RTS thread

[kindofdoon]

Some of my favorite games are of the real-time strategy genre (Age of Empires, Impossible Creatures, Rise of Nations, etc.), which to be seems totally overlooked on this forum, so let's discuss.

[MusicallyInspired]

Some great memories of Age of Empires 1 and 2. Age of Mythology was interesting but I discovered it quite later on and never had the time to really get into it. Didn't really spend much time on AOE3 and due to its very different approach to the gameplay concepts I kinda shied away from it.

Warcraft 2 is also fraught with many memories of good times with friends. I played the first Command and Conquer for a bit as well as Tiberian Sun and Red Alert but never really liked that form of RTS as much as AOE or Warcraft. "Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds" (not "Star Wars: Battlegrounds") was also a great RTS (made with the AOE2 engine).

My favourite has still got to be Age of Empires II with its expansion "The Conquerors". Great times. Great interface. Great gameplay. Great features. Great game.

[tessspoon]

I'm horrible at these games so don't play a whole lot of them. But grew up on Warcraft II, loved that game, even if it was just messing around and creating a custom map with no enemies Never got very far until a few years ago when I played II and III for real and actually made it through most of they way without cheating (well, in game cheats. Looking up strategies and walkthroughs was a given ).

[kindofdoon]

Age of Empires II is an great game. I enjoyed Age of Mythology very much as well; god powers enable you to invoke strategic natural disasters and conjure mythical beasts, which is a nice addition to the standard RTS formula. And Impossible Creatures allows you to combine 2 animal species together in a large variety of ways (kind of childish, but it's very fun to combine a Blue Whale with a dragonfly and attack your enemies with a fleet of air-whales).

Would you recommend Starcraft I/II to me? My only experience with RTSs is mainly Age of Empires. I hear that it's amazing, but the gameplay seems exceedingly complex.

[Ravager]

I'm horrible at these games so don't play a whole lot of them. But grew up on Warcraft II, loved that game, even if it was just messing around and creating a custom map with no enemies

Same here. Anyone could probably beat me with ease . Warcraft III: Frozen Throne has some interesting missions that were different enough from Blizzard's previous RTS. Good stuff.

BTW, for those who still have a copy of the big grandaddy of RTS, check this out:

http://dunelegacy.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Main_Page

It's Dune Legacy DoonLoonacy, a fan enhancement of Dune II, Command and Conquer style.

[crayauchtin]

Although I play WoW, I never had the chance to play Warcraft II or III at all. Warcraft, however, was one of the first non-adventure games I ever played and I loved it.

And Starcraft is still one of the best games ever.

[Melook]

Stonghold Crusader is definetly up there with the epics like Starcraft and Age of Empires.

[LadyTerra]

Would you recommend Starcraft I/II to me? My only experience with RTSs is mainly Age of Empires. I hear that it's amazing, but the gameplay seems exceedingly complex.

I haven't played SC2 yet, but SC1 is actually not that complex.  The campaign teaches you how to do everything at a steady pace, and you can build your own maps/scenarios.  I would recommend that you learn the hotkeys since it's much faster than doing everything with your mouse, which can get you killed.

I would also recommend Europa Universalis (it plays similarly to Risk when it comes to battles, but it's HUGE, and you can play as any available country at the year you start, so you could theoretically take over the world with Iroquois or Avalon.  Warning: It will destroy your social life.), the Command & Conquer series and its spinoffs (Though I'm not sure what C&C 4 is like), and Warcraft 3.  It is much more fun to play with friends, so check out what they have.