In our continuing series of articles looking at Star Supremacy, we today have an article looking at the items in the game. Enjoy!
Equipment and items
Though Star Supremacy is a strategy game, it is based heavily upon RPG elements. As well as its key functions such as colony expansion and engaging fleet warfare, the game features unique equipment and items for players to find, use and exploit. As well as planning, it is key for players to strengthen their leaders and commanders in-game by finding these items.
The commanders, who are the spokespeople of players in the game, hold certain properties and abilities which play an important role in the development of colonies and strength in battle. Though commanders can be advanced through upgrades, their properties can also be enhanced through the use of equipment and items. The game features a lot of high-tech equipment for players, including basic items such helmets and rings which can be worn, and high-tech tools such as Gauss Targeters and Micro Computers which can directly enhance a fleet’s abilities in combat.
Equipment and items are mainly found as rewards from battle. The best quality items are found on the more high-risk planets. Players can keep battling to get better equipment, and find complete sets for their commanders. Equipment parts come in multiple levels of rarity and power. The higher the level is, the stronger the item. In order to obtain the best equipment in the game, players will have to explore many unknown planets.
Every commander can be equipped with eight different pieces of equipment, including four special ornaments that enhance their properties in combat. The property bonus of each piece of equipment is unique. For example, the Gauss Targeter can increase the efficiency of a commander, while the Micro Computer increases a commander’s charisma. Knowing what a commander’s needs are in different situations is key to using items correctly.
Commanders have five properties: charisma, efficiency, ingenuity, strategy and financial management. Each property has two important roles, for example, charisma increases the activity queue in a base and the upper limit of spaceships which can be put into battle, while efficiency values are used to accelerate the production rate of resources and reduce the fleet’s fuel consumption. Different properties play different roles. Overall, the properties lead to two game styles; bases construction and combat power. On one hand, if property prices are higher, base construction is faster, and strength is easier to accumulate. On the other hand, an increase of combat attributes provides greater offense and defense, and reduces fleet fuel consumption vastly, allowing battle and trade routes to sustain for longer.
The ornaments a commander possesses can be directly involved in battle. They can greatly enhance powers in different and unique ways, such as increasing the effects of particular weapons or even recharging a leader’s energy in the midst of combat! By using ornaments, Commanders have a more permanent combat capability, low-level weapons have a stronger damage value and high-level weapons will have a wider utility. Even a single ornament can even turn the tide of a whole battle, especially in disadvantaged conditions where their role is even more evident.
The in-depth equipment system reflects Star Supremacy’s extensive world and strategic gameplay. It encourages players to actively hunt for better items, and in doing so create a stronger commander, and more forbidding empire.
