Questions

[Serian]

ORIGINAL: praetorblue

We've played and played Supremacy, and anything that one of us found distracting/uncomfortable, we made an option to turn it off. You should be able to fully customize Supremacy to meet your needs.

This makes me want to cry. So many game developers do not do this, especially with console games. I just cannot fathom why?

Thank you Vance!! [&o]

[Ludeman]

Can transports be intercepted?

[praetorblue]

Can transports be intercepted?

I can't imagine how difficult it would be if you couldn't intercept freighters. This little impenetrable ship carrying troops that are destined for your planets *shiver*. No, it's not like that.

You can destroy freighters en route, and the Groth's Death Merchant vessel has a special ability that instantly kills off random troops on freighters (so if you can't take it down in time, you can at least lessen your enemy's chances of success in the ground battle).

[Serian]

You know it is funny. This game went from being a mild interest to being a first day purchase for me. There is just so much more to this game than I originally thought and I bet there will be even more things I discover once I start playing it.

I am trying to be patient, since I would like the best end product possible, but I also really want to play this game. Please keep us updated Vance!

[stovepipe]

this game sounds great I can't wait to play it!

[TheHellPatrol]

[&:]Should be any day now...right?[&o][:)]

[theswitch]

well I can't actually remember if I already asked this but I'll further the idea/question

in the future could it be possible for a user to create a multiplayer map but it would be a co-op thing, human teams agienst ai teams, could this mabe be possible in a patch

AND

if this MAY be possible could the user make a story driven map that is co-op based for multiplayer, cause this would be soooooooooo cool.

AND

could thy user create a series of interconnected maps to tell his/her story?

this is probibly my last question(s) before the game comes out . . .. . . right?????





its coming out soon I presume?????

like a week?

like 3 days?

like a year??

. . . ..

is there any way a person working for black hammer could actually know the great question

"whens it coming out?"[:-]

sorry if I'm being a pain, I just can't help myself, hehehe

[theswitch]

one other thing

to clearify "story driven" maps

what I mean is not some text before the map loads, what I mean is some way of having text come up in the game at certain points/moments/events etc that could tell a mission, or somthing else, and there would be a series of these withing the map that tell some kind of story. thats what I mean by "story driven"

like playing a warcraft 3 campain and there are popups for what the characters are saying to eachother, actually I guess they didn't use popups. . . . . well you know what I mean[:)]

[Ludeman]

Tic Toc, Tic Toc, Tic Toc..........Sure would be nice if we could play this weekend[&o]


[font="Microsoft Sans Serif"][/font]So Hurry up already!!!

[8|]Oops spastic out break[X(]

[Serian]

One more quick question. How many total team members worked on Supremacy? Feel free to give details about how many artists, programmers, etc, you had if you would like.

[NYCancer]

One more quick question. How many total team members worked on Supremacy? Feel free to give details about how many artists, programmers, etc, you had if you would like.

Kool-Aid man comes bursting through the wall: Oh yeeeeeah!!

Finally! I can actually answer a question!

Lead game designer, programmer - Nik
Programmers - Haska, Vance
Secret programmer - Crusher X
Artists - Myself, Jake, Jack
Talking heads - Sen
Interface designer - Daiji
Level designer - Tuang
Sound - Mike
Writer - Thor
4 voice actors
There was also this guy Matt, he kinda walked around and made comments every once in a while. Plus he was the Executive producer. [8|]

I believe that's everyone

[stovepipe]

yes still waiting patiently [:'(]

[Rik81]

I would just go on record for two items:

I would like to see a DEMO.

I would hope you do come with a patch that adds PBEM capability. Having a TURN BASED game without that capability is short sighted, IMHO.

Thanks for answering the rather extensive list of questions that have been tossed at you, but, in defense of a DEMO, the old phrase comes to mind: "A picture is worth a thousand words!"

[jnewl]

If I may make a suggestion, followed by a question...

I had previously ignored this game because it appeared to be yet another 4X strategy game along the lines of MOO or GalCiv. That was the impression I got from the name and the limited artwork I'd seen, and I know there are many others out there like me. Consequently, I think it would behoove you (or Matrix, actually) to consider carefully how S:4PTP is being marketed. It's too late to alter the name, but there must be something that can be done to better get across to potential customers what kind of game it is--in fact, even though I know Matrix doesn't like demos, I think releasing a demo would be a very wise move in this case.

So much for my opinion. Now, a question. This game (once we understand what it is, anyway) has a lot of appeal for fans of X-Com. But one of the coolest things about X-Com was being able to rename your soldiers and outfit them before a battle. Does S:4PTP allow this, or are loadouts fixed for all the unit types?

Which leads to a second question: is there any kind of economic game in S:4PTP, where we have to acumulate money in order to purchase weapons and armor and whatnot?

Thanks very much. Looking forward to the game.

[praetorblue]

Hi jnewl,

I can't comment further about the creation of a demo (I've already discussed it with the higher-ups, it's in their court now), but I'll be glad to answer your questions.

But one of the coolest things about X-Com was being able to rename your soldiers and outfit them before a battle. Does S:4PTP allow this, or are loadouts fixed for all the unit types?

Whenever you create a vessel or win a planet, you are given the option to name it, or just use the default name. Using this, you can create the dream armada of your choosing. I am not sure what you mean by "outfit" units before battle, but I'll assume you mean give them some customization such as equipment. We allow upgrades to units through the Space Stations (which you must capture and hold to gain a benefit), but this upgrade is applied to all units of the appropriate type. You do not micromanage what your units loadout is. I would also like to add that all units (space and ground) that survive many battles go up in rank, and gain additional battle strength. This helps distinguish some of your best and oldest units.

Which leads to a second question: is there any kind of economic game in S:4PTP, where we have to acumulate money in order to purchase weapons and armor and whatnot?

Yes, Supremacy has a very stream-lined yet strategically important economic system. The types of resources you gain from planets you control are: gold, ore, fuel, crystals, and food. Different classes of planets produce different amounts of each of these, and you gain more resources from planets with more factories built upon them. The production of resources is solely from factories, so there is no low-level management of resource acquisition.

Most costs in the game are a combination of these resources (few are from one resource type), and so your strategy will dictate how you manage/acquire resources. For example, if you have a fleet of advanced Fvost vessels (which can hyperspace to a distance location), you will have a large need of crystals. You will need to secure planets that produce more crystals than the other resources to support this fleet.

Some things you use resources for (not all-inclusive): purchasing vessels, purchasing ground troops, purchasing upgrades, maintaining upgrades, maintaining all units (every unit that exists has an upkeep), and more.

I hope my responses were useful to you, thanks for posting.

- Vance Vagell

Programmer
Black Hammer Game

[jnewl]

Thanks for the reply, Vance.

On the renaming thing, you say we can rename vessels and planets, which is fine, but what I had in mind was ground units, particularly the soldiers. In X-Com, you could rename your soldiers, which made you more emotionally attached to them, and follow their careers as they got stronger or, sadly, died.

I'm very glad to hear about the economic system. That sounds great!

Just two more things and then I'll shut up

1) All the ground maps I've seen only have vegetation in them. Are there structures like buildings as well? If so, are some multistory and can you enter/walk around in them?

2) Are the terrain and/or structures destructable? Can I set trees on fire and blow holes in the sides of buildings?

[praetorblue]

All the ground maps I've seen only have vegetation in them. Are there structures like buildings as well? If so, are some multistory and can you enter/walk around in them?

Our ground maps are somewhat like "tactics" games (e.g. Final Fantasy Tactics, Advance Wars, etc.). You could almost think of it as a game board, and the units are your pieces. As such, multi-story buildings don't fit in the with the playstyle. However, the terrain does have elevation, which effects the ease at which your units can move around (for example it takes more turns to get over a steep hill than it does to cross a flat stretch of land -- same for ground covered by grass as compared to no grass, and other such terrain difficulties). There are props scattered across all maps, old ruins and crashed vessels, etc. And there are tech towers on each ground map, which let you gain special abilities. So although we don't support multiple levels (i.e. tiered buildings), there is a lot going on in a ground game.

Are the terrain and/or structures destructable? Can I set trees on fire and blow holes in the sides of buildings?

The terrain is a key part of the design of each map, if it were destructable, you could often bypass the design-goal of that map. So unfortunately, the answer is no. But there are lots of abilities and units that create some kind of persistent effect; for example, you can use the Cha'ar Vulcan C-L17 Mech's special ability to set an area on the map ablaze for several turns -- an awesome attack and sight. The trees will still be around after it's over though.

- Vance

[Siljanus]

Hmm, this game wasn't on my radar screen but after some reading I'm pretty intrigued. Apologies if this was asked already but is there a tutorial to ease the player into the game? I don't know how complex or easy the game controls are. The game is at a nice price point for digital download but it would be great if a demo does become available.

Thanks!

[jnewl]

I can answer this. There is no tutorial. However, the controls are pretty simple once you know what they are. Note that "once you know what they are." You'll want to have the manual handy for some inevitable questions you'll have. For instance, I found troop transport to be a bit less than intuitive...

Don't let that throw you off, though. There is a "Tiny" galaxy map that, in conjunction with the manual, provides a good introduction to the game.

[TheHellPatrol]

ORIGINAL: jnewl
I can answer this. There is no tutorial.

Correction, there IS a tutorial. The manual or readme(i forgot) tells you to launch the game in window mode the first time so you can play and read the tutorial scenario/walkthrough. It isn't obvious[;)], but it's there.