Sword of the Stars: The Pit Gold Edition – Announced

DaRipp3r

November 8th, 2013 at 9:25 am -

On Friday, November 8th, Vancouver-based game developers Kerberos Productions will celebrate its first decade as an independent studio with the release of a new bundle for its first full-indie computer game, Sword of the Stars:The Pit. The new Gold Edition bundle will give players of the popular sci-fi roguelike the chance to play three new alien classes, including the insectoid Hiver Warrior, the cetacean Liir Seeker, and the avian Morrigi Striker! And of course, new playable characters will also mean new weapons, items, crafting recipes, and monsters to encounter throughout the game.

The Pit, which Destructoid says, “Has that same feeling of ‘okay, just one more run’ that both Binding of Isaac or FTL: Faster Than Light have’” was the company’s first self-published PC game, successfully brought to market through a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo. Kerberos is currently working to repeat the same indie success with Sword of the Stars: Ground Pounders, a classic hex-wargame, which is also set in the Sword of the Stars universe, and will be released on mobile, and PC platforms.

“It really is a time to celebrate,” says Lead Designer and CEO Martin Cirulis, “and The Pit will always hold a special place in our hearts. We started this company ten years ago with a dream of true developer independence, and in February of 2013 that dream was finally achieved. The Pit was the first game that we were able to bring to market as completely free men and women, and it feels fantastic.”

What’s coming down the pipeline in the immediate future? “Lots of expansion into new platforms,” says Cirulis. “Up until 2012 we were a PC-only company, but we’ll be releasing a version of The Pit for the Mac and portables soon, and we’ve worked out a system of cross-platform compatibility for Ground Pounders which should allow players to link PC and Android tablets and devices in multi-player.”

Chris Stewart, the company’s Producer and COO, is also excited about the 10th anniversary milestone. “We’ve come through the fire and held on to what was important: our integrity and our intellectual property. In the past ten years we’ve seen countless other studios who were forced to compromise their values, give up their IP, or close their doors—sometimes all three. We chose ‘None of the Above’.”

What comes next for Kerberos? “After four products in one year, the sky’s the limit, really,” says Stewart. “We are the proud owners of one of an exclusive list of fully developed science fiction universes in gaming, complete with extensive franchise Bible and a great pool of concept art and lore. There’s nothing we can’t do with it, given enough audience support.”

Besides the series bundle, experienced players will be able to pick up all the new content with the Gold Edition DLC.

● 8 Characters from 5 different Sword of the Stars races to play as… Marine, Scout, Engineer, Psion, Ranger, Warrior, Seeker, and Striker!

● 40 Levels of ancient evil science between you and the cure, not to mention unique side areas, known as biomes!

● Improve your character and increase your skills as you try and find a way to survive the depths.

● Over 160 enemies drawn from the Sword of the Stars universe!

● Over 110 weapons and over 45 armors with a variety of special effects including flamethrowers, rocket launchers, plasma cannons and powered Brawler armor!

● Over 250 items, devices, and ingredients to find, ranging from the familiar to ancient exotic tech. Use stuff found around each level or on your enemies to craft together more than 100 new items!

● Randomized augmentation effects (for your equipment… and for you!) make each game unique.

● Develop 28 unique Psionic powers to better hold off opponents.

● 5 levels of difficulty, from Easy to Seriously? and three special modes; Infinite, where there is no end, Quick, which reduces the number of rooms per floor, and Fast, which skips every second floor!

● Dozens of room types containing a host of exotic devices to help – or maybe hinder – your progress.

● Discover and decipher hundreds of hidden messages, crafting recipes, and pieces of Sword of the Stars lore!

● Many fiendish ways to die including poisoning, disease, traps, disintegration, radiation, dehydration, starvation and of course… MONSTERS.

● Plus 1 hidden character, which you can unlock to help you out when things get tough!

● Special features include full controller support, Big Screen compatibility, Steam Cloud, and even Steam trading cards!