Base building plays an important role in Nuclear Dawn. Commanders are tasked with both the fortification of their home base, and the protection of their soldiers on the field, through outposts, vehicle production and equipment upgrades.

Each structure in the field, from supply stations to turrets and cloning stations, needs to be powered in order to function, and providing enough power to all structures is one of the faction Commander’s main tasks.

Imperial Commanders rely on line-of-sight power transmission. Powerful lasers focus the Hadron Accelerator’s output, and fan out from the main generator into the field, powering up every structure that they connect with. In order to expand their base, and reach far into the playing field, the Empire builds tall relay towers that receive, amplify and project the laser beams onto the next tower, and any nearby structure.

Upgraded relay towers can project lasers farther and farther away, effectively expanding the Empire’s reach, and can also focus the might of the particle collider into smaller, more concentrated beams that fry all attackers on sight, effectively doubling up as defensive structures.

Successful imperial Commanders learn to harness the power of the line of sight lasers, to build networked structures and outposts that amplify and protect each other’s power, becoming unassailable fortresses for the unwary attackers that dare stumble in the Empire’s web.

Of course, each supply chain has to be adequately protected and fortified, as the relay towers are not indestructible, and sabotaging the right power line at the right time will render imperial outposts defenceless, without power, prey to assault and devastation at the hands of Consortium troops.

Striking a balance between a powerful infrastructure, and a frailer, more far-reaching one, will be the imperial Commander’s main concern, as racing to reach resources will leave unprotected supply lines at the mercy of Consortium incursions, while a powerfully built web of relay towers may just lose the race to the most important supply points.

Just as it should be in any RTS worth its salt, Commanders will have to plan ahead, carefully manage their resources and upgrades, and forge their own path in the ever-changing quagmire of live game-play, amongst the myriad of options available, to prevail over their enemies, for the glory of the Empire.