Supreme Commander 2 declares war in March, 2010
by Alexander Sliwinski 
{ Nov 20th 2009 at 1:00AM } 
Supreme Commander 2 has registered a deployment date of March 2 and 16, 2010, for PC and Xbox 360, respectively. Gas Powered Games' real-time strategy sequel, which is set 25 years after the first game's "Infinite War," will enter retail right in the middle of what we are slowly thinking of calling "the endless Q4." Then again, it is an RTS -- and a console title as well -- so the field isn't as crowded.
The original Supreme Commander was well received back in 2007, and Gas Powered's Creative Director Chris Taylor states that the team has "continually exceeded all of [his] expectations throughout [the] development." Check out the video above and see if you agree with how the game is coming along.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
GodDamnArtist @ Nov 20th 2009 1:09AM
That's cool and all, but why do the buildings look like they are part of a Lego toy set?
Darth Bradwart, The Dark Lord of the Sith-ATDF Co-Founder @ Nov 20th 2009 1:11AM
Don't console RTS's suck in general? Why not just stick with the PC? I mean, I know they're probably going to do more than the usual copy/paste technique, but a lot of gamers steer clear of console RTS ports, unless they're built from the ground up FOR a console.
dan.da.trk @ Nov 20th 2009 2:56AM
even then its no good, i mean the best console RTS is Halo wars, that game sucked balls when you compare it to not even the best PC RTS's. consoles have proven to be able to play FPS's and so on with reletive success, but for an RTS you need the mouse and keyboard combo. not until touch screen become compatible wioth console will we see a good RTS on a console.
Granger @ Nov 20th 2009 3:56AM
Have you been playing games this generation? Yeah, RTSs are still a long ways from perfect (and a long ways from performing as well as their PC counterparts) but, for the most part, RTSs on consoles have been pretty decent. They are at least playable now, and somewhat intuitive. They've definitely dropped the frustration a lot since StarCraft 64. Hell, Red Alert 3 may as well be a next generation game compared to Battle for Middle Earth II as far as the controls being vastly improved.
I've played through just about every RTS on 360 (save for End War and Stormrise). I know I'm not getting the full experience, but I enjoyed playing them for the most part (Supreme Commander was a glitchy mess on 360). Keep the console RTSs coming, they just keep getting better.
That Guy @ Nov 20th 2009 1:18AM
Ha, funny thing. I can run Crysis at an enjoyable level, but I've never been able to get Supreme Commander to run above 20fps. That game is so poorly optimized it makes me want to go and kick Chris Taylor in the head for wasting my money (and they wonder why we pirate games?)
Einhanderkiller @ Nov 20th 2009 1:28AM
It's not so much poorly optimized as it is overly ambitious. You see, Supreme Commander simulates every single action in physics--there's no dice rolling with your hits. If you see that it hit, it hit; if you see that it missed, it missed. The problem is that when you have 500+ units on the field, all of them firing ballistics, you're simulating thousands of objects at once, plus each unit has its own individual AI. That was just too taxing for most 2007 hardware to handle.
JohnMidnight @ Nov 20th 2009 1:36AM
Didn't have a problem playing Supreme Commander, or Crysis on my machine. Ran fine, even when I was going all out, this is simply on a E8500 Wolfdale, and a GF260GTX V1.
Not THAT Matt @ Nov 20th 2009 2:11AM
Crysis is more of a graphics-based game (very much so) and Supreme Commander relies heavily on the processor - you need a dual core CPU to run the game above 5 fps, and you really, REALLY want a quad core CPU to run it at it's best.
With that being said, my friends and I play Forged Alliance all the time, can't wait for SupCom 2. :D
That Guy @ Nov 20th 2009 4:39AM
@ Einhander,
Yeah, I know all that. I can't get it to run over 20 FPS even when there's only like three buildings on the map. There's something sadly broken in that game.
Also, Total Annihilation did the same thing with physics-based projectiles, and it ran great back in the day.
@ Everyone else,
Why bury me down for? Because I mentioned piracy?
bf71090 @ Nov 20th 2009 10:31AM
The processor is everything for this game. Going from a slow dual-core to quad was like night and day. But even a fast dual-core should be fine.
Not THAT Matt @ Nov 20th 2009 2:09PM
@That Guy
I down-voted you because you're an idiot and a douchebag. And you also can't spell.
Comparing a GPU-intensive game to a CPU-intensive game and then complaining about it, when in reality you clearly just don't know what you're talking about, makes you a dumbshit.
Go away.
That Guy @ Nov 20th 2009 6:07PM
"Because I can't spell"...?
That's painful.
Not THAT Matt @ Nov 20th 2009 2:14AM
Also, with Supreme Commander, if your computer can't handle the game computationally (your processor is too low, doesn't have enough cores, etc) the game doesn't lag - it physically runs slower. And if you're in a game with 3 other people, and all but one of them has a quad core system, the guy with the dual core system slows the rest of you down.
It's not uncommon to see a game that takes 5 or more seconds of real life time to compute ONE second of in-game time once you get into the larger maps and games lasting longer than 2 hours or so. The further along you go, and the more stuff is going on, literally the slower the game goes. It's implemented to prevent lag, but I personally find it more annoying than lag ever could be.
AlwaysOn @ Nov 20th 2009 2:38AM
OMG! Q1 2010 must be the best Q1 in history of gaming. Seriously we are now looking forward to games like:
Mass Effect 2
Supreme Commander 2
Bioshock 2
C&C4
Aliens vs Predator
Splinter Cell Conviction
And more...
Man next year can't arrive soon enough.
t_m @ Nov 20th 2009 5:02AM
Yeah! Best year in gaming! Look at all those original games, new ideas and fresh approaches.... oh wait, i've already played all those games. Maybe i have a time machine in my brain....
That Guy @ Nov 20th 2009 6:01AM
@ t_m,
Says the guy with GLADOS as is avatar. You know portal was a spinoff of the Half-Life games, right? Innovation *can* happen inside established series, fyi.
Granger @ Nov 20th 2009 7:09AM
All I know is that list contains the sequel to the best RPG I've eve played AND Badass: The Game. Coupled with Lost Planet 2 and Dead Rising 2 and t_m can just GTFO.
Danthok @ Nov 20th 2009 8:44AM
Wow this game makes the first one look small and that is crazy!
spartan 6453 @ Nov 20th 2009 9:29AM
I thought I could get in before all the "RTS on consoles suxor" comments but teh trollz r fast. If someone wants to release a RTS on a console, let them. If it's inferior, don't buy it.
TheStealthyDJ @ Nov 20th 2009 11:56AM
Wow. This looks really great! Possibly better than Starcraft 2? I guess we'll have to wait and see...
lothar @ Nov 20th 2009 2:31PM
Hopefully they can tie in some intuitive controls for RTS games with Natal.