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Forged Alliance screaming onto a PC near you soon!

What makes a strategy game?

North American release of Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance has occurred, and the rest of us are waiting with ebay accounts desperate to get into the action before the worldwide release on the 22nd November. Forged Alliance is the game that supcom should have been, and here I will discuss a few of the BIG reasons FA is the single greatest RTS currently available.

tactical and strategic depth

The most important criteria for ANY strategy game. How many ways are there to win? How many different strategies does the game allow for and reward? With the scope of the game and the sheer number of versatile and diverse units, FA offers more depth than any other RTS. Include in this all the different strategic buildings and you have a wealth of play styles, and a wealth of tactical options.

For instance:

Let's say you are being harassed by a Tier (T) 1 bomber. What can you use to counter it?

You have: T1/T2/T2 fighters. T1/T2 Anti Air (AA) ground units. T1/T2/T3 static AA defenses. And 2-4 naval units that come equipped with AA defenses. that's 10-14 different units to combat that particular unit. No other game allows for such versatility. Sure some are better than others (as you would want and expect) but that's the strategy- what are your goals going into the mission and how do you achieve that goal with the units you have at your disposal? there are simply a million different ways to play with the combination of units. No other RTS has the same freedom, especially since they all use "hard counters" of 1 or 2 units.

simulation

It is rare to find an RTS that is a simulation, indeed the only other big name is total annihilation (I know there is one other but I do not know the name of it). never EVER underestimate the gains in gameplay dynamics that you receive from playing a simulation. If someone doubts the veracity of the argument that a simulation improves gameplay, they simply do not understand how much of a difference it really makes. If your aircraft flies too close to artillery, there is a (small) chance it could get taken out by a shell intended for somewhere else on the map. I saw an amusing video recently where a player flew his fighters too close to his flying experimental unit, and when the experimental fired, it managed to hit half his supporting fighters- you simply cannot get this type of dynamic in the purely maths-based rules you find in all other games. If units walk in front of other units they will get hit instead of the unit that is now behind.

What does this all mean?

DYNAMIC battles. They are unpredictable. There is no more "oh I have 5 footmen he has 4 grunts, im going to lose". A unit might simply be microed behind a legde so that unit X cannot fire on it. Not because there's an arbitrary rule stating "units in area of X get +50% to armour bonus" -unit X cannot be hit simply because there is something in the way. This allows for real strategy when placing buildings too. Put your static defenses in a "ditch" and artillery will have a harder time hitting it, again, not because of any bullshit rules. Bubble shields are great for protecting those IN the bubble, but ALSO those that are stationed BEHIND the bubble, because enemies firing at them will hit the bubble first. You cant get that kind of dynamic without a simulation.

This also changes balance. Any unit that can hit any other unit will hit that unit, no penalty! There are no silly rules to remember "oh, magic does extra damage to heavy armour". What this means is that you don't get ridiculous things happening, like in empire at war where an ATAT had been coded to be useless against ground troops. I mean, we all saw them tear humans up in empire strikes back didn�t we? It means enough of unit X will beat unit Y, no matter how powerful. This adds to tactical variety "oh, he's got that super duper unit, but if I mass enough of my average unit I might just get over the top of him".

It allows for artillery to be useless against units, as well as being AWESOME againt units AND buildings. How? Simple. Artillery projectiles are relatively slow, meaning a good player can micro his troops out of the way. BUT, if the artillery still manages to hit, then it does its full, regular damage. No need for bonus damage against buildings and reduced damage to units. It just happened NATURALLY and fluidly, and again, makes sense!!!

It means real tactics come into play and you get real rewards- forcing a well-executed pincer on an opponent works because dynamically. Again, there are no "if you execute a pincer you get +50% to attack rolls", it works because you have come into behind (or to the side) of an opponent, and it takes valuable time for the unit's TURRET and/or DIRECTION to shift to face the new threat. It means that if a group of units such as aircraft retreat, they can no longer fire on you because their turret's rotation is limited.

Again, all of this rewards a player that can use their troops well, and makes it more of a its how you use your units rather than what units you have moreso than any other RTS available.

freedom

This kind of ties in with the other two topics, but what the hell. Because of its rich tactical nature and the fact that it is a simulation, there are no hard and fast rules to victory. In many other RTS's its all about buildings heaps of troops and sending them to your opponents base. Repeat. But in FA you really need to be aware and prepared for anything. Tactical missile strikes, hidden bases behind your lines of defense, troop drops behind enemy lines, stealthed fighter-bombers, mobile bombs, navy bombardment, having your bases captured and used against you, amphibious units sneaking up on you unprotected etc etc etc. I have watched dozens of replays and I rarely see the same tactics twice. Thus intel plays more of a role than any other game that has come before, which is cool because you then have to worry about jamming, stealth, and cloaking! If you lose the information war you'll probably lose the game. Again, this really rewards sound strategy.

The diversity of all the new units makes play really interesting, and adds more to the tactical depth and the freedom of how you choose to play. If you found map control unimportant in supcom, you will be VERY pleased with how important map control is in forged alliance. It means you are fighting over the entire map for the majority of the game! The action is better than anything ive played or seen. Hundreds and hundreds of versatile, diverse units all shooting the shit out of each other. And because there's no bullshit hard-counter rules, it is MUCH more satisfying.

build templates

Ok, this might not appeal to some but I think it is fantastic.

Load a sandbox game (testing to just play with yourself).

Build any combination of structures. Save.

Load a multiplayer game and BINGO! There's your saved group of structures ready to be built in the order you originally built them. no more fucking around in your base building economy or defenses. You simply load a saved template and you're away! I love this because it really allows for some creative, sexy & functional base designs and forward firebases without you having to spend the time designing them!! It saves SO much time! And that's more time you get for moving your troops around.

Nobody says you have to like FA more than other titles in the RTS genre, but I am simply stating that FA is easily the best in the categories I have briefly outlined. Tactical/strategic depth, simulation & freedom are the most important aspects of a strategy title however, and there can be no argument that FA wins hands down in these departments. Make no mistake, FA is the strategy title for adults that want as much freedom from their gameplay as possible. And gameplay > all.

Pick up the standalone expansion for about $30US and try it for yourself.

If it's on a PC it's pure faggotry (c)

quote:

Originally posted by Aesthetic If it's on a PC it's pure faggotry (c)

its actually scheduled for the 360 too, but i know how you feel about that

im sorry your PS3 couldnt handle it, that its too hard for the console children to play, and that controllers suck. its ok though, there are other things you can use it for. like playing bluray. or a paperweight.

at least i wont have to update my paperweight every now and then to keep up with the latest games

quote:

Originally posted by Aesthetic If it's on a PC it's pure faggotry (c)

haha, that comment is pure ******ry.

quote:

Originally posted by Aesthetic at least i wont have to update my paperweight every now and then to keep up with the latest games

no you just have to keep buying the newest paperweight every 2 years or so

quote:

Originally posted by Aesthetic at least i wont have to update my paperweight every now and then to keep up with the latest games

No, you will spend $1000 on an effective paper weight which is losing developers to other rival consoles and has majorly unreliable hardware.

yeah, he said it better than me

authorised by the total annihilation 2 with zoomz0r i mean supcom party. spoken by pkcraistlin in return for bumsex.

i hear nukes are shit now?

well a friend of mine has just recently got me into supreme commander!!! now that i built myself a quad core monster

looking forward to the expansion. great game to play massive 8 player battles.

haha, theres not one 360 exclusive that im crying i never got a 360 over.. so RE is now on 360.. does it effect me? nope its still coming to the ps3.. so how exactly is sony losing developers when they are still multi platformed =)

oh yeah, metal gear solid bitch.

quote:

Originally posted by Fledz No, you will spend $1000 on an effective paper weight which is losing developers to other rival consoles and has majorly unreliable hardware.

quote:

Originally posted by Aesthetic haha, theres not one 360 exclusive that im crying i never got a 360 over.. so RE is now on 360.. does it effect me? nope its still coming to the ps3.. so how exactly is sony losing developers when they are still multi platformed =) oh yeah, metal gear solid bitch.

So you don't agree that Sony has lost it's way? The PS3 is dissapointing to say the least. I hope they get their act together and bring out a better package in the form of the PS4 but the PS3 just isn't everything it was meant to be. Hardware problems, software problems, expensive, losing big titles to other consoles.

I'm just amazed at how well the Wii has done. Outselling both the PS3 and Xbox360, probably because it doesn't cost an arm and a leg and has much more "fun" titles than the other two.

Oh and I just couldn't let this one slide:
Splinter Cell > Metal Gear Solid

i haven't got a PS3 yet, and i was genuinely interested in your comments on it

quote:

Originally posted by Fledz Splinter Cell > Metal Gear Solid

right up till that point, where you just proved that you have nfi what you're talking about

quote:

Originally posted by Philby i hear nukes are shit now?

no, not at all. theyre cheaper and faster to build in multiplayer, they might take longer in singleplayer but i dunno. the gamespot guy is a moron.

come on fledz, i respect what you're saying but the below is just bullocks mate!

quote:

Originally posted by Fledz Splinter Cell > Metal Gear Solid

Ahaha, I stand by my SP comments!

(and just in case there's any confusion, yes I have played MGS series and it is definitely brilliant but SP has the edge)

i have a q6600 quad core with 8800 gts... gcard isnt the best but still ok

id like to see any crappy console try and handle a game engine like that in half life 2 episode 2... bahhhh consoles

i laugh at them... the fact that you can run a SLI setup using 8800 cards for me shows that a PC has greater range of applications than a console ever will

and seriously... mouse keyboard combo poohs on a controller...

PC's FTW

quote:

Originally posted by vman83 and seriously... mouse keyboard combo poohs on a controller...

and theres the reason why consoles will always suck

ALL gaming machines are great! its just that the PC has more freedom and power. and 1000x more hassles as well :/

and it is currently the only system with the greatest RTS of all time!!

pics tell 1000 words

end of rant

gameplay > graphics vman

That game just looks like far too much effort.

that is a mad looking tank in the 2nd pic. i used to make stuff like that with my lego hehe

quote:

Originally posted by vman83 i have a q6600 quad core with 8800 gts... gcard isnt the best but still ok id like to see any crappy console try and handle a game engine like that in half life 2 episode 2... bahhhh consoles i laugh at them... the fact that you can run a SLI setup using 8800 cards for me shows that a PC has greater range of applications than a console ever will and seriously... mouse keyboard combo poohs on a controller... PC's FTW

same as me 640mb on the graphics card and 4 gig of ram to go with it. G7 mouse which rocks.

More than enough at the moment mate!

sick of pc gaming, you need to constantly upgrade hardware to meet game software demands....the beauty about consoles is the flick the switch and play convenience

When I saw Crysis on my PC, I shat myself and thought, i'll need to spend a good 1200 upgrading just to get it playing smoothly...ps3 and wii are king in my home...anyone up for a fifa08 online asskicking!?

quote:

Originally posted by christos sick of pc gaming, you need to constantly upgrade hardware to meet game software demands....the beauty about consoles is the flick the switch and play convenience When I saw Crysis on my PC, I shat myself and thought, i'll need to spend a good 1200 upgrading just to get it playing smoothly...ps3 and wii are king in my home...anyone up for a fifa08 online asskicking!?

that's always been the way. but PC's are also much more scaleable than consoles; thus you can play the newest games, but they might not look quite as nice. if youre an xbox player and you want the newest, shiniest game, you have to buy a 360

when things run like shit on a console, there's nothing you can do about it.

Oh- and i FINALLY have my copy of FA in my hot little hands! tonight is going to be epic!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

lalalalalala!

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