Stormgate, a real-time strategy game with social elements, and a sci-fi and fantasy theme, was unveiled by Frost Giant Studios.
Stormgate will feature multiple cooperative modes and powerful social connectivity, unveiled during the Summer Game Fest. The beta test will begin in 2023, and players can sign up now at playstormgate.com.
Former Blizzard developers Tim Morten and Tim Campbell helped create some of the most popular and most popular PC games of all time, as well as some of the most-watched esports including Blizzard Entertainments WarCraft III and StarCraft II.
Stormgate is building for the real-time strategy communitypast, present, and future, according to Morten, the CEO and production director of Frost Giant Studios. We want to develop a social experience that addresses the barriers that have kept people away, to welcome back players who have been waiting for the next great RTS, and to demonstrate that the RTS genre can flourish once more.
MetaBeat: 2022
On October 3-4 in San Francisco, CA, MetaBeat will meet with metaverse thought leaders to discuss how metaverse technology will transform the way all businesses communicate and operate.
Age of Empires IV has been released in the fall. Sunspear Games is developing Immortal: Gates of Pyre. Last year, Gearbox Publishing and Blackbird Interactive released the first gameplay trailer for their next RTS game,Homeworld 3. Shiro Games is developing Dune Spice Wars. Segas Relic Entertainment is working on Company of Heroes 3.
It speaks to the capability to creative within realtime strategy. It''s huge. We were very grateful to play all of those other games. But we were very focused on maintaining the RTS tradition and the legacy that started at Blizzard, according to Morten. This time, the genre feels like an exciting time. For players and supporters, it''s incredible to be a part of it.
Stormgate will be available on Windows PC via Steam for free. Players will be able to take part in a wide range of game modes and activities, including story-driven campaign missions, playable solo or with a friend. It will also have integrated in-client esports, including 1v1 teams on the competitive ladder and team-based 3v3.
The game will also feature a cooperative 3vE (three players vs. AI) mode, which includes meta-progression and ways to customize army abilities to create powerful synergies. It will also allow players to express their creativity and design skills with the in-game editor and play custom games created by other members of the community. Players may also spectate matches and level up IRL with enhanced learning tools.
With its custom-developed SnowPlay simulation technology, Frost Giant Studios has dedicated its initial engineering efforts to Stormgate''s core mechanics and gameplay, the building blocks of any great RTS.
Stormgate, which was built in Unreal Engine 5, will support high-resolution HD visuals in 4K and hundreds of units models in epic, large-scale battles across a variety of maps and tilesets. The user interface is being developed to make RTS more approachable by eliminating unnecessary inputs, automatically assigning units to control groups, and improving gameplay.
According to Campbell, the CEO and game director of Frost Giant Studios, we have a proprietary technology that can support Unreal Engine 5. Snowplay is responsible for the hundreds or even thousands of units that are needed to support real-time strategy game battles. We are really trying to exploit Unreal but also provide that high-quality and responsive gameplay that Blizzard RTS games are known for.
The scope of the single-player maps is not related to the engine, according to Campbell. Unreal Engine 5 assists with things like lighting, animation, and improved visual effects. The assets are designed in a 3D perspective, and the developers will be able to move the camera around for better esports perspectives. However, the camera will remain at a prefixed perspective for games.
The in-game editor for Stormgates is getting a lot of engineering attention. And it supplies creators with the same tools Frost Giant is employing to build the game, in a creator-friendly environment where creativity and effort will be appreciated.
Strong UGC development tools may help a prosperous community around games, according to Campbell, as well as Blizzards tools led to the Defense of the Ancients (Dota) mod, and that led to multiplayer online battle arenas like Dota 2 and League of Legends.
Ive seen how powerful tools have led to a community about those tools that flourished and advanced things that was far beyond what the development team might conceive of at the time. This is why the RTS genre has often skewed toward more and more power users. This is because as the skill ceiling has remained high, it will focus on approachability and ease of use for new users.
The Stormgate universes'' combination of science fiction and fantasy, combined with our focus on character-driven narratives, will provide years of storytelling opportunities for our players to enjoy, according to Campbell. Our team is developing a best-in-class real-time strategy game that will continue the RTS tradition of high-skill competitive play while innovating in different areas, such as user interface and co-op. The genre''s ability to be more approachable than previously.
Stormgate takes place in an all-new post-apocalyptic game setting, where science fiction and fantasy collide. The story begins hundreds of years in Earth''s future, following humanity''s near-extinction. The great calamity was caused by the Infernalsa playable alien race of demonic invaders hellbent on claiming this planet for their own.
These otherworldly demons sprang from Stormgates, seemingly dormant portals that began engulfing demons during powerful solar storms. As the Infernals return to danger humanity once more, humans must gather their courageand climb into their 20-foot tall mechsto save the world.
Blizzards RTS glory years with the Warcraft and StarCraft franchises are becoming more social, as players were aware that these were just awful experiences. Frost Giant Games is attempting to make RTS games more social. Everything from the onboarding to the game campaign will be playable as a co-op with three players. And the new tournament system will enable you to establish social connections with other players who you are competing with.
According to Morten, every mode of the game is meant to be more social and a greater experience in terms of connection with other people.
Campbell said the company is also releasing its capabilities for user-generated content.
We have taken a number of improvements in the field to make editing easier to test and easier to share maps and mods that you work on with other people, according to Campbell. So its not a separate software that youd have to create as a standalone tool. With a single press of a button, you may toggle between gameplay and editing mode. I cant wait to see what the community does with it.
Stormgate is currently in the pre-alpha phase and is scheduled to begin beta testing in 2023. To learn more, visit playstormgate.com, where you may participate in the beta test and be one of the first players to play.
A futuristic human warrior discovers an artifact and interacts with it. It turns out to be a stargate, or I guess Stormgate, which is a portal that other nations use to attack Earth. The creatures come through and the battle starts. This leads to an apocalyptic invasion of Earth.
We will see the narrative at a point where humanity is starting to figure things out. So its a hopeful time. It isn''t meant to be a dark and grim post-apocalyptic tale, according to Morten. It is meant to be brighter and more full of hope. However, there are obstacles. We do want to maintain this sense of optimism and hope.
The company employs 35 full-time employees and employs 15 or so employees. The company has raised $34.7 million to date.
The company has a roadmap for long-term campaigns and other content that will last five years in the future. It has new story arcs, characters, and factions. With the campaign, you will be able to see the action and story from the perspective of a variety of factions.
Campbell said that while we have been developing the lore and the factions that inhabit our universe, we cannot see one dimensional factions that are either purely evil or purely good or focused on one thing. Were putting a lot of work into the factions so that you can root for whatever faction you have chosen.
Closed testing will begin soon, but the beta program will begin around mid-2023. We want to be transparent with the community and interact with them before making a decision. So we can begin talking directly with the developer about the game, the game''s purpose, the features, and the IP that was generating, and make it more effective.
Supposedly, the company will be more involved in offering games-as-a-service rather than on one-time purchases, where the community often doesn''t have the potential to gain insight.
As both sides build up fortresses, StarCraft and Age of Empires games often turn into long duels. The multiplayer games were rated as having a sweet spot of 20 or 30 minutes.
Morten said that the game experience is a very significant RTS experience. You''ll be working on resources, youre training employees, creating an army, fighting, and controlling that army on the battlefield for the whole nine yards.
While Frost Giant Studios wants to balance the game, it is trying not to overwhelm players with tasks to do, and it is also striving to make the timing sound, so players may mix tasks and have a fun day.
That is something that we have been iterating on for a long time. But, accordingly, Morten said.
The team is also trying to improve on the RTS formula with more co-op play. The story mode will be playable solo or in co-op mode.
When it comes to tuning the pacing of the game, Morten said, all of these things must be included. We dont want games that are short and drawn out. So we just play, and we find the pleasure to get it done.
Some base building missions, or base assault missions, as well as missions where the players forces are on the run. Players will also be able to give feedback and then the company will dial in on that.
Frost Giant wants to accommodate a lot of different play styles.
The goal of this tournament is to have a longer time to kill so that players may react to an attack and have the potential to react in the end of the game.
If you love StarCraft, or you like Starcraft III, this area will be perfect, according to Campbell. We need to give players the opportunity to react, to assist each other, to interact with each other, or otherwise, we are capable of ending up with people just playing parallel solo sessions in the same matches.
