Word is that Kerberos is folding Nov 30 when they run out of funding. The devs blame the fans; "ok if I have to post about the repercussions of not enough people supported long term SotS2 support next week, I will title it "REALLY bad news"

A year after release and the games not solid? Ya thats the fans fault for lack of support. Some aholes deserve to fold regardless of potential.

They made the game "Over Complicated". While the Mars engine, the graphics, and SoTS lore are outstanding. They took what made SoTS1 fun, and removed it. SoTS 2 is all clear, and very playable now, but it is a "hardcore" 4x game. Only hardcore gamers will enjoy it. Once they figure everything out. Basically SoTS 2 is a niche game inside of a niche genre. It has the complexity of old school tabletop games like Warhammer, and Star Fleet Battles. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing especially if you are into stuff like that. However like what was said. People who played SoTS 1 are gonna have a very hard time with SoTS 2. The learning curve is steep. The complexity is almost mind boggling. The fleet missions while a good idea, i don't think they execute very well. Then again i just may not be used to it. It is not a game for the "Casual Gamer".

Hmmm- I will have to do a LP during Christmas break, its not as hard or bad as some people believe. 

These next 2 links show how to play the game (the system isn't hardcore by any means)

Someones is doing a Zuul LP- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXgqQ...ature=youtu.be

Don't forget Resok's Twitch account- http://www.twitch.tv/terrakus

I think this will help you for missions- http://sots2.rorschach.net/Missions you right click system and pick a mission 

Admiral perks help out with certain mission types- http://sots2.rorschach.net/Admiral

Seriously I don't know why people hate/scared/don't understand this system, yes new way of doing things and once you wrap your brain around it, its way better. You can easily track your fleets and keep them working. Keep pushing forward, build naval stations on the front lines and move your fleets up. Its not hardcore system. Sots 2 manages way better than sots 1 does. You also have more map views so 3d maps don't hurt your brain.

Community F.A.Q. for Beginners- http://www.kerberos-productions.com/...p?f=37&t=35957

Small questions and answers thread- http://www.kerberos-productions.com/...p?f=37&t=31083

Here are some nice screenshots from steam and Kerb forum- 

http://steamcommunity.com/app/42990/...ilter=toprated

http://www.kerberos-productions.com/...2050&start=405

Beta going on right now is giving us this-
- started the transition to Steam multiplayer
- Implemented pending/resolving combat screens 
- Implemented free-fly and tracking camera modes that can be toggled in combat
- Implemented a random ship name feature 
- Implemented tech boosting (love this too)
- Implemented special failure events for some tech
- Implemented right-click weapon fire mode / target filter control
- Implemented auto-fire for AOE weapons (need to field more aoe weapons but theres so many weapons)
- Implemented Zuul minimum 5 overharvest rate
- Revised empire manager screen (love this one)
- 2 new maps and new Hiver & Liir Badges
- Race balancing and ai tweaks

-Teams

-lots of fixes

This update will be out once steam multi is good to go. 

also 64bit is turned off until its working properly- http://www.kerberos-productions.com/...p?f=37&t=36314

Now to clear a few things up...

I remember people saying that about Sots1, hell i couldn't play sots 1 at all at launch. I was not a happy camper. Came back a year or so later and it still had its rough edges ie ui and managing big empire is still a pain. With every update, every expansion the game slowly was made into a gem. Perfect nope, better yes. 

For some it may take longer than others. If your not looking for multiplayer and only good ai then yes more time is required. Patches are still coming out. 

Multiplayer is fun, been getting games going every other weekend. I have about 9+ games I am currently in. Though doing a few games against the ai to warm yourself up isn't a bad idea. Also thank god after this beta update everyone will have steam multiplayer. Gamespy is old.

For single player I put the ai on hard and giving it a head start is required still. For my single player games I experiment with my strategies.

Randoms and grand menaces are working and every other month new randoms and grand menaces are added. 

Empire management and fleet management- sots 2 is better. With exception to large games when you have lots of stations. We just got a new Empire management screen and its beautiful.

Research- I'm going with sots 2, all techs are visible but you sometimes need to run feasibility studies to find out if the tech is possible.

Example- http://sots2.rorschach.net/Rapid_Prototyping Rapid Prototyping- Cheap prototypes so you can climb up the engineering tree in 2 ways to get it. So lets say you have both links in this case Dreadnought Construction and Modular Construction. So you automatically go for the higher chance link first (1-4 turns for feasibility studies and then you research). Then you are told if you have a high chance to get it or not. If not go for it and fail it. Then You Get a 1 turn to research chance on the other link. If you get it great if not well you can always try to salvage it in battle. 

Its only a matter of time for the ai. They are still working on kicking out stuff and expansions are already being worked on. Kerb is a small team. Things take time. It will be ok... http://youtu.be/iWuibmO4NFw?t=5m

When I see sots 2 sales I try my best to post them.

ALRIGHT PEOPLE AMAZING NEWS!

http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/content.php?1173-Sword-of-the-Stars-II-Expanded-into-New-Enhanced-Edition

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=UIxeT7SBu4A#!

Sci-Fi Strategy Game from Paradox Improved and Updated 

NEW YORK – November 16, 2012 – A year ago, Sword of the Stars II: Lords of Winter was released and while full of potential, didn’t quite meet expectations, including those set by the developer and publisher. Since its release, the main focus from publisher and developer has been to serve all of those that purchased and believed in Sword of the Stars II. Paradox Interactive has financed and distributed updates, giving Kerberos Studios the opportunity to continue patching the game to get it into a state where everyone can be proud of the product.

Now, a year later, Paradox Interactive and Kerberos Studios are finally happy to declare the game in good condition and are celebrating by revealing a brand new expansion “End of Flesh”, alongside new content and improvements in Sword of the Stars II: Enhanced Edition. 

As a token of appreciation and “thank you” for their patience, Paradox Interactive will arrange for existing Sword of the Stars II owners to receive “End of Flesh” for free on release. Sword of the Stars II: Enhanced Edition is scheduled to release on November 30th. 

The “End of Flesh” expansion to “Sword of the Stars II” introduces players to the Loa, a shape shifting artificial intelligence that can settle some of the most foreboding of landscapes. A former slave race, they now have freedom and an incentive to use their powerful and unique vessels to teach their old masters a lesson.

Features of the Sword of the Stars II Enhanced Edition include:

• The new Loa race with a new drive for their ships – the Neutrino Pulse Gate
• Over 25 new technologies including a new tech tree for cybernetics
• 10 new weapons and attack systems
• Expanded ship building options for all six original factions, including new Leviathan class ships
• 2 new independent races to seduce or bludgeon into your imperial orbit
• New random encounters and mission types
• All previously released faction based DLC – the voices, the badges, the avatars, the skins...all of it.

Oh ya sale on Sots 2- http://www.gamersgate.com/DD-SOTS2LW/sword-of-the-stars-ii-lords-of-winter

looky here russian screenshots http://www.ag.ru/games/sword-of-the-stars-2-end-of-flesh/screenshots/458597 

Oh ya patch is out!

 Critical fixes:
- Converted MP from GameSpy network to Steam network
- Fixed end turn CTD
- Fixed post-combat CTD
- Fixed combat CTD
- Fixed multiplayer CTDs, including due to updating colony history
- Fixed CTD on Station Built dialog if station was destroyed during combat phase
- Fixed being able use hot-keys between turns in MP
- Fixed allowing hot-keys to change state in build screen when confirming invoice name 
- Fixed being able to enter comparative analysis screen without having seen any enemy ships
- Fixed Suul'ka leaving when tribute station is destroyed
- Fixed bug allowing Hivers to build gate stations without the required tech
- Fixed issues with assimilation plague
- Fixed client being sent home after 1 invasion mission
- Fixed not being able to do a strike mission on any system
- Fixed CTD with getting Suul'ka info
- Fixed system killer being stuck at a system with a mining station
- Fixed dev-mode being activated in the design screen

Other fixes:
- Improved screen transitions between mission overlays and starmap
- Tweaked VN planet killer
- Prevented neutral indy planets from disabling slew mode if a station is next to it
- Enabled suicide drones to upgrade with warhead tech
- Disabled operations slider
- Fixed sound channel issues
- Fixed Suul'ka voices not being available
- Fixed auto goop module
- Fixed 0 level station remaining at a system after the construction mission is cancelled
- Fixed bug when transferring some assets via relocate
- Fixed bug that moved police cutters into the defense fleet when a relocation was canceled
- Fixed bug allowing design attributes from being visible in the ship tool tip before they have been discovered
- Fixed not being able to relocate to systems when exact number of required CE
- Fixed display of civilian population in empire manager screen
- Fixed display issue with rider manager screen
- Fixed mission turns remaining display issue
- Fixed scrolling hot keys with mouse wheel
- Fixed bio war modules not saving bio missile data
- Fixed bio missiles not getting replenished when the ship is repaired
- Fixed boarding pods getting stuck when docking with their carrier
- Fixed slave disks from auto launching when they are full of slaves
- Fixed weapons ricocheting off of dead sections
- Fixed missiles from blowing up before hitting their target after researching microfusion tech
- Fixed bolt weapons from blowing up before hitting planets
- Fixed "shot gun" style weapon fire so that it fires with a better spread.
- Fixed chance of fading from sensors when ship is outside of sensor range
- Fixed interceptor missiles from hitting own ship's shield
- Fixed formations not updating in auto-resolve
- Fixed morale high/lows when colonizing a planet after killing off the original inhabitants
- Fixed bug where fleets could get stuck arriving at a system, but not set to being at the system
- Fixed not being able to auto target VN collector pods
- Fixed display issue with rider manager
- Fixed scrolling hotkey manager with mouse wheel
- Fixed admiral traits not correctly displaying on admiral info cards
- Fixed defence assets being stuck in a system after the owning player has been evicted
- Fixed issue where Zuul AI would create "super" fleets
- Fixed bug allowing players to access dev design screen
- Fixed priority issues with Planetary Salvage, should now be more common
- Fixed being able to enter rider manager with hotkeys when you normally would not be allowed
- Fixed Zuul node lines disappearing when out of range
- Fixed issues with special / salvage projects not using up all allocated research credits

Other changes and additions:
- Teams
- Revised empire manager screen
- Implemented pending/resolving combat screens
- Implemented free-fly and tracking camera modes that can be toggled in combat
- Implemented a random ship name feature
- Implemented tech boosting
- Implemented special failure events for some tech
- Implemented right-click weapon fire mode / target filter control
- Implemented auto-fire for AOE weapons
- Implemented Zuul minimum 5 overharvest rate
- Removed 64 bit option
- Allow time acceleration in MP when only 1 player in battle
- News events for that turn are now displayed when loading a game
- Movement psionic now shows range

SotS2 is garbage. Quite a shame really, considering that SotS1 is one of the best if not the best  4x game in recent years.

I can wait 6 years...

SotS2 just never became what I hoped it would.  Oh well, not the first time a new direction for a franchise wasn't what I wanted it to be.

Steam sale Sots 2 10$ and Sots 1 & 2 20$ http://store.steampowered.com/app/42990/

New Manual for the expansion- http://www.kerberos-productions.com/sots2_motd/SotS2-EOF_v1-0_301112.pdf

SoTS would be more like the Total War Series then GalCiv II.

Exactly. Ryat is correct. SoTS2 has much more in common with the Total War series than anything else. I gave it another run after EoF was released. It is definitely playable, and a lot smoother now since the "all clear". However my two main pet peeves still stand. The clunky UI, and the at times confusing Fleet mechanic. I can add the still busted galactopedia to the list, but that has nothing to do with game play.

It does have some of the old SoTS 1 features i liked. Like the ship designing, and the random research trees. I finally got a taste of tactical combat. Which is still much like SoTS 1. However in the first battles the AI Suul'ka Horde Mk 3 fleets got wiped out. By my default non-upgraded armor cruiser Sol Force fleets. It wasnt till later that AI fleets started sending in higher tech ships, and i started losing battles. Which to me was a pleasant surprise. I didnt finish that game but it was the first time i actually enjoyed playing SoTS 2.

The fleet mechanic is something you really have to get used to. While Colonize, Survey, and Construction missions are pretty self explanatory. Combat actions could be disastrous if you time it wrong, Like me ordering a fleet to patrol a system too soon, and they finished the mission the turn before the enemy showed up. Lost a world because of that, and because i didn't station fleets there.

The game still annoys me because of the pet peeves, but it is definitely getting better with each update.

Well, SoTS will give you great expereience as it finished in development. Great game cant go wrong.

SoTS 2 is growing, has its growing pains still. Great game though, IMHO a improvement. But others might argue that.

Some of the core mechanics are the same in both games but there is enough difference in both that playing the first might not help you play the second. It took me a long time to get out the SoTS 1 mentality and into SoTS 2 mentality.

If you like the game really depends if you like 4x games. Since all but combat is Turn based, has a big big learning curve, and does take time.

Since your use to RTS, it may or may not be your thing. You have a great jump ahead during combat phases though b/c it is Real time combat. Like Star craft, or your choice of RTS. So you have control of your ships and tell them what do to etc etc etc.

There is a demo of SoTS 1. Give that a try it will the the least give you a taste of how the games flow. If you like the basic feel of it, I say dive right ahead and get SoTS 2. Since playing the first may or maynot confuse you if you do make the jump from the first to the second.

SotS1 with all the expansions is definitely what I would consider "Intro to 4X for RTS Players".  If you read the manual (I cannot stress this enough!) and play with randoms off its an easy enough move from Sins to SotS, assuming you're a Sins of a Solar Empire player.