Well I'm in the beta and even I'm not too sure about the requirements... Its like they introduce more newer, more spiffy effects with each release (I haven't tried 53, so I don't know how much) which slowly increases the requirements each time.

I just hope that by the time they're done, they still would've retained the awesome sub-30 second load times for the game

Topics merged, so now all the videos are together... weee!!!

Cool, hopefully the requirements are settled in this demo, so I can properly gauge if my system can handle it

Finished downloading the demo late last night (And after trying out the first campaign mission, which meant I slept in the wee hours of the morning), its been nicely spruced up since the beta.

As Araes said, the briefings brings back memories of Starcraft (Minus the stellar voice acting of course) and the mission structure is no longer the typical TA "Blow everything else" style for everyone one of them.

Performance wise, NOW it hates my PC I love how they improved on the ferry system though. That in itself is one awesome RTS innovation.

Few gripes though which may or may not be intentional:
1) Lack of an attack move command. The fact this has been omitted has raised quite a number of eyebrows considering how just about every game since Starcraft has it. Honestly, it has to be done like this for a reason.

2) Some of the command lines are harder to see (Like ferry routes) which makes it extremely hard to reorganize them from macro view. That being said, I never thought playing from a fully zoomed out view would be so much fun

Gonna give skirmish a shot and see if my PC can handle a typical bout with average unit limit.

Oh my PC is like top of the line... FOUR years ago

Athlon 64 3400+
Radeon 9800XT
1GB RAM

I'm actually quite happy that I can play it, let alone run it smoothly.

Oh yeah... I just love the load times as well

Less than 5 seconds.

In the early beta, the load time was so fast, I never knew there was a loading screen.

The Return fire command was always there... Its just that there are no more unit movement commands to complement it like Maneuver, Roam, Hold Ground which made it become like an attack move.

Anyway, in the 2nd Campaign mission, its now ridiculously smooth despite the fact that i've built DOUBLE what i did in the first mission. The only change I did was change my monitor reso and refresh rate and switch off v-sync.

You have to remember, that unlike other RTS' before this. You never had the ability to view the entire battlefield in just your main viewing area...

Anyway, that's what a second monitor is for

And have you tried playing the game proper in that view?

Oh you've got plenty of units to play with. Every tier level (3 + 1 experimental level) gives you access to a whole new range of units and base defences. But unlike the original TA, there's more differences other than the usual "More HP, more damage output" and each side does reflect this as well.

I think Rangerkarl pointed out that you could minimize the interface.

As for unit resonses and unit pathing, I have to agree with you there, although 2 second lag seems a bit of a stretch.

But in the bigger picture, that all is pretty moot as SupCom is meant to be a large scale RTS which means instant unit response isn't exactly as important in your regular micro intensive RTS'. The gameplay itself will take getting used to as long-drawn out battles are the call of the day (IIRC, they mentioned that a 'rush' game would be 45 minutes at least)

And I don't have issues with the ferry system. Unless of course you're sending stuff that's either too big or can't be transported.

I assume that's the case because that's all the units that are included in the game based on the campaign missions.

There was no AI in the beta. It was multiplayer only.

Anyway, I can zoom in pretty damned close until a tier 1 unit can fill my whole playing area.

Oh yeah, holding Alt and pressing the arrow keys will reorientate the HUD, so you could actually get the original TA interface style ... You can also shrink the UI a bit in the options... Can't remember precisely which one.

Yesterday, I discovered the true might of Assist command in the game. Unlike other games where "right clicking" on another friendly unit pretty much means they'll either follow or guard that unit, this one makes it extremely robust. For instance, if you have one transport ferry troops from one point to another, order other transports to assist this one and they'll do just that. What makes it even more impressive, is that just by altering that one ferry, the others will follow suit.

But the biggest and most awesome thing about the assist function is with the factories. Factories that are set to assist other factories will automatically build whatever item is left in the build queue for the main factory. This and together with the ability to customize your build order means you can pretty much control the production of troops using just one factory.

Well I would agree with you on that, but unlike TA, the differences in econ usage per tier is so immense, you actually have to maintain a steady increase in energy and mass production or your war machine will just shut down.

For once, the econ is finally playing a really important role in an RTS. In most RTS, if you're low on cash, just wait a bit for your resources to build up... Can't do that here as the gathering rate is what's important and sitting around sucking thumbs doesn't do that. Add together the insanely high prices of units now, using your reserves to fund yourself as you increase econ production just isn't as viable as before.

Well considering how it was the original TA that introduced the Shift key to the RTS, world, it only seems fitting that the sequel to that would take it further

PS. You can actually click and drag to build multiple buildings using the shift key

Ah, it just takes getting used to .

Few things to remember:
1) In most situations, you will almost NEVER have enough Mass points to generate mass. You MUST rely on mass fabricators if you want to focus on the more expensive troops

2) Build Mass and Energy Storage early in the game. The more mass and energy you have in storage, the longer you can sustain negative mass and energy income later in the game without it crumbling your economy. This is the case, as energy and mass usage early in the game is easy to control and you'll often have surplus which would be wasted unless you have access storage.

3) Learn to use the building adjacency bonus with your metal extractors and fabricators. Every building that either uses mass or energy, will use less of that resource if a building that generates that resource is placed next to it (And connector lines will appear). Example, mass extractors use about 5 energy per second. Putting an energy generator next to it, reduces it to 4. The larger the building, the more efficient it becomes.

4) Balance mass and energy production accordingly. If you're gaining one resource far higher than the other, you need to do something about it. If you have excess energy, exploit it using mass fabricators. If mass, more mass storage or energy production for the eventual need for mass.

5) Learn to toggle construction/production on or off to focus on certain buildings. That way, you can pause production of your experimental/T3 stuff while waiting to finish your production buildings or shut down mass fabricators to stop energy drainage.

6) Remember, most abilities and units use energy to operate. Everything from stealth generators, artillery installations, shields and radar. So, be careful with these units.

Like I said earlier. The econ IS part of the strategic gameplay which is awesome.

Don't worry about ordering your troops to target other aircraft. Worst comes to worse, order them to patrol around where the aircraft are.

Ah, the classic offensive Porcupine strategy from TA. IMO, its not really easy to pull off this time as the maps are SOOOOOO huge now and artillery in general has been nerfed from before (Shorter ranges, ridiculously high energy consumption, and long reload times)

Well, judging from the beta, even on the medium sized maps, the T3 artillery can't even reach a quarter of the map. In TA, the Bertha could easily cover half the largest map in the game.

And yes, artillery shots cost energy (Its per shot).

You can stop nukes... Just build the missile defense buildings.

Was trying out Hard for the first time just now and damn, and the AI was kinda sneaky. Kept sending T1 units to their doom in my base, while I slowly built my army up (Which was mostly gunships and air sup fighters)... Then a Monkeylord came into the picture and I was GG.

OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMOGMOGMOGMOGMOMG

I'm all OVER this.

Is there any offer on the Collector's Edition or anything like that? What's in those things anyway? Haven't been checking up on that.

Yes its true! SupCom doesn't hate old PC gamers!

My specs are:
Athlon 64 3000+
1GB RAM
Radeon 9800XT


I highly doubt this system will be able to stand online play on some of the larger maps as the game does tend to slowdown once the total unit count reaches 600-700 (Both you and your enemy)

I believe it would be Komander Teragung

Anyway, any word on the CE? How much would that be minus localization anyhoo? Mmmm, tin box.

Awww, Ah welll... Can't have everything right?

Hmmm, get the super cheap localised version or pay almost 3 times more for the uber tin CE... Decisions, decisions, decisions.

How soon before the CE arrives? I might just get that since its sooner

You know, you're creating a very peculiar conundrum with that line.

Should I support the local industry by buying the cheaper localized version or go for the more feature-ful CE which is 3 times more pricey?

The former option might entail future reduction costs in later games, while the latter will ensure I am happier with my purchase now albeit doesn't help the local industry.

Its like a very warped view on the current piracy vs ori purchases

That's what I said for my last 3 purchases... Not sure if I should keep the trend

Or maybe its because you're running some unoptimized alpha leaked version?

In any case, I'm happy playing this game in Low... I've gotten quite used to the zoomed out view