First, Sword of the Stars has had a number of expansions and recently there's been a new collection released. Overall are you happy with how the game has been received in all its incarnations?

Very happy, especially with the fan response. I mean let's face it, it's never a easy row to hoe critically when you are trying to bring something new to the table, nevermind something as long term as a 3 year arc of content and story to a 4X series. But when it came to a fan base that was looking for something different, a large number of them came on board at the start and their numbers have grown with every race expansion and free update.

When you started developing the sequel what were the dev team's main goals?

I would say that the core goal was simply to not play it safe and repeat ourselves. SotS has always been meant to be a living, breathing franchise and as such, we want to push the game in directions that reflect the evolving SotS universe, both in terms of technologies and also mechanics. At Kerberos we are here to make games, new and interesting games that take chances, and if this sequel was nothing more than the same game we have already made with a few more bells and whistles, I think its safe to say none of us would be satisfied.

In terms of storylines, where does Sword of the Stars 2 start in relation to the first game?

SotS2 begins roughly a century after the Hiver bombardment of Earth that set the scene for the original game and about 20 years or so after the time period covered by the final Argos Naval Yard expansion. It is the birth of the next epoch of technology and empire building... unfortunately, there are forces gathering to make the tragedy a century before look mild in comparison.

Will all of the races in the first game return for the sequel and if so what new features will they have?

All the first 6 races, Humanity, Liir, Tarka, Hivers, Zuul and the Morrigi will be returning, though some organized in different ways. For example the Morrigi will now be leading a confederation of independent worlds from the other races while the Zuul will be split into 2 factions, one who still believe in The Great Masters and those who have chosen a new path and allied with the Liir in order to oppose them.

As far as new features, I don't want to give away too much at this stage, but I think its very safe to say that players can expect each race to show more of their unique aspects in terms of gameplay. For example, it would be a good bet to expect to see Liir Psionic Mastery making itself felt in combat and the Tarka to start making serious headways into the mysteries of the Silver Imperium and their technology.

Will there be any new races added to the sequel and if so what will they be like?

There is one new race for SotS2 and they are so powerful the entire sequel is named after them: The Lords of Winter. They are known to the other races under a variety of names but the most common term for them is from the Liir; Suul'ka which has the rough translation of "WinterMind". This is the race who enslaved the Liir, created the Zuul and nearly exterminated the Morrigi. It was believed they were extinct, all killed by a Liir-created plague during the Liir slaver rebellion, but recent evidence would indicate it was a stunning blow, instead of a killing one.

While they are definitely villains, the Suul'ka will be given the same treatment as all the other SotS races in terms of depth of detail and cliché defying motivations and while terrifyingly powerful, they will be a fully playable faction. Also like the other 6 races, they will offer up a unique gameplay experience. While other 4X games have introduced the "Big Bad" for a sequel, I truly believe SotS2 will be the one to let the player truly feel as if they are the darkness spreading over the future.
As with the original SotS, 2 new races have also been planned that will arrive via the first 2 expansions.
In terms of combat, will the sequel continue with the 2D/3D hybrid model or will it have a full 3D combat model?

Combat will continue to be a hybrid of 2D plotting combined with 3D AI maneuvering. In the years since the original SotS we have yet to see a good reason so saddle the average player with the inevitable interface complexity of full 3D tactical movement. That being said, we are looking at a new tactical system where there are multiple 2D planes stacked on one another so that the player can switch "altitudes" at the touch of a button or easily assign full 3-D formations.
You can also expect SotS2 to come with a large compliment of combat maneuvers and an improved flight AI so that players will be able to command ships to dive underneath the enemy as a default behavior or perform a full spin against their inertial direct to keep heavy weapons locked on one way while moving another.

Visually how will the game look compared to the original?

In order to serve the largest portion of the community, the new MARS II engine being developed for this sequel is being designed around the DirectX 10 feature list. While some DX11 features will make it in, we decided to not making that the default standard at the cost of alienating the very large SotS player base that will have DX10 era cards. And from what you can already see from the screenshots, in terms of texture details, materials and dynamic lighting, even at this mid-point in development the SotS-Verse has never looked better!

What other new features are being put in Sword of the Stars II?

Hmm...Given all the things we have planned and all the great player feedback we have gotten from the fan base over the past 3 years, definitely too long of a list to put in here but let's see if I can name a few off the top of my head...

• Fleshed out star systems where battles can take place anywhere.
• Star maps based on "Stellar Geography" with named features.
• Detailed ship subsystems that can be modified or damaged individually to affect ship performance.
• AI opponent "Characters" with unique behaviors as a subset of their racial tendencies.
• An internal SotS-pedia that will unlock more and more background and information about the game as you play.
• Configurable modules to be fitted to ships, allowing for even more customization.
• The ability to name individual ships and have those names appear in-game on the hull.
• Social Networking alerts for telling your friend you are starting up an MP game.
• The ability to create in-game music playlists using the players own music database.
• Political organization of empires allowing players to designate capital worlds and create galactic provinces for advantages in trade and power.

The list goes on and on but that should be enough give folks the idea that this isn't just going to be SotS with a facelift. The will be a whole new experience that grows the gameplay alongside the story of the original.


Any plans for a demo for the game at this point?

Yes, there will be a pre-release demo with a full-on, interactive tutorial that will detail both basic and advanced features.

Finally is there anything else you wish to say about Sword of the Stars II?

Other than thanking you for the opportunity to talk about the next era in the Sword of the Stars Universe, I suppose all that's left is to offer an invite to everyone to come with us on this trip 'cause SotS2 is definitely NOT going to be the same ol' 4X sequel and we are all in for a hell of a ride once the Lords of Winter come to town.