A new Frost Giant post has been released on Reddit, covering the company’s response to a previously posted discussion topic – progression. The team covered their thoughts on the matter and even gave us an extra slice of brand new information about the game – let’s take a look!
Frost Giant Are Still “Figuring Out” Progression
The team’s response started with a very honest update on the hot topic of progression – they’re still working on it. When it comes to progression, there’s a lot to think of and many different aspects to cover. There’s progression for the player themself, progression within a match, long term progression throughout the game (like achievements), and then progression and growth of the game itself.
These things are, largely, still in the ideation phase, which means we may see some systems come and go as testing progresses. While nothing is confirmed just yet, unit veterancy and achievements are two things that have been heavily discussed and will likely feature in some way.
A New Stormgate Feature: Sockets & Cards
The most exciting news of the post was the announcement of a new game feature, currently named sockets & cards. This is an army customization system based around heroes, which allows heroes to level up, unlock “sockets” and equip “cards” which have unique effects.
As it’s based around heroes, it wouldn’t affect the 1v1 mode and only be active in the campaign, 3v3, and 3-player vs. AI modes.
The specifics of the system are still being worked on, but so far it would work as follows. A hero would unlock sockets upon leveling, these may be a specific type, e.g. one of unit-based, faction-based, and hero-based.
These sockets could then be equipped with the matching cards and provide unique bonuses, depending on the card and socket. So, a unit-based socket could be equipped with a card that affects a specific unit, while a faction socket would affect the whole faction, and a hero one would affect just heroes.
Again, details are still being worked on, but it seems that these sockets & cards wouldn’t be completely game changing, with the focus being on players being able to customize their game to their playstyle. Some potential benefits could include: “additional resources, starting units, or even a pre-constructed building. We also think it could be fun to customize unit attributes, like modifying their stats or even changing their projectiles. We could even use this system to make Hero-specific changes to tech trees, so that costs, build times, or prerequisites could be modified–and even add or remove build options.”
In addition to the in-game elements, the team also believes that cards could be a good way to show off new and interesting artwork, as well as give players an alternative goal in the game in collecting cards and using specific cards for challenges.
A New Wave of Stormgate Alpha Keys
Last but not least, the team also briefly touched on the next stage of the Stormgate alpha. It will be beginning some time in August and will be much larger than the previous alpha test.
In fact, the post confirms thousands of invites will be going out to players who have signed up for testing. So, if you haven’t already, make sure to sign up on the official website and best of luck getting a key!
