History VideoGame / SwordOfTheStars

* RavensAndCrows: The Morrigi are one part OurDragonsAreDifferent as seen above, and one part this.

*** The Black is the Liir Fleet's commander, and is actually both [[spoiler: a giant EldritchAbomination *and* a super friendly happy dolphin. He also faced off against the full horde of the evil giant Eldritch Abominations in a battle that saw several of them get killed, more get wounded, and he himself take injuries he is still recovering from, all *without going past the DespairEventHorizon like all the other Black Swimmers after him have.* And his role as commander in chief means that he's willing to give orders like military mobilization that have caused considerable angst to the Liir.]] The Moral of the Story? Do. Not. Fuck. With. The Black. Or. The Liir.

* TheEmpath: The Liir species at a whole. Mainly the reason why they're not big on violence. Zuul also have empathic abilities, but are utterly lacking in empathy. The Suul'Ka actively ''reject'' empathy as a weakness.

* ExactWords: Meta example, the guide for the first game states that the Liir wiped out the Suul'ka with a "bioweapon", not specifically a virus as most fans assumed, or even a microorganism. [[spoiler:As revealed in the second game, there ''was'' a weapon that was alive, but the [[LargeAndInCharge leader]] of the Liir navy, [[HunterOfHisOwnKind the Black]], [[SpaceWhale is not small at all, let alone a microbe]]. Frankly, hitting the Suul'ka (which the Black is not, as he doesn't buy into AGodAmI and in fact the reason he isn't hunting down the remainder of the Suul'ka is because he's recuperating from his last OneManArmy act naturally rather than eating minds to speed the process) with another Liir Great Old One is a lot smarter than hitting them with a disease, as that would be liable to [[TooDumbToLive take all the smaller Liir with them]].]]

* HunterOfHisOwnKind: The Black, the leader of the Liir navy [[spoiler: is a huge Liir Great Elder similar to the Suul'Ka, who has sworn to hunt down the Suul'ka.]]

* AwesomeYetPractical: Impactors, with their great range and damage, put anyone without them or the appropriate DeflectorShields on the defensive very fast.
** With the right ballistic research, they can also be ''very'' accurate even over long range. Strangely, impactors can be more accurate than close-range ballistic turrets.

* ItsPersonal: In ''The Pit'' some characters have this sort of reason for getting involved. The Marine is looking for his LoveInterest, who was working in the mountains near the facility. Said LoveInterest is the twin sister of the Scout. The Engineer is out to avenge a friend killed by enemies he tracked to the Pit. The Warrior is seeking help for his afflicted friends and neighbours. The Seeker is part of a secret Liir organization dedicated to hunting down the [=Suul'Ka=].

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.

** The Peacekeeper is the ship from ''Film/{{The Day The Earth Stood Still}}''

* ISOStandardHumanSpaceship: Apart from the ring-shaped engines, human ships are very blocky and utilitarian-looking. They also have poor turret coverage in the back.

* ExactWords: Meta example, the guide for the first game states that the Liir wiped out the Suul'ka with a "bioweapon", not specifically a virus as most fans assumed, or even a microorganism. [[spoiler: It turns out in the second game that the bioweapon was an artificial Suul'ka who was loyal to the Liir]]

* The hex-based land wargame spinoff ''Sword of the Stars: Ground Pounders'' (henceforth ''Ground Pounders''), similar to ''VideoGame/PanzerGeneral'', was announced on August 9 2013, with an alpha demo following a few days after.

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.]]

* MuggingTheMonster: Entirely possible. Admittedly in the first game [[ViolenceIsTheOnlyOption war is the default option]] and you must opt in to ceasefire or better, but in the second game you default to neutrality and due to ArtificialStupidity other factions are still very likely to declare war without considering that you might be much more powerful.

* PressXToDie: Researching Artificial Intelligence can be this if you're unlucky. Can easily be averted however, so long as you research the technology before you have colonized any planets or built any AI controlled ships. Then you can get all the benefits of the tech with none of the risk. SaveScumming also works.

* PressXToDie: Researching Artificial Intelligence.
** Can easily be averted however, so long as you research the technology before you have colonized any planets or built any AI controlled ships. Then you can get all the benefits of the tech with none of the risk.
** SaveScumming also works.

** The Steam achievement for colonizing a new world in the sequel is called [[{{Firefly}} "and we shall call it... 'This land'"]].

** Occasionally you'll run into stars and planets named "[[DoctorWho Gallifrey]]".
** In ''The Pit'', the Scanning Analyzer is the [[Film/{{Ghostbusters}} PKE Meter]].
** Achievement and Award names in ''The Pit'' 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/NightOfTheLivingDead The Romero Award]]", "[[ComicBook/IronMan Stark approved]]", "[[ComicBook/{{X-Men}} What I do isn't very nice]]" and "The Franchise/{{Zatoichi}} Award".

* VoiceOfTheLegion: The Liir, a benign example as it's supposed to emulate whale song.

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. 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.

* ItsPersonal: In ''The Pit'' some characters have this sort of reason for getting involved. The Marine is looking for his LoveInterest, who was working in the mountains near the facility. Said LoveInterest is the twin sister of the Scout. The Engineer is out to avenge a friend killed by enemies he tracked to the Pit. The Warrior is seeking help for his afflicted friends and neighbours.

* BiologicalWeaponsSolveEverything: The Liir rebelled against the Suul'ka by using a bioweapon to wipe them out. Given the species' adeptness with {{Synthetic Plague}}s everyone assumed that the bioweapon was one. Until the sequel revealed the true nature of the [[StrongerWithAge Suul]]'[[SpaceWhale ka]] and the [[HunterOfHisOwnKind "bio]][[LivingWeapon weapon"]] used to destroy them, and that seven of them survived.

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

* CriticalExistenceFailure: At a quarter of the hit points, you're wounded and operate at lower capacity. Then you're dead at zero.

* DumbMuscle: The Marine in ''The Pit'' is a stereotypical brainless grunt, high in Might and combat skills but low in Brains and technical skills.

* CantCatchUp:
** Humans and Tarka are a downplayed version. [[HumansAreAverage Humans have only average research rate and chances]] for high-end techs, meaning that other races are likely to race ahead if given time. Tarka have strong cruisers but inferior dreadnoughts or leviathans and not much better chances than humans. Both need to seize the early game and win by mid or be outteched fast.

* HeelFaceTurn: The Deacon from the novelization of the first game is responsible for the formation of a Liir-Zuul alliance in the second. Apparently [[spoiler:the CareBearStare given to him in the book's climax]] gave him an unusual sense of individuality. This has led to the existence of a faction of Zuul that have ''converted to Christianity,'' taking Christian (human) names in the process. One of them is even a ''Catholic Bishop,'' of an ''entire planet.'' [[http://chenthooran.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/zuul-r3.jpg Way to go]], [[JesusWasWayCool Jesus]]!

* {{Heroic Dolphin}}s: The Liir are probably the 'nicest' of all the species, despite their enigmatic behaviour. In the novelization, a liir serves as the main character's mentor and is one of the most important members in the rag-tag coalition to entrap the Deacon.

* CantCatchUp: Zuul have the worst research rate and poor chances at most high-end techs. A dragged-out game, especially if they can't salvage good tech by winning battles, is not in their favour.

* The sequel ''Sword of the Stars II: The Lords of Winter'' (henceforth ''Lords of Winter''), released in 2011.

[[folder:Sword of the Stars: The Lords of Winter]]
The sequel ''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXThLOnfSdQ Sword of the Stars II: The Lords of Winter]]'' was released in October 2011. Set slightly over a century after the start of the first, it was supposed to usher in the return of the Suul'ka and the development of diplomacy and warfare to an all-new level. However, the game was released well before it was ready. Backlash ensued, and Kerberos promised to inform the player base when the game was actually done. As of June 1st, 2012, the "pre-all clear version" has been released and the game can be considered to be almost at the "release candidate" stage and therefore playable. The game was finally declared "done" a year and a few days after it was actually released on the unsuspecting public.

!!!''Sword of the Stars: The Lords of Winter'' provides examples of the following tropes:

* [[http://sots2.rorschach.net/SotS2_Codex Sword of the Stars: The Lords of Winter]]