Supreme Commander Profile Preview - Aeon Illuminate Units and Structures

The real-time strategy formula basically requires you to gather some resources, build a base and then an army, and wipe out the enemy on the other side of the map. That's sort of the idea in Supreme Commander, as well, only the bases that you can build are huge, the armies you can raise are gigantic, and the maps themselves are humongous. There's a reason for this: Supreme Commander is seen as the heir to 1997's acclaimed Total Annihilation, a game that let you feel like a general commanding futuristic armies in the field.

There are three races in Supreme Commander: The United Earth Federation, the Cybran Nation, and the Aeon Illuminate. Over the past few months, we've taken a look at each of the factions, including their histories, their key characters, and their military units. To wrap things up, we take a look at the Aeon's war machines. When we spoke to creator and Gas Powered Games founder Chris Taylor earlier this year, he described the Aeon to us as the race that would "design the iPod if they could." We understand what he means now--the Aeon units are incredibly sleek by design.

Beneath their stylish exteriors, Aeon units tend to be highly specialized, and they usually have a single purpose on the battlefield. Some are designed with sonic-based weapons, while others are armed with gravity weapons. For protection, most Aeon units are equipped with powerful energy shields. Aeon units are powered by antimatter, which is both a powerful energy source and a potent weapon. In terms of tactics, the Aeon like to use the quick speed of their units to suddenly overwhelm an enemy. This is an army that likes to go on the offensive and can use mobility to its advantage, whereas being on the defensive usually means being fixed in place. We'll see the Aeon in action when Supreme Commander ships next year.

Aeon Units and Structures

Gunship
The gunship can deliver air support to Aeon ground units anywhere on the battlefield.
Width: 30.93m
Height: 10.63m
Depth: 31.75m

Torpedo Bomber
Naval combat is a big part of Supreme Commander, and the Aeon can take out enemy vessels with the potent torpedo bomber.
Width: 23.95m
Height: 4.49m
Depth: 22.49m

Land Factory
The land factory is a key military structure, capable of churning out a variety of Aeon units.
Width: 96.66m
Height: 49.84m
Depth: 96.66m

Naval Factory
Almost looking like a formidable vessel itself, the naval factory can produce attack boats.
Width: 100.07m
Height: 97.25m
Depth: 208.42m

Mass Fabricator
The mass fabricator, well, fabricates mass.
Width: 17.07m
Height: 21.25m
Depth: 17.07m

Mass Extractor
Energy and mass are the two key resources in Supreme Commander, and the mass extractor helps get mass.
Width: 23.49m
Height: 19.77m
Depth: 23.49m

Antiair Turret
Fixed air defense of Aeon bases is provided by the antiair turret.
Width: 20.01m
Height: 19.91m
Depth: 21.95m

Torpedo Launcher
Coastal defense can be provided by the torpedo launcher.
Width: 26.73m
Height: 11.17m
Depth: 26.48m

Engineer
The engineer is one of the primary build units that the Aeon rely on.
Width: 22.38m
Height: 12.19m
Depth: 20.62m

Attack Boat
The attack boat is nowhere near as large as the UEF and Cybran naval vessels, but what it lacks in size it makes up for in speed.
Width: 10.93m
Height: 8.2m
Depth: 28.76m