JUST THINK FOR A MOMENT.Take a deep breadth forget what every jerk says out there(Emm especially Gamespot…..nobody takes them seriously these days anymore) and just think about the above points.

I WANT you to continue making deep,ultra complex games yet again think about those points

A story to become meaningfull MUST involve characters you get involved with and ultimately care for their success or failure.This is WHAT DRIVES most games and movies out there.And to ARCHIVE this emotional connection with the player the secret is very very simple.DETAILS.
Its having interesting dialogs between the games characters,a lot of chit-chat,observations and talk between fights and various locations/objectives etc…Its having some neat animations especially on characters and a lot of scripted events to make them more beliavable and life like..

To make multiple vechicles or ways of playing fun and interesting you must again have enough DETAIL on every single vechicle and way of playing.FOR EXAMPLE ANIMATIONS,ANIMATIONS,ANIMATIONS….BE it you are on foot,or in a vechicle.Having some neat looking character animations when you are on foot be it in 1st person or 3rd person view may make or brake a game.The way the character moves,how fluid he is,the subtle mannerisms he does,the way he tackles with the environment(jumping,ducking,cover,falling,getting up,swimming,diving,parashooting ),the way he uses equipment everything is important.When you are in a vechicle,Having realistic character movement independent of the vechicle and have your view shift on this basis,actually see your limps as you fly/operate a vechicle and the list goes on and on.

Then comes a detailed,interesting and interactive world.Even on a barren world you could have multiple elevations,erroded clifs,mountains,etc.. and not a constant nevada valley…….You could use plantation generators (like speetree witch you barely used) generously.You could work on the atmospheric effects.You could make detailed living/breathing bases/installations(You know places that feel like they are real.Its the details that count here.the living locations,the various small objects,etc…

And i could go on and on and on but i think there is no need.

Even some of the best sim games out there like freespace 2 don’t even have the 1% of the scope your battlecruiser games have.Yet people think of them with fond memories and thousands more still work on them so they are enjoyed with updated graphics and gameplay….Why you think ?
Because for that 1% of what it is IT feels just perfect.The epic music,a desperate assault on 5 km enemy starships,lasers and rockets whizzing just missing you,massive explosions going all around you…(Hmmm realistic ofcourse its not yet…this is space nirvana at least) and the chit-chat of your beloved team members just before they get waxed (for extra emotion that is…)

The big strength of these games has always been the depth of play and how well the AI worked, and I’ve always appreciated the sheer openness of the game; something that no other game has done to my knowledge – and the travesty of the railroad approach most games take nowadays bores me.

Over the past few years, I’ve kinda fallen off the map of playing BC3KME and UC with about 8 moves, including multiple trips across the country…finally settling here in Edmonton, AB, Canada. Now that I have a desktop up and running again, it’s time to get into something to handle the long winter nights here.

I’m glad that Supreme Commander Derek has persevered in producing these games, as it’s one weakness in the past was the graphical element, which to be fair had limitations based in the hardware of the day. The look of the new games is awesome, and I’ll definitely be lining up to purchase AAW soon.

I’ve just been reading your article regarding GS, reviews and the like, and I have agree whole heartedly with you. I am an avid gamer, and have been for many years, i only even look at gs for news, as it loads a little faster than ign, both of which are useless to be fair.

The only reviews i would ever trust come from Game Central in the UK, but I haven’t really paid attention to reviews over the last 5 years, with the rise in casual gamers, the whole industry appears to be turning into a sham – at least for us “hardcore” PC FPS fans – and frankly reading GS’s review of serious sam hd, it is apparent why indie titles fail, when compared with their reviews of other, poorly made titles. I have played my fair share of games, and would say that I have more gaming knowledge than most of them combined, unfortunately, I have the communication skills of a psychopathic mute.

I myself would like to know how these people actually managed to get a job relating to games, as it is clear to me that they either have no interest in games, or the site management does not know about assigning people to the appropriate genre, for instance, it would be like making me review an MMORPG, knowing full well, i dislike the genre, and would be pretty poor at reviewing it.

Reviews also got a lot worse when ‘lads mags’ started to run articles on games. Yet I have seen these reviewers making it onto TV shows relating to gaming, and being classed as a voice worth hearing, sorry but no, that would be almost like trusting me with a baseball bat around casual gamers.

It is somewhat unfortunate that I am pretty poor at articulating myself at the best of times, and when I get annoyed – generally by idiots like GS – my spelling, grammar, and IQ drop to levels last seen in the Neolithic times. It is a great shame that they have the power to – not ruin, but tarnish – your reputation in the “casual” market, even if this is not your target market, it could hinder some sales, through word of mouth.

Whilst it may not be very comforting to have the support of a rambling idiot, I would like to let you know that, we gamers are not all like the millions of sheep that troll on GS.

Right, now I’ve edited this lot to something vaguely readable, It is time for me to search for your games – assuming demo’s are still available, (it is hard keeping up with a game addiction when unemployed) – and come to my own conclusions, the way it should be.

Best of luck with your future projects. Thank you for making me engage my brain, if only for a few short moments. You may be able to tell, it has been some time since I last had to think sensibly.
Paul ‘wak’ Jackson

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My Critique: -

Absolutely beautiful Graphics Engine: -
* Night day lighting cycles are some of THE best I’ve seen, including big studios.
* The local star “GAMMULA” (Sun) and it’s light rays create such an amazing visual effect, almost looks like chromatic ray-tracing sometimes. Stand in the threshold of a shadow, look at the “Sun” and you will see a diffused light effect; stunning. This game is at it’s best at dusk / dawn.
* Reflective surfaces are subtle yet effective.
* The water effects are very nice.
* The particles are cool.
* The sky is “big” and the game-world feels / is expansive.
* Texture quality and models on dynamic objects (ships, vehicles, men) are excellent.
* Texture quality and models on static objects can be a bit bland, however considering the sheer scope and small development team, they are effective for a spit and sawdust military planet.
* Yes the planet is sparse, but it’s a bloody radioactive wasteland for Buddha’s sake. It actually adds to the charm / realism.
* Fly in the canyons people, it’s like Comanche on acid / steroids.

AI: -
* Charming.
* Realistic.
* Sometimes mental.
* Sometimes punishing.
* Sometimes frustrating. I had to find AWOL soldiers a couple of times, again; charming, because that could actually happen no? But once, frustrating as HELL because I HADN’T SAVED FOR A WHILE.
* Buddies do get stuck on walls.
* Buddies are very handy to have around.
* Buddies are to be cared about and looked after, otherwise they can get twitchy.

Sound Engine: -
* Has very accurate positional audio. I’m running an X-FI on Vista, which does have it’s own peculiarities.
* Realistic ship sounds (for fiction), especially when flying overhead.
* Some sounds can “do-your-head-in”; I turned off the music – even though it is good, as it puts me into a psychopathic trance.

Misc: -
* Some of the script elements can become unhinged; I’m playing it again and experimenting more liberally to see where I’m pushing it’s boundaries.
* The save game system does not retain communications information making it difficult to remember what you are doing between play sessions.
* Some intense combat (get down low).
* Some very peaceful flight moments between the action (fly low if near bases).

Moral of the story, it’s and excellent game / simulator, but it can be one tough cookie monster. SAVE OFTEN. You must have a good system, carefully read the communications logs, and most of all, STAY DOWN when in a fire-fight, and FLY LOW when near bases.

For an Indie title you would be hard pressed to find anything as mature, evolved and polished anywhere ON THIS PLANET. This is a unique, almost art-house piece of work.

My humble score, keeping in mind the Indie team and it’s play-style / game type: 8 / 10.