Ashes: WEEK 4 DEV STATUS

[Frogboy]

Greetings!


## Version 1.1 is out! ##

Version 1.1 is out! We hope you like it. Here's the change log.

http://steamcommunity.com/app/228880/discussions/1/364039785169009182/

We added some additional maps to this. As much as I like Knife Fight, I'm ready for more maps.

Our main goals for 1.1 were:

* A couple of new difficulty levels between beginner and normal
* Get the new probing force ability in for PHC as a counter to the Avatar (sorry Substrate, the free ride is over. ;) )
* Some new stats in the end game screen
* 3 cool new maps.
* Campaign and Scenario difficulty options
* Performance improvements on large maps (no more stuttering on lower end machines)
* PHC unit Sentry is in.


## The Postmortem is now available ##

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/270965/Postmortem_Stardock_and_Oxide_Games_Ashes_of_the_Singularity.php#tophead

So everything you wanted to know about the sausage factory is in there.

## Upcoming slipstream ##

We really want to get a new mission in that will take place between mission 1 and 2 that lets people see some of the frigates in battle and how they work without getting into the base building aspect. That should show up "real soon now"

## The first premium DLC is coming ##

We're working on the first premium DLC. It'll focus on large maps mainly as well as have some new scenarios. It'll be $3.99. The revenue from these DLCs is what pays the artists who are in turn working on new units which is the next stopic.

## New Units coming up ##

Ideally before the end of Spring we have some new units and buildings going on. They are:

The Athena which is a heavy but fairly slow T2 that is meant to take on ther T2s. It's not very good against T1s.

The Substrate Caregiver, this is a T2 that recharges Substrate shields in the field.

The PHC Field Gun. This is a longer range artillery unit that does an area effect (not a lot of damage but a lot of area).

Substrate Eradicator. This is a relatively slow moving but long ranged direct fire unit designed to deal with Artemis's and to a lesser degree, massed Archers.

## Usability and UI features ##

So coming up are a lot of little features just designed to make dealing with your forces easier. Examples include F3 to select your air units and updating the F1 key to select the nearest free Engineer and setting rally points from factories to armies and lots of other stuff.

Similarly, more info in the context area of a unit and on the map (Such as region icons changing based on their output) should, I hope, show up starting next week or soon after.

## The PHC Refinery ##

This is a new building that increases the output of the target region by a few percent for each one built.

## Observer Mode ##

This is a feature we're actively working on so that MP games can have a third party observer in it who can see the entire battle field and see how each player is doing for those who want to just watch. Its sister feature, Replays, is still a work in progress but not as easy to do as you might think in a game with this many units (every drone is a unit too). But it's very high on our list.

## General Balance ##

We are starting to reach the point where everyone thinks the other faction is OP. This is a good sign. We do expect to make a few additional balance tweaks based on changes in 1.1 as we're sure there will be unforeseen cheese.

## Status of the game ##
The multiplayer community has continued to grow nicely. This is due partially to the previously mentioned bundles the game is part of ensuring there's a constant set of new players.

One change we've seen to the market over the past 10 months has been the deluge of iOS ports which has definitely made it harder for new (as in, new IP) to get attention. It has also put a downward pressure on pricing which developers are having to adjust to.

As one developer recently told me, the game's "release" is less important than the game's first big Steam sale. It's a brave new world.

## Next up ##

So besides the things we mentioned here, the roadmap is still posted for those looking at our longer-term roadmap.

One area we're interested in exploring is having more base building than we currently have. I don't mean more defensive weapons but more ways to build up your economy and technology than we currently have.

Feel free to comment below on your thoughts!

See you next week!

[Ticktoc]

This is a great post, thanks for letting us know what is in the works. Really looking forward to many of thing things you mention. (well, all the things really :) )

I have a suggestion for a UI addition:
You have a cluster of units in one area, including air. Let us hold down a button draw a box around them and it only selects air. Or alternatively hold down a different button and draw a box over the group and only the ground units are chosen. This would be super useful, please consider it, thanks.

Later I would like the ability to do this but further refine it down to selecting T1 from amongst T2 and vice versa.

[Moza]

Another great post I agree. Informative and tons of info.

One thing I will throw out there I feel you shouldn't be under valuing your work (i'll probably get a kick up the backside from some for this) but i think the upcoming DLC is cheap as hell. it's worth a little more than what you stated imo.

More ways to build your ecomony sounds great, i think this would certainly go down well and a welcome change if there were other ways to boost resources etc. :thumbsup:

I've mentioned it a few times now but i feel it's important and that is putting more emphahsis on some kind of notifications when your attacked. As of now it's easy to miss resulting in lost buildings when your attacked. There's just not enough emphasis alert of you of being attacked .

Other than that, looking forward to seeing what you come out with in the future (I feel the best is yet to come) from you and for this game.

[DmAnd]

thats great news guys...I will gladly pay the 4 bucks for more content. I am really looking foward to the large maps and tower/base defense

[DmAnd]

Shelley původně napsal:

Another great post I agree. Informative and tons of info.

One thing I will throw out there I feel you shouldn't be under valuing your work (i'll probably get a kick up the backside from some for this) but i think the upcoming DLC is cheap as hell. it's worth a little more than what you stated imo.

More ways to build your ecomony sounds great, i think this would certainly go down well and a welcome change if there were other ways to boost resources etc. :thumbsup:

I've mentioned it a few times now but i feel it's important and that is putting more emphahsis on some kind of notifications when your attacked. As of now it's easy to miss resulting in lost buildings when your attacked. There's just not enough emphasis alert of you of being attacked .

Other than that, looking forward to seeing what you come out with in the future (I feel the best is yet to come) from you and for this game.

I can not agree with you about the price of the DLC and how it should be more. Dont get me wrong i love this game and the team that made it, but we already payd full price for a game that realy doesnt offer much as far as content goes. SO while the new DLCs are welcome the higher price isnot

[RAZORLIGHT]

first 1.1 now this
you made my day, thank you

the new units sounds amazin and i am curios what the content of this DLC will be

and that postmortem, i love those developer insights!

[Ticktoc]

I read you postmortem. Man, many of those concept images for the units are so good, with great asymmetrical silhouettes. A real shame the budget wasn't there at the time, but hopefully some of them might make an appearance in the future.

[Frogboy]

You guys are just so insanely awesome.

Seriously. Just coming to this forum brightens my day.

I'll have answers soon. Just pinned the topic so others can see it.

Regarding the units: If we knew that DirectX 12 would have been a thing we probably would have gone with the more sophisticated unit designs. We were really shooting in the dark as to what people's machines would be able to handle back then.

[Thurgret]

I like the look of these changes, by and large.

As a current Substrate player, I simply cannot see a pressing need for the Eradicator-style unit mentioned. The Mauler is a very potent anti-T2 unit, albeit with a short range (and makes up for the rubbishness of the Reaper). Against other Substrate, the Mauler's just fine - Substrate forces inevitably end up just mashing into each other when engaged. Against PHC, long-range direct fire is of dubious aid against properly used Artemises, which will be up on a hilltop or otherwise behind a rise in the terrain - Artemises advancing behind a force over flat ground are usually easy to flank and knock out. No direct fire really helps in that hilltop situation though, and while other PHC can park their own artillery at the bottom and use radar to bombard it, Substrate has no such option.

Incursion is a lot more dangerous than Avatar, early game, if a PHC player's willing to take the gamble with their starting quanta (especially on certain maps where they can hit hard with their early Brute-Zeus-Archer-Medic blob while their opponent is out of position). Should possibly be decreased in cost and have a Zeus put in in lieu of the Nemesis? Not enthused by the prospect of a second call-in for PHC to supplement Incursion with.

Three requests:

I scarcely use the Drone Hive as is except if I have a clear upper hand in a game and feel like it. I don't know any hard numbers on their damage output, and it's unclear from just watching combat, and Apollos and Sky Cleansers chew up those drones. Can we get clear numbers available for units with drones beyond the tooltip showing they have a drone factory on board?

Can the targetting priority for Medics be raised? It's very hard to counter a PHC force on certain maps when they roll up with Brutes, Archers, Medics and a Zeus or two - presumably two similar PHC forces might just come to a drawn-out stalemate, but Substrate just gets stomped, unless the player has somehow churned out enough Avengers to overcome the Medic's healing rate, and meanwhile no unit at all seems to prioritise the Medics to shoot at.

Finally, probably most importantly, the balance of certain maps really needs to be addressed. I'm bad with map names, but the most obvious one that comes to mind is the one with the big central plateau, and the two generators off in the corners of the map. On that map, one player can get both metal and radioactives at the start, but the other player can only get metal at the start, because the radioactives are too far out.

And, I'll reiterate, I do play Substrate primarily.

[RAZORLIGHT]

your decision to give Ashes not a huge budget was totally reasonable imo
but today it is quite easy for you as a developer to fix and add stuff
looking forward to some awesome new units, campaign rework, new map eye candy (maybe?) and probably a whole unit redesign of PHC and substrate (the units are the icons ;))
and improved graphics (especially effects) better sounds and it would be a real shame to not use those great art designs you already have ^^
if you are really able to improve/fund this game for years it will become my favourite RTS for sure

[Surge]

Please add some transparency to the UI in the context of units and their weapons. Showing the DPS of each weapon doesn't add a lot of value.

[Eviator]

All sounds great! Cheers!

[Frogboy]

Surge původně napsal:

Please add some transparency to the UI in the context of units and their weapons. Showing the DPS of each weapon doesn't add a lot of value.

Yep. That's exactly what I meant by the UI updates coming up.

[Surge]

Draginol původně napsal:

Yep. That's exactly what I meant by the UI updates coming up.

Fantastic! Very reassuring to hear that. I really do appreciate how much post-release support you put into your games.

[Acestriker1]

Awesome! Super excited about all the upcoming stuff!


The postmortem was a fascinating read, it'll be interesting to see what Star Control will look like, or for that matter, how much Ashes will have changed a few years from now. Really appreciate when you write this kind of stuff, I don't know about others, but reading about business, development, etc. is something I enjoy, and moreso when it's in the arena of my gaming hobby. :)

[Schism Navigator]

Interesting.