E3 2015 Day 3 Recap PT 2 – Supernova, Bandai, Siegefall, and Relics of Gods!

Bandai Namco
 

 
Supernova

Its hard to believe that Supernova has gone through four more alpha phases in the short time since our first look video. Even harder to believe is that these alpha phases have added a tangible and rather massive amount of content, bug fixes, and polish, rather than just being a marketing gimmick. I assumed otherwise until sitting down for fifteen with Producer Jason Schaefer, who you only need to ask to be blasted by his ultimate knowledge of just how much Supernova has improved.

Supernova is now just one more alpha phase away from a much more open “closed” beta test, and the game is shaping up nicely to be ready to meet the wider expectations of gamers. For starters, they’ve pumped up the roster from 12 Commanders, the hero units of this MOBA, to a total of 19 with the carry caster cyborg Velandre as the newest. There’s even more on the dev server, but they’re pacing out their releases to be one month apart, coincided by additional skins and army themes.
 

 
Beyond unlocking commanders, Supernova is pushing more RPG progression elements in the form of faction leveling. Profile progression is now attainable towards the Human and Cyborg faction. Both level individually to unlock unique units, unit slots, and unit research. Special Alliance Ability slots (think summoner skills used to control your RTS-style units) and Technology slots can be gained from this growth as well. Your forces supply will increase from progression in each faction. All these tiny additions should add up for more satisfying progression while grinding out unlocking new commanders.
 

 
The store is now available in-game as well, allowing you to purchase just about anything you’d imagine in a MOBA, from commanders and skins, to faction themes and units, to techs and accessories, and the progression boosters that are now staples throughout the genre. Based on community feedback, new alliance abilities are being tested too. Army Attack allows you to focus your surrounding units on a single target, whether it be to spike an opposing commander down, or ignore opposing minions to rush down the last bit of a tower health. Army Guard is the second new alliance ability, letting you pause the progression of your units at a certain location. The obvious use is to hold off an offensive assault by keeping your minions within the protection of your tower. Though since the two lanes on the primary map push at varied times, a secondary use is to hold back a stockpile of units, before pushing into both enemy towers with an overload of units at the same time! Vice-versa, March increases unit movement speed by 60% for a full 30 seconds, when your allies need backup, or for those last ditch final lucky pushes.
 

 
Features are now in place to improve the quality of life of the alpha testing, that the game was seriously lacking versus the competition without. Players in a rush to game, or who worry about having time to finish a full game can no queue for a co-op 5v5 battle against medium AI. The population is now high enough to properly support duo-queuing in regular PvP matches as well. Full team queues are planned, but not until the larger beta phase begins. Chat has been expanded to include after match lobbies between teams and private messages to people outside of your current match.
 

 
We’ve got alpha 6 codes up for grabs, so if Supernova’s RTS MOBA gameplay sounds sweet to you, don’t miss this test. A new and improved tutorial is now in place with bonus rewards to speed up progression for players that complete it. Special bonuses are in place for playing threshold goals before beta begins, including free commanders and skins, as well as an exclusive alpha profile pic.
Keep an eye out for James’ upcoming video in addition to check out the improved and smoother gameplay straight from the Bandai booth.

Continue to J-Stars Victory, Saint Seiya: Soldiers’ Soul, and Sword Art Online