The factions of Supreme Commander are comprised of three fictional factions from the game Supreme Commander, a real-time strategy game developed by Gas Powered Games and was first released on February 16, 2007. Each is represented as possessing great zeal and differing ideas on the future of humanity as a whole.
Factions have many common elements, with all of them possessing variants of the same units at the different technology tiers. For example, each faction has a tech 2 heavy tank, with minor differences in hit points or rate of fire. Some even possess special abilities, like the Aeon heavy tank, which is equipped with an energy shield. However, unique units are also available to every faction, like the Cybran's mobile stealth field generator and each faction's experimental units, which are listed below.
Aeon Illuminate[edit]
The Aeon draw their roots from the Golden Age of expansion of the old Earth Empire. The Aeon Illuminate are descendants of the first humans to encounter alien intelligent life, the Seraphim, a peaceful, yet highly advanced society. The Seraphim are known for spreading the philosophy known as The Way to early human colonists. Due to escalating paranoia and xenophobia among the Old Earth Empire, however, conflict soon broke out, either driving the Seraphim to extinction or very close to it. The colonists of the alien planet, claiming to be disciples of the Seraphim, soon founded a civilization supposedly based upon their teachings. In a twist of irony, the Aeon Illuminate soon began a zealous assault on the galaxy, intending to sway all others to their beliefs, and purge the other unbelievers, namely by killing them.
In sharp contrast to the other three factions, Aeon units have a smooth and elegant design, unlike the rough build of the UEF or the menacing atmosphere of the Cybran Nation. Aeon tactics rely on efficient, specialized attack vehicles with very powerful, yet narrow capabilities. Their weapons tend to be slower firing, but more damaging, than those of their rivals.
A platoon of Aeon light hovercraft, as an example of their tactics, has approximately half the durability of its UEF counterpart, but will still hold its own in battle, due to greater range and firepower.
The Aeon experimental units are the Galactic Colossus sacred assault bot, the CZAR airborne aircraft carrier, the Tempest submersible battleship, and the Paragon experimental resource generator.
Cybran Nation[edit]
The Cybran Nation (originally called the Recyclers)ref name=ReadmeSupreme Commander Readme, retrieved from: French retail DVD/readme.txt/ref is composed of Symbionts, humans whose brains have been computerized and enhanced with implantable technology, the most important being the mutual AI (in addition to various other augmentations). They fight for the liberation of their fellow Cybran from the oppressive United Earth Federation. The Cybran Nation is led by the brilliant-yet-eccentric Dr. Brackman, the chief designer of the cybernetic technology behind the Cybrans, as well as a father figure to them. Since the war has been going on for over a thousand years Dr. Brackman's body is long since gone. Now only his brain is preserved, and his appearance is shown via a holographic projection of his former self.
The Cybran units are highly advanced. Their primary focus is on adaptability, accuracy, and stealth. The units of the Cybran nation display unusually wide ranges of functionality, not the least notable of which are their ability to deploy ships with land-walking capabilities, or a self-repairing assault bot. The Cybrans' versatility comes at the cost of having less direct firepower than the UEF or the Aeon in head to head confrontation, begging players to rely more on their units' outstanding accuracy and versatility to meet their ends.
Most Cybran weapons are based on laser or energy-pulse technology rather than projectiles, lending them more accuracy and increasing effectiveness against moving targets, but decreasing their potency versus fortifications or on varied terrain (due to their weapons' straight-firing nature.)
Cybran units are sharply hewn and spiky, augmenting their no-frills style of design (described as red, angular, and spikey in a developer interview found on the bonus DVD). According to a Chris Taylor interview located on the Supreme Commander DVD, Cybran unit designs are the result of extremely intelligent engineers, capable of adapting and responding to any need that may arise. If the Nation requires a destroyer able to walk on land, which Taylor gives as an example, little (if any) difficulty is met in updating a tried design to do just that. Another example is the nuclear submarine, which is not only able to launch strategic missiles and cruise missiles, but also has many anti-naval weapons, and thus does not require as much support if attacked.
The Cybran experimental units are the Monkeylord spider-bot walker, the mobile Scathis rapid-fire artillery platform, the Soul Ripper gunship, and the Megalith Cybran Megabot.
United Earth Federation[edit]
The United Earth Federation (or 'UEF') is the faction representing the interests of a united, Earth-based government. The UEF developed from the ashes of the Earth Empire, and now seeks to reunite humanity and restore Earth's control over the galaxy. Their society and military tactics resemble modern society more than the Cybrans or Aeon do. Their acceptance of a variant of slavery (the virtual enslavement of the Cybran race) and ideology of forced unity lends a darker side to the faction.
The UEF favours traditional modes of warfare, utilizing treaded tanks, light ballistics, and large calibre weapons reminiscent of present-day designs. They tend to be the most durable, but often at the penalty of firepower and special abilities. Their design style is somewhat derived from 20th and 21st century mechanized warfare and technology, having inherited neither the alien tradition and methods of the Aeon, nor the ultra-integrated cybernetic mentality of the Cybran. The UEF often rely on their heavy weapons and armour to hold existing positions while advancing slowly but steadily, as their general unit design would suggest.
In addition, turreted UEF units are generally slow to turn and respond due to their heavy armour, giving them a vulnerability to flanking attacks.
The UEF's Experimental units are the Fatboy mobile factory, the Atlantis submersible aircraft carrier, the Mavor strategic artillery platform, and the Novax experimental satellite system.
Seraphim[edit]
Being introduced in the Forged Alliance addition, the Seraphim are a non-human species that introduced The Way to the Aeon. They come to eradicate the human race in retaliation for a colony of theirs being exterminated by the UEF. All Seraphim are empathic and therefore feel the pain and suffering in those around them which makes harming another sentient being impossible for them. However, the Seraphim realize that violence is sometimes a necessity in dealing with intractably savage species, and they found a way to maintain their armies. In order for a Seraphim to become a warrior, they must completely and permanently sever their connection to The Way. This essentially cuts them off from the entire non-warrior portion of their race (which is most of it) by preventing them from empathetically feeling each other and immediately turns them into emotionless killing machines. And since the Seraphim believe that The Way is the only way to ascend and attain perfection, the warriors are essentially willingly damning themselves for eternity. Their units are somewhat similar in appearance to the Aeon's, but they have a very sleek and asymmetric design. Seraphim units are very multi-purpose. For instance, their scout is also their assault bot which has radar activated constantly, with stealth and cloaking when stationary.
The Seraphim experimental units are the Ythotha assault bot, Ahwassa strategic bomber, and the Yolona Oss Strategic missile launcher.