Following the concept release of the Tumbril Storm, we took your community-voted questions to our designers to provide you with more information on the recently unveiled solo-tank designed to blitz overcrowded battlefields.
What vehicles will the Storm fit inside?
The Storm officially shares the same garage size as the Tumbril Nova and Anvil Atlas-platform vehicles, so anything that supports them. However, its reduced height and length allow it to fit into some ships that cannot fit the above, such as the Anvil Carrack and Drake Corsair.
As the Storm is intended to be a smaller ‘fast assault vehicle’ but is so large that it currently only fits in vehicles that can transport the Nova tank/Atlas platform vehicles, where does it fit in the grand scheme of things? For example, in which scenarios would one be favored over the other?
As mentioned above, while it has the same garage size, the Storm’s dimensions allow it to be carried by many other ships allowing for greater flexibility in terms of transport and deployment. The two tanks operate vastly different roles - the Storm is fast and lightly armed, while the Nova is much larger and slower but packs more of a punch.
How fast is the Storm intended to be compared to other ground combat vehicles?
All stats are subject to change, so we won’t list specifics right now, but expect the Storm to be faster than the Nova and Atlas series and closer to the Ursa in speed.
What are the vertical plates supported by the struts? Decoration?
Rule-of-cool decorative pieces, though they are inspired by some modern-world stand-off armor panels that deflect incoming rounds away from sensitive areas.
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The Storm has clearly visible smoke/chaff launchers like those found on modern tanks. Will this vehicle have countermeasures, like noise and flares?
Yes, it has the full suite of countermeasures as found on other vehicles
What is 'tactical-spec' armor, and how does it differ from the 'mil-spec' components that have been offered in the past?
This is just a marketing phrase and has no special behavior in-game; the Storm is as normally armored as you’d expect a tank of this role/type to be.
How well-defended is this tank compared to say the Nova, Ursa, or Centurion, and how does its armor fare in comparison?
In terms of durability, it sits between the Nova and Centurion and has significantly more than the Ursa.
As tanks are intended to be off-road vehicles, will the low ground clearance of this model limit traversal? Does the tread configuration of the Storm give it any sort of advantage when hitting obstacles on rough terrain?
The Storm has relatively good ground clearance, especially compared to the Nova, and its design allows for much greater arrival/departure angles without hitting the hull.
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Will the bespoke Size 3 weapon have the same upscaled damages for its size, similar to other vehicles with unique weapons? For example, the Size 5 Slayer Cannon for the Nova has (in the current state of the game) 18,500 alpha damage, while other S5 ballistic cannons only deal 1,500.
Yes. Like the Nova, the “size” of the weapon doesn’t truly follow the other systems given its bespoke nature, allowing for independent tuning, which puts it at a much higher alpha/DPS than the number would normally be.
What about barrel elevation and depression? Considering the Nova’s barrel can't depress far enough to aim a little downward, how does the Storm fare?
Again, all stats are subject to change, so we don’t want to give exact numbers at this point. However, it’s safe to say the Storm’s depression and elevation ranges are significantly better than the Nova, allowing you to hit things on the ground almost directly in front and to the side of the vehicle. To achieve this, the turret extends up a little when the vehicle powers on
Why just one Size 3 weapon?
This was an intentional design choice, as the bespoke nature of the gun allows it to perform very strongly for its size. We didn’t want the Storm to be excessively over-gunned or be too much for a sole driver to manage and fight with compared to other vehicles.
Does it have any additional ways to fight off small targets like infantry since it doesn't have a Size 1 anti-personnel repeater?
No, ideally like modern life, you do not want infantry getting close to armored vehicles. But, if you find yourself in this scenario, we’d recommend using the speed of the vehicle to get distance between you and the infantry and use the turret weapon.
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Is the driver's control of the turret restricted to the area in front of the vehicle, or does it have proper 360-degree rotation?
It has full 360-degree rotation, allowing for views around the full vehicle.
The specs state that the Storm has a remote-operated turret. Can the Storm fire while in motion, or does it have to stop for the driver to enter the remote-turret interface in order to fire? What is the arc of fire, both while driving and presumably while using the remote turret?
Yes, the driver can control the turret while on the move or stationary. Whilst moving, the view limits are constrained to the front arc of the vehicle. When in remote view, you have the full 360-degree range.
The brochure indicates there's personal weapon storage, but the picture suggests there might also be personal inventory space in the rear track. Is this the case?
There's personal weapon storage in one of the front track housings and personal inventory space near the driver’s entrance. The rear of the main body contains critical components, including the powerplant, cooler, and shield generator, while the other front track houses less-critical components, like the radar, computer, and battery.
A single Size 0 powerplant seems very underpowered when compared to other vehicles; will this be sufficient to power not only the vehicle itself but also its shields and bespoke energy autocannon? How do you intend to support this should a single powerplant prove to be insufficient in the future?
This is something we’ll expand upon in the future, but the upcoming Resource Network changes have given us the opportunity to re-evaluate sizes and quantities of items aboard all vehicles. So, newer vehicles can seem under-specced relative to existing vehicles but, in reality, they will operate effectively as designed. Some vehicles will also have items reduced to be more in line with the upcoming changes.
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Is the Tumbril Storm AA equipped with a custom missile launcher that comes with increased damage like the base version’s gun, and does it come with any restrictions towards the type of missiles it can use (electromagnetic, infrared, cross-section)?
Whilst it is a bespoke missile rack item to facilitate the art style and loadout, the missiles held within are no different to any other S1 and S2 missiles found in-game. This means any existing missile type of those sizes can be equipped.
Can we re-arm missiles in field conditions? For example, by using the tractor beam to attach missiles?
This is the goal for the vehicle, although we’re aware that it’s trickier to get the missiles in than intended and we’re looking to improve this over time.
Do the missiles require a target lock or can they be fired without it (dumb-fired)?
They behave like any other vehicle, so can be dumb-fired or locked.
Will the Storm AA's missiles be able to attack ground targets, and if so, will they come with increased damage output and be effective against other armored vehicles?
We’ve adjusted the Size 0 radars found on ground vehicles to allow them to detect other ground vehicles at greater ranges than previous patches without letting ships detect them easier. As the missiles are the same as found elsewhere and not bespoke, their damage is the same as currently found in-game.
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Will the Storm AA have any ground bombardment or parabolic firing modes to shoot over hills? Will it require line of sight to lock on to ground targets?
We’re currently limited to requiring line of sight to enable lock-on. In the future, though, we want to provide the ability to relay target locks beyond line of sight to enable other gameplay loops.
Where does the Storm AA fit in the overall lineup of combat ground vehicles, and did you imagine a specific use case during the concept phase?
The Storm AA sits between the Cyclone AA and Ballista in terms of dedicated ground anti-air/anti-vehicle capability; it’s closer to the Ballista in terms of performance but trades sheer missile size/damage for quantity. For those who prefer guns to engage targets, the Centurion still provides that option.
Do the vehicle components differ between the base variant and the AA?
The components are identical between the two aside from the weaponry.
Does the different armament compared to the base variant cause a weight change and, consequently, different handling or speed?
The AA is slightly heavier due to the number of missiles, so handling performance is slightly lower than the base Storm (at least until they’re all fired).