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Steel Tide

Skirmish, maps and AI

The ten curated maps, the random generator, match options, and the three AI personalities.

Skirmish is a free match against up to three AI opponents on a curated or generated map. Sandbox is the same screen with the options pushed to the extremes.

Options

OptionValues
Opponents0 to 3 AI factions, each with its own difficulty
Starting metal300, 600, 1,200, 2,500
Fog of warOn or off
Unit cap50, 100, 200
MapTen curated maps or a random map in small, medium or large

Curated maps

MapCharacter
GreenfieldOpen ground, the classic first match
Twin BaysTwo coasts, one land bridge
ArchipelagoIslands; navy and transports decide it
Rift ValleyA long valley with flanking ridges
Burnout HighwayFast road lanes reward early map control and rapid flanking
Black MarshMud and marsh punish heavy columns; dry routes and waterways become lifelines
FrostlineA frozen front with three contested passes and long-range firing lanes
Shattered CityA tight street grid built for ambushes, artillery angles and block-by-block fights
Caldera CrownFour-way conflict around an impassable lava ring and a rich central prize
Leviathan StraitIsolated homelands and resource islets force fleet control, transport raids and coastal bombardment

Random maps

The generator produces a fresh map from a seed in three sizes. Every generated map passes the same connectivity check as the curated ones: spawns share a landmass on ground maps, naval maps keep one ocean, and every deposit is reachable. Seeds are shown in the setup screen, so a good map can be replayed.

AI personalities

All three difficulties share one brain: they take a census of what they own, hand engineers a task list (extractors by distance, power headroom, factories, navy when the enemy is overseas, radar, turrets toward the enemy), pick production by weight against the enemy composition they have seen, scout, rally to defend, and launch attack waves that grow over time. Difficulty tunes economy multipliers, wave pacing, tech timing and unit caps.

PersonalityStyle
RelaxedA calm opponent that attacks rarely and skips air and navy
StandardA balanced opponent for most players
VeteranAggressive, expands fast, counters your army

The AI plays by the rules you do: it uses the same orders, pays the same prices, and only reacts to units it has actually spotted, so hiding your composition from its scouts is a real tactic.