R.U.S.E. - A whole S.L.E.W. of reviews

[CeeKay]

a new RTS from the guys who did Act of War:Direct Action, which emphasizes misdirection to confuse the enemy. It's supposed to have a game engine which easily zooms from the battlefield to the theater of operation and back again, which hopefully won't be just a nifty gimmick.

[kathode]

Can't hear that word without thinking of this:

Customer: Well, how about these two movies?
[Randal still never looks up.]
Randal: They suck!
Customer: I just held up the same two movies. You're not even paying attention.
Randal: No, I wasn't.
Customer: I don't think your manager would appreciate...
Randal: I don't appreciate your ruse, ma'am.
Customer: I beg your pardon?
Randal: Your ruse. Your cunning attempt to trick me.
Customer: I only pointed out that you weren't paying any attention to what I was saying.
Randal: I hope it feels good.
Customer: You hope what feels good?
Randal: I hope it feels so good to be right. There is nothing more exhilarating than pointing out the shortcomings of others, is there?
Customer: Well this is the last time I ever rent here...
Randal: You'll be missed.

[Blackjack]

I don't know if M.U.L.E., S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky and the like are a good naming tradition to continue even if those two games were pretty G.R.E.A.T.  I just H.A.T.E. typing game names that use P.E.R.I.O.D.S. like candy. 

I did in fact buy Act of War: Direct Action and loved the first few missions. Once it became the more typical large scale, massive base building, tank rushing, clickfest nightmare, I lost interest. But clearly I'm not the RTS target market.  AoW's ship-focused expansion had an interesting concept but didn't seem to do much interesting with it.

[CeeKay]

trailer.  pretty cool, but it really doesn't show much.

[Blackjack]

Hey, IGN just previewed the PC version from the GDC show yesterday:

GDC 09: R.U.S.E. First Impressions
Ubisoft's promising new strategy game blends real-time operational warfare with bluffing.
http://pc.ign.com/articles/966/966142p1.html

... it's like World in Conflict meets Supreme Commander, but Ruse isn't going for a fast-paced, action vibe. Instead, it's got an intriguing idea--based on poker of all things--that impressed us.

We didn't know what to expect when we walked into our meeting with Ubisoft, but we walked out impressed. R.U.S.E. is the kind of game that shows promise and innovation and, more importantly, it looks like it could be fun. It captures a sense of operational warfare that's been missing in most games, and you have to don your thinking cap while you play it. But at the same time, you can sit back and watch your units maneuver and win on the battlefield.

The whole Deception concept sounds pretty fascinating. God knows the RTS category could use something fresh, I hope it works out. 

I must say though, in a category where games that should be smash hits do Just OK (Company of Heroes and probably World in Conflict and Supreme Commander fall into that area) and a fair number of attempts at innovation just don't find an audience, and having Blizzard on your game box is probably the only sure-thing in terms of generating massive sales, it's probably got its work cut out, sales-wise. 

If I can find my copy of Act of War: Direct Action, I might break it out and do another [revisit] thread, it might give us some hints on what to expect from this if it's by the same devs.  [found it, maybe I'll give it a revisit over the weekend]

As I recall, the killer for me with Act of War, was *no* ability to pause and give orders in combat whatsoever (Pausing plops a big menu on screen and you can't direct anybody). Not a problem during the first handful of missions but once it becomes a more typical, large scale, "crap going on all over the map" type RTS, that lack of pause'n'orders killed it for me (otherwise I think it's a game I would've played for quite some time). But R.U.S.E. sounds like a different kind of RTS and it seems like maybe pause 'n orders won't be so critical in it.

[raydude]

As I recall, the killer for me with Act of War, was *no* ability to pause and give orders in combat whatsoever (Pausing plops a big menu on screen and you can't direct anybody). Not a problem during the first handful of missions but once it becomes a more typical, large scale, "crap going on all over the map" type RTS, that lack of pause'n'orders killed it for me (otherwise I think it's a game I would've played for quite some time). But R.U.S.E. sounds like a different kind of RTS and it seems like maybe pause 'n orders won't be so critical in it.

I am guessing (and hoping) that one reason why you won't need pause 'n order is because they may limit the ability to instantaneously change a units orders. For example, in a typical RTS you can make a unit do the "movement dance" by clicking to the left of it, then to the right of it, then to the left. The unit would move left and right instantaneously as soon as you clicked.

I am guessing (and hoping) that RUSE will be the first game since Command HQ where the unit takes a finite amount of time before it changes direction in response to the new move order.

I base this on the IGN preview that shows the "Deciphering" power that shows the movement orders for enemy units in a given sector. That power would be next to useless against an ADD player with mad clicking skillz because you'd see the movement arrows change every .3 seconds. But it makes total sense if the units take time to change their movement path.

It would be good to see this mechanic again in a mainstream RTS. I loved it in Command HQ and since then I've only seen it in hardcore wargames like "Highway to the Reich". It simulates the delays in the command chain and I would think it plays well with the RUSE overall theme of deceiving the enemy.

[Blackjack]

Nice analysis, you've almost convinced me to not worry about it. 

Hey, Gametrailers has a whole page full of GDC footage of this in action, much of it game demo footage:
http://www.gametrailers.com/game/11033.html

This one is a good primer for the game, and was helpful to me in grasping the basics:

R.U.S.E.: GDC 09: Gameplay Demo Pt. (Cam) 1
http://www.gametrailers.com/player/47228.html
He explains radio silence, and points to various things on screen.

I spent a lot of time going "Woah!" and "Wow!" watching the various videos - the engine's zoomability really is impressive. I might get dizzy from all the camera panning though. 

Thanks CeeKay for mentioning this one btw - I hadn't heard Boo about it at all, but now I'm really quite excited about it. 

Somehow, I didn't realize it's a WWII game until now!  Well, I don't think you could become truly invisible during WWII, but it seems to use WWII units and locations. I've gotta read up on it more.

I like that they've done away with the typical RTS " panel interface" so you're full screen pretty much always.

[raydude]

R.U.S.E.: GDC 09: Gameplay Demo Pt. (Cam) 1
http://www.gametrailers.com/player/47228.html
He explains radio silence, and points to various things on screen.
...
Somehow, I didn't realize it's a WWII game until now!  Well, I don't think you could become truly invisible during WWII, but it seems to use WWII units and locations. I've gotta read up on it more.

I like that they've done away with the typical RTS " panel interface" so you're full screen pretty much always.

Invisibility makes sense in the context of using radio silence and if the map is thought of as "positions of known enemy units". In this context the Germans in the Ardennes were "invisible" because the Allies didn't detect their presence, likewise the Japanese carriers en route to Pearl Harbor and the American carriers at Midway.

[raydude]

Nice analysis, you've almost convinced me to not worry about it. 

Heh, its still too early in development to not worry about it. I recall being all excited about Age of Empires III when I saw an early video showing unit formations and how different unit formations mattered. I was really disappointed when the final product showed that all cut out.

I worry that the "clicky-clicky action" crowd will yet make their influence felt on this game and it may devolve into just another cookie-cutter RTS. Or a cookie-cutter RTS with a useless gimmick.

[Blackjack]

I hope they do some sort of playable demo before release. I think this is something people will need to play (even just tutorials) to grasp its various concepts, otherwise they might be scared off of it.

What I can't quite grasp from the videos is - while you're at the campaign map level (zoomed all the way up so it looks like you're moving tokens around a wargame map/board) - is all the action still taking place at the zoomed in combat level "underneath" that, or does that all sort of pause while you're at the campaign map level?  Or is it always constantly going on, and do you have to constantly zoom in and out to keep an eye on what's happening.

If it's a hit, I could see them franchising the engine to death in every war scenario imaginable (from medieval up to sci fi stuff).

[raydude]

What I can't quite grasp from the videos is - while you're at the campaign map level (zoomed all the way up so it looks like you're moving tokens around a wargame map/board) - is all the action still taking place at the zoomed in combat level "underneath" that, or does that all sort of pause while you're at the campaign map level?  Or is it always constantly going on, and do you have to constantly zoom in and out to keep an eye on what's happening.

I looked at the gametrailer video Pt 3 and it seems as though the units are still moving, even at maximum zoomed out mode. The units do seem to be moving slower - but that could just be due to the differences in scale as one zooms out. I like that they use an Axis and Allies type of display at zoomed out mode - a figure (such as an army man or tank) atop a stack of disks representing the strength of the unit. I would hope that you can still give orders even at maximum zoom out mode. That would be great during the initial phase of a battle - when all you're doing is sending out probes to find the enemy. It would let me keep the big picture and figure out the main axis of attack.

[Blackjack]

Fairly informative interview from GDC by something called Games On Net:

Games On Net interviews R.U.S.E producer Mathieu Gerard
http://games.on.net/article/5391/Games_On_Net_interviews_R.U.S.E_producer_Mathieu_Gerard

The control scheme is... I would say, it's the zoom itself. It's the backbone of the interface. You zoom out, and see the strategic situation with all the enemy units and the active deception skill. When you zoom more, you can access your logistics and economy, build structures and capture resources, and produce units. When you zoom in even more, you can individually select units and place them.

It's really a game of placement, placing the right units against the right enemy units, using the right environment.

The control scheme: it's not a clickfest game, like some other RTS. You don't have to master the specific powers of a hundred different units.

You're going to use a pad, or a mouse, or anything to zoom in, zoom out, then you're going to select units based on proximity from the battle by directly clicking with the mouse. If you want to produce units, you're going to pop up a menu, either with the keyboard on PC or a specific button on the pad, browse it and create units.

[raydude]

From the same interview:

    Yeah, it's a fog of war, but it's an incomplete, and maybe biased, blurred fog of war.
    It's not binary like this very dark and then this bright area where you see everything –- it's somewhere in between.

Very nice. I hope this manages to make its way in the final version of the game. There are so many examples of WW2 battles that should have gone one way if only both sides had perfect information, but they went the other way because one commander blinked/lost his nerve and didn't believe he had the advantage. Its very hard to simulate that in an RTS where fog of war just means there's this big black cloud on the map.

Another difference in our game is scale. In some previous World War II RTS games, for instance, you'll fight on the Cotentin, and the map is usually something like 200m by 200m, maximum, on the beachhead. In our case, the playable map is Normandy.

Most excellent! I have happy optimistic visions of playing with my fellow commanders, trying to break out of the Normandy beachhead, capture Caen, hold Carentan, drive for St. Lo and Cherbourg, and the like.  All on one map! 

[Razgon]

just saw the trailers now, and I'm interested!! I need a good strategy wargame!!

[CeeKay]

new gameplay video.

[raydude]

Near the beginning you see 3 pershings take out some panzer IVs through what looks like a few trees and an orchard. So, I guess line-of-sight calculation doesn't take trees into account? If not, I wonder how they implement cover and concealment.

I'm hoping the "ruse" is not just a function of which cards I play but also how I plan my units movement. I should be able to use forests or mountains to screen my movements from my opponent, but seeing those tanks shoot through trees I'm not so sure.

[Blackjack]

Eurogamer hath previewed...
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/r-u-s-e-preview

[CeeKay]

a new screenshot gallery.  the air combat ones look pretty cool, and the concept art from the one ruse made me LOL.

[CeeKay]

here's a shot to get into the beta.

[Tals]

here's a shot to get into the beta.

Nice - cross fingers

[CeeKay]

tactics and strategy.  this is not the game to play if you're overly paranoid 

[CeeKay]

multi-touch!  if there was ever a game made for that it's this one, especially after that first trailer.

[CeeKay]

Beta is coming soon.

[CeeKay]

here's 600 beta keys.

[raydude]

Got mine. Or more specifically, registered to get mine via Steam.

[CeeKay]

just got mine.  I'm guessing there wasn't a big rush for these keys.

[ROTC1983]

Thanks Ceekay.  I have my key also

[Atragon]

As do I. It should be interesting to see if they've actually got a solid gameplay experience to back up the multi-touch, or if it falls short on a keyboard + mouse setup.

[Tals]

Sweet i'm in as well

[Kossak]

i have a key too and just downloaded the game from steam. We'lle see what is it all about

[Tals]

i have a key too and just downloaded the game from steam. We'lle see what is it all about

MP only so we need to get together, interface quite slick - not that impressed with no 1 v ai mode in the beta

[Kossak]

I played once, didn't see any revolution, but the game will be good i think. Though it's not kind of games i like to play - I prefer faster actions like in HoN . Sure we can try some games Tals, but as i see when you come to play i usually finish playing other games and start HoN . I'll send you invite when i see you online (and vice versa).

[raydude]

hey guys, I'm in the beta as well. I got tired waiting for someone to show up in the ranked 1v1 so please add me to your friends list: raydude. Shoot me an invite if you see me and I'll do the same.

[CeeKay]

looks like it's possible we won't see this until late this year/early next year. 

[CeeKay]

open beta startsMarch 9th.

[CeeKay]

the system requirements:

Minimum system configuration:
CPU: 2.8 GHz Intel® Pentium® 4 or AMD® Athlon™ 64 3000+ or higher
Operating System: Windows® XP (with Service Pack 3) or Windows Vista® (with Service Pack 2) or Windows® 7
RAM: 1 GB for XP / 2 GB for Vista and Win7
DVD-ROM: DVD-ROM speed 4x, dual-layer drive
Video Card: 128 MB DirectX® 9.0c-compliant video card (ATI® Radeon X1000/GeForce® 6 Series or better)
Sound Card: DirectX 9.0c-compliant sound card
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (included on disc)

Recommended system configuration:
CPU: 3.5 GHz Intel® Pentium® D or AMD® Athlon™ 64 3500+ or higher
Operating System: Windows® XP (with Service Pack 3) or Windows Vista® (with Service Pack 2) or Windows® 7
RAM: 2 GB (XP / Vista / Win7)
DVD-ROM: DVD-ROM speed 4x, dual-layer drive
Pants and Underwear with easy rear access
Video Card: 256 MB DirectX® 9.0c-compliant video card (ATI® Radeon X1900 series / GeForce® 7800 or better)
Sound Card: DirectX® 9.0c-compliant sound card
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (included on disc)

[Chaz]

Is the Ubi DRM in the beta too?

[CeeKay]

Is the Ubi DRM in the beta too?

lol, if it does I bet someone's already cracked it 

[Hamsterball_Z]

Is the Ubi DRM in the beta too?

Yep, it's listed in the system requirements.  4th from the bottom.

[Isgrimnur]

I saw a demo movie in GameStop a few months back.  Any interest I had in the game is now dead.