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Supreme Commander Q&A Feature
Derek dela Fuente
26/01/2006
Chris Taylor spares a few moments to discuss his eagerly awaited return to the RTS genre...
TVG was fortunate enough to hook up with Chris Taylor, CEO and Creative Director at Gas Powered Games - founded in 1998 and creators of Dungeon Siege. A veteran of the industry and one of the real figureheads, Chris was the designer and project leader when at Cavedog Entertainment on Total Annihilation), the massive selling and critically acclaimed RTS title. There has been some hope over the last few years for a sequel to TA (Atari own the rights), but the vision for Chris has always been to extend and create new boundaries and offer a gaming experience unsurpassed which is the continued goal for Supreme Commander.
Chris, would you agree that RTS genre has become somewhat predictable and is in need of a slight change in direction or something new to revitalize it? What were your initial goals when you started the design work on the game?
Yes, I do agree with that comment and this is what made the design goals of Supreme Commander an exciting proposition...to take the RTS genre someplace new. One of my first goals was to create a large scale experience, where we could finally use the term "theatre of war".
Tell us a little more about that; does this mean that you will have a large diversity of units and confrontations to match?
Indeed, we will have a wide range of units from small scouts to gigantic experimental units. The goal of the design is to introduce this large diversity of units yet make the game as manageable as a regular RTS, and add no additional learning curve to veteran RTS players.
"We go the extra mile with our nukes by actually simulating the damage in an expanding ring."
So Supreme Commander will offer a "fuller" experience, but with so much to consider does the mindset of the player have to change at all? Does the emphasis on a bigger scale change the strategies?
In many ways the advancements in the game that we are bringing to the genre would be welcome to any RTS design. The full map view (when fully zoomed out) allows the player to see the entire map, or what I call the "strategic view", and then by using the mouse, they can zoom in any amount, at any time, to any part of the map. When zoomed out, or even partially, the player can inspect all the commands issued, and make changes dynamically while all the units are in transit. Strategy is much easier when it is presented at this level, so what might normally be a complex operation, is actually quite straight forward... which hopefully means that the player will be able to focus on strategy and not be worried about a bizarre game interface.
So tell us a little more about the interface at work in Supreme Commander?
Our goal is to make this quite simple and that's the feedback we have received so far. It's really quite simple in its design, because everything you can do zoomed in close, you can do when zoomed all the way out. It's exactly the same, but the icons change to provide a more strategic view - like in the war rooms in the movies. In order to do this we came up with some very specific improvements and innovations that we are very excited about in the design.
The emphasis is naturally on combat and strategy, so what role does the search for resources and building take?
Base building is important, because the economic backbone of the game is key to balance what happens on the military side. Searching for resources is important for say the first 10 minutes or so, but after that it shifts pretty quickly to a strategy game. It's not a game about grabbing resources... it's about reconnaissance, planning, and anticipating your opponent... in other words, it's about strategy.
OK, so perhaps you can tell us about the setting/story for the game, the factions that will be involved and a little detail on them?
There are three factions: the UEF, which is the most traditional faction based on Earth-style military units, the Cybran Nation, which is a little more bizarre, because the units have a more interesting mix of functionality, and then there is the Aeon, which is the most alien faction of all. The factions have very different looks than the others. The weapons are balanced against each other, but at the higher levels, where we introduce what we call Tech 3 and beyond to "Experimental", the units get radically different, unique and have bizarre capabilities. That's where the game gets wild and usually comes to an abrupt end in a series of nuclear blasts.
"There are so many things we are doing in Supreme Commander that I could never have dreamed of back in 1997."
How much of an emphasis have you placed on technology within the game?
We push the modern video cards to the max, and this includes the latest GPU shader and rendering techniques. Some of the features players will immediately notice are the explosive special effects (including nuclear mushroom clouds), the realistic water, the incredible detail in the terrain, and the crazy, over-the-top battles which not only push the GPU, but the CPU as well.
Can you tell us about a few of the units on offer and the kind of destruction they can reap?
I mentioned the nukes previously, which as you might guess, are the biggest and most destructive weapons in the game. We go the extra mile with our nukes by actually simulating the damage in an expanding ring. We don't quit there, as the initial impact throws off a comparatively minor shock wave, but the second ring is much more destructive and tends to level everything in its path but moves a little slower. You won't believe this weapon until you see it.
Are there any basic guidelines you've learnt from creating Total Annihilation that you ensured must be adhered to in this title and maybe some left better behind?
Yep, you could say that, but over the last eight years, the whole genre has changed, so even some of the good ideas had to be left behind. There are so many things we are doing in Supreme Commander that I could never have dreamed of back in 1997.
What game modes, multiplayer options/mod support will be available?
We have a bunch of new features, but I can't reveal them quite yet.
" I think it's going to start to get interesting from here on in. I'm excited to play 'Empires at War' and Brian Reynolds's latest 'Rise Of Legends'."
What do you feel is the one real innovation or redefined area of the game that gamers will find fresh, inventive, or different from what they would expect?
Without a doubt it would have to be what we call the full strategic zoom. There are many other great features that come in a close second, but the zoom changes the whole game experience, right from the beginning.
Finally what are the current favourite RTS games of the team and where does the RTS genre go over the next few years?
I think it's going to start to get interesting from here on in. I'm excited to play "Empires at War" and Brian Reynolds's latest "Rise Of Legends".
TVG thanks Chris Taylor for providing some answers to the many questions when it comes to Supreme Commander. With a release of an unspecified point in 2006 look out for further coverage soon...
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