Hey Immortals,
Welcome to our first major update for Q1 2025. There is a lot of exciting news to cover, so let's dive in!
Let's start with the big one: The next playtest is set for January 20th to 27th as part of Steam's RTS Fest! That's right, a full week of play with the new build (and all the goodies in it.)
Check out our trailer below! (Props to the SunSpear gang for putting this magic together).
What's in this playtest?
PvE Cooperative has made its Triumphant Return!
Players will have access to two maps: a new, more refined version of Holdout (which has received a massive glow up), and a new scenario, Golem Factory, where players will fight to reactivate and control the dormant war-foundries of the Ancient Rae. Just know that this is very much an area that is under construction. For example, this event will not have PvE matchmaking (though it is intended in the future). There are many things we are cooking behind the scenes and we are excited to share them with you when they are closer to fruition!
A Real Tutorial!
For the last two playtests, we have thrown new players into the deep end. No more! Going forward, players can start up a tutorial game (on a special version of Holdout) and walk through the game at their pace. This tutorial is only a small part of our larger vision of on-boarding new players (for example, holding down “alt” will now show the function of every building on your screen, pretty slick right?) We will keep you informed as our UX grows!
Three New 1v1 Maps for PvP Matchmaking
Since November, we have added three new battlefields for competitive play: Snake, Frontiers, and Mesa! (All names are place-holder).
- Snake, like Canyon, is a macro-oriented map with a few tricks that can lend to sneaky plays and general back-stabbery. Expect longer games with some dramatic twists when playing here!
- Frontiers is a smaller map ideal for rushes and scrappy brawls over objectives. Get your fight on!
- Mesa is a more experimental map, featuring a short rush distance and a very short attack path by air. Armor up and watch the skies!
Legacy RTS Controls!
We heard you loud and clear. Going forward, IMMORTAL has now customizable preset controls (including setting camera points) for our veteran RTS players to opt into! This is a first-iteration and it’s still missing features like customizable control-group settings (apologies, there are some tech issues we have to resolve first but rest assured, it’s on our radar!) Stay tuned for more improvements!
Lots of Quality Improvements (Patch Notes later this week!)
The list is long but to name a few:
- Improved stability and performance.
- Improved UI polish (visual and audio).
- Balance tweaks and an ability buff/rework to Ajari's Ark-Mother.
- More voice acting in the game! Aros and Laculathon be praised!
- Lots of visual improvements!
- So many squashed bugs!
What lies beyond RTSFest?
Here are four things that we will be talking about in the near-ish future:
- A development update about our next Immortal.
- A development update on our third faction.
- Opening up Immortal's setting, Creation, to the community in some brave ways.
- Giving you all ways to support the development of Immortal as we continue making progress.
Thank you all so much for your continued trust and engagement with us. We are so lucky to be making this game with you all.
With much love,
The SunSpear Team.