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Tornado: Research and Rescue

Chase violent tornadoes across 1990s Tornado Alley. Read the forecast, deploy scientific probes, warn towns and upgrade your equipment as every procedurally generated storm pushes you closer to disaster.

Recent Reviews:

Very Positive (25) - 92% of the 25 user reviews in the last 30 days are positive.

All Reviews:

Very Positive (327) - 84% of the 327 user reviews for this game are positive.

Release Date:

May 29, 2023

Developer:

Sam Kennedy

Publisher:

Sam Kennedy

	Interface	Full Audio	Subtitles
English	✔	✔	✔

Early Access Game

Get instant access and start playing; get involved with this game as it develops.

Note: Games in Early Access are not complete and may or may not change further. If you are not excited to play this game in its current state, then you should wait to see if the game progresses further in development. Learn more

What the developers have to say:

Why Early Access?

“The core game mechanics and features for the game have been completed and it is fully playable. However, rather than keeping people waiting, I thought it would be better to involve the community to get feedback and ideas for continually improving the game, that way the features and gameplay can evolve with what the community actually want.”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“Time estimates are incredibly difficult to give, and I have since completely rebuilt the game since the initial release in 2023. I aim for multiplayer in the next year, hopefully reaching 1.0 by Summer 2027.”

How is the full version planned to differ from the Early Access version?

“For the full version I plan to implement online multiplayer and Steam Workshop integration which would allow players to design custom vehicles, probes and even entire storm chasing scenarios. ”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“The following features are currently implemented:

Single Player Career Mode

You start with a slow truck, slow internet connection, and clunky probe for intercepting tornadoes. You can earn money by deploying probes and warning residents in danger, this money can be used to upgrade your truck, radar and probes.

Procedural Tornadoes, Towns, and Destruction

The tornadoes are rendered volumetrically (i.e., not using particles) and their shape, size, texture, debris cloud, motion and so on are all randomised, so each tornado will look unique.

When the game first loads, towns will be populated with houses, barns, farm buildings and other features procedurally. Each time you visit a town it will be different, and when the town is hit by a tornado the damage is also procedural: there are no pre-broken models used in this game!

Settings

The goal from the start has been to make this game run well on as many machines as possible. In order to achieve this it is possible to tweak the game's settings so you can choose to prioritise performance or visuals depending on your hardware.”

Will the game be priced differently during and after Early Access?

“The price will increase with each major feature that is implemented and completed, and will likely increase when version 1.0 is released.”

How are you planning on involving the Community in your development process?

“I am very active on the official discord server, and I'm constantly looking for feedback to improve the game and also interesting ideas to make the game more fun. When deciding which major feature(s) to work on next, I typically hold a poll on the discord server and let the community influence the direction of the development of the game.”

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COMPLETELY REBUILT FROM THE GROUND UP

Tornado: Research and Rescue has been recreated from scratch in a new Unity project, replacing the original 2023 release with a fundamentally new storm-chasing experience.

The rebuild features completely redesigned tornadoes and destruction, larger procedural environments, deeper research and rescue gameplay, an overhauled career and progression system, improved vehicle handling, controller support, precipitation-wrapped storms, atmospheric experimentation, and extensive visual and performance improvements.

Whether you played the original release or are joining the chase for the first time, this is not simply an update: it is a new version of Tornado: Research and Rescue, rebuilt around everything the game was intended to become.

About This Game

Tornado: Research and Rescue is a storm-chasing game set during the golden age of 1990s tornado research. Read the forecast, track violent storms across Tornado Alley, deploy scientific probes and warn communities before it is too late.

Every chase is different. Forecasts, road networks, towns, tornadoes and destruction are procedurally generated, forcing you to make decisions with limited time and incomplete information. Choose your route, position your equipment and decide how close you are willing to get as the storm evolves around you.

CHASE THE STORM

Use Doppler radar and visual clues to locate developing tornadoes, then navigate rural roads to intercept them.

Tornadoes can change direction, grow rapidly and become wrapped in heavy precipitation. What begins as a distant funnel can become a violent, debris-filled wedge cutting off your escape route. Getting close produces better research opportunities - but one wrong turn can place you directly in the path!

DEPLOY SCIENTIFIC PROBES

Place portable probes ahead of the tornado and attempt to capture measurements from inside the circulation.

Collect data including:

Wind speed
Pressure
Temperature
Dew point

Stronger tornadoes can produce more valuable readings, but reaching their path and escaping safely becomes increasingly difficult. A perfectly positioned probe could fund your next set of upgrades.

WARN TOWNS

Research is only part of the job.

When a tornado threatens a community, issue warnings and give residents time to reach shelter. Your decisions have consequences. A successful chase is not measured only by the data you collect, but by how many people survive the storm.

MANIPULATE THE TORNADO

Experimental atmospheric chemicals allow you to influence a tornado's behaviour.

Release different chemical types to alter properties such as intensity, width and movement. Each tornado responds differently, so every experiment requires observation, repeated sampling and a willingness to take risks.

You may weaken a dangerous storm - or accidentally create something far worse: tornadoes beyond an F5 rating are possible in this game!

UPGRADE YOUR EQUIPMENT

Sell research data and earn rewards from successful rescues to prepare for increasingly dangerous chases.

Improve your:

Storm-chasing vehicle
Doppler radar
Research probe

Better equipment allows you to detect storms earlier, collect more valuable data and survive conditions that would have ended previous chases.

BUILD YOUR STORM-CHASING CAREER

Begin with limited equipment and work your way towards the most extreme tornadoes the atmosphere can produce.

Each forecast presents a new combination of risk and opportunity. A quiet-looking day may struggle to produce a tornado, while an exceptional environment could create a violent outbreak capable of overwhelming entire communities.

Spend your earnings carefully, improve your research capabilities and decide whether the next chase is worth the danger.

CREATE YOUR OWN CHASES

Alongside the career experience, Sandbox mode allows you to configure custom storm-chasing scenarios.

Experiment with different environments, tornadoes and equipment without putting your career progression at risk, or create the most destructive storm you can survive.

You can also recreate historic tornadoes and experience them yourself in-game: the Bridge Creek/Moore 1999 tornado and the Jarrell 1997 tornadoes are included.

Forecast the storm. Deploy the probe. Warn the towns. Survive the chase.

System Requirements

Minimum:

Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
OS *: Windows 7
Processor: Intel I3
Memory: 8 GB RAM
Graphics: GeForce GTX 1050
Storage: 3 GB available space

Recommended:

Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
OS: Windows 11
Processor: Intel I7
Memory: 16 GB RAM
Graphics: GeForce RTX 4070
Storage: 5 GB available space

* Starting January 1st, 2024, the Steam Client will only support Windows 10 and later versions.

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What Curators Say

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