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

By Island Dog
in PC Gaming

 Share

Recommended Posts

Grand Master

Island Dog

Posted
  • Author
Posted

The v1.24 update was released today with observer mode and half-resolution terrains, along with various other fixes and improvements.

Full changelog: http://forums.ashesofthesingularity.com/478611/

 

Observer Mode
Check out the action in other player's games! In multiplayer games, the host can allow players to join as "observers" that can watch the action without actually participating.

 

Half-Resolution Terrain
This new graphics option reduces the graphics resources used by Ashes. While sacrificing very little in visual quality, enabling this option will greatly improve in-game stability on lower spec machines and on larger maps.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 2 weeks later...
Grand Master

Island Dog

Posted
  • Author
Posted

The v1.3 update for Ashes is available today. This update includes new maps, more responsive units, and a new Map Ping feature. :)

 

More info and changelog here: http://forums.ashesofthesingularity.com/478804/

 

Quote

 

New Features
Unit Responsiveness - Units now respond faster to move orders and reach their destination more efficiently. Adjusted acceleration and banking speed makes units more responsive to your input, which allows for greater control of your armies.

 

Upgraded Movement - Larger units are now upgraded with improved movement and physics. The new AI tweaks will prevent them from clumping up (and becoming sitting ducks) or for jockeying with each other for position instead of fighting the enemy.

 

Map Ping - You can now coordinate attacks with your teammates by placing a marker on the mini-map. Visible only to members of your team, this feature will allow you to group up before your big assault.

 

ashes_v13_tortuga.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 2 weeks later...
Grand Master

Island Dog

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation Releases this Fall! :)

 

Info: http://forums.ashesofthesingularity.com/479054/

 

Quote

 

Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation introduces some new and exciting content:

 

New Story-Driven Campaign
See Haalee's point of view and learn about the origin of the Substrate in the campaign "Memories." Experience the next chapter in the "Escalation" campaign as the PHC faces external and internal threats.

 

New Units
Add to the gameplay dynamic with new units for both the PHC and the Substrate! Destroy waves of enemies with the heavily armored Hera unit for the PHC or bolster the strength of your army and recharge their defenses with the Caregiver unit for the Substrate, and more.

 

New Worlds
Travel to new Crystal and Lava worlds for new and exciting scenery for truly epic battles. Wage war across landscapes of massive crystal formations or storm your enemy's base across spans of volcanic pits and burning terrain.

 

Bigger Maps and Global View
Experience truly massive wars with over a dozen players at once on maps even larger than before! Face the new challenges of multi-tiered terrain and use the new Global View to manage your armies more easily.

 

New Buildings
Bolster your defenses with new upgradeable buildings. Unleash devastating advanced aircraft units on your enemies by building an Aviary or Advanced Sky Factory. Lay traps for your enemies or surprise them from behind enemy lines with new offensive and defensive turrets.

 

New Orbital Abilities
Surprise your enemy by using your quanta to call down turrets at critical moments in battle. Defend regions or deploy turrets strategically to trap incoming units or cut off a retreat.

 

Volcano2.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 2 months later...
Grand Master

Island Dog

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Ashes: Escalation released today!

 

Escalation doubles the largest map size and the maximum number of players, introduces strategic zoom, adds many new units and defenses that can be upgraded, an additional campaign, new world environments, and much more.

 

More info: http://forums.ashesofthesingularity.com/479327/
Steam: http://store.steampowered.com/app/507490

 

Gameplay trailer:

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 3 months later...
  • 3 weeks later...
Grand Master

Draconian Guppy

Posted
Posted

quick dumb question for anyone here.

 

I've since given up on modern RTS games

 My love ended with AoE, Rise of Nations, Red Alert 2, Yuris Revenge.

 

Does this game play anything like those?

  • Victor Rambo
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Grand Master

PGHammer

Posted
Posted

Ashes plays CLOSE to Rise of Nations - still, it's different enough that playing the tutorial makes sense.

  • Draconian Guppy
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Grand Master

Andre S. Veteran

Posted
  • Veteran
Posted

Kinda ###### about Escalation TBH. After pre-ordering AotS on the assumption that what we were seeing was beta art, it shipped in pretty much the same state - unfinished UI, placeholder campaign, poor-looking artwork in general, little content and unrefined mechanics - and now that the missing features are implemented (or so it seems), they re-release it as a stand-alone game and I'd have to shell out another 20$ for an "upgrade". No thanks, Stardock.

 

It's amazing how "full" games are released as beta versions in disguise these days, and how low publishers will go to extort more money out of their fanbase. Over the past years I've preordered 3 games and got burned on 2 out of the 3. Lesson learned.


When I and others complained about the state of AotS on the forums on release, Brad Wardell's response was basically "count yourself lucky a game company actually released a new RTS" and "other RTSes were also released in an unfinished state". Sure, but there's a question of degree. Supreme Commander was at least fun to play at launch and had some campaigns. It had strategic zoom and multi-monitor support and experimentals and other slick innovative features that were really impressive and fun to play with. You can't possibly compare AotS (which did approx. nothing original) with that. Grey Goo was actually quite polished and they even added a 4th faction for free. Starcraft 1, 1998, on a short time frame and small budget, managed to have 3 races that looked and sounded great, along with memorable campaigns. SoaSE is perhaps the closest comparison but then again the base game was impressive in its own right, and expansions didn't add fundamental UI features like strategic zoom.

 

I could go on, but I've never seen so little of a game at launch, and then pretend this is the normal state of things these days and "what do you expect" line of justification. And then ask for more money.

  • Draconian Guppy
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Grand Master

spaceelf

Posted
Posted (edited)
4 hours ago, Andre S. said:

Kinda ###### about Escalation TBH. After pre-ordering AotS on the assumption that what we were seeing was beta art, it shipped in pretty much the same state - unfinished UI, placeholder campaign, poor-looking artwork in general, little content and unrefined mechanics - and now that the missing features are implemented (or so it seems), they re-release it as a stand-alone game and I'd have to shell out another 20$ for an "upgrade". No thanks, Stardock.

I think they just upgraded all Ashes owners to Escalation for free.

-

https://www.stardock.com/community/article/481856/ONE-COMMUNITY-Merging-the-Singularity

Quote

The base game will be discontinued.  If you have a copy of it,  you  can still play it and we will still support it.  But we won't be selling it anymore.  Everyone who had Ashes of the Singularity now has Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation as well.  And anyone who already upgraded to Escalation from Ashes now has an automatic season pass to the DLC for Escalation.

 

  • Andre S. and +Asmodai
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Grand Master

Yorak

Posted
Posted

Stardock is as terrible at making games as it is making Windows more ugly. There are currently 85 players online in this game. I guess those 17 DLC packs are being put to good use!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 2 months later...
Grand Master

PGHammer

Posted
Posted
On 3/14/2017 at 8:15 PM, Yorak said:

Stardock is as terrible at making games as it is making Windows more ugly. There are currently 85 players online in this game. I guess those 17 DLC packs are being put to good use!

Ashes was adjudged early as being close to Crysis 3 in system requirements (basically, a system punisher), despite my pointing out that I play on a G3258 (dual-core non-i-series Haswell).  You also have to have a willingness to occasionally getting humiliated (by opposition AI) - not many folks like getting whacked by the AI - let alone getting humiliated.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 months later...
Grand Master

PGHammer

Posted
Posted

While I can't go full-tilt-boogie 30 fps in Escalation (G3258), I come surprisingly close (I fall short by less than 10 fps - average is 23 fps at that resolution using the built-in benchmarking tool) - so with the right GPU, even us weaksauce-CPU fans can get some decent eyecandy - the 23 fps average was with the GPU settings firewalled (definite CPU bottleneck - in fact, it crashed when i attempted to run the benchmark using DX12).

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 3 weeks later...
Grand Master

Island Dog

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation Free Juggernaut DLC and v2.5 update now available! The free juggernaut DLC contains massive new warships and the v2.5 update makes improvements to modding, gameplay, and more!

 

See the overview video here: 
 

 

 

More info and full changelog here: https://forums.ashesofthesingularity.com/484818/Ashes-of-the-Singularity-Escalation-Free-Juggernaut-DLC-and-v25-Update-Now-

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 1 month later...
Grand Master

PGHammer

Posted
Posted

nVidia GeForce driver 388.00 does NOT crash when DX12 is set in this game (unfortunately, no way to set the benchmark to use DX12 that I am aware of).

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 1 month later...
  • 1 month later...
Grand Master

Island Dog

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Secret Missions - our biggest DLC yet - is now available for Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation! Build new units, conquer challenging scenarios, and engage in massive multiplayer battles on enormous maps. 

 

New base game v2.7 update also released today!

 

More info and changelog here: https://forums.ashesofthesingularity.com/486957/

 

Trailer:

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Grand Master

PGHammer

Posted
Posted

Nice - what is nicer is that it hasn't lost what makes Ashes - Escalation unique.  It's not easy being an Eisenhower (or a Rommel - or a Patton) while being able to take control of micro-battles down to the lieutenancy level - the Supreme Commander series let you do that (and was *relatively* successful sales wise) - however, it is not an easy row to hoe; what happened to first Gas Powered Games, and then Square Enix?  It's no picnic for players, either.  

 

I'd like to see this game deployed at Leavenworth - and I'm not referring to the prison - either of them.  (Besides two prisons - one military and one civilian - Leavenworth, KS is also home of the Command and General Staff College of the United States Army - where future generals of the United States Army have the polish put on.  This sort of RTS - and especially of this scale - is the closest thing to the sandtable exercises that are, in fact, STILL part of the "Capstone" course at Leavenworth. Why did I specify Leavenworth?  No naval component - so it wouldn't fit Newport (the USN equivalent to the CGSC), and the USAF doesn't have ground forces; otherwise, I would have suggested ICAF (Industrial College of the Armed Forces) of which CGSC Leavenworth is a campus.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing