I am a really big fan of base building in RTS games, which is why I never liked Starcraft. Bases in Starcraft feel like they have such little rhyme or reason. They are messy and ugly. I always build a ton of bases in games like Tiberian Sun, that, while gameplay wise, are a waste of time and money, feel fun to build and fun to defend and destroy. I think a really cool strategy game idea would be a logistics themed game. One where building more realistic bases all over a map is a strategy so that they can supply and support each other. Maybe you start out with a FOB and you need to expand into guerilla held territory, but you need to build COPs and Logistics centers to keep your troops supplied and protected.

I always hated in Starcraft how clicks per second is a means to measure how effective some one is at the game. I really want to see a game where tactics and unit composition matter, where a platoon of mechanized infantry face off against like a BTR platoon and, using strategy, you pull through. Have each squad with a realistic composition of like a Squad leader, 2 team leaders, a radio man, 2 squad weapons, a crew served weapon, 2 anti tank units, a combat life saver, and 2 rifle men. I think something with that depth, but with a more coherant interface than like Shockforce, and with pausable real time combat would be awesome. Like Arma but an RTS.

What games would you want to see?

  •  t3rmit3   ( @t3rmit3@beehaw.org ) 
    2•3 days ago

    Little side-tangent, but @trslim@pawb.social if you like base-building RTSes, you should check out Earth 2150 if you have not already. It’s old, but it’s imo one of the best out there.

    • There are 3 factions, each with their own campaign, and very different styles of units, and during the campaign you have a home base that you build, and from which you can build and send out units to your in-progress missions (i.e. build a tank in your homebase, load it into a helicopter, send the helicopter to your in-mission base’s landing zone, and unload tank for use… and vice-versa for keeping units that you build in the mission zone, etc).
    • Eurasian Dynasty is very traditional tanks and helicopters, and ballistic weapons
    • United Civil States is bipedal walkers and sleek hovering aircraft, and uses energy weapons
    • Lunar Corporation is space-y hovercraft with arcing, electric weapons and AOE pulse weapons
    • There’s tunnel-building and tunnel warfare, which is so damn cool…
    • There’s unit customization, like choosing the types of weapons for the tanks, building giant bipedal walkers with 3 different weapon systems, etc
    • There are aircraft and boats, not just ground units
    • You are using the resources you farm in the mission locations to construct a giant colony ship to escape from Earth, which is a great mechanic to give you a reason to actually extract resources other than just to build more units

    Now I have to go reinstall it… xD

    There are also Earth 2140 and Earth 2160, but I never fell in love with those 2 (Earth 2160 isn’t bad, and has a cool alien faction that is basically a roaming mothership that builds units, rather than a traditional ‘base’).