Ashes of the Singularity II News

[h2]Humanity amidst a Post-Human Future[/h2][p]While Ashes of the Singularity I focused on the conflict between the Post-Human Coalition and the Substrate, in Ashes of the Singularity II players have the opportunity to see what’s going down on Earth. And, well, it’s a lot.[/p][p]There’s still a five-day work week on top of a variety of international crises: a fractured Post-Human Coalition circumventing United Earth ordinances, the spread of environmental destruction caused by Turinium, a growing divide between the haves and the have-nots, and increasingly polarized views on what it means to be human at all.[/p][p][/p][h2]The Post-Human “Human” Problem[/h2][p]After the creation of a strong AI, it wasn’t long until the brightest (or wealthiest) minds looked to see how they could enhance their own cognition with the technology that made Haalee possible. Andy Lexus was the first, but he was far from the last. When the first Post-Humans successfully uploaded their consciousness into virtual reality, ridding themselves of the confines of biology, public debate deepened on when exactly one ceases to be alive or ceases to be human.[/p][p]Unphased by the debate, most Post-Humans consider themselves the pinnacle of human progress, encapsulating the best parts of humanity unshackled by biological limitations and imperatives. In time though, some Post-Humans began to put an emphasis on the Post part of that designation and others focused more on the Human. PHC member Vexen, for example, claimed that Post-Humans have as much in common with humans as humans do with mice, whereas Mac continues to see himself as one of us.[/p][p]Some wanted Post-Human status to be reserved to a select few while others felt it was the natural destiny of all mankind to ascend to a Post-Human form. We see Mac in the first game espousing the latter types of beliefs, whereas Valen, another PHC member, and Haalee deeply opposed this idea. They feared what would happen if human greed was paired with Post-Human power on a larger scale. It seems the Untied Earth Congress shared this fear in some regards, with the UEC working to outlaw Turinium mining on Earth.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][h2]Mere Mortals[/h2][p]By and large, Post-Humanness is seen as unachievable for the masses. While Mac often speaks of Post-Human ascent as the goal for humankind, the resource constraints alone make that seem like a fantasy. On top of that, ongoing anti-PHC sentiment is the overwhelming opinion held by biological humans across the globe.[/p][p]However, that doesn’t mean that people have just decided to stay just as they are.[/p][p]Darius Robotics worked to adapt elements of their Robi units to supplement biological humans. It’s quite common to see people utilize technological advancements, like prosthetic limbs or exosuits, to enrich quality of life without permanent biological changes. These humans refer to their aids as augments and still solidly believe themselves to be human. You’ll see augment technologies and similar tools utilized by the United Earth Forces in combat.[/p][p]Another growing movement has been in championing the extension of natural life. Many of the world’s elite longed for a solution to aging without ridding themselves of their bodies, believing that the body itself is critical to what makes us human. These individuals utilize nanotechnology to repair cell damage, improve hearing and vision, and stop genetic aging. While colloquially called “Genies” for all their gene editing, they prefer to call themselves the true future of humanity, though I’m sure the PHC would disagree. CEO of Darius Robotics and a former Lexite, Darius Erdmann, leads the charge in this movement alongside many of his fellow Mars colonists and their array of Robi units. He’s quite active in the colony; you’d never guess his age.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][h2]Pointing Fingers[/h2][p]While a variety of differing opinions and movements exist in the spectrum between human and Post-Human, it’s noteworthy that the core of what it means to be human drives them all. Who the real humans are? Well, that’s up to you.[/p]

[p]We’ve been hard at work on our internal Alpha 1 milestone. The focus has been finishing the new faction: the United Earth Forces (UEF). This is a unified military command made up of the United States, China, Russia, the EU, Australia, Japan, Korea, and others, all placed under your control to deal with the so-called “Post-Human Coalition.”[/p][p][/p][h2]Our story so far[/h2][p]Those familiar with Ashes of the Singularity (2015) may recall the then far-fetched idea that, in the not-so-distant future, a handful of tech-industry leaders would develop artificial general intelligence (AGI) and use it to uplift themselves into a virtual world called the Metaverse. From there, they would interact with the real world through their constructs: drones, robots, and more. Together, they would form the Post-Human Coalition (PHC).[/p][p]The first game centered on the conflict between the PHC and the Substrate, a sentient AGI called Haalee and her forces. The battles took place away from Earth. In fact, Earth and humanity were barely mentioned beyond the campaign’s comment that there were only around 40 Post-Humans and 10 billion normal humans left.[/p][p]If the plot of the first game felt esoteric, that was deliberate. It was all setup for what would become Ashes of the Singularity II, which we originally intended to make much sooner.[/p][p]Ashes of the Singularity II is where things become much clearer and, given the rise of real-world AI, a lot more plausible. The story opens with the PHC converting the surface of the Moon into Turinium, a material that combines energy production and data-center capability. Think of a nanotech substance that handles both computing and power generation.[/p][p][/p][h2]What’s new in Ashes of the Singularity II?[/h2][p]One thing I like about RTS games is that they don’t “age” the same way other genres do. The challenge for developers is making the case that players should try something new when they can still boot up StarCraft II and it looks great, or Company of Heroes 1, or modern free projects like BAR (Beyond All Reason). Sanctuary: Shattered Sun is also looking impressive. And that’s without touching on Age of Empires, Age of Mythology, and others.[/p][p]You get the idea though: A new RTS game has to have compelling features to justify my (your) time. So let’s start with what have we done here:[/p][p]Now, this is, by no means, remotely complete. If there are specific questions, please comment below. But in the meantime, here are some screenshots that I think will help visualize the differences.[/p][p][/p][h2]Australia[/h2][p][/p][p]This battle takes place in the Outback. The map is procedurally generated, with natural passes and pathways emerging from the terrain. [/p][p]You can see tanks, mechs and soldiers. The units on both sides are UEF, but the blue side is actually mercenaries hired by the PHC. The Leopard 4 tank supplied by Germany is state-of-the-art early in the conflict (in the near future; today the Leopard 2A4 is, I believe, the latest).  If you look closely, you can see the UEF beginning to deploy mechs.[/p][p][/p][p]Here’s the same battlefield from a recon drone:[/p][p][/p][h2]Russia[/h2][p][/p][p]This screenshot is from Siberia. In the 2030s, the Russian government leased millions of acres to conglomerates that would later join the Post-Human Coalition, expecting AI tech in return. (They didn’t get it.) The UEF is hunting a PHC Nexus. The cold is a real challenge for humans, less so for the PHC drones.[/p][p][/p][p]Zoomed out, you see this:[/p][p][/p][h2]Colorado[/h2][p][/p][p]While it is not yet decided whether Colorado will make it into the campaign or be referred to, green forested mountainous terrain will certainly be an option.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]As you zoom out, the units will gradually convert to icons for better readability (before converting to full strategic abstraction). But here you can see a battle in progress.[/p][p][/p][p]Replayability matters. Being able to jump into a game with friends matters. Facing off against the AI and having that experience stay interesting matters. Having strategic decisions matter more than click speed matters. Holding critical territory matters.[/p][p][/p][p]And honestly, what I want from an RTS has changed. While PvP matchmaking is important, it’ll be there, I find myself preferring 2-vs-AI matches with a friend. I’m not sure why, but those games are simply more engaging. I think many players feel the same. That only works if maps are fresh every time and if the AI is interesting. I’d really like your opinions on this. I used to play Total Annihilation in PGL and now I find myself playing games 2 vs AI. I used to be cool! (actually, I was never cool).[/p][p][/p][p]So much of our engineering effort has gone into making replayability the defining feature: intelligent computer opponents, procedural maps, and a design centered on taking and holding territory. Protecting supply lines. Making every match feel like its own story. From those decisions, everything else follows.[/p][p]We’ll be getting into the details about the United Earth Forces units soon. In the meantime, we’d love to hear from you.[/p]

[p]What if every unit you created in an RTS game was automatically put into the equivalent of a ‘control group’? Let’s call that automatic group an ‘Army’.[/p][p]And what if that Army was a core way you issued orders to your units? You select the Army, much in the same way you’d select a single unit, and tell it to go somewhere. The Army takes care of getting all of the individual vehicles, soldiers, etc. to a location near where you asked the army to go. It has a desired ‘formation’ in mind, so it’ll try to position each unit in a location that works with both the terrain, and, the formation.[/p][p]If that Army encounters a hostile force, it has a degree of autonomy with which to defend itself. Units within the Army reposition themselves, under some constraints, to help out other units that fall under attack. So you don’t need to manually issue attack orders to fight a target that’s close, but, just out of weapons range. This makes your army capable of modest self-defense if you’re not focusing solely on it, but you can (and should!) still manually move units to tactically advantageous positions to get better odds of winning.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]An Army Encounters Hostiles on Two Sides and Engages[/p][p]So those are the basics of Armies, but how do they actually play out?[/p][p]When the game starts, you (normally) have at least one army already; a recon army. You can choose to reinforce that army with additional units, or, create new armies as you see fit for different purposes. In practice, players often have a sort of recon / scout army full of mostly faster units, and a ‘frontline’ army filled with most of their heavy hitters, highly durable units, etc. Aerial armies, defensive armies, etc. also come into play, but you can create a lot of highly-specific armies, or a few more general ones. If you decide you need to split an army, or merge some together, you can do that at any point as well. That’s especially handy if you accidentally put the wrong units in an army, or, just decide you need to retreat some units out of a battle while the main army presses forward.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Splitting a Unit Out of an Army as it Moves[/p][p]Other gameplay and control features make using Armies even easier. You can reinforce an existing army with more units, and when you do this, the units will automatically be recruited as a member of that army, AND move to rally with that army (wherever it is). This largely eliminates the need to setup production rally points, having to constantly re-select and re-group units into groups, etc. Constructing production buildings closer to your armies allows you to reinforce them faster as well. Check out Dev Journal 5 for a breakdown on how that works! Placing production buildings in key, frontline locations is a major part of winning battles of attrition, as you’ll be able to quickly replace any lost units.[/p][p]A lot of the micromanagement needed to produce tons of units, and get them where you need to go, has some slick automation. This leaves you free to focus on your economy, strategy, and any ongoing battles![/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Reinforcing an Existing Army with Additional Units[/p][p]We’re working on tools to make Armies even more functional. Want an army that maintains a specific composition of 5 recon units, no more, no less? We hope to allow that automation such that the army will request reinforcements whenever they lose a unit. Handy when you have a purpose-built army that you need to maintain, but for which you don’t want to manage unit production (or accidentally over-recruit!).[/p][p]While Armies existed in Ashes of the Singularity 1, a lot of the ideas we’ve discussed didn’t quite have the impact that was hoped. In Ashes 2, we hope to fully realize those aspirations, turning Armies into a core gameplay element, and embracing them in our quest for massive, epic battles![/p]

[p]If you’re new to the Ashes of the Singularity RTS universe, let’s start with a primer:[/p][p]Ashes of the Singularity is a real-time strategy game set in the near future in which players fight for control of worlds. The scale of the maps tend to be very large and are broken up into regions. Controlling a region gives the player access to the resources within which can be extracted to be used in the war effort. Each side starts with a central base that if destroyed, causes them to lose the game.[/p][p]Resources are consumed as they are used rather than up-front, meaning a player can order the production of units and buildings without having to stockpile the full amount. Instead, the skill is in trying to spend the same amount of resources per turn as you are extracting, making economic skill become one of the factors towards victory.[/p][p]Because of the scale of the game, the pacing tends to be somewhat slower than has traditionally been seen in the genre. Unit composition and placement matter most and, in fact, units do not have special abilities that are activated by the player. This is a game about conquering territory through military and economic strategy. Fast reflexes (actions per minute) do not play into it.[/p][p]Now, if you love RTS games like I do, you probably wonder how this game compares to other games of the genre. I’ve seen Ashes of the Singularity I compared to Supreme Commander (or Total Annihilation) a lot. This is mostly because of the scale and the “streaming” economy. This makes me a little sad because it means that the streaming economy mechanic didn’t become the main way resource management in RTS games were handled.[/p][p]In my opinion, from a fun point of view, I much prefer not having to wait to build a barracks or queue up units until I have saved up enough resources. Having resources spent as they are consumed is probably the biggest reason Supreme Commander (and Ashes of the Singularity) don’t require a high APM and I really wish more games adopted that innovation. Until then, we’ll just have to keep polishing our statue of Chris Taylor.[/p][p]Below I will put the broad strokes of the RTS family in a table. If you disagree or if miss something, please add it in the comments below. Note: this chart is ridiculously over-simplified.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]I’d like to add more rows to this, but it’s a challenge since we don’t want to get into the minutia. C&C is particularly tough because it depends on which iteration. This isn’t really meant as a feature comparison, but rather a way of seeing the different “families”. I really should have Dawn of War here instead of Company of Heroes, but I felt, given the thousands of hours I put into CoH, I owed it to that game even though Dawn of War came first. I also feel like Northgard deserves an entry. Of course there are new games that have picked up the torch like Tempest Rising, which comes from the C&C family, and Stormgate, which comes from the StarCraft family.[/p][p]Other shoutouts would be Homeworld, Majesty, AI War: Fleet Command, Kohan, and Myth. I list these in terms of being progenitors of RTS mechanics. You could argue that WarCraft 3 is different enough from Warcraft 2 to deserve its own spot, and Warcraft itself is progenitor of StarCraft. It’s just turtles all the way down. And who will be first to mention I didn’t list Dune or Powermonger? Powermonger the FIRST RTS. There, I said it![/p][p]Anyway, post your thoughts and I’ll do a newer, better version of this. The hard part (for me) is coming up with 1 or 2 word descriptions without trivializing the feature.[/p]

[p]Join the AMA Event[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]The developers at Oxide are live on Discord to answer your questions about the creation of Ashes of the Singularity II, the sequel to the massive RTS.[/p][p][/p][h2]📍 Ashes of the Singularity Discord[/h2][h2]🗓️ Happening now - 4:30 PM EST[/h2]