Supreme Commander Hands-on Preview

The date is 1997 and following in the wake of Westwood’s revolutionary Command and Conquer series arose a game that would set the standard for the RTS genre for years to come. What might have been seen as a clone of Red Alert at first, Total Annihilation, with its many hundreds of units, brought a new style of command and control to the RTS genre. In a war between the Arm and the Core, and set among many different planets, Total Annihilation brought a wealth of new units, ideas and style compared to the conventional earth-based RTS, and became a game that is still played competitively to this day.

So, after the RTS community had recovered from the disappointment over no TA2 from creators Cave Dog, imagine the excitement the world over when in 2005, nearing ten years after TA’s release, Supreme Commander, a near as damn it sequel was announced. The game looked to be bringing back the original values of TA that were so loved, tried and cherished, but would also enhance and develop beyond these in both gameplay and visuals. Graphically Supreme Commander looked set to stun the RTS crowd, and we all hoped that this would be nothing short of epic for a second time.

Supreme Commander’s story seems to have evolved from TA, but a 4,000-year galactic war has led Supreme Commander to include of no less than three factions: the Cybran Nation, Aeon Illuminate and the United Earth Federation. These factions are fighting in a millennia long conflict for supremacy driven by each faction’s conflicting systems of belief. The UEF campaign commences during a turning point in the boundless campaign and sees you take on the role of an up and coming commander, as you defend various locations on once UEF controlled planets, sprawled out in the outer galaxies that are now under attack from the Cybran and Aeon races.

From the off Supreme Commander seems to have similar controls and features to that of its predecessor. Before battle commences the commander must deal with the small matter of constructing a base. The build process again utilises a queue system like TA, allowing the player to use the ACU/engineering units to begin multiple builds at once. Allowing such a quick and effective way of creating a base and economy related structure means players can then occupy themselves in the exhilarating matter of assembling a battle force.

Energy is gained from power generators and stations that can be constructed at a limited amount of highlighted locations on the map, whereas mass is gathered from special extractor points and additional fabricator buildings that will convert a demanding percentage of power. The need to harvest and generate in the right balance will force you to create a steady production line; failure to do so will mean interruptions in construction and a drain on any builds. Delays, as I painfully found out, are not good when your forces in the field need re-enforcing and all you can offer is a scout bike that took two minutes to construct.

In addition to the queuing, a selective movement path helps solve potential problems. You’re are able to choose the order that the construction unit is to build, which is particularly useful and will stop your engineer taking pointless casual walks halfway across the map to build a defensive cannon if its next build is a more vital energy generator next to its original position.

There are familiar unit and building designs that TA fans will recognise in the UEF Campaign, alongside some new and truly awe inspiring battle machines. The range in size of units on offer really has to be seen to be believed, and seeing something as large as a factory itself roll off the production line never fails to excite. Each level of construction building allows new or upgraded units from the tech tree to be built. Some units, however, are unique to a certain tech level, so it’s necessary to build multiple factories and keep them at different stages to have the different array of units available. For example, the naval factory offers a submarine unit at level 1 but not at level 2.

Other than the names of each unit, it’s still relatively easy for the forgetful among us to distinguish between the individual unit types and their specialities on the battlefield. In the heat of war though, like all good strategists, I found myself no longer caring about which unit did what, and frantically began sending forces en mass in a mesh to defend the line. With the revving engine noise of the many tanks of my armoured division scurrying along the surface of an ice planet and the tracks left behind engraved in the snow, I couldn’t help but feel like Patton, but in some sort of assimilated futuristic form.

Obviously though, as one progresses through the tech tree, the higher the level, the more powerful (often larger) and apparently multitasked the units becomes, until the point where a rather over sized but nonetheless pant-wetting mech is standing fully equipped against a tank half its mass with a now embarrassingly small sized barrel.

Another new feature is the upgrading of the actual command unit, with the ability to select which type of gun goes on each arm or even what kind of attributing chest armour is used. In this upgrade procedure the user can create a very powerful asset to their force by using the ACU at the very centre of the battle (at the user’s risk, as the ACU is key to success). Once armed with some sort of Laz Cannon, my commander unit was able to destroy smaller tanks and bots with a single shot, scorching trees on the way through.

The mini-map in the corner of the screen is still a feature, as you would expect from any RTS from the last decade or so. Like many new 3D RTS games the scroll zoom feature is included, thus allowing the player to zoom in towards individual units and inspect a mech’s shiny metal eyebrows or get deep amongst the gritty taste of battle. Alternately, by zooming out of the standard view the camera rises above the battlefield to reveal the map in its entirety as a combat board – something I haven’t seen since a good old game of Risk. This is extremely useful when commanding the huge unit count that Supreme Commander offers, and allows a vast overview of your entire force disposition, with each unit showing as a separate icon on the display – something a true commander will find invaluable

Being an RTS in 2007 and one of the key early games in Microsoft’s Games for Windows campaign, it’s no surprise that Supreme Commander looks the part, with fully interactive, exquisitely detailed terrain. Interactive terrain means that trees can be set alight under fire or crushed under the foot of mechs, and the water is rippled and slashed by passing battleships. The maps vary depending on which planet and area you’re fighting on, which will lead to many different opinions on favourite theatres of war, although to experience things at their max a rather beefy PC is a must.

Gas Powered Games’ RTS feels very much as a warmonger’s perfect tool. Granted, there is the importance of economy to consider, but it all adds up to building an army that can wipe out the enemy with a bit of style. Supreme Commander stands out from other RTS currently available due to its focus on the battle. Everything combined, from the unit count to weapon types (including the various Nuke sizes) and the zoomed out battle board, equals a recipe for all out war where size really does matter. With a multiplayer mode that is bound to have RTS fans playing well into the night, Supreme Commander is certainly shaping up to be the Total Annihilation successor we’ve all been waiting for.