The Suckiness of Supreme Commander
Posted 09-03-07 at 12:31 AM by Kamakazi
So I was happily playing what was probably my 1000th skirmish on Supreme Commander the other day when I realized just how dull of a game it really is, and I will tell you why, but first I will tell you how I like to play RTS games, I am the type of gamer that some would label a "turtler" but I don't really see myself as one, sure at the beginning I keep to myself but in most games by about the 15 minute mark I am starting to do alot of raiding and attacking, not the true essence of a turtler. But anyway back to why SupCom really isn't that great.
First of all, the no unit upgrades so that once you create say a Tech1 tank, you can't upgrade it to a Tech2 tank once you advance, this makes that big army you just made in the last tech level almost obsolete when you bump up to the next one. I hate this because I am a big fan of building some units in the beginning and upgrading them throughout the game (which is why I love Company of Heroes veterancy system so much). But in SupCom I am tempted to build as few as units as possible until I reach Tech3 and can pump out the siege bots.
Second of all, it just takes a long time to get going, I play the Hard AI in skirmishes and it takes me a long time to build up my forces, and by that time, no matter what AI I am playing I just destroy them, I either attack them too early and win really quick, or they are so huge that I am forced to just sit back a build a bunch of strategic missile launchers or expiremental units. But that is pretty much an hour in.
Third of all, and this is where I hate most RTS games, I can't play online because no matter who I play I get destroyed (see other blog post), and it isn't because I don't grasp the strategy of the whole thing, it is because I always end up playing some guy who never leaves his house who can tell you a Tech2 artillery takes 25 seconds to make, does 400 damage, has a 2.5 rate of fire, and has a range of 6 (yes I just made those up on the fly) so therefore I just die brutally. I don't understand people's obsessions with numbers when it comes to RTS games, maybe that is just how they roll, but I hate trying to fight somebody who knows all the numbers because it turns into so much of a math problem.
And Fourth of all, there is no depth to this game it seems, very little tactics, strategy yes, on the grand scale you need to be keeping track of things, but in terms of tactics on the unit level there are basically none "all you guys go attack there" is pretty much all there is, which is probably once again why I like Company of Heroes and the like so much, the reason I play RTS games is to control units in a tactical fashion because it makes me feel good about myself, and I just don't get that from SupCom it seems.
So this was only suppose to contain 2 reasons, but it seems to have went a bit far, sorry about that.
Tommorow I will probably talk about the greatest video gaming series of all time
RTS: Total War
First of all, the no unit upgrades so that once you create say a Tech1 tank, you can't upgrade it to a Tech2 tank once you advance, this makes that big army you just made in the last tech level almost obsolete when you bump up to the next one. I hate this because I am a big fan of building some units in the beginning and upgrading them throughout the game (which is why I love Company of Heroes veterancy system so much). But in SupCom I am tempted to build as few as units as possible until I reach Tech3 and can pump out the siege bots.
Second of all, it just takes a long time to get going, I play the Hard AI in skirmishes and it takes me a long time to build up my forces, and by that time, no matter what AI I am playing I just destroy them, I either attack them too early and win really quick, or they are so huge that I am forced to just sit back a build a bunch of strategic missile launchers or expiremental units. But that is pretty much an hour in.
Third of all, and this is where I hate most RTS games, I can't play online because no matter who I play I get destroyed (see other blog post), and it isn't because I don't grasp the strategy of the whole thing, it is because I always end up playing some guy who never leaves his house who can tell you a Tech2 artillery takes 25 seconds to make, does 400 damage, has a 2.5 rate of fire, and has a range of 6 (yes I just made those up on the fly) so therefore I just die brutally. I don't understand people's obsessions with numbers when it comes to RTS games, maybe that is just how they roll, but I hate trying to fight somebody who knows all the numbers because it turns into so much of a math problem.
And Fourth of all, there is no depth to this game it seems, very little tactics, strategy yes, on the grand scale you need to be keeping track of things, but in terms of tactics on the unit level there are basically none "all you guys go attack there" is pretty much all there is, which is probably once again why I like Company of Heroes and the like so much, the reason I play RTS games is to control units in a tactical fashion because it makes me feel good about myself, and I just don't get that from SupCom it seems.
So this was only suppose to contain 2 reasons, but it seems to have went a bit far, sorry about that.
Tommorow I will probably talk about the greatest video gaming series of all time
RTS: Total War
Total Comments 6
Comments
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Play Dawn of War: 40k (get the platinum pack off of steam)
Its the most under appreciated RTS ever. Its fairly simple, and very diverse at the same time. Some timing is important, yes, but "teching" isn't always mandatory.Posted 09-03-07 at 01:27 AM by Fatal05
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tl;dr, but just by reading the title, I have to agree. I gave this game a "not recommended" in our review section, because the sequel were just so much better.Posted 09-03-07 at 09:04 AM by gonX
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I enjoyed SupCom. For a few hours.
I agree almost whole-heatedly with everything you've said, specifically the part about how you can attack early and win. Or wait, get some nice experimental unit, and still win.
My favorite RTS remains AOE II. COH is close, but man, I still don't think it's an Age of Empires competitor yet.Posted 09-03-07 at 12:34 PM by Chipp
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Kamakazi, I am going to resurrect this and say that in RTS games you NEVER turtle. I play SC \ War3 and by the 5th minute I have epic battles. RTS is only fun because its fast.. an hour long game is pointless, unless its extremely epic.Posted 06-28-08 at 07:39 PM by Odyn
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Have you tried World in Conflict?Posted 06-28-08 at 10:17 PM by Shin2k35
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I agree with Chipp, AoK is likely the best RTS of all time. AoE III was the largest letdown I can recall, aside of maybe Empire Earth II or Supreme Commander.
I in all fairness am a numbers guy. This is why I likely prefer 4X games. I am also a HUGE turtle. Literally. I dig into a nice cozy defensible position; befriend everyone; crank out an omega death army; then crush the opposition. On AoK, a huge map, 7 "Hard" opponents, my average game is 4-6 hours long. On the other hand, in the histogram, from the time I declare war to the time they surrender rarely exceeds 5 minutes.
On any of the Civilizations, my first war is not usually until around 1600. At which point, you can rest assured the enemies will be dying within three turns under the might of my tanks.Posted 12-04-08 at 05:42 PM by blitz6804
