Supreme Commander Demo out today!

[Oni]

You can get it from most of your popular demo places. I'm waiting in line at Fileplanet, which is making me want to chew my arm off, but I want the demo and 3dGamers has an 84 minute wait, compared to Fileplanet's 25 minute wait.

This is a full release demo. Not the closed beta version or some other illicit version.

Go, download, install, and give it a shot! Lord knows I've been chomping at the bit for more than a while for this . . . :D

[Burdman27911]

I'm at work and can only fit one demo at a time on my flash drive :D... so this'll have to wait till I get home.

[deathman20]

Downloaded waiting to try when I get home thank you work connection 5min and done. While I was in beta wondering if this is the actual final code with better AI and no debugging to see the real preformace. Besides single player compain :) Mwahah I can at least start on that hehe.

[>HyperlogiK<]

thanks Oni :)

EDIT: yikes, over a gigamaboo!

[Oni]

I'm at work and can only fit one demo at a time on my flash drive :D... so this'll have to wait till I get home.

The demo is just over 1GB. How big is your flash drive? ;)

[deathman20]

The demo is just over 1GB. How big is your flash drive? ;)

Ya you could just put the cab file on the drive and e-mail the rest home. And get rid of that adobe reader file 20megs pssh.

[Slimmy]

Thanks gotta wait 42 min at fileshack.

Woot, downloading at 400kb. My max.:(

[El-Scotto]

no wait at filefront :D

[wannaoc]

I just started and cant wait! I've been waiting for this game for a while now.

[Oni]

Mine just started like, 10 minutes ago! Stupid Fileplanet! :mad:

'least it's downloading now. Should be d/led in about 2 hours.

[Slimmy]

Muuuaaahhhaaahhhaaa!!!! Got it. Installing it now.

[Springbok]

Just got through on my fileplanet download, my time kept increasing the longer I waited! It's coming in at almost 500KB/s so I should have it in less than an hour, I hope they've made a few changes since the beta I got wayyy too good at nuking the AI. :D

edit: spoke too soon! My download seems to have frozen at 112MB :(

[Neural Net]

Yup the beta was fun, can't wait to try this, apparently the final AI is a lot tougher, but will have to see. Can't wait to play all the noobs who buy the retail game. :p

[blitzkrieg1110]

I'm definetely downloading this when I get home :)

The screenshots look sweet, can't wait to play!!

[Oni]

I can't play Supreme Commander . . . . Windows 2000 is not supported :(

Nobody knows how sad I am at this moment . . .

I'ma go look for a cheap copy of XP Pro now.

[Neural Net]

I'm definetely downloading this when I get home :)

The screenshots look sweet, can't wait to play!!

You won't be dissapointed! Just expect a little bit of a steep learning curve. :)


Oni, I feel your pain! Hope you get to play it soon, I've got my Cybran special edition of the game preordered. :burn:

[blitzkrieg1110]

The more I look at the screenshots, the more impressed I am with the scale of this game. I love how battleships are actually the size of.......battleships and everything is in a correct size scaling. I hate RTS games where a rifleman is 1/3 the size of a battleship lol

[inkfx]

I still don't have my x1900XTX back. I want to play this demo. GRRR!!!!

[Neural Net]

The more I look at the screenshots, the more impressed I am with the scale of this game. I love how battleships are actually the size of.......battleships and everything is in a correct size scaling. I hate RTS games where a rifleman is 1/3 the size of a battleship lol

Interesting fact: A guy made a map for the beta of Rhode Island. To scale. That's right, you can fight it out on a map that size, which is 80x80, the biggest maps that will come with the game when it's out. Best thing is, the maps can be made larger, and the unit count upped to thousands of units per side. Once you get to that scale, it's amazing. :)

[blitzkrieg1110]

Interesting fact: A guy made a map for the beta of Rhode Island. To scale. That's right, you can fight it out on a map that size, which is 80x80, the biggest maps that will come with the game when it's out. Best thing is, the maps can be made larger, and the unit count upped to thousands of units per side. Once you get to that scale, it's amazing. :)
I betcha this game will be just as processor intensive as it is graphics intensive. I mean think of the amount of information that the cpu has to calculate with thousands of units on screen at once and with such huge maps.

[deathman20]

Mmmm big maps only a sweet week away, mwahahh.

Hope you can save in skrimish.

BTW GPU intensity isn't horrible my setup can at least run 1920x1200 in large battle without totally killing the FPS (20-30FPS) mostly 30-40FPS. The CPU is what bogs down the overall FPS though in late games.

[Neural Net]

I betcha this game will be just as processor intensive as it is graphics intensive. I mean think of the amount of information that the cpu has to calculate with thousands of units on screen at once and with such huge maps.

As Deathman said this game isn't really a strain on a GPU, so long as you have a 7900/1900 level card, but as you've guessed it is extremely cpu intensive. It is built for dual core and even quad core machines. Dual core speeds the game up considerably (runs great on Core 2 Duos) and with a quad core cpu each thread (ai, pathfinding etc) has it's own core so it runs fantastic on such a processor.

The beta ran pretty well but apparently the code was quite old plus it had the debugging stuff working in the backgrond, so while performance was good, it should be even better in the demo and retail release. :)

[grayg]

Have to say so far I am disapointed, it hasn't really impressed me so far.

I will stick at it though, I am determind to like it :p

[deathman20]

T-Minus 20min til I can fire it up :) YAY

[Neural Net]

T-Minus 20min til I can fire it up :) YAY

Bah I have much longer to wait than that. Damn crappy 2mbit dsl line at uni. :bang head

[deathman20]

Bah I have much longer to wait than that. Damn crappy 2mbit dsl line at uni. :bang head

Oh thats me just copying it to an external, then to my main computer, then installing it :) Took like 8min to download at work, gotta love fast connections.

[deathman20]

YES!!! Saving in skrimish, thank you GPG! Now if saving in multiplayer ooh that would be sweeet.

BTW doesn't look like a FPS improvement so far, just loading the game up and having everything cranked (from no AA to 4x AA) no change in FPS, locked at like 24-25FPS. Oh well play with it more later, wonder if closing the tactical map will have a huge effect like it did in beta on FPS as well not like you'd want that closed unless you have a secondary monitor.

[Neural Net]

Interesting. Although the real test is when you have the big battles going on. Get a tech4 battle going or something that would usually put a strain on your cpu and let me know how it copes. :)

[Maviryk]

How does this game compare to Broodwars?

[deathman20]

How does this game compare to Broodwars?

Let me put this way...

Broodwars ain't got s*** on SC :)

NN: I'll get one up and running tonight.

Edit: Added note I really wasn't much of a StarCraft fan myself so don't take it the wrong way. I was a Total Annihilation man.

[Neural Net]

Let me put this way...

Broodwars ain't got s*** on SC :)

NN: I'll get one up and running tonight.

True.

Cool, I should have it in about 2 hours. :)

[blitzkrieg1110]

Dual core speeds the game up considerably (runs great on Core 2 Duos) and with a quad core cpu each thread (ai, pathfinding etc) has it's own core so it runs fantastic on such a processor.
Happy I'm getting my Opty 170 in the mail in a few days then :)

[Neural Net]

Happy I'm getting my Opty 170 in the mail in a few days then :)

Good stuff! You'll be happy with performance for sure, just don't play multiplayer with anyone that has a Athlon XP, then you're asking for a painful experience.

[ps2cho]

I played the beta and I didn't really like the layout. The online video's IMO made it seem better than the actual gameplay is.

Total Annihilation rocked though.

[Springbok]

The demo was had some nice polish like the CG cutscenes, the sound and graphics were improved over the beta. However, the first demo mission forces you to stay at Tech level 1!! It's extremely frustrating not being able to access the higher units. At the end of the first level I produced 75 heavy tanks to ensure I could take out their commander. Took me an hour and a half to beat! In the beta I'd have got 5 nukes and a handful of spider bots ready to go within an hour.

[Omsion]

The AI doesn't seem to do that well on small maps, it seems. The skirmish map had me beating the hard AI handily, no contest. Ripped up the forward mass expansions, defeated a similar sized army (early game, so ~10 units available each) with waypointed flanking, then proceeded to run waypointed circles around his base, shooting stuff to death.

Bigger maps please! =P

However, the game does feel slightly smoother then the beta, and they got rid of factory reclaiming.

[deathman20]

Campain mode is well rather intensive somewhere. Its nearly half the framerate as skrimish. Hmmm.

BTW yes AI at least in beta on bigger maps was more challenging. Where if they build something they'd actually fight, and even use anti-nukes and nukes to annihilate you let alone there Tech 4 sprawls.

That map there is 1x16th the size of big ones (if not mistaken that was a classified as a 10x10 map). And just the 20x20's we had access to in beta's where damn big just imaging something that much bigger will be insane :)

[Illah]

Complaining about 2Mbps...I live in the one area of San Francisco with crap 768Kbps broadband. In almost any other neighborhood (or even a different part of this one) I could get at least 6Mbps.

Although since it's live/work I can theoretically run T3's or other high band lines, but those are hundreds of dollars a month...

--Illah

[Omsion]

That map there is 1x16th the size of big ones (if not mistaken that was a classified as a 10x10 map). And just the 20x20's we had access to in beta's where damn big just imaging something that much bigger will be insane :)

Yeah, it plays even smaller since most of it's water.
On the other hand, my favorite map from the beta was Open Palms, another 10x10, but all land. 3v3 on that is just too much fun, since there's no chokes that you can't flank, just a massive fight from T1 to T3. Although it is a bit too small to make it to T4, unfortunently.

[Shelnutt2]

http://www.strategyinformer.com/pc/supremecommander/demo/11542.html

Getting 700 KB/s! Woot!

I played one game of the beta on my machine and it brought my system to its knees.

[>HyperlogiK<]

Have to say so far I am disapointed, it hasn't really impressed me so far.

I will stick at it though, I am determind to like it :p

Yeah, it seems like warmed over TA with modern graphics. I might check out the final retail, but I'm going back to Medieval 2 for now.

[Neural Net]

Take it from someone who started off with the beta, it takes time to get into it, but once you realise just how flexible the game is it becomes a joy to play. This really isn't a game that you can pick up and be good at straight away, and the learning curve will be steep - when playing online.

Plus, these are the small maps. It's on the large maps that this game really sets itself apart and starts to make sense. :)

[deathman20]

I played a single compain mission last night. I was messing around nearly half the time but finished it in 53min :).

I just saved the second mission really quick. I do love how they extend the map per the objectives though. While its controlling on the space its not letting you get totally out of hand with it which IMO is great. Oh I can't wait to play the second mission tonight, im happy Im excited about it. And the cut scense ingame and between missions are a nice touch IMO. Not just plain text, nor full screen CG. I give props to GPG on that aspect.

1st thing i'll do on the 20th with the game, load a skrimish map with a 80x80 just to see really how big it is :)

BTW memory wise the game is light on the ram suprisingly. Even the 20x20 maps with 7 AI (8 players) it didn't use more then 600 megs that I ever saw. Small maps if 300megs was broken that be lucky and this was with the beta max unit count of 1000 units. Just so everyone knows at least from a ram usage standpoint.

[Neural Net]

I played a single compain mission last night. I was messing around nearly half the time but finished it in 53min :).

I just saved the second mission really quick. I do love how they extend the map per the objectives though. While its controlling on the space its not letting you get totally out of hand with it which IMO is great. Oh I can't wait to play the second mission tonight, im happy Im excited about it. And the cut scense ingame and between missions are a nice touch IMO. Not just plain text, nor full screen CG. I give props to GPG on that aspect.

1st thing i'll do on the 20th with the game, load a skrimish map with a 80x80 just to see really how big it is :)

BTW memory wise the game is light on the ram suprisingly. Even the 20x20 maps with 7 AI (8 players) it didn't use more then 600 megs that I ever saw. Small maps if 300megs was broken that be lucky and this was with the beta max unit count of 1000 units. Just so everyone knows at least from a ram usage standpoint.

Yep seems as though Chris Taylor has put a lot of effort into the single player, I've finished the campaign missions and they're very good, but a little frustrating at times when you're used to having access to all the units, but it runs very nicely.

I've played 2 80x80 maps so far, and they are huge I mean you expect it to be large, but you never really appreciate just how large it is until you actually see it. Put it this way, there is actually a need for aircraft carriers in maps that size, you can't launch an air attack across a map without them.

Interesting on the ram usage, while the textures are quite high res they are simple, I guess if you have a 512MB card it loads all the textures it needs right on to it. Though I would like 2GB or RAM for this game just to be 'safe'.

[Vengance_01]

Yep seems as though Chris Taylor has put a lot of effort into the single player, I've finished the campaign missions and they're very good, but a little frustrating at times when you're used to having access to all the units, but it runs very nicely.

I've played 2 80x80 maps so far, and they are huge I mean you expect it to be large, but you never really appreciate just how large it is until you actually see it. Put it this way, there is actually a need for aircraft carriers in maps that size, you can't launch an air attack across a map without them.

Interesting on the ram usage, while the textures are quite high res they are simple, I guess if you have a 512MB card it loads all the textures it needs right on to it. Though I would like 2GB or RAM for this game just to be 'safe'. Hey guys, have you noticed this game is not using both cores in the single player demo? I have the rig in my sig and I noticed throughout the skrimish it barely used over 50% of my cpu. Why is that? I thought this game was multithreaded.

[deathman20]

Hey guys, have you noticed this game is not using both cores in the single player demo? I have the rig in my sig and I noticed throughout the skrimish it barely used over 50% of my cpu. Why is that? I thought this game was multithreaded.

It is multi-threaded. Im curious to why that is as well since I also noticed this during late beta where it wasn't using it during the actual game, but replays where using it. Early beta's I was using 70-80% of my overall CPU power in huge games, so I hope that maybe its a glitch or a patch will come out to fix this issue ASAP if its not just isolated to the Demo.

I brought it up a couple times in beta and filed reports about it but not really much was said. Quad cores seem to be working though so I don't know.

[Neural Net]

It is multi-threaded. Im curious to why that is as well since I also noticed this during late beta where it wasn't using it during the actual game, but replays where using it. Early beta's I was using 70-80% of my overall CPU power in huge games, so I hope that maybe its a glitch or a patch will come out to fix this issue ASAP if its not just isolated to the Demo.

I brought it up a couple times in beta and filed reports about it but not really much was said. Quad cores seem to be working though so I don't know.

Hmm haven't looked at the cpu usage myself. Might take a look. :)

[Vengance_01]

It is multi-threaded. Im curious to why that is as well since I also noticed this during late beta where it wasn't using it during the actual game, but replays where using it. Early beta's I was using 70-80% of my overall CPU power in huge games, so I hope that maybe its a glitch or a patch will come out to fix this issue ASAP if its not just isolated to the Demo.

I brought it up a couple times in beta and filed reports about it but not really much was said. Quad cores seem to be working though so I don't know. That is odd. B/C my frames are not great, but playable. I wonder if that could be a reason? Also there is console commands, anyone figure out any tweaks etc...

[Neural Net]

Hey guys, have you noticed this game is not using both cores in the single player demo? I have the rig in my sig and I noticed throughout the skrimish it barely used over 50% of my cpu. Why is that? I thought this game was multithreaded.

This game loves Core 2 Duos. I just ran a skirmish with max unit count, started launching nukes etc, max cpu usage touched 60% for a second, on average it was about 43-53%. You cpu can just handle the game that's all. The extra core will come in handy for those 4-8 player online games make no mistake about that. :)

[Omsion]

Single core will get you by in 1v1, quite apparently, since at least one of the top 10 ranked beta testers is on a single core. While lurking in GPG chat, I recall seeing him decline a 2v2 because of that. In my case, since I play almost pure team games, I have seen my cpu usage go >75% (100 on one, 50 on the other) in one 3v3, at least.

For 3v3, single-core will not cut it - every slowdown disappears when the single core dude died or quit.

[Vengance_01]

This game loves Core 2 Duos. I just ran a skirmish with max unit count, started launching nukes etc, max cpu usage touched 60% for a second, on average it was about 43-53%. You cpu can just handle the game that's all. The extra core will come in handy for those 4-8 player online games make no mistake about that. :) hum good to know. Also what res and details are you running at? I am at 1440x900 everything on medium, but level of detail on high.

Lastly I need help understanding something. How do I get the energy I need to for those massive LT3 stuff so I can bring out some experiential stuff. It sees I have the capacity to create tons of energy, but is there anything I can use to store it besides the LV 1 tech energy Storage add-on. Don't laugh, I am a noob at this game:D

[Vengance_01]

Single core will get you by in 1v1, quite apparently, since at least one of the top 10 ranked beta testers is on a single core. While lurking in GPG chat, I recall seeing him decline a 2v2 because of that. In my case, since I play almost pure team games, I have seen my cpu usage go >75% (100 on one, 50 on the other) in one 3v3, at least.

For 3v3, single-core will not cut it - every slowdown disappears when the single core dude died or quit. ok thats good to know. Thanks for chiming in with the info.

[Omsion]

Lastly I need help understanding something. How do I get the energy I need to for those massive LT3 stuff so I can bring out some experiential stuff. It sees I have the capacity to create tons of energy, but is there anything I can use to store it besides the LV 1 tech energy Storage add-on. Don't laugh, I am a noob at this game:D

This is inefficient, but what I tend to do is sometime (since I'm lazy) in T2, have 3 or 4 T2 engies building a diagonal grid of T2 power plants (x), which are the same size as a T3 fab (o), which go in between when I T3.

Something like this, extended outwards, bending around obstructions, etc:
oxox
xoxox
oxox

T3 shields also fit nicely into this pattern, replacing a fab as necessary for coverage.
This is inefficient because all that energy is sitting unused between the build of the factory and the T3 fabs being built later (essentially wasting their build cost for a while). Energy flow and mass flow are more important then actual storage, since you can easily eat through a massive stockpile in 3 seconds flat (I have done this). If you are at full mass or energy, you need to be doing more (another reason this is inefficient).
And don't forget that T3 power also exists, but I tend to stick those away from my T2/T3 grid, since they don't fit well, which also screws with shield cover.

Another thing you can do in T3 is to build a quantum gate and build subcommanders. They can upgrade (Resource Allocation) to provide +2000 energy and +12 mass (not sure of numbers right now). They are smaller and easier to keep away from attack, and can even kick a bunch of T3 bots around if needed.

As for energy/mass storage, they are most useful for increasing mass flow. A T3 mass extractor with 4 mass storage goes from 12 mass/tick to 16 mass/tick. A T3 fab goes from 24 to 32. Something similar happens with energy, but I never really have used energy storage.

[Hardin]

I can't play Supreme Commander . . . . Windows 2000 is not supported :(

Nobody knows how sad I am at this moment . . .

I'ma go look for a cheap copy of XP Pro now.
:( Windows 2000 was a great operating system. It's a shame it's being forced to retire.

[deathman20]

Another thing you can do in T3 is to build a quantum gate and build subcommanders. They can upgrade (Resource Allocation) to provide +2000 energy and +12 mass (not sure of numbers right now). They are smaller and easier to keep away from attack, and can even kick a bunch of T3 bots around if needed.

I thought they removed that. That was a huge imbalance for sub commanders because they where mobile power and mass factories.

[Omsion]

I thought they removed that. That was a huge imbalance for sub commanders because they where mobile power and mass factories.

I haven't actually looked, since none of my games have lasted to that point, but I think they produce less energy, and cost more mass/energy, so you need to have a pretty good "standard" econ before you can even start.

To the demo to see if that's still around.

[Neural Net]

I thought they removed that. That was a huge imbalance for sub commanders because they where mobile power and mass factories.

No it's still in the game, it's not unbalanced, it takes time to upgrade them etc etc. Just because they're mobile doesn't give them much of an advantage, but they do come in handy if unit limit is tight (they effectively replace a T3 Energy plant and T3 Mass Fabricator obviously).

Now if you want to talk about unbalanced... the UEF T3 gunship is definitely guilty of such a crime. ;)

[Springbok]

No it's still in the game, it's not unbalanced, it takes time to upgrade them etc etc. Just because they're mobile doesn't give them much of an advantage, but they do come in handy if unit limit is tight (they effectively replace a T3 Energy plant and T3 Mass Fabricator obviously).

Now if you want to talk about unbalanced... the UEF T3 gunship is definitely guilty of such a crime. ;)Or the flying bug-bots...my favorite strategy is sending in 3-5 bug bots and taking out their anti-air and anti-nuke buildings. Immediately afterwards sending in a wave of 3 sub-commanders as suicide bombers, then finishing off with 5 nukes to the face :D

[Slimmy]

Good stuff! You'll be happy with performance for sure, just don't play multiplayer with anyone that has a Athlon XP, then you're asking for a painful experience.


Guess it might be time to upgrade. *looks at wife*;)

I had to turn alot of the stuff to med or off. :cry:

[Omsion]

No it's still in the game, it's not unbalanced, it takes time to upgrade them etc etc. Just because they're mobile doesn't give them much of an advantage, but they do come in handy if unit limit is tight (they effectively replace a T3 Energy plant and T3 Mass Fabricator obviously).

Yeah, they are still around in the demo.
http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/6251/attachmentjq4.jpg

And it can lead to max energy and 2 monkeylords a minute =P.
http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/4926/attachmentkf2.jpg
I wonder what happens if you max energy usage and energy production?

Hmm...

[Neural Net]

hum good to know. Also what res and details are you running at? I am at 1440x900 everything on medium, but level of detail on high.

Lastly I need help understanding something. How do I get the energy I need to for those massive LT3 stuff so I can bring out some experiential stuff. It sees I have the capacity to create tons of energy, but is there anything I can use to store it besides the LV 1 tech energy Storage add-on. Don't laugh, I am a noob at this game:D

I run it at 1280x1024 max settings except no AA. Performance is usually round 30-70fps.

Omsion gave some good advice, you'll need about 3 tech level 2 power generators to get to tech level 3. Make sure you put mass storage around your mass extractors and use engineers to help upgrade them. Make sure you only put 4 around the extractors, above, below, to the left and right, otherwise you won't get that red line which indicates higher efficiency.

When you get to tech level 3, you'll want to build them in a pattern like this:

http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/7888/reducedpowerconsumptionjr1.jpg

Notice the lines going from the 3 power generators to the mass fabricator. It usually consumes near 1200 energy but when it is next to 3 generators it consumes practically half that.

Using energy storage does has it advantages, it increases the amount of power output a generator has when you build the structures next to eachother - note how with 4 storage units there it is producing 2812 energy compared to the standard 2500. Not very practical but if you use these to fill the gaps of the patterns then it can give a nice boost:

http://img116.imageshack.us/img116/5391/storageincreasespoweroudm9.jpg

When you get enough mass and energy been produced, you can build stuff like this :sn:

http://img116.imageshack.us/img116/7683/tobuildunitslikethisig2.jpg

[deathman20]

Wonder if that sound card issue is back with poor preformance in the demo. Maybe thats why im getting hit for FPS. But I was right last night closing the map hud improved preformance by about 30-40%.

And what NN is talking about saving energy or getting more mass. It depends on the size of the facility as well. Say hooking a Big tech 3 mass extractor to your tech 1 power plants you'll see little advantage, tech 2 a bit more but tech 3 is where its at. As well hooking energy and mass up to your production facilites will reduce the cost of units! Keep that in mind as well.

[Vengance_01]

I run it at 1280x1024 max settings except no AA. Performance is usually round 30-70fps.

Omsion gave some good advice, you'll need about 3 tech level 2 power generators to get to tech level 3. Make sure you put mass storage around your mass extractors and use engineers to help upgrade them. Make sure you only put 4 around the extractors, above, below, to the left and right, otherwise you won't get that red line which indicates higher efficiency.

When you get to tech level 3, you'll want to build them in a pattern like this:

http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/7888/reducedpowerconsumptionjr1.jpg

Notice the lines going from the 3 power generators to the mass fabricator. It usually consumes near 1200 energy but when it is next to 3 generators it consumes practically half that.

Using energy storage does has it advantages, it increases the amount of power output a generator has when you build the structures next to eachother - note how with 4 storage units there it is producing 2812 energy compared to the standard 2500. Not very practical but if you use these to fill the gaps of the patterns then it can give a nice boost:

http://img116.imageshack.us/img116/5391/storageincreasespoweroudm9.jpg

When you get enough mass and energy been produced, you can build stuff like this :sn:

http://img116.imageshack.us/img116/7683/tobuildunitslikethisig2.jpg
This game has a steep learning curve. Anyways I wonder why my preformace is so low. I can barely get 30FPS and normally I am in the 15-20 range. Could it be drivers? I am using 84.63 something, the latest Mobile dets. This is quite sad. I mean my cpu and gpu are no slouch and should handle the game nicely.

[Midnight Dream]

I will have to grab this up. Last time I played in the open beta, I had a problem where I could play fine for about 30 minutes, but then performance would degrade to a point where I couldn't do anything.

[rainless]

Hmm... Might be time to upgrade if I can't get this to run on my 7600GS. All I need to do is find a place where you can pay in three installments.

[Omsion]

Just ran across this video (Youtube) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSUL3TjSg84) made to show the point of this post (Fileplanet Beta Forums)
(http://www.forumplanet.com/supremecommander/topic.asp?fid=22601&tid=2011325)

Essentially, he makes the point that some of the animations do not make physical sense, and thus do not look right.
The point of this video is to show how slowing down the death animation or movement speed of some units would make them feel more realistic...Czar (the flying saucer) would take 10+ seconds to drop from 500 meters. In game it drops in 4 seconds. In earth conditions where gravity gives falling objects 9,81 m/s^2 acceleration, any object regardless of mass or size would take AT LEAST 10 seconds to drop from 500 meters.
I say I agree with the video. Some stuff can be easily changed to feel better. Others, unfortunately, will affect balance

[deathman20]

Man never even thought of this I got a second "display" sitting in my room and I didn't even consider hooking it up at all to try out. Mind you its my DVD and its not in the most idea spot to hook up but im sure I could move it to at least use for SC purposes in due time.

[Oni]

I will be finally coming over to the darkside (I am going to install Windows XP). I have fought it long and hard, but I finally cannot take it anymore! I simply must play the latest and greatest games, and if Win2k cannot support them, well . . .

Meh. Stupid Microsoft.

[blitzkrieg1110]

I will be finally coming over to the darkside (I am going to install Windows XP). I have fought it long and hard, but I finally cannot take it anymore! I simply must play the latest and greatest games, and if Win2k cannot support them, well . . .

Meh. Stupid Microsoft.
Lol, and soon enough you will "have to" install vista to play some games. You cannot resist the dark side, JOIN IT!!!
;)

[rainless]

Downloaded, installed, and played.

Works like a dream on my 7600GS. (And here I was all ready to go spring for that 7900GS on sale at Microcenter and Best Buy.)

Don't know why someone with a 7900GS was having problems... Runs just fine on my system. I was kind of worried since I don't have a GT or anything... but I need not have worried. The search continues for a game that will make me upgrade my video card!

How do you display FPS in this game?

[blitzkrieg1110]

How do you display FPS in this game?
I'm sure there is a way, but you could always just use FRAPS couldn't you? :shrug:

[deathman20]

There was a command within the game in beta but it was revoked (it showed a lot of other code). Curious if its operational again.

BTW now im getting 30FPS ingame, totally confused why yesterday my FPS was really low oh well I'm just going to go with it.

[rainless]

There was a command within the game in beta but it was revoked (it showed a lot of other code). Curious if its operational again.

BTW now im getting 30FPS ingame, totally confused why yesterday my FPS was really low oh well I'm just going to go with it.

Getting 20FPS... Solid.

Still surprised I'm doing that well with my video card. This isn't a First Person Shooter... so 20FPS is totally doable for me.

Downloaded FRAPS. Great program. Thanks for the info :beer:

[Oni]

I will install this later today now that I have XP working and give it a go. I am far too exhausted at this juncture.

[deathman20]

Getting 20FPS... Solid.

Still surprised I'm doing that well with my video card. This isn't a First Person Shooter... so 20FPS is totally doable for me.

Downloaded FRAPS. Great program. Thanks for the info :beer:

Ya 20FPS isn't horrible in the game, let alone with that card, but having it in the 40 range makes it feel much smoother. But as said its not nessisary for RTS games. If it dips below 20 and into the mid teens, it starts to become an issue.

[rainless]

Ya 20FPS isn't horrible in the game, let alone with that card, but having it in the 40 range makes it feel much smoother. But as said its not nessisary for RTS games. If it dips below 20 and into the mid teens, it starts to become an issue.

Yeah. It only dipped slightly bekiw 20 while I was zooming out, Other than that it was solid. And using that FRAPS program I discovered I get 84 fps in UT2004 at the highest setting with all the details on high!

That's more than good enough for me :beer:

[Neural Net]

Who's getting the full game? We should have an OCF match when it comes out! :beer:

BTW... I'm on Deathman's side.. :p

[blitzkrieg1110]

Yeah Rainless, I've been using FRAPS for years now. I believe you can take in-game video with FRAPS as well but I haven't actually used that feature. If you like it enough, they have a FRAPS "premium version" or whatever I think that adds more features.

[SteveLord]

why would 20fps be "good for" RTS? if you get into huge fights, (just like a FPS) they would drop.

that, and your limited to how many players you can withstand in a game. i use to never be able to do 12player Warcraft3 games back in the day. now i can do it no problem, visuals maxed.

[deathman20]

why would 20fps be "good for" RTS? if you get into huge fights, (just like a FPS) they would drop.

that, and your limited to how many players you can withstand in a game. i use to never be able to do 12player Warcraft3 games back in the day. now i can do it no problem, visuals maxed.

Where not saying its good, but saying its acceptable because its not a FPS.

FPS's require accuracy, RTS's just require deployment stragities. Its like when you fire a gun in a FPS, its instant, in RTS if you fire something it takes time so having a delayed reaction sort makes up that a lower frames are acceptable to play with.

[rainless]

Where not saying its good, but saying its acceptable because its not a FPS.

FPS's require accuracy, RTS's just require deployment stragities. Its like when you fire a gun in a FPS, its instant, in RTS if you fire something it takes time so having a delayed reaction sort makes up that a lower frames are acceptable to play with.

Also it works for the purposes of me playing this demo. I'll have a new video card by the time the full game is out. Hell... I'll have probably changed cards twice by then. When is the new one coming out?

[Illah]

Regarding FPS, I seem to get the same FPS at 1024x768 or 1600x1200 - it just seems sluggish overall, no matter how many units are on screen.

As for the game, I feel like it's Command & Conquer with plastic surgery. In other words, it looks better but it's still the same old RTS game I've played 100x before.

Maybe I'm just getting spoiled as I get older. We need some truly innovative games dammit! I remember the birth of the FPS, the birth of the RTS, etc. In the past ten years there really hasn't been a whole new genre that I can think of except maybe the 3rd person shooter like Splinter Cell, but that's really just an offshoot of FPS gaming...

I really need to buy a Wii.

--Illah

[Neural Net]

Regarding FPS, I seem to get the same FPS at 1024x768 or 1600x1200 - it just seems sluggish overall, no matter how many units are on screen.

As for the game, I feel like it's Command & Conquer with plastic surgery. In other words, it looks better but it's still the same old RTS game I've played 100x before.

Maybe I'm just getting spoiled as I get older. We need some truly innovative games dammit! I remember the birth of the FPS, the birth of the RTS, etc. In the past ten years there really hasn't been a whole new genre that I can think of except maybe the 3rd person shooter like Splinter Cell, but that's really just an offshoot of FPS gaming...

I really need to buy a Wii.

--Illah

You're saying (let me get this straight) that Supreme Commander plays like Commander and Conquer, and that this game isn't innovative? You're not much on an RTS player then. :p

[Vengance_01]

at first I did not like this game, but once you get used to the learning curve, it becomes very fun. Also can't wait to get the full version. Keep playing the skirmish mode and fully understand the game before you judge it.

[Vengance_01]

Hey Guys, do me a favor and try playing the game at around 2.0GHZ on your C2's. It might be a combination of low memory bandwidth(945 Mobile and only a 166FSB) and my lower clock speed. I might just have to move up back to a desktop once again and a Core 2 Duo chip;)

[rainless]

Hey Guys, do me a favor and try playing the game at around 2.0GHZ on your C2's. It might be a combination of low memory bandwidth(945 Mobile and only a 166FSB) and my lower clock speed. I might just have to move up back to a desktop once again and a Core 2 Duo chip;)

Hmm... I don't even know what I'd have to do to get my CPU to 2ghz... My default speed is 2.13 ghz I guess that's at 266mhz... So I'd have to lower it to 200mhz FSB or something like that... It's been so long since I dropped under 3ghz... Hahahaha///

Maybe the next time I reboot....

When is this game coming out again?

[deathman20]

2.4 Is as low as I go anymore ;) Since I can run fanless and 1.1V at that speed :)

[deathman20]

When is this game coming out again?

20th... 12 days.

[Oni]

Wow! What an intensive game!

I'm honestly going to sit down with it and try to flesh it out a bit. Maybe read a few FAQs or some forums just to try to get a grasp of the learning curve, but on the whole it seems like a really good game to sink one's teeth into.

Keeping in mind that I've also never played Command & Conquer (it just never appealed to me) so I think the curve is a bit steeper for me than most.

Also, I'm not sure I like the dual screen setup. Maybe I just have to get used to it or something.

[deathman20]

Dual screens is something to charish :) Hehe, I think I'll have to try it out tonight to and give it a whirl.

Anyways yes there is a lot of little things, like learning how the fairy service works to supply front lines without building facilites up front and such. The upgrades in skrimish mode are something to keep an eye on as well since that will be a major part of the game with the commander and shield gens/extractors.

Note: mass extractors, when upgrading it costs the same amount as it does if you build a new one FYI.

[Illah]

You're saying (let me get this straight) that Supreme Commander plays like Commander and Conquer, and that this game isn't innovative? You're not much on an RTS player then. :p

Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying. There's some additional points thrown in but the core is the same. I played the original C&C, Warcraft, AOE, and Starcraft, then moved on to sequels, and have seen the genre evolve through the years. This game is just the same thing over again with more units, better graphics, etc. It's a step forward, but not innovative as in a new experience or a rethink on the genre.

The minute I saw the talking head girl giving me my mission objectives I pictured the C&C cutscenes. There's still a 'mother' unit that enables building, there's still resources to collect, power plants, unit upgrades, static defenses vs. units, etc.

I'm not saying it's a bad game, I'm just saying I've seen it all before.

I'm a little older than most on these boards and worked for a couple years in the PC game industry so maybe my standards are just higher, but it's hard to play similar games over again a decade later just because they have better graphics. I felt the same way about Civilization 4. It was basically Civ3 with a new skin, and I'm a hype on Civ games. It was a big let-down.

I'll stop ranting now :)

--Illah

[Neural Net]

It is innovative, but not in the way you want. It is the first to have battles on such a large scale, The game requires strategy and tactical awareness, games such as Dawn of War do not, they are essentially tactical games, the list goes on for WC3, SC, etc etc.

I suggest you play the skirmish, and then play online if you decide to buy the game proper. Saying it is a C&C clone is jumping to conclusions, this game is so different to any other before it (obviously similarities can be drawn from TA and Supreme Commander). It really is as close to a war sim as you can get in terms of bases, deployment and attack. You haven't seen it all before, trust me, you probably haven't even scratched the surface (it has a really steep learning curve). :)

[Shelnutt2]

:cry:

This game is a killer! I need to install fraps, but I have it on lowest setting of everything (except fidelity's was on medium became at low it made my screen dark) and I was running the lowest resolution...and the games was still slightly laggy. Is it my GFx (ATi x1650 Pro Turbo) or is it because I have only 1 gig of ram?

[deathman20]

Well played a nice skrimish tonight. Annihilated the AI but it was fun. I was running the dual screen setup, man thats wierd. Its cool don't get me wrong but with a screen like mine and then looking over at anohter screen, might be more useful for the larger maps out there. FPS wise zero decrease. Mind you my second display was only 1024x768 nothing fancy but it did the job.

Also note, dual core again not in action. Just a single core was running it even at 10x speed.

Edit: A note from one of the GPG staff..

The 2nd core is used for the sim so it generally won't be as loaded as the first core which does rendering. Hopefully your second core doesn't get fully loaded until you have a LOT of units in the game.

Another way to think about this is that rendering, which happens on the primary thread, generates as many frames as it possibly can using 100% of that cores CPU time. The simulation however has a fixed timestep and only has a certain amount of work it needs to do to "keep up" with wall clock time. This means that if your second core is fast that it won't be fully loaded all of the time. In other words the second core is idle part of the time because it's completed all of the work it needs to do.

As a sidenote I've been doing quite a bit of performance testing on quad core machines lately and they do give some benefit. In the perftest demo the first core will be at 100%, the second at 30-50% (in this specific timedemo), and the 3rd and 4th at about 10-15% each (mostly sound and some housekeeping work).

[Oni]

My problem w/ the dual monitors was in regards to scrolling. I could scroll to the left, up and down, but not to the right 'cause that's where the big map was located.

I think I'll try it single monitor and see if I like it better.

[deathman20]

My problem w/ the dual monitors was in regards to scrolling. I could scroll to the left, up and down, but not to the right 'cause that's where the big map was located.

I think I'll try it single monitor and see if I like it better.

Actually scrolling right, easy fix... Have your cursor down on the bottom side of the screen (the build area) and then move right. If you go right on the main section of the screen it just acts like a continous monitor, but down in the build section theres a wall or something and it will scroll.

Then again im use to single monitor expecially my size, that i can zoom in and out very quickly to get ot the area's I need to.

[rainless]

:cry:

This game is a killer! I need to install fraps, but I have it on lowest setting of everything (except fidelity's was on medium became at low it made my screen dark) and I was running the lowest resolution...and the games was still slightly laggy. Is it my GFx (ATi x1650 Pro Turbo) or is it because I have only 1 gig of ram?

I only have one gig of RAM... but my systems an overlocked E6400 and my ram is probably (clocked) faster than your RAM. I don't know what my settings are... whatever the default is. But I'm running at 1024/768... I think... With no problem. (Come to think of it I could be running at 1360x768. I'll have to check.

[Yensen]

My problem w/ the dual monitors was in regards to scrolling. I could scroll to the left, up and down, but not to the right 'cause that's where the big map was located.

I think I'll try it single monitor and see if I like it better.
I never scroll at all. I zoom out and in in order to move the view. It's much faster and more accurate, and you get a nice split second overview of the area.

[Omsion]

:cry:

This game is a killer! I need to install fraps, but I have it on lowest setting of everything (except fidelity's was on medium became at low it made my screen dark) and I was running the lowest resolution...and the games was still slightly laggy. Is it my GFx (ATi x1650 Pro Turbo) or is it because I have only 1 gig of ram?

Is your C2D over clocked at all? My opty at 2.6 plays it fine (20-30 fps start, 15 when unit overloaded in the beta, since I have yet to unit overload on the demo). I also only have a gig of ram.

Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying. There's some additional points thrown in but the core is the same. I played the original C&C, Warcraft, AOE, and Starcraft, then moved on to sequels, and have seen the genre evolve through the years. This game is just the same thing over again with more units, better graphics, etc. It's a step forward, but not innovative as in a new experience or a rethink on the genre...

I felt the same way about Civilization 4. It was basically Civ3 with a new skin, and I'm a hype on Civ games.

It gets different on the larger skirmish maps. Finns is a 10x10, but mostly water, and is tiny, so it plays alot like a "traditional" RTS. You can fit a 3v3 on an all-land 10x10 - see Open Palms in the beta, and even then, on the same sized map, even 1v1, strats must change drastically, including actual room for wide flanking and surprise attacks. Travel time becomes important, and using your army to attack is worth a thought, since they won’t be able to make it back to defend an attack on your base, for example.

Also I disagree with your assessment of Civ4, but that's not for this thread.

[Vengance_01]

Well played a nice skrimish tonight. Annihilated the AI but it was fun. I was running the dual screen setup, man thats wierd. Its cool don't get me wrong but with a screen like mine and then looking over at anohter screen, might be more useful for the larger maps out there. FPS wise zero decrease. Mind you my second display was only 1024x768 nothing fancy but it did the job.

Also note, dual core again not in action. Just a single core was running it even at 10x speed.

Edit: A note from one of the GPG staff.. Hey Death what frame rates do you get. I start at 30 and then I get about 15 in heavy battles. I am not sure why it runs so bad. I mean if you think about it? its not that good looking. I have everything set to medium and 1440-900 res. Lowering the res has no effect of frames.

[LmpPns]

It is innovative, but not in the way you want. It is the first to have battles on such a large scale, The game requires strategy and tactical awareness, games such as Dawn of War do not, they are essentially tactical games, the list goes on for WC3, SC, etc etc.

I suggest you play the skirmish, and then play online if you decide to buy the game proper. Saying it is a C&C clone is jumping to conclusions, this game is so different to any other before it (obviously similarities can be drawn from TA and Supreme Commander). It really is as close to a war sim as you can get in terms of bases, deployment and attack. You haven't seen it all before, trust me, you probably haven't even scratched the surface (it has a really steep learning curve). :)

The game is only very mildly 'innovative'. It's a clone of its' predecessor, Total Annihlation. The only thing this game improves upon over a game made in 1997 is the addition of a singleplayer storyline, the main drawback of Total Annihilation. I don't know if you're aware of it or not, but both games were spearheaded by the same guy.

Many games, aside from Total Annihilation itself, have offered large-scale battles in the genre, the most notable I can think of right now would be Rome: Total War and the Lord of the Rings games.

In Supreme Commander, you build the same, harvest the same, even the buildings and units are very similar as they were nearly 10 years ago. The land, air, and naval units seem to share similar pathing and combat scripting. There is virtually no difference that I can see.

Like I said, this is just a return of Total Annihilation with improved graphics and a few added features and a new race. I'm glad to see it here and it will probably hold my interest for a month or two or maybe more, but as it currently goes, rehashes of the same old are starting to wear thin on me.

[Shelnutt2]

Is your C2D over clocked at all? My opty at 2.6 plays it fine (20-30 fps start, 15 when unit overloaded in the beta, since I have yet to unit overload on the demo). I also only have a gig of ram.

Yes, Its at 480FSB. So 3.36GHz overall. I should be able to handle it just fine.

[Neural Net]

The game is only very mildly 'innovative'. It's a clone of its' predecessor, Total Annihlation. The only thing this game improves upon over a game made in 1997 is the addition of a singleplayer storyline, the main drawback of Total Annihilation. I don't know if you're aware of it or not, but both games were spearheaded by the same guy.

Many games, aside from Total Annihilation itself, have offered large-scale battles in the genre, the most notable I can think of right now would be Rome: Total War and the Lord of the Rings games.

In Supreme Commander, you build the same, harvest the same, even the buildings and units are very similar as they were nearly 10 years ago. The land, air, and naval units seem to share similar pathing and combat scripting. There is virtually no difference that I can see.

Like I said, this is just a return of Total Annihilation with improved graphics and a few added features and a new race. I'm glad to see it here and it will probably hold my interest for a month or two or maybe more, but as it currently goes, rehashes of the same old are starting to wear thin on me.


I am aware this game is made by Chris Taylor who also made TA, I have been following this game before it was even at alpha stages. It is innovative but not in an obvious way. It uses some of the same tried and tested formula but it essentially perfects it, and TA could still be considered innovative even today (simulation of weapons fire, etc).

[MeatTheEB]

Oh my god, such a beautiful game. Big flashes of HDR for explosions for the win!

[MeatTheEB]

I am aware this game is made by Chris Taylor who also made TA, I have been following this game before it was even at alpha stages. It is innovative but not in an obvious way. It uses some of the same tried and tested formula but it essentially perfects it, and TA could still be considered innovative even today (simulation of weapons fire, etc).

Yes, it is a Chris Taylor project. It's funny, a few friends and I have been playing TA hardcore lately, and when we popped open Supreme Commander for the beta a month ago (and not for this demo) it's the same game only prettier.

Don't take that as word of God or anything, but they're quite similar. :)

[Neural Net]

Yes, it is a Chris Taylor project. It's funny, a few friends and I have been playing TA hardcore lately, and when we popped open Supreme Commander for the beta a month ago (and not for this demo) it's the same game only prettier.

Don't take that as word of God or anything, but they're quite similar. :)

Oh I know, but TA was simply the most innovative RTS before it ever made, so just improving on it is enough. There are subtle additions to be found in Supreme Commander, which aren't immediately obvious due to the steep learning curve. Give it time, all will be revealed! :beer:

[deathman20]

Yes, it is a Chris Taylor project. It's funny, a few friends and I have been playing TA hardcore lately, and when we popped open Supreme Commander for the beta a month ago (and not for this demo) it's the same game only prettier.

Don't take that as word of God or anything, but they're quite similar. :)

Ya they are very similar, but of course SC has more features and options. Let alone map size and unit count will be the biggest changes from TA to SC.

[Swatman]

i played the demo. awesome game

[blitzkrieg1110]

well I finally downloaded and installed the demo now that I got everything running and I'm encountering random crashes to desktop (and even a BSOD) when playing the demo. Is anyone else having some problems with this and vista.....

[deathman20]

well I finally downloaded and installed the demo now that I got everything running and I'm encountering random crashes to desktop (and even a BSOD) when playing the demo. Is anyone else having some problems with this and vista.....

Never had an issue with SC in Vista and thats including beta's of both the OS and SC.

[blitzkrieg1110]

Never had an issue with SC in Vista and thats including beta's of both the OS and SC.
So far, pretty much the only problem I've had (and its a huge problem) is with my realtek onboard audio drivers. It took me forever just to find a vista version of the drivers (which I did) then I installed and it solved most of my problems (I was getting crashes just listening to mp3s and talking on ts without them). I'm assuming that it has something to do with those. In a few days I'll be getting my x-fi xtreme gamer soundcard in the mail so maybe that will solve some problems.......

I heard there aren't even drivers out for vista and the x-fi though. Something about just a beta?

[deathman20]

So far, pretty much the only problem I've had (and its a huge problem) is with my realtek onboard audio drivers. It took me forever just to find a vista version of the drivers (which I did) then I installed and it solved most of my problems (I was getting crashes just listening to mp3s and talking on ts without them). I'm assuming that it has something to do with those. In a few days I'll be getting my x-fi xtreme gamer soundcard in the mail so maybe that will solve some problems.......

I heard there aren't even drivers out for vista and the x-fi though. Something about just a beta?

Yup all creative drivers are in the "beta" stage for Vista. They all work but theres a few things you have to do to get the EAX and such working properly again. I won't mess with that, and I'll just wait til the official drivers are released.

[blitzkrieg1110]

Yup all creative drivers are in the "beta" stage for Vista. They all work but theres a few things you have to do to get the EAX and such working properly again. I won't mess with that, and I'll just wait til the official drivers are released.
Hopefully I can get this worked out because currently, I can only play supreme commander for about 10 minutes max until I get either a BSOD or a crash to desktop saying that windows had to end the program........Why oh why did I install vista.........:bang head :bang head

[deathman20]

Hopefully I can get this worked out because currently, I can only play supreme commander for about 10 minutes max until I get either a BSOD or a crash to desktop saying that windows had to end the program........Why oh why did I install vista.........:bang head :bang head

:( That sucks... Hope the sound card issue can be fixed. Have you tried running the computer with no sound?

[blitzkrieg1110]

:( That sucks... Hope the sound card issue can be fixed. Have you tried running the computer with no sound?
Forget it, I just reformatted again. Installing XP Pro again........I'm waiting at least 3 more months until I reinstall vista. I swear, I can't even remember the last time I got a BSOD in xp and I have gotten at least 15 in the past 24 hours with vista. By midnight I will have everything running 100% in xp......that's sad.

[deathman20]

No I mean really try it with no sound. There was a sound issue with creative cards that caused BSOD's, lockups, drop outs, and no game starts.

[blitzkrieg1110]

No I mean really try it with no sound. There was a sound issue with creative cards that caused BSOD's, lockups, drop outs, and no game starts.
I haven't actually got my x-fi in the mail yet. It's on it way from Newegg. I still reformatted though and I'm up and typing on xp right now. Right now (especially after I saw the state that vista was in) there was no reason for me to stay with vista, too many problems in a very very short amount of time.

On a side note........the 10 minutes I was able to play before I got a BSOD was very fun ;)

Going to re-download this here in a few minutes and then play it on an OS that doesn't flip out on me.

[Hardin]

The demo runs well on my new core2duo system but not so well on my socket 754 +2800. 11 fps is the average on 1024x768 medium settings. Maybe that +3200 for $53 will help.

[deathman20]

The demo runs well on my new core2duo system but not so well on my socket 754 +2800. 11 fps is the average on 1024x768 medium settings. Maybe that +3200 for $53 will help.

OC the +2800 before considering buying a new chip. I doubt that its going to improve much unless you plan on OCing it more.

[Hardin]

This isn't exactly a board for overclocking but I could try.

[deathman20]

This isn't exactly a board for overclocking but I could try.

What I'm getting at either way even the upgrades not going to help alot when it comes to playing this game I'm sorry to say. If anything I'd look at dual core if you really want the potential of this game. Turing everything to low will help alot and im sure when the actual game is released tweaks will come out to help fix some of the issues with preformance ingame by turing other features off.

The modding community in the beta was quite large suprisingly so I can't wait to see what the retail will see.

[Hardin]

I have it overclocked to 2052(228x9) now and it has a few fps more but it's still nearly unplayable in the larger battles. Fortunately I only use this computer on the weekends.

[blitzkrieg1110]

Well now that I've had a day or two to try out the demo (on an OS that works.....), I've gotta say it's pretty good! The pace is a little slow (not sure if this was how TA was as I never played it) but overall the units and massive scale of the battles is quite exciting. I love the fact how the really big units are really hard to take out (that's how they should be IMO). Some of the really neat features I liked is how the cybran destroyer can walk on land (SOOO COOL!!!) and overall the naval battles are fantastic.

I'll probably end up preordering it soon, can't wait to try out a battle on one of the HUGE maps :)

EDIT: well I just pre-ordered from frys.com. They have it for 39.99 plus free shipping. I think thats a great deal so.....

Can't wait to play the final game :)

[Neural Net]

You won't be disappointed, and the game isn't slow paced, I've been playing the beta and well, some of the players have an entire army assaulting you in a few minutes which can be pretty tricky to deal with.

If you're talking about the campaign being slow paced then I can agree with you, but that's the same with all RTS' pretty much. :)

[blitzkrieg1110]

You won't be disappointed, and the game isn't slow paced, I've been playing the beta and well, some of the players have an entire army assaulting you in a few minutes which can be pretty tricky to deal with.
Lol maybe its just me.....but I'm usually pretty good with RTS games and It still takes me forever to get my economy rolling. I know there are only two "resources" but they get drained so fast. I find myself building so many power generators and mass extractors which takes time. Overall though, the extreme variety of units is awesome. I love the long-range warfare as well (like with that HUGE cybran tech 3 arty). That is so sweet :)

[Neural Net]

Lol maybe its just me.....but I'm usually pretty good with RTS games and It still takes me forever to get my economy rolling. I know there are only two "resources" but they get drained so fast. I find myself building so many power generators and mass extractors which takes time. Overall though, the extreme variety of units is awesome. I love the long-range warfare as well (like with that HUGE cybran tech 3 arty). That is so sweet :)

Yup SC has a very steep learning curve, it does take time to fully get to grips with the economy and strategy is such a huge factor in this game compared to any other RTS. Tactics in battle don't matter as much as they did in TA because the AI is smarter in that regard and the pathfinding is 100 times better.

As for the Tech 3 Cybran arty, you've seen nothing yet... The UEF has a Tech 4 artillery piece. ;)

[bobthemoo]

Any more screenshots of the game?

[Omsion]

Beta 5.3
10 minutes in = whole lot of units, and misc fighting. Note his absence of mass extractors, and what happened to them =P.
http://img53.imageshack.us/img53/8673/newbitmapimagepb2.png



Random, not that good "fight scene". Interestingly, when viewing from a low camera angle, the FOW and unit sight distance seem rather arbitrary (unseen are the enemy mantises behind those in front, yet to pop up in sight, but are in rader).
http://img53.imageshack.us/img53/2442/newbitmapimage3hp6.png
This game I went to about 350 pop, mixture of T1 tanks/arty and T2 tanks/missiles, and had planted T2 artillery on the mound, pushing forward and winning against scattered T3 bots. Then I got combombed =(.
Damn interceptors being in the wrong place =P. Oh well.

[Neural Net]

This was a game I was mucking around in, had reached the 500 unit limit, built these in about 5 minutes. :)

http://img103.imageshack.us/img103/2061/sc1ds6.jpg

[blitzkrieg1110]

This was a game I was mucking around in, had reached the 500 unit limit, built these in about 5 minutes. :)

http://img103.imageshack.us/img103/2061/sc1ds6.jpg
Now THAT I don't understand. It takes forever to build one of those spiderbots. How did you build all of those in 5 minutes?!

[Neural Net]

Now THAT I don't understand. It takes forever to build one of those spiderbots. How did you build all of those in 5 minutes?!

Spamming: Chain link power generators and mass fabricators and have loads of t3 engineers building one at a time. :)

[blitzkrieg1110]

Spamming: Chain link power generators and mass fabricators and have loads of t3 engineers building one at a time. :)
LOL I guess that could work ;)

[Neural Net]

LOL I guess that could work ;)

It does trust me I've done it. :p

[deathman20]

Spamming: Chain link power generators and mass fabricators and have loads of t3 engineers building one at a time. :)

Psssh t3 engineers garbage. 3-4 Sub Coms with engineering upgrades, they will have a field of Power and Mass done in minutes. As long as you can support a few hundred Mass per second :)

[Neural Net]

Psssh t3 engineers garbage. 3-4 Sub Coms with engineering upgrades, they will have a field of Power and Mass done in minutes. As long as you can support a few hundred Mass per second :)

Psssh building Subcoms takes longer than getting T3 engineers and unless you need the extra economy by upgrading them then they aren't needed for building most units.

[Omsion]

Psssh building Subcoms takes longer than getting T3 engineers and unless you need the extra economy by upgrading them then they aren't needed for building most units.

But they can also shoot. After you finishing building stuff, you can send 'em into the front line to draw fire away from those 10 monkeylords you just built with their help =P.

Oh yeah, after a horrid 2v2 on the beta Roanoke's Abyss, I realize that I suck on water maps =P. Couldn't move a land army around in one piece =(.

[Neural Net]

But they can also shoot. After you finishing building stuff, you can send 'em into the front line to draw fire away from those 10 monkeylords you just built with their help =P.

Oh yeah, after a horrid 2v2 on the beta Roanoke's Abyss, I realize that I suck on water maps =P. Couldn't move a land army around in one piece =(.

By that time you should have over 100 T3 Mechs to do that anyway :p :beer:

[Omsion]

And the beta's done.
Chris Taylor (Dr_Death) showed up at the end :beer:
http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/2977/ctvc2.jpg

And Outpost.com has SupComm for $40 (http://shop1.outpost.com/product/5102746). I know Frys doesn't have the best reputation for parts and service, but hey, they can't really screw up a pre-order, can they?
Don't answer that.

Now to hack the demo =P.

[Neural Net]

Ah the end of an era. Let the fresh batch of noobies come in. Gonna be a great time! :beer:

[blitzkrieg1110]

And Outpost.com has SupComm for $40 (http://shop1.outpost.com/product/5102746). I know Frys doesn't have the best reputation for parts and service, but hey, they can't really screw up a pre-order, can they?
Don't answer that.

Now to hack the demo =P.
Yeah, that's where I preordered mine. Free shipping as well. Hopefully everything turns out alright.

[deathman20]

Chris is a good man, and one hell of an opponent if you did get a chance to play a game with him.

[blitzkrieg1110]

Chris is a good man, and one hell of an opponent if you did get a chance to play a game with him.
Lol thats a really sweet screenshot he posted. That would've been so cool when he showed up :)

[Snowblind*]

no need to wait at ea.com o.0

[deathman20]

no need to wait at ea.com o.0

And what does that have to do with SC?

[z0n3]

Is the skirmish AI harder in the Beta or retail because its been way to easy in the demo?

[deathman20]

Is the skirmish AI harder in the Beta or retail because its been way to easy in the demo?

There was 5 difficuitly levels you could pick from in beta using the mods. Truely this AI has nothing on it. Its got to be locked in at easy because surely there isn't any major fighting going on. Retail will have the choice for diffucilty levels so ya Retail will be better.

[Neural Net]

Is the skirmish AI harder in the Beta or retail because its been way to easy in the demo?


I seem to remember it being harder in the earlier versions of the betas for some reason, perhaps I wasn't nearly as good at the game as I am now, but in the latest beta release and the demo it seems a lot easier. I've heard that the AI in the later parts of campaigns is tough to beat on higher difficulty levels.

[deathman20]

Also small maps restrict the AI from building larger maps they will spread out and they do get harder. IE More resources they get hold of they become a huge army.

[Neural Net]

Just had my preordered copy shipped, should arrive in a day or two. :D

[blitzkrieg1110]

Just had my preordered copy shipped, should arrive in a day or two. :D
But doesn't it get released in like 6 days??

Where did you preorder it from?

[deathman20]

Just had my preordered copy shipped, should arrive in a day or two. :D

Ya are you sure its going to take only a day or two to ship? Its not released til the 20th worldwide.

[z0n3]

Where did you preorder it from?
The future!

[Omsion]

Yes, I wish to know as well.

Apparently some people in Europe have been picking them up, even though their release is the 16th, I believe

[Prodigious]

Even hard mode was moderately easy. I wish the ai was more challenging. also, I did not notice any of the coordinated strike stuff the devs talked about. Varying unit types and groups in different spots all converge on targets at their own speed rather than synchronizing their attacks as promised. It sucks having a battallion of 10 different units and they all reach a target at different times, completely screwing up the plan.

[Omsion]

Even hard mode was moderately easy. I wish the ai was more challenging.
The AI was apparently changed for the demo. Madboris explains in a thread (http://garage.gaspowered.com/?q=node/8909) over at GPG.
One thing I seem to notice though that balanced on this demo version, is different than balanced on other code I play and make test maps on. It may have been softened up for demo purposes. But yes they obviously left out the rush AI (tougher) for the demo, and i don't know why as that would have been more challenging and appropriate for the hard setting.
The demo map is definitely one to push many units out as fast as possible on due to it's tiny size, so the AI used on it isn't the optimal (also have beaten the AI <10 minutes). MadBoris also gives a "patch" that changes the AI on hard over to "Horde".

also, I did not notice any of the coordinated strike stuff the devs talked about. Varying unit types and groups in different spots all converge on targets at their own speed rather than synchronizing their attacks as promised. It sucks having a battallion of 10 different units and they all reach a target at different times, completely screwing up the plan.
Coordinated strikes don't work for move or attack-move commands (wish they did). Give an attack object command with a group, then double-right click the attack waypoint with another group. Coordinated attack. Essentially, then units act like they do in a move command (attacking while moving past other targets) until they get in range of the coordinated target.

[Neural Net]

But doesn't it get released in like 6 days??

Where did you preorder it from?

From play.com, I'm in the UK, got it yesterday, been playing through the Cybran campaign. :D

[blitzkrieg1110]

Got an email a day or two ago (I didn't see it before) that said that supreme commander was out of stock at frys (even though it isn't even released yet). They said it could take up to 30 days for the order to be fulfilled......:bang head

[Neural Net]

Well just finished the Cybran campaign and it was good, nice integration of a story but a bit short and felt the FMVs could have shown some more fighting... It's buggy as well, definitely needs a patch. Going to try out the 80x80 maps now.

BTW, if you have the beta, make sure it has completely gone. I used remove programs control panel and it said it was removed but it was still there. I realised this after I had installed the game and it didn't install GPGNet. So here I am reinstalling it now. lol. :)

[broken_Naols]

I picked my copy up today from woolworths. :P, gonna spend all night in it. :D

[Neural Net]

I picked my copy up today from woolworths. :P, gonna spend all night in it. :D

GPGN doesn't install for me, does it work on your machine? Please let me know.

[Omsion]

And Outpost.com has SupComm for $40 (http://shop1.outpost.com/product/5102746). I know Frys doesn't have the best reputation for parts and service, but hey, they can't really screw up a pre-order, can they?
Don't answer that.
Got an email a day or two ago (I didn't see it before) that said that supreme commander was out of stock at frys (even though it isn't even released yet).
Looks like they can...got the same email today. Hopefully it's because it's pre-order, as in they don't have it in stock, which may or may not make sense for pre-orders.
Even if this is so, then why bother telling us (not really) and spread mass confusion?

Bah.

[lordkosc]

this game is starting to feel like a peter molyneux game, over promised, and over hyped........

my units don't attack in groups, which is lame... and the AI constantly attacks the same spot in my bases... even after i put up massive defenses there... and the other side of my base doesn't even have a wall.... :eek:

thankfully multi-player is where this is at, as after i beat the single player missions i will NEVER play against the AI ever again! :bang head

[deathman20]

Well I'll put this into the offical SC thread to who ever makes it but for those that have the game or are getting it heres a unit increase mod that I made.

http://supcomsource.net/files/file.php?id=8111

Gives you more choices for units when you play mutliplayer and skrimish maps.

[Shelnutt2]

this game is starting to feel like a peter molyneux game, over promised, and over hyped........

my units don't attack in groups, which is lame... and the AI constantly attacks the same spot in my bases... even after i put up massive defenses there... and the other side of my base doesn't even have a wall.... :eek:

thankfully multi-player is where this is at, as after i beat the single player missions i will NEVER play against the AI ever again! :bang head

Geez the AI from the beta was way better! I remember I had one battle where it was just me and one AI on the one large map, the East meets West map with one island and a sea separating us. I had just finished bounding their naval forces with a bunch of torp bombers and as I started to load my army into transports I saw a fatboy heading across the sea. So I call all my units to the front of my base while I redirect my torp bombers to attach the fatboy, which had its shield up. When the fatboy is about 3/4 the way across, and about 1/4 dead, I see another fatboy coming up the sea from the south!

I was able to take the first fat boy out with a monkeylord but at the cost of most of my torp bombers. The second fat boy arrived, and finished off my monkeylord and most about 1/3 of my army. Not to bad I still have plenty of units to mount a strike, maybe take out some of their factories right? Wrong! What do I see flying across the sea? About 8-12 transports. Needless to say I sadly had minimal anti-air defense as I had yet to build my navy, and coastal defenses. I was able to defend my base but I lost most of my unit..and I was unable to launch the offensive I wanted to.


Through most of the beta that I played the AI seemed to be great at timing out its events. I don't recall it flanking much but non the less it was a challenge. I consider my self a advanced RTS player. I don't know of many people I play in C&C RA2 that can beat me.

[NsOmNiA91130]

Run this with dual monitors. It's way better, as you can have both macro-management and micro-management at the same time. Makes the game way more fun, and a little easier, as you can see when you're being attacked. Now I have to learn how to play well :p

[Omsion]

Looks like they can...got the same email today. Hopefully it's because it's pre-order, as in they don't have it in stock, which may or may not make sense for pre-orders.

Your order is expected arrive on 02/27/07. Thank you for contacting
Frys.com.
Please let us know if we can be of further assistance.

Guess me and blitzkrieg1110 aren't playing it for another week.

:(:mad::bang head

[Neural Net]

Your order is expected arrive on 02/27/07. Thank you for contacting
Frys.com.
Please let us know if we can be of further assistance.

Guess me and blitzkrieg1110 aren't playing it for another week.

:(:mad::bang head

Yeh well don't feel left out, GPG net won't install on my system so I basically can't play it online. I have done everything I can think of too, the support is useless.

[deathman20]

Well released yesterday, no store had it, get it today. Stupid release dates, it comes out the day after its released, makes sense.

[deathman20]

Ha walked into bestbuy today, right to the section picked it up walked out. Even came with the Extra DVD :)

[blitzkrieg1110]

Your order is expected arrive on 02/27/07. Thank you for contacting
Frys.com.
Please let us know if we can be of further assistance.

Guess me and blitzkrieg1110 aren't playing it for another week.

:(:mad::bang head
........so much for that haha :bang head

Oh well I can wait but that still kinda ticks me off :)

[Omsion]

Ok, Frys really have no idea what their hands are doing.

Thanks for shopping at Frys.com. We are pleased to tell you that we shipped the items listed below.
That would be SupComm.

That's a day after they told me it wouldn't ship till the 27th.

[blitzkrieg1110]

Ok, Frys really have no idea what their hands are doing.


That would be SupComm.

That's a day after they told me it wouldn't ship till the 27th.
Yup, got the same e-mail. It is scheduled to arrive via DHL tomorrow. :)

[inkfx]

Kind of late on the bandwagon but I just got the demo. The game looks great and is probably tons of fun. Unfortunately, I'm garbage at it and am pretty clueless as to what to do as of now. I'm sure in time I'll get the hang of it. Can't wait for the full version to come to stores, I'll probably pick it up.

[deathman20]

Kind of late on the bandwagon but I just got the demo. The game looks great and is probably tons of fun. Unfortunately, I'm garbage at it and am pretty clueless as to what to do as of now. I'm sure in time I'll get the hang of it. Can't wait for the full version to come to stores, I'll probably pick it up.

Its in stores as of yesterday ;)

[inkfx]

Its in stores as of yesterday ;)
Haha, that's great. I have to find some kind of build strat guide. I havn't done RTS is a long while.

[blitzkrieg1110]

Got the game today....playing 3 other challenging ai's on a 40km X 40km map and I think I'm ranked like 2nd or 3rd outta 4. This is definitely tough.....gonna have to get used to it more.

I love how as soon as I think my defense is perfect and impenetrable, they come outta no where with monkeylords and that gunship thing. So much for my defense :D

[Neural Net]

Have any of you had trouble getting GPGnet installed?

[deathman20]

GPGnet installed flawless with mine. And I've had the beta and demo on here since my last reinstall.

[Omsion]

Got the game today...

Boooo... =P
Once again, my university's mailrooms screws me =P
Maybe tommorrow.

[Neural Net]

GPGnet installed flawless with mine. And I've had the beta and demo on here since my last reinstall.

Well I've reinstalled the damn thing 8 times and GPGnet is never installed. :(

[blitzkrieg1110]

GPGnet installed fine for me

[deathman20]

GPGnet installed fine for me

I fixed him up. Sent him over my GPGnet directory.

[Neural Net]

I fixed him up. Sent him over my GPGnet directory.

Yup thanks! :D Now I just need to find out what is causing connection problems.

[Omsion]

I fixed him up. Sent him over my GPGnet directory.That's a pretty nice trick there :beer:. So in Neural's case, all the registry stuff was there, just the GPG files not getting there?

[Radical]

Can you play multiplayer with the demo?

[Omsion]

Can you play multiplayer with the demo?

No. There is a demo mod (http://www.rebelz-nation.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=585) that uses beta files to open up the other two races and all the beta maps, though. Use bugmenot (http://www.bugmenot.com/) to get a sign-in.