Stardock Entertainment released a benchmark on the Star Control: Origins game today.

The benchmark is set on an alien world that is generated on-the-fly as the scripted lander travels over it. The objective is to measure high-end PC gaming performance using DirectX 12 and Vulkan, while putting as much stress on the CPU as possible also.

The DirectX 12 and Vulkan APIs differ from previous generations of graphics APIs in that they were designed from the ground up in order to allow games to send commands to the GPU from multiple threads simultaneously.  

"Being able to have several threads talking to the GPU at once is a game changer," said Brad Wardell, CEO of Stardock. "When fully exploited by the game and graphics drivers, and then combined with hardware with lots of cores, a lot of exciting game features become possible."

Stardock developed the benchmark to help GPU manufacturers see the strengths and weaknesses of their drivers with DirectX 12 and Vulkan. Frequently, DirectX 11 still beats the newer APIs, largely due to the drivers being much less mature.  

Based on the user’s CPU configuration, the benchmark will report the system’s theoretical maximum. The benchmark accomplishes this by having a planet that is generated as it is executed.

"The biggest technical challenge was making sure to push the CPU and GPU simultaneously," said Wardell. "The planet in the benchmark is being done a bit like the Genesis demo from Star Trek II. That is, the planet is actually being generated as the lander travels over it. This is extremely CPU intensive and really lets users see the connection between lots of CPU cores and next-generation APIs."

The Star Control: Origins benchmark also includes support for AMD's new FidelityFX. This feature uses GPU acceleration to improve image quality of a scene without any hit to performance.

"When we saw what FidelityFX could do in a scene, we were a little skeptical that this kind of visual improvement was 'free,' so naturally we added this as an option for the benchmark," said Wardell.  "Sure enough, it appears to have no performance impact while delivering noticeable improvements to visual clarity."

Additionally, the benchmark has an option to push the CPU harder by placing hundreds of physics objects that the lander crashes through. While this feature is off by default, it exists as a preview of what benefits high-core count processors will provide in physics-intensive games of the future.

The Star Control: Origins benchmark is free to download.  It requires a high-end gaming PC with DirectX 12 and Vulkan support. It also includes a slew of command line options to automate testing.

Visit www.starcontrol.com/benchmark to download the benchmark and review scores.

Fidelity Sharpening
(Click to see full size of the screenshot)

Off (Left)                                                   On (Right)

Offworld Trading Company Releases Brand New Expansion
"The Europa Wager"
Get it on Steam or Stardock today! 

Travel to the smallest of Jupiter's Galilean moons and carve out a name for yourself against your competition! Head to the frozen moon of Europa, where numerous cracks on the moon's surface and multiple methane geysers will make building and sustaining structures a whole new challenge. Made of silicate rock and possessing a water-ice crust, Europa's atmosphere is thin but comprised mostly of oxygen, which makes it the next natural step for space-bound entrepreneurs.

---- Features ----

New Location: Europa Explore the smallest of Jupiter's Galilean moons where numerous cracks in the surface and methane geysers make building and sustaining structures more than a little difficult. New Resources and Structures Methane geysers are abundant on Europa, and the new Methane Extractor will allow you to harness the gas' energy and transform it into power. Additionally, the new Gas and Hydrothermal Plants work hard to process resources in order to make you a profit. The Hydrothermal Plant works similarly to the Geothermal Plant, but produces more power and a small amount of water. Meanwhile, the Gas Plant converts fuel into power, which is particularly helpful when you find yourself with an abundance. New Scenarios Everyone said you're crazy and that it can't be done, yet here you are: Europa. Fight through the frozen elements and help brave colonists found their colony and establish important resource lines. Survive the exceptionally long days and the freezing cold nights, make critical decisions on what to build and where, and mind the cracked and frozen landscape - in order to make sure your structures don't come tumbling down, extra time will need to be taken to build in those areas. Overcome the challenges of Europa and prove to everyone that money talks: you made it on Mars, and you can make it here, too.

Offworld Trading Company: The Europa Wager is now available! 
Get it on Steam or Stardock now.

www.offworldgame.com/europa

 

New Hunter / Prey Expansion and v2.9 Update Are Now Available
New units, base defenses, orbital abilities, a new scenario, balance updates, stand ground command, and much more
View the complete v2.9 Changelog

Get it on Steam | Get it at Stardock

Expand your strategic options, wield devastating new units, and turtle up with some fierce new defenses in Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation - Hunter / Prey! Haalee and her Substrate army are back with several brand new units that are armed and ready to destroy their enemies. The PHC, not to be outdone, have built up brand new defensive towers to counter the onslaught. Take advantage of the devastating capabilities of the new Heart of the Phoenix juggernaut, entrench yourself in your base and defend yourself with powerful and heavy-hitting Minos Cannons, and much more. 

To introduce you to the new units and defenses, a brand new scenario focusing on Haalee and the Substrate’s expansion onto a PHC-occupied world is included. For added strategic depth, the new content is available in skirmish mode, as well as certain campaigns and scenarios.

New Scenario: Hunter  / Prey

Haalee and her Substrate army have designated a new world for themselves as part of their plans for expansion, but there’s just one problem: that planet is already occupied. Now, the members of the PHC already entrenched in their colonies there must find a way to repel the Substrate’s relentless attacks before they are overrun and destroyed.

Following Haalee’s directives, you must guide the Substrate to victory against the PHC. Although you’re outnumbered and the post-humans are deeply entrenched with some devastating new defenses, the latest in Substrate technology is at your disposal. 

Multiple paths lead to the main enemy base, each with different defenses - you’ll have to deploy your armies carefully in order to counter them. Each Nexus you destroy unlocks more of the new units, so build up your reinforcements and destroy all opposition so that Haalee’s plans can be fully realized.

New Substrate Units

Clutch of Eggs: Dozens of enemies for the price of one! When destroyed, this mechanical spiderbot overwhelms its enemies with a horde of hatchlings. Hatchlings: So. Many. Spiders. These quick moving skittering swarms emerge from destroyed spiderbot eggs and can wreak havoc on an unprepared enemy. Scarab: Slow but hardy, this powerful frigate is perfect for overwhelming enemies with slow-firing, single-target weaponry. Auxillary Assembly (building): This new building produces all of the new units, except for the Heart of the Phoenix, which can be built in the Advanced Assembly. Heart of the Phoenix: Decimate your enemies with dozens of missiles and a static charge meant to disable nearby units! True to its name, this Juggernaut will regenerate once it’s killed unless the chrysalis it produces is destroyed within a certain time limit. Falling Star: Watch out for the electromagnetic pulse. This disruption cruiser will temporarily disable an enemy’s base defenses when it’s destroyed within range. Skirmisher: Harass your enemies with this quick-moving cruiser. It engages well against incoming artillery and its speed allows it to out-maneuver most enemies.

New PHC Defenses

Shotgun Turret: Upgraded from the orbitally deployed Emergency Turret, this new defensive building deals massive damage, but has a short range. Machine Gun Turret: Versatility is key! Although it isn’t an especially heavy hitter, this turret handles both airborne and ground threats very well. Minos Cannon: Mind the lengthy cooldown. It may take some time between shots, but this costly cannon is the ultimate in anti-dreadnought and anti-juggernaut defense. Nova Tower: Shields up? No problem! Although it deals no hull damage, this bombardment tower provides heavy shield damage in a wide area. Kinetic Accelerator: Need a boost? This tower increases the damage of all other nearby defenses and units by 15%. Be careful, though - it’s fragile and vulnerable to attack. Stasis Hammer: Stop - hammer time! This long range defense deals no damage, but can slow an enemy onslaught by stunning its target for several seconds at a time.

The Hunter / Prey Expansion is available through Stardock or on Steam for just $9.99.
www.ashesofthesingularity.comView the complete changelog of v2.9 changes here!

Version 2.9 of the award-winning massive-scale RTS, Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation goes out this week.

This version is the biggest AI update since the original release.  It also has numerous visual improvements including higher resolution textures.

Let’s take a look…

This is one of the Hunter / Prey expansion turrets.  In v2.9 you can rapidly drop down Emergency Turrets.  They can now be upgraded into a Machine Gun Turret (pictured here) or a Shotgun turret.

You may also notice a general refresh on the terrain in this shot.

This shot is mainly to just show off the updated terrain texture.

Same here:

Structures blend in more nicely and the terrain itself has a bit more punch.

Here I have a bunch of the new Nova Towers and Minos Cannon towers.  They are very vulnerable to air but are great anti-turtle siege weaponry.

Subtle but important new feature in v2.9: Hold position.   The previous command “Stop” did indeed stop.  But you still ended up with the unit AI occasionally wandering towards unwanted objectives.

Version 2.9 will be released on November 14 at 1pm EST.

Just launched is the Hunter / Prey expansion alongside the massive 2.9 update. Hunter/Prey adds in lots of new units and buildings and I'll explain in detail their roles and some tips and tricks to using them. Overall, most of the new content is niche and situational compared to the existing content. This was to deliberate to ensure the new content opened up new and widened strategic options instead of overlapping with old stuff.

Add to Steam wishlist

 

New Substrate Structures

Auxiliary Assembly

This new building produces all of the new units, except for the Heart of the Phoenix, which can be built in the Advanced Assembly. Aside from the Scarabs, each new cruiser requires a tech building to unlock.

New Substrate Units

Scarab

Video showcase:
Overview: A heavy frigate squadron that is slow but tough and with heavy firepower. 
Role: Heavy Frigate

Tips for Scarabs:

• While very cost-effective, Scarabs can be easily outmaneuvered so attack your opponent's resources where the fight can't be avoided.
• Scarabs move at almost half the speed of other frigates and cruisers. Don't mix Scarabs in as armies to existing units, else you'll bog the whole army. Scarabs work best on their own with some anti-air support.

Tips against Scarabs:

• Scarabs get devastated by area of effect attacks such as the Hades Bombers.
• Use scout planes and radar to see incoming attacks. Scarabs are so slow that you can prepare static defenses by the time they arrive.

 

Skirmisher 

Overview: A fast-moving raider with weak durability for its cost but packs good damage.  
Role: Harassment Cruiser

Tips for Skirmisher:

• Use to avoid enemy forces and rush past defenses to harass enemy economy and infrastructure.
• Skirmishers are fast enough and with decent shield regeneration that they can simply disengage from a fight and move elsewhere
• Skirmishers can easily dodge incoming artillery projectiles if they change course, use them to punish Artillery.

Tips against Skirmisher::

• Rather than defending specific resource points, place static defenses in the choke points that Skirmishers would try to sneak past
• Skirmishers are weak in a direct fight for their cost, go on the offensive to deny your opponent fighting on their terms.
• Use gunships to quickly kill Skirmishers from the sky, Skirmishers are too fast for anti-air support.
• Avoid trying to use bombers like the Hades that are likely to miss the fast-moving Skirmishers.

 

Falling Star

Video showcase: 

Overview: A portable EMP bomb; when destroyed the Falling Star disables all nearby defenses for a short duration.

Role: Disruption Cruiser

Tips for Falling Star:

• Base defenses target units based on proximity (after initial unit type priorities), ensure a Falling Star is in the front of an assault.
• Falling Stars have high shield regeneration, don't be afraid to wait for it to regenerate before commencing an assault.
• The Destroy unit command can be used to manually detonate the Falling Star, this can be invaluable when the Falling Star is not being targeted and its disabling effect is needed.
• The Nano-Mesh barrier orbital can be used to give +2000 HP to the Falling Star, giving it more time to get into the perfect position to detonate.

Tips against Falling Star:

• Don't over-invest in base defenses, Falling Stars are practically worthless against units.
• Spread out your defenses so they're not all caught in the blast radius.
• Try to use longer range defenses with high burst (like the Oblivion) instead of shorter range, gradual damage towers like the Barrager.
• Stasis Hammers can prevent the Falling Star from getting within range.

 

Clutch of Eggs 

Video showcase:

Overview: A heavy walking spiderbot, when destroyed releases 16 powerful hatchlings (Frigates).

Role: Swarm cruiser

Tips for Clutch Of Eggs:

• The Clutch is weak for its heavy cost, but its real power comes in the hatchlings. Use them to overwhelm units and defenses with long reloads that lack AOE, such as the Minos Cannons, Eradicators and Athenas/Maulers.

Tips against Clutch Of Eggs:

• Make sure to mix in anti-frigate firepower such as Zeus, Masochists, Drone Bays and Disruptor Towers. 
• If completely caught off guard, the Plasma Storm and Drone Swarm orbitals are deadly against the Hatchlings.

 

Heart of the Phoenix

Video showcase: 
Overview: Versatile juggernaut that when destroyed it forms a Chrysalis that given enough time will regenerate and rebirth a new Phoenix.

Role: Endurance and disruption Juggernaut

Weaponry: Several missile swarms capable of engaging all targets, Static Charge which disables nearby units. Respawns at ~30% total health/shields if the Chrysalis survives for 30 seconds. (game time.)

Tips for Heart of the Phoenix::

• The Phoenix is versatile against all unit types but doesn't excel against any. It's a good investment if you don't know your opponent's strategy.
• Multiple Static Charges can stack and disable units for a long time, consider investing in multiple Phoenix's rather than mixing different Juggernauts together.
• Multiple Static Charges (Including from the Overmind) will especially synergize with keeping the Phoenix Chrysalis long enough to respawn.
• The Phoenix can be manually killed with the destroy unit command to turn into a Chrysalis. Though this will unlikely be useful as it loses combat levels and only respawns at ~30% total health.

Tips against Heart of the Phoenix:

• The Phoenix does not have the same firepower as other Juggernauts, duel it with a Leonidas or Eye of Darkness.
• While the Phoenix can devastate air units, it is with the same weapons as its ground attacks. Don't be afraid to combine an air and ground assault, but don't send the air in too early.
• The Phoenix lacks any splash damage, send in light units.
• Make sure to focus the Phoenix's chrysalis down before it can respawn.

New PHC Defenses

All new defenses (except for Minos Cannon) are tier 2 or tier 3 that upgrade from existing towers. Alternatively, they can be built directly on the map from the Sapper orbital abilities which summons an advanced engineer.

Shotgun Turret 

Overview: Very short-range turret but delivers massive damage.

Upgrades from: Emergency Turret (Orbital Ability)

Tips for Shotgun Turret:

• Invest in the Shotgun Turret over the MachineGun when you know the enemy has a large amount of short-range units such as the Athena and Mauler.
• The Shotgun excels in overlooking a high ground position where enemies will not be able to shoot up without vision.
• The cost of spawning Emergency Turrets will increase throughout the game. Use the Sapper to build more Shotgun and Machine Gun Turrets with a fixed Quanta cost.

Tips against Shotgun Turret:

• The shotgun can simply be outranged by a medium-range enemy like the Nemesis. Utilizing the Hold Ground unit command may charge your units from charging within range of the Shotgun Turret.
• The shotgun excels against cruisers, with its 1 second reload it can struggle against swarms of frigates.

 

Machine Gun Turret

Overview: Versatile damage and medium-range. Can target both ground and air targets.

Upgrades from: Emergency Turret (Orbital Ability)

Tips for Machine Gun Turret:

• Use when the short-range of the Shotgun tower will be limiting or when additional anti-air firepower is needed.

Tips Against Machine Gun Turret:

• The Machine Gun Turret has no particular weaknesses, sieging it with an Artillery cruiser may be necessary unless you have an overwhelming force.

 

Kinetic Accelerator

Overview: Provides a 20% damage boost to all nearby weapons. 

Upgrades from: Sensor Post

Tips for Kinetic Accelerator:

• Don't invest in one too early. 20% bonus is not significant for only a handful of Smarties.
• Selecting the Kinetic Accelerator tower shows you its buff range (1000). Use this as a reference.
• The Kinetic Accelerator is extremely fragile, place it behind other defenses so it is protected.
• If you can, leapfrog Battery towers forwards and try to fight near them. You may have to lure enemies into engage you in the buff range.
• Its selection range of 1000 indicates its buff range, but the Kinetic Accelerator still provides 3000 radar range. You don't need to rebuild a Sensor Array.

Tips against Kinetic Accelerator:

• The Kinetic Accelerator is extremely fragile at 300 health. Take it out with a Sentries, Saboteur, Incursion Drone Swarm, Plasma Storm before an engagement.
• If Orbital jamming is present, suicide a bomber or two to destroy it before an engagement.

 

Nova Tower 

Video Showcase: 
Overview: Indirect bombardment weapon that delivers heavy shield damage in a wide area-of-effect at.

Upgrades from: Artillery Post

Tips for Nova Tower:

• Deals no physical damage so it is useless against PHC. Though, it will only ever fire at shielded enemies
• Best used to support Artillery Posts or prior to assaulting an enemy position. 
• Use Sensor Posts (Or Kinetic Accelerator) to reveal targets.

Tips against Nova Tower:

• The shield damage can be counteracted by mixing in Caregivers and Regenerators.
• The Nova Tower, like the Artillery Post, is extremely weak. They can be quickly destroyed by bombers.

 

Stasis Hammer

Video showcase:
Overview: Deals no damage but stuns an enemy in place for a few seconds.

Upgrades from: Sentinel Cannon

Tips for Stasis Hammer:

• The Stasis Hammer can stun cruisers but it's likely only a worthwhile investment against Dreadnoughts and Juggernauts.
• Multiple Stasis Hammer stuns stack, don't be afraid to invest in a few.

Tips against Stasis Hammer:

• The Stasis Hammer is moderately fragile at only 2000 health. Consider focusing it down first, bombers or otherwise.
• Artillery units will be able to siege the Stasis hammer with no risk, unless there are nearby Artillery Posts.
• Unless it is well-supported, Stasis hammers can be overwhelmed with light units.

 

Minos Cannon

Video showcase:
Overview: Tier 3 anti-dreadnought and anti-juggernaut defense. Fires 6 devastating armor-piercing shots in a rapid burst over long-range.

Tips for Minos Cannon:

• The Minos Cannon's long reload and slow turret rotation leave the Minos Cannon vulnerable to swarms of light units. Make sure to other types of base defenses to complement that weakness. In particular, Drone Bays devastate frigates and the Hatchlings from the Clutch Of Eggs.
• Mix with a Battery Tower and Stasis Hammer for additional effect
• The Minos Cannon has more attack range than sight range, mix in a Sensor Array (Or Kinetic Accelerator) to ensure it's firing at max range.

Tips against Minos Cannon:

• A dreadnought charge against a Minos Cannon is suicidal, don't attempt this. Even a Juggernaut charge may fail if well fortified or multiple Minos Cannons are present.
• If your opponent is heavily entrenched, it's possible you can flank their defensive position and attack elsewhere such as their economy or Nexus. Supported Minos Cannons are a massive investment.
• For PHC - Use the Cronus artillery dreadnought to outrange the Minos Cannon from a distance safely.
• For Substrate - Mass Clutch Of Eggs or other frigates can easily overwhelm a Minos Cannon, even mass cruisers can do the job. 
• Substrate - Use Mix in Falling Stars to disable the Minos and other supporting defenses.
• Substrate - Tormentor artillery frigates have more range than Destructors and will be able to safely outrange the Minos Cannon, though they will take some time to chip away at it.

v3.96 Improves Planet Visuals, Gameplay, and Several Bug Fixes

• The planetary map generation system now prefers placing tiles near the equator.  The result is fewer, isolated tiles near the poles. Change does not affect the total number of tiles placed.  
• Improvements to the planetary material system that allows for greater detail and color. 
• Continent shorelines blend better with the water.
• City lights on the dark side of some planets (e.g. earth) get will get to max bright brightness when the population is 15 (was 30).
• Jupiter has been told to "stay in its lane" and use its own gradient colors instead of Mars'

Gameplay

• Players start with a shipyard. This has been added back because there is now sufficiently tight starting choices that we feel that holding back the shipyard simply creates an unnecessary repetitive starting condition
• Retribution: New starting improvement: Industrial Center (one per player). Good way to boost initial manufacturing
• Intrigue: Increased the number of colonies the higher level govs support. The highest level govs now support infinite colonies.
• Fixed a bug where the AI would sometimes delete a rally point if it found an object in it (as in, its own fleet!).
• AI combat ships are more willing to travel through dangerous territory to defend threatened planets.
• AI will ignore reinforcing planets that are already defended and not under threat.
• AI will focus on its primary enemy more so when targeting ships to attack.

Bugs

• Fixed a trade exploit with Hypergates.  
• Fixed a problem with colonization events that aren't imagined yet.
• Updated the Planet window so the Build Queue buttons don't break out of their frame in Normal UI scale

Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation New Hunter / Prey Expansion
and v2.9 Update Announced
Enjoy new strategic depth with new units, base defenses, and a scenario

Today, Stardock announced the new Hunter / Prey Expansion for its massive-scale RTS game, Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation. New Substrate units and PHC base defenses add depth to players’ strategic options in skirmish, multiplayer, campaign, and scenarios.

“This expansion further differentiates the two factions,” said Callum McCole, lead designer for Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation. “The PHC are now much better at locking down territory, while the Substrate’s new units provide versatile tools for assaulting enemy strongholds.” 

In Hunter / Prey, Substrate players can take advantage of the devastating capabilities of the new Heart of the Phoenix juggernaut, unleash swarms of mechanical Hatchlings using the Clutch of Eggs, and disable enemy defenses with the Falling Star. PHC players can defend their territory with the powerful and heavy-hitting Minos Cannon, wipe out enemy shields using the Nova Tower, or freeze units dead in their tracks using the Stasis Hammer. There are more units and structures to try out and explore, which means greater battles and deeper strategy.

To introduce players to the new units and defenses, a brand new scenario focusing on the Substrate’s expansion onto a PHC-occupied world is included. Multiple paths lead to the main enemy base, each with different defenses, so players will have to deploy their armies carefully. Each Nexus they destroy unlocks more of the new units, further building up their reinforcements.

The v2.9 update to the base game will release concurrently with the expansion. It includes a highly requested “Hold Ground” unit command, audio and visual improvements, a significant balance overhaul, and more. 

Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation  - Hunter / Prey expansion and the v2.9 update are coming soon. Visit Steam to wishlist the expansion today. For more information, visit www.ashesgame.com.  

Fallen Enchantress: Legendary Heroes is getting an update.

Changes include:

• Unit movement engine optimizations
• AI update to be more greedy about getting goodie huts
• Early game technology costs reduced
• Default unit movement increased from 2 to 3 tiles.
• Sovereign default combat speed increased from 22 to 32
• Sovereign default HP increased from 20 to 28.
• Several bug fixes to late game instability

Release date: Now!

Screenshots (at 5K)

The first impression of gameplay in a 4X strategy game tends to be what the opening choices are.  And this is something we have tried our best to optimize in GalCiv III.

In version 3.96, we are giving players the shipyard again by default (which we used to have back in 1.0).   The presence of the starting shipyard has everything to do with having meaningful starting decisions.

For example, here is v3.96 without the shipyard as an option now:

We added a new build-once project called Industrial Center (retribution) that is the equivalent of the Computer Core except for manufacturing.  Combine that with trade resources and (in Retribution) artifacts and you have some interesting options.

Then you go over to the shipyard and you have a 4 obvious choices:

Note that we no longer have any weapons at the start of the game (retribution). Your ships are unarmed.  So this allows us to clean up the first impression a little bit so that weaponizing ships makes an obvious difference to your shipyard choices.

Also, having the shipyard combined with the recent increase in starting funds means players can move out a bit faster than they could before.   This gives a little more room, especially for new players, to not get economically over their heads.

These changes, along with the visual update to the planets (you can see the visual update in the first screenshot) will be in v3.96.

Higher Stakes

 

A new expansion is announced for Offworld Trading Company, Stardock goes to a streamer meetup, and highlights from content creators are all part of this edition of the community newsletter.

 

The Horizon

 

New Expansion "The Europa Wager" Announced for Soren Johnson's Offworld Trading Company!

 

 

Travel to the smallest of Jupiter's Galilean moons and carve out a name for yourself against your competition! Head to the frozen moon of Europa, where numerous cracks on the moon's surface and multiple methane geysers will make building and sustaining structures a whole new challenge.

 

Made of silicate rock and possessing a water-ice crust, Europa's atmosphere is thin but comprised mostly of oxygen, which makes it the next natural step for space-bound entrepreneurs.

 

Read the full announcement and add to your wishlist on Steam today!

 

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