After nearly nine months since its announcement, the development team at Ashes of the Singularity II is eager to unveil exciting details about this awaited sequel to the real-time strategy game. A demo of the game is now available for download on Steam, coinciding with the launch of Next Fest. Players can explore two out of three factions, experience three maps, enjoy a complete skirmish mode, and dive into 8-player multiplayer matches. Additionally, we have secured an exclusive interview with Oxide Games, providing an in-depth look at various aspects of the game.
This interview features insights from key team members: Brett Norton (Head of Production), Adrian Wright (General Manager), Gabriela Leskur (Narrative and Experience Lead), and Dan Baker (Chief Graphics Architect).Prepare for an enlightening conversation!
Featured Topics in This Interview:
- Reviving Ashes of the Singularity: The Timing
- Shifting Focus: From Benchmark to Gameplay
- Unprecedented Scale: Thousands of Units on Screen
- Adapting to Hardware: System Requirements
- Graphics Technology: DX12 Features Explained
- Exploring Console and Steam Deck Opportunities
- Enhancements in AI and Difficulty Scaling
- Introducing the Three Factions: UEF, PHC, Substrate
- Redefining APM and Army System for Accessibility
- Gamepad vs. Keyboard and Mouse: A Comparison
- Modding Capabilities: What to Expect
Reviving Ashes of the Singularity: The Timing
The first installment of Ashes of the Singularity was released a few years ago, and you launched another title, Ara: History Untold, a year and a half ago. What prompted the decision to return to Ashes now?
Brett Norton: Adrian, would you like to address this?
Adrian Wright: Certainly! As we approached the conclusion of our previous project, we considered our next steps. It became clear that revisiting Ashes made perfect sense. The original game cultivated a strong following, with many fans engaging within the Discord community, eagerly anticipating Ashes II. Additionally, our proprietary engine has matured, and the Ashes franchise allows us to leverage and push its capabilities even further. Thus, focusing on Ashes felt like a natural progression for our next project.
Shifting Focus: From Benchmark to Gameplay
Ashes of the Singularity initially gained recognition as one of the most benchmarked games, utilizing DirectX 12 as a significant technical milestone. Now, with a decade of advancement, what are your plans to evolve this legacy? Are you aiming to maintain this benchmark status, or is gameplay your primary focus this time?
Adrian Wright: Our emphasis has shifted significantly towards enhancing gameplay in this sequel. While we won’t shy away from setting technical benchmarks and will certainly offer valuable reference points, the foremost priority is to create an engaging and enjoyable gaming experience. That is our main motivation moving forward.
Unprecedented Scale: Thousands of Units on Screen
How has technology advanced since the original game? Will you continue to support thousands of units on screen, and are you aiming to increase this scale in Ashes of the Singularity II?
Brett Norton: Absolutely! Technology has come a long way. The first Ashes was built on what we now refer to as Nitrous Engine 1.0. With the evolution of the engine into Ara: History Untold and now for Ashes of the Singularity II, we are harnessing an evolved Ara engine. This leads to substantial technological enhancements, allowing us to maintain operational support for large landscapes filled with vast numbers of units and intricate detail. The advancements from Ara have enriched the maps, making them more dynamic and immersive, while still supporting the extensive unit management capabilities that defined the original game.
The goal for Ashes of the Singularity II is to deliver a real-time strategy experience marked by scale. We aim to conduct battles that feature 100 units versus 100 units across expansive maps, allowing for Epic eight-player scenarios where participants juggle hundreds of individual units. Depending on the scale of combat, this could lead to thousands of units appearing simultaneously.
We designed the engine with these ambitious goals in mind. Unlike first-person shooter engines that focus on a limited number of high-fidelity characters, we seek to render a high quantity of quality units simultaneously, catering to modern and older hardware alike. The Steam Deck serves as our minimum hardware specification, and we anticipate optimal performance on that platform. Our graphics options are highly customizable, catering to a wide variety of hardware configurations while ensuring that high-end settings are also optimized for players seeking high-resolution experiences.
Adapting to Hardware: System Requirements
Brett Norton: We’re currently in the process of refining system requirements, conducting extensive hardware compatibility tests and performance evaluations. We expect to leverage feedback from the Steam Next Fest to enhance our optimization strategies for diverse hardware setups. While we have initial recommendations for Steam, these are still subject to change as we gather performance data and enhance compatibility.
While our goal is to set a realistic performance threshold, we’re optimistic about lowering these recommendations based on the optimizations achieved. We aim to provide a safe baseline without encouraging players with outdated PCs to dive in and face challenges with performance.
Graphics Technology: DX12 Features Explained
Does Ashes of the Singularity II support ray tracing, and does it even make sense for a real-time strategy game?
Dan Baker: We experimented with ray tracing, but given the game’s scale, it wasn’t viable due to performance constraints. Ray tracing can become resource-intensive, especially with numerous moving objects in the scene. For RTS genres, the primary benefit would be accurate shadow rendering for thousands of lights, but that’s a hefty toll on processing power.
Any plans for HDR support, and why might it be absent?
Dan Baker: Currently, we do not offer HDR support. Only a small fraction of players use HDR displays, and RTS games necessitate significant graphical tuning for a great balance of aesthetics and playability.
Are you incorporating cutting-edge DX12 features like Opacity Micro-Maps or Tiled Resource Tier 4? How significant do you believe these enhancements will be in the future?
Dan Baker: While we’re not utilizing those exact features, we leverage many advanced shader model capabilities such as new wave intrinsics and enhanced 16-bit float support to boost performance. Although Tiled Resource Tier 4 holds promise, we don’t anticipate its significant impact on PC architecture as it stands.
Exploring Console and Steam Deck Opportunities
Is there potential for Ashes of the Singularity II to launch on consoles, or is it strictly a PC title?
Adrian Wright: We’d love to see it on all platforms! Our primary goal is to create an inclusive gameplay experience. We’ve ensured that gameplay is optimized for both traditional PC players and those using controllers like the Steam Deck.
Gabriela Leskur: As we developed the sequel, we focused on ensuring it could be enjoyed with both gamepads and keyboard/mouse setups. We also test playability with controllers to future-proof against potential console adaptations.
Adrian Wright: The core PC experience remains our priority. While we’re adjusting for the Steam Deck and other platforms, maintaining functionality and ensuring a top-notch RTS experience is critical.
Enhancements in AI and Difficulty Scaling
What improvements have been made to AI in your sequel compared to the first game?
Brett Norton: We’ve implemented a player-replacement AI structure. For a single-player experience, we feature numerous modes, including a narrative-driven campaign and a sandbox skirmish mode, allowing battles against up to seven AIs. We’ve dedicated considerable time to ensure our AI challenges a range of players, from skilled RTS veterans to newcomers.
For those who are inexperienced with RTS games, we designed easier modes that provide ample breathing room for exploration and gradual learning. We believe we’ve achieved a competitive balance, and our preliminary tests indicate that the AI plays effectively without any cheats, putting up a fair fight against many of our team members at Oxide. While experienced players may excel based on their RTS knowledge, we also provide higher difficulty settings that boost AI capabilities for a true challenge.
We’ve made substantial strides since Aaron implemented AI in Ashes I, and core gameplay changes have supported better AI performance. We’re optimistic that players will find the AI competitive during the Steam Next Fest.
Introducing the Three Factions: UEF, PHC, Substrate
The sequel adds the UEF (United Earth Forces), a human faction. Did this introduce unique challenges when programming AI for human-controlled units?
Adrian Wright: An insightful question! Since the UEF faction was introduced as the new faction, we began building AI specifically to manage this type of unit. It has worked smoothly. In the Next Fest build, you can expect various unit types for the PHC, including bipedal mechs and a return of a classic hover unit from the original game.
Brett Norton: Our objective was to develop Ashes of the Singularity II as a standalone title and not merely an extension of Ashes I. We recognized that the AI architecture would need to be entirely reworked for this sequel. As we conceptualized unit types, we aimed to create a cohesive AI system that could effectively collaborate across all three factions, including the UEF, PHC, and the Substrate, ensuring an engaging gameplay experience with unique mechanics tailored for each unit roster.
What distinguishes these three factions during gameplay?
Adrian Wright: Let’s focus on the two factions available in the Steam Next Fest demo for now. We want to maintain some secrecy regarding the third faction. Brett, care to elaborate on the two accessible factions?
Brett Norton: Certainly! The UEF and PHC (Post-Human Coalition) are the two factions represented in the demo. The UEF is a coalition of humans from Earth united against the posthumans and the AI Substrate. Their forces feature near-future conventional military units, including infantry, modern armored vehicles, and prototype technology.
Throughout the campaign, they aim to acquire technologies from the advanced PHC and Substrate factions to enhance their military capabilities. The UEF typically prioritizes quantity over quality, relying on large numbers of infantry in the early game to establish territorial control.
Gabriela Leskur: Notably, our UEF faction includes actual human infantry units on the ground—an element unique to them.
Brett Norton: Unlike the first game, where both the PHC and Substrate emphasized hovercrafts and aerial units, the UEF introduces a variety of conventional ground-based vehicles. We have noticeably enhanced the visual aesthetics, such as tanks crashing through trees.
In contrast, the PHC faction comprises a small number of powerful posthumans managing drone armies known as constructs, focusing on fewer, but stronger units. Their arsenal prides itself on advanced technologies and robust weaponry, but they lack the swarm tactics of the UEF. They do return with formidable units, including the notorious Hyperion flying dreadnought, which has a reputation for being both powerful and difficult to counter.
With a backdrop of 10 years of narrative development, a sense of suspicion has emerged between Haalee (the Substrate) and the PHC. This context provides a compelling narrative rationale for the PHC’s technological adaptations, once highly influenced by Haalee, whose relationship has dramatically changed over time.
Redefining APM and Army System for Accessibility
How do you see Ashes of the Singularity II positioning itself on the APM (Actions Per Minute) scale? Is it a faster-paced experience compared to the first game?
Brett Norton: The original Ashes was known for its high APM demands, following a legacy reminiscent of Total Annihilation and Supreme Commander. While it wasn’t on par with StarCraft II’s ultimate competition pace, it was still considered fast-paced.
With Ashes of the Singularity II, we strive to lower the necessary APM while keeping strategic intensity intact. The new army system has been fundamentally redesigned to facilitate gameplay with a lower APM threshold, while still offering players the option to go tactical if they choose. This system optimally manages unit recruitment, leading to automatic reinforcements—a design that opens the game to a wider audience, including those with minimal RTS experience.
Gabriela Leskur: Player empowerment has been a central concern. We’ve made it easier for players to group units into manageable control configurations while still preserving the ability to enjoy micro-managing units, similar to the first Ashes experience.
Gamepad vs. Keyboard and Mouse: A Comparison
Considering internal testing, do you believe an adept player using a gamepad could outperform a novice player on keyboard and mouse controls?
Brett Norton: Certainly! An experienced gamepad user can triumph over a less skilled keyboard-and-mouse player. The strategic demands in Ashes II exceed many other games. Success relies more on managing warfront dynamics, troop placement, and timing rather than solely on reactive micromanagement.
Between equally skilled players, I would lean toward the keyboard and mouse user due to tactical flexibility. Nevertheless, a well-informed strategic thinker using a gamepad could secure battles against a less competent keyboard and mouse opponent.
Good to hear, as I’ve been leaning toward gamepad gaming for improved accessibility.
Adrian Wright: Our ongoing playtesting on the Steam Deck emphasizes a focus on ensuring that the game is highly playable across both platforms, with all essential strategic features streamlined for gamepad use.
Modding Capabilities: What to Expect
Given the significance of modding in the first title, how will you approach modding for Ashes of the Singularity II? Will Steam Workshop be supported in the future?
Brett Norton: While we have no formalized plans for modding support upon launch, the engine—especially within the capabilities of Nitrous—remains highly mod-friendly. Many elements are designed for accessibility and ease of use concerning data manipulation, utilizing Lua and XML for interface integration. There’s undoubtedly robust potential for significant modding opportunities. We’re also incorporating a scenario editor to enhance user-generated content capabilities. The moddability of this sequel will parallel or even exceed that of the first title, and our internal alpha testers have successfully altered data configurations to explore diverse setups and combinations.
Thank you for your insights!
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