RTS: Your clicks made more powerful with your own scripting language!

[notme]

So, RTS games are just too much click-click-click-click-click (and the occasional keyboard shortcut for the pros). That is getting boring, and to make matters worse, tiresome.

Woman vs. Woman is getting old.
Machine vs. Machine is just silly.

But! Machine enhanced Woman against her fellow Machine enhanced Man - NOW we're talking!

Now, for RTS that would mean more automation. And not by doing even more inflexible clicking, but by writing your own scripts! Think of the possibilities!


From selected units, all with health less than 20% - retreat!
Attack this prioritized list of units first!
Automated Taxi service: Board flying unit, fly there, unpack, return. You could even mine remote resources.
Pre-set tactics for when the Base is under attack - all SCVs, board the shuttle and evac!
Siege tanks: Here is your target list, Marines: Kill this of first!
... Endless possibilities!



Finally, the days of clicks-per-minute don't rule anymore, instead may be smartest strategist win!

So, are there any games that support this? Or mods for existing RTSes?

P.S.: That might also alleviate the severe programmer shortage, I think the government should support this idea, too!

 

[Darktau]

Warcraft 3 Supported JASS coding, I am guessing you can build that into the game, you might even be able to do it without it.

EDIT: Actually I am sure you can.

 

[Proteus214]

The whole point of competitive RTS games is to be just like that. It's all about the speed at which you micro-manage your units along with the accuracy of your movements and the effectiveness of your battle strategy.

The pros can already manage 100+ actions per minute in one game of Starcraft and you want to give them scripts?

 

[Keava]

Well APM wise i remember reading a comparsion based on 'Pro Players' data that games like DoW/CoH had noticeably lower APM requirements than games like Warcraft or Starcraft. Squad based combat put much less strain on the poor mouse buttons apparently leading to more tactical gameplay, but we all know how rushing can be effective against unsuspecting newcomers.

As for the scripting however, i must say no thanks. It takes too much from actual gameplay and brings it down to the very old type of games, or currently some of the web based games, where you just pre-set attacks and tactics against other players/bots and hope that you predicted well, while just being presented with raw results.

Not my cup. I like micro-managing my troops to make use of weak points, rock paper scissors mechanics and terrain to get upperhand.

 

[Azhrarn-101]

The original Supreme Commander (along with Forged Alliance) had automated transport systems of a kind.
You could set up transport paths where Transport units would pick up any units at their pick up point and fly them over to the destination point.
You could then set factory rally points on the pick up point so that anything produced by those factories would automatically get moved to the destination you set.
Quite handy during longer games, no need to micro unit movement all the time to the front lines.

All of the others sound like very nice things to have, but aren't available in any RTS I know of.

 

[Wolfram23]

I would love scripting that sort of thing. The time it takes to get really good at micro managing is staggering - and I mean to the point of the pros. I'm not all that bad at it but it's definitely very tedious and I prefer the fun of battles to the tedium of micro managing.

In particular, being able to command units to attack in formations, at certain intervals, to board a transport, unload, and commence attacking, have harvesters start auto-harvesting when built, um... The unit hp lower than 20%, retreat one is great. Lots of cool stuff could be done. I don't know that it should be supported in competitive leagues - or at least be limited - but for my own enjoyment I would certainly like it.

 

[Georgie_Leech]

Can I point out that this is exactly how decent Computer AI's work, and that the single-player campaign of any RTS is usually much easier than multiplayer? Meaning, the people who are prepared to actually run their own armies would walk over players that use scripting in place of actual reactions?

 

[Strategia]

A lot of that sounds really, really tricky, but some of it is definitely possible.

Automated Taxi service: Board flying unit, fly there, unpack, return.

Supreme Commander supports this, somewhat. You can designate a ferry route for a flying transport; pick up units here, drop off units there. Right-click your ground units on the marker and the transport happens automagically. I think it can even be done with factories, rally point on the marker, but I've never tried that.

As for the rest, well..... I'd take a look at Spring [http://springrts.com/], there are a lot of specialised commands available through LUA scripting, and if you're any kind of good with it, you can make some yourself. (Don't expect anyone else to do it for you though, no matter how awesome your idea is, the general mindset is pretty much like Rapture. You want it done so badly, you do it yourself.)

And clicks-per-minute don't really matter outside pro-gaming AFAIK, it's pretty much always "may the better strategist win". Clicking really fast isn't going to help your Overlord Tanks destroy the enemy Tunnel Networks any faster.

 

[icaritos]

This sounds really fun, i like your idea.

 

[Gather]

Automate your entire army? Now that would be interesting but damn, you'll need a really good system to do things for varied strategies (Instead of anyone who isn't a noob uses command lines X)

I'd suggest Men of War, it doesn't really have these things but what it does have is INSANE enemy AI. For example, shoot a German on the road. When two other soldiers find the body, they'll actually double their patrols and comb the woods for you.

Which is why you drag the body into the forest and hope the patrols mistake that pool of blood for tomato sauce... Then cross your fingers and hope they put it on their Sausage Sandwich and eat it.

 

[notme]

I'd take a look at Spring [http://springrts.com/], there are a lot of specialised commands available through LUA scripting.

Nice, a totally open game engine sure helps. I'll have a look at that, thanks!

The pros can already manage 100+ actions per minute in one game of Starcraft and you want to give them scripts?

YES! Pro sports is full of steroids and whatnot (bad thing, that). This is the same without harming anybody, humans going to extremes and all.

Meaning, the people who are prepared to actually run their own armies would walk over players that use scripting in place of actual reactions?

Yes, and the ones who run their own armies AND use scripts would rule over all of them!

As for the scripting however, i must say no thanks.

I agree, this is not for every gamer. People using this should definitely only play among themselves.

 

[Georgie_Leech]

Meaning, the people who are prepared to actually run their own armies would walk over players that use scripting in place of actual reactions?

Yes, and the ones who run their own armies AND use scripts would rule over all of them!

But If people will be running the army themselves, why use scripts?

 

[Gather]

I'd suggest Men of War, it doesn't really have these things but what it does have is INSANE enemy AI. For example, shoot a German on the road. When two other soldiers find the body, they'll actually double their patrols and comb the woods for you.

Which is why you drag the body into the forest and hope the patrols mistake that pool of blood for tomato sauce... Then cross your fingers and hope they put it on their Sausage Sandwich and eat it.

Hell no, more Germans in the woods means I can stealth kill them and take their guns, grenades, and ammo haha.

Point taken

 

[Plurralbles]

so it's basically programmer vs. programmer, getting rid ofpretty much everything in game, preferring to have to be the better match planner... unless you can just transfer coding amongst people, then say good bye to any skill at all in RTS games.

 

[GloatingSwine]

From selected units, all with health less than 20% - retreat!
Attack this prioritized list of units first!

Would you believe that there is a game from 1999 which does both of those things.

And lets you control your entire base from anywhere on the map.

It's called Warzone 2100, and there are things in it that RTS games today still don't do as well as it did eleven years ago.

 

[dekkarax]

From selected units, all with health less than 20% - retreat!
Attack this prioritized list of units first!

Would you believe that there is a game from 1999 which does both of those things.

And lets you control your entire base from anywhere on the map.

It's called Warzone 2100, and there are things in it that RTS games today still don't do as well as it did eleven years ago.

And it's freeware to boot.

 

[GloatingSwine]

It is. And it's awesome. [http://www.wz2100.net]

Hell, I didn't even mention the persistent base that stays with you throughout the campaign, the tech tree that puts 4x games to shame, the fact that it was about the first RTS with full 3D scenery with LOS and elevation, the way radar and artilliery work together, the missions where your base isn't even on the same map and you can still do everything with it...