When comparing Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation vs Trackmania Turbo, the Slant community recommends Trackmania Turbo for most people. In the question“What are the best online multiplayer games on PC?” Trackmania Turbo is ranked 39th while Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation is ranked 50th. The most important reason people chose Trackmania Turbo is:
While not necessary for the game and a bit limited, there are some painting customization for the available cars, which allow for a more individualistic look, though this only goes so far as most cars do look the same no matter the color.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Better framerate when ran in DX12
This game is DX12 compatible which allows for a higher frame rate over DX11. DX12 is only able to be taken advantage of on Windows 10, so that is something to consider, but for those that can take advantage, there is a slight gain to be had.
Pro Pleasing graphics
The graphics stand out as polished and make for a really nice looking RTS. This is top of its class in graphics for an RTS in 2016.
Pro Cool mechanic for controlling troops
There is a tool in the game that allows one to "lasso" their units together into an army. By making an army the player can then control that army as they would one troop unit, meaning that all micromanagement for a large group of troops is unnecessary as the game will deal with it in a more intuitive an easy manner. This can be done with as little or as many troops as the player want, which overall makes for an easy way to control the game when in the heat of battle.
Pro Good mix of gameplay modes for any skill level
The game features a single player story mode, a story mode called Ascendancy that will walk the player though how to play the game and multiplayer modes that are ranked as well as custom multiplayer modes. Through the assortment of modes the game allows for any type of player to find gameplay that they may like, whether they are a seasoned RTS player or a newcomer to the genre. Whether playing locally in single player or online with friends or random people, there should be plenty on offer for any skill level.
Pro Focuses on positioning over micromanagement
The maps in this game are large, sometimes taking up as many as 20-30 zones in a single map. What this means is that the player will need to focus a lot more on position of their units over actually micromanaging every aspect of each unit (due to the vast size of maps and the amount of units on them). This allows for gameplay that has a broader scope in strategy, as it forces the player to plan out what is best to protect and the best position to hold of enemy attacks all while still trying to grow their army in order to overpower their enemy.
Pro Easily allows the player to utilize specific info on their enemies
At all times the player can vies on a mini map how much their enemy has expanded and into what areas. There is also a thing called player power rating, which allows the player to know on a point scale what their enemies military and economic power level is. Which means you can get a sense of what fields your enemy is expanding into. Combining these tools allows for a quick way to know where the enemy is expanding and into what fields of tech they are concentrating on. This way the player can adjust their strategy accordingly, making for an even deeper level of strategy overall.
Pro Cars can be easily customized to your liking
While not necessary for the game and a bit limited, there are some painting customization for the available cars, which allow for a more individualistic look, though this only goes so far as most cars do look the same no matter the color.
Pro Robust track creator extends the gameplay
The track creator in the game allows for creation of just about anything one can imagine. What is even better is that players can share these tracks online, which means unlimited replayability due to always having a plethora of new tracks to race on.
Pro Crisp and clean visuals make for a very arcade-like feel
The graphics have a very arcade-like feel to them that stands out as something that has been designed with this in mind. The colors are bright and the tracks each have their own look, thanks to the locales they are placed in. The whole of the game will run easily at 60fps no matter the platform, which helps to keep the arcade-like feel while also looking sharp, thanks to no dips in the framerate. Overall this is a slick looking racer that performs solidly.
Pro Local and online multiplayer allows the game to be accessible no matter the preferred way to play
There is split screen local multiplayer as well as online multiplayer. Both of these allow players to play with their friends whether they are in the same room or online somewhere else. This makes for convenience, which is always nice to see.
Pro Over the top track design keeps the gameplay exciting
Cars dropped from a helicopter to begin a race, tracks with numerous loops, jumps, twist and turns, this all lends itself towards how over the top the gameplay is. It is not based in reality at all, but the game offers a bunch of arcade-crazy action that is just superbly fun.
Pro Simple in nature but focused in design
The looks, as well as the gameplay, may be seen as a bit simple, but this all plays into the core of the game. Trackmania is designed to do one thing, and one thing well, race time trials. So while it does not feature over-complex customizations or graphical effects, its track design and overly fun gameplay are what makes the whole thing stand out. This all means that the game is easy to grasp so that anyone can understand how to play. Of course this does not mean the game is easy, the difficulty is quite challenging, which just adds to the charm and overall appeal.
Cons
Con Physics are unrealistic
Many of the units will pass right through each other, making for units that behave in an unrealistic way and can pull the player out of the immersion of the title. The units also all hover over the ground, which means they have no real weight to their actions, when combined with the unrealistic way they move makes for something that just does not looked polished.
Con Demanding system requirements
The game requires a high end GPU as well as at-least a 4 core processor. This means the game is quite demanding and needs to take advantage of multi-cores in order to play smoothly at high graphical settings. So for those with a mid-range system, the game may play at lower frame-rates, which can be frustrating.
Con Lacking in options for factions and units
There are only two factions available in the game to play with, so makes for limited choice. On top of this each faction has only so many different units, which also shows a lack of choice. Combined, once the game has been experienced and both factions played with there will be little in surprise as to what the game has to offer.
Con Basic looking cars are boring
There is not much to differentiate between cars, while not really the focus of the game, having a few more unique looking cars could not hurt.
Con Music is a bit "samey", which can get old
The music in the game is basically techno with thumping beats. The majority sounds pretty similar and it may become grating for those that spend a ton of time in the game. While not overly bad, it definitely gets old after a while.
Con No personal servers for PC
This means that online games will be dependent on the developers servers. There will be no way for users to create their own servers that can house their own rules or tracks. Earlier releases allowed for this and it does seem that the console release has held the game back in this regard as dedicated servers are how the consoles work as well.
Con Can be excruciatingly difficult
This is a time trial game and it shows, players will need to reset after reset each course in order to learn the track to get the best times. One mistake and that record is gone. Only pure perfection succeeds here. Some may enjoy this type of challenge, other though will most likely get frustrated.