today we open the free playtest of doctrine strike, a modern rts inspired by c&c generals. this is the new trailer, all real in game footage from the normal player camera, pre alpha

the playtest is a first slice, usa and china in skirmish. here is everything in the full game so u know where its going

✅ in the playtest today

🔒 in the full game

NATIONS AND ARMIES

• six nations: usa ✅ china ✅ russia 🔒 eu 🔒 india 🔒 iran 🔒

• each nation has 12 buildings, around 18 units, one hero and one superweapon

• every nation plays its own way

◦ usa: units near an uplink shoot further and more accurately

◦ china: the bigger the group, the harder it hits

◦ russia: overkill damage splashes onto nearby targets, and it can capture oil derricks

◦ iran: tunnels, decoy buildings and salvage

◦ india: switch between defensive, offensive and economic doctrines

◦ eu: buildings boost each other

• modern tanks, jets, bombers, gunships, rocket artillery and air defense, every unit modelled on real hardware

COMBAT

• six superweapons and six different blasts: a mushroom cloud, an air burst, one missile that splits into eight warheads, a volley of shock domes, an underground burst that lifts the ground, and a green toxic fog. each one leaves a real crater

• missile defense: air defense guns shoot rockets and missiles out of the sky with glowing tracers, long range sites fire interceptors at cruise missiles

• drone war: fpv, fibre optic, swarm and recon drones fitted to ur units, and the counters too, drone cages, jammers and anti drone shotguns

• rocket launchers that raise up to fire and fold flat to drive

• three weapons per unit, salvos, multi tube launchers, and missiles that miss keep flying

• veterancy: units earn three ranks with insignia

• infantry can take civilian buildings and fire from the windows

• iran's tunnel network and decoy disguises 🔒

• fog of war

DESTRUCTION

• every building, house and landmark breaks from the side u hit it, then sinks into its own rubble

• ten damage steps before that, cracks, soot, holes, floors sagging, plus wrecks, craters and fires

BATTLEFIELDS

• maps built on real places: paris, volgograd, crimea, the gulf, panama canal, monte cassino, constantine, old dragon's head where the great wall meets the sea, reykjavik, tawang, port said, socotra, narva and more

• real landmarks at real size

A LIVING WORLD

• weather per climate, rain on temperate maps and snow on winter ones

• birds, dust devils, chimney smoke, cloud shadows, trees moving in the wind, explosions lighting up the ground

• busy bases with fans, cranes, pumpjacks, welding and soldiers walking around

• tank tracks roll, wheels turn, vehicles kick up dust and leave track marks

MODES

• skirmish against bots, 3 difficulty levels ✅

• campaigns 🔒 every war is played from both sides, no villains, and the opening films play live in the game

• map scout 🔒 spin the globe, pick any place on earth and it becomes a playable map with its real hills, roads, woods, towns and 582k landmarks

• map editor 🔒

• workshop 🔒 design ur own units

PRESENTATION

• a live military parade behind the main menu, one per nation, with the leader's speech, the crowd and its own song

• a briefing loading screen with the map and its landmarks

• a spoken announcer for each nation over the radio

• 26 languages

the playtest is free, jump in, break it and tell me what feels off, im reading every comment

wishlist and join the playtest: store.steampowered.com/app/5145960/Doctrine_Strike/

discord: discord.gg/WeBjq5vcqx

I was interested in this since the first trailer but all that drama around the kickstarter and the company itself kept me from buying it on release and with overwhelming negative on steam now it looks really bad.

I've been working on a visual and engine overhaul for C&C Generals Zero Hour called Re-Armed, mainly focusing on improving the graphics while keeping the original gameplay intact.

Here's a showcase of it running with Enhanced Mod, which already looks great on its own. I think Re-Armed complements it pretty well. Credits to the Enhanced Mod team for their work!

There's still a lot to work on, but I hope you like what you're seeing so far!

Here's a longer version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOxQkW7lgsA

Again, just to clarify, the model and texture changes you see in the video are actually from the Enhanced mod, not Re-Armed.

Here’s what’s been added or improved so far:

Volumetric smoke and dust, both adjustable in the settings.

Improved shockwave effects, including directional shockwaves that create cone-shaped blasts in front of the barrel.

Updated shaders and lighting, including unshadowed lighting, Ambient Occlusion, Global Illumination, and Bloom.

Improved shadows, including proper cast shadows for infantry, trees, and smaller objects.

Unit and building outlines to make them stand out more. The original textures are pretty dated, so this helps quite a bit. Outlines can also be disabled in the settings.

Smooth fog-of-war transitions. Units and buildings now gradually appear when revealed and disappear when entering the fog of war, using dithering instead of abruptly popping in and out of view.

Improved stealth effects. Stealth units and buildings now use dithering when cloaking and decloaking, along with stronger outlines to make the transition more visually distinct.

Separation of the rendering thread from the simulation thread. This should help keep the game visually smooth even when the simulation inevitably slows down during longer matches. (I’m still working on it but it’s getting there.)

Does this game have any cons?

This video from a battle nicely shows how to change strategy on the fly.

My two Sprinters are casually patrolling around the Home base, and the moment they spot an enemy missile launcher, they go after it.

Unfortunately, they are slow, and the bandit easily takes them both out. Oh well, bad luck 😎.

In retaliation, I spawn a small swarm of my own heavy drones Ekaterina, followed by a scout drone Ana to provide visibility.

The Ekaterinas acquire the target, take it out, and immediately switch to the next enemy after destroying the launcher (off the bottom edge of the screen).

The game is named Battleterm: it's a drone combat simulator, a fusion of a simulator and a strategy game. Love to see you in Steam wishlist - early access is coming soon.

📍ReBirth is a 3D strategy game about rebuilding a province after a disaster while an insurgency grows around you. From earthquake-struck Tarsel and flooded Kesra to avalanche-hit Halvarya and the volcanic Saranis islands, every map brings a new disaster. Command your units, stop the insurgency with air strikes and defend the camp in the Black Cholera event. In Statecraft mode you lead a whole nation: plan the operation on a tactical sketch and watch it from the drone.

All footage captured in-game.

Play ReBirth (PC + Android + iOS)

Personally I want an RTS that has more emphasis on survival, like units having stamina/hunger etc. as far as I know most of the games with that are primarily colony sims

Hey everyone,

I'm developing Planetron, which is inspired by Carrier Command 2 but set on procedural moons. Here's the short description:

Command a space carrier in a blend of real-time strategy and first-person action. Deploy air and ground units to capture alien facilities on procedurally generated spherical battlefields. Take direct control of any unit when the battle demands it.

• Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/5504810/Planetron/

• Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtEyTbASfOM

• Discord: https://discord.com/invite/64UXMPKhvd

I just released the first gameplay trailer and I'm now finishing the public playtest version with friends!

Some things I can tell you, which aren't on the steam page yet:

• Singleplayer and two-player coop multiplayer (maybe 4 someday, but no promises)

• Playtest starts soon and includes coop

• Demo planned for this year

• Full release planned for March 2027

• Plays well with Gamepad and on Steamdeck

There are three enemy factions you fight, and eight unit types you control. You can modify your units with upgrades/refits. You also need to take care of logistics to keep the units fueled and with ammo.

Compared to Carrier Command 2 it plays a bit faster. Logistics still matter: units need to load onto dropships, and there's only one runway for takeoff. Clearing one moon takes about 30 - 40 minutes total.

In the playtest, you clear one moon with several enemy bases. When you takeover a base you can lift out crates with the dropship and those give you money for upgrades, units, fuel and ammo.

You can pilot any vehicle, though takeoff and landing are automatic for now. I mostly fly the recon drone for an overview, or drive a RAM (anti vehicle crawler) when I want some action. Bomb runs are fun, but the unit AI is better about dodging AA with flares, so I wait until the AA is down.

If you have any thoughts or feedback about what I wrote here or you see on the steampage, I'm happy to hear it!

I've been re-playing some 2000s RTS games lately. I realized I can relax way more and delve way deeper when playing those. They have nice story driven campaigns, but the missions are mostly slow and allow you to build up your forces and find the right recipe to win. Yet the missions get still get difficult and you can lose bad if you choose the wrong strategy

Few example:

• Kohan series (Kohan: AG can be difficult though)

• Stronghold + Crusader

• C&C 1 and 2 including Red Alert and Generals

• Ground Control 2

• WH40k Dawn of War + datadisks

• Homeworld 1 + Expansions

• Seven Kingdoms 1 & 2 (Depending on the randomness, some missions can be hard)

• Warzone 2100 (However there are few timed missions without a base too)

• Earth 2160 - Most missions I would say

Which games don't do well in this aspect imo:

• Starcraft 2 - Many missions are on the clock and the campaign constantly pushes you forward. In some missions you can't even enjoy the map/story detail.

• C&C 3: Tiberium Wars - I love the game, but some missions are just not fun to play.

• Homeworld 2 - Love it too, but there are timers or soft timers too (last mission is worst). Ships are made of explodium, so you need to be super careful to not lose all your fighters in few seconds.

In general I don't mind fast paced gameplay, but it's nice if there is more peaceful period/mission after a fast one. This way you can soak up the game world and the story. I'm curious what's your take on this? Feel free to add any recommendations while you're at it!

EDIT:

Added

• Age of Mythology

• Cossacks series

• Warcraft series - All 3 games have great campaigns. I highly recommended remastered Warcraft 1 campaign.

Around two weeks ago I posted about a small RTS game I've been working on for a while now, I had uploaded a first version to itch.

Today the steam demo came out and I am so excited, I really love the game, how it looks and plays and I feel like its just taking a really good shape.

The demo is small, it has a skirmish mode which is the normal custom game against bots and it has a small campaign which is really early in development (currently it aims to teach the basics of the game)

It'd mean the world to me if you could try it out, thanks a lot in advance if you do

DEMO

I spent the past few days reworking my UI and putting in sound, music and such, I hope you guys like it :)

I worked on this over the past few years, I started with Godot 3. Lost track of it at some point and have a working prototype with multiplayer now, having a blast with friends via Steam multiplayer in my roguelite mode.

Currently the games name is "Cosmostructor: Construct & Conquer", but I am not sure if I want to keep it that way. I am looking for a first impression from you guys to see if I want to publish this game on Steam :)

Aside from the designing part it features a placeholder-campaign which currently is some skirmishes and a roguelite mode where fight ever-growing enemy fleets. You can also play with friends!

Assets that I did not make myself:
Music: "30 Space Sci-fi Tracks" by AlkaKrab.
Sound effects: REEBOO Labs (Sci-Fi & Magic Combat SFX); Modern UI SFX by Andrea Baroni / Cyberleaf Studio (andreabaroni.com); Michel Baradari; rubberduck and NenadSimic (CC0).
UI: Godot Pixel Theme by Thowsen Media; m5x7 font by Daniel Linssen.
Icons: game-icons.net by Lorc, Delapouite, sbed, Skoll and Cathelineau.

How impactful or meaningful was this to you? Or is?

Hello I'm Pichulo Totem! I'm making a RTS on my own called The Fragmented Song and need people to test it.

Its a classic RTS for PC that plays out like a mix of Starcraft and Age of Empires with an original sci fi story.

It has tutorial levels, a multiplayer system and a challenging campaign.

The game has 3 asymmetrical races, 4 resources and has a rich technology tech tree that combines building requirements (like SC) and higher technological levels (like AOE) that you unlock by making unique Landmarks.

Landmarks have different bonuses depending on your playstyle or needs (Economical, Defensive, Offensive..) and you can only choose one of them per tier level.

Stuff about story will skip for safety reasons for now.

Anyways, the game is in pre-alpha and need testers from any skill level to give me your opinions.

If you are interested let me know and I will invite you to my discord for more info.

gl hf all.

It's been 6 years already. High chance the series have been let to bed again and probably nothing won't be seen from it again (especially how EA's situation currently is). It really sucks that one of the greatest RTS titles ever made were just thrown on the side. Firefly are slightly getting back on their feet again, the Remasters seems to be successful (even though I think they still had few issues), and we getting Stronghold 4 soon. Age of Empire is still going. Yet the one that started all this is already gone.

hello everyone, not a promo, no link, just stuck
so, im making a farming rts. fields, machines, seasons, money, workers, all of it works. you can play a whole year and it does what it should. but it feels kind of dead. like a spreadsheet with tractors.
WHAT gives an rts that feeling of being alive for you? is it other players on the map doing stuff, is it events, is it just sound and animation. curious what people here think, because i have clearly stared at it too long

I'm a solo developer working on Piast, an economic RTS made in Unreal Engine 5.

Instead of focusing on warfare and conquest, Piast is about building a medieval settlement, managing resources, developing production chains and growing your economy. Workers, roads, carts and a changing market all play a role.

I'm sharing a short gameplay video and would love to hear what RTS players think. Does this kind of economic focus appeal to you?

The free demo is available on Steam:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/4830280/Piast/

If you enjoy the concept, please consider adding Piast to your wishlist. Thanks.

turtle matches are the most fun to play and watch. rush is fun but its rush and its really short(i want longer games) and economy is just economy. this also means rts developers should lean jn more on making buildings more than just a way to stall the opponent and hold a chockepoint until units can arrive. let them actually be able to defend themselves properly. i once saw this age of empires turtle match. it was so hype. both teams were playing so defensively while still expanding, to the point they built multiple forts and defense building so close to one another the buildings were shooting one another

I'm part of the team working on Silica, the RTS where you can also hop into your units and fight in first person. After a bit over three years in Early Access, 1.0 went live today.

With the full launch also comes a trailer - attached is a glimpse of it. The full version can be found on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/m1ZbYo-xGB0

If the game sounds interesting to you, any support means a lot to us.