Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance - Windows (Lots-O-Pics warning)

[Mrbloodworth]

Not sure how many here played the original... But this upgrade is FANTASTIC. The AI is Intelligent now (To a very SICK degree if you set it above "Adaptive"), alot of the effects have been reworked, the UI has all but been completely replaced by a supper sexy minimalist UI. Still supports dual monitors nicely, and they got rid of that annoying planet behind your map. Not to mention such tweaks as Tactical missiles now construct supper fast and hold 12 insted of 5. New additions like the Maintenance buildings that send out drones to repair, reclaim or build anything in its area of affect.

If you tried the original, and liked it, you will be highly impressed with this new expansion and the refinements it brings. I havent even really discoverd everything that has change, but the things i have found so far, i have really appreciated.



On a related note:

Supreme Commander for the Xbox 360 Announced
We are thrilled to announce the Xbox 360® version of our acclaimed RTS hit, Supreme Commander®. Developed by Hellbent Games and GPG, and published by Aspyr, Supreme Commander for the 360 will be released in early 2008.

Source

[schild]

UI still suck?

[Mrbloodworth]

UI still suck?

NO. It does not. Thats one of the major, and most (my) loved things about this, the UI is basically completely revamped and way more intuitive. More of a minimalist approach. Less cluder. No more mini map (it was never needed).

Went from this:



To this:


And when zoomed:

[schild]

Picture of it please.

[Mrbloodworth]

Picture of it please.

Way ahead of yah.

[schild]

oh shit

to buy!

[Mrbloodworth]

oh shit

to buy!

I highly recommend it.

Be carefull of the AI man, Its NOTHING like before. You were warned.

Also, new faction, and 150 new units. Stuff like field engineer, orbital satellites of beam death, Gatling BOTS!

[Hoax]

Mother bitch, I so wanted to buy this on release but it was just not worth it.

Do want.

[Mrbloodworth]

Mother bitch, I so wanted to buy this on release but it was just not worth it.

Do want.

The battles can be quite EPIC.

I and a few lan-mates have been known to do 4 hour games. (ignoring our old time record of 12 hours in Empire earth..different thing entirely).

Oh, and that bring up one of the most needed items in RTS. The time out button (each person gets 3). GOD DAM did something like take to long to put in. I will never play another multi player RTS with out it.

[Yegolev]

I'm still concerned about it kicking my rig in the balls.  Tell me about performance.

[Mrbloodworth]

I'm still concerned about it kicking my rig in the balls.  Tell me about performance.

Ill try. Its still rather demanding, but it does scale. Of course, the more units...yeah. We typically play with the 250 units cap (This number seems to include structures). Like i said earlier, some of the effects have been reworked... I think they must be more lightweight (from what i can see, they are less complicated than before, but not sacrificing "look" to achieve it). Dual core is your friend, and the more ram the better. A higher end Video card is likely a must, lots of normal maps used in the terrain ETC...

I cant give a true comparison, as i play at a friends house most times, and he, just last night (also the first time we played the new version) upgraded the PC i use to a dual core, and 2 gigs of ram, not sure about the video card. The two others i play with are currently using quads, and 8800's. I did notice a dramatic increase in performance going from single, to dual core systems. (Using a second monitor for the map is just simply bad ass.)

When i go over there some time this weekend, ill post exact specs.

Additional titbit's:

From wikipedia

On November 6, 2007, THQ released a Supreme Commander standalone expansion, Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance. It contains many engine improvements that allow it to run faster as well as improve the graphics. It features over 100 new units and new game mechanics such as orbital installations and enhanced information warfare. In addition, a new faction (the Seraphim) is available. It was released as a standalone game.[58]

From the Main site:

MINIMUM SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:

Microsoft® Windows® XP Service Pack 2, Vista
1.8 GHz processor
512 MB RAM
8 GB available hard-drive space
128 MB video RAM or greater, with DirectX 9 Vertex Shader / Pixel Shader 2.0 support (Nvidia 6x00/ATI 9600 or better)
Sound card, instancing required
Broadband internet connection (DSL/Cable).

RECOMMENDED SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:

3.0 GHz Intel or equivalent AMD processor or better
1 GB RAM or better
8 GB available hard-drive space
256 MB video RAM, with DirectX 9 Vertex Shader / Pixel Shader 2.0 support (Nvidia 6800 or better)
Sound card, instancing required
Internet connection with Cable/DSL speeds

Note: recommended specifications provide optimal experience for single player and up to four players/medium-size map multiplayer

[geldonyetich2]

I thought the AI in the original Supreme Commander was pretty good - it's tough to beat two AI set to "Supreme".   To hear Forge Alliance improving that even moreso is awesome.  This is currently the only game in which I can actually benefit from having a quad-core processor.

[Mrbloodworth]

I thought the AI in the original Supreme Commander was pretty good - it's tough to beat two AI set to "Supreme".   To hear Forge Alliance improving that even moreso is awesome.  This is currently the only game in which I can actually benefit from having a quad-core processor.

Supreme AI was like a wet noodle.

AI no long Beelines anything. those fuckers are sneaky.

There is even a Cheat AI now...lol. Its somehow gets more resources....Talk about hardcore. I'm not going to press that button.

[Ratman_tf]

MINIMUM SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:

Microsoft® Windows® XP Service Pack 2, Vista
1.8 GHz processor
512 MB RAM
8 GB available hard-drive space
128 MB video RAM or greater, with DirectX 9 Vertex Shader / Pixel Shader 2.0 support (Nvidia 6x00/ATI 9600 or better)
Sound card, instancing required
Broadband internet connection (DSL/Cable).

RECOMMENDED SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:

3.0 GHz Intel or equivalent AMD processor or better
1 GB RAM or better
8 GB available hard-drive space
256 MB video RAM, with DirectX 9 Vertex Shader / Pixel Shader 2.0 support (Nvidia 6800 or better)
Sound card, instancing required
Internet connection with Cable/DSL speeds

Note: recommended specifications provide optimal experience for single player and up to four players/medium-size map multiplayer

I laugh at those minimum specs. I have a 2.0 GHz Athlon with 2 gigs of RAM and an ATI x1550, and it runs like ass at minimum settings.

[schild]

Is an ATI x1550 anywhere near as good as a 6800? I have no clue, just wondering.

[geldonyetich2]

From what benchmarks I've dug up, I'm going to say that the x1550 is an ancient budget card that never stood a chance.

[Ironwood]

Hmmmmm.   UI is now nice....

[FatuousTwat]

Is this an expansion pack, or a stand alone game ala the Dawn of War expansions? Just asking because they were both made by Relic (right?).

[Ratman_tf]

From what benchmarks I've dug up, I'm going to say that the x1550 is an ancient budget card that never stood a chance.

It's not ancient, but it is a budget card. Because I don't feel like spending more on my video card than I do on the rest of the computer combined. 

[Murgos]

It's not ancient, but it is a budget card. Because I don't feel like spending more on my video card than I do on the rest of the computer combined. 

Eh, you have a minimal system and it runs games at minimal levels?  I'm surprised.   

[Mrbloodworth]

Is this an expansion pack, or a stand alone game ala the Dawn of War expansions? Just asking because they were both made by Relic (right?).

Stand alone.

However, im not sure if you need the original to play all factions in multi player. I don't know, becouse i installed both. But the box says Standalone.

[FatuousTwat]

Ah, thanks. And now that I re-installed it, I see that it was made by GPG and THQ... Maybe it was the THQ that threw me.

[Ratman_tf]

It's not ancient, but it is a budget card. Because I don't feel like spending more on my video card than I do on the rest of the computer combined. 

Eh, you have a minimal system and it runs games at minimal levels?  I'm surprised.   

Runs is a generous verb. It smokes and wheezes.

I just think the minimum specs listed on nearly all games is a joke. It's almost always minimum spec to launch the game, but fughedabout actually playing it.

[Thrawn]

I think I'll have to break down and try this game finnaly, maybe see if I can get it given to me as a Christmas gift.

I haven't been really sucked into a RTS since Starcraft.

[bhodi]

I think I'll have to break down and try this game finnaly, maybe see if I can get it given to me as a Christmas gift.

I haven't been really sucked into a RTS since Starcraft.

WARNING: You should read the review first.

[Jimbo]

This game looks so much like Total Annihilation that it has me drooling and wanting to upgrade the computer.  That or I'll just buy TA and all the expansions and play it again.