What do you get when Factorio and a real-time strategy game in the Annihilation series have a child? Industrial Annihilation! But it will probably overwhelm you, on purpose.
Imagine: You really have to think about how the resources you collect will eventually become units in a real-time strategy title. You”ll have to plan the factories, lay conveyor belts, and eventually produce hundreds of units, only to have them crushed, burned, or broken into pieces by giant Titans.
Welcome to Industrial Annihilation, the sequel to (Planetary Annihilation), whose (crowdfunding campaign recently launched).
Table of Contents
What is Industrial Annihilation?
Ancestry: Industrial Annihilation”s thought ancestry includes notable titles: Supreme Commander, Total Annihilation and most recently Planetary Annihilation. So at its core it will be a real-time strategy game with gigantic scales, meaning hundreds of units fighting each other on huge maps.
Meanwhile, you can experience the action either from ground level to high above completely detached from any individuality of your troops, when they are just points in a strategic view.
But then Factorio came along and they had a baby
For all the titles mentioned up to this point, the economic and logistical system, while clearly different from the Command &-Conquer series or even an Age of Empires, is ultimately identical in principle: foot soldiers, tanks, mechs, planes, or whatever military units and buildings are created from what tends to be an invisible pile of one or a few resources.
Industrial is written here on purpose! Because upstream of any combat action in Industrial Annihiliation you have to build a complex base logistics of factories and conveyors to end up commanding forces of massive proportions – whether in mass and/or in proportions.
The bonds of Factorio are clear: it comes down to raw material extraction, warehousing, logistics, and finally efficient production to be able to manufacture enough units at all.
The RTS as the second game in the game: And then you have to send them into battle and effectively lead them in the second main part of the title, the classic RTS.
Wait, that sounds like overkill!
Yes, overwhelming will probably also be for many to keep both sides of the title in mind at all times. That”s why the developers, (as they promise Pcgamer), also want to rely heavily on artificial intelligence. You can hand over parts of the combat or base building to them, so that you can concentrate on the remaining parts
This should go so far that you can leave either the base or the battles completely to the AI, if you just want to play Annihilation
or Industrial
. How exactly this will work and what restrictions there are here is currently unknown.
Most exciting aspect? But it”s hardly too much to assume that this distribution of tasks to the AI will probably be one of the most interesting questions about Industrial Annhiliation in two already very complex, as well as detail-obsessed gameplay aspects.
Singleplayer, engine, factions and more
Should there be a single player campaign? Yes, the final game should include one. And from the way it reads, it also sounds like it will have more real action than the Galactic War mode from Planetary Annihilation.
Which engine is being used? Industrial Annihilation is being developed in Unreal Engine 5.
How long has been under development? Looking back in October 2023, according to the developer, more than two years have already been spent on the project.
How many factions will there be? Two: Chaos and Machina. As usual in the genre, both should bring their own strengths, weaknesses and focus. Except, of course, that in Industrial Annihilation, these can extend to the complex economic-logistical level.
Do weapons of mass destruction occur? Yes, nuclear weapons with an apocalyptic destruction potential are promised. If you want to get an idea of what the developers are alluding to here: (Tsar Bomba).
Who is developing Industrial Annihiliation?
Attention, danger of confusion! The developers namely operate under the title: Galactic Annihilation. And to put it simply, most of the heads are veterans of the genre, first and foremost developers of Supreme Commander and Planetary Annihilation. But the wealth of experience also includes Command & Conquer: Generals and, of course, Total Annihilation.
When will the title be released?
We don”t have a concrete release date yet, but the developers are aiming to start a one-year Early Access phase on Steam between the beginning of April and the end of June 2024. The title is scheduled for final release about a year later. The price for the EA version will be just under 30 euros, for the release version then ten euros more, so around 40 euros.
You can also get more information on (the official homepage) or (the crowdfunding campaign website).
Is this a normal Kickstarter campaign? No, this is primarily – aside from the marketing – really about finding investors – even if millions from individuals are not the goal. The minimum investment is currently just under 500 euros, for example.
And what do you say to this first information about the new Annihilation game? Does it sound like a good idea or are you scratching your heads in doubt at the thought? Which part would you rather hand over to the AI to a greater extent? And do you play this subgenre of real-time strategy at all? Feel free to write us your thoughts in the comments!
