FAQ

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GENERAL

What is Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation?
Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation is a real-time strategy game set in a future where the technological Singularity and advanced “Post Humans” wage war against each other for the resource Turinium. Escalation redefines the possibilities of RTS with unbelievable scale, provided by Oxide Games’ groundbreaking Nitrous engine.
What is the Singularity?
The “Singularity” is a theory of the future development of humans and AI that was popularized by futurist Ray Kurzweil. As our minds become increasingly augmented by artificial enhancements, there will come a point where the un-augmented human brain can no longer comprehend the advancements that are being made.
What makes Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation different from other RTS games?
Until now, terrestrial strategy games have had to substantially limit the number of units on screen. As a result, the fights within these RTS's could only be described as “battles”.

Thanks to recent technological improvements such as multi-core processors and 64-bit computing, combined with the invention of a new type of 3D engine called Nitrous, games of Ashes can be described as a war across an entire world without abstraction. Thousands, or even tens of thousands, of individual units can engage in dozens of battles simultaneously.
What is a benchmark?
A benchmark is a test to see how well your PC can run a program. With "Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation," the benchmark will run a scene of the game and will give you a score at the end so that you can see how effectively your PC will be able to handle it. While the game is optimized for DirectX 12, users with DirectX 9, 10, and 11 should be able to run the benchmark.

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GAMEPLAY

Is this a traditional RTS or some crazy new thing?
A little of both! The massive scale makes Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation unique, but we draw from RTS conventions so that the experience isn’t completely alien. Worlds are broken up into regions that can be captured. There are supply lines to be guarded. Structures to be built. Resources to be acquired. Logistics to be managed.
How is the player expected to manage thousands of units?
Just as a military general must manage entire armies, the Ashes user interface allows players to easily take armies and create "meta-units" that act together as a single, coherent, massive unit.
What controls the individual units in a meta-unit? I don't trust "unit AI"
Meta-units operate under specific, consistent rules. For example, a group of short-ranged tanks will always protect their slower moving, more vulnerable long-ranged artillery. Players will be able to create strategies that revolve around these consistent rules to get the most out of their armies.
Will meta-units make the game "play itself"?
No. First, a meta-unit inherits all the abilities of what is within it. When the player selects this unit, all the special abilities of that unit are instantly accessible. It’s similar to a control group in a traditional RTS, except that each part of a meta-unit is aware of every other unit in its group and they work together in predetermined ways.

Essentially, a meta-unit is merely a player-designed unit whose components are made up of many other units.
What games are most similar to Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation?
Escalation takes a lot of inspiration from Sins of a Solar Empire and Total Annihilation. However, the game mechanics for planetary conquest are influenced by Company of Heroes.
Does Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation have research?
Yes. Players build special structures that generate points which can be used to unlock global upgrades for things like damage, hit points, or radar range. Alternatively, you can spend those points to call down powerful orbital support actions like wide-area shields, teleportation fields, and, of course, nuclear strikes.
What makes a meta-unit different from a control group?
Each unit within a meta-unit is always aware of the others.

For example, in the real world, an aircraft carrier could be considered a single unit. But that unit has guns, radar, and various types of aircraft on it. In a sense, it is a meta-unit. In Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation, players build individual units and then put them together to form a meta-unit based on their strategy of choice.

Units change their behavior depending on the composition of the meta-unit they exist within, and players command each meta-unit as a single entity. This means you don’t have to baby-sit your units in every minor skirmish and instead you can focus on the larger war.
Won’t it always be better to micromanage your units yourself?
While the game will allow you to control individual units if you'd like to, you won't want to. Ashes is not designed to be a game that rewards clicking speed. Its pacing is more akin to Sins of a Solar Empire.

To put it another way, a General could order individual soldiers in battle, but they would never want to. They are better off allowing their sergeants to run their squad, their lieutenants to run their platoon, their captains to run their companies, and so on. A meta-unit could be described as a custom-made army division – except in Escalation, there is no abstraction.
Where can I buy Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation?
You can purchase directly from Stardock or from Steam.
How much is Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation?
Escalation costs $29.99.
Does Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation require Steam to play?
Yes, Escalation requires Steam to play unless purchased from GOG.com. You can download the free Steam client here.

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TECHNICAL

What are the system requirements?
Absolute Minimum:
  • 64-bit Windows 10 / 8.1 / 7
  • Quad-core Intel / AMD Processor
  • 6 GB RAM
  • 2 GB GDDR5 NVidia GeForce 660 / AMD R7 360 or Equivalent
  • DirectX 11
  • Broadband Internet Connection
  • 5 GB Available Space
  • 1920x1080 Display Resolution

We Recommend:
  • 64-bit Windows 10
  • Intel Core i5 or Equivalent
  • 16 GB RAM
  • 4 GB GDDR5 NVidia GTX 970 / AMD R9 390 or Equivalent
  • DirectX 12
  • Broadband Internet Connection
  • 1920x1080 Display Resolution or Higher
I’m having trouble with my game client.
If you have been trying to run the game on DirectX 12 and it continues to crash, try running in on DirectX 11. DirectX 12 is still a work in progress and the build for DirectX 11 is currently much stabler.

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