Welcome to Thunderdome

This is a really fun mix of StarCraft and They Are Billions that is out on early access. It seems to take the best of both games. It has a strong base building and production system which I really enjoy to go with the endless bug slaying.

In the default play style, maps have a massive amount of alien bugs, in a bunch of varieties, a medium map start has about 9,000 hostiles to start. A few big specials and types thrown in.

It's similar to Supreme Commander in scale, but you cannot zoom out as far as you could in that game.

I've run a few maps and gotten one (1) win. You can hit triggers of "all enemies on the map attack at once" if you explore poorly or don't look for mission objectives, which if you fail in the early game means a huge wave of bugs that wipes your compound in seconds.

To win a medium map, you need to be able to survive multiple early waves, fortify and claim resources, and finally defend against a final wave, which was about 3,000 critters on recent a medium map. To do so you build your base with tons of towers, units, and advanced technology you research.

The game runs SO smooth for the amount of enemies and explosions on screen. There is some roughness I noted, it is in early access, some miss translations mostly, i think some units are unbalanced too, but for having literally thousands of alien bugs on screen it runs and feels super smooth.

You know that scene in the Matrix 3 where there is a cloud of hostile robot bugs so big it looks like a living entity? The machine guns chewing them up but they keep advancing on the dock and everything the mass of bugs touches just melts? It's like that, but you have to protect 3-4 corners of your base at times the same way. It's really fun.


There are better pictures with tons of enemies and explosions, but those are hard to capture quickly. Here's my base in my current game, with plenty of room to built in behind the front lines which have light guards for now. I've found success fortifying everything a little and then building up at chokepoints once I have the real estate cleared and resources ID'd.

Cool, I'll check it out.

Did you like They are Billions?

Leisher wrote: ↑Wed Feb 09, 2022 12:48 pm Did you like They are Billions?

Not really - but I liked the scale and the engine. The zombie setting for RTS is not my favorite. I played a few levels but didn't finish.

Something about the starship trooper / hostile alien vibe fits the RTS/Tower Defense/Production game type really well. I actually bought this one accidently when trying to buy the game "The Riftbreaker." Both are neat but for now this one is getting my playtime.

There is a medieval/barbarian version recently out called Diplomacy Is Not An Option, which also looks good.

This game does look pretty sweet, the huge swarms of enemies looks killer. Doesn't look like it has any multiplayer to it though, at least not yet since its still early access.

And as much as i'd like to play RTS games, i just suck at them. i get so overwhelmed when the base starts to grow and you have troops all over the map to micromanage.

Stranger wrote: ↑Thu Feb 10, 2022 8:01 am This game does look pretty sweet, the huge swarms of enemies looks killer. Doesn't look like it has any multiplayer to it though, at least not yet since its still early access.

And as much as i'd like to play RTS games, i just suck at them. i get so overwhelmed when the base starts to grow and you have troops all over the map to micromanage.

That can be fun too though. I sucked at Supreme Commander compared to Cake and Troy. I just wasn't good at micromanaging the resources and builds. However, it's still fun to get into large multi battles with them. They tend to either wipe you out quick or ignore you and then you can be a pain in the butt and decide the winner despite it not being you. It really helps you develop unorthodox tactics and strategies.

Leisher wrote: ↑Thu Feb 10, 2022 6:01 pm That can be fun too though. I sucked at Supreme Commander compared to Cake and Troy. I just wasn't good at micromanaging the resources and builds. However, it's still fun to get into large multi battles with them. They tend to either wipe you out quick or ignore you and then you can be a pain in the butt and decide the winner despite it not being you. It really helps you develop unorthodox tactics and strategies.

I feel real good for about 15 mins or so, then in most games the units coming and going everywhere just make my mind explode. Usually the turtle strategy is the easiest, but that never wins you anything. At least in a few RTS games ive played.

Turtling can win in Supreme Commander and Total Annihilation. There's a "wild card" element because your commander is on the field. If he goes down you basically knock that person out of the game and do mega damage to their base. (If I'm remembering correctly.)

I agree with you about getting a bit overwhelmed by all the micromanaging, but there are ways to keep things simple and still do well. At least well enough to have fun.