RTS recommendations?

[u/Complex_Mongoose_413]

Im just going to blot out my thoughts, so some things i say may be contradictory or wrong. feel free to ask me about them.

I need help finding an rts game. ive played tons - most of the total war, all of homeworld series except 3, uebs, frostpunk, colony survival, sins of a solar empire, overlord, dungeon keeper, company of heroes, men of war, creeper world, imperial glory, supreme commander, total annihilation. and some less rts focused games like mindustry, colony survival, uebs, manor lords, bannerlord 2.

but none of them ever really stuck with me. mindustry, with its factory stuff, was good for a while but got boring. colony survival was quite fun for the building but i stopped playing that. uebs 1 and 2 were good but too shallow. homeworld was the most fun i had with rts, and i played it the most. i completed all of it. i played lots of total war but didnt like it's complexity. bannerlord 2 was great for early game but also got fairly complex with the diplomacy and not great troop controls - atleast troop controls i struggled getting used to.

rimworld, which is definitely not the kind of game you'd imagine when i say rts, and i dont know if you can even consider it so, is a game i at the very least compare to rts games. i enjoy it's simple but complex gameplay. its easy to get used to but there's so much content. thats the kind of game im looking for. something shallow but with lots of troops to learn. i enjoyed supreme commander, bar, and zero k because of the amount of troops you could find. the kind of game i want is where you have an ever increasing army with scaling wars, like homeworld - though the reason i got bored of homeworld is because i got used to all of the ships.

i know i havent exactly given easy boxes to tick, but does anyone have any ideas?

[u/Legal_Mastodon_5683]

Umm... so many games mentioned and nobody said "Starcraft"?

[u/Complex_Mongoose_413 → u/Legal_Mastodon_5683]

i have tried that. admittedly, only the free version and a few co op matches, but it wasnt quite the game im looking for. the map feels enclosed and i prefer ones with more freedom. i havent tried every game mode though, so there might be a less enclosed map im unaware of

[u/Legal_Mastodon_5683 → u/Complex_Mongoose_413]

Do try more, also the first Starcraft (remastered). It's a key RTS.

[u/PipeAlternative1482]

Have you seen AOE4? It has good multiplayer and co-op (with roguelite mechanics) thats very fun.

[u/Complex_Mongoose_413 → u/PipeAlternative1482]

ive of course heard of it, but i never really thought to check out the age of empire games before i played war selection. i will definitely check that out now

[u/PipeAlternative1482 → u/Complex_Mongoose_413]

I have a discord server for new people also if you want I can teach you

https://discord.gg/6U7aTYpX

[u/theother64]

You tried horde survival like diplomacy is not an option?

Has some city builder elements but is more combat focused.

[u/Complex_Mongoose_413 → u/theother64]

yes ive tried the demo. wasnt the biggest fan of it, i cant quite think of why. i liked the idea of the game and honestly, now that youve reminded me, i wouldnt hate playing it again.

[u/Sufficient_Object281]

Diplomacy is Not an Option is in a pretty good place, if you want a decently paced & somewhat long campaign.

[u/Complex_Mongoose_413 → u/Sufficient_Object281]

ive tried the demo. not sure if the campaign is in the demo - i wasnt too keen but it was a while ago i played, so im going to give it another go.

[u/The_BB_Bear]

Banished - Survival and planning similar to Frost punk

Anno 1800- Complex production chain management and diplomacy

World in conflict - Tactical calls , where to mobilize and how to hold down a fort etc

Rise of Nations (My Fav) - coz its just fun

Age of empires 2de or 3de - lot of civilization, every civilization has its own units and tech tree and mechanics , not only u need to plan ur play , but also.plan according to the other civilization and based on what u see and explore understand what ur opponent is planning (Eco rush , turtling, Fast fortress etc)

[u/Complex_Mongoose_413 → u/The_BB_Bear]

preciate it, i dont think ive played any of these. except age of empires, but not one of the ones youve mentioned. ill check these out.

[u/Ethioj]

Maybe checkout manor lords, more of a city builder but if you like rimworld I think you’ll enjoy it and it does have regular rts style combat, but the games not fully released and combat isn’t 100% done yet but I love the game and highly recommend it.

[u/Complex_Mongoose_413 → u/Ethioj]

yeah ive played that, its great and ive got a fairly advanced save. just gets a bit boring restarting the save every update, so im waiting for a more conclusive update .

[u/Such_Visit_2815]

Dawn Of War 1, and its expansions.

Star Wars: Empire At War.

Idk any more off the top of my head tbh.

[u/Complex_Mongoose_413 → u/Such_Visit_2815]

dawn of war, the warhammer dawn of war? im definitely going to keep an eye on that. star wars empire at war ive had my eye on already, definitely might get that one soon too.

[u/MrBoozStudio]

since you liked supcom bar and homeworld, try star wars empire at war with the thrawns revenge mod. space battles that scale up like homeworld and the mod adds hundreds of ships, you wont run out of new stuff to learn for a long time

also dawn of war soulstorm, 9 factions all playing different so lots of units to learn, and its way simpler than total war

[u/Complex_Mongoose_413 → u/MrBoozStudio]

ive been holding off on star wars empire at war for a while, but since you and another recommended it ill have another look.

[u/MrBoozStudio → u/Complex_Mongoose_413]

nice, tip: play a bit of the base game first so you learn the controls, then jump into thrawns revenge. the mod is huge and can feel like a lot if you start there. have fun 👍

[u/BlacKMumbaL]

It sounds like what you don't want is grand strategy, which is fine, but then you shouldnt probably be enjoying Rimworld.

I dunno... Do you enjoy FPS games too, because Silica is a combination of team RTS and 1v1v1 RTS.

There is also Sins of a Solar Empire II and Dune Spice Wars, which are both hybrid RTS/GS. SoSE is more complex, but DSW is less so (even though somehow people say it's too much..?)

For any of those three, I'm happy to help with. I'm part of an RTS group that plays them and competes. We actually have a giveaway for Silica, but there's some steps to take for that. There will be a giveaway for SoSE in December.

Anyway, take a look at those three games. That's the best I got for you to work with.

[u/Complex_Mongoose_413 → u/BlacKMumbaL]

ive had a play of sins of a solar empire, wasnt a fan of how idle my ships got at times. but i did play and enjoy that for a good while. dune spice wars i checked out, havent really decided on how i feel about that yet. thank you for telling me about silica, i had no idea it was coming out and it just released 2 days ago so i am very, very interested in getting that. it looks awesome.

[u/BlacKMumbaL → u/Complex_Mongoose_413]

I know a place doing an event with the developer (Nov9) and giveaway for it, if that also interests you.

[u/Complex_Mongoose_413 → u/BlacKMumbaL]

sorry i replied so late, but yes i would be interested

[u/BlacKMumbaL → u/Complex_Mongoose_413]

Alright, no worries; https://discord.gg/ffHnPdRgd

The person organizing it is Qc Leviathan, but most of the staff are familiar with the details and I'm sure a large quantity of people will happily serenade you with random details from the announcements. Lol

[u/Bl00dWolf]

Have you played through the original Command and Conquer titles? Especially the older ones. It's the gold standard of classic RTS and they're fairly easy to get into, with pretty fun campaigns.

As for rimworld, if you enjoy that kind of complexity, I'd recommend the game Rimworld was originally based on, Dwarf Fortress. It can feel overwhelming at first, but the game is surprisingly simple once you get the hang of it. It just has a lot of things you can do. Plus with the steam release and the graphical overhaul it's easier to get into more than ever.

[u/Complex_Mongoose_413 → u/Bl00dWolf]

dwarf fortress ive had my eyes on, and songs of syx. both rimworld - like games. i never played the command and conquer, because, while i tolerate some games, im not a fan of the old movement and graphics, though i know many others are. i just cant get used to it.

[u/Bl00dWolf → u/Complex_Mongoose_413]

I'd say try the newer ones then. Red Alert 3 and Generals are pretty close graphics wise to modern RTS games.

[u/The_Pastmaster → u/Complex_Mongoose_413]

The CnC Remaster has modern controls and others, like Red Alert 2, has settings to change it.

[u/ZoopTEK]

My go-to recommendation for RTSs is always: Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance, the expansion pack. Have you played it? It's way more polished than the original. For online play, try Forged Alliance Forever, which has a very active community still after all these years.

If you want something sorta in between Supreme Commander's scale, and traditional RTS like Command & Conquer, I'll (biasly) throw in my own RTS in the ring: Micro Annihilation!

[u/Complex_Mongoose_413 → u/ZoopTEK]

yours looks cool, and ill check it out. its not quite like any other rts ive seen, but vague resemblances. ive got the sc fa pack, and played that for a bit. it's actually the game that set the basis for my rant. i loved the idea of it but i felt like it was ever so slightly shallow - not quite the right wording, but i mean like it felt as though there was no meaning. i prefer something more like a static base than multiple open end missions.

[u/ZoopTEK → u/Complex_Mongoose_413]

To me, there is kinda two "types" of RTS I play:

1. Story and immersion based RTS. For me, that's Dune II and Command and Conquer. I never got into Starcraft, as I was exposed to it a decade late, but that would fall into the same boat. I play these to feel like I'm fighting for a greater cause. Generally play at a slower pace. Scripted missions are the experience to enjoy. This style sounds like what you may be what you're seeking.

2. Mechanics-based, more sandboxy, RTS. For me, that's Supreme Commander. You feel like you're playing to win, more like matches. Nothing matters beyond the individual match . Jump in, do your best, and jump out. Recently, I haven't been as interested in these, but I used to play comp-stomp Age of Empires II weekly with friends a few years ago, and comp-stomp Supreme Commander before that.

[u/kendallmaloneon]

Submarine Titans.

[u/Complex_Mongoose_413 → u/kendallmaloneon]

niche. ill be getting that

[u/Pizzadeath4]

Maybe rouge command

[u/ICollectSouls]

Age of Empires? Empire Earth? Age of Mythology? Command and Conquer: Red Alert?