RTS recommendations needed

from Stardock Forums

I'm having a hard time getting my fix until some new rts titles come out and am hoping someone out there has some ideas.

First, I need it to have somewhat up to date graphics.  Second, even though it should be obvious by the mention of rts, no turn based games.  Third, just a brief list of recent favorites to use as a template and in no particular order.

Supreme Commander-  Unique looking factions, excellent graphics, previously unmatched scale, and an excellent variety of units.

SOSE and Entrenchment-  Same reasons as SupCom.  Also the tech trees are well thought out and diverse, and upgrades for the starbases and caps really give you the ability to capitalize on certain chokepoints and fleets.

Command and Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars and the expansion, Kane's Wrath-  Graphics, single player campaign was a lot of fun, and the two factions handled very differently.  Also far less corny than the recent Red Alert releases.

Dawn of War Soulstorm-  I know I said no turn based games but this gets an honorable mention simply for the fact that that it looked pretty decent and I thought that the over the top violence, I'm ashamed to say, was a draw for me.  It made the battles seem all the more immersive.  All the different factions had different strengths and weaknesses to exploit.  The drawback to this game was the fact that there were like 5 different battlegrounds that were pretty much recycled throughout the game.  Also the Idea of a customizable commander was interesting before they ruined it with DOW2 which handled too much like an rpg for my tastes.

Anyways thanks in advance for any advice and if you don't own any of these I highly recommend them.

124,260 views 47 replies
Reply #1 from GalCiv2 Forums Top

If you're a Star Wars fan I'd recommend Empire at War. Land combat is okay, but space battles are a lot of fun.

A classic to try would be Homeworld 1 and 2. Also by Relic: Company of Heroes.

Reply #2 from GalCiv2 Forums Top

I stopped buying RTS games when they stopped making them with llisences for a couple of multiplayer installs. I am going to buy a game twice just so i can play it at home with my wife?? Over my dead body,,,, please pass the console!! (Console games know how to let several players engage with the one game copy)

TouchTasks - Access tasks with ease on Windows touchscreens.
Reply #3 from Sins Forums Top

Quoting GeneralEtrius, reply 1
If you're a Star Wars fan I'd recommend Empire at War. Land combat is okay, but space battles are a lot of fun.
I'd suggest getting mods for this game. Balance is so bad that it's annoying even in single-player.

Quoting Mystikmind, reply 2
(Console games know how to let several players engage with the one game copy)
Depends on the game. More and more games seem to decide that you only play multiplayer online, so you won't ever be playing with someone else next to you.

 

:fox:

Reply #4 from Demigod Forums Top

Other than the first Dawn of War and its expansions (which are indeed classics), I'd suggest the following:

1. Rise of Nations (plus Throne & Patriots expansion): excellent history-based RTS game, with well-done strategic maps.

2. Battle for Middle Earth 2: best use of the Tolkien license that I've seen in any game.

3. Universe at War: huge fun and very diverse factions.

Honorable Mentions: Dragonshard, Dawn of War 2, Dungeon Keeper 2,

Reply #5 from Sins Forums Top

Sins of a Solar Empire is easily one of the best games of the past number of years, and definately the best I have ever. It's extremely addictive, and the sheer epic feel makes this game a must-play if you like RTS games. Entrenchment further improves it, too. ^_^

Otherwise, the first two Age of Empires games should definately be played, and both can be purchased for only ten dollars! This two games have to be added to any list, due to their sheer entertainment longevity. I was playing the Age of Empires games for nearly an entire decade without boredom!

For console owners, Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen, Herzog Zwei, and Dune are all fantastic RTS games. ^_^

Reply #6 from Demigod Forums Top

Quoting Swordsalmon, reply 5


For console owners, Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen, Herzog Zwei, and Dune are all fantastic RTS games.

They haven't aged well. -_-

Reply #7 from Sins Forums Top

company of heroes - dow2 on speed

combat mission shock force - a more tactical realistic RTS. Its realtime with no base building. Bit like

homeworld2 - if you have not played this you are in for one helluva ride. Still looks awesome and has grphical update mods available for extra dx9 effects.

LOTR RTS - not that good but may tickle people who like twitch RTS

Mark of Chaos: Battlemarch - nice game.... if u turn off the shadows u get decent frames and no problems now

 

Reply #8 from Stardock Forums Top

As corney as it may be, I have been really into Red Alert 3.  Picked it up when we got it in Impulse, and it brings me back to the days of staing up 'til 3 AM fending off waves of Prism tanks.

Reply #10 from Stardock Forums Top

If you're a Star Wars fan I'd recommend Empire at War. Land combat is okay, but space battles are a lot of fun.

A classic to try would be Homeworld 1 and 2. Also by Relic: Company of Heroes.

Haven't tried the Homeworld series.  Talked to a few people who said it was pretty hard cause the units carry over to the next level or something like that.  I've kinda been on the fence about getting it but it's worth it, huh?  I've got the other two though and you're in the ballpark. 

I just got my first computer a year ago and feel like I've missed alot as far as rts's go and that's always been my genre of choice.  You're pretty much screwed from the get go trying to play something similar on a console you know?  But if the graphics aren't semi up to date it kinda ruins it for me.

3. Universe at War: huge fun and very diverse factions.

I'd heard the camera angles made this game pretty frustrating but this one is another that I was considering.  Guess I'll have to try it myself.

As corney as it may be, I have been really into Red Alert 3. Picked it up when we got it in Impulse, and it brings me back to the days of staing up 'til 3 AM fending off waves of Prism tanks.

I'm a fan of the whole series except this and the fps.  Seriously something about the cut scenes and the humor with the units is just too over the top for me.

Reply #11 from Demigod Forums Top

Since you've played Supreme Commander, be sure to get the expansion Forged Alliance, which is what Supreme Commander should have been. It's going real cheap now too.

Look out for Supreme Commander 2 as well.

 

EDIT: Thread reading fail on my part. Thanks SnallTrippin.

Reply #12 from Elemental Forums Top

Get Empire :Total war and just play skirmish games...seriously, and multiplayer.  Good times.

 

Also he said he had played SC already SyD.

Reply #13 from Demigod Forums Top

i dont get ppls fascination with supcom

i tried it several times

to me its just a weak rts imitation of M.A.X (mechanized assault and exploration).

M.A.X beats any other RTS ive played (it also has a turnbased mode and as a turnbased game i would rate it second only to master of orion 2)

there is absolutely no ingame information or feedback on units and how many hitpoints / dmg they have etc

Reply #14 from Stardock Forums Top

Look out for Supreme Commander 2 as well

Definitely one I'm looking forward to.  That, Starcraft 2, and C&C 4 are all on the horizon but still too far off.

Get Empire :Total war and just play skirmish games...seriously, and multiplayer. Good times.

I heard this was really buggy but I assume it's been patched sufficiently?

And again any info is much appreciated.  I'm hurtin' for something new and most of my friends are into fps's.

Reply #15 from Sins Forums Top

Empire: Total War has a turn based portion to it. The skirmishes alone(for me) wont cut it. Bugs have been patched but I suspect the setting lacks the interest of most people than the pevious games in the series. Something about it lacks a soul even though on paper it looks like a improvement in every aspect.

 

My suggestion, Company of Heroes and Age of Empires 3(Asian Dynasties in particular is very good).

Reply #16 from Sins Forums Top

Right - Age of Empires III is an RTS I can reccomend, its all very well made.  The home-city mechanic can be a pain at times, but that's bareable.  Don't bother with the Warchiefs expansion, go straight for the Asian Dynasties, that's the good expansion.  Its also the only RTS game that I know which recognises the role trains had in the industrial revolution.  Everyone other RTS avoids them like the plague...why?

 

[rant]

Although...Command and Conquer 3?  You actually got this to work?  To everyone else who might think about buying this game, please try and playtest it on your computer before you actually buy the thing.  It has this brutal error which causes the game to CTD every ten to twenty minutes from some kind of memory leak...an error which EA blatantly ignores despite there being hundreds of posts on their forum about the thing...very angry posts.  Please, be careful.  I managed to wrangle my money back, however you may not be so lucky

[/rant]

 

Otherwise, it looks like you have a good base to work from...although Dawn of War goes totally over my head :)

Reply #17 from Sins Forums Top

Company of Heroes is basically regarded as the best RTS to date by the worlds gaming press, even if you don't personally agree.

Given that you obviously enjoy space themed games you should probably play Homeworld2.

Reply #18 from Elemental Forums Top

I love just WATCHING Empire:Total War battles, let alone playing multiplayer etc.  I hardly play the campagin these days, should be a 1.4 patch very soon *(Havnt signed onto steam in a while so it might be out).  All depends on what you like.  AI isn't super awesome, play online is though.

Reply #19 from Sins Forums Top

http://forums.relicnews.com/showthread.php?t=191374

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jz8BYwDnMDk

homeworld2 - i still play it today... edit the config file to get more current settings.

 

Reply #20 from Elemental Forums Top

I also cannot stress how good Homeworld was - Good times had by all.

Reply #21 from Stardock Forums Top

I'll second the recommendations for the Total War series: they're turn-based strategy, but with a *very* deep real-time tactical model which is in fact the only reason to play the games since the turn-based part is seriously lacking in strategy. Personally I prefer Medieval II over Empire, both for performance as well as coolness of the setting ;) but from Rome onwards they're all worth playing.

Also, Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle-Earth II. Imagine Soulstorm, but prettier and using the Tolkien license rather than Warhammer 40k, then add a campaign with an actual storyline *and* the ability to create your own hero besides the ones from the lore. It's awesome, and the best proof that not everything from EA has to suck.

But a sightly unusual recommendation would be Earth: 2160, available on Steam for $5 (and I believe GoG as well). I bought it a while ago and it's pretty fun, with some nice graphics as well given its age and price. The only problem is the stupid activation scheme, but that only has to be done once and then stays out of your way, as it should.

Reply #22 from Elemental Forums Top

I was in the same boat - looking for a new RTS to tide me over, and this is what lead me to Stardock.  I was an addict of Starcraft and Warcraft 3, and played a bunch of other RTS titles along the way.  Once Sup Com 2 and Starcraft 2 come out I'll be in heaven, but until then I've looked at:

 

- AOE 3 was a lot of fun single player, but the graphics are a little dated now.

- Company of Heroes is a great RTS, but after a few plays I grew tired of the World War 2 setting and feeling like I have to watch everything all the time.  The flag capturing just gets annoying.  Still fun to screw around with, though.

- Red Alert 3 is interesting, but the camera was way too zoomed in for me to play consistantly.  I spent a couple hours trying to edit files to fix it, which I know can be done, but just gave up on it.  It really didn't feel as cool as Red Alert 2 did.

- Warhammer looked interesting, but in the end it felt like Warcraft 3 but less fun.  I might go give this a shot, but the demo really didn't have me interested at all.

- Universe at War is a lot of fun to screw around with!  The graphics aren't great, but its a well designed game and pretty cheap.

- Sins of a Solar Empire was a blast, but feels more like civilization than your standard RTS fair.  Definately worth looking into, but don't expect it to play as fast as Starcraft.  Theres a community that plays SOSE regularly, but its not the competitive ladder system you see in COH and WC3, etc.

- DEMIGOD is the game my group picked.  It isn't your standard strategy RTS, but it is fast paced with games usually ending within 30 minutes.  The amount of crucial decisions you make every minute is hard to match.  The game is all strategy.  The connection issues are gone, there is a steady online community.  And the game is gorgeous.

- Majesty 2 just came out, and plays a lot different than your standard RTS.  If you didn't play Majesty 1, this is definately worth a look.

- Rise of Nations is one of those legacy games everyone needs to play, just because it was so unique...but I'm not sure I could get as into it now that its aged a bit.

Reply #23 from Elemental Forums Top

Battle for Middle Earth II and its expansion are good shouts.

What counts as 'somewhat up to date graphics' for you? If you're willing to accept 'not craptastic', you can't go wrong with Warcraft III. It is an RTS/RPG hybrid, but not nearly to the extent as DOW II. If you're willing to reach further backward, Starcraft and Dark Reign (the original) are reasonably attractive 2D games. 

 I'd stay away from Majesty 2 at this point, and also Demigod if you don't like RPGs.

Reply #24 from Elemental Forums Top

On the Demigod front, give the demo a try.  Zig's right, it does have a strong action RPG influence in how your hero unit gets stronger and you select abilities, but it definately is nothing like Morrowind, Diablo, or any other RPG game.  It plays more like a class based FPS, where you are fighting to control a few key points on the field.

Reply #25 from Stardock Forums Top

Those pics of Homeworld 2 look great.  Reminds me of Sins so I guess I'll have to give it a try.

Demigod looks great but the lack of single player content dissapoints me and the elitism of the online community keeps me from playing multiplayer.

Company of Heroes is basically regarded as the best RTS to date by the worlds gaming press, even if you don't personally agree.

I have this game and really did enjoy it.  The "best" is stretching it but good none the less.  I guess I do like futuristic type games only because the WWII era games are starting to get repetitious to me.  Aside from a tweak here or there to your base building etc. I don't know how many times I can pit my sherman tanks against panzers and have it still feel fresh.

Also a game I didn't mention but that I can recommend to others is World in Conflict.  Great graphics, compelling story, no base building (this kinda put me off at first since I tend to turtle at the beginning of most matches [insert joke here]), and the really unique take on support abilities was refreshing. 

Again thanks for the info.  I think I've got some really good feedback to throw some money at but keep em coming if you have anything to add.