RTS games

[Letter3]

Times are a chang'in

http://www.digitalbattle.com/2010/03/27 ... ing-breed/

[Bodknocks]

Interesting read. Typical essay-length post from Bod incoming.

I've played countless hours of the original StarCraft and have played plenty of AOE2 both recently and long ago, and those two games will always be fondly remembered by me. But I've also played Company of Heroes and both it's expansions, as well as Dawn of War II, although I haven't played it's new expansion yet. I think Relic really did a good job reinventing the RTS into a more fun, fast paced, action-packed game in the CoH and DoW series. CoH got rid of the collecting resources altogether, instead giving you continuous resources all game -- more if you can capture and hold territories on the map. It's an interesting change of pace, whereas in games like StarCraft and AOE2 territory control is an essential part of the game, CoH combines that inheirent quality and uses it to bypass the economy system typically found in the genre, therefore allowing for more fighting and intense combat. I think this was a really good step in the right direction for the genre.

The second Dawn of War game took this even further by getting rid of buildings and resources altogether. For the single player campaign, you select what units you want to use in the map, and then the map starts. Other than the occasional reinforcements you can't make any new units so it's pretty much just micromanaging your squads across the map, killing stuff and completing objectives. For the Multiplayer in DoW2, it is similar but you are able to create units, and the gameplay is kind of a hybrid between CoH's system and DoW2's single player. I think this worked well for the single player, but the DoW2 multiplayer just feels lacking to me. It's too focused on your hero units, and without the resources OR buildings OR any sort of non-linear progression in your build orders I felt like it was really bland and missing a lot of depth.

Now here comes StarCraft II, which goes right back to the roots of the genre. Almost unchanged except for the complete engine and graphics redux, the core gameplay is almost exactly the same as it was over a decade ago when the first StarCraft was released. After playing a couple hundred hours of the Company of Heroes games I really felt like the whole "drop economy, focus of battles and territorial control" thing was the way to go. And in some ways it is -- I think if you're creating a new franchise or trying to create a new game in a dying franchise (*cough*Red Alert) this is definitely the route to go. It's easier to learn, more fun to play, and you can pick it up and get into it much faster. But having played the SC2 beta I must say that the old way of doing things is DEFINITELY not dead... at least not until after the wake of SC2's looming release.

I'm having so much fun with SC2 right now I've almost completely forgotten there was a different way to do things. I think it's obvious that if they would have gone the CoH route of doing things it would have been a COMPLETE disaster. It just doesn't work for them; The classic RTS formula for economy and unit production was perfected with the original StarCraft, and now they are trying to fine-tune that perfection. It sounds like a daunting task, but I think they're really going to come out on top with this one. Even when you're getting your ass handed to you SC2 seems fun and interesting, and I really feel like I get better with every game -- something I never even felt with the first StarCraft. I think the trick here is that most SC2 games only last 10 or 15 minutes -- it's very rare that a 1v1 will last more than 20 minutes, and if it does it's either a really great game, or a really terrible one. Again, I think this game length is not only appropriate but necessary for the genre to continue if it wishes to keep to its roots. Managing an economy is NOT a fun activity, but it works here because of the depth of the series, the timeless quality of the franchise, and hey -- if you screw up it hardly matters because win or lose the game will be over in just a few more minutes. That's something very few "old school" RTSs can say.

Having said all that, I honestly wouldn't be surprised if StarCraft 2 was one of the last RTS games to use the resource collecting economy model. There's really nothing left to be done in that field, if the genre wants to survive it needs to adapt, which is what Relic's games and others are doing. StarCraft epitomizes the old way of doing things and once this sequel is out almost everything to come after it will pale in comparison. The game stands like a monolith to the genre, its shadow inescapable.

To conclude this rant, I must say my advice for developers wanting to create a new RTS franchise or a sequel to an established one would be to go the route of Relic's games -- no economy, very little building management, focus on the battles, the rock-paper-scissors strategy, and all the stuff that makes an RTS fun. Leave the old way of doing things to behemoths like StarCraft 2, which has over a decade of playtesting and development backing it up. Let Blizzard hold the keys to the old school, and have everyone else move along.

[Scavengeriot]

Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock nice rant btw bod were going to playing a lot of SC2 aren't we

[Letter3]

I <3 Bod's stories.

I would agree with you too.

I should probably give SC another go, since I kinda fizzled out of playing, but I have been playing AOE2 recently.

SC2 sounds like the same but better, so we'll see.

I also like the CoH series because it is different, but also the same. I think both games do a great job in finding a balance and making their games really fun.

[Bodknocks]

I can let you play SC2 at stompfest.

[Scavengeriot]

I got a stolen beta version lol i cant play multi player but i can do a good demo at least

[Bodknocks]

Yeah I had a cracked version for a while... had to get rid of it when somebody gave me a beta key. >.>

[Scavengeriot]

GAVE you a beta key come on how did you get that lucky sigh i wants to play with other the Computer set to insane is pathetic it doesn't even try to expand.

[Bodknocks]

Everyone that got in the beta got a free key to give to a friend a couple weeks ago. If you know anyone who got in, you could try asking them if they've given out their key yet.