Frontworks — build, automate, conquer

Build a war factory on a hostile alien world.

Extract raw ore and refine it into complex components. Automate logistics, manufacturing and army recruitment. Defend against huge waves of native robots and alien wildlife, then send your army to raze enemy bases for planetary domination.

Trailer

in-engine · pre-alpha

About the game

Frontworks is an automation-RTS hybrid game about building a war factory and commanding vast armies. Extract raw materials, set up logistics, automate manufacturing and troop recruitment, then send your forces to seize and control ore deposits in a never-ending cycle of expansion.

As an expedition sent by a hive-mind civilization, you are tasked with turning an unexplored planet into a war mega-factory. After landing, you quickly discover this world is far from uninhabited: crawling alien wildlife mindlessly sabotages your construction efforts, and the planet's vast resources are already claimed by a militaristic robot faction. The hive expects results — you must bring this planet into the fold, or be destroyed and forgotten.

At a glance

Genre Automation RTS
Engine Unity DOTS
Platform PC — Windows, Linux
Status In development
Demo Not yet — join the list

01

Build

Send your workers to build mining drills, furnaces and assembly buildings, then connect them with complex logistical belts and inserters. The factory must grow — and with it, its defenses and military capabilities.

02

Automate

Every bullet, warrior and turret starts as raw ore — and at this war's scale, handcrafting is not an option. Automating logistics, manufacturing, troop recruitment and technology research isn't optional; it's necessary to survive this hostile land.

03

Defend

Huge waves of alien wildlife, thousands strong, periodically attack your factory. Native robots rarely leave their territory — but sting them enough, and they counterattack with great force. Your army can't be everywhere at once, so make use of a plethora of turrets, defensive walls and advanced emplacements to protect what is yours.

04

Research

Technology research is a production line like any other. Your technological database was encrypted, and much of it was lost during the landing. Recover the missing data from encrypted packs scattered across the map, then unlock it in mega-computers fueled by manufactured decryption packs.

05

Conquer

As the factory and the army grow, the ore deposits near your landing site prove insufficient. Enemy bases are scattered across the environment, and beneath them vast resources await: destroy what is above, expand your dominion, then use the newly acquired territory to raise more troops.

Screenshots

in-engine · pre-alpha
A swarm attack breaking on the wall
A swarm attack breaking on the wall
Two rockets launching out of a mature factory
Two rockets launching out of a mature factory
Mid Game Factory
Mid Game Factory
A turret line firing into a swarm of alien wildlife
A turret line firing into a swarm of alien wildlife
Commanding an army in the field
Commanding an army in the field
The landing pod, seconds after touchdown. Everything starts here.
The landing pod, seconds after touchdown. Everything starts here.
Game start, first smelters, drills and belts
Game start, first smelters, drills and belts
Building new drills on iron ore
Building new drills on iron ore
An assembler UI panel
An assembler UI panel

System requirements

Targets for the current build. They will move while the game is in development.

Minimum

Processor Intel Core i3-4130 / AMD FX-6300 (SSE4.2 required)
Memory 4 GB RAM
Graphics GeForce GT 1030 / Radeon R7 250 / Intel HD Graphics 4600
DirectX Version 11
Storage 2 GB available space

Recommended

Processor Intel Core i5-9400 / AMD Ryzen 5 2600
Memory 12 GB RAM
Graphics GeForce GTX 1060 / Radeon RX 580
DirectX Version 11
Storage 4 GB available space

Latest devlog

Notes on building the game — the systems, the rewrites, and the things that turned out harder than expected.

All devlogs →

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