Gas Powered Games frontman Chris Taylor updates us on the units, gameplay, and technology in this highly anticipated strategy sequel. Exclusive trailer inside.
The development studio Gas Powered Games is perhaps best known for 2007's Supreme Commander, a remarkable and gigantic real-time strategy game that offered enormous real-time strategy battles and impressive technology that let you zoom way, way, way-way-way out in real time to view the game from an abstract, strategic view or let you zoom in tight on your armies of mechanized machines as they smashed each other to bits in your name. Now, the studio is working on the sequel, which will be released in early 2010, and GPG's creative director (and the designer of the acclaimed strategy classic Total Annihilation), Chris Taylor, has some new answers and updates on the game's progress.
GameSpot: Give us an update on the game's development. What aspects of the game is the team working on now?
Chris Taylor: As we head for the finish line, our focus turns mostly to a few key areas of the game. First, we are working to eliminate all remaining bugs and to make sure the game is tuned and balanced. We also do a lot of work on performance optimizations to make sure the game loads quickly and will maintain a high frame rate.
GS: We understand the sequel will add to all aspects of the previous game, in terms of story, gameplay, and technology. Could you give us an update on the technology optimization that's being worked on at present? How low of a spec does the game currently scale to?
CT: Well, the game has a brand-new rendering engine that has been designed to be extremely efficient for this kind of game. The engineering team has done an outstanding job of identifying the key graphics requirements to produce a visually stunning game that performs incredibly well. I can't say for sure these days with PCs all over the map, but if you bought a slick gaming rig five years ago, and perhaps upgraded the video once, you should have no problem at all.
GS: We understand that the sequel will not only bring back our good friends the Cybrans and the UEF, but will also debut a new faction, the Illuminate. What can you tell us about this group? How will they perform on the battlefield?
CT: The new faction is an interesting group, because they sort of grew out of the old, original faction, the Aeon Illuminate. They play a little differently than the other factions, because most of the units hover above the ground and the water. This means that the Illuminate don't have or need a navy. This decision gives the faction a lot of asymmetry, but it fits well with the overall design and really changes the way you interact with them. It was important for us that they look cool, however, and have a much more identifiable form than previous games, making them much easier to use in the heat of battle.
GS: From what we've seen, it also seems like there's an overall focus on giving battles more of a fluid, give-and-take quality. For instance, upgrades now take place along a skill-tree-like system that keeps even lower-tier units useful for longer, and there will be a way to launch units across the map to get them into the fray faster. Tell us about how these features affect the pacing of the battles. Do SupCom 2's skirmishes seem to heat up faster? Do they end faster?
CT: We definitely wanted to see the game move along at a faster clip, but all the design changes in the world won't make up for how the map size affects gameplay--meaning, if you want a short game, play on a small map, a longer game, play on a huge map. Having said that, you will have the ability to deploy experimental units much more quickly--we call these "minor experimental units." These units aren't quite as outrageous as the big, major experimental units, but they are pretty awesome and can have a huge impact on the outcome of the game.
GS: Tell us about the decision to incorporate unit experience during battles. What does this add to the game?
CT: Well, as you probably know, we've done it before, and it's a pretty important part of a strategy game. Incorporating unit experience is a significant reward for players who don't sacrifice their units in battle without giving them much thought. It follows a real-life parallel--the more battle experience a unit has, the higher its survivability. We feel this is one of many things that give Supreme Commander 2 its depth.
GameSpot: Give us an update on the game's development. What aspects of the game is the team working on now?
Chris Taylor: As we head for the finish line, our focus turns mostly to a few key areas of the game. First, we are working to eliminate all remaining bugs and to make sure the game is tuned and balanced. We also do a lot of work on performance optimizations to make sure the game loads quickly and will maintain a high frame rate.
GS: We understand the sequel will add to all aspects of the previous game, in terms of story, gameplay, and technology. Could you give us an update on the technology optimization that's being worked on at present? How low of a spec does the game currently scale to?
CT: Well, the game has a brand-new rendering engine that has been designed to be extremely efficient for this kind of game. The engineering team has done an outstanding job of identifying the key graphics requirements to produce a visually stunning game that performs incredibly well. I can't say for sure these days with PCs all over the map, but if you bought a slick gaming rig five years ago, and perhaps upgraded the video once, you should have no problem at all.
GS: We understand that the sequel will not only bring back our good friends the Cybrans and the UEF, but will also debut a new faction, the Illuminate. What can you tell us about this group? How will they perform on the battlefield?
CT: The new faction is an interesting group, because they sort of grew out of the old, original faction, the Aeon Illuminate. They play a little differently than the other factions, because most of the units hover above the ground and the water. This means that the Illuminate don't have or need a navy. This decision gives the faction a lot of asymmetry, but it fits well with the overall design and really changes the way you interact with them. It was important for us that they look cool, however, and have a much more identifiable form than previous games, making them much easier to use in the heat of battle.
GS: From what we've seen, it also seems like there's an overall focus on giving battles more of a fluid, give-and-take quality. For instance, upgrades now take place along a skill-tree-like system that keeps even lower-tier units useful for longer, and there will be a way to launch units across the map to get them into the fray faster. Tell us about how these features affect the pacing of the battles. Do SupCom 2's skirmishes seem to heat up faster? Do they end faster?
CT: We definitely wanted to see the game move along at a faster clip, but all the design changes in the world won't make up for how the map size affects gameplay--meaning, if you want a short game, play on a small map, a longer game, play on a huge map. Having said that, you will have the ability to deploy experimental units much more quickly--we call these "minor experimental units." These units aren't quite as outrageous as the big, major experimental units, but they are pretty awesome and can have a huge impact on the outcome of the game.
GS: Tell us about the decision to incorporate unit experience during battles. What does this add to the game?
CT: Well, as you probably know, we've done it before, and it's a pretty important part of a strategy game. Incorporating unit experience is a significant reward for players who don't sacrifice their units in battle without giving them much thought. It follows a real-life parallel--the more battle experience a unit has, the higher its survivability. We feel this is one of many things that give Supreme Commander 2 its depth.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment