JOURNALS
Dev Journal
Ashes II Dev Journal #9: A Family of RTS Games
If you’re new to the Ashes of the Singularity RTS universe, let’s start with a primer: Ashes of the Singularity is a real-time strategy game set in the near future in which players fight for control of worlds. The scale of the maps tend to be very large and are broken up into regions. Controlling a region gives the player access to the resources within which can be extracted to be used in the war effort. Each side starts with a central base that if destroyed, causes them to los... [read more]
News
Discord AMA for Ashes of the Singularity II on October 28
Join us on October 28th for a Discord AMA on Ashes of the Singularity II Join the Discord The developers at Oxide are going live on Discord October 28th to answer your questions about the creation of Ashes of the Singularity II, the sequel to the massive RTS. 📍 Ashes of the Singularity Discord 🗓️ October 28, 3PM - 4:30PM EST [read more]
Dev Journal
Ashes II Dev Journal #8: The Actors of War on Stage Pt. 1
The first faction to take the stage, the United Earth Force represents humanity’s fight for survival against impossible odds. In this entry, we explore how realism, grit, and visual clarity define the look and feel of the UEF on the battlefield. The United Earth Force – Discipline and Steel Previously, we spoke about the environment as the grand stage. It’s the backdrop where the player directs an epic performance of conquest and survival. Every stage needs its first actor, and in the Ash... [read more]
Dev Journal
Ashes II Dev Journal #7: Tech Trees vs. Building Upgrades
In Ashes of the Singularity , we had a bit of a hybrid system for unlocking orbital abilities, units, and buildings. If you built the right building, you unlocked a additional units, buildings, and orbital abilities. On the other hand, if you wanted to upgrade your abilities, like armor quality or logistics or weapon power and such, you had to increment a corresponding technology level, which you did by spending the Quanta resource. So here we are again, Ashes of the Singularity II . On... [read more]
Dev Journal
Ashes II Dev Journal #6: Setting the Stage for Battle
When designing a real-time strategy game, most people think first about the units: the soldiers, tanks, aircraft, and other powerful pieces that players use to dominate the battlefield. But as the art director on Ashes of the Singularity II , I know that the real star of the screen is the environment itself. The terrain is what players spend the majority of their time looking at. It’s not just a backdrop - it’s the stage where every battle is fought, every strategy unfolds, and every story eme... [read more]
Dev Journal
Ashes II Dev Journal #5: Evolving Production for a Grander Scale
In the original Ashes of the Singularity , we noted some key pain points when it came to producing units and managing armies in the late game. One of the first frustrations was the need to micromanage numerous production buildings during large-scale conflicts as the game progressed. You could dogpile engineers onto a single production building to make it construct faster, but if you were trying to field various cruisers, frigates, etc., you still would need to manage several different buildings... [read more]
Dev Journal
Ashes II Dev Journal #4: Building Better Worlds
Making the map a character When you think about RTS games, what do you spend most of the time looking at? More than your base, more than your armies - it is the terrain itself. It sets the scale of the conflict, shapes how battles unfold, and creates the sense of immersion that keeps players engaged. For Ashes of the Singularity II, we wanted to push this further by creating maps that are larger, more detailed, and more responsive. Our work on Ara: History Untold taught us a lot about h... [read more]