New Maps, RMB Freelook, Bot-only Matches, New Difficulty, Saved Settings, & more

Got the plans right here, Commander.

On Friday, we marked the one-year anniversary of our launch date. We recapped an exciting year and teased some big things we are working on for Tempest Rising, including map creation tools and new single-player content. We look forward to sharing more about this content in the future. Today, we are releasing another batch of quality-of-life improvements, new features, and maps to the game, alongside our usual round of bugfixes and MP balance changes. We continue to focus our efforts on directly addressing player feedback with these patches. This update notably adds long-requested features, including:

• New maps

• Bot-only matches

• RMB Freelook

• Insane Skirmish difficulty

• A new Adaptive AI behavior

• Saved Custom match settings

• Shift Queue Production Rally points

• Rally points for under-construction Structures

• Improved/reworked SHIFT+[Group keybind]

• Play Campaign with Multiplayer balance updates

We have many more improvements and features to share, so let's dive into it!

New Features

Spectate Bot-only Matches

We’ve added the ability for players to launch ‘AI-bot only’ matches in Custom, with players able to watch using a Spectator slot. To set up a bot match, go to Multiplayer > Custom > Create Game, add AI bot players, and select Spectator.

RMB Freelook

Many players have requested that the camera ‘Freelook’ behave the same as in classic RTS games. We have added a “Freelook Delay” checkbox in the Controls settings that assigns freelook to the Right Mouse Button (RMB), while preserving the “Issue Command” action for RMB (or the “Deselect Units” action if “Classic mouse controls” are enabled). NOTE: As the name suggests, this checkbox introduces a small delay to prevent actions that use the same key from being triggered when players activate Freelook.

Seasons

With this patch, we’re introducing the ‘Seasons’ feature, which will allow players to observe statistics, older leaderboards, and their leaderboards placements for previous matchmaking seasons from the Player Profile.

Insane Skirmish AI difficulty

We have added a new, harder difficulty level for players looking for a serious challenge. The Insane AI is designed to push players' skills to their limit. It is built on the following key features:

• The AI has improved starting build orders for both factions to ensure a more stable and efficient start

• Turrets placed by the AI are more efficient, prioritizing attacks to hit the most advantageous targets

• A new behavior is added for both factions that leads the AI to capture player-controlled Tempest fields

• The AI receives increased income and production speed cheats to receive an unfair advantage against players

Adaptive Skirmish AI behavior

The new Adaptive Skirmish AI behavior is designed to adapt to the player's pace rather than following a fixed script. It is built on the following key features:

• The AI does not expand its territory beyond what the player controls. If the player stays in a small area, the AI does the same.

• The AI matches its economic growth to the player's. It will not outproduce or outspend the player through passive resource accumulation.

• The AI maintains a combat force roughly equal in size to the player's army. It avoids overwhelming the player with a massive unit advantage.

• The AI plays passively when the player is passive, focusing on slow development. When the player becomes aggressive (by launching attacks or pushing territory expansion), the AI responds with equal aggression.

• Behavior can be applied to any difficulty (including the newly added Insane difficulty)

This will give players the freedom to play at their own pace without the AI rushing