Firestorm

***Firestorm* full release**

* Unreal Engine 5

***Firestorm*** is an upcoming first and third-person shooter video game developed by Totem Arts, that aims to reimagine *Tiberian Sun* in the shooter genre. Originally announced as ***Renegade X: Firestorm*** in June 2020 as a major game mode expansion to *Renegade X*, *Firestorm* has become its own standalone project. It was slated for official release in fall 2020, but the full game has been delayed indefinitely with an open beta focused around the infantry-based "Firestorm Assault" game mode originally planned in 2022.

*Firestorm* is set in a reimagining of the Second Tiberium War, with elements taken from the eponymous *Firestorm* expansion pack and *Tiberium Wars*. Unlike the traditional C&C mode in the original *Renegade* and *Renegade X*, the main game mode of *Firestorm* is based on the conquest game mode found in large-scale modern military shooters such as *Battlefield*. Players will be able to construct buildings and expand by conquering outposts scattered throughout the map.

## Overview

*Firestorm* is to feature combined arms warfare across its multiplayer game modes. The game also adds infantry vaulting and a starting loadout system, where opposed to the class system of *Renegade X* in which a character is restricted to a certain primary weapon, in *Firestorm* players can choose and purchase their own primary, sidearm, equipment, and infantry upgrades.

*Firestorm* will feature two game modes:

* **Firestorm Conquest**: essentially a mixture of the Conquest game mode from *Battlefield* and the C&C mode from *Renegade*, in Firestorm Conquest players still have the main objective of destroying the enemy base. There is limited base building where players can construct and upgrade power plants, refineries, production structures, and automated defenses on fixed build zones. Further expansion is done by capturing outposts throughout the map, where forward bases can be constructed. During the match, secondary objectives may appear, such as defending a point for a duration or escorting a vehicle; upon completion the team would be granted bonuses in the form of new unique weapons, vehicles, or upgrades. By the endgame, when the base is fully upgraded and enough credits are accumulated, players can call in superweapons; or deploy epic vehicles - massive, powerful vehicles that can be crewed by multiple players. The GDI team can deploy the Mammoth Mk. II while Nod can deploy the Gunship, the latter is based on the Scrin ship from the *Tiberian Sun* campaigns.
* **Firestorm Assault**: an infantry-centered, objective-based game mode inspired by the Assault game mode from *Unreal Tournament* and the Rush game mode from *Battlefield*.

## Development

*Firestorm* was heavily inspired by *Tiberian Aftermath*, a defunct mod for *Battlefield Vietnam* which aimed to create a *Tiberian Sun* FPS. Several of the vehicles from the mod were updated and ported into *Renegade X* as part of its Open Beta 5 release. Totem Arts also experimented with porting the models from *Tiberian Sun: Reborn* into the Unreal Engine. The developers realized that the designs of the units from *Tiberian Sun* were not functional (i.e. the Wolverine has short legs and low gun turrets), so they redesigned each unit to feel more grounded and authentic in the universe. The efforts of the team expanded into a project that aims to bring *Tiberian Sun* into a shooter experience in the Unreal Engine.

The gameplay of *Firestorm* went through several iterations during development. The first iteration, starting in 2017 as a collaboration with the *Tiberian Sun: Reborn* team, was a simple port of *Reborn* assets into base *Renegade X* prior to the unit redesign. The second iteration was a full-scale RTS vision with giant maps and nearly unlimited base building capabilities, however this was unfeasible due to performance issues and engine instability. The third iteration was essentially a *Tiberian Sun* reskin of *Renegade X* with small maps and unit roster, and while this iteration would make the initial fall 2020 release, the developers felt a basic reskin would be disappointing and not fun enough to play. The fourth and current iteration of *Firestorm'*s gameplay would return to the efforts of the second iteration. With new discoveries made in engine optimization and map creation, the developers were able to bring back large-scale maps, yet limited base building and expansion in the form of outpost control.

On June 22, 2022, Totem Arts publicly announced on their official Discord that the full *Firestorm* release will be moving to the Unreal Engine 5, due to limitations of the Unreal Development Kit for the project's vision. The *Firestorm Assault* beta planned for the same year will still be released on the current UDK engine. Tester applications for the *Firestorm Assault* beta were opened on August 3, 2022.

## Gallery

* Full roster concept (now outdated)
* RxFS Cyborg Promo.jpg

Cyborg promo
* "GDI Assault" wallpaper
* Wolverine render
* Titan in-game
* RxFS Wallpaper August2021.jpg

August 2021 wallpaper
* Infantry loadout GUI concept
* Cyborg Reaper concept art
* RxFs ZoneTrooper Promo.jpg

Zone Troopers model

### Unreal Engine 5 renders

* RxFS GDI Marine UE5 1.jpg

GDI marine render
* RxFS GDI Marine UE5 2.jpg

Ditto

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Totem Arts (22 June 2022). "That said the team has made a unanimous decision to move Firestorm to UE5. (...) Firestorm Assault will still be available on UDK" [Post]. Totem Arts Discord.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 DevTalk #7: Firestorm Assault. 19 February 2022.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Firestorm Update - Delayed!, Music, and More. *Renegade X Forums*. 15 October 2020.
4. ↑ DevTalk #3 - Vision of the Future. 23 November 2020.
5. ↑ DevTalk #4: Building the Endgame. 30 January 2021.
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 DevTalk #1: Building a Tiberian Sun FPS. 25 June 2020.
7. ↑ Renegade X - Beta 5 Launch!. Renegade X Forums. 7 July 2015.
8. ↑ Beta Tester Applications Now Open!. Totem Arts Forums. 3 August 2022.

## External links

* Official site
* Totem Arts Wiki
* *Firestorm* on Indie DB