Poll: Favourite RTS series?

[EzraPound]

Can I just say that this poll leaves out a massive number of series, Starcraft, Heroes of Might and Magic, etc.

So "Other" is obviously going to win

1) StarCraft isn't a series yet
2) HOMM is turn-based strategy, not RTS - lest we include Civilization and Shining Force

You didn't add dawn of war!

That seems like an oversight... I didn't realize how popular it was.

Command and Conquer and Red Alert are the same franchise/genre/whatever, so i don't see why you would have that as an option.

Yeah, but they're sort of in a different series inasmuch as C&C/Tiberian Sun/Tiberian Dawn and RA/RA2/RA3 both follow different narratives. Like WarCraft and StarCraft, basically.

I'm pretty sure that the OP didn't count expansions, and I'm pretty sure that it means favorite series implying that you've played multiple games in the series and have enjoyed them. Having only played one Starcraft game, it being the only one in current existence, I believe it can't, as of yet, be considered a series.

That's correct.

Apart from having the same developer, the games are entirely different. I love Starcraft but am lukewarm on Warcraft at best. I played the first game, of course, since it was the first RTS with multiplayer, but have left WC2 and WC3 virtually alone.

StarCraft and WarCraft different? In the sense that Coke Zero and Diet Coke are, I guess - new look, similar substance.

 

[Eclectic Dreck]

Since it's qualified as a "Series" my favorite RTS of all time (Ground Control) is out because the second game in the series (Creatively titled Ground Control 2) was a complete dissapointment for me. Total War would have to be my pick because every iteration of the game has been excellent in my book. I'm also a fan of Command and Conquer, and may be the odd man out for liking 3 the most (they made Nod worth playing in my book).

I also liked Dawn of War (but I don't want to qualify expansion packs as a series as it was essentialy the same game with more units), Company of Heroes (actually I liked this one a LOT) and Age of Empires (but not as much as Total War).

 

[Tentunf]

Fire Emblem is a SRPG, I believe. Turn based strategy.

THough if it were there, I would vote for it. I Love that series.

But other than that, Dawn of War is my fave. But I also play table top, so... I am a little bias. With that many expansions, it may as well be a series.

 

[Jandau]

Dawn of War, Warcraft, Homeworld

The poll is badly done since it doesn't include some of the greatest games ever. If the point of the poll is asking about the favourite SERIES, then what's Total Anihilation doing there? It never had a sequel (no, Supreme Commander isn't a direct sequel, it's a spiritual successor).

Furthermore, Dawn of War should have been there since the game has had three expansion packs, with two of them being stand-alone and bringing almost as much content as the original game (basically, almost sequels) and an actual sequel is to be released this week with the beta being open for all for a month now.

Starcraft should have been in there too. It's had only one expansion pack and I don't like it too much, but any talk about RTS games should include it.

Basically, bad poll.

And I don't see the point in asking about the best SERIES in the first place...

 

[Calax]

Homeworld FTW!

 

[Antiparticle]

Where the frack is StarCraft?

 

[Nutcase]

Apart from having the same developer, the games are entirely different. I love Starcraft but am lukewarm on Warcraft at best. I played the first game, of course, since it was the first RTS with multiplayer, but have left WC2 and WC3 virtually alone.

StarCraft and WarCraft different? In the sense that Coke Zero and Diet Coke are, I guess - new look, similar substance.

I'm not sure about WC2, but WC3 plays nothing like Starcraft.

Things like the low unit cap, the upkeep mechanic, insanely durable buildings and units, the weapon damage type setup (esp. siege) and powerful early defenses shoehorn you into a specific mode of play that generally involves 1-2 bases, a hero or several, and a small army with which the heros roam the map killing neutral creeps for xp.

In contrast to that, SC rewards you for using your troops simultaneously in different places for raids, blockades, surgical strikes, holding ground and meeting the opponent's army. The units are more versatile; even the most low-tech ones do damage serious enough that they can't just be ignored, and almost all units kill buildings reasonably fast.

WC3 has no equivalent of a 200/200 Zerg Swarm pouring out of 5+ bases, a full Carrier fleet, or a pile of Terran Mech in direct control of 1/3 of the map.

 

[Inverse Skies]

Starcraft without any hesitation here. Soooooo looking forward to the next one.

And it's close enough to being a series to have it on the opinion poll. The fact that it is not (yet) is negligible.

 

[AlphaOmega]

Age of empires wins, but the total war and TA series are very close behind.

 

[starrman]

Ahh, all you youngsters were probably stil bottle-feeding when my favourite was around. If anyone remembers Dune 2 then you'll know how important it was in founding the RTS genre. And if any of you were lucky enough to play the fan-made upgrade Super Dune 2 ( http://www.destinys-darlin.com/play/dune/sd2 ) you'll have appreciated the true genius of this game, which allowed games like C&C and everything thereafter to be realised.

I used to run it on my Olivetti 286 under such slow processing conditions that I'd have to wait minutes between turns and a level would take a whole 24 hours to play, although not once did it ever crash. Sigh, it makes me chuckle to think of how fast it would run on my current PC.

Anyway, it's an amazing game which, whilst dated, is still worth playing for posterity, if nothing else.

 

[Avida]

I have to give Homeworld some credit for that too. I know that mods don't really have anything to do with the game, but Homeworld's are so fun they deserve mention.

Never tried modding homeworld, any recomendations?

 

[Magical Hans]

Total War is always good!

 

[Count_de_Monet]

I used to play Age of Empires 2 constantly, it was such a fun game but it hasn't aged well and when I heard they didn't put attack+move in AoE3 I never even bothered to buy it... I remember in AoE2 I would put a nice attack force together, send it on it's merry way, do some base management and find that they were being picked off and not reacting or (even worse) find most of my force wandering around randomly.

My vote has to go to the Homeworld series. Homeworld, Cataclysm and Homeworld 2 were all amazing games and even though I missed the boat in online play the regular skirmishes are still fun.

The Dawn of War series has gotten the most play time out of any RTS even though I love Command & Conquer and played Generals for a long time DoW still holds the top spot. Starcraft is a great game and has only aged well because of the community that refuses to let it die. I don't care how competitive it is the game just doesn't interest me anymore, I don't play RTS's for championships, just to gave fun.

 

[Pezzer]

Machines

And FYI, DoW is epic.

DoW has a limit cap on your troop numbers and as such is severely limited in its epicness. also that makes it awful because it means that the races sre unbalanced.

And Im a Warhammer:40K player and its a very poor portrayal of the universe.

That stops people from zerging and makes players think more about their strategy instead of just grabbing loads of powerful units and flooding the enemy with them.

I will agree it doesnt portray the 40k universe that well, but its still very good.

But the Necrons can bypass the Limit cap and zerg(as you say) people anyway: UNBALANCED.

 

[dekkarax]

Dawn of War, Warcraft, Homeworld

The poll is badly done since it doesn't include some of the greatest games ever. If the point of the poll is asking about the favourite SERIES, then what's Total Anihilation doing there? It never had a sequel (no, Supreme Commander isn't a direct sequel, it's a spiritual successor).

Total Annihilation: Kingdoms

 

[Cheesebob]

No Dawn Of War?

Fail poll