When I was younger I was playing Age of Empires I & II all the time and I *think* (I could have distorted the memory to make myself feel better ) I was pretty good at it. Even if I wasn't, I could still finish a game. Now I can't even do that. I'm a turtler. I don't like to rush or go on the offensive before I have a chance at destroying the enemies whole base. I know this isn't ideal but as I won't be playing online (until I can beat the AI on the hardest difficulty in whatever RTS I'm playing, so I never play online.. lol) I should be able to manage it. The problem (other than being a turtler in games where you really can't turtle) is that if the enemy gets inside my base (which isn't very hard as I tend to make offensive units much too late) and it looks like I might loose I just think 'eh, failure' and quit. Are there any RTS's that would suit my play style or do you have any tips which would help me stop this silly behavior?
Turtler? Supreme Commander (yet again) either with or without Forged Alliance, it's an awesome, massive game that really is the successor of Total Annihilation.
suppreme commander 1...but beware you need one helluva cpu to pull it off. can turtle your way thru the whole game, you dont have to build offensive units ( especially if you have several 'mavor' artillerys that can hit the other side of the map easily and accuratly you can also use the 'unit editor' to ban certan weapons from the game ( like planes ships etc ) but as i sad you need a high cpu to attempt larger maps with higher ( 1000+) units i run a core i5 760 @ 3.9ghz and the game grinds to a halt with 8 players and 1000+ units each over 81km * 81km maps. you should also note that games can take a VERY long time ( as the AI isnt the best and will let you turtle ) make sure to stay away from games like company of hearos / dawn of war etc while amazing, it certanally doesnt reward turtling, in fact you generally have your backside handed to you on a plate freshly kicked and with a side order of
Supreme Commander is the best base-building RTS I've played. You can make the fight all about nuke and artillery so that all their expensive units are just wasted. If anyone is having trouble running it Google for the core maximizer. It relieves the pressure on your CPU by making use of multiple cores, which the game does not by default. Sent from Bittech Android app
I'm in the same boat. It doesn't mean you/we suck at RTS games. Just that we suck at some modern-day ones (Starcraft 2 for example; it's perfectly possible to finish a multiplayer match in 15 minutes - and in many cases having a strong economy/resource gathering system in SC2 will be a disadvantage since the enemy usually focusses on military from the offset). There were some people in AOEII who used to rush it, but it was less common in my experiences. Supreme Commander does sound like a more drawn out game; will have to check it out too.
If not Supcom, then Command & Conquer. I think ZH is especially turtle-friendly in singleplayer. PVP multiplayer is the typical "rush with the first unit you can get your hands on" type deal.
I also like turtling. I've gotten to the point before in games where turtling doesn't work and spammed out units faster than I cant count, and although I won with ease, i never found the game fun. Personally I'd say take a look at Sins of a Solar Empire+expansions. You can turtle to an extent with starbases and defences. The game takes a while and as such I've never found I'm being overwhelmed by the AI with units - never tried hard though. Games can also take a while, although you can speed up the game/research/build speed if you wish. I agree with SupCom too. SupCom 2 i generally find the AI likes artillery, a lot. And unit spam. Though I think as soon as you take any of these games online you will be rushed as it's normally the easiest and quickest way to a win - even if it's boring, not really strategic and imho pointless. Good Luck!
You can also get the Total Annihilation pack from GOG for $6 if you want a classic RTS. The graphics may be a little dated but the gameplay is still as good as ever.
Woo, i love supcom! as cybran i usually make a cloaked firebase with four nukes filled up and then when the enemy tries to rush me i remove his base and acu from existence!
I've just finished building my retro Win98 PC and have been playing Sudden Strike all week. I'm also a turtler so I tend to flatten the enemy with artilllery before moving in the tanks, I still get destroyed but its still fun blowing stuff up.
The only game to beat SupCom is Warzone 2100, with is now freeware wz2100.net is the place to fine it, and it's easily my all time favourite RTS. No other RTS has ever captured how full and refined it is. And you don't make bases, you make fortresses!
I can't beleive no one has mentioned Civilization? Albeit its not strictly an RTS, but its most certainly a lot of strategy and lots of turtling fun! I recommend trying Civ 4 Beyond the Sword, before going for Civ 5 down the road. They are essentially two different games and Civ 4 Beyond the Sword is the best version of Civ 4 by far, and is a LOT of fun.
Okay i just can't help but mention Earth 2160 aswell. While it IS brutally hard, the base building aspect is outstanding, there is no western game like it. (to my knowledge anyways) The Earth 2150 series is great too, although because it's quite old it might be even less forgiving than 2160.
turtler and like to build up your base with no offensive units... SimCity would suit your play style.
Yep. both those game require/insist you attack otherwise you wont have the resources to defend. Found this out the hard way! Many times...
This!! No unit caps, build a massive base, turtle all you want while building a gazzilion units to trample over anything! My ALL TIME fave RTS. (RA3 was such a disappointment after it.)
Mainly because there is nothing real time about them they are turn based strategy (TBS) That said the are really fun and one of the few games wehre both rushing and turtling can be equally viable.
