Drag select · Right-click move/harvest/attack (a friendly unit = follow · with a structure selected: patch/unit/point = rally) · Shift+click = all of type · Shift+order queues · G hold position Shift+group create (steals) · Ctrl+group add (steals) · 1-9 or Space+QWER/ASDF recall (double-tap centers) · =/- zoom · Wheel switch card (multi-select) F1 idle worker · ` clear from group · F2 army · P menu · Esc/Tab cancel build/queued unit · hold a train/research key to repeat · worker Z build (Depot Z · CC W · Factory E · Armory A) / X advanced (Air Pad W · Ctrl Tower S) · minimap: click to look, right-click to order
MICROSTORM
A real-time strategy skirmish — harvest, build, and crush the AI.
v1.0.60
AI
YOU
FOE
Capture locks the cursor inside the arena, strips OS mouse acceleration for 1:1 aim,
and frees Ctrl+1-9 for control groups instead of the browser's tab switcher.
Open the menu any time with P.
MicroStorm is a 1v1 real-time strategy skirmish against an AI on a mirrored 6-base map. You start in your corner with a Command Center and six workers; the enemy mirrors you across the map.
Your base (blue) and the enemy (red) sit in opposite corners. Six mineral bases line each side.
Win by destroying the enemy's production — its Command Centers and Factories. Lose all of yours and you're out.
Grow an economy, raise an army, tech up, then break the AI.
Your command card
Everything is issued by selecting a unit or building, then clicking the bottom-right command card — or its hotkeys, laid out like a keyboard:
Q
W
E
R
AAttack
SStop
D
F
ZBuild
X
C
V
The 4×3 grid maps to keys QWER / ASDF / ZXCV. Its contents change with what you select.
Mine, bank, expand
Worker
→
Mineral patch
→
Command Center
↻
Workers carry ore from a patch to the nearest Command Center, then loop back. Up to 3 workers mine one patch.
Select a Command Center and right-click a patch to rally there — freshly trained workers auto-mine it.
Train workers at any Command Center (Q). More workers = more income.
Expand: build a new Command Center on an unclaimed base to open its mineral line. Ore banks at Command Centers only.
Supply
Every unit costs supply. Raise the cap with Supply Depots and Command Centers before you hit it — a supply block stalls production.
Supply
18 / 24
Keep a buffer. When used reaches the cap you can't train until you build more supply.
Build menu
Select a worker, then Z for the standard build menu or X for advanced tech. Pick a structure, then click to place it (a red ghost = blocked).
ZDepot
WCmd Ctr
EFactory
AArmory
The Z menu. X advanced holds the Air Pad & Control Tower.
Tech tree
Command Center
Supply Depot
Factory
↓ Factory unlocks ↓
Armory
Control Tower
↓ Control Tower unlocks ↓
Air Pad
Each building shows a 🔒 in the menu until its prerequisite exists.
Construction is builder-tended — the worker walks over and builds. Kill the builder and the site cancels.
Cancel a placement, an in-progress build, or the last queued unit with Esc / Tab (full refund before it starts, 70% after).
The roster
Worker
Mines & builds
50◆ · 40♥
Cmd Ctr Q
Grunt
Basic ground
75◆ · 100♥
Factory Q
Bruiser
Heavy ground
125◆ · 220♥
Factory W
Scout
Fast air harasser
75◆ · 70♥
Air Pad Q
Bomber
Air splash (AoE)
150◆ · 160♥
Air Pad W
◆ ore cost · ♥ hit points. The Bruiser needs an Armory; the Air Pad needs a Control Tower.
Fighting
Attack-move (A) advances and engages anything in the way; Hold position (G) stands ground and fires only in range.
Air units (Scout, Bomber) fly over terrain on a separate layer — but everything can target both ground and air.
The Bomber deals splash damage, devastating clumped armies — so spread out against it.
Research
Tech buildings research leveled upgrades — 3 ranks each — that apply army-wide (workers excluded): more damage dealt, less taken. They compound, so an upgraded army beats an equal un-upgraded one.
Armory (ground)
Q Ground Weapons
W Ground Plating
Control Tower (air)
Q Air Weapons
W Air Plating
A Afterburners
Filled pips = researched ranks. Each line researches one rank at a time.
Abilities
Abilities spend ⚡ energy — a pool that refills over time — on top of a per-unit cooldown.
Bomber Sprint D
A burst of speed — reposition or dive onto a target. Unlocked by researching Afterburners. Cooldown-only (no energy).
Bruiser Siege Strike F
Aim a telegraphed blast at a point — after a short fuse it detonates, hitting enemy units and structures in the radius. Costs ⚡ energy; the enemy can scatter before it lands.
Mouse & command card
Left — select / drag a box
Right — move · attack · harvest
Wheel — switch card (multi-select)
Middle-drag — pan the camera
Q
W
E
R
AAttack
SStop
D
F
ZBuild
X
C
V
The command card mirrors your keyboard: QWER / ASDF / ZXCV.
Keys
Select all of a type:Shift+click or double-click on screen.
Queue orders:Shift+right-click. Hold position:G.
Control groups:Shift+1-9 set · Ctrl+1-9 add · 1-9 recall (double-tap centers).
Camera: screen edge / arrows / middle-drag to pan · =- to zoom.
Minimap (bottom-left): click or drag to look; right-click to order.
F1 idle worker · F2 all army · P menu · Esc / Tab cancel.
Beating the AI
✗ Trickle
Feeding units in one at a time hands the enemy free kills.
✓ Mass & strike
A gathered army wins the fight — and the game.
Keep expanding — more bases mean more income and a bigger army.
Tech up — weapon and plating upgrades tilt every fight your way.
Defend your expansions and pull workers off the line when raided.
Mix in air — Bombers splash clumped armies; Scouts snipe undefended economy.