Supreme Commander (video game)

[s09119]

Has anyone played Supreme Commander? It's essentially the spiritual successor the 90s RTS-fest that was Total Annihilation. The original game alone was epic but had a good number of annoying quirks, but the expansion pack Forged Alliance really lets it shine. For those that don't know, it's based around the concept of a single commander unit which starts off with limited resources. From the start of the match, you build factories that create engineers to build all sorts of other factories, defensive structures, shipyards, shield generators, stealth systems, radar towers, artillery, etc., and you can command up to 1000 units. In the final stages of the game, you can even build experimental units which dwarf everything else in terms of size and firepower and can take on whole armies alone.

A sequel recently came out (Supreme Commander 2), but they scaled the complexity and epic-ness way down... and since it was primarily made by a different company, I don't really consider it in the same league. But the original had a story I really liked, of all these warring human factions vying for victory in the Infinite War, a conflict that has been raging for 1000 years since the fall of the Earth Empire. Very fun game all around, and I wanted to see if anyone else played it.

[magictrick]

I've heard of it but never actually played. I remember it got good reviews but I'm not really a fan of RTS games, with the exception being Starcraft and Age of Empires. Also soon to be released Starcraft 2

[s09119]

I've heard of it but never actually played. I remember it got good reviews but I'm not really a fan of RTS games, with the exception being Starcraft and Age of Empires. Also soon to be released Starcraft 2

Starcraft II looks great, but it's just not large-scale enough for me. I'll probably buy it and love it, but the games I really sink my teeth into are just.. bigger.

[Vagabond Serpent]

I can't wait for Blizzard to publish StarCraft II I SOOOO want to unleash the fury of my Swarm... AoE is very cool, yes, but I like Rise of Nations much more in that league.

[gotthammer]

Hmm...
Supreme Commander was kinda fun. Tho' I'm not too keen on re-installing it (and thus, playing it) again anytime soon. (I don't even remember the faction names...I think I liked all 3 tho'. I didn't even get the expansion...)

Come to think of it, I'm not sure I'm really into RTSs anymore (tho' I'll probably get C&C4, just for the cinematics. Kane is cool ). I'd like to see full sequel for games like Company of Heroes (as long as it doesn't go the way of Dawn of War 2, which was disappointing, IMHO) and the Homeworld series (HW3, anyone?).
That or more real-time tactical games w/ pre-combat strategic elements (like the Total War series). Hmm...probably should grab Star Wars: Empire at War for the SG mod... (I still think SW: Rebellion is the better game, tho' )

[s09119]

Hmm...
Supreme Commander was kinda fun. Tho' I'm not too keen on re-installing it (and thus, playing it) again anytime soon. (I don't even remember the faction names...I think I liked all 3 tho'. I didn't even get the expansion...)

Come to think of it, I'm not sure I'm really into RTSs anymore (tho' I'll probably get C&C4, just for the cinematics. Kane is cool ). I'd like to see full sequel for games like Company of Heroes (as long as it doesn't go the way of Dawn of War 2, which was disappointing, IMHO) and the Homeworld series (HW3, anyone?).
That or more real-time tactical games w/ pre-combat strategic elements (like the Total War series). Hmm...probably should grab Star Wars: Empire at War for the SG mod... (I still think SW: Rebellion is the better game, tho' )

The expansion really makes SC worth playing, as it fixes all the problems of the original game and adds some great new stuff. That said, I agree with how RTSs are become less and less strategy-based nowadays, and as a consequence, they're getting less fun. Dawn of War II was awful; it had great graphics, but people play Dawn of War for the epic battles between hordes of aliens and tanks and stuff... they don't play it to run around the map with 5 units and not even be able to build a turret so they can move their (minuscule) army elsewhere. The trend lately is toward simplicity, and it's a real shame.

[gotthammer]

The trend lately is toward simplicity, and it's a real shame.

Yup. A pity, that. Thankfully, not all developers follow the trend.
Of course, that may not have been so great in regard to Hearts of Iron 3... (I still haven't played it for more than 3 hrs since I bought it last year...just like Supreme Ruler ). Don't get me wrong, it looks great (and since there seem to be more options, allows for more control/flexibility), but I currently don't have the time (or patience ) to relearn stuff (HoI 2 felt simpler and faster). That and the game speed is kinda slow compared to it's predecessor. (I recall breezing through months in HoI 2...)

Going back to Supreme Commander:
I'm actually more interested in the 'story' than in the gameplay...does it get better? Are there more cutscenes? I always was a sucker for cutscenes.

[Vagabond Serpent]

The trend lately is toward simplicity, and it's a real shame.

Completely agree. I don't play any "young" RTS, sticking to the old ones, since modern seems to be too simply and, hence, too boring to me. They mostly serve as the benchmarks for your machine now...

I'm actually more interested in the 'story' than in the gameplay...does it get better? Are there more cutscenes? I always was a sucker for cutscenes.

That's why I'm hooked onto Blizzard's RTSs. When I learnt that they're going to publish not just "StarCraft II" but "StarCraft II Trilogy. Volume 1: Wings of Liberty", "StarCraft II Trilogy. Volume 2: Heart of the Swarm" and "StarCraft II Trilogy. Volume 3: Legacy of the Void" with about 56-60 missions for every "main quest" I drooled. But when I learnt that there will be a lots of cutscenes plus the ability to e.g. wonder ship's decks between the missions...

[Supreme Commander Sil]

I thought the game looked interesting, possibly (hadn't heard anything about it other than "It's good"). Maybe I will look into it . Starcraft is ok, but I can't find the disc my brother gave me.... AoE is good, but the computer's too stupid and if you raise the difficulty level, they cheat ... All they can do to beat you is team up on you, not terribly well done . I have only played I and II . Civilisation's good .
So, if the game's alright, I may check it out (as long as I can use a computer it will work on ......).

[Vagabond Serpent]

StarCraft is OK?!!

Make amends, Sil!!

[Supreme Commander Sil]

Hey, I'd say it was cool if I could actually play it !
And if when I went to play it my brother - who never used to have a life outside of it - wouldn't challenge me ....
It is awesome !!!

[rlr149]

Yup. A pity, that. Thankfully, not all developers follow the trend.

Going back to Supreme Commander:
I'm actually more interested in the 'story' than in the gameplay...does it get better? Are there more cutscenes? I always was a sucker for cutscenes.

more cutscenes = more money = less money for other things like the complexity s09119 is pointing out as "lacking".

why not go rent a movie/buy a book if you just want a 'story'.................'games' are meant to be 'played'

[s09119]

more cutscenes = more money = less money for other things like the complexity s09119 is pointing out as "lacking".

why not go rent a movie/buy a book if you just want a 'story'.................'games' are meant to be 'played'

Not necessarily true... I play video games for the story and characters as much as anything else. Maybe not for an RTS, but for RPGs and sometimes even shooters, definitely.

[gotthammer]

more cutscenes = more money = less money for other things like the complexity s09119 is pointing out as "lacking".

why not go rent a movie/buy a book if you just want a 'story'.................'games' are meant to be 'played'

Oh, I know that.
It's just that I prefer a mix of story w/ my games (e.g., Sins of a Solar Empire was fun, but there wasn't much of a story as there isn't really a 'campaign' per se). Helps w/ 'immersion', too.

I don't necessarily agree w/ cutscenes = less of a game, IMHO that's really up to the developers if they allow it to go that way. That and not all cutscenes are pre-rendered CG or live-action, anyway.

[rlr149]

I play video games for the story and characters as much as anything else.

watch it on youtube, save yourself £30 a game!