Supreme Ruler 2010?

[hukarez]

Has anyone ever heard of this game?

I saw some screenshots, and read IGN's thing on it -- it sounds pretty deep and complex, at least, from when I skimmed through it. I would imagine that whatever bugs are found, should be patchable in the near future.

1 gig of raw satellite data though? Anyone get a chance to play this?

[hukarez]

Thought I'd toss in a link for reference:

http://www.ebgames.com/ebx/product/237113.asp

[hukarez]

Oh! Here's the GameSpot review for good measure:

Supreme Ruler 2010 Review

Complexity and accessibility are rarely so well-balanced in a strategy game.

---

Ambition isn't always a good thing in strategy-game design. When developers push the envelope too far, they often end up with either an interface that plays like a logic puzzle, or so many statistics that it would be less painful to smack yourself in the face with an economics textbook. So it's something of a miracle that Supreme Ruler 2010 is downright user-friendly. Even though the BattleGoat Studios production is as elaborate as anything this side of the rather boat anchorlike SuperPower 2, this is one playable and enjoyable geopolitical simulation. Complexity and accessibility are rarely so well-balanced in a strategy game.

First impressions won't leave you with that idea, however. BattleGoat and publisher Strategy First ship the game with a dense 150-page manual and terse tutorials with no interactivity aside from that provided by reading dozens of text boxes. The background story is also complex. Four pages are required to recount the tale of a debt-ridden United States, which is self-destructing economically and taking the rest of the planet with it. OPEC reacts to American troubles by changing the world's oil currency from greenbacks to Euros in mid-2005, and this causes the biggest market crash in history. Economies are so devastated that most nations splinter along regional and ethnic lines. When the game begins in 2010, the US is a collection of independent states, the Canadian provinces have abandoned confederation, Europe has broken into fiefdoms reminiscent of the medieval era, and so on.

You're dropped into this mess as the ruler of one of these new independent territories. Play can be turn-based or real time. Both function in similar ways, although playing in turns slows the action down so much that it's a better option to go real time and adjust speeds or pause the game whenever catastrophes pile up. Objectives vary, with you either attempting to emerge as the leading state in a specific region in a couple of dozen scenarios (reunifying Canada, putting China back together by force, taking over the Middle East with a unified Israel-Jordan, and so on) spread across the world or trying to conquer the planet in the global campaign.

Difficulty varies depending on your choice here, of course. Taking on, well, everybody as the newly free state of Scotland is a lot more difficult than simply helping Alabama win over its neighbors in what used to be the southeastern US. There are a lot of nations on the globe, too, with virtually every province, state, or territory in North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia deciding to go it alone. Each one of these mini-states is fully modeled, too, with governments, military forces, economies, natural resources, social services, taxation systems, and so forth.

Regardless of what mode of play you choose, cabinet ministers keep games from becoming unwieldy. Instead of handling all of a state's affairs by yourself, you hire ministers from a pool of candidates to look after six portfolios--defense, military operations, state, treasury, commerce, and interior--and keep your eyes on the big picture. Policies are set by assigning priorities to each member of the cabinet, like asking the interior minister to improve the nation's technology, or the minister of state to secretly undermine enemies, or the minister of commerce to produce products for export. Every move has its pros and cons, so there are no shortcuts when it comes to making your citizens happy. Order your interior minister to improve the social safety net, for instance, and this sets up a tug-of-war between social assistance programs and the military.

And since ministers come with names, detailed biographies, personalities, and political leanings (conservative, moderate, and liberal) that affect their performance, jobs don't always get done as expected. Put the wrong person in the wrong place and you can actually have a minister fighting against your ideas unless you decide to micromanage and lock orders so that they can't change them. We learned from personal experience that it just isn't a good idea to hire a flaming liberal to run the Ontario defense department while planning a covert military buildup with which to crush Quebec.

The only issue with the ministerial system is that it causes Supreme Ruler 2010 to run a little too much on autopilot. Get a good balance of ministers who reflect your values and the nation hums along on its own until you have to make big decisions like signing treaties or declaring war. You can of course make all decisions personally, but ministers do such a good job that it's easier and often more effective to sit back and let them do the heavy lifting.

Also, at times you feel more like you're managing the staff in a department store than ruling a country. You lose a little of that "I rule the world!" vibe so enjoyable in games of grand strategy. Still, the intimacy of the ministerial system impressively gets across the idea of what it must be like to serve in a real parliamentary democracy. And the artificial intelligence is no slouch, either. Order that previously mentioned covert military buildup from a conservative minister of defense and tanks come flying off the assembly lines. The chief of military operations also does a damn good job conducting a war, sending units to bolster defenses in regions where the enemy is breaking through the lines, and even anticipating enemy moves with the smart garrisoning of cities.

A fairly tight focus on diplomacy and commerce negates some of the drama, though, as the military doesn't assume a great deal of importance in many games. Declaring war on a neutral country is a big no-no that always causes other neighbors to launch immediate attacks. In the UK scenario, for example, there isn't any way for southern England to quietly conquer Wales and all of its handy coal deposits without north England doing the "once more into the breach" thing.

Too much messing around with tanks and troops can also result in the game's big heavy--a vaguely defined entity trying to bring order back to the world, by force if necessary, called the World Market (a more aggressive successor to the United Nations that wants to see nations get back together)--laying down the law, possibly with a nuclear exchange. All in all, patience and subtlety are characteristics that need to be cultivated if your rule is to last much beyond the starting date of 2010.

Unfortunately, diplomacy is extremely difficult. Working out deals with other countries, even those who are friendly or neutral, is nearly impossible in many instances. Rivals tend to reject good deals, such as those that swap equivalent technologies, unless they are given huge cash bribes. Some refusals defy common sense. Sure, it's understandable why Florida won't hand over the plans of its Huey helicopters to a suspicious Georgia. But what's the point of Los Angeles saying no to alternative energy technologies offered by Northern California in exchange for a measly embassy...during an electricity shortage in the city of angels, no less? These sorts of denials are all too frequent, and they seem more like a way to artificially make the game harder than a realistic depiction of how such diplomacy would work in the real world.

Despite the downplaying of military showdowns, Supreme Ruler 2010 looks and sounds like an old-school war game. Visuals feature nothing more elaborate than crude unit symbols and roughed-in terrain on a 2D map, as well as audio effects that recall the "bloop-bloop, beep-beep" era. There isn't even any in-game music. If not for the game's encyclopedic detail, the feel would be suggestive of Empire Deluxe. The only concession to modern production values is the user interface, which is intuitive if still a little convoluted, due to the tremendous amount of information and number of activities to track. Also, it doesn't scale properly with screen resolution, so you need a magnifying glass to read the text when playing at 1280x1024 and up.

Multiplayer isn't so much dated as it is underdeveloped. Although all of the individual scenarios and their settings are supported, you can't play the solo campaign against other people. And there is no in-game browser to use when looking for an online match; you'll have to resort to an external matchmaking program or enter IP addresses directly.

Even though Supreme Ruler 2010 is a bit of a throwback, it doesn't repeat the mistakes of the past. Unlike previous far-reaching global strategic sims, BattleGoat's reach doesn't exceed its grasp, even if this comes at the cost of a game design that plays itself a little too often

[buckup]

I have SR2010 and have been playing it a lot. It's pretty amazing and in depth for a first release.

My gripes: The pacing is a bit off. When you first declare war or are declared on, you'll probably poop yourself trying to keep track of everything. However, if you're not in war, you'll probably poop yourself from boredom. That being said, the devsa are working on it, and after your first war, you should get the hang of things.

Some features have been left out of the release, and the devs are playing with how to implement them (ie intell, covert ops).

Diplomacy is ok, but still needs work. Again, the devs are working on an update.

That being said, it's still an in depth game with high replay value. You could start as the US on the world map, Southern France in a french reunification senario, or even upstate New York...Try playing Isreal and aligned with Syria....

I didn't mean to start writing a review...Basically, I would recommend the demo to play around a bit. I did and got the game.

You should also note that the developers are very active in the forums and have been really good at addressing players' issues:

bgforums.com

[Eaglesfan27]

I just received this game today as a gift from a friend. I'm reading through the instruction manual now, and plan on playing a bit later tonight. Looks very interesting. I'll post further thoughts in a few days.

[Eaglesfan27]

I have no idea how it is going to come together, but just reading the large manual makes this game sound very impressive with its complexity. For example, if you want to micromanage, you can set Income tax rates, sales tax rates, business and corporate tax rates, property tax rates, and other fees in a region. You can also decide which of 11 commodities to trade or buy. Of course, a deficit of a critical commodity such as oil can severely hamper your economy. I also like the idea of the varying political leanings of the ministers you can hire to help you manage all of this. Anyway, I'm just finishing reading the instruction manual. Now, it is time to see if it actually works in the game.

[hukarez]

Well, it's good to know a couple of people who have this game already.

I've still been kind of curious about it -- despite playing too much BF2, I think this might be a nice break for me. Now, it's just a matter of finding out whether or not some local game places carry this in stock...

[bronconick]

I've been fiddling with the Demo some, and I've got a question.

Is this a macro-managing game like MOO3 (albeit with better micro-tools) where I'm *not* supposed to spend all my time fiddling with the # of coal power plants and the such? I should in theory be giving overall orders to the cabinet members and just checking in on them every so often?

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by bronconick

I've been fiddling with the Demo some, and I've got a question.

Is this a macro-managing game like MOO3 (albeit with better micro-tools) where I'm *not* supposed to spend all my time fiddling with the # of coal power plants and the such? I should in theory be giving overall orders to the cabinet members and just checking in on them every so often?

I'm very early in my experience with the game, but I'll give you my thoughts.

I think this game can be that if you want it to be. However, I think I am having fun digging into some of the details, such as setting the salary for my military personel. I also like setting various tax rates. Actually, there are a great deal of details that I'm enjoying messing with. Of course, I might be doing a much worse job than my minister would do if I left them alone. You certainly can leave everything to your ministers except for the biggest decisions if you want to do so. However, I'm having fun tinkering with many things.

[bronconick]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

I'm very early in my experience with the game, but I'll give you my thoughts.

I think this game can be that if you want it to be. However, I think I am having fun digging into some of the details, such as setting the salary for my military personel. I also like setting various tax rates. Actually, there are a great deal of details that I'm enjoying messing with. Of course, I might be doing a much worse job than my minister would do if I left them alone. You certainly can leave everything to your ministers except for the biggest decisions if you want to do so. However, I'm having fun tinkering with many things.

Well, I've been tinkering with stuff.....and my approval rating drops like a stone every time. I was actually trying to make my region as self-sufficient as possible. The other thing I noticed is that if I try to attack someone, everyone else surrounding me bandwagons against me. Is the manual being very useful for you? There's a whole load of things that I don't 100% understand as is, and I'd hope the manual made it clearer.

Looks interesting so far, but I'm thinking (after buying Superpower waaaaaaaay back when) that I'll probably wait a couple months, see if it drops to $30-40 around here from the starting $50, and see what the grade after everyone's burned through it looking for bugs.

Edit: Plus, I just bought a new computer, which finally can run Rise of Nations, so I can play that for a month or two after it collected dust when it turned out my old computer and its video card were incompatible.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by bronconick

Well, I've been tinkering with stuff.....and my approval rating drops like a stone every time. I was actually trying to make my region as self-sufficient as possible. The other thing I noticed is that if I try to attack someone, everyone else surrounding me bandwagons against me. Is the manual being very useful for you? There's a whole load of things that I don't 100% understand as is, and I'd hope the manual made it clearer.

Looks interesting so far, but I'm thinking (after buying Superpower waaaaaaaay back when) that I'll probably wait a couple months, see if it drops to $30-40 around here from the starting $50, and see what the grade after everyone's burned through it looking for bugs.

Edit: Plus, I just bought a new computer, which finally can run Rise of Nations, so I can play that for a month or two after it collected dust when it turned out my old computer and its video card were incompatible.

Well, I've been playing around with it for about 2 hours (and about an hour or two every day since I've gotten it.) So far, I'm still horrible at it. If I tinker too much, I end up lowering my approval rating or putting my economy into the toilet. However, I'm definitely enjoying this game. It just becomes too frustrating to play after an hour or two until I think about some new strategies. Also FM is so good that it always beckons me to play a bit more...

As far as the ministers, I really do like how they are done. They seem to have some real personality to them with their various political leanings and expertise levels. I just hired a Fortune 500 CEO to be my new minister of finance and it was very interesting to see how he manipulated things to improve our economy. On the other hand, my military minister was doing horribly, and the people were unhappy with his performance. So, I canned him and hired an old war hero that the people seem to love so far.

The complexity level is really astonishing in this game. So many unit designs. I was trying to decide what type of missiles to built, and the choices are very interesting. I'm very tempted to build some biochemical warhead missiles, but I'm worried about the worldwide community's reaction if I had to use them...

The manual is very detailed and it definitely helped me understand some things, but I'd by lying if I said I understood everything in the manual or the game. I think this game has a high learning curve. However, so far I think it is going to be worth it once I get over that curve.

I'd be really interested if anyone with a better understanding of economics plays this game. I'm interested in hearing their thoughts on how realistic the economics are. I know very little about the subject, but this seems to be one of the better economic sims I've seen.

As far as attacking someone, I've noticed those little bars telling you how the world community will view an attack on them are very important. You have to attack at the right time, after they pissed off the world or your allies and you have some justification. Of course, if they dare attack your allies, that will win you justification every time I think.

As far as the demo, did it have the tutorials? I know some people knocked the tutorials as not being pretty or fancy enough, but I actually found them very helpful.

[Eaglesfan27]

Dola -

I love how the lock buttons work. I let my minister of finance handle most things, but I can lock anything that I want to for the most part. Of course, my locking certain things can mess them up in trying to achieve the directives I gave them. Also, if you don't give directives to your ministers they will act autonomously based on their political leanings and expertise.

[hukarez]

Well, seeing as it's been a couple of days or so, I'm guessing you guys have put quite a bit of time into the game. No changes on the impressions, or any other updates? I'm hoping this game won't be another one of those "fun for a week, then shelved" type games.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by hukarez

Well, seeing as it's been a couple of days or so, I'm guessing you guys have put quite a bit of time into the game. No changes on the impressions, or any other updates? I'm hoping this game won't be another one of those "fun for a week, then shelved" type games.

I only put another hour or so due to being tired after work. The game definitely requires a lot of active thought, at least to play it the way I want to play it. I'm off for a three day weekend with Mrs. Eaglesfan being out of town

However, as a result, I plan on putting quite a lot of time into the game this weekend. I'll have more impressions either Saturday or Sunday.


Edit: I definitely don't think it will be a play for a week and shelf it game, unless I just become too frustrated with my inability to balance the budget and prosper in the game, but I doubt that will happen.

[HerRealName]

Hukarez, I saw a used copy for sale for a whopping $5 yesterday. I can pick it up for you and sent it if you are interested. I was going to buy it for myself but it looks too similar to HOI II to me and I already own HOI II.

[hukarez]

Originally Posted by HerRealName

Hukarez, I saw a used copy for sale for a whopping $5 yesterday. I can pick it up for you and sent it if you are interested. I was going to buy it for myself but it looks too similar to HOI II to me and I already own HOI II.

Really? Does it happen to include the hefty manual and what not?

[hukarez]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

I only put another hour or so due to being tired after work. The game definitely requires a lot of active thought, at least to play it the way I want to play it. I'm off for a three day weekend with Mrs. Eaglesfan being out of town

However, as a result, I plan on putting quite a lot of time into the game this weekend. I'll have more impressions either Saturday or Sunday.


Edit: I definitely don't think it will be a play for a week and shelf it game, unless I just become too frustrated with my inability to balance the budget and prosper in the game, but I doubt that will happen.

Ahh, okay. That's what I wanted to hear. Sometimes I get a bit fickle at times, though the treasures are the ones I can always go back to time after time. I notice it's hard for me to 'get going' in any particular strategy game -- but once I do, it's usually a good thrill ride.

Have you guys tinkered around with that '1 gig of raw satellite' stuff? Is that included in the game, or something else that you're entitled to download from the website?

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by hukarez

Ahh, okay. That's what I wanted to hear. Sometimes I get a bit fickle at times, though the treasures are the ones I can always go back to time after time. I notice it's hard for me to 'get going' in any particular strategy game -- but once I do, it's usually a good thrill ride.

Have you guys tinkered around with that '1 gig of raw satellite' stuff? Is that included in the game, or something else that you're entitled to download from the website?

I'm fairly sure it is included with the game. I'm not an expert, but New Jersey seems to be rendered in amazing detail! The same with Louisiana and other states I've looked at. My goal for my first "real game" is to try to unify all the regions around New Jersey with NJ being the powerhouse of the group


Edit: One thing that this game does which I love: it prompts you to download any patches right when you first turn it on. I'm fairly sure that wasn't any additional map data, but just a patch. It certainly downloaded very fast on my cable modem.

[HerRealName]

Originally Posted by hukarez

Really? Does it happen to include the hefty manual and what not?

The manual was included. I picked it up at lunch today, if you want it just send me a PM and I can send it your way. If not, I may fire it up myself.

[hukarez]

Originally Posted by HerRealName

The manual was included. I picked it up at lunch today, if you want it just send me a PM and I can send it your way. If not, I may fire it up myself.

I'm going to go ahead and see if any of the places around me have this in stock, if not used, then new. More impressions would be nice, though Eaglesfan's impressions have undoubtedly piqued my curiousity.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by hukarez

I'm going to go ahead and see if any of the places around me have this in stock, if not used, then new. More impressions would be nice, though Eaglesfan's impressions have undoubtedly piqued my curiousity.

If my buddy is unable to come over (which is looking likely unfortunately), I'll be playing for at least a few hours tonight after the Vampire VIII thread has it's lynching today.

I also plan on playing for at least a few hours tomorrow. I'll post some more early impressions tomorrow afternoon/evening.

[Eaglesfan27]

My buddy didn't come over today, and I lost myself in this game for 5-6 hours. There are definitely periods where I felt much wasn't happening, but little things do keep happening that are cool. For example, I get a notice that a factory upgrade is complete or a new road is complete

I really enjoyed myself even though I let my cabinet handle most things because I was botching them so bad. I tried to control my taxes and spending myself, but I apparently was doing poorly as the approval rate dropped 6% in a month. So, I "unlocked" those things and thereby gave my ministers control. I told the relevant minister to focus on raising my approval rating. She hasn't gotten it to go up much yet, but she did get it to go back up a half of a percentage point. It was interesting how she did it. She raised taxes a bit, but used our surplus and the extra tax revenue to greatly improve education and healthcare. She also improved the social security payments.

Anyway, I had fun with NJ tonight. I'm in a scenario where NJ, Pennsylvania and Maryland are all battling it out to show who can improve the most, become the strongest, and win the leader's position when we vote on reunification in 18 months (well 16 now.) Pennsylvania started out with the best of everything, but Maryland and we are cutting into their margins of leading various indices by a bit.

[hukarez]

Wow. Sounds like this is a definite pick-me-up game.

From the impressions in the previous posts, it sounds pretty in depth. BattleGoat studios...you know, I've never heard of them before. Are they pretty efficient in delivering patches? I'm assuming you guys have already downloaded a couple or so already?

No glaring weaknesses/glitches of any sort?

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by hukarez

Wow. Sounds like this is a definite pick-me-up game.

From the impressions in the previous posts, it sounds pretty in depth. BattleGoat studios...you know, I've never heard of them before. Are they pretty efficient in delivering patches? I'm assuming you guys have already downloaded a couple or so already?

No glaring weaknesses/glitches of any sort?

It is definitely in-depth. I'm not a military buff, but this game seems to have a HUGE variety of units for the airforce, navy, army, and missiles. Of course, missiles have different payloads, different types of platforms that can launch them, and they will only fit in vehicles that will hold them. Want to build subs? you can do it! Want to build nuclear subs? You can do it! Of course, this is assuming that you have a naval base, that you are a country with enough technology or that you have researched the technology, and that you have enough money. There are also multiple types of each unit. There isn't just one fighter plane type, but dozens I think. Want to take out a loan to build some expensive equipment? You can do it, if your worldwide credit rating is high enough. Of course, you'll have to pay it back with interest. If you default, you will take a major hit on your worldwide credit rating. Want to issue Bonds to raise money? You can do it (and I think it is quite necessary.)


It is definitely a very in-depth game. In fact, I find that the map gets crowded frequently, but then I realized I can use filters to turn off certain things if needed. Also, you can really zoom in and that can be very helpful.

Battlegoat studios made one other strategy game that was fairly good if my memory is correct. They have joined forces with "Strategy First" which usually publishes good games.

Like I said, the game offers you the chance to download patches as you first turn it on. In a month's time, there have been 2 fairly nice size patches that have fixed a great deal of things from the release notes. They report that they are working on a third big patch.


As far as glaring glitches/weaknesses: I haven't seen any, yet. However, I still don't think I'm very far into a game. I've played several months and clicked on a bunch of buttons, and I haven't seen any Crash To Desktop. That is more than I can say for a lot of new releases. However, everything is so in-depth that I'm not positive if everything is working the way it is supposed to, but it looks right to me. Anyway, I'll be playing for a few more hours this afternoon/evening and will post more thoughts.


2nd Edit: I don't think I've mentioned this. I really like how the game can be either a turn based game or a real time game. The turn based game is quasi real time, but it works very well I think and I prefer turn based to real time generally.

[hukarez]

Wow!

I keep looking at the game's description on the EBGames website, and the scope sounds pretty incredible. I had tried Gary Grigsby's World at War game from Matrix games, and the interface and gameplay were something that I simply wasn't used to. I know Fritz was all up into it (perhaps he still is?), but after a good couple weeks or so, I pretty much gave up. Very time consuming -- but not in the 'good' way where I know what I'm doing, I suppose.

Any opinions on the diplomacy aspects of the game?

I'm under the guise that this is a game that will satiate my strategy fix until Civilization 4, and even then might be a game I'll continually play ever after Civ4's release in the future.

I'll probably pick it up later tonight, there's a used copy of it available at a place down my street. This game doesn't sound like it'll run on my archaic ThinkPad, but the effort made into compiling this sounds like it's paying off for you.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by hukarez

Wow!

I keep looking at the game's description on the EBGames website, and the scope sounds pretty incredible. I had tried Gary Grigsby's World at War game from Matrix games, and the interface and gameplay were something that I simply wasn't used to. I know Fritz was all up into it (perhaps he still is?), but after a good couple weeks or so, I pretty much gave up. Very time consuming -- but not in the 'good' way where I know what I'm doing, I suppose.

Any opinions on the diplomacy aspects of the game?

I'm under the guise that this is a game that will satiate my strategy fix until Civilization 4, and even then might be a game I'll continually play ever after Civ4's release in the future.

I'll probably pick it up later tonight, there's a used copy of it available at a place down my street. This game doesn't sound like it'll run on my archaic ThinkPad, but the effort made into compiling this sounds like it's paying off for you.

They released a patch to make the diplomacy more balanced, but it still seems hard to get anything set up. There are an amazing amount of options of things you can offer, but the AI is greedy! I wanted a simple mutual extradition agreement with Maryland for any criminals that crossed the border, but they countered with the mutual deal and asked for a 200 million dollars!

I said no, but offered them some of my excess Timber (worth about 10 million dollars) and they refused that counteroffer.

Also, I've received occasional offers from "the World Marker" which is a political and economic force that can monitor your actions, levy sanctions against you, and even give your opponents military units if you upset them. I've bought several things from them including some advanced missiles, but they usually request 3 times the monetary value. I bought a few dozen missiles valued at 80 million dollars and ended up paying 240 million!

I also played World at War and I liked it, but so far I like this better. I'm still not sure about long term playability. However, after the WW VIII vote, I'm heading upstairs to play this tonight


Edit: I love the technology tree which is rather deep.

[hukarez]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

They released a patch to make the diplomacy more balanced, but it still seems hard to get anything set up. There are an amazing amount of options of things you can offer, but the AI is greedy! I wanted a simple mutual extradition agreement with Maryland for any criminals that crossed the border, but they countered with the mutual deal and asked for a 200 million dollars!

I said no, but offered them some of my excess Timber (worth about 10 million dollars) and they refused that counteroffer.

Also, I've received occasional offers from "the World Marker" which is a political and economic force that can monitor your actions, levy sanctions against you, and even give your opponents military units if you upset them. I've bought several things from them including some advanced missiles, but they usually request 3 times the monetary value. I bought a few dozen missiles valued at 80 million dollars and ended up paying 240 million!

I also played World at War and I liked it, but so far I like this better. I'm still not sure about long term playability. However, after the WW VIII vote, I'm heading upstairs to play this tonight


Edit: I love the technology tree which is rather deep.

Mutual extradition treaty for criminals crossing the border?

How many types are there? Wait...I'll find out myself. Screw it, I'll head out right now and pick this sucker up..

[Eaglesfan27]

I hope you end up liking it. There are a very high number of options for treaties. You can offer just about anything, about 15-20 diplomatic treaties, military units, military unit plans, land, any of your 11 commerce types, cash, etc.

It's very deep, but like I said, I'm still unsure if I'll like it long term.

I'm still working very hard to figure out what is happening in some of my games.

[hukarez]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

I hope you end up liking it. There are a very high number of options for treaties. You can offer just about anything, about 15-20 diplomatic treaties, military units, military unit plans, land, any of your 11 commerce types, cash, etc.

It's very deep, but like I said, I'm still unsure if I'll like it long term.

I'm still working very hard to figure out what is happening in some of my games.

You're quite right about the depiction of places with the maps. I actually found my city, and my old residences playing in the Southern California areas. It seems interesting, and I think once I get a firm understanding of the game mechanics, as well as the interface alone, I think I'll be fine.

A visit to their official website, browsing their forum boards, and your impressions finally won me over on picking this one up. Managed to snag the last copy, as well as the Makai Kingdom guidebook that I've been meaning to get in one shot.

As for the depth of the game -- I can already see it...it'll probably be a good idea for me to read the manual, something I hardly do with PC games these days!

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by hukarez

You're quite right about the depiction of places with the maps. I actually found my city, and my old residences playing in the Southern California areas. It seems interesting, and I think once I get a firm understanding of the game mechanics, as well as the interface alone, I think I'll be fine.

A visit to their official website, browsing their forum boards, and your impressions finally won me over on picking this one up. Managed to snag the last copy, as well as the Makai Kingdom guidebook that I've been meaning to get in one shot.

As for the depth of the game -- I can already see it...it'll probably be a good idea for me to read the manual, something I hardly do with PC games these days!

The maps are amazing, and they are done to scale! In the scenario I'm playing each Hex is 8km, but in a larger scale the hex sizes will be different. However, they have the distance from Atlantic City to Philly just right

[Eaglesfan27]

Another nice thing that I discovered tonight: You don't need the CD to play the game! Assuming that this game runs on my laptop, it just became a must add for road trips

[Cringer]

This sounds like a game I would love. Going to have to see about getting this in a month or so when I have the extra change.

[Eaglesfan27]

I'm having a lot of fun tonight with it again.

In my scenario, it's Pennsylvania vs New Jersey vs a Maryland-Delaware conglomerate that was already united at the beginning of the scenario.

Well, the first few months were somewhat boring with everyone building up. I kept my borders strong, but my reserves stronger. This scenario was a 20 month scenario and the goal was to get the "World Market" which is sort of like a more potent UN to vote for me as leader by the end of the 20 months to rule the three states when they were unified. The other way this could be accomplished was to conquer the other 3 states capital.

Anyway, about 8 months in Maryland-Delaware shocked me by attacking Pennsylvania's southern border. Pennsylvania has the highest population and therefore the larger military reserve by a good amount. Well I've been watching them beat up on each other for the last 3 months and they have killed about 40,000 on each side! Sounds like it will be time for me to jump into the fray soon

Oh yeah, I'm not sure what makes it so the "World Market" approves an attack on a neighboring nation, but my bar for Pennsylvania is getting long so that indicates the world would be reasonably okay with my attacking PA soon Time to mobilize those reserves.

I would stay peaceful, but both nations (Pennsylvania more so) seem to be gaining in the projected polls for the reunification vote.

I've been building up a nice airforce at my main airforce base (Fort MgGuire?)and quite a good number of ground troups at my main army base (Fort Dix?) I lived in NJ for enough years that I should be more certain of the names. In any case, it's quite cool that they have all of the real positions of bases and names, etc. I wonder if the scenarios for Italy, other parts of Europe, and other parts of the World are as accurate

[Cringer]

Sounds very cool, and now I must start to collect my pennies, because seeing a new post by you Eaglesfan just made my desire for this even greater.

Just a thought about the approval for attack, maybe it has something to do with how one nation-state/region is acting. Maybe they are using weapons that the world does not like or something else along those lines. I am very interested to find out myself soon..

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Cringer

Sounds very cool, and now I must start to collect my pennies, because seeing a new post by you Eaglesfan just made my desire for this even greater.

Just a thought about the approval for attack, maybe it has something to do with how one nation-state/region is acting. Maybe they are using weapons that the world does not like or something else along those lines. I am very interested to find out myself soon..

You definitely have to be careful not to use weapons that the world doesn't like. You can use biochemical or nuclear weapons (if you have the funds to research them and build them) but the "World Marker" will become very upset if you do that.

I think they are raising my approval to attack PA because PA has been bullying me a bit and refusing to trade me any of their ore and other valuable resources even when I make fair offers.

[Eaglesfan27]

Oh yeah, just researching Nuclear weapons can cause a major hit in your reputation at the World at large. Also some non-weapon technologies can upset the world (such as cloning), but other technologies can improve your world standing (such as improved antibiotics.)

[Cringer]

sooooo cool. i usually do not like demo's because it is just a tease, butI think I will download it right now.

[hukarez]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

Another nice thing that I discovered tonight: You don't need the CD to play the game! Assuming that this game runs on my laptop, it just became a must add for road trips

Are you serious?

Wow, this is definitely a keeper for me. Now, on to the manual...

[hukarez]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

The maps are amazing, and they are done to scale! In the scenario I'm playing each Hex is 8km, but in a larger scale the hex sizes will be different. However, they have the distance from Atlantic City to Philly just right

I admit -- the initial layout of some screens (not having zoomed in) was a bit daunting in the beginning, but I'm sure with a little more patience and understanding that I'll be able to follow through.

It's strange, having my city research certani industries -- though I admit, everything I try to get them to build some kind of building or what not, I have a hard time figuring out which industry/commercial building is associated with what city, and/or if such relationships even matter.

It's probably explained in the nifty manual, which I'll probably get to reading for kicks.

This game is turning out (if it hasn't already) to be one of those "came out of no where" titles that some niche players may like.

[Galaril]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

I'm having a lot of fun tonight with it again.

In my scenario, it's Pennsylvania vs New Jersey vs a Maryland-Delaware conglomerate that was already united at the beginning of the scenario.

Well, the first few months were somewhat boring with everyone building up. I kept my borders strong, but my reserves stronger. This scenario was a 20 month scenario and the goal was to get the "World Market" which is sort of like a more potent UN to vote for me as leader by the end of the 20 months to rule the three states when they were unified. The other way this could be accomplished was to conquer the other 3 states capital.

Anyway, about 8 months in Maryland-Delaware shocked me by attacking Pennsylvania's southern border. Pennsylvania has the highest population and therefore the larger military reserve by a good amount. Well I've been watching them beat up on each other for the last 3 months and they have killed about 40,000 on each side! Sounds like it will be time for me to jump into the fray soon

Oh yeah, I'm not sure what makes it so the "World Market" approves an attack on a neighboring nation, but my bar for Pennsylvania is getting long so that indicates the world would be reasonably okay with my attacking PA soon Time to mobilize those reserves.

I would stay peaceful, but both nations (Pennsylvania more so) seem to be gaining in the projected polls for the reunification vote.

I've been building up a nice airforce at my main airforce base (Fort MgGuire?)and quite a good number of ground troups at my main army base (Fort Dix?) I lived in NJ for enough years that I should be more certain of the names. In any case, it's quite cool that they have all of the real positions of bases and names, etc. I wonder if the scenarios for Italy, other parts of Europe, and other parts of the World are as accurate

I lived in in Korea and Japan for eleven years and can say that the maps for at leasts those countries are as accuarte as the US maps.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by hukarez

I admit -- the initial layout of some screens (not having zoomed in) was a bit daunting in the beginning, but I'm sure with a little more patience and understanding that I'll be able to follow through.

It's strange, having my city research certani industries -- though I admit, everything I try to get them to build some kind of building or what not, I have a hard time figuring out which industry/commercial building is associated with what city, and/or if such relationships even matter.

It's probably explained in the nifty manual, which I'll probably get to reading for kicks.

This game is turning out (if it hasn't already) to be one of those "came out of no where" titles that some niche players may like.

The layout of some screens is still daunting to me at times. As I mentioned, this game definitely has a high learning curve. However, having invested 10 plus hours, I'm starting to get much more comfortable with all of the controls and finding this game to be quite enjoyable (I've played for the last hour or so since waking up and am going to play some more.)

Oh yeah, I'm quite serious about not needing the CD. I just hope the use of the CD key doesn't prevent me from installing on my laptop because it is already of the main computer (but I doubt it will.)

[Barkeep49]

When the game first came out I read a few reviews that mentioned several issues, such as a faulty diplomacy model, that would make it so I wouldn't really enjoy the game. When I went to the 2010 website I had trouble finding a patch. Has the game been patched? If so is there a readme someone could point to so I could see what work they've done?

[hukarez]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

Oh yeah, I'm quite serious about not needing the CD. I just hope the use of the CD key doesn't prevent me from installing on my laptop because it is already of the main computer (but I doubt it will.)

Have you figured out what that 4 digit 'launch code' thing is for? Multiplayer, maybe?

[hukarez]

Originally Posted by Barkeep49

When the game first came out I read a few reviews that mentioned several issues, such as a faulty diplomacy model, that would make it so I wouldn't really enjoy the game. When I went to the 2010 website I had trouble finding a patch. Has the game been patched? If so is there a readme someone could point to so I could see what work they've done?

Took me awhile, but I think I've found it:

EDIT: (cleaned up copy from HTM to RTF) 2 Updates, 4.00.11 and 4.00.12
UPDATES

Check this section after installing future updates for details on changes to Supreme Ruler 2010.

4.00.115/11/2005

New Mission(s) Included with Updates

--> “German Advance” – Defend the Polish homeland against a fierce German attack.

Map Updates

--> France map updated – naval unit changes, Some regional relations updated

--> Canada map updated - removed unsupplied power plant

Unit Additions/Changes

--> More than 20 new units were added to the Equipment List.

--> Some Artillery unit specifications were balanced.

Feature Improvements

--> Added more factors to Diplomatic Relations/ Civilian Approval Ratings / Belli Ratings / World Market Approval Ratings:

--> Fixed minor Road-Building graphics issue

--> Remainder of Unit Training implemented

-->Added Amphibious Specialty icon to unit build lists where the unit has this Specialty

These lists generally show “Target Type” (the type of target the unit is such as “soft target” or “mid-air target”).

The lists also show if the unit fires “indirectly” and now show if the unit is “amphibious”.

--> Territory lost w/no supply' now only news for land, not sea

--> Improved some multiplayer AI diplomacy interaction routines

- AI Rulers now accept Military equipment offers

- AI Diplomacy regarding treaties improved

--> Missile Defense Initiative (ICBM Interception) improvements

Game Improvements

-->The World Market panel in the user interface is now disabled if there is no World Market in the map. (For example, this will happen when playing the World Map.)

-->Added Graphics Mode fallback (resolution/bit depth):

If you try to run a game in a resolution that your system is not designed to handle Supreme Ruler 2010 will select a more appropriate lower resolution.

--> Low-end systems now default to lower bpp (bits per pixel) on first start AND low-res unit graphics setting now reduces memory use

If you install SR2010 and the update and run it for the first time after also downloading this update low end systems will default to run using lower graphical settings.

4.00.125/26/2005

New Mission(s) Included with Updates

--> “White Sands Project” – Stop the nuclear test planned by New Mexico.

Map Updates

--> North America: Updated a few rivers in the North America scenario.

--> British Isles: Added city (Dougrie) to an island in Scotland in the British Isles scenario to add supply to an ore mine.

--> Canada: Fixed city names in New Jersey and Canada scenarios.

--> MidEast: Updated a few "Belli Bar" ratings for Turkey against other regions in the MidEast Scenario.

--> Europe: Minor unit research additions.

--> Germany: Minor unit research additions.

--> Oceania: Fixed capital location for Philippines region.

Unit Additions/Changes

--> More than 20 new units were added to the Equipment List.

--> Some unit specifications were balanced: helicopters and fixed wing aircraft.

--> Unit picture addition: Combat UAV.

Feature Improvements

--> New GUI Element - State Department - Pick a region - In Panel 2, choose button named "Current Relations".

In this new third panel you will see the following:
- Diplomatic Rating,
- Civilian Rating,
- Causus Belli,
- Treaty Integrity Ratings and
- World Market Ratings

There are two columns each under a region's flag. The first flag is your region, the second is the region you are viewing. The first three ratings are views directed towards the other region. Read the tool tip to see exactly what each bar represents. (For example, under your flag you will see how your people feel about the other region AND under the other flag you will see how their people view your region.)

The last three bars are regional ratings and are not views of the "other" region but are indicators about the region. (For example, under your flag you will see the Treaty Integrity Rating for your reigon and under the other flag you will see the same rating for that region.)

--> Added mid-air refueling, though must be managed by player

--> Added TAB hotkey - 'center on last event hex'. Pressing the TAB key will move you to the area related to the latest "green" status line entry.

Game Improvements/Fixes

--> Adjusted AI weighting of diplomatic offers. Now the AI is more receptive to accepting diplomatic offers. Diplomatic views of your region are still used to determine if a trade will be accepted. Now the AI will reject or occassionally send a counter-offer back to your region. Use the new State Department Panel 3 (mentioned above) to determine what regions will likely trade with you.

--> Fixed AI Land Trades Bug. The AI will no longer give away it's entire territory.
--> Fixed Bug in 'View Deployed Missiles' when picking silo.
--> Fixed Treasury/Resource lobby option bug on save game loads. This bug caused a treasury multiplier effect on each load of the savegame, in addition to the effect at the initial start of a game when resources were set to a higher than default level.
--> Fixed possible error if *.GMC file is missing for savegame (this will happen if the file is manually deleted in windows)
--> AI surrender changed to 'elimination style'. Previous AI surrender would hand over land to another region. Now will elimination code in place an AI region will simulate a fallen government where the region will be divided by surrounding regions.
--> Fixed minor graphic issues with Victory screen on campaign save reload
--> Fixed issue with different region names showing with saved games
--> Fixed issue where no 'loading bar' gets stuck after failed load
--> Fixed how cancelled units remained in reserved 'unit count'
--> Corrected issues with low fuel aircraft taking off too early
--> Email message regarding incursions on allies corrected
--> Fixed 'boycotts on Campaign carryover'

--> Improved cabinet performance/approval bars; also in MP (mulitplayer) save
--> Fixed bug with firing missiles from gas-fueled units
--> Air units now reset 'pause conditions' upon landing
--> Unit construction queue scrapping on surrenders fixed
--> Fixed rare refresh crashbug in Bonds panel
--> AI Diplomacy changes - response messages, counter-offers, etc
--> Greater use of AISTANCE lobby option
--> Difficulty level affects starting integrity levels
--> Fixed issue with unsaved Refugee Immigration details
--> Fixed issue with Diplomacy popup 'old data' in new game
--> Fixed issue with 'counting active research projects'
--> Large numbers of Research Centers have diminishing benefits/speed for research
--> Capped some quantities in WM unit giveaways/sales

--> Hidden start date in lobby option.
--> Fixed issue with Unilateral Treaty Breaks / Email sequence

--> In-game mute now only affects in-game sounds

--> AI will now deploy and use initial missiles stock.
--> Game supports greater selection of pre-set game resolutions
--> Work-around for the latest NVidia graphics driver bug completed.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Barkeep49

When the game first came out I read a few reviews that mentioned several issues, such as a faulty diplomacy model, that would make it so I wouldn't really enjoy the game. When I went to the 2010 website I had trouble finding a patch. Has the game been patched? If so is there a readme someone could point to so I could see what work they've done?

It has been patched twice so far (another one is on the way.) I'll see if I can find my readme to point out everything they've done.


I just had a massive 3 way war (actually I'm in the middle of it) and it's great fun! The AI is fairly smart. I had built up a huge Army that was bigger than either Pennsylvania's or Maryland-Delaware (mainly because their Armies had been battling for 5 months) and I was just about to attack Pennsylvania when Maryland declared war on me!

I was trying to figure out why did they do that? It soon became obvious. I was able to take over Philly after 5 days of tense fighting without too many casualities, but as I tried to progress west, Maryland started working my new southern borders. Now, I'm fighting them both at once and as a result Harrisburg, PA is a pain in the neck to take over. They have good terrain benefits, and they have enough entrenched troops that I just can't take them out. Especially, since I have to protect Philly from Maryland-Delaware which has an impressive Navy and a still some good army troops.

Lots of fun. Oh yeah, I can't imagine trying to control all of these troops on my own. There is just too much chaos in war. However, I think the General that I hired is doing a great job of forming battle plans. After we took over Philly, he went for all of Pennsylvania's power plants and now they are facing critical energy shortages which is curtailing their ability to build troops and is also upsetting their citizens

I just hope I can hold off Maryland's counterattack.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by hukarez

Have you figured out what that 4 digit 'launch code' thing is for? Multiplayer, maybe?

I'm assuming that that it has to be MP, but I don't know for sure.

[hukarez]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

I'm assuming that that it has to be MP, but I don't know for sure.

Sweet.

Okay, I'm probably missing the most obvious thing, but this is starting to bug me:

I had started a game (S. California), and thought I'd save it as my first saved game. I could've sworn that I had it set to 'turn based' as opposed to 'real-time', but for some reason, when I loaded up the game, it was set to 'real-time'.

My first play at the game seemed to be turn based, and I've been trying to figure out how to switch it from real-time to turn based again.

It's probably just a simple button right there on the interface, but do you happen to know where? I also checked the menu/game options, and didn't see anything relating to TB or RT.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by hukarez

Sweet.

Okay, I'm probably missing the most obvious thing, but this is starting to bug me:

I had started a game (S. California), and thought I'd save it as my first saved game. I could've sworn that I had it set to 'turn based' as opposed to 'real-time', but for some reason, when I loaded up the game, it was set to 'real-time'.

My first play at the game seemed to be turn based, and I've been trying to figure out how to switch it from real-time to turn based again.

It's probably just a simple button right there on the interface, but do you happen to know where? I also checked the menu/game options, and didn't see anything relating to TB or RT.

The "turn based" game is actually a real-time game that pauses ever 12 hours of game time (or whatever period of time you set it to end turns at.) Therefore, there should be a "end turn" button on the left hand side about midway down the screen. This is also where the "pause, slow, fast, and extra fast" time settings are. That button automatically switches between those time buttons and the end turn button appropriately.

When you load the game, it will tell you if you have it set to turn based or real time. Unfortunately, you can't switch back and forth during the game (as far as I can tell.) Just re-read your post more carefully. If you did somehow switch from real-time to turn-based or vice versa, I'd love to know how to do it.

[Eaglesfan27]

This is going to sound stupid, but are you sure you saved it? You can't save it until after you've done one turn (which confused me) and I actually hadn't saved my first game, even though I thought I had.

[Eaglesfan27]

With three relatively evenly matched military forces, I'm really getting a sense of attrition in these battles, and I'm enjoying it. My general will use some hit and run tactics and then retreat to repair the armor or restock the infantry platoon. However, my war effort has hit a big snag as we are out of Petroleum and the world market isn't quite selling us enough to keep everyone happy. As a result, I've had some of my tanks become sitting ducks

Now, I just have try to hold onto enough land and last for 4 more months until the reunification vote is scheduled. Right now, I lead 53%, Pennsylvania has 25%, and Maryland-Delaware has the other 22%. However, that could change quickly if I lose all of the hard earned land that I have gained and most importantly if I lose Philly.