Sword of the Stars II is a 4X strategy game, set in space around the years
2500. It is the second major installment of the Sword of the Stars series. The
game is essentially a mix of strategic turn-based gameplay and real-time space
ship battles in three dimensions, similar to the Total War series.

The game allows to play all the six different factions already present in the
previous game, which all have their distinctive play style thanks to different
propulsion modes and specific technology affinities. Unlike the previous
Sword of the Stars game, each stars that compose the map can have zero or
several planets which can have in turn zero or more moons. The game still
propose different map shapes to pick from, but instead of allowing the player
to choose how many stars there are in the map, stars distance, etc, maps in
Sword of the Stars II have a fixed shape and a fixed number of stars.
However, the type of star and the planets and moons that compose the different
star systems of the map are entirely randomized. The technology tree has been
reworked, but still keeps the random nature of its predecessor, which makes
sure every game will be different.

Sword of the Stars II adds an emphasis on space stations, and offer many
new options for customization. Ships have to organized in fleets which are led
by admirals who all have distinct skill sets and traits. Fleets are no longer
commended directly, and must be assigned “missions” instead, which are then
automatically carried out by the fleet.

The game does not feature a single player campaign, but has a flexible sandbox
mode and will get additional scenarios in the future (as of 2011/11/9). The
game still has multiplayer modes that allows up to eight players to join a
game. Games can be saved and restored, players can drop in or out of the game
at any time. When a player leaves the game, they are replaced by an AI that
can be configured by the player to use a specific play style.

Sword of the Stars II: Lords of Winter