History VideoGame / SwordOfTheStars

* DigitalPiracyIsOkay: {{InUniverse}}, the concept of intellectual property and copyright was rejected with hatred by humans after they lost so much of their culture from Hiver First Contact War. [[http://www.kerberos-productions.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=41&t=45807 The devs]] said that creators now get money from their work on purely voluntary basis.

* AngelicAliens: Male Morrigi project a psionic illusion that makes viewers see them as an attractive male of their own species with wings, and are explicitly stated to have inspired myths of angels on earth (along with a host of {{Trickster}} legends). Though their actual appearance is a three-meter long feathered serpent with eight limbs, and females are up to six m and inspired myths of dragons.

* The {{Roguelike}} spinoff ''Sword of the Stars: The Pit'' (henceforth ''The Pit''), released in February 2012. A board game version went to Kickstarter on [[https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/kerberosproductions/the-pit-the-board-game January 25, 2018.]] ''The Pit'' in turn has a FPS but still roguelike spinoff, ''Pit of Doom'', that entered Steam Early Access October 27, 2018.

* AltumVidetur: Latin (or more specifically, a modernised dialect of the language known as Nova Latina)has become one of the main lauguages of humanity thanks to the European Consortum making it it's offical tongue, and most humans are expected to know it.

** Subverted with Loa hostilities-while they do have an extreme dislike of organics, what isn't in question is that it is ''[[SlaveRevolt completely]]'' understandable.

* The {{Roguelike}} spinoff ''Sword of the Stars: The Pit'' (henceforth ''The Pit''), released in February 2012. A board game version went to Kickstarter on [[https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/kerberosproductions/the-pit-the-board-game January 25, 2018.]]

* The {{Roguelike}} spinoff ''Sword of the Stars: The Pit'' (henceforth ''The Pit''), released in February 2012.

On August 9, 2013, a hex-based wargame spinoff in the vein of ''VideoGame/PanzerGeneral'' called ''Ground Pounders'' was announced, with an alpha demo following a few days after. As the name suggests, it focuses on planet-based combat in contrast to the grand space scope of the main games. A {{Kickstarter}} [[http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/kerberosproductions/ground-pounders was launched August 29,]] but failed to make funding; a less ambitious retry that cut out playable Tarkas among other features [[http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/sword-of-the-stars-ground-pounders/x/4160861 went to Indiegogo on October 1,]] but also failed to make it. It eventually went to Steam Early Access on February 8, 2014.

** Achievement and Award names include "[[Creator/AnthonyBourdain The Chef Bourdain Award]]", "[[Franchise/{{Alien}} Chestburster]]", "Eat Fresh"[[note]]The tagline for Subway[[/note]], "[[Film/{{Predator}} Get To Da Choppah]]", "[[ComicBook/SpiderMan The Kraven Award]]", "Film/LordOfWar", "[[Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog The Professor Ivo Award]]", "[[Film/NightOfTheLivingDead1968 The Romero Award]]", "[[ComicBook/IronMan Stark approved]]", "[[ComicBook/{{X-Men}} What I do isn't very nice]]" and "The Franchise/{{Zatoichi}} Award".

* BellyOfTheWhale: The initiation ritual for a Liir joining the Black Swimmers fits this to a tee. First, he goes through what is basically a funeral, where his loved ones circle him, sing to him, and touch him one last time. After he is handed over to the Black Swimmers, his lungs are filled with the oxygenated fluid that Liir warships use instead of atmosphere. To the recruit, this is very much like drowning, and indeed the first day of training is called "Drowning Day". After he has been reborn, not as a Liir, but as a Black Swimmer, he will undergo his military training.

** [[{{Traveller}} Anagathics, Battle Riders, System Defence Boats...]]

* LostForever: In ''The Pit'', don't activate something unless you're sure you're going to use it immediately. Some of the devices lying around have only one use and will be unusable afterwards even if you don't do anything with them.

* MagikarpPower: The Suul'ka Horde start out weak but in the end-game can summon Suul'ka as special units.

A {{Roguelike}} spinoff called ''Sword of the Stars: The Pit''. When an incurable plague breaks out on the human planet Arbuda IV, the only hope lies in descending into the depths of a mysterious and deadly underground facility rumoured to have been established by the Suul'ka. As one of three characters, each with their own reasons for being there, you must brave the monsters and traps within in hopes of reaching the bottom, where the cure reportedly lies. An expansion, ''Mind Games'', was released on July 3, 2013. In addition to brand new psychic abilities and two new characters, one a psion specialising in them, it adds more levels, more items, and more enemies. A second expansion, ''Gold Edition'', was released on November 9, 2013 and adds even more content, including four new playable characters. On April 18, 2014 a third DLC, ''The Pilgrim'', was released, adding yet more content including a playable Prester Zuul. On September 25, 2014 another DLC, ''Juggernaut'', was released, adding more content and a playable Tarka Changed male. On January 28, 2015 yet another DLC, ''Necromancer'', was released, adding still more content and a playable Horde Zuul Lich.

*** The Morrigi Striker added in the Gold Edition similarly has excellent stats in all four main stats and most of the major skills. The tradeoff is that she gets ''much'' less stat and skill points per level.

* [[spoiler:NoEnding: ''The Pit'' just...''stops'' when you reach the 30th floor. You rescue Tamiko and... that's it?]] With the ''Mind Games'' expansion, it's 40 floors. Still same deal.

* ApeShallNeverKillApe: Averted. The Hivers and Tarka are even ''more'' prone to inter-species warfare than humanity, and the Zuul instinctively pounce on signs of weakness to improve their place on the species' pecking order, often with lethal results. The Liir are {{Actual Pacifist}}s (though they'll make an exception for you if they declare you Suul'Ka), while the Morrigi are internally peaceful but don't moralize about what other species do to each other.

* SubspaceAnsible: Averted by most races, humans and Zuul place relay buoys at either end of node paths to transmit radio across, Tarka and Liir use courier drones, and Hivers send messages through miniature gates aboard all their ships. But the Tarka are able to research an ansible. The game effect is that human, Zuul, and Tarka (before hyperlink communication) ships cannot be given new orders in transit.

* DoomsdayDevice: The System Killer is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin. Given that the playable factions can only scour planets clean of life, it's very much an OutsideContextVillain. Supplementary material states that it was a tool of war by some {{Precursors}} that... "lost its way".

* OutsideContextVillain: The Grand Menaces almost all have capabilities beyond the reckoning of the playable factions. The System Killer is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin in a universe where the lesser factions can only glass planet surfaces. The Puppetmaster can somehow subvert enemy ships and even whole planets without recourse to lesser methods like {{Boarding Part|y}}ies and ground invasion. The Locusts are PlanetLooters that replicate exponentially if left unchecked. And those are just three of goodness knows how many. All will mop the floor with an unprepared player blindly going AttackAttackAttack and are hard fights even with planning and strategy.

** Tarka call their FTL "warp" and have two nacelles, right out of ''Franchise/StarTrek''.

* CommandAndConquerEconomy: Averted. Colonies develop infrastructure by themselves. The player decides planets' military production and civilization-wide research goals. Starting in A Murder of Crows, Players also balance military production against trade.
** The trade system has been much criticised for this. Every single freighter has to be built by explicit command. And when you get mega-freighters, you have to do it all over again, and decide on what to do with the old leftover ones.

** The Liir ships, which are supposedly standing still, and the illusion of motion is created by their teleporation engines shifting the ship a tiny amount millions of times per second. However, destroying the engines of the ship still results in it drifting in the same direction as if it was actually moving.

* HordeOfAlienLocusts: Locusts. Originally a mamallian carbon race, who decided to become transcarbon. They consider themselves perfect, and only allow a "perfect" replication of individual units.

** Certain races have trouble with getting proper 360 degree Point Defense coverage. Liir, for example, have weak ventral coverage, while Tarka and Humans often have weak dorsal cover. Morrigi have almost no vertical cover for their destroyers and cruisers whatsoever, making them nearly defenceless to planetary missiles.

*** Though the fact that the bullets stop instantly is a concession to balance and processing power. Having to keep track of every single projectile from a kinetic weapon would get rather intense considering some of the weapons, such as the burster, produce a rather large number of bullets per shot. Dakka, anyone?

* ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill: Siege Drivers. Period.

* WaveMotionGun: Heavy Combat Lasers, the Meson Projector and the Zuul Node Cannon.

* WeaponizedExhaust: The Zuul Node Cannon.

** Despite [[Film/{{Ghostbusters}} the name]], the Zuul are more like the Reavers from ''Series/{{Firefly}}''. Ramshackle ships, into abduction, piracy and slaving, have a taste for rape ([[MindRape mental]], not physical, which isn't much better) and murder, make lots of use of grappling harpoons and {{Boarding Part|y}}ies...

** The Herald's speech has choice cuts from ''Film/{{Ghostbusters}}'', not forgetting ''Zuul''. One of the avatars in ''LOW'' is Egon.

** In ''The Pit'', the Scanning Analyzer is the [[Film/{{Ghostbusters}} PKE Meter]].

The first expansion, ''Born of Blood'', added a host of new gameplay additions and a new species called the Zuul (no relation to Film/{{Ghostbusters}}), a race of SuperSoldier marsupials designed by [[AbusivePrecursors the Suul'ka]], out on a holy crusade to find their masters and brutally enslave and kill off anything else in their path. A second expansion called ''A Murder of Crows'' was later released, adding even more complexity, like diplomacy and trading, and a new species called the Morrigi, a race of [[{{Precursors}} ancient bird-people]] who once ruled most of known space, who have come back from the brink of extinction (again, at the supposed hands of Suul'ka) to reclaim their old colonies and burial grounds from the new upstarts--by force, if necessary. A final expansion pack called ''Argos Naval Yard'', basically a big hunk 'o ship parts and technologies, was released in June 2009.

* MacguffinGirl: [[spoiler:Tamiko]] in ''The Pit''.

%%* MightyGlacier: Hivers.

** The Loa introduced in the sequel's expansion have durability of [[MightyGlacier the Hivers]], guns of [[GlassCannon the Zuul]] and acceleration and speed no organic race can match.

* MightyGlacier: Hivers.

** The Prester Zuul have turned their abilities to more constructive pursuits, "Sin-Eaters" help Black Swimmers forget the deaths they've caused.