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What's a good starting point to get into RTSs?

T

TheSmokingManX

Member
I used to play RTSs many years back (Age of Empires II, mainly). But I was terrible at them then, and having not played any in years, I'm even worse now. Are there any games that really focus on the basics and are a good launching pad to get deeper into the genre?
 
I'm not sure it's a good "launching pad", but TASpring is a good game (it's an open-source remake of Total Annihilation).

Lacks a good single-player mode though.
 
I've been thinking of trying a RTS since Starcraft 2 got announced (I realized I've never played an RTS). The original Starcraft seems a bit too fast paced, though.
 
Have you played the godfather of RTS - StarCraft?

And the beauty of StarCraft is that even if you've never played an RTS before, the game PULLS YOU IN. Play some single player, then play against another newbie, trying to off eachother. Be creative in your strategy, you will love it.

I had never played a RTS when I downloaded the StarCraft demo and it turned out being my favorite game ever.
 
Starcraft is a good starting point. If you want a more recent offering, go with the Battle for Middle Earth 2 or Command and Conquer 3.
 
Starcraft - just play through the campaign for all 3 races, then do some single player skirmishes until you can take on 3 computer opponents by yourself, then maybe try some online. By then, Starcraft 2 might be ready for you to play!!!

Starcraft may lack some of the graphics and advancements of newer RTS, but it more than makes up for it in fun!
 
StarCraft is good, play the single player if you interested in StarCraft 2 and all the story-what not. The game is too old, so you will get raped over Bnet though.

WarCraft 3 is definitely a good choice. Single player is good. Online play is good and there are tons of fun custom map (Try DoTA) and player-created gameplay style, some co-op style is really fun and easy to pickup.

I would recommend WarCraft 3 + expansion pack, StarCraft is really cheap now so I don't see why not. The single player is worth the price alone.
 
I loved WarCraft 1 and 2...but never jumped onto the StarCraft bandwagon.

So I'm interested in trying it out, as I had tons of fun with the C&C 3 360 demo...is there any online distro for StarCraft?
 
MAJESTY.jpg



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Majesty:_The_Fantasy_Kingdom_Sim
http://www.majestyquest.com/


Playable Demo .. only 45 megs



Part Fantasy-sim game, part RTS. This game is the perfect blend for people who suck at RTS (like me). You don't get bogged down by micro-managing units and skills. You set up "reward flags" on each map .. and if the reward is great enough your units will do your bidding (either attack an encampment, explore a cave, gather resources etc). It frees you up to concentrate on building new outposts and developing your skill trees.

It's like Warcraft meets Dungeon Keeper.
 
TheSmokingManX said:
I used to play RTSs many years back (Age of Empires II, mainly). But I was terrible at them then, and having not played any in years, I'm even worse now. Are there any games that really focus on the basics and are a good launching pad to get deeper into the genre?
Click to expand...

Company of Heroes got me back into them and I think its a better game than C&C3.
 
this game is an awesome mix of simplicity and time consuming fun. Its a more open ended kind of RTS than most of the games already mentioned, but if you can't enjoy this game, I wouldn't know how to recomend anything else for you.

B00029QR8I.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg
 
Dawn of War is a great series to start with. Although play the campaign before trying the AI in skirmish as the AI is pretty rush happy. Once you get fast enough to stave off the first rush or two you'll be able to hang against the AI.
 
FartOfWar said:
Company of Heroes got me back into them and I think its a better game than C&C3.
Click to expand...
Well your right about that, but they are very different...and I don't think Company of Heroes is a good launching pad for RTS games.
 
I just read your post again and you mentioned some experience playing Age of Empires 2.

RUN, don't walk, to get Age of Empires 3 if you liked Age of Empires 2.

Also, threads like this make me wonder if GAF collectively stopped playing PC games circa 2000 or so.
 
Command and Conquer: Red Alert , you seriously can't go wrong with this one. Then I suggest trying some Rise of Nations, Age of Empires 3 next, finishing of with Company of Heroes or Codename Panzers.
 
Keep recommeding games with worse interfaces than the game he mentioned as having the most experience with (Age of Empires 2)! Heck why not go back and play Dune 2-control groups ARE A CRUTCH.

If you're going to play a TA-like game, might as well play Supreme Commander. Which is NOT a good starting point for someone looking into getting into an RTS game-it's really one of the most hardcore games I've seen released to a mainstream audience in years.
 
I'd go with Warcraft 2 because it is definitely a simpler RTS than most out there right now. If you get good at Warcraft 2 then it is easy to move to Starcraft, since Starcraft in many ways builds upon the Warcraft 2 foundation.

As well Warcraft 2 is good because it doesn't have a lot of the automatic things that current RTS's have so it builds good micro skills, which is extremely important in Starcraft and other RTS's

edit:

I'm not sure if Warcraft 3 is a good choice because it's a bit of a weirdo RTS/RPG hybrid and there aren't any other RTS's that are really the same. The skills developed in Warcraft 3 don't carry over.

Some of the newer RTS's may not be good picks either because they hold your hand through a lot of important stuff. If you start at the newer RTS's you may find it very frustrating and difficult to go back to Starcraft or to even play Starcraft 2 (Starcraft 2 looks very similar to Starcraft).
 
Learning RTS gameplay on the newest titles is like learning to drive with an automatic. It may be easier than standard, but you're going to miss out on driving a lot of cars.
 
Tiktaalik said:
Learning RTS gameplay on the newest titles is like learning to drive with an automatic. It may be easier than standard, but you're going to miss out on driving a lot of cars.
Click to expand...

Actually, to use your analogy, it's more like learning to drive a car without antilock brakes. You could learn it without the system, but then you'd move on to a modern car and a lot of the unique braking tricks you spent time learning would be mostly useless.

You can learn micro with a game like Rise of Legends, Age of Empires 3, or Dawn of War as well as you could learn it from an obselete game like Warcraft 2, only you could learn how to manage modern interfaces and enjoy some of the great newer features of the genre at the same time.
 
I think C&C3 would be a good choice. It's not too heavy on the micro, or the macro...but still has a nice balance of both. SupCom is way too far over on the macro side, and Warcraft 3 and COH are too far to the micro side...C&C3, albeit simple...is a good balance I think.
 
AdmiralViscen said:
No it isn't.
Click to expand...

try to send some units to the other side of the map.


yeeeaaahhh. You'd be lucky if 50% of them made it.


CoH's pathfinding is much more forgiving.

It's not a big deal to experienced players but micro-ing is not very newb friendly
 
Fragamemnon said:
Actually, to use your analogy, it's more like learning to drive a car without antilock brakes. You could learn it without the system, but then you'd move on to a modern car and a lot of the unique braking tricks you spent time learning would be mostly useless.

You can learn micro with a game like Rise of Legends, Age of Empires 3, or Dawn of War as well as you could learn it from an obselete game like Warcraft 2, only you could learn how to manage modern interfaces and enjoy some of the great newer features of the genre at the same time.
Click to expand...

We'll see when Starcraft 2 comes out, but I have a strong feeling it'll tend toward the "archaic."
 
Tiktaalik said:
We'll see when Starcraft 2 comes out, but I have a strong feeling it'll tend toward the "archaic."
Click to expand...

It'll be able to allow you to select more than 12 units at a time, so at least there's that.
 
Starcraft wins the thread. It runs on just about any computer out there, its cheap as hell, has a good SP campaign, a shit-ton of MP maps, B.net play, a shit-ton of custom made maps, fun skirmish play against the AI, adjustable game speed, great gameplay, great balance, great units, great music, great everything except graphics, which are stuck at 640x480 res.

If the TC doesn't report back with, "I've just bought the SC battlechest", he should be banned.
 
Frag's list is pretty much the definitive one of the thread.

Starcraft/Warcraft/RA1-2, etc. are all too old. This thread shouldn't have suggestions from people whose only experience with RTSs are whatever ancient ass ones they have fond memories of/are still playing.
 
everybody on board the starcraft bandwagon!

next stop, selfdelusionville.

It's probably the most balanced game of all time, but it's in no way newb friendly.
 
Eh RA2 is marginal, if he came back with that it wouldn't be the sort of retrograde travesty coming off an AoE2 background that starcraft, warcraft 2, or the older C&C games would be.
 
ElectricBlue187 said:
everybody on board the starcraft bandwagon!

next stop, selfdelusionville.

It's probably the most balanced game of all time, but it's in no way newb friendly.
Click to expand...

Well, when your sum total of RTS experience seems to be just blizzard and older westwood games, it's sort of the only thing to recommend.
 
Rise of Nations would be a good choice. It's going to be $5 at EB/GS this weekend.

I like Empire Earth I, but it's kind of hard.
 
Rise of Nations is sorta like the RTS equivalent of Civilization and shares some common traits with Age of Empires

Dawn of War & Company of Heroes are from the strategic side of things, capturing objectives and taking cover in craters, that kind of thing

Command and Conquer 3 is just mindless destruction, whoever has the biggest army wins...there is some basic strategy elements here too but it's mostly he who has the gold type of thing
 
Tiktaalik said:
I'm not sure if Warcraft 3 is a good choice because it's a bit of a weirdo RTS/RPG hybrid and there aren't any other RTS's that are really the same. The skills developed in Warcraft 3 don't carry over.
Click to expand...

It teaches micro-management (which is the primary field of modern RTS's) and traditional basebuilding/resource collecting. Plus the mix of RPG elements makes it very friendly to inexperienced RTS players.

A very good place to start.
 
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