As time ticks forward...

2004 - Beginning of Global Depression
2005 - Major Global Market Crashes
2006 - Countries have retreated into a Isolationist shell
2007-2009 - Depression continues and countries begin to disintegrate

The year is 2010...

The Major Powers of the world as we currently know them have disintegrated into bickering economic and military regions. The United Nations has disappeared, and in its place an organization with far sharper teeth referred to simply as "The World Market" has taken its place. Individual Regions are left to fight for power to dominate their neighbors, their countries, their continents, and then the world.

A Sampling of Features...

• SATELLITE IMAGERY - Maps use actual “Real World” imagery
• REAL-TIME or TURN BASED PLAY OPTIONS
• CAMPAIGN - Start in one of over 200 Regions World-Wide!
• MULTI-PLAYER SUPPORT FOR UP TO 16 PLAYERS
• EXTENSIVE ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL MODEL
• MAP AND SCENARIO EDITOR INCLUDED

GCM:	Please get us started by introducing yourself and telling us about BattleGoat Studios.
David Thompson:	My name is David Thompson and I am the Lead Designer and one of the Principals at BattleGoat Studios. We are a small development team that is dedicated to taking our time and perfecting our vision of what we want Supreme Ruler 2010 to be!

GCM:

BattleGoat took its time in finding the right publisher for Supreme Ruler 2010. How was it decided to go with Strategy First?

David Thompson:

Actually we made the decision to approach Strategy First after our visit to E3 in 2001. We looked at what publishers were doing and the types of games they were supporting and felt that Strategy First was one of the few North American Publishers that had the vision to look beyond marketing to 12 year olds. We didn’t immediately approach them after that, but we were comfortable that when the time was right, they would be our best fit.

GCM:

What was the driving force behind the decision to develop (or resurrect as the case may be) Supreme Ruler 2010?

David Thompson:

Our Lead Programmer, George Geczy first designed and wrote “Supreme Ruler” for the TRS-80 back in 1982. (At that time it was obviously just a text based strategy game.) In 1985 we got sidetracked from further development by opening a Computer Retail store (that distraction lasted 15 years). We had been talking about an updated version of Supreme Ruler since about 1992, and selling our store in 2000 finally gave us the ability to dive headfirst into the project. So the idea of resurrecting Supreme Ruler was always there, it was just the opportunity that was missing!

GCM:

Please briefly describe for us the basic premise behind Supreme Ruler 2010.

David Thompson:

The year is 2010… Recession, Political Isolationism, Disease, the most severe Stock Market Crash in history, and many other factors that are not alien to current headlines have lead to the countries of the world disintegrating into economic and political sub-regions. The UN, NATO, IMF, and most other international organizations have all disappeared. Out of their ashes has risen a new Multi-National organization, The World Market. Its primary goal is to ensure the re-creation of a “Global Economy”. It has created an environment that encourages the political sub-regions to seek expansion, whether Diplomatically, Economically, or even Militarily… Ultimately they want the world united under a common flag, regardless of the short-term consequences. Players begin a campaign in any region of the world they choose. Their objective is to grow their region in each subsequent scenario. An example of one campaign tree for instance begins in California. The first scenario is a four-region battle for control of the state. A reunification vote has been called for the near future and the player could choose to develop their economy and focus on their Domestic Approval Rating hoping to win the upcoming election and move on to the next scenario. However if you are notably trailing in the polls and it becomes clear you won’t win the election, you may just change your strategy and send in the tanks! The winning region in California would then go on to battle for the Western U.S., then the entire U.S. followed by North America, and then the world. We’ve even made the campaigns somewhat dynamic so that, based on player performance, any starting region might not necessarily always follow the same campaign tree. One of the really unique features we’ve incorporated into the game is the “flavor” that scenarios have. Battles over Western Democratic Regions have far higher emphasis on Domestic Policies and Approval Ratings than regions ruled by Military Dictatorships or Communist Regimes.

GCM:	Starting with diplomacy, how “smart” are the AI players when it comes to communicating with the player and understanding the implications of another nation’s actions?
David Thompson:	AI is always one of the biggest challenges in a game of this nature and scope. So far we are quite happy with the way the AI is shaping up and we will make sure that it is not a limiting factor to the realism of the game. Translation: The AI is very smart and we will make sure that it understands the subtleties of international diplomacy!

GCM:

And for the military end of things, what types of units will the players have access to and how much strategic control will the player have over these units?

David Thompson:

Currently we have about 900 unit types in the game, and this will continue to grow right up until release. No single region will ever have access to all these units. We limit unit availability to the appropriate regions in which you really would find it. For instance, the Merkava Tank is only available to Israel and likewise, the F-117 Stealth Fighter is only available to U.S. regions. The specific equipment lists that we are incorporating are: World / U.S. / Chinese / Russian / European / Special European / Israeli / and Japanese. As for the actual Strategic Control a player will have… It is as much or as little as you would like. I think the general tendency for players will be to control their units personally, but through the use of Generals and Military Leaders, you could also let your AI make field decisions for you.

GCM:

Finally, how involved will the economics system in SR 2010 be?

David Thompson:

I can’t think of a Strategy Game that has ever attempted as deep an economic model as we have implemented. Our commodity list includes eleven items: Agriculture, Ore, Coal, Petroleum, Uranium, Fresh Water, Electricity, Timber, Consumer Goods, Industrial Goods, and Military Goods, and the interlocking relationship with these items is quite extensive. Outside of commodities, you also control many Regional Tax rates (from Personal Income Tax, to Sales Tax, to Property Tax and more…) and these also have varying effects on the economic personality of your region. Additionally, you also control your Domestic Spending on such items as Health Care, Education, Law Enforcement, Infrastructure etc… And finally, not only do you have to purchase or fund the building of your military units, you also have to pay maintenance on them and pay the salaries of your soldiers! So as you can see, this is definitely not your typical chop trees, mine gold, build farms kind of economy.

GCM:

Considering the complexity of Supreme Ruler 2010, how are you ensuring that the average gamer will not feel overwhelmed by options and menus while not earning the scorn of hardcore strategy gamers who thrive on that very complexity?

David Thompson:

In the “Real World”, regions are not really run by ONE person. Every region has their equivalent of Cabinet Ministers and that will be no different in Supreme Ruler 2010. An AI Cabinet Minister will run each of your government departments. They will accept directives from you and implement policy based on your goals. In this manner, players need only dig as deep into “micro managing” their region as they want! The really intense strategy players will of course be given the ability to totally immerse themselves in the fine-tuning of their government, but the average player will just quickly issue a few priorities to the appropriate cabinet minister and then go off and give play with the tanks! Cabinet Ministers will also bring their own AI personalities into the game, and will have departmental specialties and of course their own quirks. And if they don’t seem to be doing a good job, they can always be replaced and even arrested!

GCM:

How will multiplayer matches be handled and how long do you anticipate the average match will last?

David Thompson:

We’ve been playing Multi-Player games now for almost a year. One of the unique elements to our development cycle is that we got Multi-Player working as a priority and use those test games to help us develop both the “rules” and the “AI” for Single Player. Multi-Player games currently work over LAN and Internet. We also do plan on adding support for an Internet Matchmaking service before release. As for how long a Multi-Player game lasts… Depending on the scenario and assuming the players are essentially equal in their experience of the game, a multi-player game can last between two and six + hours. Of course this also depends on how well diplomatic relations are maintained. It is possible that a game could go much longer but in our test games we have a tendency to try and backstab another player when we think they’re vulnerable and that does help resolve the game. Usually the first thing out of our mouths after we backstab our closest ally is “Well, it’s Supreme Ruler, not Supreme Alliance!”

GCM:

BattleGoat has opted to use satellite imagery in SR 2010. What degree of detail has been maintained and what else can you tell about the graphics in Supreme Ruler?

David Thompson:

Early on we decided that although satellite imagery is not as graphically pleasing as artist rendered terrain, it does add to the depth of realism we are trying to achieve throughout the game. (Our satellite imagery is courtesy of NASA!) As for the units, we have had comments that they don’t look too exciting… We actually don’t see this as a problem --- the units are rendered accurately! So no, Supreme Ruler 2010 isn’t a game you would consider for high eye candy value, but it will provide an engaging and entertaining experience.

GCM:

Looking into the future of Supreme Ruler 2010, will BattleGoat be providing the gaming community with “mod” tools and if so, how much freedom will these tools provide?

David Thompson:

We don’t have to look into the future very far; Supreme Ruler 2010 will include a Map Editor in the box. As well, players will be able to update/modify equipment lists, Cabinet Profiles etc. So I think it is pretty safe to say that the game will be VERY modable. People will be able to create scenarios for Mars if they really want to, however we will not be including a campaign editor, so although you can create individual scenarios to your hearts content, for additional campaigns you’ll have to rely on us! The down side of modability though is that quite often it provides an opportunity for easier Multi-Player cheating. We will be building in as many anti-cheating protections as possible into the game! (Editorial Rant --- Maybe it’s just me, but Multi-player cheating is VERY LAME! What’s the point? Either you want to play the game or you don’t… If you have to cheat to win, where is the satisfaction in that? You’re still admitting that you’re not good enough at the game to win!)

GCM:	Thanks for your time. Do you have any final thought that you’d like to close this Q&A with?
David Thompson:	It’s always a pleasure talking about our game, so thank you for the opportunity! I don’t really have anything further to add other than if people want to learn more about Supreme Ruler 2010, then they should visit our website (www.supremeruler2010.com) or if they have any additional questions they would like to ask, they are more then welcome to post them on our forum (www.bgforums.com).

---