AMANDA DYAR: Warhammer 40K - Storm of Vengeance is set to release this month. Tell us a little about the game and what players can expect?
AMANDA: Warhammer 40K - Storm of Vengeance will include the Space Marines and Orks with the third faction, Imperial Guard, being available in a separate DLC. What can you tell us about these factions and the launch day 69p DLC?
KENTON: Each faction in Storm of Vengeance represents a distinct gameplay style, which is one of the things we're most proud of in the game. Fans of Warhammer 40,000 will already be familiar with the differences between the factions themselves, but we wanted to really give players the feeling that the style of play mirrored the unique elements of that faction. The Dark Angels are very structured and formal with deployment vehicles for each of the main unit types which allow the player to customize each unit in advance of deployment. The Orks meanwhile are much more chaotic in gameplay style, the player can produce upgrade cards and units en masse, and then combine them on the fly to react to individual situations. They also have the Weirdboy towers which allow them to use wild magical spells which can often do as much damage to themselves as they do to the enemy when poorly used.
AMANDA: Storm of Vengeance will be available on Steam, iOS and Android. The game will not feature microtransactions like most games on mobile devices. Can you tell us why the game decided to go this route? KENTON: We thought a lot about this, and simply came to the conclusion that this game simply didn't suit the kind of microtransactions that we're seeing more and more in mobile games now. There's certainly a time and a place for those payment models, but we decided that a premium payment with a low price entry point was just much more suitable for a strategy game based around a very strong story. I think any kind of pay-to-win model would have spoiled what we are trying to create with Storm of Vengeance.
AMANDA: There is definitely plenty of things to do in Storm of Vengeance with over 50 missions over 27 days in the campaign which is actually based on Gav Thorpe's book Purging of Kadillus. What were some of the challenges faced by the team in bringing Thorpe's world alive in the game?
KENTON: It's always a challenge to work within a famous and much loved IP like the Warhammer 40,000 universe, and when you're also basing your story around a hugely popular novel that adds extra pressure. You have to try and faithfully recreate both the feel and the detail of the world, while still making it all fit within the needs of the gameplay you're building. It's also a huge benefit of course having so much wonderful material to work with!
AMANDA: Thank you for your time. Is there anything else you would like to mention or think fans should know about the upcoming release? KENTON: Until the launch of the game on April 3rd we are running a Beta version of the game on Steam which has been great for getting feedback directly from the fans. We'd just like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has taken part in the Beta, and we hope everyone else will come join in the fun as soon as the game is launched.
To learn more, visit the official Warhammer 40K - Storm of Vengeance website.