3 ms·

Relic just recently screwed up DoW3, CoH2 has become micro-transaction hell even in multi-player against bots, so I wouldn't expect much. I've always played th

Relic just recently screwed up DoW3, CoH2 has become micro-transaction hell even in multi-player against bots, so I wouldn't expect much. I've always played these RTSes with friends against bots, and Relic have basically been at war with our play-style for a decade. First they said the RTS was dead, then dispatched with base-building and then added in terrain heights that are impossible to discern from a top-down view. Now they have made the DoW series into some sort of bad DotA/RTS hybrid, removing cover and morale, that's got terrible reviews. Prepare for your fond memories of AoE to be trampled over.

croon 9y ago
Yeah, I loved DoW1, but DoW2 was terrible, and while I had hopes for DoW3, it didn't deliver. They moved away from RTS to some squad-based MOBA-like.
- mattmanser 9y ago
  I've never known whether I'm in an incredible minority, or there's a silent majority who just play the game against the computer, enjoying these RTSes as tower defence style base-building. Dune 2, Star Craft, Warcraft, Red Alert, CoH, DoW, etc., my friends got tired of the cheap strategies like orc tower rushes and the toxic taunting by human payers that you couldn't turn off and so instead we started to team up against the computer, increasing the difficulty or the number of computer players and turtling up in base. A relaxing macro game, instead of the frantic micro these games all seem to have evolved into. Unfortunately as time has gone on the AIs seem to have got worse and the base building strategies side-lined, removed or punished.
  - stedaniels 9y ago
    I am with you 100%! Me and my mates also team up against increasing AI's of increasing difficulty. Lots of fun. It's great to beat each other, but it's also great to beat the computer together :-)
  - croon 9y ago
    > Unfortunately as time has gone on the AIs seem to have got worse and the base building strategies side-lined, removed or punished. I played a lot of StarCraft with my brother against AIs when I was younger. I have since played a lot of multiplayer games, but as you said, it's not as relaxing, which is what I want from games nowadays when I take the time to play them. I don't expect the OpenAI initiative with Dota 2 to automatically lead to better games AI in the foreseeable future, but I hope it might lead to a renewed interest in them in games, and in time something simulating real players in more games (minus the toxicity, and being pausable without anyone wasting anyone elses time).
  - dkhenry 9y ago
    I also love playing RTS's like that, and the one I have found which delivers big time is Planetary Annihilation. The AI is fantastic ( without cheating ), you can load up to 12 AI's, and you can make massive maps that allow multiple play styles. It has a bit of a learning curve, but I have had lots of fun playing large scale battles against massive numbers of AI.
    - tapoxi 9y ago
      I personally couldn't stand Planetary Annihilation due to the camera, but there are other great Total Annihilation clones out there, like Supreme Commander (w/Forged Alliance expansion) and Spring Engine games (open source)
  - toomanybeersies 9y ago
    Me and my friends, none of us actually really into gaming, played hours of AOE III at university, we'd load up against expert bots, who have an insane buff at the start, and grind away until we won.
  - frik 9y ago
    I love playing true RTS like AoE 1-3/Mythology, Empire Earth and C&C Generals - games that can be played in single player against really good AI bots on random generated maps. Unfortunately the RTS genre is dead for 13 years (except SC2, but I play only realistic scenarios not SciFi).
CWuestefeld 9y ago
FYI - I'm having a lot of trouble getting any information at all from this comment, because so much of it is tied up in abbreviations that I don't understand.
- swypych 9y ago
  Thank god it's not just me, am I getting old?
- SeanDav 9y ago
  DoW3: Dawn of War 3 CoH2: Company of Heroes 2 bots: Robots / Automated game play RTS: Real Time Strategy DotA: Good explanation provided at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dota_2 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dota_2 ... and just in case anyone is confused by your abbreviation: FYI: For Your Information :P
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
- masklinn 9y ago
  DoW = Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War, a real-time strategy series set in the Warhammer 40000 (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/TabletopGame/Warhammer40000 http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/TabletopGame/Warhammer...) universe CoH = Company of Heroes, WWII-themed real-time strategy game RTS = Real Time Strategy DotA = Defense of the Ancients, a (the original?) MOBA MOBA = Multiplayer Online Arena Battle, initially a more action-oriented subgenre of real-time strategy, though IMO closer to real-time tactics games as it's smaller scale with more important units and itemisation, no base construction/management and more limited resource management. I think the RTS link only exists because the "original", DotA, was a mod on an RTS (Warcraft III) (it was not the original one but as with e.g. Minecraft it basically opened up and popularised the genre), probably the most popular eSport category today AoE = Age of Empires, real-time strategy game set in a semi-realistic past, the first two installments were roughly set between the stone age and the middle ages or renaissance, the third one does not exist and is set during the Age of Discovery
- 9y ago

croon 9y ago

Yeah, I loved DoW1, but DoW2 was terrible, and while I had hopes for DoW3, it didn't deliver. They moved away from RTS to some squad-based MOBA-like.

mattmanser 9y ago
I've never known whether I'm in an incredible minority, or there's a silent majority who just play the game against the computer, enjoying these RTSes as tower defence style base-building. Dune 2, Star Craft, Warcraft, Red Alert, CoH, DoW, etc., my friends got tired of the cheap strategies like orc tower rushes and the toxic taunting by human payers that you couldn't turn off and so instead we started to team up against the computer, increasing the difficulty or the number of computer players and turtling up in base. A relaxing macro game, instead of the frantic micro these games all seem to have evolved into. Unfortunately as time has gone on the AIs seem to have got worse and the base building strategies side-lined, removed or punished.
- stedaniels 9y ago
  I am with you 100%! Me and my mates also team up against increasing AI's of increasing difficulty. Lots of fun. It's great to beat each other, but it's also great to beat the computer together :-)
- croon 9y ago
  > Unfortunately as time has gone on the AIs seem to have got worse and the base building strategies side-lined, removed or punished. I played a lot of StarCraft with my brother against AIs when I was younger. I have since played a lot of multiplayer games, but as you said, it's not as relaxing, which is what I want from games nowadays when I take the time to play them. I don't expect the OpenAI initiative with Dota 2 to automatically lead to better games AI in the foreseeable future, but I hope it might lead to a renewed interest in them in games, and in time something simulating real players in more games (minus the toxicity, and being pausable without anyone wasting anyone elses time).
- dkhenry 9y ago
  I also love playing RTS's like that, and the one I have found which delivers big time is Planetary Annihilation. The AI is fantastic ( without cheating ), you can load up to 12 AI's, and you can make massive maps that allow multiple play styles. It has a bit of a learning curve, but I have had lots of fun playing large scale battles against massive numbers of AI.
  - tapoxi 9y ago
    I personally couldn't stand Planetary Annihilation due to the camera, but there are other great Total Annihilation clones out there, like Supreme Commander (w/Forged Alliance expansion) and Spring Engine games (open source)
- toomanybeersies 9y ago
  Me and my friends, none of us actually really into gaming, played hours of AOE III at university, we'd load up against expert bots, who have an insane buff at the start, and grind away until we won.
- frik 9y ago
  I love playing true RTS like AoE 1-3/Mythology, Empire Earth and C&C Generals - games that can be played in single player against really good AI bots on random generated maps. Unfortunately the RTS genre is dead for 13 years (except SC2, but I play only realistic scenarios not SciFi).

CWuestefeld 9y ago

FYI - I'm having a lot of trouble getting any information at all from this comment, because so much of it is tied up in abbreviations that I don't understand.

swypych 9y ago
Thank god it's not just me, am I getting old?
SeanDav 9y ago
DoW3: Dawn of War 3 CoH2: Company of Heroes 2 bots: Robots / Automated game play RTS: Real Time Strategy DotA: Good explanation provided at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dota_2 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dota_2 ... and just in case anyone is confused by your abbreviation: FYI: For Your Information :P
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
masklinn 9y ago
DoW = Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War, a real-time strategy series set in the Warhammer 40000 (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/TabletopGame/Warhammer40000 http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/TabletopGame/Warhammer...) universe CoH = Company of Heroes, WWII-themed real-time strategy game RTS = Real Time Strategy DotA = Defense of the Ancients, a (the original?) MOBA MOBA = Multiplayer Online Arena Battle, initially a more action-oriented subgenre of real-time strategy, though IMO closer to real-time tactics games as it's smaller scale with more important units and itemisation, no base construction/management and more limited resource management. I think the RTS link only exists because the "original", DotA, was a mod on an RTS (Warcraft III) (it was not the original one but as with e.g. Minecraft it basically opened up and popularised the genre), probably the most popular eSport category today AoE = Age of Empires, real-time strategy game set in a semi-realistic past, the first two installments were roughly set between the stone age and the middle ages or renaissance, the third one does not exist and is set during the Age of Discovery
9y ago