Sword of the Stars Interview

Are you ready to take on the galaxy? Publisher Lighthouse Interactive is set to publish the latest 4X space strategy title with Sword of the Stars, currently in development at Vancouver-based developer Kerberos Productions. And if you are not in the know, this is the same team that brought us Homeworld: Cataclysm. They know their stuff. Playing as one of 4 unique races, gamers will explore planets, research new technologies and create empires in a hostile universe where weakness means extinction and only the strongest will survive. Today we took the opportunity to speak with Sword of the Stars lead designer and CEO of Kerberos Productions, Martin Cirulis regarding this exciting strategy title for the PC.

Thank you for taking the time to speak with us today regarding Sword of the Stars. Developing a space strategy game seems like such a natural fit for the team at Kerberos, given their development past with Barking Dog Studios on titles such as Treasure Planet and Homeworld: Cataclysm. However, Sword of the Stars is taking on the 4X sub-genre, a class of game that doesn't get much attention these days. Why go this route?

Hi, Jason. We are always happy to answer questions and this first one has an easy answer. Basically, at Kerberos we work on the games we love. Period. Not only what is "the flavor of the week" or what is a big seller right now. We formed this company to get away from that exact thing. If we had a great idea for a unique WW2 shooter that would be great, but to do one just because everyone else is would be drudgery. Kerberos Productions will always be about the games first.

Mention 4X space strategy, and immediately images of Master of Orion or SSI's Reach for the Stars are conjured, followed closely by tears of nostalgia. How do you see Sword of the Stars measuring up to classics such as these?

I see SotS measuring up to the classics very well, as it was from them that we drew our inspiration. From a time when it was clear designers were doing everything they could to make a game fun as possible with the technology they had available. Sadly though, since then, new designers have assumed that all they should add to the genre is volume instead of advancements.

How has the team diverged from what has been done in the past in order to carve out a their own niche for the game?

There have been advancements and innovations throughout SotS, but I suppose the most visible divergence from what has gone before is in the real time combat system. SotS provides gamers with a 3-D space that is simple to command ships in but allows them to use all those things they have researched from the tech tree is a amazing array of combinations. From what has always been just labels on a simplified combat screen, things like jammers, torpedoes, cloaking and command ships (just to name a very few) become living breathing combat systems that allow you to use your wits and tactics to beat your opponent and to snatch victory from defeat.

Traditionally 4X strategy games, as engrossing as they are or can be, are distinguished by slow and methodical gameplay and oftentimes come saddled with a cumbersome interface. How has the team tackled this observation in order to make Sword of the Stars approachable by a more casual gaming audience?

Well the first way we approached it was to tear 4X down to the basics and then build it back up while questioning every traditional feature before putting it back into the game. And the most basic question was "Does it add anything to gameplay" and you would be surprised how often the answer was "not really". 4X games have become so saddled with "busy work" that there is little hope of a smooth interface and instead a player is left with a spreadsheet with aliens in it. With SotS the interface lends itself to the core experience:

• eXploration- A crisp clean and easy to use 3-D starmap.
  
• eXpansion- Point and click, star-to-star system movement in the strategic map with clear travel line indicators and smooth, zoom-in details.
  
• eXploitation- Planets are not endless sinkholes of busy work. We want you to feel like and Emperor in SotS, not a local mayor worried about building movie theaters. In SotS, planets are focused centers of population and production controlled with a handful of easy to manage slider bars.
  
• eXtermination- SotS makes obliterating your enemies not only fun but one of the deepest tactical battle experiences around. Once again combat is one click to move and the other to shoot. From those basics you can tailor your experience all the way down to deciding where to drop each mine or which enemy turret to try and blow off first.
  

The game's website mentions four distinct races from which to choose, each with certain technological advantages, disadvantages, and travel alternatives between stars. This seems like a rather small number of playable races when compared to the likes of Star Control or Master of Orion, so we have to assume that each must bring something very different to the table.

Its not a small number when one considers actually making the races meaningful. I mean really, MOO was great fun but to pick a favorite race when really they were a collection of +/- attributes that you could mix and match? Basically that kind of "Alien Race" is just asking you what skin you would like to pick for your ships. And yes you are right, each race in SotS does bring a different play experience to the table. First off, one should not dismiss the differences in stardrives between the races as merely cosmetic. They heavily alter the style and way one plays. Also ship design is far more than skin deep. After awhile you get the feel for how a race designs their ships, what turret combinations are most common and what firing arcs you can expect. In general a lot of differences, some large some subtle come together to make each race distinct and deep in their own right.

Then, to use an example, why would a player choose to play as, say a Hiver over a Tarkas?

I would say it comes down to mood. The Tarka warpfield drives allow them to travel at will Faster Than Light - they are not the fastest and their range is short, but they can react to counter incoming enemies fairly well. And when it comes to combat, they are direct and deadly. Tarka vessels have heavily armed command sections and they favor high speed pass slashing attacks where they pound you with their forward weapon and then hold you at bay with rear facing turrets until they turn around for another pass.

The Hivers, on the other hand, are for when you are in a planning kind of mood. Because they move slower than light between the stars, but then set up instant travel teleport gates when they get there, the Hivers have to have a good idea of what they want ahead of time to succeed. Pound for pound they have the strongest ships in the game, but enemies often have turns to prepare for their arrival and once at their target the Hiver must fight hard to protect the gate construction ship.

As you can see just from those brief points, the races have to be approached quite differently.

How does Sword of the Stars work diplomacy and espionage into the mix, and how are these fundamental gameplay aspects handled differently depending on the race being played?

Like most things in SotS, diplomacy is straightforward and very useful. Players can either be in 3 states towards each other: Hostile, Non-Aggression or Alliance. You can only have diplomatic or chat contact with players you have encountered in the strategic map.

You might know there is a Liir empire out there somewhere across the 3-D map, but you are going to need to send out scout ships or fleets and make some sort of contact. And after first contact comes language translation research. But once you can speak to them and they can speak to you, then you are free to make alliances and trade research points and cash.

As for espionage, I actually would dispute that it is a "fundamental" of 4X. Disregarding the somewhat dubious premise of infiltrating an actual alien culture where you can't even breath the air of the planet, "espionage" as it is presented in most 4X games these days struck us as not very engaging at all. Lets face it. At its core it's you opening a dialog box to spend money to do something. The other guy opens a dialog box to spend money to prevent you from doing something, and then at some point later a window pops up to tell you what did or didn't happen. Not exactly knuckle-biting action now is it? Perhaps there is a way to make espionage more involving and robust, but until we find that way, SotS will stay espionage free.

If you want to hurt someone in SotS, you just have to get your hands dirty and do it the old fashioned way!

One of the most engrossing aspects of 4X games is the inclusion of a robust tech tree. Could you please talk a bit about the tech tree the team has implemented, how it is organized, and how randomization of the tree makes for a unique game experience?

The tech tree in SotS is organized into a large circular interconnected "grove" with various disciplines making up a series of "Main Trunks". Research disciplines are things like Drives, Energy Weapons, Shields, etc. Each research topic either upgrades some part of your empire or unlocks a new weapon or ship section. Where the randomization fits in is that the branches that lead from one discovery to the next change from game to game and also depend on which races you are playing. While a certain number of "core technologies" are available every game, the more exotic techs are randomized so that you cannot depend on the same research path every game. This keeps each game new and also forces players to explore new paths to victory.

How is the multiplayer game working out? Care to describe a recent mutiplayer battle you've taken part in?

Multiplayer is great. We do 8 player wars all the time in the office and between the random tech, different ship section combos and new tricks being discovered it's always a new challenge.

The other day I found an enemy world fairly early on, but since my empire was small at that point, I didn't want to spend the time and money for an overwhelming force so I chose tactical misdirection. This operation took a command ship and about 25 destroyers. Auxiliary support came from a couple of tankers and a destroyer with a sensor jammer mission section so my enemy probably wouldn't see me coming unless he had advanced sensors (something that would take a deliberate push to get this early in the game).

I set up my initial formation as 2 wings of plasma torpedoes destroyers with the jammer between them. For reinforcements I arranged my assault shuttle destroyers to come in as the torpedo boats are destroyed. No good plan comes without sacrifice.

I come tearing out of node space. Within seconds, planetary missiles are pounding my lead torpedo destroyer but I order both wings to the far left of the planet anyway. Initial torpedo launch is at the sats on the far right of the planet (sats orbit right to left.) A few seconds after that a wave of his sat missiles arrive and demolish the lead torpedo boat. They plunge on until I see his destroyers incoming, and then I cut even farther left while spreading out a launch of torps. Faced with my tracking torps that get stronger over distance, he can't wait for long-range missile fire to do the job. At close range his armored destroyers using missiles in the main turret and green lasers in the lights eradicate my ships in short order. But the sacrifice has been worth it.

His destroyers are at the far, far left of the battle area and there is now a gap in the satellite line rotating directly in front of my initial arrival point...and now I have a battle line of assault shuttles carrying destroyers going at full burn for that gap.

He reacts but too late. 10 shuttles launch and they all make it into the enemy world's atmosphere. Between them and the bombardment of the covering destroyers, his colony dies a fiery death before his destroyers can get back to bust up the attack. When the battle ends, I have lost about 15 ships to his handful. But his colony on the planet has been destroyed.

Wow, that's pretty damn exciting. You're making me really want to play this game. From their description, I can tell that I am going to want to try to play as the Liir first. How would you suggest that I, as a first timer playing as this unique race, approach the initial several turns of the game?

Hmm, as the Liir, the behavior of your empire and ships favors exploration and research to start with. You are the only race that mounts a medium turret in their extended-range mission section so arming your first generation of scout ships with one is a good idea. Being able to stand off and fire can make a big difference in early scout vs scout battles with other players. If it is a larger map and you think you have a bit of time before bumping into anyone. You might want to sit back and research Waldo Industrial technology, as that will give you the hammerhead command section (with another light turret than the standard command) as well as a small economic boost. If you wait 3 or 4 turns to finish researching Waldos then you can design a Hammerhead/Extended-Range/Fission scout that can go quite a ways out into the stars while still being able to hold its own in a fight. Once your scouts are zipping off to map the nearest stars, and to find the best candidates for colonization, you can use take advantage of the Liirian skill in biotech to research some early techs that make colonization easier. Things like Gene Modification to boost population growth on hostile worlds and Suspended Animation to increase the number of "people" your colony ships can carry. The large size of the Liir and their relatively low birth-rate means your colonies grow slowly unless you develop the right tech.

Of course the galaxy is a dangerous place and soon it will be time to investigate the Liirians love of energy and bio weapons!

It's always fun to amass a large and threatening fleet of ships in games such as this. How is ship construction handled, and in sticking with the Liir, what can a player expect their emerging fleet to be like?

As you may be figuring out by now, in SotS, ships are organized into 3 basic size classes: (in order of size) destroyer, cruiser and dreadnought, with each class being roughly 3 times larger than the preceding class. Now each ship itself is made up of 3 sections: Engines(rear), Mission(middle) and Command(nose). Counting all 3 size classes, each race has approx 75-80 graphically unique sections to mix and match from. Each section has its own turret size mix and arrangement.

• Engine Section: This is the most obvious section class. Engine sections revolve around power plants (fission, fusion and antimatter), which dictate strategic range and tactical speed and are coupled with drive technologies that govern strategic FTL speed.
  
• Mission Section: Mission sections are specialized components that usually dictate the overall purpose of a ship. So while the Armored mission section is the standard multi-purpose combat mission section, the Point defense section is specialized towards lighter, faster turret mounts with greater coverage. As you grow in hull size the general power of the mission section increases as well. So while destroyers have a tanker section capable of refueling a number of ships, cruisers can mount a refinery section capable not only of refueling but also generating new fuel from a systems raw resources.
  
• Command Section: The nose section is usually the lightest armed but often allows a ship to carry out a secondary function that may enhance or serve to protect the mission section function. The Deep Scan command section coupled with the extended range mission section makes for an excellent long range scout and spy ship but on the other hand the Deep Scan coupled with the Jammer mission section makes and excellent all purpose Electronic Warfare escort for a fleet. As hull size increases often you will find what took up a mission section for a destroyer, fits comfortably in the command section of a cruiser.
  

Once you have the basic section combination of a ship design picked, then you can go about arming the various turret banks with the weapons you have researched.

As the Liir you have to accept that your ships are the most fragile of the 4 races in SotS. All things being equal, an identically designed Hiver ship will pound you to paste 2 out of 3 times. So you must rely on your technical skills for victory and arm your ships with the most exotic weapons and powerful defenses you can. Liir ships are designed to protect the crew while hammering the enemy with precise powerful blows. This translates to excellent coverage by light turrets that can be used for such things as point defense or anti-destroyer weapons, and a smaller number of the largest turrets that will fit on a hull. Liir abhor violence but when it's called for they want to end it fast with as little damage done to them as possible.

All of this is sounding extremely exciting. Do you have an idea yet when a demo will be released so players can sink their teeth into all of this 4X action? Is the team still on track to see the game shipping later this year?

The game is still on track with the demo nearing completion as we speak. As for exact release dates of either you will have to keep checking the Lighthouse Interactive website!

Thank you for your time. Is there anything else that you would like to add?

Just thank you for your interest and we look forward to meeting you all out in the depths of space in Sword of the Stars. If you have any further questions we have a robust forum at http://www.kerberos-productions.com/forum/ where you can ask any questions and a member of the design team will try and give you an answer as quick as possible. SotS fans have also developed a wikipedia for SotS itself, and it is an excellent reference to all previously released information about SotS gameplay and tech. It can be found at http://SotS.rorschach.net.

Jan 31, 2006 - 1:37 pm | 0 comments
Jason Dobson