Tons of Map Rebalancing, Single Player Observer Mode,
and More in Escalation v2.1!
Map Rebalances are a huge part of v2.1! One of our partners, Callum McCole over at General's Gentlemen overhauled some of our maps and streamlined them for better gameplay. Stardock's CEO Brad Wardell details the adjustments in a recent dev diary over on our community site. Check it out and let us know what you think of the changes!
v2.1 also adds Single Player Observer Mode! In this mode, you can set up your own custom game and watch the AI battle against itself with any maps and settings that you'd like. It's a great way to study how the AI plays, plus learn some new strategies that you can apply in your own matches.
The new Supply Lines game option lets you turn off the setting that requires regions to be connected to your Nexus in order to provide resources. This, plus all of the other gameplay options already available, leaves you with over 4.7 million configurations possible when setting up a game.
Escalation now has an Unranked Match mode where you can play a 1v1 multiplayer game against someone of similar skill, but without the fear of affecting your ranking! This is great for players who'd like to play more casually or practice some new, untested tactics. Try out some unranked matches on one of our three new maps for v2.1: Espana, Rus, and Italia.
v2.1 also brings some additional updates and fixes. For more details, check out the
full changelog at the bottom of the post.
Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation is available through
Stardock or on Steam and is 50% off from 2/23 - 3/2!
www.ashesofthesingularity.com
v2.1 Changelog:
Features
- Single Player Observer Mode- Ever wondered if the AI was better as the Substrate or the PHC? Or if a dozen normal AI's can beat an Insane AI? Setup your own games and watch the AI battle against itself with whatever maps and settings you want.
- Supply Lines Game Option- Disable this when starting your game to remove the requirement that Regions have to be connected to your Nexus to provide resources. There are now over 4.7 million configurations of map options to play a game with (and that doesn't even count all the possible maps or player settings).
- Unranked Match- Allows you to play a 1 versus 1 multiplayer game that is automatically matched, but your results don't effect your ranking. Good for practicing new tactics or playing a more casual multiplayer game.
- Espana- New Medium Arctic map available for skirmish, multiplayer and ranked games.
- Rus- New Small Desert map available for skirmish, multiplayer and ranked games.
- Italia- New Terran Medium map available for skirmish, multiplayer and ranked games.
Balance
- Cygnus victory points reduced form 1500 to 750
- Deneb victory points reduced from 1500 to 750
- Europa victory points reduced from 1500 to 1000
- Maurn victoyr points reduced from 1500 to 750
- Proxima victory points reduced from 2000 to 600
- Pulaski victory points reduced from 2000 to 1000
- Pyn victory points reduced from 1500 to 600
- Spica victory points reduced from the 1500 to 600
- Thuban victiry points reduced from 750 to 600
- Tortuga victory points reduced from 1500 to 750
- Vega victory points reduced from 2500 to 600
- Canopus map update:
- Created additional routes between each peninsula to allow for more strategic diversity and flanking routes
- Reduced the size of the impassable terrain in the middle
- Added a metal relay in the middle of the outer pathways
- Ceres map update:
- Added two metal deposits to one of the nearby empty relays
- Deneb map update:
- Reworked the terrain layout in order to be more symmetrical
- Symmetrized the resource layout to be fair and balanced for both sides
- Replaced the side Turinium Generators with Radioactives
- Centralised Turinium generators to make Turinium acquisition more viable
- Knife Fight map update:
- Equalised the travel time from starting locations to first two resource points
- Opened up an additional pathway on the sides of the map
- Opened up an additional pathway on the top and bottom of the map
- Connected the resources points on the sides of the map
- Monaco map update:
- Moved player starting locations to map corners
- Reshuffled some of the resource layout to replicate a more standard starting location
- Created a wide Pathway in the centre of the map
- Centralised all the Turinium Generators to make acquiring Turinium more viable
- Regulus map update:
- Created a pathway at the top and bottom of the map with an empty relay
- Moved the starting locations to map corners to account for additional pathways
- Ulrich map update:
- Created a pathway between the centre of the map
- The middle now only has a single centered Turinium Generator
- Added Metal Deposits onto one of the empty relays near the starting locations
Fixes
- Fixed visibility related to elevation changes on some maps
- Crash fixes
- Fixed an issue where Oblivion and Eliminator Turrets weren't showing up under light fog of war
- Fixed connection issues when starting a matchmaker game
UI
- Main Menu rescaled to look better and be more clear