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 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.







Stardock Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation is available through or on Steam and is 50% off from 2/23 - 3/2!









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.

- 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).

- 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.

- 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.

- New Medium Arctic map available for skirmish, multiplayer and ranked games. Rus - New Small Desert map available for skirmish, multiplayer and ranked games.

- 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