Ashes of the Singularity

[Dark Drakan]

New large scale RTS Ashes of the Singularity has just entered early access on Steam courtesy of Stardock and new studio Oxide Games. As I am an avid RTS fan, I will post info on any new ones I see as I want the genre to make a comeback.

The new IP is seeking to combine the scale of games like Supreme Commander or Planetary Annihilation with the nuanced interlocking unit counter system and territory control mechanisms of games like Company of Heroes.

The game is unoptimised at the moment so only those with high end machines are recommended to purchase it in its current state.

That’s a Lot of Units! Large Scale RTS Ashes of the Singularity Enters Early Access

PRESS STATEMENT

If you follow strategy games you probably have heard of Ashes of the Singularity. This new real-time strategy game being developed by Stardock and Oxide Games aims to bring a new level of scale to the genre through the use of a new type of 3D engine called Nitrous.​

Having a game that can have tens of thousands of fully realized individual units comes at a price: The game requires DirectX 11 or later and at least 4 cores on your CPU. But in return, the game promises to deliver something unprecedented: You get to fight a war, not a battle.

Stardock states that Early Access is targeting only veteran RTS players and users with powerful PCs in order to spend the next several months working out the kinks and getting feedback on gameplay and user interface.​

Website
Steam Link​

 

[Precipice]

Had to look up Planetary Annihilation. Done by the old Cavedog people. Supreme Commander, I know of Chris Taylor, of Dungeon Siege/GPG fame. There's a discussion there, but unrelated to the thread.

I'm familiar with Stardock and some of their philosophies in production and design. I was surprised, at first, about the need for a kickass PC, as that's typically not something they go for, but it's understandable for pushing a new engine and working in early release. The idea of fighting wars as opposed to battles is something I've seriously been wanting. I've tried implementing modifications in many games of different genres to get that long-scale conflict feel to it, but usually the AI overloads or the cpu putters out and the game crashes. It'll be interesting to see what Stardock has in store. I'll look forward to it with enthusiasm.

I haven't played very many "real" RTS games. I've played a couple Flash/Unity web game implementations but most aren't the serious games I'm looking and hoping for. The last one I played around with was Creeper World 3. I'd be very interested in seeing more of this genre proper.

 

[Dark Drakan]

Had to look up Planetary Annihilation. Done by the old Cavedog people. Supreme Commander, I know of Chris Taylor, of Dungeon Siege/GPG fame. There's a discussion there, but unrelated to the thread.

I know of them but have never played them myself.

I'm familiar with Stardock and some of their philosophies in production and design. I was surprised, at first, about the need for a kickass PC, as that's typically not something they go for, but it's understandable for pushing a new engine and working in early release. The idea of fighting wars as opposed to battles is something I've seriously been wanting. I've tried implementing modifications in many games of different genres to get that long-scale conflict feel to it, but usually the AI overloads or the cpu putters out and the game crashes. It'll be interesting to see what Stardock has in store. I'll look forward to it with enthusiasm.

I was more familiar with their work on Windows Skins and Themes and used to use their programs to customise my windows. I too was surprised with the sort of rig they were asking for with this title but as you said its a new engine and on a scale larger than most RTS games ive ever seen. I imagine it will be better optimised down the line as its only 50% done currently and specs will lower from recommended ones when clutter is cut. I remember American Conquest being larger battles than typical RTS title and was hard to keep up with what was going on sometimes and keep track of units in large battles. Be interesting to see how developers combat these sort of issues.

I haven't played very many "real" RTS games. I've played a couple Flash/Unity web game implementations but most aren't the serious games I'm looking and hoping for. The last one I played around with was Creeper World 3. I'd be very interested in seeing more of this genre proper.

What sort of titles have you tried and what would you consider real RTS? I found this site the other day offering the Command & Conquer titles EA had made available for free to play and they also had built their own online service to enable us to play them online after Westwood Online was shut down.

 

[Precipice]

I only know of Cavedog because Dad liked to play the predecessor of games like Supreme Commander, called Total Annihilation. It had crazy DirectX 6.0 graphics! Later on a lot of those guys would go to Uber who came out with Monday Night Combat, which my brothers played but I couldn't really get into. The Planetary Annihilation thing is interesting; I know it shouldn't anymore, but Kickstarter still surprises me as a viable option for games that otherwise couldn't be produced.

I came about Stardock from the other direction, being surprised to hear that they did Windows themes and skins and not just games like GalCiv. Wardell used to maintain a blog but now you'll find him over here. I really like the guy's methodology and always appreciate a dev's insight on various things.

Don't judge me too harshly, but I've never played a CnC game. Although that appears to be easy to remedy now, thank you. I didn't mean to suggest that there are improper RTS titles, only that the ones I've played recently are small scale and not full blown titles. The first one I really got into was AoE3, and I suspect that this is because it was also the first game I started modding. But for bonus Prec points, a good RTS should have a nigh endless selection of maps, a decent attempt at balance, at least one campaign (as opposed to just online/free battles), at least three factions, and variable difficulty AIs. Sadly most of those things are crazy expensive to produce and so are often skimmed.

 

[Dark Drakan]

I only know of Cavedog because Dad liked to play the predecessor of games like Supreme Commander, called Total Annihilation. It had crazy DirectX 6.0 graphics! Later on a lot of those guys would go to Uber who came out with Monday Night Combat, which my brothers played but I couldn't really get into. The Planetary Annihilation thing is interesting; I know it shouldn't anymore, but Kickstarter still surprises me as a viable option for games that otherwise couldn't be produced.

Im looking forward to seeing what todays tech can do with those old ideas, sometimes the scale was merely limited by the tech that was available at the time and that is no longer the case. Im wondering if one day we might end up with multiple components to some titles, much like commander mode in Battlefield. Where the commander has different viewpoint that everyone else in the game and can control supply drops and point out paths of attack and they observe things in game and change tide of battle. Maybe they could even go as far as spawning things to help players defend areas/attack areas (like Fable legends villain spawning in enemies) etc. Would be interesting in huge games like Star Citizen for some gamers to be able to have a commander style app etc on tablets/ipads to control ship systems (engines/shields/guns etc) and spawn defenses for ships etc/call for reinforcements and SOS etc to help others in game.

I came about Stardock from the other direction, being surprised to hear that they did Windows themes and skins and not just games like GalCiv. Wardell used to maintain a blog but now you'll find him over here. I really like the guy's methodology and always appreciate a dev's insight on various things.

Yeah they have been around for some time and I had all but forgotten about them until I saw the logo on the games trailer and thought 'Ive seen that somewhere before'.

Don't judge me too harshly, but I've never played a CnC game. Although that appears to be easy to remedy now, thank you. I didn't mean to suggest that there are improper RTS titles, only that the ones I've played recently are small scale and not full blown titles. The first one I really got into was AoE3, and I suspect that this is because it was also the first game I started modding. But for bonus Prec points, a good RTS should have a nigh endless selection of maps, a decent attempt at balance, at least one campaign (as opposed to just online/free battles), at least three factions, and variable difficulty AIs. Sadly most of those things are crazy expensive to produce and so are often skimmed.

Lots of RTS games use different formulas but I have always preferred the CnC & Age of Empires formula of base building, resource gathering and building armies etc. Red Alert 2 was the first game I properly played online and how I came up with this username that has stuck over all these years so I have fond memories of it. I dont mind if a game doesnt have a memorable campaign if it has a decently customisable Skirmish mode. I dont play any online anymore but would like to find a game to co-op campaign on and also have some co-op vs AI on Skirmish maps.

 

[Precipice]

Drakan, I have to say that you and @Gikoku, for guys who don't have develop games professionally and full-time (or do you?), have some of the best ideas I've stumbled across.

Im looking forward to seeing what todays tech can do with those old ideas, sometimes the scale was merely limited by the tech that was available at the time and that is no longer the case. Im wondering if one day we might end up with multiple components to some titles, much like commander mode in Battlefield. Where the commander can control supply drops and point out paths of attack as they have view from above and even maybe spawn things. Would be interesting in games like Star Citizen for some gamers to be able to have a commander style app etc on tablets to control ship systems and spawn defences for ships etc/call for reinforcements and SOS etc.

Lots of RTS games use different formulas but I have always preferred the CnC & Age of Empires formula of base building, resource gathering and building armies etc. Red Alert 2 was the first game I properly played online and how I came up with this username that has stuck over all these years so I have fond memories of it. I dont mind if a game doesnt have a memorable campaign if it has a decently customisable Skirmish mode. I dont play any online anymore but would like to find a game to co-op campaign on and also have some co-op vs AI on Skirmish maps.

Co-op campaign and multi-interface gameplay sounds like something that can really go well together. I see room for a second person playing a support role, resource management and infrastructure while another coordinates offense and defense. I did alright against AI, but once I got online I realized the critical need for resource management and planning because some of these human players played with Skynet-level proficiency. Having another interface that either I can work or a second player who is actually good at that kind of thing would seriously change the dynamics of rts. Especially with the idea of having a kind of satellite view, which would tie in well with the scale of fights that Stardock is going for here.

 

[Dark Drakan]

Drakan, I have to say that you and @Gikoku, for guys who don't have develop games professionally and full-time (or do you?), have some of the best ideas I've stumbled across.

:lol: Thanks very much, Im just an ideas man. I did some simple/basic modding many many years ago but nothing more than that.

Co-op campaign and multi-interface gameplay sounds like something that can really go well together. I see room for a second person playing a support role, resource management and infrastructure while another coordinates offense and defense. I did alright against AI, but once I got online I realized the critical need for resource management and planning because some of these human players played with Skynet-level proficiency. Having another interface that either I can work or a second player who is actually good at that kind of thing would seriously change the dynamics of rts. Especially with the idea of having a kind of satellite view, which would tie in well with the scale of fights that Stardock is going for here.

With so much micro-management to get your head around in some games it can take away from the action thats going on if you have to take attention off it to navigate clunky menus and manage other aspects. If you had other interfaces or roles for players to take over these lesser management roles it could leave those who want to get into thick of the action to do so while other players support them.

Would also make some games far more tactical, I have been in games of Battlefield where the players on the ground werent great but ended up winning against superior team simply because the commander was better. He was splitting his teams attacks down 2 fronts and managed to split the other team up and dragged them out away from their supplies and where they dug in and most ended up straying too far and getting stranded and running out of ammo and got taken out easily. His team simply used cover better, advanced forward better and used height advantage/covering fire and his ammo drops/UAV to gain the advantage.

Just got me thinking of ways that games could be turned by players in support roles and not in direct action via actual kills and those players who dont have top end rigs could still be involved in the latest games, just from a different standpoint but just as important.

 

[Dark Drakan]

Ashes of the Singularity demonstrates Nvidia, AMD GPUs working side-by-side

In DX12, we can create shared adapter resources, however, which allow any two compliant DX12 cards communicate and share resources. These resources may need to be staged in CPU memory so that both GPUs can access them. The adapters can also synchronize with each other via the introduction of fences, which can be shared across adapters. The fences can also be used to directly synchronize with the CPU.”​

 

[Dark Drakan]

Ashes of the Singularity beta is now live

The Beta 1 release of Ashes of the Singularity, with single-player skirmish, co-op multiplayer, and ranked multiplayer modes, is available now from Steam and GOG. Stardock said Beta 2 is expected to be released next month, and that should make things even more interesting, with DirectX 12-enabled multi-GPU support, including mixes of AMD and Nvidia cards—something we learned a bit about last year. You can find out more about the game at ashesofthesingularity.com.

SOURCE​

 

[Dark Drakan]

Ashes of the Singularity release date revealed in new trailer

Ashes will offer single-player action, ranked and custom multiplayer, and an Ascendancy Wars mode that “will walk the player through the story and how to play the game.” More importantly, it will portray large-scale combat without abstraction, using self-organizing formations called “meta-units” that handle the detail work autonomously. The Ashes FAQ describes meta-units as similar in some ways to traditional RTS groups, “except that each part of a meta-unit is aware of every other unit in its group and they work together in predetermined ways.”

Ahead of the March 31 launch date, Ashes of the Singularity remains available on Steam in Early Access.​

 

[Dark Drakan]

This is a good, informative article that explains a lot of the systems in the game and is worth a read for sure.


ASHES OF THE SINGULARITY GAME OVERVIEW​

 

[Dark Drakan]

Ashes of the Singularity Expansion coming
​

The expansion promises to:

• increase the player count from 8 to 16
• double the size of the largest map type
• introduce two new story-driven campaigns
• add strategic zoom to help manage world-sized battles
• include new units
• support upgradeable defensive structures

Players can pre-order Escalation beginning August 25, 2016. Those who already own the game can upgrade for $14.99, and new players can pick up Escalation, which includes all content from the base game, for $39.99. Stardock has yet to announce Escalation’s release date.