STORMGATE has a GREAT roadmap. But is it enough to succeed SC2?

Frost Giant have clearly listened to the RTS community, putting together a great roadmap to making the next triple A RTS game, Stormgate. Now the hard work begins to get a fantastic game out of it. It's too early to say whether it will succeed Starcraft 2 but they're taking the right steps at least.
Frost Giant interview: • Frost Giant Studios | ...
Add Stormgate to your Steam wishlist: store.steampowered.com/app/20...
Sign up for the Beta here: playstormgate.com
What we know about Stormgate so far: www.pigstarcraft.com/stormgate/
My Stormgate videos playlist: • Stormgate by Frost Giant
--
🐷 Second Channel for Learning StarCraft 2: / pigrandom
🐷 Third Channel for Daily Pro Casts: / pigcasts
--
🐷 Watch live at / x5_pig
🐷 Support PiG: / pigsc2
🐷 PiG’s Discord: / discord
🐷 PiG’s Website: www.pigstarcraft.com/
--
0:00 Cinematic
2:59 Thoughts on cinematic
4:39 Thoughts on roadmap/game details
28:06 Conclusion
--
#Starcraft2 #SC2 #PiGStarcraft

[@PiGstarcraft]

TLDR: Their roadmap is great. Is that enough to produce a great RTS game? Too early to tell, but I'm cautiously optimistic. UPDATE: Frost Giant said this on Twitter: "One thing we'd like to point out when comparing our cinematic to other trailers--our cinematic was made entirely in Unreal Engine. It reflects the kinds of stories we can tell in-game, and that players can create using our Editor. To be clear, this trailer was made by a team of professionals and does not reflect something that can be easily whipped up! It shows what's possible in-engine." I'll be interviewing a Frost Giant dev in the coming week. Now that you've all seen the roadmap and all the details from 10 billion content creators, let me know what questions you have!

[@johnnovak6386]

I'd like to hear more about their goals and/or thoughts on the competitive to pro path. I think that's such an awesome idea. I enjoy playing the SC2 tournaments but to have an expanded bigger version would be awesome.

[@alexandermorganti7468]

A couple questions regarding unit pathing/control - is Frost Giant planning on allowing air units to stack the way they do in SC2 & Is there any plans on adding more of a buffer between certain types of units so they don’t move/pack together so fluidly. At least to me it looks way more cinematic to have your fleet of BC’s covering the screen instead of in a tight ball & looks cool to have marines moving with some space btwn units and not a ball of spacemarines shooting their rifle with only 6 cm of clearance from one another. In that case the bad pathfinding of broodwar can make for more visually interesting fights. Some units move too fluidly in SC2.

[@laurelkeeper]

@@alexandermorganti7468 they’re cutting down on air units as endgame, actually - terrain is interesting, and air units ignore that

[@Scawtsauce]

I'm just said blizzard has fallen so far from grace.

[@JeeJeez1]

Why they decided to announce the game without any gameplay footage? Hard to get excited about it being an RTS when that part isnt shown. Saw lots of chat comments mistaking this for a MOBA.

[@bassbeardiful]

My favorite part of the trailer was when kerrigan and the probe put the zalnaga shard into the protoss pillar. Then when the hybrid and the goliath fought, dude...that was awesome!

[@LiviuGelea]

She didn't have high heels. :)

[@XerrolAvengerII]

​@@LiviuGelea ghosts don't wear high heels

[@LiviuGelea]

@@XerrolAvengerII Yeah, just assumed they do since Queen of blades did

[@walterbirdwell3675]

"there's a storm coming... And hell's coming with it" reminds me greatly of "war is coming, with all its glory... And all its horror"

[@jiayojames]

It's about time, hell

[@emissarygw2264]

thought it was "hail's coming with it" lol

[@danm2084]

Yeah, the cinematic is pretty shitty imo, but I don't give a shit about how good a game's cinematics are lol. The gameplay being good and replayable is literally all that matters.

[@guyingrey1072]

Starcraft references in that cinematic I noticed: -Goggles similar to Ghost/Kerrigan's -Little scanning drone looks like what kerrigan in her jail lifted in the hots intro cinematic -STORMGATE logo does the little lightning thing the Starcraft ones always did and probably a lot more

[@PiGstarcraft]

they've been VERY inspired by sc2. I think I saw somewhere that the logo maker made the sc2 one as well

[@guyingrey1072]

@@PiGstarcraft Oh, that's pretty cool! I have high hopes. Hopefully they watched GGG's video and other community feedback so they know the best routes to take for it to be successful.

[@artemis_fowl44hd92]

@@guyingrey1072 Well, they gave GGG special access, so I would say it's pretty likely

[@b152349]

The cinematic felt really childish and disappointing to me.

[@guyingrey1072]

@@artemis_fowl44hd92 Good sign

[@xXMrGuitarDudeXx]

Yo pig I just wanted to tell you that I always wanted to play an RTS and thanks to your bronze to GM series I am finally hooked on the genre. Thanks man you're awesome!

[@luckyluc9972]

I've tried other RTS and the lack of responsive in those games is appalling. There are Billions - so fun. Great story and great game play. But why does it feel so "rough?" Get that down and another game will flourish

[@JWQweqOPDH]

Kind of expected, but I remember creating a custom They Are Billions map with most of my base walled off with impassable terrain. From time to time a zombie would just magically teleport through the terrain and bypass all of my defenses.

[@jyonyish]

They are billion is a very budget rts game, and by comparison of this 2gb game with Frost giant's monster you one more time proved to me how it's not even close to AAA new rts

[@anupew3276]

actually the 'unresponsiveness' can make for a great games when its done by design. Look for Battlefleet Gothic: Armada for example - larger ship is, slower it reacts which makes interesting possibility to maneuver around them.

[@wiczus6102]

They are Billions is a great game, but it doesn't have much replay value. You could play starcraft all your life. Playing They are Bilions all the time would be sad.

[@planetwomanizzi]

I think the flaw of They Are Billions is that the enemy is inherently brainless. Once you learn how to build carefully but expand quickly and can cheese the zombie AI, you can prosper. Compare with a multiplayer game with an evolving meta.

[@IceNineOcean]

I honestly think the reason to be cautiously optimistic on this game is because it's made by a team that actually has experience with how the SC2 engine was made. The biggest downfall for basically every other RTS has been unit control and responsiveness feeling sluggish compared to SC2. Like, AoE4 feels like any other Relic RTS, which frankly feels dated. It seems like Frost Giant is aware of this though.

[@Eri4Jp]

dowII is great RTS with poor responsiveness and slow mechanic which makes it frustrating at times

[@silverhawkscape2677]

I remember how Someone Fixed the Pathing in SC1 and they broke the game's balance

[@Kaydawg]

My problem with almost every competitve RTS that iant starcraft is that the units feel soooo clubky to control. Like AOE4, the units just dont feel good to control and micro. Nothing has givej me the feeling that microing and splitting marines has given me.

[@jamespostlethwaite7799]

I agree 100%. How the units feel and respond in sc2 is so quick and smooth. I think it goes further too. The controls in general in, for example, aoe4 are way less intuitive. In sc2 there are ways to separate armies, create new ones on new hot keys and you can quickly select/deselect groups or individual units to add/remove from groups. This is possible to some extent in aoe4 but not to the same level of depth and ease. Played aoe4 for a couple of months when it came out and it was a lot of fun but, just found myself coming back to sc2….. again haha

[@eyeofhorus1301]

@@jamespostlethwaite7799 It's funny blizzard before activision made the greatest rts ever starcraft and the greatest mmo ever WoW both of which constantly attract you back to it over and over after trying other MMOs. They were amazing

[@ryu-ken]

​@@eyeofhorus1301 don't forget the greatest card game hearthstone and the greatest mobile game diablo immortal

[@eyeofhorus1301]

@@ryu-ken They sure found a different kind of greatest since then!

[@rickhagaman7916]

Everything ive heard so far has me super excited! I cant wait to have a game developer create and support an RTS game regularly like Fortnite did for Battle Royals. The fact that they are addressing, most of if not all of, the key reasons we love Starcraft GETS ME STOKED! The Cinematic was great as well, it did its job. Im eagerly looking forward to STORMGATE!

[@guillaumemilab5673]

Totally agree with what u said in the beginning, I do love playing multiplayer and stuff but I'm not a competitive player like trying to create fancy builds and stuff (altho I love to watch competitions !) so I'm really hyped by the campaign model they seem to be willing to create I always enjoyed SC2 campaigns, the fact that you can customize units and stuff give a real other interest to the game and I always felt like they didn't push it far enough in SC2 (I was really happy when they announced Nova's campaign, loved it although it was a bit short, and got really disapointed when I lost all hope of upcoming new campaign stories) so if they can make it even better (and knowing the developpers I really have faith) with more customizations, more interactive stories (co-op already is a great thing imo !) and stuff it might be awesome ! :) Thanks for the update ! Oh and I'm also really reinsured by the economi model you displayed, skins, heroes, campaign chapters if they're not too expensive I'm totally down for it ! :)

[@ohmyonionpie]

if anybody can do it, its this team, they are the ones who brought us warcraft and starcraft afterall ( and command and conquer in its glory days). SUPER EXCITED.

[@paulpickett4522]

That's pretty cool. It's fun to see you so excited about it - especially since you understand so many facets of what it takes to get something right! =D

[@richx5064]

There is good reason to be excited. Imagine the best French cook in the city announces he is opening up his own restaurant. Many will be excited by the news. Same goes for Stormgate. There is an old saying, "The customer is always right." If Stormgate listen to the community, they just might create a great game.

[@johnnovak6386]

I missed the release. Excellent recap much appreciated! I love SC2 and love the fact these guys helped build that having that experience. Super hyped about this. I remember being in middle school thinking there's no way I'd still be playing SC when SC2 comes out... Well here I am 😂 years after it's release I'm still playing. So a couple years?! Pfft. That's a really ambitious timeline but I'm hoping they can pull it off. Already signed up for the beta. Thanks for the content as always PiG. Looking forward to the interview recap as well!

[@PiGstarcraft]

If you have any questions after watching all of that, let me know!

[@wiczus6102]

My thought is: if a studio invests 50-100k into a cinematic and none of that went into making sure that the script makes sense they probably will not be able to make a good game, because they clearly don't know how to prioritize. This cinematic looks as if it was written by middle management.

[@eyeofhorus1301]

+Wiczus Gameplay creation is completely different than cinematic creation which is more like movie making as opposed to video game making... Listen to the interviews like on Lowko's channel with the game designer and he's very sharp and really knows what he's doing

[@wiczus6102]

@@eyeofhorus1301 it's about knowing how to prioritize

[@sprintstothebathroomdaily2429]

For SC2 why wasn't there a tosh campaign of coop commander so much story left on the shelf.

[@IAmJustAPers0n11]

I am actually very excited to see how this will turn out

[@margaritameer6989]

How many of you also got emotional to the level of having a tear in the eye?

[@abyssalphoenix4541]

They bring a version of Rock the Cabinet or something akin to it would be amazing to see. The hype those games built gave view for those who never seen or played some of those games. Or all together create a possible new mode.

[@macedindu829]

I'm super excited. I was never into RTS. I got here because TB got me to watch some SC2, and I really loved watching it. I played a bit of SC2 when it went FTP, but that's really it for me. This being released FTP, with all the features they're talking about, gives me a real hope of getting in on the ground floor and actually having fun playing an RTS, instead of just watching.

[@IlCardinaleMC]

Hey Pig, which other RTS-games have you been playing lately?

[@ising4uifyousing4me]

Quick question for the Devs - do they have any thoughts into implementing randomly generated maps / co op missions? Will maps be static from game to game or free flowing?

[@ising4uifyousing4me]

Id also like to know if they are implementing anything into their directors contracts to ensure the company doesnt become a cash cow (greedy company) in the future. You can see how passionate they are, and I believe they are pouring their heart and soul into this game. I just hope investors or future directors can't come in 5 years down the line to destroy what seems to be such a genuine company.

[@st4ndby]

They do all of them! This Game is going to be Perfect!

[@planetwomanizzi]

The cinematic passes the Bechdel Test!? I am intrigued.

[@catra195]

Imagine talking about audio issues and not the dollar store toy concept design

[@Spanky00Cheeks]

The cannon fires at paintball velocities… :P

[@MrTacoSr]

Lets be real: We all love cinematics but the hype just gives us crap like fallout 4 or cyberpunk 2077. I’d prefer they blow the budget on a great game

[@fulmetalotaku3091]

The whole basis for the story is giving me Dark Portal vibes, as someone who grew up playing the Warcraft RTS as well as StarCraft games I’m hyped and feeling a little nostalgic.

[@Gemma_Rashida]

I PREFERRED BROOD WAR KERRIGAN TOO. I loved that she just unapologetically manipulated, double crossed and fucked over everybody and kicked all their asses at the end. I get the relatability thing, but the whole thing they were trying to do with her and raynor just felt totally lacklustre compared to what she did in Brood War. Anyway... I'm definitely looking forward to this. Happy that it's free to play. The art style is really appealing, it looks nice and crisp (some RTSs have looked a bit muddy to me). The quality of the cinematic didn't bother me, I'm more interested in the game actually being good and that the in-game sounds are satisfying (which I think SC2 did a great job with, it really added to my experience of it). Thanks for the video!

[@xxhowisuxx]

Yeah Sc2 Legacy of the Void fucked shit up really bad lmao.

[@Leonhart_93]

You sing praises for BW, but it felt ridiculous to me how stupid everyone she manipulated was. "Oh, she turned a new leaf and wants to be our ally, surely she won't backstab us right?". Basically viewing it with rose-colored glasses, while it is flawed story like a most others.

[@silverhawkscape2677]

F2P.

[@viceroy___]

Worst machinegun tracers in human history. Holy shit.

[@danieljones3291]

First thing I noticed was the bullet speed. I'm interested in how this game develops

[@poluxas8025]

I'm very excited about it, I'm just praying that my computer doesn't explode and I can play it without a problem.

[@Fitzyhere]

This game is going to be HYPE

[@mybadchief4471]

Fitzy!

[@ericquintero7099]

In game art looks great. Super pumped to play.

[@martixy2]

On merged command cards: Perhaps something like how Tychus works in SC2 coop?

[@xNiDrOx]

What I wonder is will it be big armies where each unit isn't as crucial or smaller armies where each unit has more importance

[@zentraidee9701]

I love when kerrigan And reynor get maaried on the next update.

[@neloth9874]

Hope this might give us a good competitive edge in esports like starcraft, and I'm also feeling a positive vibe with this new trailer.

[@Qladstone]

Very excited. I play 1v1 ladder, 4v4, coop, and campaign all of them quite a fair bit. I would love for an RTS to be in active development that does all these aspects well and even improves on them. Ideally I would like SC2 to be updated with more campaign packs, coop commanders and maps, but seems like Blizzard has given up on SC2 and I'm all for the next big RTS to try to succeed SC2.

[@wargamerproducions]

I love the art style! idk what the flak is about

[@sgtjosozo]

added to wish list

[@juanversion3922]

Human, Infernals, Celestials Heralds Elven

[@carlibouros]

I am sooooo hyped by this game!!!

[@paulboker8145]

Will need to see some actual gameplay footage to get hyped

[@marcuspage2593]

Will there actually be no 2v2 in Stormgate? They seem to have 3v3 but no word on 2v2 so far?

[@Broformist]

I would be fine with just a ranked 2v2 mode without balance readjustments, same as in SCII. It's the one team mode that I still can consistently enjoy in sc II, larger games than that start to feel like random rage inducing bullshit to me, way too much shit to pay attention to and armies melt too fast.

[@XcorybobX]

Excited

[@kichoamn]

i think you're being a bit too optimistic talking about e-sport and professional players considering we dont know how the game isn't even gonna play like. That said i don't blame you, i would really like this game to do well, i certanly share the hype.

[@LincolnLog]

after the shitshow that was age of empires 4, Im excited for this

[@Hurtone]

The most important question no one has asked yet is: will it have a cannon rush?

[@ryu-ken]

it better

[@keizan5132]

Glad that I got to watch the behind the camera of this video. "sEe GuYs!? This is how you make a video!" Loved it xd.

[@The_Xenomancer]

Damn I think the in game graphics look beautiful Idk what everyone is on about

[@ascyrax8507]

super excited

[@Koreyite]

I think skins should only show up to other players if they opt to see custom skins.

[@robmitch4085]

Honestly i hope for 4 races and however many sub ones. One thing i love about 3 is the sub ones. Naga, blood elf, fel, etc. But to even use half of them in a game i have to go out of my way to do a full custom race which is fine but if the game already has a setup where like fel peons create buildings and other fel orcs come out then it should work like that not put down a fel peon build one and normal orcs come out. I want it to put out fel orcs. However do I think it's overhyped. No. But do not have too high of an expectation. Because no matter how good the game is if your expectation is too high you'll be disappointed. If you expect the moon and get a nugget of gold you will have something worth a lot but disappointed you don't have the moon.

[@charlesdean2781]

I think what I hated most about some sc2 campaigns, was the "squad" boards. I know I'm probably alone in this, but I always hated it when they switched it from an RTS with base building to a "no no, you don't need to build units. Just use these 5"

[@Zettern96]

Not a fan of free to play, but it means I will at least try it out.

[@paulmdevenney]

Let's face it, a large part of Blizzards success has been their cutscenes, and I would argue their audio team have always made their impact in game as well. A large part of whether an ability is satisfying comes from the sound design.

[@quintyss1290]

I want this game to succeed, but I hope it doesn't 'kill' StarCraft.

[@R0binah00d]

I really really really don’t want SC2 to be phased out :, (

[@Broockle]

w8 iron harvest has a campaign? How'd I never know this lol

[@_Wai_Wai_]

Is that a reaper on steroids?

[@raf74hawk12]

Honestly I thought those screenshots looked really nice. Like you said, visual clarity is the key when it comes to graphics. Really hoping that they are able to pull this off

[@PavlosPapageorgiou]

31:23 Because Blizzard corners the market with sub-par games and no-one else can rise.

[@zerglinglover2303]

Why does everyone say that the audio is "not great" dude it's horrendous. The demon punches her shield, and she was thrown back. Only audio is what sound like a light slap and a groan. The Goliath drops from the sky, crashes into the ground... sounds like somebody stomping on a sidewalk.The demon crashes into the Goliath, and there is no sound. Not even a soda-can crumpling sound. It's horrendous, and completely ruins the immersion. The visual design is great, though. Don't forget, the mech then mows it down with it's minigun, and it sounds like a peashooter.

[@mrgoober6320]

Hopefully Stormgate will be able to escape War/Starcraft's identity as Warhammer light.

[@ryu-ken]

hopefully they get some input on balance from pro players

[@istratemihai9152]

I really love sc2 even do I'm stuck like everyone else in diamond gonna be so hard do to make a game like it 😩 every single faction is amazing hopefully they gonna make something that will be better than sc2

[@rofdo1489]

I believe it only looks like a mobile game, because the pictures are very zoomed in like on a small screen.

[@jacobgirling7739]

I really hope they get the feeling of responsiveness and get the look right. Somehow StarCraft has remained the best looking and most responsive competitive RTS to date despite being over 10 years old. I don't like seeing it look so cartoony personally. I like the more gritty appearance of sc2 because of how that impacted the emotion of the cinematics and campaign especially. Also I really wanted to play AOE4 for example but goddamn does the unit movement feel awful.

[@mareksicinski3726]

7:17 ? I mean it is just to have more depth

[@prezzle208]

Just doesn't feel like it'll be that great. But I'll happily be wrong if it turns out good.

[@Vincent-op4wf]

Well the cinematic isn't bad but it isn't great either compared to starcraft standards. It's a bit tame, characters movements are stiff, the weight of punches / weapons doesn't convey well etc . Then again Starcrafts cinematics are a super high standard.

[@mareksicinski3726]

10:31 commentary is separate

[@charliepeterson1745]

I like the light hearted, cartoonish graphics. They’re more accessible to the younger generation. Remember it’s the kids playing these competitive games at 4-5 years old that are the next talent.

[@mareksicinski3726]

3:08 hm? not necessarily even

[@mathieugrenier27]

The cinematic is well made but I don't like it. There is not enough tension or emotions and too much action. But maybe it's just me getting old though

[@DJNicShogun]

This game is a RTT moba no basebuilding

[@GigaTyGuy]

Brutal campaign was probably a bit easy because there were achievements tied to that difficulty.

[@iceweasel2199]

Im really nervous about the main 1v1 mode having Heroes... an RTS should NOT have Heroes in the main game mode!!!!

[@benjamindibb2538]

??? Warcraft sends its regards

[@allanshpeley4284]

I have no issue with the cinematic as it's the gameplay and in-game visuals that really matter. But I feel very let down with the direction they went with the art style on the few gameplay screenshots they showed. The graphics look like they could be straight out of a mobile tower defense game. Yes, they're a small studio but they raised $35M and have highly experienced staff. Why use Unreal 5 if you're going to make cartoony looking graphics? The only thing I can think is they're trying to model visually after games like DOTA and League to appeal to the masses.

[@laurelkeeper]

I mean, they’ve got to get the masses on board to beat SC2 or any of the big RTS games. But I agree they could go a bit grittier - and it’s over a year out, they probably will after feedback.

[@estianyssel3933]

I agree in a way, but I do understand the reasoning behind the more cartoony, lighthearted style. This is the initial title of a brand new studio. If they want to ensure the longevity of the studio (And RTS in general), they have to make something that will work and be successful. So it totally makes sense to choose a style like this to appeal to as many people as possible, whilst still going into a unique direction.

[@XerrolAvengerII]

the Advantage of using simpler graphical design is readability and a lower hardware barrier to entry, Fortnite has very simple graphics but is very accessible and that's probably something the dev team is considering.

[@eyeofhorus1301]

@@estianyssel3933 I don't see whats wrong with cartoony unless its ugly cartoons

[@allanshpeley4284]

@@XerrolAvengerII I think you're right, that it comes down to hardware barrier to entry. It's really not necessary though as SC2 did a great job with their graphics and it was plenty accessible 12 years ago. All they had to do was match SC2's graphics fidelity. Unless, of course they intend on mobile play.

[@rockstar6goalkeeper]

Dune 2000 had better responsiveness and pathing than all rts's in the past few years. It's obviously not that hard to do, i have no idea why developers keep airballing that department

[@LiviuGelea]

Thanks for the recommendation. Will try it.

[@xmathmanx]

That's a good point, and also applies to dune 2

[@Milarecs]

Hope graphics are not cartoony and dont suck like 99% of modern rts

[@MisterNightfish]

My initial impression is that the cinematic could do with someone working on the sound effects. That gun is the least impressive sounding gun since the Surge 2's cinematic. What I do like is that they seem to want to stop trying to force use singleplayer / co op people to play competitively. We don't want to. We don't need to be converted. I enjoy watching tournaments, but I don't want to play 1vs1, that's way too much work for me.

[@catra195]

Stay, playing competitive will ruin all other genres for you. I used to play rpgs and tactical turn based , campaigns for all kinds of games now I can't sit through it for 10 minutes

[@Nil-js4bf]

Is it possible to have replays work across major patches? Always sad losing the ability to rewatch some of your memorable games. AoE4 is terrible in this regard, iirc, every small update completely breaks old replays. SC2 maintained more backwards compatibility but it definitely fell off after one of the major patches.

[@Scawtsauce]

I can't care less about the cinematics. I don't even care about graphics. I want nice 1v1 gameplay hopefully GSL will pick it up. is this the studio that the blizzard devs went to? I won't say anything till they show gameplay

[@stefankaptens4952]

The type of Microtransactions you are talking about are absolutely valid, regardless of me personally preferring to buy a game where I pay for it once. On the other hand, what I don't think many understand (and you touch on this around the monetation-discussion i believe) how much money/time that goes into developing the "next hit game" nowadays. And if you are to pay upfront for what it would take to cover the past development, and not to mention all the future content they plan to release, you'll be paying a lot more than what you're normally used to pay. So splitting it up on campaign chapters, skins, voices, etc. is actually a very good idea.

[@frontline989]

They’re promising a lot for a free to play game

[@TheMoeHawk]

Is it wrong of me to consider Stormgate as Starcraft 3 lol

[@merek5380]

The biggest thing I hope for is a mature take on user interface. I hope that they do not automate the player out of the RTS. Ill give away my bias here but im partial to the inefficiencies of brood war's interface as opposed to sc2. Im not a hater i play both but just consider what selecting only 12 units at a time does to inherently impact how the game is balanced, how the fights look, and how much the human element can shine.

[@laurelkeeper]

I mean, SC2 has a pretty much infinite skill ceiling - look at AlphaStar with uncapped APM. In the end, if the game appeals to a broad audience while still preserving high-level gameplay, it wins.

[@fastestdraw]

I'm the opposite; hoping it has half the features of supcom's faf interface. Like, setting repeat build orders, or unit formations and patrol paths in the factory. There was so much you could do micro and macro wise there that the human element was always present, but it wasn't a skill gate the way SC has always been.

[@merek5380]

@@laurelkeeper rts's have an infinite skill ceiling regardless of user interface. Again I like sc2, it is obviously set up for fast paced game play with lots of action and I would argue that in its current state it is tuned for viewership as much as high level play. That is fundamental to the design concept that leads to quality of life focus on macro. In other words, it is a design consideration to make macro as smooth as possible (remove the human element by automating it) so that the game is more action oriented. I believe that this is overtuned in sc2 and that part of the secret sauce of a good rts is making the game feel smooth while keeping the control human side as opposed to automating processes. At the end of the day im talking about taxing apm in non combat ways.

[@eyeofhorus1301]

@@laurelkeeper Thats misleading, most of that skill ceiling is inaccessible to humans. You can have a higher humanly accessible skill ceiling by more clever micro tricks being possible than currently are in the game etc.

[@laurelkeeper]

@@merek5380 I generally disagree with the idea that the player should have to fight the UI in addition to the opponent. If you have an idea of what you want your army or faction to do, it should happen, and the more complex those ideas are, the more complex the micro becomes to articulate them. Having units automatically added to control groups, having different units' skills on the same command card, these things remove inefficiencies and hindrances to the player's expression of their gameplay goals - and in an RTS, especially one that tries to introduce new players to the genre as Stormgate is, the ability to clearly translate goals to UI actions is crucial for a good experience.

[@Anomen77]

I have no doubt they'll nail the technicalities and it will feel great to control. However, artistically, they have the originality of a chinese bootleg. StarCraft ghosts on Dva mechs vs the most cookie cutter demons ever. It makes me fearful of future unit designs.

[@xmathmanx]

Does it also get you down that pawns in chess tend to look rather similar? Does that take some of the fun out of chess?

[@ohmyonionpie]

bruv its literally a pre pre pre pre alpha showing of the game lol

[@AndrewArts]

No chance

[@hockeyguy1166]

As long as Stormgate is balanced for casual players it will do great. SC2 is balanced for the pros alienating 98% of the player base. I think making the game easier to play is the best way to go. At the end of the day when I'm done with work and my kids are asleep I just want to enjoy a fun casual RTS, not play the intense fuck fest SC2 has become. Make automatic control groups ground, air, spellcasters, production. Why RTS games don't have a hardcore mode for the players that complain about the game being to automated is beyond my understanding. When SC2 came out a lot of hardcore SC1 people complained it was too easy, just fix with a hardcore mode. Lastly the screenshots looked awesome. PiG is spot on about not too realistic graphics with a cartoon vibe. I also think its good if the game is not dark, it will help pull in younger players. The more players this game reaches the more success and fun we should all have.

[@LiviuGelea]

What balancing for casual players means: At all levels in the ladder you have an equal distribution of the 3 races. What balancing for casual players doesn't mean: Anything else, such as expectation to never lose to stupid stuff and get frustrated or the expectation you might have a chance on the world champion

[@HiroTeaShi]

Impossible. What is a casual player? How do you quantify that and balance around it? Which casual population should be catered to? Should a casual player who will make bad ingame choices and play non optimally compared to someone more hardcore with proper build order practice really deserve more sway? One casual player will be better than another simply due to natural skill sets. How do you account for all that? No, you have to assume near perfect play and about for the effort it takes to do such plays. That's how you can approach balance. What you say sounds great as words but is not doable by any means. What your asking for is better uxui and quality of life features. Which I'm totally on board with

[@hockeyguy1166]

@@HiroTeaShi I think you are so narrow minded on this you won't understand anything I write. I'm not just talking casual players it's more so anyone who is not a pro. I'll give you an example SC2 masters down can be very balanced, you see even statistics across the board the game is a lot of fun to play for largest player group. Then Serral keeps winning with Zerg over and over, other zerg pros catch on to his mechanics and abuse it. Blizzard nerfs Zerg buffs other race now making Zerg much weaker and harder to play. Now you have Zerg players switching to toss or Terran disrupting the balance for the majority of players, the game becomes stale and not as fun. The pro community is not what's going to make devs rich. It's all the micro transactions from causal "average" players that will keep it afloat. SC2 failed against mobas because it has an elitist stigma and it turns people away. 90% of the people that will ever play Stormgate will never play the game like a professional!!!!!

[@hockeyguy1166]

@@LiviuGelea I'll give you an example. Zerg pros defense like serral is impeccable so what did blizzard do they nerfed the queen. After they did that for months almost every zvt I played had a BC opening. That sucked for a lot of players.

[@LiviuGelea]

@@hockeyguy1166 there was no queen nerf. There was a queen walk nerf. And a minor one at that

[@kaloyanradkov8962]

I think you are very mistaken and i base my oppinion on the same trailer that you watched...

[@westonstevens3239]

I wanna love this game but just not feeling it at all. And that cinematic was pretty abysmal. But we'll see I guess. The problem with RTS is not that RTS has fallen out of fashion. The problem with RTS is no one knows how to make a good RTS anymore. I hope that's what Frost Giant is concerned with and their focus isn't on making RTS more appealing. They should be focused on making a great RTS game, period and stick to what has worked with so many great RTS franchises in the past like Starcraft, Warcraft, C&C, AOE, and so forth.

[@Clarity-808]

This isn’t just the first time a company has taken a shot at an SC-level RTS - if it doesn’t work, it may be the last. So let’s send them support and help them keep RTS alive!

[@andreicristian9575]

Heroes being purchasable IS pay to win.

[@lordtraxroy]

Games like StarCraft broodwar is really cheap to make to be honest because back then games dont have the million doller Budget they just Reli on that and the graphic beck then was different either

[@LiviuGelea]

This game will be a nightmare to balance. Not only Is it very hard to balance 3 races and impossible 4+, but this game says there will be 3v3 games which might need another level of game balance. That being said, I think what most RTS games lack isn't great e-sports potential. The esports draws from a pool of people who have played campaigns, and if the story sucks you'll never get enough people involved to create something as big as Starcraft was. We need a good story, and community moding potential. Take the new AoE for example. I don't even know if it has a campaign, but I did a couple of games and found that the promise of cool matches when I learn the controls isn't enough to keep me engaged.

[@XayadSC]

they said the balancing will be different between 1v1 and 3v3

[@ghostface0007]

SC3 is the only thing that can successfully become SC2's successor. But this game might be fun. Looking forward to it's release in 2030. 😎

[@vahan6500]

It will be better anyway . Cause it's not Blizzard .