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The Real Time Strategy Thread....
WhoAteMeDinner
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Now that it has been about five years since gaming journalists declared the RTS genre dead as a dodo. And given how gaming has split into two dull super-genres of retail FPS franchises, football titles and the freemium smartphone twaddle that has five-year-olds bankrupting their parents, they were sadly right.
So lets chat about any game you want from that golden era (1995 -2011) of RTS, from the first time you build thirty tiny NOD tanks in the original C & C and tank-rushed the enemy base to throwing your mouse on the floor when you lost your most magnificent capital ship in a game of Sins of a Solar Empire that lasted three earth years and 500 gallons of coffee.
Lets talk.....
So lets chat about any game you want from that golden era (1995 -2011) of RTS, from the first time you build thirty tiny NOD tanks in the original C & C and tank-rushed the enemy base to throwing your mouse on the floor when you lost your most magnificent capital ship in a game of Sins of a Solar Empire that lasted three earth years and 500 gallons of coffee.
Lets talk.....
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Well, for a start, you say 'two' dull super-genres but then mention three and, secondly, you'd have to be incredibly blinkered to believe that, anyway. There is far more to gaming genres than just those three.
Also, considering your initial gambit sounds like you want to prove the journos wrong - why not talk about current RTS games which are still going strong? Or the theory of evolution into MOBAs. "Deserts of Kharak" was only released a week or so ago and that's getting good reviews. Battlefleet Gothic and Total War: Warhammer are incoming... The RTS market share probably took a dip and scared off some big publishers, hence the latest C&C getting canned, but the genre isn't dead.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronology_of_real-time_strategy_video_games
According to that list there has only been one RTS published for consoles in the last 5 years. Ok, the format has always been heavily PC based for control reasons but still, it's not a good sign.
Going back to the OP, RTS was probably my favourite genre for about 10 years. The C&C series was one of my all-timers but there were so many classics (Age of Empires, Civilization, Warcraft, Total War).
Some of my favourite memories:
- Capturing the GDI airbase on the last mission of the Nod campaign and then using a helicopter to transport an engineer to take over their main production facility. Such a sneaky win.
- Spending most of the day at work formulating an attack strategy for a mission on Shogun Total War and then executing it perfectly that evening.
- Executing a mass nuclear attack on the last remaining enemy in Civ 2.
As you say, they never sold very well on consoles due to control/controller issues so it would be hard for a big publisher to risk it but there are indie RTS games out there. It's by no means a dead genre, it's just settled down a bit.
Reading this post prompted me to search for info online about it - it's available open source
I understand the genre is not totally dead, but the big game developers and publishers have pulled back from it and not sure if small independent developers can make an epic game, which is the distinction between an RTS and a tactical war game.
Loved C&C so much, such a shame that series is dead. I think C&C and Red Alert were the best ones, Red Alert 2 I liked but RA 3 just got so campy, and some units like that Japanese psychic schoolgirl were so overpowered.
Some contemporary RTS I'd recommend are....
Wargame (series) - part RTS, part serious strategy game based on theoretical conflicts between East and west. Very good, great graphics
Stronghold Crusader II
Quite a fun, a mix between old school RTS action and 'The Settlers'.
Company of Heroes 2
Not as good as the first COH (too much micromanaging in the new one). But still a very good game.
My PC can't run the latest Homeworld game, too demanding system reqs, but I still play Homeworld 2, totally superb in every aspect.
Having loved red alert 1 and 2 on the ps1, I'd bought RA3 on release ( ??2009??) and hated it., giving up after a few missions.
enjoyed it much more recently. the commanders challenge missions are available as a stand alone game on the psn for about £8. Some of them are rock hard, but having managed to unlock the twin blades we are kicking ass!
The whole world has turned into a fleecing scam on consumers.
Um, this was a pretty stand practice for RTS games. Every Command and Conquer game had an expansion pack released for it - and they cost a lot more than £8!
WhoAteMeDinner completely misread the post, anyway. DrCus wasn't saying he had to pay for extra missions, just that the Challenge Missions from RA3 are available seperately should anyone want to buy just those.
But you make a good point regarding expansion packs. Call something an expansion pack and no-one complains. Just call it DLC and the world is in uproar over games being released unfinished, haha
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grey_Goo_(video_game)
Still play Starcraft 2 - and indeed haven't finished Legacy of the Void yet - 1 mission to go... and I love playing all 3 campaigns.
My main series I play now - if you can call it an RTS - is Total War - obsessed with them ever since the Original Rome in what, 2004?
Rome was the third one in the series.
The original was Total War Shogun. Very 'stripped down' and simple version but that meant you could concentrate of pure strategy and tactics of battle.
Total War: Medieval was a huge jump forward that gave you the option of playing on a much larger scale. The only issue was that already the game shifted from being a battle simulation to more of of a classic 'Risk' game. Playing all of the battles you needed to to conquer the map would have taken years.
I took it as he meant he'd been obsessed with the Total War series since the original Rome: Total War in 2004 as opposed to Total War Rome 2 in 2014...
Have got AoE:2 HD and Stronghold HD.
Thinking about picking up the Homeworld remastered collection.
Same here, while it's in the sale...
Cheers for the heads up.
I was looking at it a week ago and it was full price although I was waiting for it to eventually end up in a sale,
Just bought it and will download it later!
That's exactly what I meant yes
I can't help wondering why there's such a big fuss about a mysterious artifact in the desert though.
They have aircraft on Kharak. Surely SOMEBODY could've flown to it and completed SOME kind of investigation before now?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AnV-kz1YVps
Nice one, shall be bagging this. Some seemingly traditional, accessible, laid back RTS fare here; and currently only a tenner. Huge fan of Westwood. I went missing for a week when I picked up their memorable RTS Dune 2 on PC in 92. The precursor of course to the legend that is the Command & Conquer series.
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