What is the best single player RTS game and why?

[ecliptic]

I'm really digging Men of War.

 

[someone else]

Total War series.

:facepalm:

While not a Dune 2 type RTS and having a terrible non-combat gameplay, the OP did ask for mods which this series does not lack of.

 

[TheWesDude]

dark reign 1, expack, and 2 were better than starcraft.

supreme commander 1 was better due to slow starting econ

supreme commander 1/FA was better

if you think starcraft is some holy grail, you never really played any of the above RTSes.

i played starcraft, and it was vastly inferior to dark reign. on many levels.

 

[Data4]

Typical Request type thread on the codex.

Ingredients:

1 OP asking for suggestions.

5 Legitimate suggestions.

20 pages of superfluous BAAAWWWW.

Mix well.

 

[catfood]

Myth 1
Myth 2
Starcraft
Homeworld
Warcraft 3
Netstorm
Urban Assault
Hearts of Iron 2
Ancient Conquest
RTW with EB mod
AOE together withe ROR
Seven Kingdoms
Settlers 3

And as for simulation type strategies:
Transport Tycoon Deluxe
Railroad Tycoon 2
Rollercoaster Tycoon
Caesar 3
Pharaoh

 

[Lingwe]

Age of Empires can be fun to go back to, but make sure you have rise of rome for crucial things such as queued training.

 

[Darth Roxor]

Oh, and why the fuck wasn't Dark Omen mentioned yet? Pretty much one of the best RTSes out there.

 

[Shannow]

Total War series.

:facepalm:

While not a Dune 2 type RTS and having a terrible non-combat gameplay, the OP did ask for mods which this series does not lack of.

Oh, and why the fuck wasn't Dark Omen mentioned yet? Pretty much one of the best RTSes out there.

Because they're both not RTS games. *pedantic*
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real-time_tactics

 

[kris]

Starcraft. There is a great depth of tactics hidden there and everything can be countered by a smart player. I used to have great multiplayer games in its infancy when it was less calculated. Not sure how those look now.

But since we talk single player it makes for that really unique experience with the three so very different races and wellmade campaign. Just the videos to complain about, while quality they often didn't reflect the playing experience. Like battered Tassadar sacrificing himself against the overmind while zerg attacked him... while I on the map had wiped them off the map completely. Last mission was a bit to easy...

 

[vrok]

Starcraft. Homeworld is fine but I find its missions to be too repetitive to replay a lot. Not to mention that the game is really slow so it takes forever to put your skills to good use. Starcraft on the other hand I've replayed maybe 20 times in total. Way more fun.

dark reign 1, expack, and 2 were better than starcraft.

supreme commander 1 was better due to slow starting econ

supreme commander 1/FA was better

if you think starcraft is some holy grail, you never really played any of the above RTSes.

i played starcraft, and it was vastly inferior to dark reign. on many levels.

Troll detected. If you had stuck to Dark Reign I would've thought that maybe you're just another noob but the idea of Supreme Commander as a superior singleplayer RTS is just preposterously hilarious.

 

[Major_Boobage]

^ finally some people who know what they are talking about.

 

[Kraszu]

Starcraft. There is a great depth of tactics hidden there and everything can be countered by a smart player.

In mp it is diferent league then any other rts games.

I used to have great multiplayer games in its infancy when it was less calculated. Not sure how those look now.

The game is not really calculated there is no perfect strategy, everything requires you to adopt (it can vary depend on race), scouting is of great importance, good players count how many somebody build pylons, and see how much minerals is left in the enemy expansion to know when it was build etc. It got new depth to it, resource management, adopting, and in pro scene making new specific build to counter specific opponent in important game series, there were some really creative builds, some that could work only once, some solid that are viable even when your opponent knows what you are doing you can still adopt to it after your opening.

just to have something to show that is the first thing that i had found on youtube that is for sure creditable becouse of the people involved:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6OLR4_PtXw

 

[someone else]

Because they're both not RTS games. *pedantic*

Neither is Herzog Zwei which I also suggested which is closer to console action/RTS(though it influence Dune 2). Do we have to post disclaimers like "While not a Dune 2 type RTS, these games might interest you."
Do I have to commit harakiri over computer game genre definations?

Another old game I recommend will be Bull Frog's Dungeon Keeper, the first is better than the second.

 

[TheWesDude]

Starcraft. Homeworld is fine but I find its missions to be too repetitive to replay a lot. Not to mention that the game is really slow so it takes forever to put your skills to good use. Starcraft on the other hand I've replayed maybe 20 times in total. Way more fun.

dark reign 1, expack, and 2 were better than starcraft.

supreme commander 1 was better due to slow starting econ

supreme commander 1/FA was better

if you think starcraft is some holy grail, you never really played any of the above RTSes.

i played starcraft, and it was vastly inferior to dark reign. on many levels.

Troll detected. If you had stuck to Dark Reign I would've thought that maybe you're just another noob but the idea of Supreme Commander as a superior singleplayer RTS is just preposterously hilarious.

and what are your reasons for saying supreme commander sucks?

dark reign 1/2 were very good. very diverse units. very uniqe style. maybe you people like starcraft because its so uninspired?

i prefer uniqe ideas executed very well with very diverse gameplay. or maybe you never played any of the custom AI packages for SC/FA ?

to beat stock AI in SC/FA is easy. great place to start. reinforces that build order is important. the custom AI packages, while they do have their flaws, still ensure a great game singleplayer experience.

starcraft? i played through a campaign and was dissapointed. units were not exceptional. compared to RTSes that i prefer, starcraft leaves a lot to be desired.

battle for middle earth 2 was halfway decent, but it was almost entirely worthelss to make defensive structures. best way to turtle in that game was archers + catapults. dissapointing.

 

[DraQ]

It's been a long time since I played DR, but I remember terrain diversity and it's influence on pretty much everything being very impressive, units being diverse and highly specialized - including things like artillery being able to hit things across the map, and the additional options being plentiful.
I don't remember the gameplay much, and there wasn't much to the story apart from the interesting premise, but mechanics-wise it seems to leave SC in the dust.

More to the topic:
no Nexus: TJI and no Myth series - why?

 

[Major_Boobage]

Another old game I recommend will be Bull Frog's Dungeon Keeper, the first is better than the second.

Yes of course DK is a brilliant game allthough it is more of a godgame style then a normal RTS i feel.

Especially download Deeper Dungeons for the challenge, some hard levels are to be found there.

 

[someone else]

Yes of course DK is a brilliant game allthough it is more of a godgame style then a normal RTS i feel.

Especially download Deeper Dungeons for the challenge, some hard levels are to be found there.

None of the games I recommend are normal RTS, Majesty does not have direct control of units like DK. As for Deeper Dungeons expansion, I got my ass kicked.

 

[Major_Boobage]

Yes of course DK is a brilliant game allthough it is more of a godgame style then a normal RTS i feel.

Especially download Deeper Dungeons for the challenge, some hard levels are to be found there.

None of the games I recommend are normal RTS, Majesty does not have direct control of units like DK. As for Deeper Dungeons expansion, I got my ass kicked.

Deeper Dungeons is a lot harder then Dungeon Keeper but not that hard. You just have to be conservative with your money and listen where you dig.

 

[Shannow]

Neither is Herzog Zwei which I also suggested which is closer to console action/RTS(though it influence Dune 2). Do we have to post disclaimers like "While not a Dune 2 type RTS, these games might interest you."

Are you butthurt? Over what?

Do I have to commit harakiri over computer game genre definations?

If you wish to, go ahead. But why?

I gave a simple answer to a simple question (and I assumed you were confused as to why somebody might criticise your mention of TW in a RTS-thread). Don't get me wrong, I love it when you guys go all nuclear over a comment of mine that was meant to poke and prod, but this time...???

 

[jagged-jimmy]

Stronghold is a lot of fun (atleast for me), and i mean the Crusader expansion/sequel/whatever.

 

[someone else]

Don't get me wrong, I love it when you guys go all nuclear over a comment of mine that was meant to poke and prod, but this time...???

Your *pedantic* word made it clear you weren't serious. Neither was my remark on Japanese ritual-suicide serious.

 

[Gragt]

Sacrifice.

Not a "pure" RTS, and I do not know of any mod for it, but the campaign is a pleasure to replay, possibly offering something different each time.

 

[the gayest baby]

Tool's probably from Korea. Who other than a korean would defend the piece of shit that is Starcraft?

I'll defend it as well, if only on the grounds that I think that it has some serious merits, despite the flaws. It's well balanced for one (at least pre-Brood War)

are you mother fucking retarded you fucking piece of shit starcraft is ridiculous imbalanced pre brood war fuck you piece of shit asshole

 

[TheWesDude]

yea, the only thing i really think would have been nice in DR would have been shields. it did have the force fields

the air-based infantry was a stroke of genius. artillery was fucking awesome. stealth units to scout ahead and be spotters for your artillery...

cameras, cheap as hell to build, provided a large radius of LOS

repair structures with uniqe individual AI to randomly scout the map, return to repair structure when under an individually configurable % of hp, patrol options...

fuck man, lots of ideas and shit that was in DR has never been done since. and it should be!

only thing i am not a fan of in DR is the inability to zoom the camera out, its fixxed distance over the terrain. but at least you can rotate it.

 

[Destroid]

Sacrifice.

Brilliant game, recommend to any RTS fan who hasn't played it yet.

A couple of others - Populous 1 and 3 are both good and different games. Populous 1 doesn't allow you to directly control you men, you merely guide them with your god powers and by raising/lowering terrain - it's a rather simple game but quite fun.

Pop3 allows direct control of units, but also has a hero character like sacrifice. Good game.