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omega 616

Elite Member
May 1, 2009
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The Madman said:
Scobie said:
omega 616 said:
The new breed is Dawn of war 2, which has almost no building (and I think sucks toes)
DoW2 does indeed suck toes, particularly the campaign. I suggest DoW1, particularly the Dark Crusade expansion, which introduces a strategic Risk-styled campaign that I really enjoyed. Just don't get Soulstorm.
I disagree. Dawn of War 2 is an improvement over the original game in nearly every way. The original was just a flashy rts with stereotypical gameplay and little lasting value beyond cool units and factions. Dawn of War 2 however tries and succeeds at being something unique unto itself as opposed to just a Warhammer starcraft with less faction balance but flashier kill animations. Not that DOW1 was bad by any means, but it got old quick once the novelty wore off.

I like that Relic is willing to change things up and I think the lack of base-building, despite pissing off the hardcore rts types, worked extremely well in this case. Wouldn't want to see it used in every game, but in DOW2 is works well. Plus the Chaos Rising campaign for DOW2 was fantastic.

But then I guess it's up to the individual to decide which they prefer or if, gasp, maybe they can enjoy both DOW1 and 2 on their own merits?

And to the OP, good introduction rts? Starcraft 2. It's new, it's shiny, it looks good and plays fantastic plus it's extremely newbie friendly. From there if you enjoy it you can then branch out to other older or more diverse rts and eventually join the rest of us in bitching about every new rts to be released.
I just think it was awful, I never had proper internet at the time so I couldn't play online. I played skirmishes against the hardest opponents, I got the best units for my faction in 4 clicks then spammed them till I won, there was no challenge.

The only building that can be done is units, it's like they wanted the fastest RTS ever, so stripped everything away.

It's all well and good to be innovative but it's a step in the wrong direction to me.

Dr.Poisonfreak said:
omega 616 said:
The new breed is Dawn of war 2, which has almost no building (and I think sucks toes).

The old skool is dawn of war + expansions, nice and simple gameplay ... decent single player story (in the expansions it is more of a conquest thing though).

Starcraft 2 is a easy to learn difficult to master game.

Be aware online though, people do stuff like this.


Holy jesus christ o_O i have never seen ANYTHING like that
First time I saw it I had the same reaction, I was just thinking what are you doing man!
 

DSK-

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May 13, 2010
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I got into RTS with games like Total Annihilation, Command & Conquer and Command & Conquer Red Alert. Those were pretty much the first benchmark RTS's (I know Dune 2000 came before).

Games like DoW and CoH made RTS's a lot simpler in terms of resource management, but with increased necessity for tactics and strategy.

DoW 2 doesn't really appeal to me all that much, and it gets rather boring for me imo (haven't finished the campaign).

I think playing the old C&C's (see above) would help you grasp the basics of the genre. However getting them to work on XP and the Windows above XP is nigh on impossible. So I would suggest getting Command & Conquer: The First Decade pack because I believe it has tweaks that allow it to be played on XP (and I assume, the other Windows).

That's just my opinion, hope it helps :>
 

Giest4life

The Saucepan Man
Feb 13, 2010
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Start with Age of Empire II to learn the basics of RTS, and then play Myth II to learn the basics of strategy.
 

Fearzone

Boyz! Boyz! Boyz!
Dec 3, 2008
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Dr.Poisonfreak said:
over the last few years i have been trying to subject myelf to as many different kinds of games as possible, JRPG made me want to kill myself, WRPGS i can deal with, action adventure was ok, and fps were too frantic.
I salute you... I started doing the same after I bought a console. My reaction to JRPGs was similar but, like zombies goths say in Brutal Legend: "that song makes me want to kill myself... in a good way." FFXIII was a laughable and bizarre spectable of inane charaters and story-telling, which I took as an exposure to an interesting foreign culture. Resonance of Fate, the premise was at least as quirky but the characters were more grounded... a little.
But alas i have no idea where do begin as far as PC RTS's (?) are concerned so i am hoping that you escapists can recommend me some simple titles in the RTS category for Pc.
RTSs are a taste worth acquiring, and good ones can be enjoyed as a campaign, skirmish against the AI, online multiplayer, and, when you want to sit back, watching replays among the pro's.

Starcraft 2 is polished to a mirror sheen, but I find bland, and it's economics and resource gathering, as with the Command and Conquer series, feels too contrived for my tastes. Still Starcraft 2 is a good "safe" choice that you will probably enjoy once you get the hang of RTSs.

Of all those I played, the one that best mixed stategy with visceral fun action was the original Dawn of War. The Warhammer 40k vibe they established was spot-on. Graphics would look a bit dated by todays standards but not bad at all. Music was perfect. Strategy runs a little on the basic side but everything you want out of an RTS is there. Overall it is a fun, fun game that had a wonderful community back in the day and got me hooked with the RTS bug.

Two more from Relic that stand as RTS greats are Homeworld (again, the original)--a space RTS with good strategy and an excellent sense of style and maybe the best RTS campaign story ever (and now it is very cheap), and Company of Heroes--if you like WW2 settings, or more standard RTSs with infantry and tanks and airdrops, though this one probably runs a bit on the difficult side for a first RTS.
 

octafish

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Apr 23, 2010
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L-J-F said:
Combat Mission Afghanistan! Oh, not complicated ...
OK this is like the third time I've seen someone refer to a Combat Mission Game as an RTS. I have Combat Mission: Barbarossa to Berlin and it is a turn based game. Have they changed the format of the games?

OT: Company of Heroes is really cool. I liked it a lot.
 

Emergent System

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Feb 27, 2010
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For good RTS games with some variation I'd suggest some of my favourites:

Starcraft II:
A classic "CNC clone" (they're actually DUNE clones but whatever) type RTS. You build your base, make units and kill the other player's units. I put this on the top because, while SC2 has alot of strange flaws that I won't get into, it's probably the best RTS I've seen for new players. The single-player challenges and the campaign missions (regardless of the shallowness of its plot) do a very good job teaching you everything you need to know about the game, and with its different dififculty choices, from casual to brutal, even a completely new player should be able to defeat the campaign with little trouble, and when/if you want a challnge, increasing the difficulty level will really test you more than any other RTS I've seen.

Command & Conquer 3: Tiberian somethingsomething:
This is the best of the newer "CNC clones" in my opinion. It has the classical base building: you produce everything out of the all-important Construction Yard, and you harvest the "tiberium"-ore substitute with your harvesters. Units and buildings are produced from the side-bar and there is no "food"/control-related unit cap like in the blizzard games (starcraft 2, warcraft 3, etc).

It's a much more laid-back game than starcraft 2, though less sophisticated. I greatly enjoyed playing it occationally when it came out.

Supreme Commander:
The grandest-scale RTS that exists. When in starcraft or command & conquer you'll be controlling dozens of units, in supreme commander you'll be controlling hundreds of units. You start with your "Supreme Commander" mobile construction unit that magically creates everything out of two basic resources: mass and energy. The resource system is fairly complex if you compare it to the two above games, but easy to get your head around.

The game focuses less on "microing" your individual units in skirmishes and more on contructing huge armies to destroy your opponent, or erecting massive bases and artillery emplacements to crawl across the map. The game doesn't look as good as the above two (imagine the strain that'd have on your computer with hundreds or units on-screen at once) but its physics mechanics are very impressive.

It also features one of the most awesome features I've ever seen in a RTS game: The STRATEGIC ZOOM. You can zoom out as far as you want (or as close as you want), and when you zoom out far enough your units are represented by icons rather than their 3D models. It is an incredible feature and it deeply saddens me to see that no other games have chosen to adopt it.

I was very sad to see that with Supreme Commander 2 they decided to dumb down the gameplay and reduce the scale of the game to "appeal to the masses". While SupCom2 is a decent enough game (and to be fair probably a better game for someone new to RTS games) it is inferior to its predecessor in many aspects.

Game #4:
Here I'd put one of the good squad-control games out there, but the only one I've played is WH40K: Dawn of War 2, and while that is pretty good I'm sure somebody can point out a better representation of that sub-genre (I'm not a huge fan of RTS withotu base-building).

"Total War" Games:
Turn-based RTS? You control nations and build armies on the world map, fighting battles in an RTS-like mini-game. They're RTS-like, but I wouldn't call it a true RTS game.

I'd like to type in some more, but I'm out of time! Hope this helped!
 

Javex

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Mar 15, 2010
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I bought Rome: Total War on Steam for under $10 the other day. The good thing is that it doesn't strain your system (not sure what kind of PC you have). But either way, graphics don't matter when the game is this fantastic. A good mix of real time battles, and turn based management. Also, it is much easier to learn the basics without getting your butt kicked!

Rome: Total War. Do it!
 

JEBWrench

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Apr 23, 2009
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Commandos.

It's a RTS/Puzzle hybrid.

And it's awesome.

Also:

Any game by Paradox. They're the reason God invented RTS.
 

MercurySteam

Tastes Like Chicken!
Legacy
Apr 11, 2008
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Nobody can really handle the original's graphics but Starcraft 2 is a great place to start.

Watch!

 

DTWolfwood

Better than Vash!
Oct 20, 2009
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For your bread and butter RTS have to try STARCRAFT 2. That should be your entry or indoctrination into the genre. Warcraft 3 is a good choice too if youre gaming on a budget. (Starcraft 1 aged poorly, another B&B RTS is the Command&Conquer Series, but its not all that good tbh. C&C4 became an RTT. O don't bother with Supreme Commander unless you have a real Beefy rig :p)

An easier type of RTS is the subcategory of Real Time Tactics which is more on managing your troops on the front line than managing a base. That i would recommend COMPANY OF HEROES / DAWN OF WAR Series (I think CoH is the better game)

If you prefer Space based RTS try SINS OF A SOLAR EMPIRE/ HOMEWORLD 2 (most awesome Space RTS's ever made)

For the Civilization based RTS try AGE OF EMPIRES series (Go for the last one)

If you decide those are too fast u can try Turn Based Strategy with CIVILIZATION Series (Civilization 5 just came out and everyone loves it XD)

Or you can play the hybrid Turn Base Strategy and Real Time Tactics that is TOTAL WAR Series (personally love Empire:TW and Rome:TW)
 

thahat

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Apr 23, 2008
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age of empires 2, age of mythology, warcraft 3, command and conquer generals
of the last gen

company of heroes
is nowadays

stay away from starcraft XD
 

UnwishedGunz

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Apr 24, 2009
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i say starcraft or starcraft 2

starcraft is a good one to start with cause they have cheats you can use to ease into the game and take the time you need to get better

starcraft 2 is much more better, the enemies are tougher, smarter, faster, and all around badass

but never...EVER.....EEEEEEEVVVVVVVVEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRR get halo wars!!!!!

im sure everyone will agree with me when i say halo wars sucks balls
 

KindOfnElf

Senior Member
Mar 15, 2010
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My RTS experience started with Warcraft III, followed with it's expansion. And it hooked me up.

After that followed Red Alert 2, Caesar III, Age Of Empires.

Whatever you try, you won't make a mistake. Have Fun!
 

Imbechile

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Aug 25, 2010
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HotFezz8 said:
Dr.Poisonfreak said:
Hello fellow escapists.

over the last few years i have been trying to subject myelf to as many different kinds of games as possible, JRPG made me want to kill myself, WRPGS i can deal with, action adventure was ok, and fps were too frantic.

SO with that in mind i have decided to try my luck with Real Time Strategy


But alas i have no idea where do begin as far as PC RTS's (?) are concerned so i am hoping that you escapists can recommend me some simple titles in the RTS category for Pc.

Nothing too complicated, just something to introduce me to the genre.

I leave the thread with you............
medieval total war 2. no doubt, it caters for all different fans of RTSs.
Nah. Rome total war
 

mrdude2010

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Aug 6, 2009
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warcraft 3 is fairly basic. i would recommend playing as the humans at first because it will make more sense

rome total war is the most basic of the :total war series (easily one of the best series of the RTS genre)

i would suggest staying away from games like supreme commander at first

halo wars is also probably the most basic RTS out there, but there are only a couple different strategies so it gets boring online
 

Nazulu

They will not take our Fluids
Jun 5, 2008
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Keava said:
Company of Heroes is probably one of best RTSes of recent times, but since it's innovative and really polished in so many aspects there is nothing that comes close to it. Yes even Dawn of War1/2 that i loved does feel inferior to it.
I've never heard of it before yet you've got me interested. Doesn't come with DRM or anything similiar?