Sanctuary: Shattered Sun – First Multiplayer Q&A Gameplay Session

[Al]

This stream was the first public multiplayer demonstration of Sanctuary: Shattered Sun, with developers nine2, FoneE, Nate, and community manager Scoub playing 2v2 and free-for-all matches while answering community questions live.

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Major Announcements​

The big announcements: A complete UI overhaul is coming to address the confusing power/metal colours and replace the speed dial economy system with traditional progress bars at top left. The EDA Tier 4 unit got its first reveal – a massive railgun sniper with single-shot area damage capability and potential toggle modes between high DPS and AoE. Multiplayer release will start with small tests for top Patreon supporters, then wider access likely around end of Kickstarter, provisionally July 2026 though that’s not confirmed.

Intel and Faction Design​

Intel systems are all coming – stealth, jamming, cloaking, radar, sonar. nine2 personally hates traditional jamming but it’ll probably be there, maybe reworked to create false radar signatures instead of simple blocking. On faction playstyles, Chosen will be slower and more deliberate with deployment mechanics and shield focus. Guard is being designed as a swarm/hive faction with transmitter buff units. EDA gets guerrilla tactics and unconventional methods but is the hardest to make visually impressive since they’re stuck with realistic weaponry while the others get energy effects.

Line Drag System​

The line drag system is genuinely innovative. You draw a battle line and units automatically arrange along it. Factories can assist the front itself, not individual units, so reinforcements automatically join the formation. When you move the front, everything assigned to it moves together. This reduces clicks while giving skilled players more tactical control over engagement angles.

Map Features and Modding​

Map features include natural reclaim like trees, rocks, and starting wreckage for varied openings. Neutral teams and civilian structures are possible, mostly through modding since the code already supports it. Maps can have scripts attached for survival modes or special scenarios.

Technical Capabilities​

Technical capabilities are solid. Reconnection works if you’re not the host. The replay system will let you jump in at any point to replay from that moment, great for training. Spectator modes can show player perspectives with proper fog of war, useful for catching cheaters. Anti-cheat relies on Lua file verification and optional dedicated servers for tournaments.

DLC Plans and Future Factions​

The Warfront DLC concept is their take on FAF’s Galactic War – hundreds of players on faction teams capturing zones across Sanctuary’s sphere. You control weather satellites to buff neighbouring battles, and there’s faction-wide research trees. True alien factions won’t happen because it’s too hard to write compelling dialogue for non-communicative species (they’re already struggling with Guard being too robotic and having to humanize them). Potential for subfactions like a deranged Chosen genius creating dinosaur robots.

Development Status​

Development status is strong. The foundation is complete so features can be added quickly now. Navy, air, Experimentals, commander upgrades are all designed and waiting for implementation. The team is ready to scale post-Kickstarter with new hires. Current session bugs are fixable within a week. The campaign mission for Kickstarter demo is still in progress.

Game Balance Philosophy​

Balance is all provisional. Commander health pools need review. Engineering stations versus mobile engineers will both be viable. No friendly fire on AoE because that’s anti-micro philosophy. Victory conditions including assassination mode are coming soon. All Tier 2/3 artillery and mobile artillery questions about hit rates are design decisions not bugs – they’re meant for structures not units.

Post-Sanctuary Plans​

Post-Sanctuary they want to make a smaller tactical RTS with the same engine featuring elevation and angle of attack mechanics, terrain modifiers like mud, movement penalties to accuracy, roughly 40-unit squad focus, and high ground advantages. Completely different scale from Sanctuary’s strategic focus.

Multiplayer Performance​

The session demonstrated working multiplayer across four countries (Australia, USA, Europe) with manageable latency. Scoub in Europe reported order delays during heavy action but smooth client performance. Some bugs were present including ghost units and dangling assist orders, but developers are confident about rapid fixes.

Spectating and Anti-Cheat​

On spectators and cheating, they can implement delays easily, spectators get full game state but can toggle to individual player intel views to catch cheaters. For tournaments they’ll use dedicated servers to control what information gets sent. Most games will be player-hosted community matches where natural policing handles most issues.