Ashes of the Singularity: New RTS from Stardock and Oxide Games

[Island Dog]

Ashes designer Callum McCole talks about designing alien units in a new dev journal.  

 

https://www.stardock.com/games/article/487404/dev-journal-designing-alien-units

 

 

 

[Island Dog]

Check out this reflection on the game's design, development, and growth over the last 365(ish) days from lead designer Callum McCole: 

 

https://www.stardock.com/games/article/487742/

 

 

[PGHammer]

On 3/28/2018 at 2:45 PM, Island Dog said:

Check out this reflection on the game's design, development, and growth over the last 365(ish) days from lead designer Callum McCole: 

 

https://www.stardock.com/games/article/487742/

 

 

Interesting thoughts.

 

Here's where I am (coming BACK to the game after nearly a year away - due to recovering from cancer surgeries, not because I hate the game, which I don't).

1.  One thing I did was switch permanently to DX12 (nVidia GPU - not AMD), as it is no longer a penalty to do so.  (No lag, no crashing, and it looks absatively GORGEOUS.)  The rather amusing thing is that my hardware did not change AT ALL (G3258, nV GTX 1050Ti, etc.) yet, framerates are up, along with stability.

 

2.  If you have DX12 hardware, you should no longer be afraid of it crashing on you, even on nVidia DX12 hardware.  (Apparently the last AMD-isms have been excised from the code, as even extended DX12 play doesn't result in *splat*; hence my moving my defaults to firewalled DX12.)

 

3.  Make sure your brain is awake; the AI is as nasty as ever.  (I warned of the AI in an earlier post - the warning still holds.)  It is STILL the nastiest AI in an RTS - and why I don't miss (and have not gone against) human oppositon so far - merely the AI is "evil" enough.  And no - the AI does NOT cheat - it can be beat; I've done so.  It's just HARD as the Dickens to do!

 

Ashes (with all the updates) still holds the spot as my preferred RTS - all the updates did was cement that place.

[Island Dog]

The v2.8 update for Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation is here! Check out the improved visual clarity, vibrant building colors, and extensive balance updates. https://www.stardock.net/article/495066/

 

[PGHammer]

On 6/12/2019 at 9:53 AM, Island Dog said:

The v2.8 update for Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation is here! Check out the improved visual clarity, vibrant building colors, and extensive balance updates. https://www.stardock.net/article/495066/

 

In addition to this update, there is apparently another that yanks Escalation up to 2.93.  Further, thanks (amazingly) to Covid-19 AND the great folks at Humble, you can get this (it also includes the base game) for a cost of diddly-squit (and keep it for eternity).  How many DX12 games (let alone RTS titles) are (or have been) available on Steam (yes; this is a Steam key), make you think, are notebook-friendly, and cost nothing (either now or in the past year)?

[Island Dog]

Hey friends. Here with some news!

 

We are getting ready to release a major v3.0 update on February 4th, which is an overhaul of the game’s balance, with nothing left untouched - this includes units, buildings, orbital abilities, and lots more.

 

We’re really excited about v3.0 here because of how absolutely massive it is. It brings a new benchmark, performance optimizations, and major improvements to visual effects. New maps, campaign adjustments, and much more are also included.

 

This update is, quite literally, game changing - if it’s been awhile since you’ve given Ashes a try, now is a great time to take a look at it again. Both game factions have had their units and buildings carefully balanced against each other. Rather than just adjusting hit points and unit cost, v3.0 focuses on giving each unit a unique role to play. The AI has also been updated significantly.

 

You can learn more about the update on our forums if you like. It’s in beta right now under “opt-in v2.99 Preview” if you don’t want to wait a week for the official release. Enjoy!

 

[PGHammer]

3.0 is on deck right now - those of you that jumped on the freebie (which should have been darn near everybody) can desist the stalling.  I myself am doing the 3.0 update in the overnight due to PC issues unrelated to it that forced a complete redo of my Windows 10 reinstall; software - not hardware.

[Island Dog]

Yep, it's available! 

 

Full changelog and new trailer can be found here:

 

Changelog: https://forums.ashesofthesingularity.com/503353/ashes-of-the-singularity-escalation-v30-changelog

 

Release post: https://www.stardock.com/games/article/503330/now-available-massive-v30-update-for-ashes-of-the-singularity-escalation

 

 

 

[Island Dog]

It's also on sale right now in the Steam Lunar sale.

 

 

 

[Island Dog]

Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation was updated to v3.1 today which reduces load times and improves combat balance and visuals. Core Worlds DLC was also released.

 

Full changelog, info, and more screenshots here: https://www.stardock.net/article/506735/ashes-of-the-singularity-escalation-v31-optimizes-game-with-faster-load-tim

 

 

 

 

[denchikchyb]

I love the fact that Ashes of the Singularity is designed to be the first DirectX 12 strategy game, and in this case that means not so much beautiful photorealistic graphics as large-scale battle panoramas. Despite the large number of reservations, Ashes of the Singularity is able to present a lot of hours of unusual strategic gameplay and become something, but still an alternative . I was able to buy the game for $ 25 on cost.games, which is pretty well not expensive for such a good strategy. I often play this game with friends.

Edited October 13, 2021 by denchikchyb

[PGHammer]

On 13/10/2021 at 12:16, denchikchyb said:

I love the fact that Ashes of the Singularity is designed to be the first DirectX 12 strategy game, and in this case that means not so much beautiful photorealistic graphics as large-scale battle panoramas. Despite the large number of reservations, Ashes of the Singularity is able to present a lot of hours of unusual strategic gameplay and become something, but still an alternative . I was able to buy the game for $ 25 on cost.games, which is pretty well not expensive for such a good strategy. I often play this game with friends.

My only question is this - what took you so long?