Supreme Commander Designer Diary #2: Worlds and Characters of the UEF

Upon first glance, Supreme Commander may look like a traditional real-time strategy game. In it, you'll gather resources (in this case energy and mass) and use those to construct huge armies and navies. The big difference, however, is in the scale of the game. Supreme Commander is a game that thinks big, and you'll battle on maps that are thousands of square kilometers in size, giving you room to maneuver your forces like a real general.

We're continuing our look at the three factions in Supreme Commander by examining the backgrounds of two of the main characters in the game, both of whom fight for the United Earth Federation. We also have background information on two of the UEF's main worlds. This info comes straight from the designers at Gas Powered themselves, so you'll have a chance to get acquainted with the story and setting before the game ships next year.

The UEF is the successor to the ancient Earth Empire, and its goal is to once again reunite mankind's interstellar empire under Earth rule. This means that the UEF is looking to defeat the Aeon and Cybran factions by any means necessary.

UEF Worlds and Characters

By Gas Powered Games

Earth
UEF Homeworld
Terrain: Paradise

The cradle of humanity, Earth has long held a nearly mythical place in the hearts of all humans.

Prior to the colonization of space, Earth was united under a cohesive governing body. As a result of that governance, the people of Earth enjoyed a long, golden age of peace and prosperity. With the advent of galactic space travel, Earth colonies were established across dozens of worlds. Those colonies gave birth to an interstellar empire, called the Earth Empire, which reigned unchallenged as the center of government and culture for centuries.

In the end, the Earth Empire buckled under the weight of its own inept bureaucracy and pervasive corruption. As the demands of the colonists and constant infighting further crippled the government, regional conflicts began to flare up, and eventually those conflicts turned into open, full-scale warfare.

The Infinite War has raged ever since.

(Check out a rotating image of Earth.)

Seton
Prime World
Terrain: Paradise

In the year 2284, the 16 Prime Worlds were colonized by the Earth Empire. One of those worlds, and the 11th to be settled, was the planet Seton. Classified as a "paradise" world, its environment, atmosphere, and weather were almost identical to those found on Earth.

Historical records from that era indicate that despite Seton's lush environment, life was particularly tough for the first human settlers. This was due in part to the settlers' general inexperience in creating colonies, but the lack of indigenous animal life larger than a small insect also played a role.

In order to address the colonists' dietary needs, DNA patterns taken from Earth animals were transported to Seton. Soon, not only were various forms of livestock present on the planet's surface, but there was also Earth corn, wheat, and soybeans. A random sampling of cargo manifests indicate that record amounts of grain were exported from Seton during this time.

However, after 15 years of problem-free life, the colonists on Seton began to die from a variety of maladies. Most medical records from this era remain sealed, but a scan of pharmaceutical-related cargo manifests demonstrate a substantial increase in medicines designed to combat such illnesses as pneumonia, Crohn's disease, and Burkitt lymphoma, among others.

Dubbed by the colonists as "Seton's Curse," the wave of illnesses quickly crippled life on the planet. With the death toll rising, Earth halted all imports and exports from Seton and quarantined the world.

Two years later, with fatality rates hovering around 50 percent, scientists discovered that a particular Seton-based mold, when combined with certain Earth fungi and foodstuffs, mutated into an "enabler" that suppressed or enhanced random immune functions. Both a treatment and vaccine were soon ready, and life on Seton returned to normal.

The most significant impact from the episode on Seton was the creation of strict protocols that governed the testing of a planet's potential health hazards and how and when off-world plants and animals should be introduced to a non-native ecosystem.

(Check out a rotating image of Seton.)

UEF Characters

C. Allen Riley II
President and EarthCom commander-in-chief
Age: 54

One overarching goal has dictated President Riley's 10-year tenure as president of the United Earth Federation: ending the Infinite War. Administrative records indicate that Riley hopes to achieve this goal by aggressively attacking the enemy along two fronts.

A data cull from UEF quantum communications reveals a distinct increase in the UEF-generated propaganda directed against both the Aeon Illuminate and the Cybran Nation. Said propaganda has resulted in substantial increases in the morale and allegiance of systems along the outer rim of UEF-controlled space.

In addition, an increase of 7.6893 percent of the UEF's annual budget has been directed to defense and military spending. Under Riley's authority, significant improvements have been made to all aspects of the UEF military, and the amount of money funneled into "black op" weapons has dramatically increased.

All available polling data suggests that Riley maintains a high degree of popularity in the eyes of both the civilian sector and the military. A closer examination of the data reveals that this is largely a result of Riley's spotless military record as a former UEF commander and his reputation for cutting through bureaucracy. Cross-referencing parallel polling data streams suggests that Riley's approval ratings are 12.0007 percent higher at this point in his presidency than any of his predecessors.

Unknown to all but President Riley's closest inner circle is the fact that Riley is now suffering from a degenerative spinal disorder. All medical records concerning the condition are outside the scope of this facility. However, information pulled from third-party pharmaceutical data streams indicates that Riley is consuming a large amount of painkillers.

Samantha Clarke
Rank: General
Age: 49

The daughter of Stephen Clarke, acknowledged hero of the battle of Nova Prime, General Samantha Clarke made a binding offer to join the United Earth Federation military at age 16 and enlisted on her 18th birthday. Early service records indicate Clarke volunteered for the least-attractive duties, demonstrating that she was determined to succeed without trading on her father's name.

As one of the youngest commanders in UEF history, Clarke fought in campaigns that stretched across numerous systems. Medical logs indicate that she was injured during the bitterly contested, nine-month battle for Scorpii 18; she was one of the few survivors to emerge from that conflict.

UEF security systems record two assassinations attempts against Clarke, both of which were initiated by the Cybran Nation. Both attempts met with failure and the capture of the Cybran agents involved.

The highest-ranking officer in the UEF, Clarke directs all aspects of the UEF's campaign from her war room on Earth.