The most devious and acclaimed artificial intelligence in strategy gaming is better than ever. A grand strategy/RTS hybrid that reverses many conventions of both genres. Take territory without attracting attention, build your empire with care, and adapt to an ever-evolving galactic battleground.
New AI War 2 build: https://wiki.arcengames.com/index.php?title=AI_War_2:Post_Completion_Part_II#5.608_Scourge_Infused_Empire
This one has a bugfix to the experimental stacking algorithm, and then a host of mod updates from Badger.
The sidekicks mod has gotten a number of balance updates and minor new features, and then one large new feature -- the "Scourge Infused Empire." This is a regular human empire like you are used to, but comes with a vassal Scourge faction under it. This vassal faction is less independent in some ways than the regular Scourge as allies, and the vassal version allows for you to do construction and technology choices for them directly.
Enjoy!
In other news, the heart of the machine demo is still available, and playtesting applications are also still open. There's a large UI overhaul going on right now, which isn't available in the demo yet, but will be in a few weeks. https://store.steampowered.com/app/2001070/Heart_of_the_Machine/
If you want to try those things sooner than later, and also see past where the demo currently ends and help provide feedback and bug reports prior to the game launching later this year, then do be sure to sign up for the playtest! We have over 200 folks participating at the moment, but are always wanting more. Just fill out this form: https://forms.gle/sYj9hH3Bh2TJ2Hbx5 And then make sure you're a member of our discord: https://discord.gg/arcengames Some folks did the form without joining the discord, and they don't wind up getting a key.