In fact, there's an emphasis on battling for information. Certain devices will obscure your units, and others will reveal locations on the map. You can also spoof troops, making a massive, tactically crucial unit look like just another little guy to the enemy. Or you can do the opposite, making a ragged band of grunts look like an intimidating wave of force; great for misdirection. Since Taylor loves huge robots -- who doesn't -- there's also some massive scaling going on. There are units in the game equal in size to an entire base in a typical RTS. Some are Independence Day-sized saucers with vertical energy blasts that will flatten anything nearby. Others are just huge robots.

Combat is also completely physically simulated, with each projectile computed in a 3D space. Don't ask me how they manage to do that without the computer imploding, but the demo ran smooth as butter, admittedly on a high-end rig. Vehicles have physics models, with your battleships rocking in the water from the massive recoil of their cannons and anti-aircraft flak guns. The entire screen shakes with each booming concussion. Everything looks like it's reflected in the water. Meanwhile, submarines are meandering beneath the surface and firing nukes with blast rings modeled in real-time. Extreme long range artillery camps in the back, shelling troops with punishing blows. The sheer annihilating force of weaponry is pretty impressive, and it's not based on hidden dice. Instead, your units' success is determined by more straightforward things like accuracy, speed, and endurance.

Meanwhile, transport vessels are circling like hawks above the madness, with units hooked in, ready to drop from the sky. They can attack, and be attacked, while still in the air, so all three planes in the game -- water, land and sky -- are buzzing with activity. The transports themselves also have weapons, adding another layer to the fireworks. The "Atlantis" submarine also carries aerial units for surprise deployment, but the vessel is kept on a tight fuel consumption leash avoid being overpowered. You may also like the mobile tank factory, which is submersible and has battleship guns. And they're thinking of adding torpedoes. Just watch out for that collateral damage.

A futuristic RTS environment allows for other adjustments to the typical template. You can capture and convert enemy units. You can also capture the factories that make those units, although this will be a much more difficult endeavor. You can deploy and upgrade a Sub-Commander who will keep in his huge robot brain an image of your base, so it can be rebuilt from scratch if needed, automatically. When you initiate building construction, you don't have to have all the resources required -- it will build partially, then add more as funds permit.


Each of the three factions is also distinct in art style and tactics. The Aeon are the most advanced-looking, with an emphasis on hovering over walking. Their vehicles look relatively non-threatening, until you approach them and weaponry unfolds from hidden chambers. Each faction is human, but the Aeon adopted alien technology and beliefs. The United Earth Federation, however, is the most familiar group, with tread- and wheeled-based vehicles; they're the least technological-looking. The Cybrans occupy a middle ground, using cybernetic enhancements to gain the tactical edge in their ideological war against the UEF.

Although it was great to talk to the team and see the game in action, we weren't able to get a hands-on this time, so stay tuned in the coming months for the next update. Until then, enjoy the new media in the image gallery.