Good intro RTS for someone who has NEVER played an RTS

[JoshGuru7]

Another vote for Dawn of War, Dawn of War 2 and Company of Heroes. Great places to start if you're new to the RTS genre.

 

[HomerX]

To understand the genre today it helps to start with the classics.

understand what???

he wants to have fun with an rts and is not interested in the historical evolution of the RTS genre...

what do i learn from AoE2 that i couldn´t learn in SC2, DoW2, Warcraft3 etc?
Sure, if he likes the "historical" szenario more than a fantasy/sci-fi szenario, the AoE series might be a good starting point.

If someone wants to try out a mmorpg because a lot of people are talking about WoW etc i wouldnt recommend to start with Meridian59!

A lot of people have good memories of older games... nostalgia is something good, but playing Dune2 after you know "modern" RTS Games is really a pain in the ass and no "good" game for a rts beginner without these good old memories...

 

[Jesusthewererabbit]

Stronghold: Crusader is one of my favorites. It's pretty simple to understand, and you can get it cheap off of GoG.

 

[WhipperSnapper]

Should I maybe play some Turn-based Strategy games first? I'm reading the wiki article about RTS games now, and it's making me think about different things. Any good TBS's? (if that's the appropriate acronym)

Maybe you'd like Sins of a Solar Empire. It's like a hybrid of a 4x-TBS and RTS. You might think of it as a slower-paced RTS with far less micromanagement and clicking than a regular 300 clicks per minute RTS.

 

[amddude]

warcraft 3

 

[Dekasa]

World in Conflict was a great game. I think it's considered more a Real Time Tactical game, as there's no resource gathering, but it might be worth looking into as a starter.

 

[Kalmah]

Warcraft 2.

 

[coloumb]

"City building" RTS's - Settlers 4, 5, and 6, Anno1404 and 1701AD are pretty fun - all have demos.
Age of Empires 3 has a demo as well, including the Asian Dynasties [just downloaded and tried AOE3 - very similar but a bit more complex than The Settlers]

I personally liked Battlezone 2 - that was a lot of fun.

I'd suggest trying out demos of every suggestion in this thread and see what you find fun. There are numerous RTS's with different styles of game play and themes.

 

[exar333]

Don't get starcraft 1, it has a very bad interface that is noob unfriendly.

I would say start with Warcraft 3. It has a cool RPG element to it, all the basic RTS elements, and easy to understand unit counter mechanics. And a great single player campaign that walks you through the basics.

Huh?

SC1 is actually a pretty good game to start with if you want to get into the genre, and play an exceptional game.

 

[GodlessAstronomer]

Resource gathering and city/base building is an outdated mechanism that does nothing but distract from what makes an RTS fun. Play the Dawn of War series and enjoy the combat without the extra noise of base building getting in the way of fun.

 

[Arkaign]

HOMM3 does not do hamburgerliers and pink dragons.

lol what?

 

[MJinZ]

Don't get starcraft 1, it has a very bad interface that is noob unfriendly.

I would say start with Warcraft 3. It has a cool RPG element to it, all the basic RTS elements, and easy to understand unit counter mechanics. And a great single player campaign that walks you through the basics.

Warcraft 3 is fun and has a good campagn.

Afterwards, play Starcraft 1 and then Starcraft 2.

There is no learning curve with strategy games because there are difficulty levels. Sure, I played through SC2 on Brutal because I find games to be pointless if they don't challenge you, but turn the difficulty to Normal or Easy and you'll have no problems.

 

[OCNewbie]

I was kinda thinking that if I start with the state-of-the-art RTS, in Starcraft 2, then what are the chances I'll be able to go back to the older RTS's and enjoy them at all?

If I start with something older, I can enjoy that game as much as I might have when it was new (considering I'm pretty much a complete and total RTS noob, though not at all a gaming noob). Then I can gradually advance with the newer RTS's as they presented new ideas, new flashier graphics, new ways to make the games less cumbersome, etc. Plus, that'll be MORE total gaming for me too, if I can spend time playing/enjoying the older games.

Just an idea. I'm not saying Dune 2 is the best choice, but I do like the idea of something that's oldish, but still won't overwhelm me and turn me off to the whole genre.

 

[clamum]

My vote is Age of Empires 2 and Red Alert 2, though if you can't handle a bit outdated graphics I guess you'd skip them.

EDIT: And I'll add Company of Heroes as more as a real-time tactics game (much less emphasis on base building and resources); very great game.

 

[jonks]

I strongly suggest you get a game with a theme you know you already enjoy. I had ventured rarely into the RTS realm and never with pleasing results, until Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle-Earth II was released. Figured I'd give it a shot b/c I'm a fan of the IP. I had a blast with it, built up huge armies, understood the rock/paper/scissors basics (archers shoot far, swordsmen good melee, cavalry good vs footsoldiers, etc) and got to summon Tom Bombadil as a special power.

Since then I've played lots of em but it's still not in my top 3 fav genres.

 

[DominionSeraph]

understand what???

he wants to have fun with an rts and is not interested in the historical evolution of the RTS genre...

what do i learn from AoE2 that i couldn´t learn in SC2, DoW2, Warcraft3 etc?
Sure, if he likes the "historical" szenario more than a fantasy/sci-fi szenario, the AoE series might be a good starting point.

If someone wants to try out a mmorpg because a lot of people are talking about WoW etc i wouldnt recommend to start with Meridian59!

Warcraft III is more hero-centric. I can beat 3 insane AI just running around with tri human heroes. And its campaign is really limiting in the core RTS aspects in that they don't give you the full tech tree until the very final battle for each race (I don't think Night Elf even got that. I don't remember Chimera being available for the end.)

Starcraft II has high computer requirements and a high price.

If DoW2 is anything like DoW, it's more concentrated on map control than traditional RTSes.

RTS core is: Mine minerals ---> Build base ---> Build troops --> Kill opponent.
*******************\___________________/

Newer games aren't an intro to that, they're an intro to their gimmick. (SC2 being the exception, but then what can you get out of that that you can't get out of SC?)

Thus the concentration of suggestions on older games. To find core RTS you have to back to before they branched out into added gimmicks.

 

[GodlessAstronomer]

RTS core is: Mine minerals ---> Build base ---> Build troops --> Kill opponent.

Bullshit. That's the old school, outdated model. There's no reason RTSs should include boring base building and resource gathering as a prerequisite. The best RTS games cut all of that chaff and leave just the really fun bits: combat, map control and tactics.

 

[ZzZGuy]

Company of Heroes is $3 on steam with current steam sale.

Get this.

 

[Dumac]

Bullshit. That's the old school, outdated model. There's no reason RTSs should include boring base building and resource gathering as a prerequisite. The best RTS games cut all of that chaff and leave just the really fun bits: combat, map control and tactics.

That would be a RTT (real time tactics) rather than a RTS if all you do is micromanage units.

 

[PieIsAwesome]

DoW2 2v2, 3v3, and free-for-all multiplayer is the most fun I've had in an RTS. The game doesn't have a huge learning curve and the matchmaking system should pair you up with people of similar skill so you can have fun. As you get better, the game gets more competitive and more fun.

SC2 is more polished, balanced, and complex, but its best suited for 1v1 mutliplayer and isn't as fun as DoW2. 2v2 is alright, though heading into spamming and blobbing territory. 3v3 and 4v4 suck from my experiences.

 

[PieIsAwesome]

That would be a RTT (real time tactics) rather than a RTS if all you do is micromanage units.

DoW2 also has resource collection and management and tech upgrades.

 

[DominionSeraph]

Bullshit. That's the old school, outdated model. There's no reason RTSs should include boring base building and resource gathering as a prerequisite. The best RTS games cut all of that chaff and leave just the really fun bits: combat, map control and tactics.

You want one forum down.

|
v

 

[GodlessAstronomer]

You want one forum down.

|
v

Fuck yourself.

 

[Malak]

Resource gathering and city/base building is an outdated mechanism that does nothing but distract from what makes an RTS fun. Play the Dawn of War series and enjoy the combat without the extra noise of base building getting in the way of fun.

Resource gathering and base building is part of what defines the genre. If you don't want that, might as well go play Shattered Galaxy. No bases, no resources, just units.

 

[tigersty1e]

World in Conflict.

Nice game that slots nicely in between an action game and a rts game.

It's a RTS game without all the base building and resource management.