Reyalsfeihc said:
How would you consider Supreme Commander or Men of War a better RTS than Starcraft 2 when they have different game mechanics. Age of Mythology was good and I've put in a good amount of time, although far less than Brood War but 1 and 2 were just ugly sorts.
I'll answer for SupCom.
First, I'll define something.
I don't consider Starcraft a true RTS. It's gameplay is much more like a Real Time Tactical game, in that the player is micromanaging a relatively small amount of combat units along with the economy. What strategy there is is usually "build order and where to build it" and "How should I scout?"
Games are often decided by who can micromanage better. This is not strategy. This is much more like tactics.
Now, when I say tactics, I mean things that you do do achieve your strategy. But in starcraft and Starcraft 2, the strategy is always this: Kill the enemy's base and their expansions. The maps are pretty similar, small with ramp choke-points, etc. So things (again I say it) boil down to tactics. What units to build, what manoeuvres to pull (this especially) and how exactly to harass your enemy's resource operations.
In a game like Supreme commander, you can largely leave units to attack once you've given the order. Just adjusting it depending on what happens (eg; if the enemy flies in a bombing run on your tank line). Supreme commander is VERY good at this (modifying and giving orders that is). I love its IU and the way it's possible to modify existing orders, co-ordinate supply chains and zoom out to see everything.
But I'm getting ahead of myself...
I'll start with the basics: economy.
Supreme commander has 2 resources: Mass and Energy (There is a unit cap, but it exists solely to keep the game running smoothly, it's about 500). These are infinite. Mass is gained from Mass extractors and energy from reactors that you build. What sets this apart is that the economy is an income economy. What this means is that reactors and extractors add an amount to your income-per-second. When you create a unit, it subtracts from your income-per-second. As long as your income is greater than outgoing then everything will build as normal and the extra will go into storage (which must be expanded by building if you don't want to waste anything).
What this allows is a commander to set up their economy and unit production and then focus on the military side of things. Even getting units to the battleground is easily setup and then adjusted as the front line moves on.
All this combines for a strategic game. Players manipulate large amounts of units, planning pushes, executing retreats and counterattacks. Player fortify taken ground and establish firebases rather than just waiting to build up more units as you would in Starcraft.
