Paradox to release Supreme Ruler 2020 in June-08

[George Geczy]

Hi all... I've been a bit negligent in not visiting Apolyton a bit more often, to pass along info and news on our new title, Supreme Ruler 2020.

To those that may not be aware yet, Paradox Interactive is the worldwide publisher for SR2020, and here's a few updates on its release schedule:

- North American Retail and GamersGate (digital) release scheduled before the end of June, 2008.
- Localized European releases shortly after in German, French, Spanish, and Italian.

While there are a lot of changes between this version and our original game, Supreme Ruler 2010 that was released in 2005, there are some particularly significant changes:

- All scenarios play on a full-world map. All countries are always part of the game, even if the scenario is designed for them to be a passive observer of a regional skirmish.

- 'Super Sandbox' mode allows free form, open-ended gameplay starting from nearly any region worldwide.

- Graphics are considerably improved, with the use of 3D units and greatly increased satellite imagery resolution.

- User interface has been streamlined, more minister assistance is available, and much more.


Our latest developer diary is at:

https://www.worthplaying.com/article.php?sid=51262

There are also a number of screenshots posted there.

I've noticed that in a couple of other threads on Apolyton there are some Apolyton users that have added SR2020 to their 'anticipated games of 2008' list - thanks everybody for the support!

I'll post updated information here as it becomes available, including a link to our demo when it is released in June.

Questions or comments? Please ask!

-- George.
- Lead Programmer, BattleGoat Studios

[Protra3211]

Its great to see you post here in Apolyton.Been following the develoments of Supreme Ruler 2020 and it looks like you have add many new options that strategy fans have been looking for in a geo political sim.
The Super Sand box mode has been given a thumbs up in some of the previews.From what I have been reading it will allow for much more freedom of play.Many settings before starting.I would want a more open ended game where diplomacy is central and building up of froces would be done over a long time.A waitng game -a chess match.

[George Geczy]

Thanks Protra, we definitely have made the 'peaceful game' one of the options (or, peaceful until you decide to pounce!) As well, we've separated the difficulty levels into three (military, economic, diplomatic) to allow more customization of the game play.

-- George.

[George Geczy]

For those looking for more information, there have also been some Press Previews posted after we demonstrated Supreme Ruler 2020 at GDC in February:

http://www.worthplaying.com/article.php?sid=50115

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/supremeruler2020/news.html?sid=6186300&om_act=convert&om_clk=newsfeatures&tag=newsfeatures

http://pc.ign.com/articles/854/854061p1.html

http://play.tm/wire/click/1785533

[Main_Brain]

Gamespot Link doesnt work.

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/supremeruler2020/news.html?page=1&sid=6186300&tag=result;title;0

[George Geczy]

Originally posted by Main_Brain
Gamespot Link doesnt work.

Thanks - their URLs are a bit unusual, I garbled it somewhere. I have edited the post to fix it.

[Protra3211]

I think some details(posting screenshots) on a test game would help us understand what changes you have made to make a better game. But of course I understand if there is not time now.Maybe near the release of SR2020.
Sales of Civilization 4 were helped alot doing this as many wanted to see if the thiings that were lacking in Civ3 had been changed.
On your main site I feel your fans will be asking for this soon.

[George Geczy]

We haven't had as much chance to update screenshots and AAR's onto our own web site, but Paradox has released quite a boatload of screens to various gaming sites.

Paradox has also posted some information and screenshots on their own 'official' SR2020 site, at:

https://www.paradoxplaza.com/SupremeRuler2020/

We'll be posting even more info soon, of course, plus there is a gameplay movie going to be posted soon.

-- George.

[DRoseDARs]

One thing I find rather amusing (and ultimately moot, it is a game after all) is the touting of using NASA data for the map. Apparently, NASA hasn't updated it's maps since at least the 1960's if the Aral Sea in Central Asia or Lake Chad in Africa as represented in the game are any indication...

[George Geczy]

Touting the NASA imagery is one of the things the marketing people like so much (personally, I love the detailed battalion-level combat model, and one of the other team member's has the diplomacy model as his favorite, etc etc)

But that being said, since I was the lead on merging the NASA dataset into the game, I can't help but comment

The NASA satellite imagery we're using was obtained by their recent Terra MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) Satellite, and processed in 2005 under their "Blue Marble - Next Generation" project. The imagery data is at a raw resolution of 500 metres per pixel, and using some custom compression and tiling systems SR2020 is able to use the imagery at pretty well full resolution.

Here's information on MODIS:

http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/

So yes, some parts of the world have changed even in the last 5 years that the data was obtained, and as we found out while we were doing the original game, SR2010, many parts of the world change significantly throughout a single year... there are some lakes in Iran that are huge in one season and completely dry in another, for instance. So we pick a season (northern hemisphere spring, as it turns out) and we go with it.

Some people have also said "no big deal" to our use of satellite imagery since we're not "the first" to do it - many games have used some form of satellite imagery background or world view. However, we are the first that I know of to use over 1.5 GB of raw .5 km resolution imagery streamed into a real-time game. I'm rather proud of the technical achievement, even if it is really, as you say, just one element of what is after all a game...

-- George.

[DRoseDARs]

Both of those previous pictures I posted were printed in articles from September 2007 and are still fairly accurate depictions even in 2008. 2007 - 1973 = 5 years? 2007 - 1960's = 5 years? You got some funny math there boy...

Those aren't subtle, seasonal changes on minor water features. They were prominent bodies of water that have been utterly devastated by decades of abuse over-diversion of water for agriculture. The countries whose borders crisscross them are desperately trying to save them. And as global temperatures rise evaporating more water than can be saved, conflict is assured, which kinda relates to the premise of this game, no?

From MODIS (showing 1973, 1987, 1997, 2001):


In 2008, the situation has not improved. Rest assured, Lake Chad is still that small blue glob off on the side of the basin, though smaller still.

As for the Aral Sea, well, pretty much the same thing.

From Wikipedia (.gif animation showing the shrinkage over almost 50 years, from 1960 to 2008):


I don't have a problem with you or your game, and look forward to getting it, but I just wanted to point out the rather glaring error in the representation of those two almost-extinct bodies of water that are heavily relied upon (too much so, as decades of abuse can attest to) by multiple countries in a warming world. Next to oil, scarce fresh water resources are generally agreed to by experts to be the other major impetus for future conflicts in the 21st century. Again, it fits the premise of your game.

And again, as it's just a game, don't stress at all about them. In real life, just don't plan any trips to Central Asia or Saharan Africa anytime in the next few decades and you'll be fine...

[George Geczy]

I actually quite enjoy looking at Supreme Ruler and seeing where it parallels the real world and where it does not. (For example, for the design of SR2010 we projected that the price of oil would triple from the then-$20 a barrel to a whopping $60... it's only 2008 and we're already at double that ! )

In my earlier comment I did forget one element, and it should have hit me earlier. After looking at Lake Chad in the game and in our source NASA imagery, I was reminded of the fact that our process also included one extra step - to make bodies of water (lakes, major rivers) more defined and visible in the game, we over-layed the 2005 NASA imagery with a USGS (United States Geological Service) DEM layer (Digital Elevation Model). This DEM data is older than 2005, I don't have the exact date but it may in fact be 10-20 years old.

That part of the process would have revised marshy or dried up lake areas to look like solid blue water to be more easily identified for gameplay purposes.

All part of the fun of making a game based on the real world

-- George.

[DRoseDARs]

And just think of the fun you'll have in making Supreme Ruler 2100 when the world's oceans will be 100m higher than they are now. Just don't base that game's maps on data from 1990...

You mention the price of oil going up up up. My stepdad gets a monthly oil check (family farmland back in Illinois had oil discovered years and years ago before I was born) that went from something like $50-$60 a few years ago and now it has just about reached $500, probably next month's if not the one coming in the next few days. We live only a mile from his job and he teases his co-workers every time the price of oil goes up, the bastard.