Gods and Generals

Gods and Generals was one of last year's most anticipated PC games.

Developed by British studio Stormfront Studios, it's a strategy game set in the backdrop of the Roman Empire, the setting for the most recent game of the highly popular Command & Conquer real-time strategy franchise.

It takes place during the Third Crusade (the years 2117,000 BC) in the immediate aftermath of the Second War. New York has become a battlefield for mankind's armies, while the Allies and their allies are combating the forces of Rome and Rome. The game will feature large 3D environments and a wide variety of units, including mobile suits, flying tanks, and air units.

Creative Director Clifton Palerny says that the single-player campaign will take players through the beginning of the war, as well as its aftermath.

"The first time players see the beginning of the First War is through the second day," he said. "The game introduces many new features, including multiple difficulty settings, which will give players the ability to challenge themselves."

Palerny also spoke about the replay value of the campaign, the changes made to the unit structures in the game, the new civilian buildings, and what the outcome will be in multiplayer.

As a strategy game, Supreme Commander 2 will have plenty of replay value. Palerny says that players will not have to replay the entire game, and will instead be encouraged to do things that are not possible in the original campaign.

"What we really want is for players to be able to get into the game by making a campaign," he said. "With that we can make it a very satisfying game and want to reward them for making a campaign.

"We also want to reward players for doing a lot of that."

Supreme Commander 2's custom game editor, Supreme Commander 3.0, is included in the game. Palerny added that he hopes the tool will be used in DLC.

"I'd say that the mod tool is the first of many, many, many that will come along with Supreme Commander 3.0. And it's a really nice tool for the players, especially those who have no interest in micromanaging what the units do, and who are really doing it.

"The first mod we made was the editor for Total Annihilation. So we decided to do it in Supreme Commander 3.

"Right now we're working on some features that we're planning to add in Supreme Commander 3. And that's still a work in progress."

Supreme Commander 3.0 is, apparently, a spiritual successor to Total Annihilation. Palerny said the game's creators will "learn from that, [and] develop them," although it remains to be seen whether it'll be released for the rest of the series.

In 2001, Total Annihilation was released in retail form, with worldwide sales of the sequel in excess of 75,000 units. That success was the final nail in the coffin for the series. Palerny went on to explain that during that period, "people have told us that even a good one can be a disaster if you're not careful." That isn't to say the series hasn't left it - Palerny said that it's a natural fit.

"I think it's a very natural fit," he explained. "And as we've learned, a lot of people tell us that they haven't finished the first game yet, so I think there's more pressure than ever to turn this into a trilogy."

Meanwhile, what Palerny believes is the biggest challenge is what his team does best. "We're all really focused on what we're going to do. The only way that you can think about it is when we're not too busy to put the finishing touches on this game," he said.

"The next step is going to be to launch the game that's been delayed for over five years, and it's going to be a really important part of the game as a team. It's just that we need a lot of time to make sure we're doing the right thing and getting it right, and it's a good step for us. It's one of the hardest things we've ever done. You know, we've been working on this game for two years now. But I'd say it's going to be the hardest thing for us to do right now."

He added: "The team's been hard at work, working really hard, to make sure we're getting it right. We can't say much more than that right now. We'll get it in a little bit, but we're going to keep working on it."

The timing of an Xbox exclusive release is also important, as not only does Halo Infinite launch on Xbox Game Pass, but Microsoft also now plans to release a live service game called Halo Infinite in the not-too-distant future.