I really only have one question before I decide to give this game a try and that is whether or not the races and factions are hard-coded? Must I play as the Advent, Traders, Vaasari, etc. when I play the game in a sandbox mode or can I rename my race?

As much effort as I'm sure they are expending on the storyline, I find these games usually have limited appeal if the factions are severely limited.

I had already crossed this game off my list thinking the factions were hard-coded and that my dreams of playing as a Terran Empire were impossible in this game when I noticed on the interview at IGN posted today that the game did feature a sandbox mode (I had assumed before that it did not and that the game was built around a pre-written story highlighted by missions and targeted campaigns).

Thank you.