Supreme Ruler 2020 Developer Diary #3 – The World is Your Sandbox
While some of the maps in our first game, Supreme Ruler 2010, had as many as 30
regions involved, most maps only had between three and ten regions in play. As it
turned out, the bigger maps with the larger number of regions turned out to be very
popular. There was a desire by many players to play longer games, experiencing
diplomacy and the challenges of good government over the span of many in-game
years. The early design of Supreme Ruler 2020 expanded the region limit to 64, and
used a system of ‘regional blocks’ to help divide up the world and keep things
manageable for the engine – it was important for us to maintain the ‘no limits’ design of
SR2010 that allowed for big maps and big armies. As we began implementation of this
new system, we discovered that with some adjustments we would be able to support
over 200 regions – which would be enough to allow us to simulate all the existing
countries in the world at once.
The result of this change is one of the biggest new features in Supreme Ruler 2020, our
new ‘Super Sandbox’ mode. In the world maps that we are including with the game,
there are between 180 and 253 independent regions. We’re shipping with two primary
maps – “Shattered World”, and “World 2020”. The Shattered World map is based on the
game storyline of economic and political chaos, where instability and collapse cause
the decentralization of the major powers. Players can choose to start in an American
state or Canadian province, a divided Russian or Germany, or political hotspots such as
Kosovo and Tibet. The alternate map, World 2020, simulates a world much as it is today
– play as the United States superpower, resource-rich Russia, ambitious China, or work to
turn around struggling economies in smaller African or Asian regions. When you aren’t
actively engaged in a war that demands all of your concentration, you can pursue any
number of diplomatic relations and trading opportunities.
The ‘whole world’ maps of Supreme Ruler 2020 also allow us to significantly improve the
commodities market system that has been an important part of the Supreme Ruler
design. The new market is a closed system, meaning that goods such as oil and food
are only available to purchase if other regions are willing to sell them. The fact that the
modern world uses more uranium than it mines becomes more than just trivia when your
country’s nuclear reactors need to shut down due to raw material shortages. As
demand increases or supplies dwindle, prices will go up. An over-supplied market may
cause prices to fall, leading to a decision to subsidize your production to keep industries
active, or shut down unprofitable facilities and take the economic hit of unemployed
citizens.
Diplomacy also becomes of greater importance, both for trade and for treaties. Even
seemingly inconsequential alliances could provide a strategic benefit that can be used
later on. You may be playing as the United States and as the game develops you
become aware that it will eventually lead to a showdown between your region and
either Russia or China; alliances that you might have made with European regions,
Japan, Taiwan, or even India could provide an incredible advantage – such as launch
points for surprise invasions... But you’re not limited to dealing with just significant
regions and if you have trouble arranging an alliance with them, you could instead look
towards Vietnam, Laos, Afghanistan or someone else to use as a staging area for Asia.
With so many regions involved, it is likely that you’ll find someone willing to deal with
you.
Whether playing a peaceful, diplomatic game or a military campaign across
continents, Supreme Ruler 2020 and its Super Sandbox design give players a level of
detail and scope that is unmatched in modern strategy games. Manage your military,
economic and diplomatic choices wisely and then maybe you can be Supreme Ruler
in the year 2020.
