Supreme Commander.. Hot or Not ?

[Malakin]

Sooo...

I think Supreme Commander is worth a thread of its own, if there is already one, then post here instead

Anyway, for those in the know what do you think of Sup-Com? Is it worth it? is it not? whats the most exciting feature etc...

And for those who don't know what it is, Its an RTS that finally puts the Strategy back into Real Time Games.. Rather than being a tactical game like warcraft or command and conquer, this focuses on the war rather than the battle..

It is played on real time maps of up to 7200 square km, maps so big that it can take several minutes for the fastest aircraft to get from one side to the other..
The game is played much like any other RTS, you gather resources and make bases and army's to destroy the opponent, but there are a few differences that set this game apart from the others..

Firstly it uses a unlimited resource model, which means that once you place a Mine ("mass extractor") on a resource point it will continue to give you its full resource rate all the way through the match, this means that you don't have to look after every single unit you have, with time you will be able to gain enough resources to build it again, unlike some RTS's where those resources spent are lost forever..
Secondly the game does not use  a "rock paper scissors" balancing formula, some units will just be better than others, but they will cost more, or be unable to be transported (on maps this big that is a big downside).. Instead of the units having ' hard counter's ': archers are good against spearmen, spearmen are good against knights and knights are good against archers, and so on..

Combine this with other features like:
*Realistic physics for shots, something moves in the way of the shots arc it gets hit rather than the target etc..
*Huge scale maps, these require very different tactics to play on ( like strategies )
*Huge numbers of units on the battle field.. in  a 1 v 1 you can have up to 2000 units a side!
* and lots more !! ( sorry cant list them all go read the main site or watch the presentations )

For more info have a look at the main site: http://www.supremecommander.com/
Or visit the forums at GPG : http://garage.gaspowered.com/?q=forum/110
Or even download and watch the presentations (here is one of them, search on google for more) : http://www.thq-games.com/uk/site/thqtvhome.html?sp=Cuk.co.lawton.model.impl.TerritoryMovie%3A241

Anyway post anything about Sup-Com if you are inclined to do so!

And with that.. Good night >.>

[DigitalMan]

Hmm, my favorite RTS games are Age of Empires 2 and Empire Earth. How does this stack up against them?

And more importantly, is the opponent on the offensive from the start? I really hate it when my entire base gets levelled while I'm still trying to cut down enough trees to build a fence.

[Malakin]

Well, lets just say that supreme commander is going to be very different to AoE2 and EE, It mostly depends on what size map you play on.. On a smaller one you might have to put some resources into early defences, however on the larger ones there is almost no chance of getting rushed before you have a good sized base, as not only does it take a long time to get to your base but he does not exactly know where it is..

the resources are very simple compared to something like EE, you only have Mass, and energy.. Mass is gained through small buildings that you place on certain points on the map, these then give you a steady income of Mass till they get destroyed. There is several levels of ' Mass extractor ' each being more expensive and it provides more Mass income every second.
Energy is gained by building reactors of different types, these can, unlike mass extractors can be built anywere and will provide you with a certain amount of energy every second or so till they get destroyed..
These resources are used in the same way as any other RTS, but some buildings, like shields or large cannons require energy or mass to keep running..

If you want an idea of how this game is going to play, look up the Total Annihilation demo, this is the games predecessor..
However total annihilation is around 10 years old Sup com is going to be a 'little' be more advanced

Linky: http://www.fileplanet.com/11558/10000/fileinfo/Total-Annihilation-Demo

[ITOS]

Mass and energy? Sounds very much like most other rts... The large scale and balance system sounds intresting though.

[Vidar]

Except the mass and energy resources are infinite. The only restriction is how fast you make/extract them, and how well you protect your resource-gathering units. Also, if you spend too much time on resource-gathering, the enemy will focus more on attack, and you will be crushed. Likewise, if you don't spend enough time on resource-gathering, the enemy will have the resources to out-last you. It's basically Total Annihilation, but with better graphics and more advanced features, which is a Good Thing (tm).

[ITOS]

Except the mass and energy resources are infinite.

That isn't really revolutionary or unique. With a bit of modding that could be implemented in many games.

[Supercheese]

Ah, Total Annihilation, I have that game! I never played it very much, but the style was very intriguing. Methinks I will like this new version.

[Malakin]

..............
That isn't really revolutionary or unique. With a bit of modding that could be implemented in many games.

Yeah its not revolutionary but it still changes the way the game is played completely..

Combine this with the massive maps ** and other features like the full zoom and full representation of Land Sea and Air forces this game is going to be breaking the mold that TA started to crack however many years ago!

**(This does not sound all that important, but when you think about it, once you get maps larger than a certain size it changes the way the game is played completely, and you have to take into consideration a load more things like multiple bases and real scale terrain features, more important/realistic logistics and so on..)

[Magic]

Hm. Q1, 2007.

Still, I won't believe anything until there is a demo available and I play it. Master of Orion 3 was a mistake on my part for not anticipating the massive disappointment it caused.

[DigitalMan]

It seems interesting. Hopefully it won't tax my computer as much as AoE3. Which reminds me, it'll probably need a lot more than the 200MB of free disk space I have available...

I wonder if the enemy AI can use planes effectively. I remember in Empire Earth, as soon as I got an airfield the computer was completely screwed in horrible but amusing ways. *sing-song voice* Nukey-nuke make things boom...

[Arcalane]

Hotter than a thermite flamethrower.

I want one of those Spider Meks.