Future of Real Time Strategy Games.

On Dec 15, 3:55 pm, ripper234 <ron.gr... RemoveThis @gmail.com> wrote:
> My take on the future of RTS games.

Let me show you how to use Usenet:

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Future of Real Time Strategy

I think RTS games are currently wrong. What do I mean by that?

Current RTS games do test strategy and tactics, but they also require
a high degree of micro-management. Top Starcraft players are measured
by their APM, and a player with high thinking skills but a less than
agile hand is at a disadvantage. The anticipatd Starcraft 2 doesn't
seem to hold great promise to change this.

What I want is this: In addition to the point-and-click action we all
know (and love), I want RTS games to offer me strategy/tactics menus.
I want to be able to order the computer AI things like:


* "build the base, 10 drones, and the entire tech tree up to
Guardian
. Then build 10 of these and 25 Mutalisks and send them after
the nearest Terran opponent.
* "Organize all my troups into battle formations while leaving 10%
on defense and go search & destroy all opponents"

* "Build up to 3 overlords and scout for Vespene gas. Once found,
take a drone there to build a base. Once the base nears completions,
send other drones there to mine the gas".



Such commands should be easily programmable in the game as it ships.
Special player-made commands could be added before and during a game.
The player's major role should be to select and define strategies, not
to gather up individual drones to build structures or to micro-manage
an attack. Of course, as I said, the micromanagement can stay, but it
must not be how you spend the better part of a game.

Note that most of the "strategy commands" I want are probably already
present at some form inside the computer's native AI player. As a
player, I want to have access to this AI and parts of it. Once this is
developed enough, I can imagine different Starcraft tournaments where
players are only allowed to pre-program the strategy.

Now I wonder how long till these ideas become reality and how
difficult it would be to program a extension for the existing
Starcraft that accomplishes something like this.

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