Please explain to me the concept of RTSs

RTSes...

I first got into Age of Empires. I never played against people, but the comp was always fun. I liked the alliances and stuff and getting resources. I also liked making custom maps where I have a giant war in place...

Then I got into Starcraft. The feel was amazing, humans, zerg and protoss. Each unit did a cool thing and wow. Of course my opinion was blown open when I discovered battle.net. Not only that, but making maps was also a great deal of fun.

Then I played Warcraft 3. I liked the big easy icons, but online... everybody used the same heros, the same strategies... It just wasn't fun anymore because it's no longer about choosing which strategy, but about who can do the same strategy the best. That's not to say Starcraft is much different, because it comes much down to unit control speed.

I can play War3 decently, but Starcraft... it's a lot of work. You have to make dozens of workers, control dozens of units, micro, macro wow...

I never played the CC series... I never tried.

My dream RTS would take the simplicty of War3, but remove the heroes part about it. That way the game won't be so stale.

I don't know how strategic RTS games actually are. I feel control speed is a bigger factor. If you want true strategy, you need to pick up a board game like chess or a card game like MTG.

Starcraft is the most perfect competitive RTS ever made, imho. The only game to come close to its perfection of design is Company of Heroes, which occupies a semi-different realm of the RTS genre, that is, the "Tactical RTS" (TRTS).

Now that Starcraft II is in production, I know what the next milestone in RTS history will be... =)

And btw, if you've never played Starcraft, now is the perfect time to pick it up and play through its legendary campaigns...

Starcraft is the most perfect competitive RTS ever made, imho. The only game to come close to its perfection of design is Company of Heroes, which occupies a semi-different realm of the RTS genre, that is, the "Tactical RTS" (TRTS).

Now that Starcraft II is in production, I know what the next milestone in RTS history will be... =)

And btw, if you've never played Starcraft, now is the perfect time to pick it up and play through its legendary campaigns...

Goze

Go play one to understand the concept.

  If you're wondering what's the big deal about them, well I guess they only appeal to some people really.  It's cool being able to manage a force and use different strategies against another.  It's all about the strategies.

My favorite RTS ever is the recent release Company of Heroes.  If you don't mind the WWII setting, it's a great game all around.

Can anybody explain how you build up such damn large armys in such a short time?It happens in almost every RTS I´ve seen and is not explainable for me without cheating.Warcraft 3 for example...

Macros, or whatever they're called. The best RTS players barely use the mouse except for moving the screen and giving units directions, all the rest is done by pressing the proper button on the keyboard to have units follow orders, building que units in production, etc. They're not even looking at their base and yet they're giving orders there while the screen is watching and observing a battle.

I'm not very good at it myself either; that's why I don't bother trying to compete in serious online rts games. I much prefer a slower tactical pace myself, although I can see why someone would prefer the Starcraft style. It's the thinking gamers twitch based game instead of shooters.  

RTSs produced by blizzard always lead the tide of RTS field. You may try starcraft or warcraft . Their  charm showed not only in intense rivalry ,but also in the fantastic stories of background. That's why they have so many fans around the global.

Can anybody explain how you build up such damn large armys in such a short time?It happens in almost every RTS I´ve seen and is not explainable for me without cheating.Warcraft 3 for example...

Ash2X

Build up a number units to collect resources so it's coming in at a steady flow. It depends on the game as to how many of these units you want to build up. Right now I'm playing Command & Conquer 3 so using that as an example I usually like to have at least two Harvesters per Tiberium factory. Then it's a good idea to have at least 2 of the same buildings for you other units. ie. 2 Barracks, 2 War Factories, etc. that way you can have at least two units being built simultaneously.

 

I don't know how strategic RTS games actually are. I feel control speed is a bigger factor. If you want true strategy, you need to pick up a board game like chess or a card game like MTG.

Revelade

I think I agree with you on that one. Strategy plays a big part, but hotkeys seem to be more important. I think they have to slow them down a bit. I'll always go to Civ IV or the Heroes of Might & Magic series for my strategy fix. ENjoyed C&C3 quite a bit, though.

[QUOTE="Goze"]

Starcraft is the most perfect competitive RTS ever made, imho. The only game to come close to its perfection of design is Company of Heroes, which occupies a semi-different realm of the RTS genre, that is, the "Tactical RTS" (TRTS).

Now that Starcraft II is in production, I know what the next milestone in RTS history will be... =)

And btw, if you've never played Starcraft, now is the perfect time to pick it up and play through its legendary campaigns...

AfterShafter

One of the reasons I loved the original SC so much was because of its great balance while still being simple enough to be pick-up-and-play. The biggest problem I had with WC3 was that it had too much reliance on heroes and the constant use of spells and other unit micromanagement was too much of a pain. SC kept the individual unit management to a minimum (basically the most you had to do was set up seige tanks or storm with templar). In WC3, absolutely everything could do something special and had to be micromanaged. Too much of a pain.

Reading about StarCraft II, I'm starting to think it's going to be WC3 micromanagement to the n'th power. Not sure it's going to appeal to me as much as the original. I liked WC3 and would likely like SC2 as well, but I doubt it will touch the original.

Reading about StarCraft II, I'm starting to think it's going to be WC3 micromanagement to the n'th power. Not sure it's going to appeal to me as much as the original. I liked WC3 and would likely like SC2 as well, but I doubt it will touch the original.

Goze

but if you want grand battles try medieval total war but you have to use the battleground to your advantage but when you get the hang of battles it starts to be really good when there are no units that basicly storm the battle ground it's more of how well you use your army is the way to domanate the battle ground