Square Enix will be publishing Supreme Commander 2 in North America on March 2nd of next year on the PC and March 16th for the Xbox 360. To celebrate the announcement, they've released a video of Chris Taylor, Founder and Creative Director of Gas Powered Games, walking us through a typical battle. It looks like exactly what I was shown at E3 2009, actually, only without Chris Taylor actually being in the room with you.

Set 25 years after the original Supreme Commander, Supreme Commander 2 features an extensive campaign mode and online multiplayer, all wrapped up in an engine that sacrifices polygons for performance but still manages to look spectacular.

The release marks one of the first times Square Enix is publishing a Western-developed game in Western regions, and Gas Powered Games Creative Director Chris Taylor couldn't be more pleased.

"The partnership with Square Enix has been a highlight of my career. I couldn't be more proud of what the team has accomplished, as the game has continually exceeded all of my expectations throughout its development."

Supreme Commander 2 will be released on the Xbox 360 and PC in Europe this spring. I'd expect the North American release either at the same time or slightly earlier.

Joining the global retail giant are Gas Powered Games - the studio behind Supreme Commander - along with online games portal GameTap, BFG Technologies, Bigfoot Networks, Flextronics, Howie's Game Shack, and InstantAction.

Still not quite seeing how this group is achieving anything, or indeed how important it's going to be to add a bricks and mortar retailer to the team when the future of PC gaming is clearly tied to digital delivery.

Maybe they've just got one hell of a secret clubhouse.

GameStop, Gas Powered, More Join PC Gaming Alliance [Gamasutra]

It was a bit odd, seeing the next title in the Supreme Commander series behind closed doors in the Square Enix booth, but with the Japanese publisher taking a greater interest in publishing Western titles, I suppose it is something we'll have to get used to. After weaving through displays of pointy-haired protagonists, I made my way to the Square Enix meeting area, where the GPG crew were waiting to show me a brief look at their next RTS, which seems to have taken a few cues from the company's most recent release, Demigod.

In fact, Demigod was the first thing that came to mind as the brief demo began. Rather than taking place on a land-based battlefield, units were assembled on a platform jutting out from cloud-shrouded cliffs on an alien world. The mountains faded into the mist below the platform, giving off a sense of an expansive world far below the battlefield. It's the same sort of self-contained map you'd see in Demigod; smaller than what we are used to, but filled with character. Taylor explained that Demigod taught them that a smaller-scaled yet detailed battlefield delivered much great opportunity to portray a dramatic conflict.

The game certainly looks sharper than the first, and ran smoother too, thanks to some creative polygon tricks. Rather than bogging down the hardware with extraneous polygons in the name of greater detail, this time around Gas Powered Games has reduced the polygon count, allowing their new rendering engine to quickly fill the map with units without bogging or slowing down. Not that you'd really notice the drop in polys...the new engine, with its enhanced lighting and self-shadowing, delivers visuals that are better than the previous game while still being able to run smoothly on 3-5 year old hardware.

Taylor pointed out some of the upgrades and new additions to the game as we sped through our demo, and I tried desperately to keep up. Here's what I saw that was new:

ACU Improvements: The titular Supreme Commander, players who found the Armored Core Unit too flimsy in the first game should be pleased with the upgrades their primary unit has been given. Not only are there a wide variety of additional extras that can be added to the ACU via the new tech tree (see below), the newer version comes equipped with an escape pod, meaning the end of the unit isn't the end of you. Progressing through the tech tree eventually unlocks an even more improved version.

Tech Tree: Replacing tech levels from the last game is the tech tree, a branching progression system that allows the player to focus on the units and areas they excel at. There are three categories of items on the tech tree. Boosts (buffs), upgrades, which can add new functionality to existing units, and unlocks, which of course unlock more things to play with. The example I was shown involved a tank, which as it was upgrade sprouted longer barrels to increase firing range, or multiple barrels to increase the damage it dealt.

More Experimental Units: The most powerful units in the game, experimental units were a big draw in the original Supreme Commander, and they are back in full force. More than 25 new experimental units have been added, split into two categories - mini and mega. Mini's take about 15-20 minutes to unlock, while the megas won't hit the scene until 30-60 minutes have passed. Still mighty impressive, I got to look at the Fatboy Mobile Gun Platform, the redesigned Universal Colossus, and the most impressive, CyberZilla - a giant, armored dinosaur who might as well be wearing a "Game Over" t-shirt.

Taylor mentioned a few other improvements, including a retooled economy and a retooled neural net AI, but those are the sort of improvements it's hard to discern during a rushed, twelve-minute presentation. What I did walk away from the meeting with was the sense that Gas Powered Games was ready to kick Supreme Commander the first's ass with the sequel, and they weren't afraid to admit previous missteps and change their way of thinking to do so.

I stopped in to see Chris for an appointment I had to look at Supreme Commander II, but I was running a little late. I took an outside route between the two main show halls, and with the sun just peeking out from behind a week-long bank of clouds, the one eye that was not closing was getting far too much light, which made for slow going. I explained this when I finally arrived at the appointment, and instead of launching into the presentation, Chris perked up.

"Is it Bell's Palsy?" I nodded. "Here's what you do..."

Apparently Chris had the same thing happen to him several years ago, and Supreme Commander II was put briefly on hold as he explained how he took care of the condition. I had received a lot of advice on the subject since the condition first struck, but something about Mr. Taylor's enthusiasm over sharing his method...especially during a time when he was supposed to be sharing his latest creation with the press...made me take note.

His suggestion? Lots of ibuprofen, and lots of sleep. Ibuprofen acts as an anti-inflammatory, and the main symptom of Bell's Palsy is an inflammation of the nerve that controls the muscles of your face. Said nerve travels through a very narrow corridor in your skull, and if it swells up, then no signals are getting through.

Keep in mind that you should consult your physician before treating any condition on your own. Chris Taylor is not a doctor, though he could easily play one on TV.

As it turns out, taking three ibuprofen pills three times a day makes one incredibly sleepy, so the rest part wasn't a problem. I actually spent most of Saturday curled up asleep on my couch with my cat sitting next to me in my suitcase, which I should probably get around to unpacking.

Anyway, I woke up this morning and wandered into the bathroom, and when I tried to smile, the left side of my lip curled. It's very slight, but it's much more movement than I've seen since the Friday before last, so I'll take it. My left eyelid also fluttered when I tried to blink, so something is definitely happening.

Of course, it could be just the extra sleep, or it could just be the natural progression of things. This is why doctors argue over how to handle Bell's Palsy constantly...but it really doesn't matter. Chris Taylor gave me advice, but he also gave me a little hope, and maybe that's just what the doctor ordered.

Oh, and Supreme Commander II looks lovely.

I'd just like to add a big thanks to everyone who responded positively to my original post. Your well-wishes also meant a great deal to me, even if most of you aren't the CEO of a game development company.

The early release and subsequent rampant piracy of Gas Powered Games' action real-time strategy title were just the beginning of the networking problems that Demigod has been plagued with since release. Some bad networking decisions and assumptions on Stardock's part caused the issues to drag on for weeks. It seems the way they had things set up initially caused far too many sockets to try to open at once, due to a late 2008 decision to have the network library hand off sockets to the game, rather than have all the connections handled by one source. Wardell's example almost makes it understandable.

...on launch day, Alice would host a game. Tom would be connected to Alice by the network library and then that socket would be handed to Demigod. Then, Alice and Tom would open a new socket to listen for more players to join in. As a result, a user might end up using a half dozen ports and sockets which some routers didn't like and it just made things incredibly complex to connect people and put a lot of strain on the servers to manage all those connections.

So what was happening? When I tried to play, two or three players would connect successfully and then the slow, agonizing wait would kick in. Brad explains why:

Alice hosts a game. In doing so, she sends a message to the NAT server (as well as our servers). Tom wants to join so Tom clicks join and it tells the NAT server to begin connecting them. But, it turned out that a relatively small number of people online at once would quickly result in a huge delay in messages being sent back and forth. For instance, when Tom clicks join it sends a message to the server to tell it to start connecting Tom and Alice. But Alice might not get that message for 30 or 40 seconds. That means, for that entire time, Tom and Alice are "attempting to connect" but haven't even really started because Alice hasn't even gotten the message. As more people tried to join the game, that delay could get worse and worse. If someone left the game, it could take that amount of time for the server to realize that player had left (meanwhile it was trying to connect them).

At this point, the people inside the room waiting for the game to start will have resorted to cannibalism, and most of them weren't even hungry. It's just that frustrating.

Brad goes on to detail the changes that have been made and will be made as they continue to polish the network experience, plans for downloadable content, and an eventual demo, but most importantly, his post leaves us with the important lesson Stardock learned from releasing Demigod.

We've learned that you can't treat networking as just another thing to plug in like you would a sound library or even a 3D engine. It's a whole different animal. With Elemental (our next game), it's single-player focused but its MP will be server based (and I mean we literally host the game). After Demigod, I don't ever want to hear the words "socket" or "port" again.

Demigod: So what the hell happened? [Brad Wardell's Impulse Blog]

Demigod has had less than and healthy start so far, with GameStop selling the game early, piracy running rampant, and of course, tons of networking problems, which can be a real killer for a game with a strong online focus. Wardell, posting as Frogboy on his Stardock Impulse blog, assures us that significant breakthroughs have been made regarding networking issues, and that the connectivity issues some users have been having will be going away this week.

Along with the networking news , Wardell also detailed plans to get more players online and playing the game. He explains that the initial networking problems cause Stardock to halt marketing for the product, and that once the issues are fixed marketing will kick in full swing. He also reveals that a multiplayer demo is in the works, soliciting existing players for ideas on how to best limit a demo while still allowing demo players and retail players to play together.

Finally, in a move that should both pull in new players while satisfying the day-one adopters, every person who has purchased the game from the day it went on sale up until May 10th will receive a coupon good for half off an additional copy. So if one of your friends is looking into buying the game, tell them you'll pick them up a copy and can pay you back, pocketing the difference.

What?

Demigod: Breakthru [Skinning the Frog - Thanks Davis!]

Demigod is an action real-time strategy game with role-playing game elements that obviously takes a great deal of inspiration from the popular Warcraft III mod Defense of the Ancients. Instead of commanding armies and managing resources, players take on the role of a single demigod, battling against other like-powered beings for a chance at a promotion to full-on godhood. It's a fast-paced answer to the slow and plodding pace featured in many real-time strategy offerings, with a strong focus on online multiplayer.

Does Demigod meet its goal of offering a fresh, new experience to the strategy genre, or is the game suffering from delusions of grandeur?

Loved
Divine Gameplay: Much like the Warcraft III mod Defense of the Ancients, Demigod is not a real-time strategy game. It's an arena combat game with a real-time strategy feel, role-playing game leveling, and first-person shooter goals. When the game is at its best the balance that Gas Powered Games has achieved between the different elements truly shines through. Depending on the options chosen before battle and the payers involved, games can be quick and dirty or long and drawn out. There is no real resource management and no complicated troop commands to master. Just get in, level your demigod, and get the job done. Simple, elegant, and amazingly addictive.

A Varied Pantheon: While there are only eight different demigod characters to choose from, each has a wide variety of different powers to choose from, meaning that two different players using the same character can wind up playing it in entirely different ways. If another player tells you that a certain character sucks, odds are they just aren't playing them right. A great deal of the strategy in Demigod comes from knowing which powers to level based on the round's goals and your opposition.

A Wealth of Options: With only four game modes and eight maps, Demigod might seem a bit limited at first, but a generous set of match customization options adds a great deal of variety to the title. If the plain vanilla matches are getting old, you can always start off with large amounts of cash, increase the game's pace, or start your demigods off at maximum level to see how things play out across an even playing field.

Heavenly Presentation: Demigod looks and sounds absolutely beautiful. The action plays out fluidly from both a far-off top down perspective or zoomed in close to the action, and the arenas themselves are works of art. The demigods themselves have real character, from their voices and rumblings to their unique behaviors.

Hated
A Supreme Lack of Guidance: There is absolutely no tutorial mode for Demigod, and I mean none. Outside of the odd tip while games are loading, there really isn't anything that tells you how to play included in the game proper. Upon first starting up a single player tournament I expected some sort of hand-holding to ensue, but that simply wasn't the case. As a result, my first round of play ended with me losing horribly. A game that has the capability to be as engrossing as Demigod does could really benefit from some sort of demonstration showing players how much fun it can be once you know what you are doing.

Ungodly Broken Multiplayer: Stardock continues to work on stabilizing multiplayer, but as of this writing it is still pretty much broken, at least where I am concerned. I've never been able to join a quick match or participate in the game's ongoing online Pantheon tournament. My only success at joining an online game has come from joining a custom game, and even then I've had to wait in a lobby chatting while we watched other players fruitlessly trying to connect. Once you get into an actual game it's gobs of fun. Getting there, however, is no picnic.

Demigod has the potential to be a truly great game; it just isn't quite there yet. It's got a unique sort of gameplay that successfully blends aspects of several different genres into a completely compelling, suprisingly deep, and utterly addictive multiplayer experience. Unfortunately the focus here is on multiplayer. With very little offered in the way of a single player game, Gas Powered Games is obviously banking on Demigod's online aspect, and quite frankly that isn't working at the moment.

Once the online connectivity issues are sorted out, Demigod will be a force to be reckoned with. Until then, picking up a copy is akin to paying $39 to participate in a glorified beta test.

Demigod, developed by Gas Powered Games, published by Stardock, released April 14th for the PC. Retails for $40. Completed single player tournament with multiple demigods on normal difficulty, played multiple single player skirmish rounds, and several cutom online multiplayer battles. Was unable to connect for multiplayer Skirmish or Pantheon modes.

Confused by our reviews? Read our review FAQ.

GameStop was selling the real-time strategy PC game from Gas Powered Games as early as last Friday, days ahead of the planned April 15th street date. Those wondering why street dates are imposed need look no further than the post on the official Demigod forums, which details a ruined Easter weekend for many Stardock employees.

it was Easter weekend. And many of us had just finished a good solid 8 weeks of massive crunch and were looking forward to the weekend to recover. Instead, we found ourselves back at work having to turn on and configure the multiplayer matchmaking servers (we had enough for a beta but not for thousands of people).

The post also raises concerns that the early release maximizes piracy, as the game was only available through the one retail channel for several days, but Stardock looks on the bright side..."The good news, however, is that we'll get to actually see the effects of piracy". When life gives you lemons...

To help ease players' pains, Stardock released the game on their Impulse early, so the game is now available for purchase online.

Demigod is early [Demigod Forums]

It's nice to get a feel for how the game actually plays, after pouring over screenshots for the past year. While the screens have certainly been impressive, they've never quite given me a good idea of how a round plays out. For the most point it looks like your standard real-time strategy game, only confined to arenas rather than spread out over a large playfield, basically capturing the essence of the genre without having to deal with long, drawn out battles.

Demigod finally sees the light of day on April 14th.

I still maintain a fair amount of excitement for Demigod, and these screenshots once again punctuate the reason why - scale. The sheer size of the creatures tromping through the unique battlegrounds of the game is still extremely impressive. While I've yet to actually get any hands-on time with the title, at least I know that if it winds up horrible it will still look good running on my monitor while I am off doing more interesting things.

“We see great opportunities in European and North American markets, both of which are expected to be maintaining sustainable growth over these coming years,” said Yoichi Wada, president and representative director of Square Enix Co., Ltd. “Therefore, it is crucial we create alliances with proven developers such as Gas Powered Games in order to serve these significant markets better by providing products and services in tune with customer tastes.”

Wada had previously voiced his concerns over the growth of the Western games industry, most recently at the Tokyo Game Show, where he proposed an alliance of Japanese devs and publishers. I suppose this is an example of the old 'If you can't beat 'em, join 'em' strategy.

SQUARE ENIX, INC. AND GAS POWERED GAMES ANNOUNCE STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP

Development Begins on Real-time Strategy Game SUPREME COMMANDER 2

London (12th November 2008) – Square Enix Ltd., the publisher of Square Enix® interactive entertainment products in Europe and other PAL territories (Square Enix), today announces that Square Enix, Inc., a U.S. sister company headquartered in Los Angeles, California, and development house Gas Powered Games Corp., a U.S. company headquartered in Redmond, Washington (Gas Powered Games) have formed a strategic partnership. With the commencement of this strategic partnership, development has begun on SUPREME COMMANDER® 2, a sequel to the award-winning real-time strategy series.

This strategic partnership represents one of the first steps Square Enix Co., Ltd., a sister company of Square Enix headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, and its affiliates (collectively, Square Enix Group) are taking towards their goal of increasing western development efforts aimed for the global markets. Square Enix Group has previously worked exclusively with Japanese development companies, so the decision to form strategic partnerships with developers located outside of Japan serves as a new cornerstone of its strategy to create games targeted primarily at consumers in Europe and North America. Additionally, Square Enix Group’s foray into the real-time strategy genre is a significant expansion of its product lineup, largely known for its leadership role in the genre of role-playing games.

“We see great opportunities in European and North American markets, both of which are expected to be maintaining sustainable growth over these coming years,” said Yoichi Wada, president and representative director of Square Enix Co., Ltd. “Therefore, it is crucial we create alliances with proven developers such as Gas Powered Games in order to serve these significant markets better by providing products and services in tune with customer tastes.”

“Gas Powered Games is an accomplished development house that has demonstrated its ability to successfully create and develop intellectual properties,” said John Yamamoto, president and chief executive officer of Square Enix and Square Enix, Inc.. “We are extremely excited to begin working with Gas Powered Games’ talented personnel and see this strategic partnership as a significant step in our efforts to bring Square Enix titles to a broader global audience.”

Creator of hit titles such as Dungeon Siege®, and Supreme Commander, Gas Powered Games® was founded in 1998 by one of the game industry’s most imaginative and dynamic visionaries Chris Taylor, who serves as chief executive officer. "It is truly a great honour to join forces with as renowned a developer and publisher as Square Enix, Inc." said Taylor: "Everyone at Gas Powered Games is thrilled about this collaboration, and the results will surely delight video game fans around the world.”

Details on SUPREME COMMANDER 2 including gameplay features, platform(s) and release date will be available at a later time.

The most recent dev diary for Space Siege seems to be a step away from Gas Powered Game's dungeon crawling roots. The shifted focus from team-based gameplay to a solo character seems to allow the creation of a more compelling protagonist. Seth Walker fights a number of invading baddies aboard humanity's last space station while upgrading his weapons and himself with all sorts of cool future technology. It sounds as if the moral choice of upgrading Seth and ultimately altering his humanity will play a large role in Space Siege.

Taylor will also be appearing with Dr. Michael Capps and David Perry at a "Best Selling Games" panel on Tuesday of the conference, where they will discuss...best selling games? Hey, at least I gave you a pretty trailer to look at.

Chris Taylor to Present the "Making of Demigod" at GCDC

LEIPZIG, Germany - July 29, 2008 - The organizer of the GC Developers Conference (GCDC) today announced that industry legend Chris Taylor will be the keynote speaker for Wednesday, August 20 at this year's event. Under the title, "The Struggle for Independence and the Making of Demigod," he will address the challenges of developing games today. Moreover, together with Dr. Michael Capps and David Perry, the other two keynote speakers of GCDC 2008, he will participate in a panel discussion on "Best Selling Games" on Tuesday. GCDC takes place prior to GC - Games Convention in Leipzig, August 18-20, 2008.

Chris Taylor will reminisce about his 20-year career in the interactive entertainment industry covering his budding years and the experiences that inspired him to form his own independent games studio. He will talk about how the industry has changed over the years, and how he has had to adapt his own mindset and the direction of his company to meet its new challenges. Taylor will also speak about the difficulties faced when delivering new, truly innovative games versus the typical sequels and derivative works currently plaguing the industry.

"Expect a surreal journey into my bizarre and twisted mind," said Taylor, adding, "Please bring your sense of humor with you."

For the past 20 years, Taylor has been one of the game industry's most imaginative and dynamic visionaries. The creator of the first true next-generation RTS game, Total Annihilation, has a well deserved reputation as an innovator who is able to push both technology and gameplay to their limits.

Taylor is the CEO and Creative Director of Gas Powered Games (GPG), which has released the Dungeon Siege series, Supreme Commander, and its expansion, Forged Alliance. In 2008, GPG will unleash its newest action/RPG, Space Siege, and in 2009, the company will launch the innovative action/RTS game Demigod.

"Our goal is to present keynote speakers that inspire our attendees, while providing valuable insight into the changing landscape of the games industry," said Frank Sliwka, project director of GCDC. "Chris Taylor's participation takes the already content rich conference program to a higher level and makes GCDC an absolute must-attend event."

Further information about the schedule and the speakers of GCDC can be found at: http://www.gcdc.eu.

UPDATE: James from GPG got in touch, and his helpful "fullscreen=false" command line addition got me in, after which I set my resolution and was good to go. Would have added this bit sooner, but I got a little caught up playing. Definitely worth a download.

Space Siege Demo [Strategy Informer]

"There will be some things that are very much like Dungeon Siege 1 and 2, but some things will be simplified. I am done with multi-character parties; I really think that it's all going to be about a single hero. It's too much to manage," he says.

While it might be a bit jarring to fans of the first two games, it would certainly give Diablo enthusiasts something to think about.

Dungeon Siege 3 ohne Party [Eurogamer.De via ActionTrip]

With that in mind, I present you Sega's trailer for Gas Powered Games space-themed follow-up to Dungeon Siege, Space Siege. Just the name alone, going by the classic "Add Space To Anything" rule, is full of epic win. So says Space Fahey.

To fully support a public beta that will launch this summer, the launch date for Demigod has been moved to February 2009. This will give the development team sufficient time to incorporate feedback from the beta players while polishing the game.

Stardock, Gas Powered Games Partner For Upcoming Demigod

- Demigod to Feature No On-Disc Copy Protection; Set to Launch February 2009 -

PLYMOUTH, MI - April 7, 2008 - Stardock and Gas Powered Games announced today that they have reached a publishing agreement for Gas Powered Games' upcoming PC game, Demigod.

Demigod is a team-based action game with RTS and RPG elements. Players take control of a massive Demigod with the goal of annihilating their opponent's position in a given arena while preventing the opponent's Demigod from doing the same to them. Although the game supports superb one-on-one duels, the title will truly shine in team play either with other human-controlled Demigods or with ones controlled by a sophisticated computer AI. As the game progresses, the player's Demigod will acquire items, attributes and experience.

Gas Powered Games, having become one of the leading PC game developers with hit titles such as Dungeon Siege and Supreme Commander chose Stardock as its exclusive worldwide PC publisher in part because of Stardock's tremendous success with the award-winning Sins of a Solar Empire and Galactic Civilizations.

"Forging our new partnership with Stardock is a big deal for all of us at GPG, and we couldn't be more excited about it," said Chris Taylor, founder and CEO of Gas Powered Games. "Not only do we have a proven retail publisher, but we get to partner with a pioneer in the digital distribution space... a company that totally understands what kind of experience our customer wants and the quality game they demand. The whole proposition is truly refreshing."

Stardock's most recent release, Sins of a Solar Empire was the top selling PC strategy game at retail according to NPD, and the second highest selling PC game overall despite selling immense numbers of copies digitally which are not counted in sales rankings. The game has received universally high reviews in the media and many have noted how seamlessly Stardock and developer Ironclad worked together.

"We're very excited at the opportunity to work with Gas Powered Games," said Brad Wardell, president and CEO of Stardock. "By integrating our teams and working together, we will be able to create something that represents the best of both teams."

To fully support a public beta that will launch this summer, the launch date for Demigod has been moved to February 2009. This will give the development team sufficient time to incorporate feedback from the beta players while polishing the game. Like Stardock's other games, Demigod will be released without any on-disc copy protection and has been budgeted to receive many months of free post-release feature updates.

The official website for Demigod is in the works, but users who want to begin discussing the game can visit http://www.demigodthegame.com.

... the only thing stopping me from doing it [adding new factions] on any sequel is memory. I've been told by my engineers that for Supreme Commander 2, I don't have enough memory in a PC with 4GB of RAM to have more factions.

"It inconveniences a little but now they know why. And then we can get the economics back in line and maybe we can actually start offering it up at a lower price point in the future. So it will come around full circle"