admit that it doesn’t dominate my conscious thoughts as it does for many other enthusiasts, but I think it’s fairly impossible to look at images from telescopes like James Webb and be anything but at least a little curious about what’s out there. For many of us at Stardock and for our partners at other studios, the interest in space runs deep and fuels our passion for the games we create. Offworld Trading Company has been...
January 4, 2023 by Tatiora
Happy New Year! As much as I love coming into the office, I'll fully admit that after nearly two weeks off it was pretty difficult to roll myself out of bed and drive in here yesterday! While I spent a solid chunk of time socializing with family and friends, I managed to find moments to curl up in my big cozy chair with my cat Miza and play some games over the break. Isn't she stinking cute? Obviously I'm biased, but I can't say no to that sweet little face. It's rare these days tha...
December 17, 2022 by Tatiora
The holidays are in full swing here at Stardock, and we’ve had ourselves quite the busy week! Although most of us are local to Michigan, some of our colleagues work remotely with us from elsewhere. For the last couple of years, Stardock has made sure to fly them out for the festivities so that we can spend some time with them in person, and believe me we made the most of it this year! We kicked our week off with one of our patented game nights in the studio’s cafe. We wa...
December 14, 2022 by Tatiora
It's easy to take a lot of things for granted when they are part of our everyday lives - like the Internet, for example! Although I do remember a time before the Internet was in my home, it wasn't a huge period; I definitely had online access as early as middle or high school. I don't often stop to think about what an amazing thing it is, but on the occasions where I do it's definitely one of those "whoa" moments. Recently, a team from the Technical University of Denmark and Sweden's Chalmers...