OFFICIAL Strategy Gaming Thread

[BiggieShady]

Have anyone tried https://play0ad.com/

 

[Ahhzz]

Have anyone tried https://play0ad.com/

I checked it out, actually quite fun, especially for a free game

On a deal note, Humble Bundle, pay what you want, clear $12 for all the games, a Strategy bundle including Tooth and Tail, and Endless Space 2

 

[Kursah]

PA: Titans is in there as well, still maintained and has a great modding community. I highly recommend the Legions mod + Queller AI!

 

[Vayra86]

If I didnt already have almost all of those games... that is one kickass Humble

 

[Ahhzz]

More Strategy gaming news....
https://us.battle.net/forums/en/bnet/topic/20762137149

Update for Warcraft 3: Widescreen, 24 players, etc

 

[Space Lynx]

More Strategy gaming news....
https://us.battle.net/forums/en/bnet/topic/20762137149

Update for Warcraft 3: Widescreen, 24 players, etc

When frozen throne expansion launched for warcraft 3, I remember telling my dad in middle school that if he buys this expansion for me i will never need another game ever again. it wasn't a lie. i still play it to this day sometimes LOL

 

[Ahhzz]

Offworld Trading Company free this weekend, 50% off. Steam, I'm afraid, but all their stuff is these days.

 

[Ahhzz]

Gal Civ 2 free from Humble Bundle, for anyone that doesn't have it yet.

https://www.humblebundle.com/store/galactic-civilizations-ii-ultimate-edition

 

[Ahhzz]

Age of Wonders: Planetfall, 2019 most likely

 

[Kursah]

Some RTS news that I found exciting.

Some C&C news (not Rivals):

Shattered Paradise

Tiberian Sun mod for OpenRA that is making better progress than OpenRA's own TS project. Download on Moddb includes everything to play the game, includes a lot of unique tweaks and QoL changes compared to the original TibSun format. Plays more like OpenRA of course, so if you're looking for vanilla TibSun, this isn't it. But what this does offer is a little more modernized TibSun, which so far in its current stages is quite interesting and fun.

https://www.moddb.com/mods/shattered-paradise

CNCNet.org Tiberian Sun

CNCNet.org has updated their TIbSun installer package to beta 12 revision 3, this is the version of TibSun I play the most as it is essentially vanilla TibSun which I enjoy quite a bit. The MP section works great too, my sons and I play this quite a bit when we wanna break from SupCom2.

Tip: If you want the version that includes all the campaign content for TS and Firestorm, go here: https://cnc-comm.com/tiberian-sun/downloads/the-game/installer

https://cncnet.org/tiberian-sun


My C&C fix has been very fun, just reinstalled C&C 3 + Kane's Wrath on Steam as well. But for now, Tiberian Sun is keeping me entertained. I'm also doubling up on my old school RTS's by still playing Total Annihilation w/community patches.

 

[Kursah]

Sounds like PA: Titans might get some fresh developer attention beyond bugfixes, server migrations and language packs.

Planetary Annihilation, Inc. -

Hello Commanders,

It’s Planetary Annihilation: TITANS’ third birthday, and we have some very exciting news to share.

We are proud to announce the creation of Planetary Annihilation Inc, a new company with a team comprised of original PA developers and long-time community contributors. Our sole focus will be Planetary Annihilation and making PA into the best game that it can be, one ready to take full advantage of the many changes in technology since development started back in 2012.

None of this would have been possible without our dedicated community and so we will be opening up our communication to let you know what we are working on and experimenting with. No more radio silence!

We'll be launching an official Discord server next month. This will be a place for you to connect with other players, ask for help, share your awesome strategies and where we can engage with you to keep you informed on all the cool stuff going on.

As a thank you to everyone who purchased the original Planetary Annihilation we are permanently increasing the TITANS upgrade discount to 90% off!

This is just the beginning of the journey we’re embarking on. As we ramp up Planetary Annihilation Inc there will be more announcements about the shakeup of the 1v1 ladder and some big changes we are implementing to improve performance on newer hardware.

There are a lot of changes coming, so make sure you don’t miss anything by following us on Twitter @PA_the_game.

We hope you’ll join us on this journey, and remember: mine the gas giant, claim the asteroids, and never, under any circumstances, let them own the metal planet.

The PA Team

Source: https://steamcommunity.com/app/386070/discussions/0/1733210552652504951/

We shall see what happens, I still play PA:T with Legion's mod and Queller AI mod. I have thoughts about what I'd like to see changed, improved, expanded on, etc. I guess let's see what actually starts happening...but I'm pretty stoked to see development news in RTS as it stands, especially with a larger scope title like this one.

 

[Vayra86]

Not yet, Path of Exile is still holding my attention. From looking at some info on They Are Billions, it looks like you have to start on the bare minimum settings to have a decent chance of clearing a screen, which is a little turn-offish, but I do enjoy a challenge Once you get the hang of the building process, and how to use the pause function, it looks like it is manageable, and you can handle the higher tier fights

Bit of a necro post but I've played TAB recently and initially I was impressed with the difficulty and 'freedom' of its gameplay. You can just build your settlement anywhere you really like and anyway you want. Its a nice take on tower defense.

But there are fundamental flaws, unfortunately.
- There is only one saved state per map, so once you make a mistake, you're screwed.
- One map takes a long time to really finish and also a long time to reach a mildly interesting mid-game where you feel safe enough to explore/clear the map
- Lots of trial and error. Those moments you get a fantastic map seed and then you get screwed by ONE zombie you missed spreading havoc... boom two hours wasted... nothing gained.
- It gets stale. Fast. There is only one type of gameplay really - build a settlement and survive. So once you have your initial build orders under control, you basically just have a rather annoying micro-game left of preventing zombies from sneakily destroying your early settlement. After that, its just turtling and building defenses so you can withstand the final wave. And the final wave is not really preceded by anything remotely like it. That means once you've got a walled settlement, the game is utterly boring until the last day.

Basically once you experience each difficulty setting you've seen the game. The only real learning curve is in build orders and then discovering how fat that last wave really is. The rest of the game is / becomes utterly boring very fast, unfortunately...

The concept seemed great but it really needs serious work to have any replay value whatsoever. And no, the recent update doesn't change that.

 

[Ahhzz]

Bit of a necro post but I've played TAB recently and initially I was impressed with the difficulty and 'freedom' of its gameplay. You can just build your settlement anywhere you really like and anyway you want. Its a nice take on tower defense.

But there are fundamental flaws, unfortunately.
- There is only one saved state per map, so once you make a mistake, you're screwed.
- One map takes a long time to really finish and also a long time to reach a mildly interesting mid-game where you feel safe enough to explore/clear the map
- Lots of trial and error. Those moments you get a fantastic map seed and then you get screwed by ONE zombie you missed spreading havoc... boom two hours wasted... nothing gained.
- It gets stale. Fast. There is only one type of gameplay really - build a settlement and survive. So once you have your initial build orders under control, you basically just have a rather annoying micro-game left of preventing zombies from sneakily destroying your early settlement. After that, its just turtling and building defenses so you can withstand the final wave. And the final wave is not really preceded by anything remotely like it. That means once you've got a walled settlement, the game is utterly boring until the last day.

Basically once you experience each difficulty setting you've seen the game. The only real learning curve is in build orders and then discovering how fat that last wave really is. The rest of the game is / becomes utterly boring very fast, unfortunately...

The concept seemed great but it really needs serious work to have any replay value whatsoever. And no, the recent update doesn't change that.

Thanks for the review I'd seen some more gameplay, and they looked like fun, but they ALL looked to be simply variations of Tetris with buildings

 

[kapone32]

I'm not sure if anyone has said this already but for me Total War is the top RTS series. The Warhammer40k & Company of heroes RTSD games are also fun. FOr an older it would be Star Wars Empire at War or the Homeworld series.

 

[Ahhzz]

Welcome to the RTS there are several posts here about the Total War series, and some other offerings you might not know of yet. Skim thru, you're bound to find new information Enjoy!!

 

[Kursah]

Honestly I'm not a big TW fan... I have tried, but I just can't get into the game as much.

I have been watching Planetary Annihilation: Titans since it's development has been picked back up with some announcements but not a whole lot to see yet. Still a fun game, decent AI (Queller's mod) and solid community with mod support. I just hope they find a way to introduce more interesting flavor to it, or find a way to add more races like the Legions mod did...or officially add Legions to the game.

I've been playing more TBS lately, in the form of the 4X GalCiv3 + DLC's and when I feel the need for combat it's been in Warhammer 40K Sanctus Reach. Frankly those two are amazing titles for their genres, and I have really enjoyed my time with both. I know I'll never see the combat I desire in GC3, and WH40K Sanctus Reach isn't about empire development, so both are working in tandem to meet what I want in gaming right now.

I did poke around back into Homeworld Remastered, and decided I'll get back into finishing the HW1R campaign I never finished in 2017 once I wrap up my GC3/Sanctus combo run. I barely have enough time to play those, but am feeling the need for some 3D space combat RTS goodness.

Also, looking at future updates announced for GC3 and Ashes of the Singularity from Draginal (Brad Wardell) @ Stardock, things they learned about the game engine these titles share that benefited Star Control: Origins are going to trickle back down to these two.

OH, and I should add that I started a new game in SoaSE Rebellion... I shouldn't have, but I really didn't play much after the 1.92 patch with the 4GB update and all. That and I started a mod-free game, though I may get E4X back in...but at this point I've also put this aside for GC3 and SR. So really it's going to come down to playing HWR first or SoaSE. We shall see.

I should update the OP at some point...

 

[kapone32]

Honestly I'm not a big TW fan... I have tried, but I just can't get into the game as much.

I have been watching Planetary Annihilation: Titans since it's development has been picked back up with some announcements but not a whole lot to see yet. Still a fun game, decent AI (Queller's mod) and solid community with mod support. I just hope they find a way to introduce more interesting flavor to it, or find a way to add more races like the Legions mod did...or officially add Legions to the game.

I've been playing more TBS lately, in the form of the 4X GalCiv3 + DLC's and when I feel the need for combat it's been in Warhammer 40K Sanctus Reach. Frankly those two are amazing titles for their genres, and I have really enjoyed my time with both. I know I'll never see the combat I desire in GC3, and WH40K Sanctus Reach isn't about empire development, so both are working in tandem to meet what I want in gaming right now.

I did poke around back into Homeworld Remastered, and decided I'll get back into finishing the HW1R campaign I never finished in 2017 once I wrap up my GC3/Sanctus combo run. I barely have enough time to play those, but am feeling the need for some 3D space combat RTS goodness.

Also, looking at future updates announced for GC3 and Ashes of the Singularity from Draginal (Brad Wardell) @ Stardock, things they learned about the game engine these titles share that benefited Star Control: Origins are going to trickle back down to these two.

OH, and I should add that I started a new game in SoaSE Rebellion... I shouldn't have, but I really didn't play much after the 1.92 patch with the 4GB update and all. That and I started a mod-free game, though I may get E4X back in...but at this point I've also put this aside for GC3 and SR. So really it's going to come down to playing HWR first or SoaSE. We shall see.

I should update the OP at some point...

Totally understood I played a game called Pretorians, which is a pretty good RTS in it's own right. Some of the modern 4X Sci fi games have beautiful models and cut scenes. HW remastered is a great game and sublimely addictive too. I also like to play AOTS once in a while. AOTS 2 is 25% off on steam right now, i am mulling over a purchase but not sure.

 

[Kursah]

Ashes Escalation is a solid expansion. Like Forged Alliance was to SupCom.

Now that Star Control is out, Stardock is going to be giving Ashes more content and updates and even some improvements gleaned from the Star Control development since Ashes, Star Control and GalCiv3 share the same engine.

I'm an original backer for Ashes...and have so many hours in it. Only 100 and change on Steam though. It's good fun and for me the AI provides a fun challenge. Future content and DLC should give it what more RTS fans have been waiting for hopefully. Either way it's a fun game and solid RTS modern experience that's only going to get better and hopefully funds Stardock and Ironclad to get along and develop Sins of a Solar Empire 2. One can hope right?

 

[kapone32]

Exactly!!!

 

[Vayra86]

Ashes Escalation is a solid expansion. Like Forged Alliance was to SupCom.

Now that Star Control is out, Stardock is going to be giving Ashes more content and updates and even some improvements gleaned from the Star Control development since Ashes, Star Control and GalCiv3 share the same engine.

I'm an original backer for Ashes...and have so many hours in it. Only 100 and change on Steam though. It's good fun and for me the AI provides a fun challenge. Future content and DLC should give it what more RTS fans have been waiting for hopefully. Either way it's a fun game and solid RTS modern experience that's only going to get better and hopefully funds Stardock and Ironclad to get along and develop Sins of a Solar Empire 2. One can hope right?

I dont care one bit for Ashes or GalCiv 3 but if they make a SoaSE 2 Im gonna be all over that!

 

[Deleted member 178884]

I guess I can put my contribution here:
Civ 6 + Mods to get 60 ai players : )

 

[Ahhzz]

Command and Conquer?? Remastered

Spoiler

Fellow Command & Conquer fans,

My name is Jim Vessella, and I’m a Producer at Electronic Arts. Ten years ago I had the pleasure of being on the production team for Command & Conquer 3 and Red Alert 3, along with being the Lead Producer on Kane’s Wrath. During those years, some of my favorite moments were interacting with our passionate community, whether at our onsite Community Summits, on the forums, or while attending various events such as Gamescom.

As most of you may know, we recently announced Command & Conquer: Rivals, a mobile game set in the Command & Conquer universe. Following the reveal of Rivals, we heard you loud and clear: the Command & Conquer community also wants to see the franchise return to PC. And as a fan of C&C for over 20 years, I couldn’t agree more. With that in mind we’ve been exploring some exciting ideas regarding remastering the classic PC games, and already have the ball rolling on our first effort to celebrate the upcoming 25th Year Anniversary.

We are eager to hear your feedback to help influence our current thoughts for PC and what comes next. Over the next few weeks we’ll be talking to fans in a variety of ways. In the meantime, please share your thoughts here on the subreddit.

As a long time C&C fan and developer, I am just as passionate about the C&C franchise as you are, and look forward to hearing your thoughts as they help us shape the future of C&C at EA!

Thanks!

Jim Vessella

Jimtern

Spoiler

Thanks for the post, Electrifyer. We will not be adding any microtransactions to a C&C Remaster.

 

[Drone]

Remastering = meh (just like The First Decade and Ultimate Collection)
Can't wait to see first Red Alert remade with new engine (and all FMVs in HD)

 

[Kursah]

Anyone playing Rusted Warfare? If not you should, it's only $5, looks like classic C&C & TA had a sprite-based simple graphics baby that plays great on modern systems. 1.13 beta just dropped. Adds and fixes a lot of things, while the dev is kinda slow, he's doing great things. Steam Workshop mod support is solid as well. There's free and pay versions for Android (where I first played this game years ago). I recommend checking it out.

1.13 Beta Notes: https://steamcommunity.com/games/647960/announcements/detail/1683677298009864380

Store page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/647960/Rusted_Warfare__RTS/

Dev Website: http://corrodinggames.com/rusted_warfare

I've spent factors more than $5 on games that I've gotten far less entertainment value out of. This one hits it out of the park in so many ways that some of the glaring issues aren't as big of a deal. Some of the ones that were are now getting much needed attention in 1.13. I plan to try the beta tonight.

This game ends up being one the kids and I play right up there with SupCom2 for the best mix that emphasizes fun with sub 30-minute rounds. Sure RW and SupCom2 can have far bigger and longer matches, it is also easy, and equally fun to have short and quick matches. Which is great.

This title does a lot of things right, and again for $5, if you're an RTS fan, GET IT!

 

[lexluthermiester]

Anyone playing Rusted Warfare?

Looks like an old 16bit era kind of take on an RTS. Interesting.