Supreme Commander

Supreme Commander Profile Preview - Cybran Characters and World

The future isn't a pretty place according to Supreme Commander's story. This upcoming real-time strategy game from THQ and developer Gas Powered Games is set a couple of thousand years in the future, at the tail end of a conflict that has lasted so long that it's called the Infinite War. Humanity's galactic-wide empire has split into three warring factions, and you'll be able to lead any one of them. What makes Supreme Commander different from most real-time strategy games, though, is its scale. The battlefields in the game are hundreds, and even thousands, of square kilometers in size, which means you'll have to exercise strategic skill to outmaneuver and defeat your enemy.

Supreme Commander's three factions are the United Earth Federation, the successor to the Earth Empire; the Cybran Nation, a race of cybernetically enhanced humans; and the mysterious Aeon Illuminate. We've already covered the history, characters, and units of the UEF, and we're continuing our look at the Cybran Nation with background information on some of the characters and the homeworld that make up the faction. Supreme Commander is scheduled to ship in 2007.

Cybran Characters and Worlds

Dr. Gustaf Brackman
Leader of the Cybran Nation
Age: 1,304

As we learned in our previous preview, the central figure in Cybran history is Dr. Gustaf Brackman, the cybernetics expert that created the "twining process" that merged an artificial intelligence with a human host. With that breakthrough, cybernetically enhanced humans known as symbionts became possible. Superior to regular human beings, symbionts quickly rose to positions of power throughout the Earth Empire. However, fearing a revolt, the government ordered a secret loyalty program installed in each symbiont. Of course, as the empire crumbled beneath its sheer size, symbiont worlds rebelled and were put down.

Though Brackman made his breakthrough in 2592, he's still around 1,300 years later (thanks to some really futuristic technology), and he remains the leader of the Cybran Nation. That's not to say that the UEF hasn't tried to knock him off. However, all assassination efforts have failed, and they only pushed Brackman into becoming an even more determined foe. Brackman's location is unknown, though the Cybrans fled to the outer reaches of known space to escape prosecution. From there, free from the loyalty program, they've flourished, and Brackman continues his battle to free the rest of his cybernetic children.

Ivanna Dostya
Elite Commander
Age: 37

Compared to the ancient Brackman, Ivanna Dostya is a mere 37 years old, but she is one of the elite commanders of the Cybran Nation. She actually used to live on Earth as a subordinate symbiont, kept under control by the secret loyalty program. However, a commando raid rescued her and brought her back to Cybran space. Freed from the loyalty program, she rose through the ranks of the Cybran military with a stellar service record and a reputation for success. Dostya currently serves as Brackman's military aide, a duty that keeps her away from the battlefield.

Minerva:
Terrain: Wetlands

In the history of Supreme Commander, humanity colonized hundreds of worlds across the galaxy. (The problem was that Earth tried to exercise control of all those worlds, and that was a major cause of the Infinite War.) Minerva was one of these worlds. However, this promising Earth-like planet turned out to be a nightmare in disguise. Various colonization efforts failed due to destructive weather, an inhospitable and even dangerous ecosystem, and disease. It was so bad that records of the planet were erased and it was forgotten. However, Minerva is now home to a secret Cybran base.

Gamespot