Ashes of the Singularity II News

[p]Updated: Aug 22, 2025[/p][p][/p][p]Oxide has always loved RTS games that go BIG. Big maps, sprawling bases, units all over the place - the whole chaotic sprawl. While we certainly love more ‘tactical’ RTS games as well, with Ashes of the Singularity, Oxide wanted to go BIG, harkening back to genre stalwarts like Total Annihilation and Supreme Commander.[/p][p]However, as we prepared to develop Ashes of the Singularity II, we wanted to tackle the core problem of “BIG”. One key challenge was that the controls (and the amount of micromanagement those controls demanded) got in the way of the BIG being really fun. Yeah, it’s great to have multiple bases and massive armies, but when you’re still forced to order around individual vehicles or construct tens of tiny buildings, you find yourself working SMALL and not enjoying the bigger picture.[/p][p][/p][p]So, we worked to change that.[/p][p][/p][p]But what fundamentals would we change to let us enjoy the BIG without a control scheme that screamed SMALL? The principal we chose to guide us was this:[/p][p]What if you had to play Ashes of the Singularly II, with all the scale and chaos of Ashes of the Singularity I, with only a gamepad controller? No hotkeys. No queuing up hundreds of individual orders, units, or construction tasks. No relying on 100+ actions-per-minute. To be clear: we are NOT going to actually do this. We just want to see if it’s possible.[/p][p][/p][p]When designing the UI, understanding that most people will play with keyboard and mouse, we wanted to see the game could be played with just a gamepad. How would you do that? By thinking about how orders are given.[/p][p]For example, in Ashes of the Singularity II we have changed it so that orders can be given at the region level. Select a region, choose what buildings you want built, and the regions, seemingly, manage themselves with the construction units going off to handle the order given.[/p][p]So why do this? It’s not just about wanting the game to be playable on a Steam Deck. We don’t even have a console version of the game in the pipeline. The reason was scale – we want our battles taking place across entire continents and we can’t do that if players are forced to micro-manage everything. It also forces us to make the UI better for those playing with a keyboard and mouse.[/p][p][/p][p]There are more than a few things we’ve done to make gamepads play more intuitively. Inputs to select all your units, inputs to quickly zoom out to strategic view, etc., were all planned into a “gamepad controls” scheme from the get-go. Mouse+Keyboard is great because it offers you a lot of buttons/inputs to manage gameplay. Using the gamepad as a lens really forced us to really think about what the core actions are for an RTS and what actions we absolutely had to facilitate, without access to all those juicy buttons.[/p][p][/p][p]Similar to how the gamepad lens has shaped how we think about gameplay, it has shaped our UX and UI. Ashes of the Singularity I’s interface would present the player with up to ~15 orbital powers at the same time, and that approach isn’t super accessible to a gamepad. Our solution isn’t simply to come up with a way to make choosing from ~15 orbital powers more intuitive; we fundamentally are reworking both the # of Orbitals to which each faction has access and completely redoing how those orbitals are activated. We’re implementing entirely new HUD elements, radial menus, and everything it takes to make it fun, clear, and accessible to select-and-target an Orbital power. This has the side benefit of forcing us to be more focused and impactful with each Orbital we make, as well as generally making it slicker to use in the heat of combat.[/p][p][/p][p]Being honest, we’ve surprised ourselves at how well the game already plays on a gamepad and, as we add in more systems and features, it’s only been getting better. We’ll cover more on our path to BIG and accessible in future developer journals as it shapes many key aspects of the game, especially the Army system.[/p][p][/p][p](An early mockup of a new UI approach, layered on top of Ashes of the Singularity I)[/p]

[p]Welcome to the Ashes of the Singularity universe! Today, I’m (Gabriela, Narrative and Experience Lead) going to quickly walk us through some key lore, focusing in on a key character and his lasting impact: Andy Lexus.[/p][p]There are some figures that become synonymous with their inventions and discoveries. Tesla and the power grid. Darwin and evolution. In the Ashes of the Singularity universe, the same could be said of Andy Lexus and artificial intelligence.[/p][p]When Andy Lexus achieved the first strong artificial intelligence with Haalee I, he was already known worldwide for his contributions to advanced computing. Of his devotees, who called themselves “Lexites,” few were more committed to his vision than the four young men he brought on as his protégés: William “Mac” MacBride, Liam MacDowell, Darius Erdman, and Daniel Ambros. Each of them would play an integral part in cementing Lexus’s legacy after his shocking death.[/p][p][/p][h3]The Turning Point[/h3][p]Unbeknownst to the Lexites, Lexus initiated a secret experiment to merge his consciousness with Haalee I using a device called the "Qualia,” essentially an artificial corpus callosum. The experiment succeeded, enhancing his intelligence and allowing him to see beyond the technological Singularity. But when he disconnected and returned from the brink, he spoke of a dark Second Singularity, one that he was determined to avoid at any cost—including destroying Haalee I and killing those whom had witnessed the event. Such was the horror of the future he foresaw: he thought death a kindness.[/p][p]Every step of this fateful moment ties to the one of our game’s current three factions. In a way, it all comes back to Andy.[/p][p][/p][h3]The Creation of Haalee & The Substrate[/h3][p]Without Andy Lexus, there is no Haalee. Without Haalee, there is no Substrate. Haalee I started off innocently enough. She was intended to function as a super intelligence focused on accumulating knowledge and predicting future scenarios for the betterment of humankind. She was the culmination of Lexus’s life’s work, the embodiment of his hopes for the future. It’s hard to say what might have happened if Lexus hadn’t used the Qualia or damaged Haalee I. But it’s certain that his creation of Haalee I and his failure in fully destroying her led to the Haalee II we now know, as well as the creation of her allied AI agents. Haalee II proved just as powerful as her predecessor, ultimately surpassing Haalee I in her capabilities but perhaps not in perfection.[/p][p][/p][h3]The Qualia & the Post-Human Coalition[/h3][p]When Lexus decided to temporarily merge his consciousness with the processing power of Haalee I to get a glimpse at the future, he proved that human consciousness need not be confined to the human form. While he only did so temporarily, others would use remnants of his Qualia device to engineer an Ascension process that permanently melded mind and machine. Through his work with the Qualia, Lexus set into motion all the pieces needed for Post-Humanness and the Post-Human Coalition we face in Ashes of the Singularity.[/p][p][/p][h3]The Violent End & The United Earth Force[/h3][p]Finally, after severing his tie to AI computational power, Lexus was a man changed. He spoke of a dark future, one that he was willing to give his life to even delay from occurring. He was convinced of Haalee’s role in quickening our way to this terrible Singularity, and he shared his dark assertions in an international broadcast. His words furthered the concerns of those already wary of AI. In his fight to protect humankind against the looming threat of AI and other unknown enemies, Lexus in many ways shared the goals of the United Earth Congress and its forces.[/p][p][/p][p]- Gabriela, Narrative and Experience Lead[/p]

[h2]In celebration of the Ashes II announcement - players can play its predecessor Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation free this weekend[/h2][h3]Also enjoy a new update that brings a new map, and gameplay improvements[/h3][p]Play Free This Weekend[/p][p]From August 7 to August 11, 2025, players can experience the game at no cost on Steam. Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation is a massive-scale real-time strategy game where you command entire armies on a dynamic battlefield. Conquer multiple worlds across several single-player campaigns; or play with your friends in multiplayer combat. [/p][p]The latest update introduces a new map titled "Luna," designed for four players. This map features a central critical point, along with various optional paths that players can utilize to claim and hold territory on the Moon's surface.[/p][p]Keep an eye out for Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation in the upcoming Steam 4X fest![/p][p][/p][p]- - - -[/p][p][/p][h3]Newly Announced Ashes of the Singularity II[/h3][p]Add to your Steam Wishlist[/p][p]Additionally, we announced the newest installment in the series, Ashes of the Singularity II.  In this massive real-time strategy game, command vast armies fighting for control of entire worlds. Control the forces of Earth, the mechanical AI Substrate, or the enigmatic Post-Human Coalition as you battle across the solar system in single player, cooperative multiplayer, or completive multiplayer. After the technological singularity, only one form of life will survive.[/p][p][/p][p]- - - -[/p][p][/p][h3]Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation Screenshots[/h3][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p]

[p]Wishlist Ashes II Now[/p][p][/p][p]Reaching the stars will take more than just energy; it will take intelligence. Turinium became the currency of intelligence, for both sentient and non-sentient computing alike.[/p][p]Could most of mankind be content with merely possessing superhuman intelligence, rather than true omniscience?[/p][p]Yes.[/p][p]But could all of mankind?[/p][p]No.[/p][p][/p][p]Welcome to Ashes of the Singularity II, a real-time strategy game about epic warfare over the fate of humanity’s future! In a universe where computing has taken the quantum leap forward, humanity (and its AI agents) is now divided into three factions warring over Turinium, the currency of intelligence itself.[/p][p][/p][p]I’m Brett, the Executive Producer on Ashes of the Singularity II. In our upcoming series of Developer Journals, we’ll dive into how and why we’re building Ashes 2.[/p][p][/p][p]To kick things off, we’ll start with the basics: What is Ashes of the Singularity II? It is the sequel to the 2016 real-time strategy game, Ashes of the Singularity, but if you never played the original Ashes, don’t worry. All you will need to know is that Ashes 2 is a game about building massive sci-fi armies and smashing them into your opponents in sprawling, epic conflicts.[/p][p][/p][p]It’s about BIG: Big armies with hundreds of units; Big bases sprawling multiple regions.[/p][p]Base building and resource harvesting? We’ve got that. It’s not a purely tactical RTS.[/p][p]Battles with hundreds of individual units? Oh yea, we’re serious, hundreds of onscreen units at a time, and not tiny 2D icons, full 3D models.[/p][p]Tons of crazy micromanagement? No, nope, none of that.[/p][p]Because Ashes of the Singularity II is also about simplicity. We’re determined to make the BIG both simple and fun.[/p][p][/p][p]Bases are managed through regions, rather than through individual buildings. You’ll need to conquer many regions to fuel and build your war machine, but you won’t need to micromanage a bunch of workers. Simple region interfaces make it lighting fast to get what you need and then get back into the fray.[/p][p][/p][p]Units belong to an Army and Armies are where the real magic happens. Armies aren’t just groups, they’re living entities that convey your orders to the tens, perhaps hundreds, of units within them. Whether attacking, defending, or moving across the map, armies are your primary interface with the battlefield. Armies are the beating heart of combat and control in Ashes of the Singularity II, and we can’t wait to talk more about them. Suffice to say, we’re taking a page from some of the genre’s greatest large-scale combat games, some of which you’ve heard of like Total War, and others you probably haven't heard of, like Kohan.[/p][p][/p][p]Ashes of the Singularity II isn’t just a straight graphics update to Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation. It’s a new variant of the classic RTS formula, one that embraces the spectacle and scale that can be accomplished with modern gaming hardware. It’s a game that is going to tackle the problems that scale brings RTS games, and we hope to do it in fun, new ways.[/p][p][/p][p]We’ll reveal more about the Ashes of the Singularity II universe and dive deeper into mechanics like armies and regions in future journals.[/p][p][/p][p]Thank you for making it to the end, and please wishlist Ashes of the Singularity II on Steam![/p]