Comments on: A first look into Forged Alliance http://www.supcomtalk.com/2007/10/05/a-first-look-into-forged-alliance/ Forging new Alliances daily Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:05:33 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: MeDDish http://www.supcomtalk.com/2007/10/05/a-first-look-into-forged-alliance/comment-page-2/#comment-7332 MeDDish Fri, 26 Oct 2007 23:36:23 +0000 http://www.supcomtalk.com/2007/10/05/a-first-look-into-forged-alliance/#comment-7332 i think it should be able to move... or build.... and the guns be inderpendent either way... so it could be put down as a forward firebase (what its intended to be) and then on top of that be able to build units wilst fireing (auto fire only no manual control) i think it should be able to move… or build…. and the guns be inderpendent either way… so it could be put down as a forward firebase (what its intended to be) and then on top of that be able to build units wilst fireing (auto fire only no manual control)

]]> By: Engineer http://www.supcomtalk.com/2007/10/05/a-first-look-into-forged-alliance/comment-page-2/#comment-7305 Engineer Thu, 25 Oct 2007 23:03:01 +0000 http://www.supcomtalk.com/2007/10/05/a-first-look-into-forged-alliance/#comment-7305 I read somewhere that it is actually an engine limitation, the game engine can't cope with a moving factory. I still think it doesn't really matter, you could easily consider it a feature rather than a limitation. Think of the siege tank in Starcraft for example. I read somewhere that it is actually an engine limitation, the game engine can’t cope with a moving factory. I still think it doesn’t really matter, you could easily consider it a feature rather than a limitation. Think of the siege tank in Starcraft for example.

]]> By: Gryphyn http://www.supcomtalk.com/2007/10/05/a-first-look-into-forged-alliance/comment-page-1/#comment-7299 Gryphyn Thu, 25 Oct 2007 17:20:22 +0000 http://www.supcomtalk.com/2007/10/05/a-first-look-into-forged-alliance/#comment-7299 It would make sense that the Fatboy would either have to shunt its power toward its weapons, or toward its factory systems. Perhaps there could be a switch letting you send it half/half, but that would just be too complicated. It would make sense that the Fatboy would either have to shunt its power toward its weapons, or toward its factory systems. Perhaps there could be a switch letting you send it half/half, but that would just be too complicated.

]]> By: Engineer http://www.supcomtalk.com/2007/10/05/a-first-look-into-forged-alliance/comment-page-1/#comment-7295 Engineer Thu, 25 Oct 2007 14:35:43 +0000 http://www.supcomtalk.com/2007/10/05/a-first-look-into-forged-alliance/#comment-7295 Oh, and just to answer Ebola's other question, yes the Fatboy can now build all T3 units (and quite quickly too). However, I think it is still restricted from firing/moving while it is building and vice versa. I don't see this as a big deal, though some people seem to think it is a huge limitation. I think of the Fatboy as being in either "factory" mode or "battle" mode. Oh, and just to answer Ebola’s other question, yes the Fatboy can now build all T3 units (and quite quickly too). However, I think it is still restricted from firing/moving while it is building and vice versa. I don’t see this as a big deal, though some people seem to think it is a huge limitation. I think of the Fatboy as being in either “factory” mode or “battle” mode.

]]> By: Engineer http://www.supcomtalk.com/2007/10/05/a-first-look-into-forged-alliance/comment-page-1/#comment-7260 Engineer Tue, 23 Oct 2007 23:00:18 +0000 http://www.supcomtalk.com/2007/10/05/a-first-look-into-forged-alliance/#comment-7260 Well, EbolaSoup, all you have to do is download the beta client, use the public key, and follow God's instructions above to find out for yourself how they feel in-game. But I went ahead and got the numbers for you: Under the current beta, the Novak costs 37,200 mass. The Mavor costs 299,700 mass. Overall the Novak costs 8 times less than a mavor, and can be built about 4 times more quickly. So they are hardly equal, the Novak is actually a fairly cheap experimental, considering the fatboy costs about 25,000 mass and an Atlantis costs about 12,000. On the other hand, its abilities are somewhat limited. While it can't be shot down, it does only 3,000 damage per shot and has a long reload. It gives a free LOS but only to a very small area right under the satellite. It seems to have some kind of ability to shoot through shields which might make it more powerful, but I'm not entirely sure how that works and it was hard to test in sandbox. Overall I would agree with you that it is a disappointment to see the UEF get yet another stand-off seige type experimental while there are so many other heavy battle experimentals in the other factions. However, it does give the UEF a very distinct feel and playstyle which I think is a good thing. They also seem to be heavily favored in the tournament matches at QuadV so I think the UEF will do fine in retail FA. Well, EbolaSoup, all you have to do is download the beta client, use the public key, and follow God’s instructions above to find out for yourself how they feel in-game. But I went ahead and got the numbers for you:

Under the current beta, the Novak costs 37,200 mass. The Mavor costs 299,700 mass. Overall the Novak costs 8 times less than a mavor, and can be built about 4 times more quickly. So they are hardly equal, the Novak is actually a fairly cheap experimental, considering the fatboy costs about 25,000 mass and an Atlantis costs about 12,000.

On the other hand, its abilities are somewhat limited. While it can’t be shot down, it does only 3,000 damage per shot and has a long reload. It gives a free LOS but only to a very small area right under the satellite. It seems to have some kind of ability to shoot through shields which might make it more powerful, but I’m not entirely sure how that works and it was hard to test in sandbox.

Overall I would agree with you that it is a disappointment to see the UEF get yet another stand-off seige type experimental while there are so many other heavy battle experimentals in the other factions. However, it does give the UEF a very distinct feel and playstyle which I think is a good thing. They also seem to be heavily favored in the tournament matches at QuadV so I think the UEF will do fine in retail FA.

]]> By: EbolaSoup http://www.supcomtalk.com/2007/10/05/a-first-look-into-forged-alliance/comment-page-1/#comment-7259 EbolaSoup Tue, 23 Oct 2007 20:53:36 +0000 http://www.supcomtalk.com/2007/10/05/a-first-look-into-forged-alliance/#comment-7259 I'm wondering what the Novax (Novak?) is like. It sounds sort of rendundant in function with the Mavor but perhaps it works differently from what it seems. It sounds like a possible game ender like the long-range artillery but is it as destructive as the Mavor and as expensive (therefore rarely used) as well? I haven't seen any screen shots. It might be cool but, maybe not. I kind of wished UEF had gotten a new battlefield set-piece to tussle with the other big bots...maybe a quadruped bot like a big Fido or a flying Experimental. On a related note, is it true that the Fatboy can now spit out all T3 units? A nice upgrade if true. I’m wondering what the Novax (Novak?) is like. It sounds sort of rendundant in function with the Mavor but perhaps it works differently from what it seems. It sounds like a possible game ender like the long-range artillery but is it as destructive as the Mavor and as expensive (therefore rarely used) as well? I haven’t seen any screen shots. It might be cool but, maybe not. I kind of wished UEF had gotten a new battlefield set-piece to tussle with the other big bots…maybe a quadruped bot like a big Fido or a flying Experimental.

On a related note, is it true that the Fatboy can now spit out all T3 units? A nice upgrade if true.

]]> By: Gryphyn http://www.supcomtalk.com/2007/10/05/a-first-look-into-forged-alliance/comment-page-1/#comment-7255 Gryphyn Tue, 23 Oct 2007 17:13:20 +0000 http://www.supcomtalk.com/2007/10/05/a-first-look-into-forged-alliance/#comment-7255 Sounds awesome...I can't wait. Sounds awesome…I can’t wait.

]]> By: Engineer http://www.supcomtalk.com/2007/10/05/a-first-look-into-forged-alliance/comment-page-1/#comment-7241 Engineer Tue, 23 Oct 2007 02:11:14 +0000 http://www.supcomtalk.com/2007/10/05/a-first-look-into-forged-alliance/#comment-7241 Well I can verify that what God says actually works. Inserting that text at the end of your shortcut target field lets you play basically a sandbox game as any race on White Fire. The other five starting points all have random dummy commanders that don't do anything. For anyone really desparate for any FA they can get, this is a great way to check out the Seraphim and all the other new units, as well as the new graphics, UI, etc. I can say right away that the new graphics look REALLY good. The unit poly count has definitely gone up, the textures look better, and the overall feel of the effects is really quite amazing. The new UI is a huge improvement, the old one seems incredibly clunky by comparison. The new one is also much better suited to high res monitors (I play at 1600x1200). I did notice a slight perforance hit over regular supcom, especially with the "bloom render" thing on, that cut my FPS almost in half. And my grahpics card is no slouch either (640MB 8800 GTS). But that is to be expected, you don't get something from nothing, and I'm sure the increased poly count alone has a cost. At least in Supcom you can change grahpics settings on the fly, so its not too hard to find settings that work. Its also a beta so there is probably some more optimization to come. As I suspected, many of the units look and feel much better in game than they do in the screenshots. For example, the new T3 UEF missile launcher looks kind of dumb in screenshots (I think anyways) but looks pretty awesome in-game. And the Seraphim shields and nuke explosions really rock. The Seraphim in general are very well done, I really like their style. Definitely not the Aeon rip-off that a lot of people suspected, they are truly alien and bizzarre. You can kind of see how the Aeon are a blend of Seraphim and UEF, which makes sense. The template system is so darn useful its hard to believe that wasn't in standard Supcom. Another feature that I definitely won't be able to live without (yes I know mods did this but its not the same). There's not much more I can say, I messed around with all the new experimentals but there is only so much fun you can have blowing up dummy commanders and your own units. Still, I'm glad I got the chance to see the new game in action, and it has certainly increased my anticipation for FA to come out. Well I can verify that what God says actually works. Inserting that text at the end of your shortcut target field lets you play basically a sandbox game as any race on White Fire. The other five starting points all have random dummy commanders that don’t do anything.

For anyone really desparate for any FA they can get, this is a great way to check out the Seraphim and all the other new units, as well as the new graphics, UI, etc.

I can say right away that the new graphics look REALLY good. The unit poly count has definitely gone up, the textures look better, and the overall feel of the effects is really quite amazing. The new UI is a huge improvement, the old one seems incredibly clunky by comparison. The new one is also much better suited to high res monitors (I play at 1600×1200). I did notice a slight perforance hit over regular supcom, especially with the “bloom render” thing on, that cut my FPS almost in half. And my grahpics card is no slouch either (640MB 8800 GTS). But that is to be expected, you don’t get something from nothing, and I’m sure the increased poly count alone has a cost. At least in Supcom you can change grahpics settings on the fly, so its not too hard to find settings that work. Its also a beta so there is probably some more optimization to come.

As I suspected, many of the units look and feel much better in game than they do in the screenshots. For example, the new T3 UEF missile launcher looks kind of dumb in screenshots (I think anyways) but looks pretty awesome in-game. And the Seraphim shields and nuke explosions really rock. The Seraphim in general are very well done, I really like their style. Definitely not the Aeon rip-off that a lot of people suspected, they are truly alien and bizzarre. You can kind of see how the Aeon are a blend of Seraphim and UEF, which makes sense.

The template system is so darn useful its hard to believe that wasn’t in standard Supcom. Another feature that I definitely won’t be able to live without (yes I know mods did this but its not the same).

There’s not much more I can say, I messed around with all the new experimentals but there is only so much fun you can have blowing up dummy commanders and your own units. Still, I’m glad I got the chance to see the new game in action, and it has certainly increased my anticipation for FA to come out.

]]> By: Engineer http://www.supcomtalk.com/2007/10/05/a-first-look-into-forged-alliance/comment-page-1/#comment-7234 Engineer Mon, 22 Oct 2007 14:18:25 +0000 http://www.supcomtalk.com/2007/10/05/a-first-look-into-forged-alliance/#comment-7234 Ryan is Engineer by the way! Engineer is my Supcom handle so I usually use that... God, thanks for the tip on skirmish mode, I'll definitely try that out. Even just playing sandbox would be quite informative. Regarding replays: Yes I can download the replays, but I can't open them. The FA Beta doesn't seem to have a replay folder I can find. The readme lists one, but when I navigate to that location it doesn't exist. I tried creating it but that didn't work either. I tried directly opening the replay files but that also didn't work. So its not a matter of finding replay files, its a matter of opening them using the beta. But if you figure this out as well, then I will certainly be very grateful! Ryan is Engineer by the way! Engineer is my Supcom handle so I usually use that…

God, thanks for the tip on skirmish mode, I’ll definitely try that out. Even just playing sandbox would be quite informative.

Regarding replays: Yes I can download the replays, but I can’t open them. The FA Beta doesn’t seem to have a replay folder I can find. The readme lists one, but when I navigate to that location it doesn’t exist. I tried creating it but that didn’t work either. I tried directly opening the replay files but that also didn’t work. So its not a matter of finding replay files, its a matter of opening them using the beta. But if you figure this out as well, then I will certainly be very grateful!

]]> By: God http://www.supcomtalk.com/2007/10/05/a-first-look-into-forged-alliance/comment-page-1/#comment-7226 God Mon, 22 Oct 2007 00:17:18 +0000 http://www.supcomtalk.com/2007/10/05/a-first-look-into-forged-alliance/#comment-7226 By the way, if you wanna play FA beta skirmish with a demo key, just make a shortcut to the ForgedAlliance.exe and edit Target "C:\Program Files\THQ\Gas Powered Games\Supreme Commander - Forged Alliance Beta\bin\ForgedAlliance.exe" to "C:\Program Files\THQ\Gas Powered Games\Supreme Commander - Forged Alliance Beta\bin\ForgedAlliance.exe" /map [map] /faction [1-4] example: "C:\Program Files\THQ\Gas Powered Games\Supreme Commander - Forged Alliance Beta\bin\ForgedAlliance.exe" /map SCMP_033 /faction 3 1, UEF. 2, Aeon, 3. Cybran. 4, Seraphim. HOWEVER, the opponents will have no AI :( By the way, if you wanna play FA beta skirmish with a demo key, just make a shortcut to the ForgedAlliance.exe and edit Target

“C:\Program Files\THQ\Gas Powered Games\Supreme Commander – Forged Alliance Beta\bin\ForgedAlliance.exe”

to

“C:\Program Files\THQ\Gas Powered Games\Supreme Commander – Forged Alliance Beta\bin\ForgedAlliance.exe” /map [map] /faction [1-4]

example:

“C:\Program Files\THQ\Gas Powered Games\Supreme Commander – Forged Alliance Beta\bin\ForgedAlliance.exe” /map SCMP_033 /faction 3

1, UEF. 2, Aeon, 3. Cybran. 4, Seraphim.

HOWEVER, the opponents will have no AI :(

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