Arcen Games has just launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund development for a sequel to their highly acclaimed space strategy game, AI War: Fleet Command.

Just like the original title, AI War II will be an asymmetric real-time space strategy game with elements of tower defense and grand strategy pitting players against an AI that is both highly intelligent and incredibly deadly.

Continuing with their long history of openness, the hard working people at Arcen Games have released the design document for AI War 2, so potential backers can know exactly what kind of game they are backing. The developers have also detailed the intended release dates for different stages of the project’s development:

• Private alpha access in January 2017.
• Public Early Access in May 2017. Available on Steam at a price of $30 for the duration on EA.
• Version 1.0 in October 2017.  Available on Steam and other services at a price of $20 from then on.

The game is being developed on the Unity 3D engine, and, unlike AI War: Fleet Command, it will feature 3D graphics instead of 2D sprites.

Some features highlighted in the Kickstarter Project page:

• Keeping the best parts of AI War Classic: the focus on strategy over tactics, the ability to granularly customize your campaign, massive space battles, and an AI that can surprise you.
• Over one hundred types of ships ranging from fighters to capital ships to massive superweapons.
• Expanding the AI’s toolbox of tricks and strategies — the AI will recapture lost ground and press the advantage when your losses mount up.
• Letting you decide your army’s strengths and capabilities via a new Science system.
• Expanding battlefields from individual single planets to entire solar systems.
• Replacing the original game’s ship triangle with more nuanced categories.
• Letting you play as humans, the incredibly powerful Spire, or the long dead but mysteriously revived Zenith. Wait, what?

Gamers interested in securing a copy of AI War 2 for a highly discounted price can check out the various Early Bird tiers on the Kickstarter page. The project has a goal of US$ 299,400 and the campaign will run for 30 more days. Mac and Linux gamers will be happy to know that AI War 2 will support those operating systems from the get go.