Although very impressive in terms of graphics, and an attempt at innovation, I am forced to write this game off as a techincal failure. I considered this game to be the largest disappointment in 4X history since MOO3.

Also, be aware that there has been no updates since late 2013, which I think suggests that this game will not be getting any updates. From what I understand, the developers have no money to do so.

Pros:
- The graphics are some of the best ever seen for a 4X game, especially a space 1. The Mars 2 engine clearly was the centrepiece of their development.

- They did try to make the game something other than a sequel with beefed up graphics and it does show. Certain aspects like the combat are now more sophisticated, with a damage "grid" and the concept of "critical hits" (very important). This is good.

- If you've played SOTS 1, you'll know. There's a level of complexity here that you don't seen in other games, combining tactical and strategic combat. The problem is, a good deal of what made SOTS 1 outstanding is gone.

- Game will run acceptably well on a low end system, despite the graphics. At time of this review, I am running this on a fairly high end system (overclocked 4.5 GHz CPU, an overclocked AMD r9 290, which as of 2014 is a fairly high end GPU, and an SSD).

- Developers did make an effort to patch the majority of the issues and even offered a free DLC, the End of Flesh.

- There was some effort to make the game modder friendly, but it appears to be incomplete.

Cons:
- You still get crashes at times. Not often, certainly not as much as launch, but it still happens. Most bugs are gone, but you stilll sometimes get CTDs, so save often.

- The UI at times is hard to use and sometimes lags, even on a high end overclocked rig (and yes, I have tested this rig extensively for stability in my CPU, GPU, and RAM overclocks). An SSD does help somewhat I find though. The bigger issue though is the way the UI was designed. I've worked before in computer programming.

A good UI is one that requires as few clicks (or as few taps as possible for touch devices) to get things done. This UI seems to be the exact opposite. A long learning curve in and of itself is not a failure, but it must serve some purpose. I am unsure as to if the UI was left in this state due to lack of funds, or due to the design decisions made.

Another problem is that the game is very, very micro-intensive, particularly during late game. It's a much bigger issue than most 4X games.

- The mission system is very controversial. I really, really hate it. It adds a layer of micro that makes managing large maps very hard, slows down the pace of the game without adding any depth, and causes other complexities. The problem is not so much that it added depth, it's that it did so without adding much to the gameplay itself. A huge step back from SOTS 1.

- Certain features were poorly implemented or appear to be incomplete. For example, the private sector system was not very well done and adds micro problems at times. Given that there are no plans to patch this game, I fear that these features will remain this way. Another example of a feature that had to be axed was 64 bit (important I suppose for using more than 2Gb).

- Autoresolve is in real time, so everything has to be played out in real time. Although imperfect, I would have liked an option to accelerate an autoresolve system.

- There's a general lack of documentation with the game. You have to heavily rely on the wiki for information and to some extent the forums, although participation has since dropped since launch. I think that the wiki should be incorporated into the game somehow.

- The AI is quite dumb I fear and at times, tends to mismanage their own empire into bankruptcy. Often times, what ends up happening is that you expand into the game and you encounter your first player, only to discover that they have really messed up empire management and will not be a challenge.

In effect, this means that multiplayer is the only real area for challenge.

- Compounding the issue above, this game does seem to have issues with network connectivity. I am not sure why as other games seem to be stable. I have asked around and I am not the only person with these problems. I have also fairly extensively tested my network's speed, latency, and stability (works fine on other games).

- Worsening the issue further, this game does not have a very large multiplayer base, so your opportunity to play online is at times, limited

- Normally, I would not put this in a review, but I have found the attitude of the lead developer, Mecron to be highly unprofessional at times. Although I expect trollish behavior from some of the forum participators, it is completely inappropriate for the developer themselves to be acting in such a manner.

There's also a toxic atmosphere on the forums at times, where feedback, even constructive was not permitted and likely to be trolled. Essentially, I think what has happened is those who wanted to change the game for the better have been driven away by the cadre of people who believe the developers can do no wrong, and in effect you get this powerful "groupthink" mentality going on.

People who recommend changes at times are attacked and portrayed as "too stupid to understand why this game is a masterpiece". I will admit the conduct of some of the feedback has been less than admirable. But at the same time, the conduct of those very loyal to this title has also been less than admirable. The critics though have recieved a disproportionate amount of the moderation.


Recommendations: (Unlikely to be implemented due to the fact that this game is not getting patched and for reasons I have indicated above):

- Give the player the option at the start of the game to go for a mission or a SOTS 1 system. I suspect the overwhelming majority of gamers will opt for the SOTS 1 system, save for a very vocal minority.

- I get the impression that the developers did not understand why their first game, SOTS 1 was so successful. It was successful because it was intuitive, easy to play, had a reasonably good UI, but at the same time, a great deal of depth, particularly by the time AMOC and ANY was released.

- Separate the tactical combat into something like Gratitious Space Battles from the strategic portion of the game and let people play "Total War-style multiplayer". This will probably make for a much more engaging game in multiplayer, allowing for shorter combat sessions to take place.


Concluding remarks:
The biggest problem of this game, apart from the stability issues and the poor AI, is the fact that it was not fun to play for a very large percentage of the SOTS1 fanbase. As I indicated above, I think there's a total ignorance of what made SOTS 1 so well recieved.

The development team appears quite frustrated that their fundraising campaigns (they made a few additional efforts to raise money for development) have not been successful, but the issue I see is that they have demonstrated why they are worth additional funding to the majority. There has been a very hostile atmosphere towards feedback and an unwillingness to admit that certain problems exist, much less any indication that they will be addressed.

Complexity in and of itself is not a problem. Neither is a very long learning curve. But the issue is that in this case, complexity never had anything to offer save in tactical combat. It feels like complexity at times was made ... for the sake of complexity. That in many ways detracted from the game experience.

It's very painful for me to have to write this review like this. I really wanted to like this game. I can even see how this game could have evolved into one of the most awesome 4X games ever. But it's clear that in its current form, this game is the largest disappointment since MOO3 in the world of 4X gaming.

Disappointing.

Such promise, squandered.

The interface and even at times design decisions make getting to the fun (and there is some fun buried there, somewhere) a lot of work. When you finally get there it may also crash.

There are a lot of amazing ideas here, but they're not explained very well, tend to lead to opaque mechanics that have invisible causes and effects, and generally it's impossible to recommend... but you can see the shadow of a truly amazing game that just didn't quite make it, if you like exploring such a thing.

It also looks very pretty. If you can cope with reduced graphics and not nearly as much innovative reach in exchange for understandable mechanics which actually work, you should play Sword of the Stars 1 - it is well polished and still the best space 4X I've played.

Recommended*

* - you have to be interested in large scale strategy games and be capable of either self teaching or searching for answers

TL;DR - This is a good strategy game that doesn't require you to play the original to enjoy it (in fact you may be better off if you have NOT played the original). Just beware of the devs and fanboys.

Sword of the Stars II is a 4X strategy game with turn-based empire management and fleet movement coupled with visually stunning real-time space combat with ships that you, the player, can design. Now, when I say design, I don't mean you determine the length and silhouette and window placement or any of that. When designing a ship you pick three sections (in game described as a Command [front] Mission [middle] and Engine [back] section). Once you have selected your sections you can place weapons of varying size and modules which provide bonuses like extra crew, increased range, and much more.

But what about the factions. Well there are 7, the Humans, Hivers (insect like), Tarkasians (reptilian), Morrigi (avian/bird), Liir-Zuul Alliance (Liir are dolphin/whale like while the Zuul are genetically modified slavers that are difficult to define), Suul'ka Horde (Suul'ka are giant telepathic terrors of war that are allied with some more extreme Zuul) and the Loa (Artificially Intelligent race). Most of the factions have a very distinct system of faster than light travel (Morrigi, Tarka and Liir are all very similar with only minor differences) and each race has its own technological advantages and disadvantages.

The Tech Tree is randomly generated each game and most techs require you to perform a "Feasibility Study" during which you spend a few turns determining how likely you will be in achieving a certain tech. This is where alot of the faction specific technological advantages come into play (for example the Morrigi have a better chance of getting high end energy weapon techs than the Tarkasians). This "Feasibility Study" is a very divisive topic, however, I personally enjoy it as it means that you can't start a game and know that you don't have Shield techs despite playing as the Liir (the Liir have the best Shield tech chance, however, this still happened to me). This means that each game has an element of unpredictability that is maintained into the late-game whereas a simple tech tree where you could see all your paths would mean that at turn 1 you could plan your entire game.

Fleet Movement is also a divisive topic as ships cannot be moved unless they are in fleets with a dedicated command ship. I have personally had no issues with this system. You make a fleet and can then right click on a target, decide what to do and then select the desired fleet that is in range. Or, you can right click a fleet, select a desired action and then select a world in range.

Diplomacy, unfortunately, is essentially non-existent. The AI behaves erratically and while it may accept a peace treaty on one turn it may declare war on you the very next turn. I always wanted to rule the galaxy alone anyways but it is still a major eyesore on the game.

Finally, support for the game has, for all intents and purposes, ceased. The developers (which can be/are extremely difficult/stubborn) released a patch in August of 2014, however, there were no patch notes released and any comments on the patch were disregarded by the devs. As a result I cannot confirm or deny any of the findings, however, it is my suspicion that the AI was made more aggressive and everything else remained as it was before. But many people (fanboys?) will say that turn times are shorter and menus come up quicker and their cat came back from the dead after that "non-patch" as the devs deny any patch taking place.

So if you are looking for a grand strategy game with real-time space battles, stunning visuals, a handful of unique races and a learning curve that provides a sense of accomplishment then I recommend you give this game a try. It's come a long way from the opening day launch disaster.

More bugs than an crackhouse mattress and crashes like a drunk chimpanzee in a demolition derby. It gobbles down memory and then leaks it back out in a hundred places. As we all know it was released unfinished. Now, years later, it is still not finished and clearly never will be.

The saddest thing is that even if all of these problems were fixed it still wouldn't be a good game. Clunky interface, a UI that is more concerned with neon than functionality, and a plethora of just plain bad design decisions make you wonder how the same people who created the masterpiece that was the original Sword of the Stars could live with themselves after putting their names on this overpriced disaster.

You can forget about balance anywhere. Races, ships, technology, pirates, the economy - everything in this is completely out of alignment in some way or another. Tutorials? What are those? The manual seems to have been written for a different game and is more concerned with giving background fiction than any usuable information.

Worst of all is that somehow, despite all the shiny new graphics and toys, they've made combat both look and play worse than the original (which was actually very good, by the way).

Metaphorically speaking, SotS2 is someone looking at a sports car that was SotS1 and saying "You know what this thing needs? A piano tied to the roof! Yeah! And we'll save weight by removing one of the tires!"

Note that in sharp contrast the original SotS1 is a very good game, and I advise anyone considering this one to go buy that far superior product instead. You won't regret SotS1. You will regret this one, however.

The game looks good, but is basically unfinished, plagued with bus and crashes. Great supporting community, but the developers have abandoned it effectively. Save your money and don't bother.

First thing I want to say about this game is that it has a hefty learning curve - read the manual and then some guides, expect your first couple games to go poorly and remember there is friendly fire in this game.

I've heard this game is buggy - 90 hours in and it's only crashed to desktop on me once (0.011 crashs per hour isn't bad IMO), It can take a while between turns as the game goes on but most 4X games I've played do that.

One of the things I love about this game is the varity in the different factions - find one that works for you.

Another thing I liked was the mission system - you have to tell your fleets what you want them to do when you send them out - once they do it they come back to base to repair and resupply.

Like all 4X games it's got a slower pace - These types of games aren't for everybody - if you like complex games that require thought and planning this might be a good fit for you.

***UPDATE***

After playing some multiplayer I have encountered more bugs than before - another crash to desktop and some disconnects (both myself and other players).
If you don't have a good STABLE interent connection you'll have a hard time playing multiplayer on this game.

This game breaks my heart. Sots 1 was an indie masterpiece. So many 4x games are dry and formulaic, Sots 1 broke the mold with incredibly asymmetric races, abilities, and technologies. There was so much potential here. In Sots 2 the graphics are beautiful, the tech tree is great, more races, more ship components, all more of the awesome stuff that made Sots 1 great. But for some inexplicable reason they took a decent fleet management system and made it 20x more complicated and fiddly. Now trying to do a basic thing like invade a planet involves multiple counter intuitive steps, making the whole thing a chore. Lastly and most unforgivable, they took a reasonable 'autoresolve' system and decided to make the ships fight it out in near-realtime. I imagine the goal here was to create a more accurate autoresolve, but all it results in is 5 minutes each turn watching dots frentically zig around a radar and thoughts of "How could I possibly have lost that battle?". Go play Sots 1.

Sadly there are aspects of this game which are unfinished, and odd bugs which cause CTD's. From what the pub/dev said they wont be providing any further updates.

Abandoned game with gamebreaking bugs. Buyer Beware

This game has come along way since its disastrous launch, however I'd still peg it at being somewhere in the late beta stage. Some interfaces don't work right, other features are still broken, diplomacy is mostly an afterthought, and you'll still experience the odd crash to desktop. With all that said, once you learn the interface and how the fleet system works it can still be an enjoyable experience. Buy on sale if you're a fan of the original, but be aware that developer support has officially ended.

I wanted to like this game, I really did. I was a huge fan of SotS1 but this game just really let me down. It has most of what's in SotS1 but its just filled with so much more bloat and covered in pretty graphics. The mission system - horrible bloat. Prototyping new designs - garbage idea. The tech tree is less interesting. Colonizing planets is a pain in the ♥♥♥. If you want good space based 4x gameplay, get SotS1 and pass this junk over.

I'm very dissappointed. The game has not had an update in over 6 months. The original Sword of the Stars was a fantastic game, and this one had potential. However, I can't recommend it unless they actually finish developement. I didn't realize it wasn't finished until after I bought it.

It's feature complete and stable as of Aug 2014. Many people complain about the shift in game mechanics but that's just individual preferance. However, there's no way around a non-existant AI which overshadows all other aspects of the game.

Simply put, the AI, both in strategic battle and tactical, is not there; imagine a beautiful playground with no one but yourself.

I really enjoy the SOTS universe and all the spinoffs but unless you can find people in MP (almost impossible) I would recommend leaving this game be.

Love this game, I recommend it to any strategy fans.. Every game has a randomized tech tree which will keep you trying new strategies again and again, with customized ships and many different paths to victory

aquired this game several months ago and have yet to actually get this game to load properly on my computer!!! i have verified all specs and my computer has more than required to play this game!!! i have even tried loading it several different ways n all lead to my not being able to play as the game shuts down right after the main page!!!!! i also have win 7 so i dont see why this doesnt play on my computer!!!!!!!!! i want to know what the hell is going on and how the company plans to right this problem?????????? if not i want my money back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

quite simply a dead unfinished game that is so unfinished it cant realy be played
last update was a year ago
get Sword of the Stars 1 with all DLC insted

Sadly...I must agree with the many posts before me. I bought this game as The Lords of Winter iteration and stayed with it through all the patches. There are some epic 3D battles to be had here - and this game mechanic is awesome - but many areas remain bland...and that makes for a bland galaxy. The star systems are just not interesting to explore or colonize - as it is just a matter of ramming as many colony ships back and forth as you can. Because the eXplore portion is weak, it makes the eXpand portion also bland and boring. This galaxy is not alive in any substantial way.

Pluses: (1) Multi-player tactical is fun. (2) Multi-player strategy is OK.

Spend your money on funding a team with the real posibility of completing a better 4X space game.

Way too complicated and slow. I liked customizing ships, but that's about it.

I wanted this game to be fixed, but as of 11/14 it is still a smoking pile. There are a *ton* of mechanics that are just completely un-explained. You can find guides and youtube video's where people try to explain. Most of the time its literally them not understanding, but explaining how they managed to get it to somewhat work. The tech is interesting, combat is very meh mostly because the AI is TERRIBLE at it.

Its not nearly as buggy as launch, and it does run MUUUUCH faster, but the AI is terrible and that just makes the gameplay completely lackluster. I got to a point where I had 3-4 battles every few turns, and if I automated them it would be a complete loss, but if I micro'd them myself it would be a flawless victory with my ships sustaining very little damage. Considering the tediousness of having to manually control *EVERY* fight, I couldn't even finish a game, it would have taken me about 3 years!

Overall, SWOTS 1 was a vastly superior game, I had hopes for this one, but the developers really dropped the ball....and then kicked it down the street and into the gutter.

This game had a horrid release, and has committed a great sin in the fact that many of the core mechanics of the first game have been completely and unnecessarily changed. SotS 1 needed some things major, those being a better diplomacy/ economy system and an easier time to be able to get into the game as many of the tutorials are rubbish. Toss in some current gen graphics and you have a fantastic game. What happened is the opposite, given a poor UI, a way to complex system for building a single damn ship, and making what should be simple aspects of the game into a multitasking nightmare. If you want something fun, try SotS one. You can still play it through Hamachi direct connecting via lan. I have heard people call SotS an ugly girl with a great personality, but with that personality lost on its sequel, theres no reason to waste your time trying to get to know her anymore.