RTS games are not popular these days, ꦕbeing overshadowed hard with the likes of Battle Royale titles and FPS games. However, if it wasn't for RTS titles, many of those genres wouldn't be where they are today. Some wouldn't even exist.
Take MOBA's or Tower Defense games. They focus on managing one unit or an army of buildings, respectively. Games like 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:League of Legends and 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:DOTA are huge today and its thanks to how RTS title𒈔s were king in mechanics and overall balance. Because the genre has been mainly forgotten, plenty of titles have outdated systems that will frus⛄trate most gamers. Today, we are going to look at some of the most genre-defining mechanics and some that should stay in the past.
10 🐭 Game-Changing: Morale👍
With RTS ti🥃tles focusing on unit p♚ositioning and strategy, it is easy to overlook the more human element of what the units themselves are going through mentally.
Morale is a mechanic that is a numeric representation of a unit's coordination and mental wellbeing. Typically, this stat is reduced with the usage of explosives or chemical weapons. Low morale means squads break up, get fewer bonuses from cover, and are generally weaker than a high morale squad. It adds༒ a new layer of strategy and allows lesser-used units in other games to have a place in the sandbox.
9 ✤ Outdated: Overabundance of Factions
Factions are a core pillar in any RTS game. This asymmetrical game design allows for players to create♎ different strategies that the enemy is using to hopefully overcome them.
It is really easy to overdo this, however. Games like Dawn of War have nearly a dozen factions in them if you i🦩nclude all of the expansions, meaning that overlap is inevitable. This not only causes balance problems, but it also means some factions lose their unique identity. However, too few factions and the game is not as enjoyable to replay. It's a fine balance designers must strike for the game to be both replayable and balanced.
8 🦋 Game-Changing: Keyboard Shortcuts ♓
This seems like a weird entry but seriously think about it. Being able to instantly select your buildi💦ngs using a keystroke instead of panning your camera to it saves time.
And saving time is paramount to being a high skill player in the RTS genre. High, well-made command outputs or actions per second—APS for short—are a core factor in high skill ceilings. Take 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Starcraft for instance. The addition of group saving and more shortcuts in meant that it was much easier and intuitive t𒉰o play compared to the original, shifting the skill gap towards unit compositions and positioning. This simple change created a massive shift in the genre to more active games being played.
7 Outdated: Economy Systꦗems
Mining a critical point on the map fo🦂r a resource is fine by itself. The problem is damn near every RTS game follows this exact same formula. Finding an RTS game that encourꦉages different playstyles is exceptionally rare nowadays.
For those who aren't as familiar, most RTS games have 2 to 3 resources players must juggle. One is typically a resource found, while the other is more controlled and is either a made building or a conditional currency made in fights. It works well and gets the job done, but very few games have tried to iterate on this or 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:make it seem less silly. Map control is encouraged with this, but if the tuning of resources is wrong you can end up with titles that encourage turtling like Supreme Commander.
6 Game-Changing: Unit Automation 💧
Another big change from Starcraft to Starcraft 2 is how worker units were made autonomous. This means that they will collect and deposit materials on their own𓆉 without the player's guidance.
This is a massive change in the genre and shifts micromanaging into the areas that matter more. Instead of an opponent getting a leg up on you because they managed their workers better—something you have no control over—it is instead based on skill made in skirmishes throughout the match. Some other mechanics have this automation as well, like formations in Total War or Supreme Commander allo⛦wing armies to stay uniform throughout a fight.
5 💃 ⛄ Outdated: Rock Paper Scissor Counter Design
Infantry are good against vehicles. Vehicles are great against aircraft. Aircraft are great against Infantry. Nearly every RTS 🐼game follows a philosophy like this and it's such a tired cliche.
Nothing is inherently wrong with the counter-based unit design. In fact, it is arguably one of the best ways to make units stand out from each other. However, very few games have stepped out of this triangle of balance besides a few units breaking these rules. What about units that affect the enemy's economy, letting you siphon their materials when you scavenge the remains of their vehicles? Or allowing aircraft to provide constant surveillance with no means of atꦓtacking other enemies? Again, this overall counter design is great for competitive balance, but it is a massive hurdle for creativity when nearly every unit has to follow this philosophy. Fun should come before competitive viability any day.
4 💟 Game-Changing: Heroes
Warcraft III is renowned for its fun skirmish battles and game-changing hero units. The heroes were such a fun component th🐽at a mod was created to utilize them in a unique arena setti🔯ng.
Of course, most know that today as DOTA, one of the best mods ever created for any video game. It spawned the MOBA genre because of how it expanded heroes. If that doesn't show just how fantastic heroes are to the genre, nothing else can. The ability for players to micromanage a single unit with a variety of situational abilities means a skilled player can dominate small armies with a single hero🤡 if they use their whole arsenal right, flipping the genre on its head. Nearly every RTS h🌺as included special units or hero units since to capitalize on the unique gameplay they offer.
3 ꧑ Outdated: Focus on Base Building ﷽
R⭕eal-Time Strategy titles thrive off of the focus on unit positioning, army composition, and micromanagꦐing from the player controlling them. Few of these things transition well when focusing on creating a large base, however.
That isn't to say that base building shouldn't be in RTS games at all, though. They should, as they allow players to create unique defenses and focus their army output on what they deem fit. The issue is when there are dozens of buildings and options toඣ choose from. It bogs down the decision making in𒁏 skirmishes and shifts it to research and planning.
2 ꦓG꧋ame-Changing: Control Points
If control points were not introduced in Relic's various RTS titles such as Company of Heroes and Dawn of War, the genre would be in a much worseไ state design-wise than it currently sits.
Control points are critical locations on the map players must control to earn resources. They encourage map control and mean turtles—players who stay near their base and rarely expand—will have a really hard time competing with aggressive players. Passive players💛 were encouraged to be more aggressive, which means more potential mistakes and more chances to outplay opponents. While it is a common trope that could see some innovation, control points offer a dynamic in RTS games that vastly outweigh the cons it offers.
1 ༒ Outdated: Fog of War
For a genre focused on outsmarting opponents, you would think that information would be paramount to success. It does to s📖ome degree, but few games have pushed espionage and deception in the genre.
Fog of War in its most basic form prevents this. It simply hides what is happening in locations that the player has no units in. It's essential so players can't be omniscient gods, but the mechanic has only ever been expanded in R.U.S.E, a game built entirely on espionage. Players could create fake armies and send false orders to the enemy to make them think they were doing a certain strategy when they really weren't. Unfortunately, the game 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:isn't available anymore. If you can get your hands on it and 🐼love the genre, give it a try. It shows just how much this mechanic can be expanded on a competitive and casual level.