Bohemia has a new 'RTS/FPS crossover' coming, and it's giving me Battlezone vibes
Bohemia has a new RTS coming, but it's not just an RTS. Silica is a new «RTS/FPS crossover game» springing onto Steam early access from the Bohemia Incubator(opens in new tab), the section of the company dedicated to indie titles and «experimental games».
Silica takes place on Baltarus, a planet far beyond walking distance from Earth, and sees you play «either as a Commander in RTS mode, or as an Infantry soldier who gets to control all units and vehicles along with their arsenal in FPS [mode]». It was «mostly developed» by Martin Melichárek, the lead dev on Bohemia's Take On Mars(opens in new tab).
The game is split between its «infantry» and «commander» roles, which sounds like a different way of saying 'FPS' and 'RTS' to me. Perhaps there's a better comparison, but it reminds me of the Battlezone games(opens in new tab), which saw you do all kinds of RTS-style building placement and squad management from the confines of a cockpit, although it sounds like Silica will more firmly separate the two playstyles.
In infantry mode, you play as some poor starship trooper as he battles the alien menace right there on the ground, though you can at least pilot your faction's various vehicles to make your life a little easier. Playing as the aliens in this mode is a little different, letting you «shift your consciousness between creatures such as the stealthy Crab, the nimble Hunter, or the armored Goliath».
The commander role, meanwhile, turns the whole thing into a more straightforward RTS: Your job is to issue orders while building and placing structures that spit out more hapless troops to send into the meat grinder.
Honestly? It sounds like humanity might be the jerks in this situation. The two human factions are on Baltarus
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