The aim, apparently, is to create the most customizable RTS of all time. While you will build and command units as in any other RTS, each unit will have several different uses on the battlefield. In addition, your walkers and vehicles will have numerous "hard points" to slot enhancements into, while your production facilities will be upgradable in many different directions during battle. You’ll also be able to steer your research tree between offensive, defensive and experimental technologies.

Earth Assault will also let you customize on-the-fly, using something called "tactical dynamics" - so while your goliath units are knocking bells out of each other, you can happily rework tech trees, retrain your units and swap weapons as you please.

“We wanted to create very different experiences as you play each faction. Every side doesn’t need a "heavy tank," every faction doesn’t have to have the same resource worries, and every unit doesn’t need to function like something on another faction,” explains Isgreen. “Is this risky? Sure! We’re hoping that players will take the leap and embrace a game where you think and respond differently.”

The rabbit hole runs much deeper than this though. You’ll also have to deal with the Risk-style complications of fighting on a persistent representation of Earth - choosing whether or not to bring in reinforcements and heroes from other territories. That’s right, the game’s got hero characters as well, each with three or so different battle modes. Beyond this, you’ll have to juggle resource gathering, battles that are affected by what time of day or night it is, panicking locals getting in the way of battles, collapsing structures like skyscrapers, forests that burn and even radiation sickness.