Sup everybody, so basically this is a thread where we can discuss the RTS genre and our favorite RTS games. Basically discuss anything about RTS games that you want 
. But to start this bad baby off, i'm going to give my list of RTS games as well as my thoughts on the RTS genre as a whole.
Here is the list of RTS games that i play/will play (in order of nothing)
1) BattleForge
2) Age of Mythology: Titan
3) Warcraft 3
4) Dawn of War 2: Retribution
5) Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars
6) Starcraft 2
7) End of Nations (will play)
8) Age of Empires 3 (will play)
9) Battle for Middle Earth 2 (will play, gotta find it again >_>)
All of these games are really good (some better than others :P), but they are also very different from each other and this has always been fascinating to me (yes, fascinating).
Now for my look on the RTS genre (if any of you care.)
If you asked me i would say that the RTS genre has been successfully split into 3 sub-genres. These are (by my own wording) SRTS, DRTS, and RTT. Lets start with the first one, which currently is also the most popular of the 3 sub-genres.
SRTS- Which is short for Speed Real Time Strategy. The RTS games that i play/will play that fall into this sub-genre are Warcraft 3, Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars, and the most popular RTS game Starcraft 2. Now with these games, the matches last usually about 15-30min, have simplistic resource mechanics, typically there is base-building but no wall building, and everything happens quickly. This, imo, is for people who either a) want to get the most out of their time in matches and b) don't have long periods of free time.
In SRTS games, players typically control close to 50 (?) units by the end of the match, this includes workers and infantry. This leads to plenty of Micro, not alot of Macro. The skill and strategy in these games typically comes from unit building, and building placement. Units are built fast and quick, and unit management comes into play during combat (hence the Micro). Now building placement is also big because there are no walls. With walls you have a sense of protection for your buildings, but with no walls every building must be placed carefully to ensure that it is either protected or bait. Upgrade timing can also come into play during higher levels of play, and can be key to winning or losing.
Now if you look up, or have read this far, you'll noticed that i underlined the resource bit. There is a reason. IMO, Recourse mechanics should never be overlooked when looking at RTS games. Now i'll dive into this more later, but lets talk a bit about the SRTS resource mechanics. It is simplistic. In Starcraft 2 you have a total of 2 resources; Gas and Minerals. Same with Warcraft 3; Gold and Wood. This leads to strategies like "saturations" where you put the maximum amount of workers per resource. It also allows players to focus more on the combat which is the point in SRTS games. The players don't want to worry about resources, only winning. In SRTS games, it is all about speed and devastation.
DRTS- Which is short for Deep Real Time Strategy. Now this sub-genre represents Age of Mythology: Titan, Battle For Middle Earth 2, and Age of Empires 3. Now before i go further, i know somebody has to be wondering why i said deep. Well, i'll explain. What i mean by deep is that specific mechanics are "deeper" than those of their SRTS counterparts. These mechanics include complex resource mechanics, Macro>Micro, base building + wall building, combat gimmicks, and matches that can last well over an hour.
Now before i start defining their mechanics let me say that this is the sub-genre i grew up in. So my lay-out will be a bit longer than the others.
Lets start with the Macro>Micro part. I know in online matches of Age of Mythology: Titan, the matches end with the winning team having close to hundreds of units not including workers. And before i lost Battle for Middle Earth 2, it was the same deal. In these games, you have to make a ton of units, normally because of how these units scale. Lets take Age of Mythology: Titan for example. You have a few different types of units; infantry, counter-infantry, cavalry, counter-cavalry, mythical units (ages 2, 3, and 4 with 4 being the strongest), and then heroes which are the strongest (lets not get into the actual titans ok?). For infantry to take out a Hero, you'll typically need maybe 4-5, or probably 3 mythical units. Now you'd need more for say the actual infantry of your enemy, plus their mythical units AND siege weapons. Can you see where that is going? Lots and lots of units.
Matches also last alot longer because there is a style of play that isn't present in the SRTS genre; defensive. Building walls and towers to slow your enemy's progress while your ally destroyer's them from behind. This is where walls come into play, by building walls you can add another whole layer of combat and strategy. This is normally the style i like to play, so i know it well 
. Now by combat gimmicks i tend to mean Heros, Powers, or other abilities that make combat more than just countering your opponent. In Age of Mythology: Titan, if i'm losing a key battle, and i still have a God Power left say...Meteor, you can bet that i will use that God Power to turn that battle around wiping out my opponent's army. Or in Battle for Middle Earth 2, killing Golum and finding the One Ring.
Now we are back, again, with resource mechanics. This time they are complex. In Battle for Middle Earth 2, you have a "ring" around your resource buildings when they are being built. This ring represents the amount of resource you will get from that building. If it is completely green? 100%, only half green? 50%. This adds a layer of thought to the resource mechanics because you can't cluster to get the max amount you need, but build them far away and you can say buh-bye to your structure. Now in Age of Mythology: Titan, you have a total of 4 resources that you need to control; Wood, Gold, Food, and Favor. Makes controlling your resources a fun mind-game. These complex mechanics are put in to make gameplay deeper, not necessarily combat. It also increases the time of the match, but also the amount of immersion and depth. While the SRTS genre makes a good E-sport, the DRTS does not (imo not a bad thing).
RTT- Which is short for Real Time Tactics. These are what many RTS gamers seem to believe is the "red-headed stepchild" of the genre. Typically because of logic like "no base-building = not rts". I like to dis-agree with these ideas because, having played both Dawn of War 2: Retribution and BattleForge, i believe there is alot of strategy needed in these games. Now with the up-and-coming End of Nations also being added to this sub-genre, i have a hunch that this sub-genre wont die just yet. Now lets take a look at what makes the RTT sub-genre; No base-building, tons of Micro, deep combat mechanics, next to no resource mechanics, and personalization.
Lets start with no base-building. In Dawn of War 2: Retribution, you don't build bases. You have heros that help you capture posts that can turn heros in for large amounts of infantry, and in BattleForge, you have a deck of 20 cards. With these small amount of units, combat mechanics such as cover and stealth have been added into play to allow units longevity and make combat more interesting. This ties in with the Micro bit. With smaller amounts of units, you are paying attention to each unit more effectively. This leads to moving specific units to specific locations for advantages, and trying to keep each and every unit alive.
Now before we get to the resource bit, lets talk personalization. Yes, you can personalize your units in the RTT genre, and in a much more deep way than you can in say Warcraft 3. In Dawn of War 2: Retribution, your heros level up and you gain weapons and armor for them, creating the type of hero you want them to in. In End of Nations, you can give your units make-overs creating your perfect stealth team with matching armor! With smaller units, each unit becomes more important to the player, and then personalization becomes a rather big part of the game.
Ok, finally resources again. Now because End of Nations isn't out yet, i won't talk about it here, but for Dawn of War 2: Retribution and BattleForge, you have next to no resource mechanics. In BattleForge you capture orbs of different elements, which allows you to play different cards. Thats it, capture orbs, make more powerful units, don't waste energy (that comes back pretty quickly). In Dawn of War 2: Retribution it's even less, just capture points and kill your enemys for gold. These games have little resource mechanics because RTT games are quicker than matches in the SRTS genre. A single Battleforge match will last at most 10min, because the fighting starts almost immediately. Unlike the SRTS genre which turns the RTS form and speeds it up, the RTT genre only focuses on combat, and almost nothing else.
Well that's all i have to say right now, think i'll go play some Age of Mythology: Titan, see how that goes.
Hope you guys enjoyed my write-up and start talking/discussing about the RTS genre! I want some discussion people!!
Season of Discovery Hotfixes - 29 April
Season of Discovery Hotfixes - April 29
Blizzard must stop introducing neutral races immediately
Did Blizzard just hotfix an ilvl requirement onto Awakened LFR?
Premades Epic Battleground
MMO-Champion
Recent Blue Posts
Recent Forum Posts
Favorite RTS games and RTS grene
Facts don't care about feelings
Originally Posted by Skelington
You must be knew?
Reply With Quote
