Instead of XFire--why not learn how to use Internet Relay Chat (IRC)? It's really easy and body slams XFire as far as group chat goes. (IRC is what us oldschoolers have been using since 1994.)
There's an IRC channel for the Sins game:
SERVER: irc.stardock.com
CHANNEL: #sins
If you use Firefox, download the Chatzilla plugin and then type:
/server irc.stardock.com
/join #sins
It's that easy! Another good program is mIRC.
Hey Stardock! Any chance of making a built-in IRC mod for the game? Unreal Tournament '99 and UT 2004 had it and it was great. Having an easy to access, built-in IRC browser would really help strengthen the online multiplayer community and thus the game's player base and staying power.