Info about Silica:

Official game description:
Silica is a crossover of FPS and RTS, where you take part in epic photorealistic battles either as humans or aliens. Lead as the commander, or join the assault from the ground - the choice is yours!
**Take Part in Epic Combined Arms Warfare**
Immerse yourself in epic battles where humans and aliens fight for ultimate domination.
**Dominate Land and Sky**
Take control of both land and air vehicles to assert power over the sandy dunes of planet Baltarus
**Lead as RTS Commander!**
Take charge as RTS commander over battles of epic scale. Use your tactical prowess to dominate the battlefield, coordinating complex operations from a top-down perspective.
**Experience Realistic Unit Scale**
Witness the impressive scale of units, from small infantry squads to colossal harvesters and massive buildings. Each unit type is meticulously designed to reflect its size, providing an immersive and realistic experience on the battlefield.
**SIEGE MODE**
This exciting game mode is all about intense, close-quarters combat, whether you are playing solo or teaming up with friends. Protect your base against relentless hordes of enemies or attack your opponent as a Soldier or Commander! Load your weapons, suit up and prepare for battle to stay in control of the battlefield.

Release date: May 3, 2023

Categories: First-Person Shooter, Real-time Strategy, Combined Arms Warfare, Multiplayer, Tactical, Base Building, Resource Management


- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price: No data
- Playtime Metrics: No data
- Time-to-fun: No data
- Player Archetypes: No data


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- Impressive Visuals and Design (weight 0.95): The game features stunning visuals, beautiful graphics, and a unique art style that create an immersive atmosphere. The attention to detail in the design of units, environments, and effects enhances the overall gaming experience.
- Fun and Enjoyable Experience (weight 0.93): Players find the game to be fun and enjoyable, with a variety of gameplay modes and activities that cater to different preferences. The game's unique concept and execution make it a memorable and entertaining experience.
- Hybrid RTS/FPS Gameplay (weight 0.9): The game uniquely blends real-time strategy (RTS) and first-person shooter (FPS) elements, offering players the ability to switch between commanding armies and direct combat. This hybrid approach provides a fresh and engaging experience, reminiscent of classic games like Dune and Command & Conquer.
- Developer Responsiveness and Updates (weight 0.83): The developers are actively involved in improving the game, listening to community feedback, and regularly releasing updates. This commitment to ongoing development ensures that the game continues to evolve and improve over time.
- Variety of Units and Factions (weight 0.79): The game offers a diverse range of units, vehicles, and factions, each with unique abilities and roles. This variety encourages different playstyles and strategies, adding depth and replayability to the game.
- Immersive Combat and Battles (weight 0.79): The game features chaotic and intense combat scenarios, with epic battles that require strategic thinking. The immersive battles, combined with the day-night cycle, create thrilling and engaging gameplay experiences.
- Potential for Future Improvements (weight 0.77): The game shows great potential for future improvements and updates, with a solid foundation that can be built upon. Players are optimistic about the game's progress and the possibility of it maturing into something special.
- Unique Gameplay Mechanics (weight 0.77): The game introduces innovative and unique gameplay mechanics, such as the ability to control alien units and the integration of AI. These features add depth and variety to the gameplay, making it stand out from other games in the genre.
- Dune-like Atmosphere (weight 0.05): The game's ambientation and maps are reminiscent of the Dune universe, with a similar atmosphere and aesthetic. This familiarity adds to the game's appeal and immersion for fans of the Dune series.

Common complaints:
- AI and pathfinding issues (weight 0.65): The AI in the game is widely criticized for being unintelligent and having poor pathfinding. Units often get stuck, do not follow commands, and exhibit erratic behavior, making gameplay frustrating.
- Game is unoptimized and buggy (weight 0.63): The game suffers from significant performance issues, including low FPS, poor optimization, and various bugs. Players report that the game runs poorly even on high-end PCs, with performance degrading further during gameplay.
- Lack of content and features (weight 0.55): The game is seen as lacking in content and essential features. Players note the absence of tutorials, quality-of-life features, and basic RTS controls, making the game feel incomplete and unpolished.
- Low player base and server issues (weight 0.43): The game has a low player base, making it difficult to find matches and enjoy the multiplayer experience. Servers are often empty or populated by experienced players, making it hard for new players to get into the game.
- Lack of tutorials and guidance (weight 0.4): The game lacks proper tutorials and guidance, making it difficult for new players to learn the mechanics and controls. This absence of tutorials and in-game information hinders the overall experience.
- Balance and faction issues (weight 0.26): There are significant balance issues between the human and alien factions. Players feel that one faction is often overpowered compared to the other, leading to an unbalanced and unfair gameplay experience.
- Harvester problems (weight 0.14): Harvesters in the game are buggy and often get stuck, requiring manual intervention. Their pathfinding issues and vulnerability make resource gathering tedious and frustrating.
- Vehicle and transport issues (weight 0.13): Vehicles in the game have various issues, including getting stuck, lack of keybinds, and poor handling. Transport vehicles are particularly problematic, with no easy way to command units to enter or exit them.

Gameplay feedback:
- Faction diversity and asymmetry (weight 0.64): The game features multiple factions with distinct units, abilities, and mechanics, providing varied gameplay experiences. However, some factions may lack unique content or have balance issues.
- Multiplayer and co-op focus (weight 0.6): The game emphasizes multiplayer cooperation and team-based gameplay, with various roles such as commander, foot soldiers, and vehicle operators. Players can engage in large-scale battles and strategic planning together.
- Commander role and mechanics (weight 0.59): The commander role oversees base construction, resource management, and unit production, providing a strategic layer to the gameplay. However, some players may find the commander mechanics lacking or underdeveloped.
- Base building and resource management (weight 0.59): Players can construct and expand bases, manage resources, and research new technologies to unlock buildings and units. This aspect of the game adds depth to the strategic gameplay.
- Vehicle and unit mechanics (weight 0.56): The game features various vehicles and units with unique abilities and controls. Players can engage in combat using these units, but some may find the vehicle mechanics slow or problematic.
- Lack of tutorials and quality-of-life features (weight 0.54): The game has been criticized for its lack of tutorials and quality-of-life features, which can make it difficult for new players to learn the controls and mechanics. This may affect the overall enjoyment and accessibility of the game.
- Game modes and variety (weight 0.5): The game provides different modes, including Prospector, Strategy, and Arena, each offering unique gameplay experiences. This variety caters to different player preferences and playstyles.
- Unit control and pathfinding issues (weight 0.34): Players have reported problems with unit control, pathfinding, and AI behavior, which can affect gameplay and strategic planning. These issues may make the game feel clunky or unintuitive at times.
- Performance and balance issues (weight 0.05): Some players have reported performance issues, such as frame rate drops, and balance problems with units and factions. These issues may impact the overall gaming experience.

Performance notes:
- Severe performance issues (weight 0.37): Many players report severe performance issues, including low FPS, lag, and poor optimization across various hardware configurations, from high-end to low-mid tier computers. These issues persist regardless of graphics settings and significantly impact gameplay.
- General optimization needed (weight 0.29): There is a consensus among players that the game needs better optimization. This includes improving performance, reducing lag, and ensuring the game runs smoothly on various hardware configurations.
- Crashing and stability problems (weight 0.07): The game experiences frequent crashes and stability issues, including crashes during gameplay, Steam crashes when quitting the game, and the need to reboot the PC. These problems are widespread and affect the overall gaming experience.
- Graphics and visibility issues (weight 0.04): Players encounter various graphics-related problems, such as distance rendering issues, lighting problems affecting visibility, and a constant shimmer effect. These issues make it difficult to see and navigate the game world effectively.
- Multiplayer and server issues (weight 0.04): Multiplayer mode suffers from various problems, including server lag, loading screen issues, and random disconnections from lobbies. These issues disrupt the multiplayer experience and need to be addressed.
- High resource consumption (weight 0.02): The game consumes a high amount of system resources, including VRAM and DRAM, which can lead to performance issues and require powerful hardware to run smoothly.

Recommendations:
- Mixed recommendations due to performance issues (weight 0.22): Players have mixed feelings about the game, with many recommending it for its unique blend of RTS and FPS gameplay but also cautioning about performance issues and the need for significant improvements. Some suggest waiting for major updates or full release before purchasing.
- Recommended for RTS and FPS fans (weight 0.08): The game is highly recommended for fans of RTS and FPS genres, as well as those who enjoy hybrid gameplay. Players appreciate the innovative concept and find it enjoyable despite some issues.
- Suggestions for game improvements (weight 0.08): Players have various suggestions for improving the game, including adding landscape details, reducing map sizes, improving performance, and adding a map editor. These suggestions aim to enhance the overall gameplay experience.
- Better with friends and potential (weight 0.08): The game is considered more enjoyable when played with friends and has potential for future improvements. Players look forward to updates and believe the game is worth giving a chance.
- Avoid or save your money (weight 0.03): A segment of players advise avoiding the game or saving your money due to its current state. They feel that the game is not worth the investment until significant improvements are made.
- Support the developers (weight 0.03): Some players recommend buying the game to support the developers, despite its current issues. They believe in the potential of the game and want to see it succeed with continued improvements.
- Play with friends and join communities (weight 0.02): Players suggest playing the game with friends or joining active communities like Discord to enhance the experience. They believe that playing with others can make the game more enjoyable despite its issues.

Other player notes:
- Game in Early Access (weight 0.06): The game is currently in early access, which means it is still a work in progress. Developed primarily by a single developer named Martin, progress might be slow but more features are being added with updates.
- Developer needs support (weight 0.01): The developer, who is part of Bohemia Interactive's Incubator Program, needs more support to continue improving and adding features to the game.
- Color blind features needed (weight 0.01): The game lacks features that cater to color-blind players, which is an important accessibility consideration.
- HUD transparency issues (weight 0.01): There are issues with the transparency of the Heads-Up Display (HUD), which can affect the visibility and overall gaming experience.
- Bugs are getting patched (weight 0.01): The development team is actively working on patching bugs, indicating ongoing improvements and updates to the game.
- Harvester uses wheels (weight 0.01): The harvester in the game uses wheels instead of tracks, which might be less realistic or functional for some players.

Emotions:
- Frustration (weight 0.27): Players are frustrated primarily due to the game's poor performance, optimization issues, and frequent crashes. Additionally, AI pathfinding problems, unit control issues, and imbalanced gameplay mechanics contribute significantly to this frustration.
- Disappointment (weight 0.15): Disappointment stems from the game's current state, which includes lack of content, poor optimization, and unbalanced mechanics. Players also express dissatisfaction with the lack of players, limited game modes, and the game's overall unfinished feel.
- Excitement (weight 0.12): Excitement is generated by the game's unique hybrid gameplay mechanics, combining RTS and FPS elements, and the potential for future developments. Players are also thrilled by the variety of gameplay options and the immersive combat scenarios.
- Hopeful (weight 0.12): Players feel hopeful due to the game's potential and the developers' responsiveness to feedback and continuous improvements. They anticipate future updates and believe the game can become a great experience with further development.
- Frustrated (weight 0.06): Frustration is caused by poor AI behavior, unit control issues, and performance problems that make the game unplayable. Players are also frustrated with the lack of basic functionality and optimization issues.
- Hope (weight 0.05): Hope is driven by the belief in the game's potential and the possibility of future improvements. Players are hopeful that the developers will continue to work on the game and address its current issues.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.04): Enjoyment comes from the overall gameplay experience, including fun maps, graphics, and the variety of characters. Players also enjoy the unique blend of RTS and FPS gameplay, especially when playing with friends.
- Satisfaction (weight 0.03): Satisfaction is derived from recent updates that fixed performance issues and improved gameplay mechanics. Players are also satisfied with the game's atmosphere, value for its price, and the combination of FPS and RTS components.
- Joy (weight 0.03): Joy is experienced through the fun and enjoyable gameplay, beautiful graphics, and the unique blend of RTS and FPS elements. Players also find joy in playing with friends and the overall gaming experience.
- Disappointed (weight 0.02): Disappointment arises from the game's current state, including AI and pathing issues, lack of solo play options, and performance problems. Players are also disappointed with the developer's lost interest and the game's unfinished feel.
- Love (weight 0.01): Love for the game is driven by its unique blend of genres and the nostalgic feelings it evokes, reminiscent of classic games like Battlezone 2. Players also appreciate the game design and improvements.
- Excited (weight 0.01): Excitement is generated by the game's unique features and the potential to experience both commander and soldier roles simultaneously. Players are also excited about the game's potential and future updates.
- Anger (weight 0.01): Anger is caused by the game's poor AI and pathfinding issues, as well as the overall quality of the game. Players are also angry about team switching allowing for anonymous team killing and the game's functionality worsening over time.
- Anticipation (weight 0.01): Anticipation is driven by the potential for future improvements and updates. Players are eagerly awaiting new developments and enhancements to the game.
- Concern (weight 0.01): Concern arises from uncertainty about the game's future and the urgent need for balance adjustments. Players are worried about the game's longevity and the need for a larger player base.
- Admiration (weight 0.01): Admiration is driven by the game's unique world and lore, as well as positive comments on graphics and unit design. Players appreciate the game's artistic direction and design.
- Optimistic (weight 0.01): Optimism is fueled by the game's great potential and the progress made through updates. Players believe the game can become even better with continued development.
- Nostalgia (weight 0.01): Nostalgia is evoked by the game's resemblance to favorite childhood games and flashbacks to classic titles like Dune. Players appreciate the nostalgic feelings the game brings.}