Commander, it’s time to lock in! 

We’re excited to finally share Update 0.4.0, our biggest leap forward for Stormgate yet. 

From the very beginning we set out to create an RTS experience that evolves over time - one that grows with you. With this update, we’re taking a major step toward that vision, and it all starts with a complete Campaign overhaul. We’ve rebuilt the first 6 missions from the ground up with new interludes, new VO, new art, and even new hero customizations to tailor your personal Campaign experience.

With the new Campaign, we also bring new unit models for various Infernal and Vanguard units, all new Hero and NPC models, a complete rework of Amara’s abilities in Campaign, checkpoint save/load improvements, new Campaign post-game stats, and other quality of life features.

Please note that this is a preview of our launch Campaign for testing purposes and not a finished work. If you have been waiting for the completed release of our Campaign before experiencing our story, we recommend that you remain patient and check back in when it’s done. 

That said, there’s plenty for all Stormgate players to see in 0.4.0 outside of Campaign. Check out several all-new unit models, the new AI improvements in Custom Games, the visual upgrade for Infernal Shroud, plus various balance changes, bug fixes, and more!

Thank you for supporting us on this journey. Dive into the full list of updates below:

Support:

How to report a bug or provide feedback on the latest build: https://playstormgate.com/feedback 

Still having trouble? Visit our Stormgate Help Center.

Help us out by leaving a review over on Steam: http://bit.ly/stormgate

NOTE: As part of updating this latest build, replays and saved games made on previous builds will no longer function.   

Stormgate Joins Steam Wargames Fest – April 28 to May 5

We're excited to announce that Stormgate is joining the fight as part of Steam’s Wargames Fest, running from 10AM PT on April 28 through May 5! ⚔

To celebrate, we’re rolling out a full week of in-game discounts so you can gear up, squad up, and jump into battle in style:

• 🧁 50% off the adorable Rizzy Kitty pet
• 👾 50% off the slick Glitch Mod: Fog of War shader
• 🎁 20% off all Stormgate bundles
• 💥 10% off all other store items

Whether you’re new to the game or just looking to round out your collection, this is the perfect time to dive in.

Patch Notes: 

General:

• All workers will now use a charge-system to create.
• Targeting abilities will now use updated faction-specific area-of-effect indicators.
• Shroud has been given a visual update.
  • Shroud now spreads up ramps.
  • Shroud will visually display on the minimap.
  • Shroud changes the appearance of trees that it touches.
  • All Infernal structures now emit Shroud.

Campaign:

With the launch of Stormgate Update 0.4.0, the Campaign experience is getting a massive upgrade — and that means a fresh start for everyone. If you completed Campaign missions prior to this update, your progress has been reset, but for good reason: the first six missions have been completely rebuilt from the ground up. We’re talking new storylines, cinematic cutscenes, art, audio, mission design, and more. You’ll explore a brand-new Campaign Hub, interact with your crew via the new Conversation System, make strategic choices with the Tech Decision Tree, and customize your heroes with an expanded Trait and XP progression system.

This update also introduces major hero ability reworks (including a full overhaul for Amara), checkpoint save/load improvements, and the first steps toward a more generous Campaign structure.

The first three Campaign missions will be available for free to all players in this update. Missions 4-6 will be available for purchase for $9.99 USD (and are included in the bundles on Steam and Founders Packs). We would like to provide even more free missions to new players, so our plan is to make the first five Missions free to play for everyone in a future update, and the paid bundles and Founders Packs will instead include access to Missions 6-8.  

• New Mission Names:
  • Mission 01: Ghosts of the Past
  • Mission 02: City of Skulls
  • Mission 03: Ash and Bone
  • Mission 04: Grim Company
  • Mission 05: Veiled Fate
  • Mission 06: Traitor’s Bay
• New Campaign Hub to explore between missions. 
  • Report to Mission Control to get your upcoming mission briefing or retry an old mission. 
  • New Combat Engineering Lab and Xeno Research Center: Use Credits earned from bonus objectives to unlock Army Upgrades and research randomized Artifacts to help you on your missions. 
  • A new Conversation system enables you to talk with key crew members.
  • An Item Stash allows you to unload and store items between missions, as well as to customize the starting item loadout for each hero character.
• Heroes gain XP and advance in levels with progression that is tracked from mission to mission.  With each level advanced, gain a new point to spend on Traits that customize hero abilities in a variety of ways.
• An updated Transmission system now supports animated video calls with scratchy static and screen distortion effects.
• The post-game stats and graphs from 1v1 are now coming to campaign. 
• Blockade and Ryker are now playable in more missions.
• Checkpoint Save/Load: Now when selecting a checkpoint to load from, you can choose any checkpoint you’ve passed in the level instead of just the last one. When loading back into a game, you can now continue from where you left off last based on the most recent Checkpoint Save.  
• Amara’s kit has been reworked with new abilities and customizable traits, including:
  • Bulletstorm Spiral – A charge-based AoE ability with traits for energy recovery, teleporting, shielding, and debuffing enemies.
  • Blitzfire Tactics – Buffs nearby allies with traits that enhance speed, damage, and refresh mechanics.
  • Guardian Core – Summons a healing drone with optional shielding, decoys, and trait stacking.
  • Full Salvo – A heavy-hitting area bombardment with traits to increase impact and reduce delay.

Versus:

• All leaderboards will be reset. 

• AI Updates:
  • AI has been split into Easy, Normal, and Hard.
  • AI constructs unit compositions in a more focused manner. These compositions can transition throughout the game and can vary from match to match, offering more variety.
  • AI will now research upgrades for units that it is focused on building.
  • AI will now cast basic abilities on units.
  • AI does a better job of scouting the map for enemy units and attacking what it finds instead of blindly attacking the opponent’s main base.

Co-Op:

With the release of our 0.4.0 update, please note that Co-op mode is not receiving the vast majority of the recent changes coming to Stormgate. To preserve gameplay stability and prevent compatibility issues, the Co-op portion of Stormgate was intentionally “frozen” prior to the extensive faction changes introduced.

As a result, players will notice that co-op still uses legacy unit models, including the Brute, Fiend, Gaunt, B.O.B., Hedgehog, Hornet, and others. Our goal is to apply the latest versions of these models and other updates to Co-op in the future, after we have completed some necessary engineering work on our back-end to better support the application of our game data from mode-to-mode.

We remain committed to supporting a fun 3P Co-op experience and appreciate your patience and understanding.

• Changed leveling XP to drop average time for getting a Hero to level 20 from ~24 hours to ~18.5 hours. 

Cosmetics: 

• Previously only available as a Twitch Drop, the adorable Rizzy Kitty pet and Glitch Mod: Fog of War shader are now available for purchase in the in-game store! 
  • Launch discount of 50% off now through 10am PST May 5th.

Replays:  

• Added a button on the replay browser to open the replay folder from the game. 
• Added a button on the login screen to access the replay browser.
• Double-clicking a replay now plays the replay in-game. 
• Added more replay preview information to the replay browser  
• Added Production Queue for Observers and Replays.
• Added vision switching for Observers.

Audio: 

• Unit deaths for Vanguard and Infernal are now more visceral and impactful.
• Removed the VO volume setting and combined it with other sound effects.
• Added a "Mute unit responses" audio option.
• Added a Volume slider and mute setting for ambient sounds.

Art: 

• Vanguard: 
  • New Servo Model (replacing B.O.B.)
  • New Hedgehog model.
  • New Hornet model.
  • New Evac model.
• Infernals: 
  • New Brute model. 
  • New Fiend model. 
  • New Gaunt model.
  • New Phantom model.
  • New Spriggan texture. 
  • New Flayed Dragon texture.
•  Heroes: 
  • New Ryker Model.
  • New Maloc Model.
• New NPC Models: 
  • Tara. 
  • Suyin.
  • Taggart.
  • Tripp.
  • Admiral.
  • Crew NPCs.

Bug Fixes: 

• Versus:
  • The announcer will now state when you are attempting to build in an obstructed area. 
  • Building a new Central Command, Shrine, or Arcship will no longer auto-rally workers to Therium. 
• Units: 
  • Fixed an issue where Gaunt glaive bounces prioritized Arcships over ground combat units.
  • Charge/Jump abilities no longer get their units stuck inside doodads, structures, or terrain. 
• Co-op:
  • Fixed an issue where selected Fog of War Shaders were not displaying in Co-op matches. 
  • Ryker no longer ignores commands when using his Tuck and Roll ability. 
  • Destroying all of a player's structures and workers will now trigger a defeat.
• Art:  
  • Projectile attacks now attack the middle of a structure instead of the ground. 
  • The Skymine now has a proper death animation. 
  • The Shadowcleft will now properly appear with cracks when health is low. 
  • Toned down the Strike Node projectile impact to not be as bright. 
  • Minimap Icons are now larger and easier to distinguish.
• Audio: 
  • Hexen Death audio is now properly tied to a sound mixer. 
  • Fixed an issue where Imp projectile impact audio was inconsistent. 
  • Ryker commands no longer interrupt his VO when playing.
  • Fixed an issue where the Saber’s Self-Repair ability would not play SFX.
  • Auralanna’s Stasis Core ability now has its own SFX when used.
  • Victory Music at the end of a match is now properly tied to the volume slider.
  • Countdown SFX are now properly tied to the volume slider.
  • Fixed an issue that would cause the volume to get loud when exiting the game.
  • Fixed an issue that was causing hotkey presses and selection updates to trigger a UI sound effect.
• Buddybot: 
  • Buddybot no longer focuses on building a large number of non-combat units and instead will build more helpful units.
• Hotkeys:
  • Top Bar Ability 6 is no longer missing from the hotkey menu. 
  • Assigning Alt+Space as a hotkey should now function appropriately. 
  • Fixed an issue where hotkeys would not reset to default when reset through options. 
  • Fixed an issue where the assigned cancel hotkey would not cancel Prism production from Collection Arrays.
  • Fixed an issue where the assigned cancel hotkey for the Scrapyard would not cancel Research Upgrades when pressed.  
  • Fixed an issue where the Alt key would become stuck after Alt+Tabbing or minimizing the game window. 
  • Fixed an issue where using commands tied to modifier keys (Alt, Shift, etc.) would also trigger the keybind tied to the same key without the modifier. For example, hitting Alt+E no longer also triggers the E command. 
  • Using “Assign All” with a hotkey now properly assigns the hotkey to All instead of just the selected unit. 
• Control Groups:
  • When you turn off Control Group Indicators in settings, it will no longer ignores your wishes.
  • Pressing “Reset All Categories” in Control Group options will no longer set your video/audio options to default.
  • The Skull of Sheda can now be added to Control Groups. 
  • Imps and Morph Cores that morph into a building will now correctly be removed from control groups.
• UI: 
  • Low-spec machines will no longer default to Ultra Visual Quality in settings. 
  • Fixed an issue where the FPS/Network on-screen stats would block mouse input while on-screen. 
  • Fixed an issue where Hornets and Evacs were difficult to select when hovering over a structure. 
  • The in-game Frame Rate Limit now defaults to Unlimited instead of 60 FPS. 
  • Fixed an issue where Custom Game lobbies did not always show the host name in the list. 
  • The chat-box will no longer interfere with mouse clicks. 
  • Fixed an issue where end-of-game stats were showing way more units killed than intended.
  • Trees are now targetable through the fog-of-war. 
• End-of-Game Stats: 
  • Fixed an issue where end-of-game stats would sometimes be blank when quitting out of a match. 
  • End-of-game graphs for gathered resources will no longer end abruptly for one player. 
  • Fixed an issue where Winning/Losing a Versus/Custom game would not bring up the score screen. 
• Replays: 
  • Fixed an issue where intact Structures would appear damaged while paused.  
  • Fixed an issue where Replays could get stuck in a paused state if vision is changed while paused. 
  • Excessively skipping around in replays will no longer cause a crash. 
  • Fixed an issue where not all replay files would appear in the in-game replay list. 
  • Skipping forwards/backwards through a replay will no longer cause a structure to become stuck in its construction animation.
• Performance: 
  • Fixed an issue where Min Spec machines would get stuck on the load screen when entering a map. 
  • Re-adjusted the quality benchmarks and fixed DLSS Super Resolution and Frame Generation settings. 
  • Fixed various crashes with low-end GPUs at boot.

Balance Notes and Commentary: 

Hey all, 

While this patch is primarily focused on the campaign update, we’ve also made significant updates to Versus to improve the experience in a variety of ways:

• Removing the starting units that were causing frustrating interactions.
• Increasing the movement speed of most units to allow for more action-packed gameplay.
• Decreasing both the cost and health of tier-1 units across the board to better differentiate tier-1units vs. higher-tier units.
• Revamping various Infernals mechanics and systems for more streamlined gameplay.
• Changing the construction mechanics of all workers to a Charge-based system to make missing worker production less mechanically punishing and to more easily enable comebacks if there’s a significant number of worker deaths.
• Reducing the effectiveness of both defensive structure and defensive top-bar mechanics.

General

• Starting resources increased from 150/0 to 300/0.
• You no longer start the game with a Scout, Hexen, or Morph Core.
• Most units in the game are approximately 10 to 25% faster.
  • B.O.B, Imp, Prism, Morph Core, Collection Array, Arcship, Arcstation, Arcfortress
    • Unchanged
  • Helicarrier
    •  2.5 → 2.75 (10% increase)
  • Atlas, Weaver, Saber
    •  3 → 3.5 (16.6% increase)
  • Vulcan, Magmadon, Hellborne, Animancer
    •  3.5 → 4 (14.2% increase)
  • Exo, MedTech, Graven, Felhog, Brute, Gaunt, Hexen, Cabal
    •  4 → 5 (25% increase)
  • Lancer, Harbinger, Argent, Kri, Archangel Grounded
    • 4.5 → 5.5 (22% increase)
  • Hornet, Sentinel, Vector, Seraphim
    •  5 → 6 (20% increase)
  • Evac, Archangel Flying
    •  5.5 → 6.5 (18.2% increase)
  • Shadowflyer, Spriggan, Flayed Dragon, Scanner, Scythe
    •  6 → 7 (16.7% increase)
  •  Hedgehog
    •  6.75 → 7.75 (14.8% increase)
  •  S.C.O.U.T., Fiend
    •  7→ 8.25 (17.9% increase)
• Many structures are constructed faster. Note that some Infernal structures increased in build time due to Infernal structures gaining a 50% build speed bonus on Shroud.
  • Command Post, Sentry Post, Shrine, Shroudstone, Arcship, Collection Array, Link Node, Biokinetics Lab, Machine Lab, Ascension Matrix
    • Unchanged
  • Power Bank
    • 15 → 10
  • Habitat
    • 20 → 10
  • Meat Farm
    • 20 → 15
  • Barracks, Creation Chamber
    • 40 →30
  • Mech Bay, Hangar Bay, Starforge, Legion Hall
    • 45 → 30
  • Scrapyard
    • 35 → 15
  • Therium Purifier
    • 30 → 15
  • Iron Vault, Conclave, Twilight Spire
    • 60 → 80
  • Guardian Nexus
    • 45→ 50
  • Hellforge, Ritual Chamber, Shadowcleft
    • 50 → 70
  • Shroudstone
    • 40 → 60

Vanguard

• B.O.B.
  • Replaced with Servos.
  • Use charges to build. Max 5 charges.
• MedTech
  • System Shock speed bonuses decreased from 100%/75%/50%/25%/12.5% to 75%/50%/37.5%/25%/12.5%
• Repair-O-Matic/Sensor Array/Flak Cannon/Med Station/Ambush Post
  • Health decreased from 450 to 400.
• Buzzsaw Cannon
  • Health decreased from 570 to 520.

Infernals

General

• Infernal units no longer have White Health. They have had their health rebalanced to account for this.
• Upgrading Shrines no longer increases White Health generation.
• Infernal units now regenerate health on Shroud while out-of-combat. Most infernal units regenerate 2 health per second, with the following exceptions:
  • Harbinger: 3
  • Weaver: 4
  • Magmadon: 5
  • Flayed Dragon: 9
• Infernal structures now regenerate 1 health per second on Shroud while out-of-combat.
• Infest has been reframed as Curse. Cursed units will now spawn Phantoms when they die while Brutes will spawn Fiends when they Sunder Soul.
• Maximum Animus decreased from 1,000 to 200.
• Summon Effigy Animus cost increased from 5 to 10.
• Shroudstone Manifestation Animus cost increased from 50 to 75.
• All Infernal structures now emit Shroud.
• Infernal structures now build 50% faster on Shroud.

Imp

• Health changed from 70/20 to 85.
• Maximum number of Charges on Shrines increased from 3 to 5.

Brute

• Health changed from 160/40 to 195.
• Cost increased from 125 to 150.
• Size decreased from 0.7 to 0.6.
• Weapon period decreased from 1.5 to 1.125.
• Swing time decreased from 0.5 to 0.375.
• Sunder Soul no longer restores White Health to the resulting Fiends.
• Sunder Soul movement speed bonus increased from 15% to 30% to the resulting Fiends.
• No longer has the Soulforge Ascendance and Sundering Soul Craze abilities/upgrades.
• New Ability:
  • Infernal Fury
    • The Brute launches towards an enemy unit, slamming and stunning it for 0.5 seconds on-impact. Enemy units cannot be stunned in this way more than once every 2 seconds.If the Brute slams the enemy unit in Shroud, it gains 50% bonus attack speed for 5 seconds.
      • Requires the Infernal Fury upgrade.
  • New Research:
    • Infernal Fury
      • Researched at the Hellforge
      • Allows Brutes to use the Infernal Fury ability and increases their movement speed by 25%.
    • Fiendsplosion
      • Researched at the Hellforge
      • Requires the Infernal Fury upgrade and Elder Shrine
      • Allows Brutes to spawn two additional Fiends when they perish, including when they Sunder Soul.

Fiend

• Health changed from 40/10 to 50.
• Now drops one Corpse on-death.
• No longer immune to Infest/Curse.
• New Passive: Unholy Rend
  • On-Hit: Decreases the target's armor by -2.

Phantom

• Spawns when a unit dies while Cursed.
• Has a timed life of 30 seconds.
• Health changed from 40/10 to 30.
• Grants 50 Veterancy on-death compared to 100 from Fiends.

Magmadon

• Health changed from 480/120 to 540.
• Consume no longer restores White Health. Instead, it restores 25% of a unit’s max Health.

Hellborne

• Reworked to be a mid-range single-target anti-Heavy unit.
• Cost changed from 300/125 to 275/75.
• Health changed from 260/65 to 240.
• Supply cost decreased from 8 to 6.
• Damage changed 30 (+30 vs Heavy, +30 vs Structure) to 30 (+45 vs Heavy).
• Weapon period changed from 3 to 1.3.
• Range decreased from 14 to 8.
• No longer deals splash damage.
• The Molten Touch trait has been reworked. It now reads:
  • On-Hit: Lights the target on fire, reducing healing received by 90% and dealing 10 damage per second for 5 seconds.
  • Molten Touch still requires an upgrade from the Hellforge.

Gaunt

• Cost decreased from 125/25 to 100/25.
• Health decreased from 80/20 to 65.
• Gaunts can now Curse enemy units it attacks by default. It no longer needs an upgrade to do so.

Hexen

• Health decreased from 180 to 160.

Shadowflyer

• Bloodburst range increased from 1 to 3.
• Health changed from 60/15 to 65.

Spriggan

• Spriggans now build two at a time. Cost unchanged, so each Spriggan is half as expensive.
• Supply cost decreased from 3 to 1.
• Health decreased from 160/40 to 80.
• No longer attacks three times with each attack.
• Damage increased from 3 (+3 vs Heavy) to 6 (+3 vs Heavy).
  • Effective damage decreased from 9 (+9 vs Heavy) to 6 (+3 vs Heavy).
• Range decreased from 4 to 3.

Weaver

• Health changed from 400/100 to 380.
• Consume no longer restores White Health. Instead, it restores 25% of a unit’s max Health.

Harbinger

• Health changed from 260/65 to 290.

Flayed Dragon

• Cost increased from 700/700 to 750/750.
• No longer costs Animus to summon.
• Health changed from 800/200 to 900.
• Inhale Poison now restores Health instead of White Health.

Shroudstone

• Health decreased from 400 to 350.

Wraithstone

• Health decreased from 600 to 500.

Celestials

General

• All top-bar ability max charges decreased from 3 to 2.

Morph Core

• Now uses Charges to construct. Max 3 Charges.

Prism

• Now uses Charges to construct. Max 1 Charge.

Argent

• Health decreased from 180 to 165.
• Build time decreased from 28 seconds to 24 seconds.

Kri

• Cost decreased from 100/25 to 75/25.
• Build time decreased from 28 seconds to 24 seconds.
• Health decreased from 230 to 175.

Scanner

• Cost decreased from 50/25 to 25/25.
• Health decreased from 70 to 40.

Strike Node

• Health decreased from 350 to 320.

Warp Node

• Health decreased from 400 to 350.