New Stormgate Concept Art!

[@chrismcguire5147]

This is looking a LOT better than most of what has come before. The Infernals, in particular, looked like blobs of white, gray, and purple before.

[@SvenStyle15]

Maybe but i would realy miss the annimation of imps sacraficing them selfs to get a building from hell in return :D

[@news_IT-my1610]

plz improve attack sounds. current version is so terrible that it gives me sleep while attacking

[@HurrisonTea]

Yeah, this new impression of infernal units gives them that feel "I want to play with it"

[@mido5126]

Exactly what i was about to comment!!!!

[@chasecollins5958]

Dude, it's a brand new game, I'm so stoked for these to be in game!

[@Stormgate_Central]

Absolutely love the new monolithic look for the Infernals. A lot of the units give me slight Doom vibes only cleaner with less guts and blood everywhere. Looking good!

[@HighLanderPonyYT]

Now you can blame them for looking like Necrons. Jk

[@milosmarinkovic2853]

All i have to say is thank u to Allen and the rest of the team. These look marvelous! Leagues better then the previous look.

[@RTSEnjoyer11]

This guy will save stormgate. FINALLY Frost Giant is reacting to art concerns rather than just polishing a style fans didn't like.

[@user-ur4nl6dq2x]

This is still polish

[@RTSEnjoyer11]

@user-ur4nl6dq2x It's polished* but it's a redesign. I wouldn't call changing gaunt into a centaur with 4 legs or a 2 headed brute into an armor-clad simply polish. It's an entirely different look.

[@HighLanderPonyYT]

I'm a fan and I liked it. I like this, too. This is a more "conventially pretty" approach so it'll have wider appeal.

[@Bagginsess]

The whole point of early access was to get feedback. Frostgiant haven't not been reacting towards art concerns it just takes time to make changes, and even more time to make changes that can be publicized given the community's lack of patience and development understanding. They weren't going to just polish what they had and be done with it they were already redesigning things. I can't speak for the starcraft crowd but the artstyle was equivalent to warcraft and had plenty of carnage/gore, Allen isn't changing it from being cartoony/stylized with a full redesign he is doing what they were already doing but with improved direction and a design overhaul. The game already had dark undertones and Allen is capitalizing on that plus the fact that fans want a darker game. Again the whole point was to get feedback so why people would think Stormgate deserved to be lampooned for early development place holder art will always boggle my mind. I too wanted the game to be more gritty but acting like it was suppose to be complete the first month of early access after just having shown off closed alpha gameplay in the prior tests is truly inept. Were players really expecting it to be 100% different going from alpha to beta? And because Frostgiant is a new studio and obviously not the entire OG blizzard team jumped ship, it was always reasonable to assume they would hire more ex-blizzard staff or other devs when the opportunity and need arrived. The old art director was in a new position as leadership and did not enjoy it so they gave him back his old work and got a new guy to lead. So it wasn't like FG was ignoring community feedback they had yet to acquire a new art director that could handle the job. Normal stuff in a startup. But I guess blizzard RTS players have been stuck on battlenet for 20 years and not use to how indie early access games work on steam. People keep comparing SG to no man's sky but that is asinine because NMS blatantly lied about what was going to be released. No this is like the early access of Baldur's Gate 3 or Ready or Not which did not and were not suppose to look like the finished product on early access launch. RoN literally had grey box levels for testing and no one cared but oh boy did Stormgate players get mad that FG hadn't finished any of the tilesets while they still hadn't even finished the map editor yet. There are many things worthy of criticism from the cringy humor to level of grit to performance and more but Tim and Frostgiant thought that in good faith the community would be reasonable. Criticize the game but be rationale and set reasonable expectational milestones.

[@retrocomputing]

⁠@@Bagginsess frost giant reacted to the concerns though, they were saying something like "looks like Fortnite? Fortnite is popular so it's a compliment". You think that they planned to make redesigns, but it's not how it usually works.

[@manaesports]

This concept art / faction redesign looks fantastic and is definitely in the right direction. I truly hope that it will look just as good in-game, because we have already seen a lot of concept art before.

[@finrodfel06]

That’s 100% true, but I’d like to point out it’s a tonal shift as well. The original Infernals were designed more in line with WC3. They’re now shifting towards more of a Doom/Diablo look. So while 3D models are never gonna look as good as this 2D concept art, I think as a faction they’ll look cooler, and more importantly, cohesive. Before it’s like you have units like the Brute and Gaunt which look like WC3 units, and the Hellborne which is darker and more demonic.

[@ExValeFor]

We have seen concept art, and to be quite frank all of it looked just as bad as the end product. The art style was absolutely merked. This is a sudden and unexpected 180 degree turn

[@Otoriyodesu]

oh yeah now we're talking

[@jaeko]

Since the beginning of the announcement I went from "I believe in the team, let them cook" to "I think I don't care anymore, I'll wait and see" to "Ok this looks interesting I can't wait to see more of it".

[@Frodonsake24]

Now did you learn anything about your previous mistakes and how game development works ?

[@krostled6717]

This concepts looks so cool.

[@dimas-dvdru]

Or I guess you could say… hot ?)

[@BenMojo.]

​@dimas-dvdru 😂

[@Miro_X]

Honestly speaking, this is a genuinely night and day difference. It was desperately needed. I like the look of the infernals, not *entirely* sold on the Vanguard still - I think the thing that bothers me is they just feel so... clean? Plastic? Plastic. They look plastic, almost toy-like, rather than a more rugged metal/armour. However, we didn't really get a good look at any models for either of the Vanguard units, so I'm content to wait and see. Infernals look amazing though - definitely love both the structures and unit design. Particularly love the more "raptor" like Fiends.

[@simonbuildsastudio]

💯 looks plastic

[@SuperGGnoRE]

I'm waiting on the full reveal, it's clear the Vanguard rework isn't nearly as developed as Infernals

[@catatonichumanoid]

in an interview he gave, he expressed his vision for vanguard and stated that ultimately he too, wanted them to look more rugged aka battleworn type vibe, with extremely advanced tech. so it seems he agrees with this comment and plans on said adjustments when they finally iterate more on vanguard

[@solarr69420]

The brute looks even better than I thought it would. Allen fuckin killed it

[@RaduMitiu]

Night and day difference, for the better! Very nice work going on behind the scenes, can't wait to see it in the game

[@Onlyon2]

Okay - I gotta hand it to you Frost Giant. This is a much needed improvement and it looks promising.

[@danch1691]

This much needed darker, & edgier art style revamp is long overdue & it looks SO much better! Thank you Frostgiant for listening & acting on fan's overwhelming feedback! Really hope fans can come back & support frostgiant & Stormgate a viable new established RTS franchise!

[@GBS4893]

The monolith looks awesome

[@lunkfumble]

Now that's impressive! This single video gave me more hope than all comunication from FGS in these past 3 months. The redesigns are looking great

[@SuperGGnoRE]

Pictures are worth a thousand words

[@user-ur4nl6dq2x]

It's hype, but remember it's a AA studio - so temper your expectations everyone! Allen has already said they are doing everything they can with the time they have, let's support them as much as possible to get this over line.

[@missingdays1]

Remember it's a AA studio - something actually good might come out

[@GBS4893]

The many arms for an infernal caster is a pretty dope idea, the open energy gate in the belly looks cool too! Then i heard the arms are the body and i loved it, so cool!

[@Cool_Goose]

They do look better, can't wait to see them.

[@NBlakeslee]

LOVE these art direction teasers. The new infernal look especially--it's giving more of an ancient evil vibe. Feels more like space diablo, which I'm digging.

[@ismasekkate9607]

beautiful! can't wait! please keep goinmg at making Stormgate awesome!!

[@Timoruz]

I have two critiques of the brute design. 1. The armor doesn’t make much sense when you consider the brute is supposed to split into fiends. The old brute made it more obvious as the old brute looked “infested” somewhat. I suggest making the fiends more like fire elementals or wisps/spirits. That would match better with the new armor and would make sense as fiends do “burn out” over time. 2. Why does the brute lack eyes, but his gauntlets have them. Other than that I love the designs :)

[@anonymousAJ]

gotta see somewhere

[@wylhias]

Love the concepts

[@seanconant3218]

Please remember that Infernal Shrines must have a STROMGATE over them. That's the medium that units get summoned.

[@The_Duffin]

Super cool! Thank you for the update.

[@HavannaIce]

Wow, it looks awesome. I really like the new design direction. Good job! Especially the brute is right down my alley.

[@isaac_shelton]

This looks amazing. The new art director is doing a good job

[@catatonichumanoid]

this was 1,000% the right move for stormgate. many people clearly were immediately put off by the art design, and Allen is not only extremely creative, but is one of the most experienced people with the exact same rts games that FG is trying to emulate, there is literally no better person to bring that to fruition than Allen. a person will instantly know whether they want to try a game based on their first impressions of the ART. Allen also said in an interview that the lighting is being completely redone and is a "night and day" difference per his words. I am a mostly casual observer of frost giants process with stormgate, and bringing Allen on has made me more excited than any other change they've made over the course of their development. this is extremely good news imo. can't wait to see what's to come!

[@shyzunk]

Not sure about the bulky plasticky vanguard chainsaw guy, but the hedgehog looks great and literally all the infernals are amazing so far. This is good news.

[@achromicwhite2309]

This is a BIG step in the right direction. I think one of the elements still missing from Infernals is the horror aspect. By comparison, Zerg for example, had not only the idea of being threatened by big bug aliens, but also of being infested etc... the idea of infection, an unstoppable organism. If you're making demons, surely you want to play around with the idea of possession etc. Not just looking gothic/demonic etc, but having serious horror elements to the faction.

[@lewylln]

looking good, really glad the team is constantly iterating the designs and improving

[@gongal]

Can't wait to see what's going to happen with Celestials. Those truly are an incoherent mess.

[@eduardoserpa1682]

I liked that the shape language felt closer to Warcraft than Starcraft or Warhammer, but a lot of these edgier designs are definitely cooler in a traditional sense. Specially the caster floating atop the cube and the keyhole right underneath. That's on par with Hellbornes and Atlas to me. I wish y'all luck on revamping the art style.

[@W1337M]

Great stuff. Massive difference. Especially the Gaunt.

[@NeonTheGreat]

these look great, much much better than before!

[@BeeGeePi]

Excited about the new direction. However, I am still worried about some things. I am going to focus on the Internals as it is mostly what I played and is the race/design I am most interested in. In terms of visual clarity, each unit ideally has a fairly easy to recognize silhouette. The player should be able to recognize the unit immediately even in grayscale. Secondondly, imo, each race should have some sort of consistency across their silhouettes while still being easily to differentiate amongst their own units. When I think of demons, I think of sharp objects, glowing soulless eyes, and fire. Colors I think of Black, Orange, Red and maybe some yellow/purple. Animals I think of are Goats, Snakes, Crows, Deer Antlers, Insects/Spiders, Rats, and even like hellhound dogs... there is a ton of design inspiration to draw from. The issue I am having is even these new designs, to me personally, are still too cartooney to draw me in. If that is the direction you want to go that is fine especially if you are consistent with it. It's just not personally what I am into. For example, the new brute, I like the head and the feet, but the rest of it just look too human for me. I get it is supposed to look tanky, but why does it just have a buff guy body except the head and feet which actually look demonic. Why not make it's weapon like some part of it's body that it shoots out or that is sort of constantly changing shapes. Or make the weapon have like the eyes or teeth of it's fallen foes or something. Then the new fiend, looks way better. However, it still is less creepy/menacing looking that something like a zergling. Even with the dinosaur teeth and such it still looks cute. Again, if this is the vibe you are going for then it was nailed, it just doesn't screem "demonic" to me as much as it could. Gaunt also looks way better, but also still too round/soft and motherly looking to me. Again, comparing it to something like the Queen in SC2, it is less menacing looking. I like the hooves, but why not use sharper features in the head or use sharper antlers. Give it a more disturbing face where like the skin is distorted or show some bones. Make the legs skinnier. Have the arms coming out of it's back or something instead of a standard human upper body. I like the first caster units you show. The puzzle monster one I don't know where to being tbh. I think their are some potential good ideas with that unit, but again, why is it just looking like a teenager in an outfit? It's not intimidating at all. It reminds me of like a villain you would see in Power Rangers or something. I know this is probably all coming off extremely harsh, and I have no credentials/experience in design. I am just trying to provide my honest feedback on these new designs to hopefully give you an outsider's / potential players perspective. All that being said, again, I really like these redesigns way more than the original/current designs. I just desperately hope you guys investigate really pushing the envelope in terms of making the Infernals dark/twisted/menancing. These redesigns are a step in the right direction but still too generic/cartooney for me. Best of luck!

[@chrisrey2516]

this looks so good... Much darker less cartoony

[@ianbirdsall9407]

Loving this direction. Thanks for the updates!

[@Smelly13]

Loving the frequent updates recently

[@veseliniliev3361]

I fucking love this style. As an Infernal I am so hyped up for the new look. So glad they went away from the orcish theme. Allen said it straight up - it makes no sense for space demons to throw axes and have an ogre type of unit. I'm curious what he cooked for the Magmadon. The Imp, Dragon, Shadoflyer and Hellborne models are fine, so just a more thematic "skin" is enough. The Hedgehog, especially deployed is also a huge improvement.

[@sunkeehong356]

This is LIGHT YEARS BETTER than the previous designs! I absolutely hated how "Let's make them stocky and teenager friendly!" the previous designs were. The old Inferal boss with big arms was an absolute joke! But these designs are absolutely unique and stylish! WELL DONE!

[@waywardsoul5305]

A dramatic improvement, this is a reason for some cautious optimism. I hope FG are paying Allen Dilling very well, regardless, it is clear he is both confident and passionate about his profession and brings a lot* to the table creatively, bravo!

[@mwcz-u5z]

Please raise another round of investment and give it all to this guy. These designs have IT, the x-factor, the juice.

[@13loodySword]

I am in love with the new art design for Infernals! I can't wait to play around with them high tech demons as a concept is sick af

[@Radiant_AOC]

Absolutely love the direction this is going! Looking forward to seeing how Stormgate takes shape in the months ahead

[@PierrickPicaut_P2DESIGN]

Love the new designs. Can,'t wait to see them modeled and animated.

[@vladislavsimovic84]

Looks better, but a long way to go still... I think they need to have something more unique, they kinda need to set more lore, before doing anything else. I remember when Reynad was trying to create Bazzar they had a lot of trouble with art direction. It felt all over the place. However, when they did some world building, decided on lore, it was much better. Seems same story here, we have vanguard, but we don't know if they are rugged / scrappy or not.

[@Alexis-iz9km]

rly good concepts good job, esp the infernals one (buildings also are top notch)

[@nyghtfal]

I think it looks a lot better than the current look, but at the same time the color seems a bit too bright or vibrant given the context. It's like they were made with clay almost, I imagine like in the setting of LOTR with where the orcs are and just looking at that environment, I cant imagine how the armor of the infernals would remain polish clean being in that kind of environment. It doesn't match the setting in that way

[@viktorgabriel2554]

Ok this is so much better then it was before so much more character and personality

[@simonbuildsastudio]

Loving the new direction! It’s exciting to imagine 3 high tech factions locked in battle, rather than a Starcraft 3 ish take on only 1 high tech race.

[@HawkknightXC88]

All of this looks very awesome! Always loved seeing Concept Art from my favorite games. Keep up with the amazing work on the new take on the Infernals and so many more factions.

[@chrOmawa]

This is very exciting and cool to see. Cheering for you guys!

[@kaxgaming8421]

I love the change in direction!

[@wilblur_]

It’s interesting to see a game go through all its growing pains in such a public fashion. I’m looking forward to playing this on its full release!

[@jfmgunner]

Saw the first screen of the new Brutes and had to comment right away that this is a MASSIVE improvement. Full credit to the team so far, I think the community has been far too critical considering they let us play this in Alpha, way before the game was anywhere near finished. But this new art style is exactly the kind of distinct and iconic designs the game needed to stand out in a crowded genre. Keep up the great work!

[@XerrolAvengerII]

Thanks for the preview, It's fun to see the polish get added to maps and units over time!

[@faiqwaghid1453]

Finally this looks great

[@fabiengobillard]

Very nice, can't wait to see that ingame !

[@Channel5Gaming]

LOVE these changes! Really hoping the game grows into the success it deserves. All your development efforts aren't going un-noticed. Love the game and wish it the best! PS: Turns out I enjoyed co-op so much that I stopped playing 1v1 entirely. I love this mode and with enough depth and longevity I could see myself supporting this game solely through co-op mode. Throw in some grindy achievements please!! I pride myself on the Starcraft 2 - 50 ->1000 win Portraits, being able to earn something like this in co-op is a legendary grind. Even better if some were fancy hero / army skins! Buying heroes is great to support the game, earning a skin or portrait for them is a rewarding return! :) -Cheers

[@Smartrior]

I like this SO MUCH BETTER!

[@Erovit]

Finally, the first good thing I've seen about stormgate in what feels like months of nothing.

[@kevinbegin3049]

Really love the new direction. Evil races always draw me in in games, so internals are my fav in stormgate. The new designs look awesome! Love that it looks more demonic. Super excited to play with these new models once they come out. Killer work!!

[@ZergD]

Super super excited!! Looking super slick! Very much looking forward to all those news looks and feels!! Hypeee

[@thaihanguyen1036]

greate work with new infernal arts, best of luck to you guys on this art update

[@duual1794]

I am hyped:) Thank You FGS for the updates, it's cool You stay in touch:)

[@michaellapointe673]

Wow ! This looks amazing! Great identity and looks cool, I can’t wait to see it in the game 🤓

[@jeffahhfahh]

Wow. Super exciting new direction for both races!

[@zyst6]

These look cool! I wish the display of the models also showed them from above to get a feel for what they’ll look like in game.

[@Taradraz]

Amazing chances, will play again on this days to support the project

[@traviszito6408]

This is getting me (cautiously) excited for stormgate again. We'll have to see how it all lools in game, but these designs are much more cohesive.

[@AureilonStormgate]

10/10, This all concept arts looks so cool and great!

[@betalisk1023]

Love the new direction! Infernals look great!

[@Keppymam]

Thank you!!! I had literally given up on this project, but this turn around listening to fans has really kicked up my interest again.

[@ferologics]

keep at it, we need more takes on what makes a modern RTS good, thanks!

[@dustanrogers5202]

So glad to see the game evolving in the correct direction!

[@azzy9358]

The infernal stuff looks absolutely amazing. Hope that will get made!

[@TheDarkFoxOfficial]

so much better well done guys !!!!!

[@astroman269]

Awesome to see a more rugged / serious look!

[@NevermindThee]

That's the most promising art direction you've gone in, yet. The buildings do not look distinct enough, but the rest is better than what I've seen before.

[@andrewasem761]

This is actually really cool I like the colors and overall 3D idea of the art, this team is giving me an emotional roller-coaster, super excited at first, a little underwhelmed, and now super excited again!

[@hakonmarcus]

Loving this. A very cool direction for the art going forward. Although I also think the infernals need a juicier gameplay identity as well. Like what if all their units crawled up from underground? Like - as soon as a game starts, a chasm opens up and the imps come climbing out from hell to start mining? Or the flying eyeballs - what if instead of aoe scourge, they were a swarm of flimsy scouts that perched on your main, but could be launched like interceptors to scout an area, like an aimed scan? They could be set to patrol the outskirts of your shroud, or upgraded with weak melee attacks, so they could harrass smaller units like they do in the opening cinematic. The tiny white shield bar that infernal units gain while inside shroud is also a bit boring. They're an invading force, they shouldn't look so defensive. What if instead all their units were enveloped in burning fire (of the faction color) when they spent time in the shroud?

[@emangination]

It reignited my hype and love for this game. Before the game felt flat, now it breathes new life. Looking forward to the new artstyle of the game.

[@calebgonzalez599]

Using Hellraiser as an influence for the infernals is a wildly cool idea!

[@incognitoanonimus6878]

All of this are just AWESOME!!!

[@AsmongoldESPANOLclips]

Brother, this is what we needed. This is AMAZING. I love it. Redo everything with this vision.

[@Locust66]

Awesome, this is what the game needs! More style and badass stuff!

[@tristanmestroni6724]

I think the player colours are going to work so well with these designs.

[@nurekin4392]

holy F , this is so damn good

[@barnabaszu]

I love the direction this is going, caster at 4:44 looks really badass, monolithic buildings look very cool too. Overall great changes!

[@schnasndasn1504]

Fu*k yeah!! Red and black looks Always good! I also like the concept with the chainsaw! This video makes me really happy!

[@thebole123]

As a concept artist myself i love the new art direction and you are doing great job ..Only problem i see that 2d art need to be properly translated to 3d art.. Some of the old SG concept art look OK on paper in 2D but was terrible translated to 3D so i hope you do good job in 3D as you did in 2D..

[@mido5126]

yes that what i thought as well

[@bigsmoke4592]

art direction looks a lot better! i don't care too much how many polygons or pixels the game will have or realistic the shadows are. Style is what matters and the previous one was too clean and family friendly for an rts game imo

[@Sampyla]

Really cool stuff. For the Infernal caster I think it would be cool if they kind of sacrificed themselves for the magical powers like carving their eyes out or cutting limbs off so that would reflect on them visually. Maybe they ARE the key for their magical box themself or something.

[@dawidsoko3018]

4:40 love this design

[@vetev]

The best one they have done so far 👍

[@PatrickSmithPhD]

Loving the new look of the infernals. Don't think you should keep the rounded stuff for the vanguard. I'd look more at heavy mech from Sc2 for inspiration personally. But the new Infernals look is 100000000000000x better!

[@bjornborg5671]

The structures and monolith look great. You can honestly just go ahead with those as is.

[@spectrumunit]

Looks cool, but I am astonished that there seems to be no more lore for the infernals than „they are a sinister demon race that travelled through space and they look evil“ to build character concepts off of. Why is there a key-master? They seem to have magic, why would a race capable of magic use something mundane as a key, that looks exactly like a key that why as humans would come up with, to lock something away? Why is the brute wearing armor, when they have tron-laser-like blades? Why is the new gaunt equipped with gi-normous hands and claws, but they are wearing a mask so tiny, they wont be even equipped to take it in their own hands?

[@Mørmëgíl-b1h]

This is definetly the right direction! The style looks very cool. My favorite is the infernal caster with the key! :D