With Starfall Tactics, Snowforged Entertainment wants to marry the tactical combat seen in wargames with great visuals and an expansive universe populated by thousands of players -- a universe that you can explore and get lost in.

In a decaying, war-torn galaxy dominated by three rival factions, you can assemble your own spaceship flotilla and lead it into battle. Adapt to new challenges by customizing and decking out your ships. Evolve your tactics by unlocking new parts and finding rare ship modules. Dominate the battlefield and create a name for yourself among the stars.

Every ship in Starfall Tactics is fully customizable: Players can replace the weapons, engines, armor, shields, or add new modules like a Cloak System - or a Self Destruct mechanism! Gameplay is split between using fleets to conquer the galaxy or saving mankind from an impending alien threat. Players can team up with other players by taking ownership of different sectors, mining asteroids, or establishing outposts on faraway planets - in a prelude to mind-blowing, beautifully rendered space battles.

Starfall Tactics will be free to download and play, and it follows the Hearthstone model with booster packs as microtransactions . Booster packs are made of a number of different blueprints that can be used to craft almost anything in the game - from the hull of the ship down to individual engines. Each booster pack contains a set of randomly assorted blueprints, like new ship modules and even the occasional spaceship. There will be no pay-to-win. Sticking to CCG conventions will allow the developers to keep everything fair for everyone while considerably lowering the barrier to entry.

The winter is here and there isn't much time left until the holidays start - so, good news are that we are having another pre-Alpha Faction Wars test soon.

We fixed a bunch of bugs, improved several features and are ready to meet you in Starfall Tactics pre-Alpha test starting 17:00 CET 15th December to 23:59 CET 18th December!

Hurry up and send an application for the alpha test! If you already played Starfall Tactics during previous events - simply update the game a few hours before the test. And don't forget to join other testers at our Forum and on Discord channel.

Plasma Web rework

If you ever played PvE Survival, you definitely saw this Plasma AOE module in action, destroying some of your heavy and slow ships which didn't get out of it in time. This module did a really great job in dealing massive damage, but one of the biggest problems was the fact that you could launch 1-5 Plasma Webs into one place, leaving no chance to survive.

So, that was obvious and we decided to change it somehow, and here is the list of said changes:

• Damage from several Plasma Webs won't stack.
• Basic effect radius was reduced.
• Now, if you launch two of them and one will be crossing a border of another, they will merge into one, bigger plasma web.
• Damage of this effect won't increase and will stay as for normal single Plasma Web. 
• Each Plasma Web effect will keep it's separate duration - so, if you merged two of them, and one is over, Plasma Web will return to a smaller normal radius of one effect.

Key Features

• Tactical combat: Battles can feature a variety of ships - from discreet frigates to deadly cruisers and heavy dreadnoughts.
• In-depth customization: From the hull to the individual engines, everything is created using blueprints. Players can easily customize and outfit ships - adapting their tactics for a variety of situations. Every choice matters!
• Epic combat: Balls-to-the-wall explosions, intense action, and stunning visuals delivered via Unreal Engine 4.
• Galaxy conquest: Players can freely travel and explore the confines of known space. A variety of activities are available: from fending off pirates to trading, discovering new planets, and gathering intel on a new threat to humanity.
• High stakes: Players can unite as a clan and take ownership of different sectors, mine rare types of asteroids, and establish outposts on various planets. Whether it’s territory, scarce resources, or the respect of others, the pressure is on. Players have something of real value to lose.

Starfall Tactics is expected to arrive on Steam Early Access in December 2016.