Active Reviews

Written by Edward Hankins

Your enemies just seized two of your outer ring planets, your resources are down to dangerous levels, all you have are your attack ships and two transports loaded with troops ready to wreak vengeance in the name of their commander. When crisis is drawing down upon your head and it is all falling apart, do you have what it takes to seize control and lead your forces to victory? In Matrix’s latest title “Supremacy: 4 Paths to War” you will have this chance and many more.

The concept of “Supremacy” is similar to most other space sims; you must maintain both your civilization’s economic and military needs while projecting your empire’s power; but in “Supremacy” the strategy does not stop there. You must also explore space, acquire vital resources, invest in technology, and create trade routes. “Supremacy” places you as the head of one of four Commanders, each representing a competing faction, and each with his or her own strength’s and weaknesses.

The game takes place on a 3D map that shows you the universe at your fingertips. The map shows all planets, ships, space stations, etc. In the lower right corner is star map menu. Here is where you can end your turn, return to the main menu. The graphics in this game are best described as Spartan, and they will surely win no accolades. But as we all know strategy games are not about fancy graphics but about substance; and “Supremacy” really packs the beef. As with most games of this genre you have to manage multiple facets of your empire: the economy, the military, the diplomatic. First let us talk about what seemed to me to be the most important aspect of the game.

The economic side in “Supremacy” is crucial to master for anyone to stand a chance at winning. You must collect a variety of resources to keep the war machine running; this is accomplished by conquest. Resources are needed not only for building units but for maintaining units as well. There are five resources you must manage: gold, ore, crystals, food, and fuel. Without these resources your empire will literally grind to a halt. All of your resources can be monitored by the menu that runs across the top of your screen, it shows your current supply of a resource and this turns production of resources.

Resources can only be obtained by building factories on your colonized planets. As you conquer planets and build factories you will find that there are a variety of different planets each with its own unique properties. Class A planets are lush and vegetative, food production is always higher on these planets. Class F planets are frozen tundras, though rough for life they are rich in crystal formations. Class C planets are volcanic thus supplying them with an abundance of fuel. The final planet type is G, these planets are packed with Ore. During the game it will be beneficial to colonize one of each planet type; besides securing yourself with a solid resource base, once you have colonized all four you can begin construction on the Battle Cruiser, the most awesomely powerful unit in the game.

Each planet has its own economy and production superstructure; here you will be able to assemble factories, conscript military units, and construct space ships. When you have just colonized a planet it is necessary to construct a factory; factories are used to extract resources from the planet. The more factories you have, the more resources you can extract from the planet. By building additional factories you only increase resource production, you do not increase the speed in which units are constructed. All planets can safely handle up to four factories if you build more you risk a total planet meltdown.

Along with factories, you can also produce your military and space units from the planet menu. When building a space ship you are given a variety of models to choose from; you can build attack ships, transport ships, and science vessels. When you click on a vessel you will receive a complete profile; the menu will show the ships costs, its attack and defense properties, and a brief synopsis of its uses. If you have the resources necessary to construct a ship it will be completed on that turn and you will be given a square to place your ship adjacent to the factory. The spaceship will only become available for use after waiting for one turn. In the planet menu you can also choose to produce military ground units. These units defend your home planet, colonies, and space stations. To move these units you must use a transport vessel, and each vessel can only transport so many units.

The last factor of your economy to deal with is your research costs. Research is vital to the game, but you must choose carefully what you wish to research because it can be very expensive. Research in this game is conducted in a rather unique way; at the start of each mission there are unmanned space stations placed around the map. By moving your science vessel adjacent to station you will take control of it and you can commence research. Each station can only research one upgrade and if you lose control of the station you will lose your hard-earned upgrades. Once you have familiarized yourself with the supply side of the game it is now time to expand your empire.

Combat in “Supremacy” takes place both in space and on land. Combat in space is very simple, you just select a unit that still has a turn left and move it adjacent to your intended target. After it has been moved you will then select attack, and if you are next to your enemy the battle will commence. By clicking on your vessel you can find out exactly how much health you have, your units rank, and its attack and defense points. As your vessels participate in more battles they will be upgraded in rank; this will increase their attacking and defending bonuses in battle. While it only takes 4 battles to upgrade to the second level, it takes 16 victories to obtain the final elite ranking.

Combat on the ground is very similar to combat in space, only like the name suggests it occurs on the ground. To move ground units into combat it requires the use of space transports. Move a transport adjacent to a friendly planet and click on transport units. Each transport only has so much space and this is represented by a grouping of boxes representing storage space. Single infantry soldiers take up only one slot while tanks and artillery will take up much more space. Once your transports are packed and you have created some escort attack vessels, it is time to launch an invasion. Unloading troops is nearly identical to loading them; just move adjacent to an enemy planet and click on unload.

Once your troops are unloaded and on the battlefield it is time to position them for attack. Each unit has differing attack, defense, and movement characteristics, for example sniper must have a direct line of fire to be effective. By clicking on the unit you bring up where it can move (some terrain is impassable), represented by blue-boxes. Once you have moved your units into range, you can launch an attack. There are several elements to factor in when attacking. It is first wise to use your veteran units in the front, let them bear the brunt of the action, but switch them out to avoid losing an elite unit. Artillery is an integral part of your attack but it must be protected with infantry; also you should use your tanks loaded with infantry and snipers as mobile action forces, to quickly suppress an outflanking maneuver. Terrain also plays an important role in any military situation; always use it to your advantage. Attacking downhill and bottlenecking the enemy into impassable regions are both ways to use nature to your benefit.

If you chose a wise military strategy then you have just conquered your objective and you are the new owner of new inter-galactic real estate. As the attacker though, if your attack is going poorly and you wish to pull out you can order a general retreat from the call ship menu. Once this order has been issued a portion of the map will glow green, this is your evacuation zone. By moving troops into that zone, on the turn’s end they will have returned to the transport.

The first mission in the game is set up very simply. In your quadrant of space lay only your home planet, your opponents planet, and a small frozen planet you will use for colonization. You start the game with a few combat ships and a science ship. Immediately with the science ship you should set off to take the two research stations at the far right of the map. This will allow you bonus research towards a variety of technologies. At home you should also begin to prepare an invasion army to seize the frozen planet near your home world. So your first production should be your snipers and melee soldiers, these soldiers are not only cheap to produce, they also take up little capacity allowing for several to support each other in battle.

Once you have captured the frozen planet you can turn it into a colony with all the abilities as your home world. It also has the rare advantage of new troop units and ships Now that you have two colonies you should have one concentrate on creating an invasion force while the other creating a space fleet to protect your colonies and your troop transports. Usually the enemy will offer small ship on ship battles in early turns of the game; but by the sixth turn, baring a large military operation of your own,) expect your enemy to attack you fleet an attempt to wrestle control of your colony from you hands.

The best defense in these situations is a strong offense, if you have a strong enough fleet you should be able to hold your enemy at bay and prevent him from reaching your home world or your colony. If for some reason your fleet is defeated or you have dedicated most of your resources to ground troops you will find yourself slugging it out in a land campaign. If you become engaged in a land battle, use your troops produced from the frozen planet. They can better withstand the climate and have advantages over your enemy.

The strategy I have found most successful in the first mission is a type of military feint. Start the game as usual and rapidly colonize the frozen planet. After building factories there start to produce various troops; as you play more often, you will learn which grouping of soldiers best suits your general strategy. While this is going on use your home world to produce transports and a few escort attack ships; also produce a few artillery units and some melee soldiers. On the frozen planet you should build their attack space vessel along with tanks and infantry. Now using your transports gather your forces from both planets and station them near your home world with a light escort. Deploy the rest of your ships at the frozen planet waiting for your enemy’s armada to approach. Once his freighters have arrived engage them with your ships; your main strategy here is to delay your enemy, but outright destruction is fine as well. Now that his main armada is engaged you can sneak your force to his home world and attack. Usually he will have left only a token force to garrison the planet that can be over run with the right military hardware. When you attack your enemy hit him hard with your artillery to weaken their defenses; then strike the final blow with your tanks and infantry. With any bit of planning you should come out of the first mission with two new planets in your empire.

For a relatively cheap game that you can download instantly this game is a definite winner. Though lacking in graphics and sound effects it more than made up for in solid gameplay and replay value. Science fiction fans and war sim fans alike will find this title very pleasing.

Go back to the Supremacy: Four Paths to Power page.

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