Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation

Released

Release Date: November 3, 2016

A standalone expansion for the well-received real-time strategy game entitled Ashes of the Singularity. It was developed by the independent studio Stardock Corporation. The DLC comes with two story campaigns that let us lead the Substrate faction and the PHC forces. Both parties, present in the vanilla game, received new units, a wider variety of buildings, and more items and machines that can be summoned from the orbit.

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Plot
Mechanics
Technical aspects

Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation is an expansion for Galactic Civilizations series,

Plot

The expansion features two story campaigns. The first one, entitled Memories, lets us lead the Substrate faction and see the conflict from the perspective of the artificial intelligence known as Haalee. In the second one, called Escalation, we assume the role of a commander of the PHC (Post-Human Coalition) forces, which used to work with Haalee but are now the enemy of the AI.

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Mechanics

Both faction were present in the vanilla version of Ashes of the Singularity for PC, but in Escalation, they were significantly buffed with many new units. Moreover, the expansion introduces new types of planets. Thanks to this, we can fight battles on maps that are covered with lava or build from crystals, among other things.

The variety of buildings is also greater. Now, we can build, among others, watchtowers and aircraft factories. What’s more, we can summon useful items and machines from the orbit.

Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation offers significantly bigger and more varied maps. The player limit in the multiplayer mode was increased from eight to sixteen people so the scope of battles is huge. For better control over the situation, the developers prepared a new strategic view that shows the entire battlefield.

Apart from these changes and novelties, the gameplay is identical to that from Ashes of the Singularity. Therefore, we receive a classical RTS in which we gather resources, build bases, and fight battles in real time.

Technical aspects

The quality of visuals remains unchanged in the expansion, but the graphics engine is better optimized which translates into lower system requirements. It is also worth mentioning that the production is available in two forms: as a standalone add-on or as a cheaper DLC for the people who already own the vanilla game.

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