Race differences

My biggest worry is how the races/factions will be different (if any are different)

While I'm cool with SC/SC:FA style cosmetic differences (and a unique unit here and there) it would be even cooler (but more difficult!) to have completely and essentially different factions (such as SC2)

There are no factions. As far as we know, every player can use anything any other player can, with the exception of certain backer commanders.

And in that case the only difference is the commander.

If there ever were sides in the conflict all of their units are the max of what technology can create, effectively creating 1 side.

I like how you didn't even take the time to read the Confirmed features and suggestions thread, in which it's clearly stated that there's not going to be multiple factions:
{R} Multiple factions: #1 #2

More units in one faction and more cool features, rather than 3 factions imo.

i'm sure mods will add factions after release anyway.

Also to the OP do note that FA Factions were different beyond cosmetics, every unit that could be found in more than 1 faction as still different from the rest.

Mike

the race difference are different colors by each player ;D! Problem?

Beware the Blue faction

While that is true the differences didn't run as deep as say SC2 which is truly asymmetric. For instance the other races have nothing like a marine. Only Zerg has anything like an infestor.

SupCom had "here is a UEF T2 medium tank. The Aeon tank hits a bit harder, moves a little faster but is weaker". So they all sort of fitted the same roles with some minor changes.

Just feel like pointing something out.

They havent said no too more then one faction, they have said no to more then one unit pool, theres a difference.

Its allmost the same thing, but not quite. It just means that if they include more then one faction they will use the same units, and any differense will only be visual or story wise.

Just pointing out that this is a thread about races, therefore explicitly about the unit pool.
Uber's already pretty much said each commander is its own 'faction'

They have mentioned "factions" 6 times including 1 in the first message, so either your wrong or they are using the wrong term and thats the reason i pointed it out.

You're using factions like ideological factions.

By and large, factions in RTS means technological factions... what Dalante is calling the unit pool. Which we know there is one in PA (commander variation notwithstanding).

Can we stop being pedantic, and just accept a common label for the concept?

Then just use "unit pool", otherwise someone thats asking about factions (Even if they are just visualy different) may be given false information.

dalante is correct

each individual commander is considered to represent his own faction and is thus the leader of that faction, imagine it as a civil war, do you consider the different sides, who use the same weapons and technology to be different races? or the same race just different factions?

faction as distinct from races describes:
1. A group of persons forming a cohesive, usually contentious minority within a larger group.
2. Conflict within an organization or nation; internal dissension

Age of Empires uses one unit pool + special 'race/faction/whateveryoucallit'-specific units, every factions has a skirmisher and spearman, but not every faction has a Cho-ko-nu

Supreme Commander 2 has multiple unit pools, UEF doesn't have hovering tanks like the Aeon Illuminate and the Cybran nation doesn't even have tanks at all...

Faction/race/side - interchangeable terms for a set of units based on who you choose to play as. In most RTS games this has defined what strategies you can and can't use. In TA and to a slightly lesser extent in SupCom, this has just defined what strategies your chosen army is slightly better at.

I haven't played StarCraft past ten minutes on the demo, but would it be a worse game if every player had access to every unit?

Using the admittedly ancient Red Alert as an example (the first one, because it's the last non-TA RTS that I know in detail), I think that access to every tech would just open the doors to more strategies - Russian heavy and mammoth tanks are still balanced against the cost of Allied light and medium tanks so where's the problem in having access to four tanks instead of two? Every type has its optimal situation after all.

I say yes, mostly because the design really focusses on making the three races as different as possible, which makes playing each race a different experience. Also, mixing the races can create some really overpowered unit combinations, so the game can also get away with more powerful stuff without being broken.

Having gotten a chance to play the prealpha, I don't think super differenting races are key. What they've got already is such a cool prealpha, that if the mechanics and interface and such are polished, I would love it personally without the race differences.

It would probably be even better with assymetrical races/factions a-la SC2, but that may be biting off way too much, as that sort of gameplay is incredibly difficult to playtest, and the risk is that the game will be imba and unplayable, while with one main race/faction/techtree that is not a concern by default

actually it is very different, because with one units pool you can make multiple factions, the result is that, they will have less units count

for example the units pool is 6 kbot, 6 vehicles, 6 naval units, and 6 air units
divide them in two faction with 3 units, for each category