Stormgate is a new RTS game being developed by Frost Giant Studios, which is full of developers who previously worked on StarCraft 2, WarCraft and many other massive gaming titles.
WHAT WE KNOW AS OF JUNE 2023:
Apply to be in the Closed Beta here. A select group of people have been admitted to the Closed Alpha. It is currently unannounced when the Closed Beta will start.
● Currently in the top 100 of Steam’s Wishlist. If you want to help support the game, wishlisting will help Steam’s algorithm recognise it as a popular game when it releases
● Stormgate’s 4 Pillars of RTS:
1) Campaign
2) Co-op
3) Competitive (& esports)
4) User Generated Content
● Will Stormgate be Free to Play? Yes. But it will not be pay to win
● Will Stormgate have Microtransactions? Yes.
1) Skins
2) Campaign Chapters
3) Heroes and maybe others
● Will Stormgate have Esports? Yes there will be avenues for players to reach the Pro level. Esports will develop alongside the popularity of the game and appropriate support will be given to it as it grows
● Stormgate aims to be the first social RTS
● New players to the game and to RTS will have Learning Tutorials to properly onboard them
● Watch the indepth interview/conversation with Kevin Dong the Lead Game Designer here or in the third video below for more info on the points below
● How many factions will Stormgate have?
Announced so far: Humans and Infernals factions. Maybe more to come. Watch here for pre-alpha Humans gameplay
● Responsiveness
Frost Giant Studios have built their own first-in-class engine for RTS within Unreal Engine 5 called Snowplay. They aim to have great pathfinding and responsiveness. Watch here or the 4th video below for more details
● Game Modes:
1) 1v1 Competitive
2) 3v3 Social competitive mode
3) Co-op PvE
4) Campaign
● Lethality (Time to Kill) will be somewhere between SC2 and WC3
● Supply cap at 200 (though some factions may exceed this and others may be below this..?)
● Game length aim
○ 1v1 mode: high teens
○ 3v3 mode: 20 minutes
● Defender’s Advantage is stronger to limit games that finish very, very early
● Two resource-system
● Territory control and terrain matters more than SC2
First Look at Stormgate’s Two Main Resources
● Luminite:
Primary resource (temp visual: gold mound)
○ Used to pay for nearly everything.
○ Can be mined by 12 B.O.B. worker units before hitting severe diminishing returns.
● Therium:
Secondary resource (temp visual: gray (and glowing green) polyhedrons)
○ Mostly used to pay for advanced units and structures, and upgrades.
○ Gradually spreads and enriches when unmined, providing players with strategic options about where and when they should expand.
○ Therium appears in various forms that each have different gameplay mechanisms, including exposed patches and underground veins.
Featured Human Units
● B.O.B.:
Smiley-faced robot worker units who harvest resources, build structures, repair mechanical units, and even muster a solid defense in a pinch.
○ Multiple B.O.B. units can work together to build a structure.
● S.C.O.U.T.:
These robot dogs (with frickin’ laser eyes) have heightened senses that can even identify the presence of enemies still concealed by the fog of war.
○ With a warning howl, SCOUTs can activate advanced ocular scanners to temporarily see further, including through forests that would normally block their vision.
● Lancer:
Blade-swinging frontline soldiers with long reach.
○ The Lancer Shields upgrade gives them the ability to shrug off damaging blows.
● Exo:
A versatile soldier, armed with a reliable rifle.
○ Can pick up the Double Time upgrade to temporarily increase its movement speed–if it shoots during this period, it fires two shots instead, then reverts to normal speed.
● Medtech:
Hefty support unit that can heal and repair allies and enhance nearby forces.
○ With Medtech Adept Training, can unleash a swarm of nanobots to either attack an enemy, or heal an injured ally.
● Atlas:
Long-range artillery mechs that rain down area-of-effect damage.
○ With the Purification Ordnance upgrade, its attacks leave behind a damaging field of flames. *Atlas attacks cause friendly fire damage, no pun intended.
● Evac Transport:
Transport ships that pick up and drop off allied units, including a deployed Atlas, to reposition them strategically or whisk them away from danger.
● Vulcan:
This mech has a gatling gun that spins up to deal increased damage.
○ The Jump Jets upgrade allows the Vulcan to reposition in combat, and can stun any enemies in its way. Can also be used to clear out trees.
○ Fires piercing rounds that can punch through multiple units in a straight line, dealing damage to all of them.
Featured Human Structures
● Command Post:
Human HQ – produces B.O.B. worker units.
○ Upgrades to Central Command to unlock access to Tier 2 units. Tier 3 coming soon!
○ The Command Post can trigger an Overcharge on nearby B.O.B. units, temporarily diverting power to combat systems (attack speed and armor).
● Habitat:
Increases supply. You must build these to expand your army.
● Barracks:
Produces Tier 1 units such as the S.C.O.U.T., Lancer, Exo, and Medtech.
● Mech Bay:
Production facility for the Vulcan, Atlas, and more.
● Therium Refinery:
Secondary resource dropoff and research for various passive upgrades.
● Biokinetics Lab:
Research upgrades for infantry, such as Lancer Shields.
● Machine Lab:
Research upgrades for mechanical and air units. Has a conveyor belt.
● Sentry Turret:
Targets ground and air. Provides some peace of mind
STORMGATE VIDEOS AND INTERVIEWS/CONVERSATIONS BELOW
Don’t know anything about Stormgate? Start with this video for the basic overview.
Includes the initial cinematic & images, details on the roadmap and game vision from Frost Giant’s June 2022 update.
PiG’s interview/conversation with Tim Morten the CEO of Frost Giant Studios covering:
- What is the “right way” to do RTS
- Addressing criticisms about the cinematic
- And more!
PiG’s interview/conversation with Kevin “Monk” Dong the Lead Game Designer:
- Factions
- Team Games/Modes
- Social RTS
- Snowplay
- Skill Ceiling, Hotkeys and Mechanics
- Learning Tutorials
- Unit Controls and Supply Caps
- Game Length
- Resources
- Terrain and Defender’s Advantage
- Lethality
- 3v3 Mode and Esports
PiG reviews Stormgate’s December 2022 update on technology (Snowplay – their RTS engine) and art for the first two factions, Humans and Infernals.
“[Stormgate] will be the most responsive RTS I’ve ever worked on“– James Anhalt, Chief Architect (and previous lead pathing dev on SC2)
PiG reacts to Beomulf’s (Stormgate Nexus) interview with Neuro pre-alpha gameplay impressions. Note: no visuals were allowed to be shared
May 2023 update:
- PiG has been selected to be in the Closed Alpha stage
- The first gameplay reveal will be at the PC Gaming Show on June 11
- New units and artwork revealed in this video