Real time strategy game

Screenshot of the real-time strategy game 0 AD

As real-time strategy games ( English real-time strategy , abbreviated RTS a popular will) computer game genre called, in the interactive access to all game players their actions the aspects of a strategic game (ie problem analysis and diagnosis, putting up alternatives and implement the correct measure) subjugate and, in contrast to turn-based strategy games , execute them simultaneously (i.e. in real time ). So the player's job is to take the right action at the right time in the right place to achieve the goal of the game.

The focus of such games from the early phase of the genre was in the military area (building and managing an army to crush the enemy), with this being expanded to a small extent to include economic (resource extraction and management) and technological aspects (research into higher technologies). However, the term real-time strategy game has been increasingly watered down over time, because on the one hand developers, publishers, game magazines and players applied it to various products that only partially fit the genre (e.g. building strategy games ), and on the other hand due to the Hybridization of real-time strategy games of the younger generation that adopted elements from other genres (role-playing games, first-person shooters, etc.). A taxonomy of the genre is therefore difficult: either numerous sub-genres can be subordinated to it, such as real-time tactical games , economic simulations , tower defense , global strategy games , MOBAs, etc., or it is considered a sub-genre itself alongside these and other (e.g. turn-based strategy games) of computer strategy games .

Since the end of the 1990s, it has been the most important computer game genre behind the first-person shooters , measured by sales figures and presence at LAN parties . In some societies it is also disproportionately popular, for example in South Korea, where television stations broadcast matches of the strategy game Starcraft.

history

Origins

As one of the pioneers of this genre of games on the computer, Dune II (1992) is considered by Westwood Studios, as it was the first more successful and widespread game of its kind and indirectly represented a model and ensured a greater rise in this genre. Westwood co-founder Brett W. Sperry , who coined the term for Dune II , is named as the origin of the RTS genre concept itself :

“It wasn't until some time after the game was in development that I decided to call it 'real-time strategy'– it seems obvious now, but there was a lot of back and forth between calling it a' real-time war game ',' real-time war ',' wargame ', or' strategy game '. I was deeply concerned that words like 'strategy' and 'wargame' would keep many players from even trying this completely new game dynamic. Before 1992, wargames and strategy games were very much niche markets - with the exception of Sid Meier's work - so my fears were justified. But in the end, it was best to call it an 'RTS' because that is exactly what it was. ”

“The game had been in production for a while when I decided to call it 'real time strategy' - that seems obvious these days, but back then there was a lot of back and forth about whether we wanted it to be 'real time war game' or 'real time war' ',' War game 'or' strategy game '. I was very concerned that words like 'strategy' and 'war game' would discourage a lot of players from even trying this completely new game dynamic. Before 1992, war and strategy games were absolutely niche markets - with the exception of the work of Sid Meier - so my fear was well founded. But in the end it was best to call it 'RTS' [note: real-time strategy ] because that's exactly what it is. "

- Brett W. Sperry : in: A History of Real-Time Strategy Games by Bruce Geryk ( GameSpot )

However, the first elements of real-time strategy games can already be found in games such as Stonkers (1984), a game for the ZX Spectrum , and The Ancient Art of War from the same year. One of the first genre representatives in today's understanding of games is Herzog Zwei , which was published in 1989 for the Sega Mega Drive . As early as 1990 appeared Powermonger of Bullfrog , which was then already offered a fully rotated, swiveled and zoomable 3D perspective as a decade should only hold later in such games feeder. In 1991 another forerunner of the genre appeared with Mega lo Mania .

Growing popularity from the mid-1990s

Really popular this form of play was the first part of the Command & Conquer series (1995), one year after the sharply Dune II ajar Warcraft (1994) had appeared. As the first game of a second generation of the RTS Total Annihilation is counted, which advanced the genre with some innovations, u. a. 3D physics and 3D graphics. Age of Empires (1997) and StarCraft (1998) also helped the genre to rise further .

Technical change to 3D at the end of the 1990s

The rigid 2D perspective of the first strategy games was later transformed into a real three-dimensional landscape that can be zoomed and rotated. In this context, it is worth mentioning the release of the game Homeworld , which for the first time leads the action space of the genre completely into three-dimensional space, which enables completely new tactics and ways of playing.

2000s

In 2003, the Association of Entertainment Software Germany (VUD) stated a market share of around 20% for the strategy game genre; the real-time games should hold the lion's share here. This is also shown by the fact that real-time strategy games were awarded a total of 14 gold and 10 silver awards from the VUD (based on sales figures), while turn-based games appear here less often. According to the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), the strategy game genre is even the best-selling computer game genre with a market share of 27% (as of 2004). The Age of Empires series has been purchased about 30 million times, the Command & Conquer series over 25 million times, and StarCraft about 17 million times since its release in 1998.

At large international LAN parties , real-time strategy games and sports games are the only serious competitors to the first-person shooters , albeit in a clearly secondary position.

2010s: Influence from other genres

With the increasing technical possibilities, which led to a substantial graphical improvement of the first person shooter and the increasing internet speed with falling costs, which paved the way for MMORPGs , the competitive pressure on the real-time strategy games grew. These benefit less from the increasing technical possibilities, although the classic game principle seems to be exhausted in many games. The developers therefore increasingly opened up to other genres and linked elements of the real-time strategy game with those of other genres (see below). So-called Multiplayer Online Battle Arenas (MOBAs) are much more popular today . This genre, which emerged as a variant of real-time strategy games, combines classic real-time strategy with role-playing elements and player-versus-player mechanics (PvP). The relationship between the genres can be felt not only in the classic gameplay, but also in the roots of the MOBAs. The game Dota, generally known as the first MOBA, is just a modification of the real-time strategy game Warcraft 3.

Typical elements and terms of real-time strategy games

This type of strategy games is very different from other types of computer strategy games such as: B. the economic simulations (e.g. Anno 1602 ), which also have strategic elements and happen in real time.

The following identified elements of real-time strategy games do not necessarily have to occur in any representative of the genre; however, much of this inventory of features can be found in most modern real-time strategy games.

Real time

Real-time strategy play is the core property of the genre: it puts the player under great time pressure and demands not only strategic foresight but also quick reactions and an overview in chaotic situations, maps or fights. Therefore, the structure of the economy and the control of the units are often schematized and greatly simplified, e.g. B. in contrast to turn-based strategy games .

Map view

Screenshot of Cossacks - European War , bottom right an overview map of the battlefield

Schematic sketch of line of sight and fog of war

Almost all real-time strategy games have limited, rectangular maps that are designed by different levels of altitude and underground (water, land, ice) and give the player an overview from above .

Map view specifically describes the possibilities of viewing the map for the player.

Basically, each building and each unit of the player a Line of Sight (LOS) : (German line of sight can) within which this unity foreign entities and their environment surveys. The line of sight is usually not the same as the combat range of units.

Sections of the map once sighted through the line of sight of a unit of the player (or that of an allied player) remain permanently visible. Decisive is whether within this area of the war fog (ger .: fog of war , FOW) shows up if the area gets back from the line of sight of the unit. The terrain of an area in the fog of war is still visible to the player, but not what is happening (e.g. troop movements) on it.

Games without a fog of war allow the player to develop an (unrealistically) good knowledge of what is happening on the map when most of the map has been explored.

Another difference in the map view is whether the map is completely revealed from the start or not. With the former, the entire map is covered with the fog of war from the start, with the latter variant, areas that have not yet been explored are filled with complete black, which means that the player has no knowledge of either the terrain or the events in these areas.

The Fog of War became a better known concept with Warcraft II , some strategy games like Laser Squad included this concept years earlier. The fog of war slowly hid the discovered area again when there was no longer any unit in sight. In the first Warcraft part and also in Dune II from 1992, the areas that were uncovered could still be seen, even if the area was no longer in sight of the own units. In Stronghold Crusader 2 , the entire map is completely revealed at the beginning and there is no fog of war, so the player does not have to explore or spy on the map in order to obtain information about resources or the moves of his opponents. Only a few “hidden camps” with a few directly usable resources have to come into the line of sight of units in order to be discovered.

Resources and schematized economy

Real-time strategy games often work with a small selection of raw materials (also: resources, abbreviated to Res or Ressis in jargon ), which serve as the basis for the construction of all buildings and units as well as the development of all technologies.

Raw materials can usually be mined or extracted in various forms. Typical and frequently found raw materials are gold, money or "credits", which are sometimes the only raw material, as well as food, wood, stone or other building materials, iron, metal, crystal or other (fancy) raw materials and chemicals (e.g. B. Tiberium at Command and Conquer).

The processing of raw materials is often omitted or is highly automated through certain buildings. The raw materials are often collected on an imaginary raw material account and only rarely require appropriate storage buildings ( Dune II , Command & Conquer ).

The raw materials are limited in their number, their deposits are distributed over the entire playing map; One of the main features is therefore securing and fighting for raw materials, trade or transport routes. The main basis of a successful strategy in all (real-time) strategy games is to secure the supply of resources, which usually results in fights against potential "resource thieves".

In some games, the variant is also chosen that the military control of raw material deposits or terrain is enough to obtain them, and the increase in resources increases the more raw material deposits or area are in the control of the player, i. H. if the player loses several sources, his increase in resources is also weaker. Well-known examples are Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War , Company of Heroes, and Earth 2150 .

Game phases

Initial phase

Screenshot of Warzone 2100 , in the picture an expanded base

The competitiveness of a teammate is usually determined in the first 10 minutes. These decide whether the player is able to obtain the necessary raw materials in order to keep up with the other players in the subsequent period. This moment is weighted differently in different games, and the duration of the initial phase is also different. In some games and game modes, the player is able to attack or defend himself at the beginning of the game or in just a few minutes, while in other games he needs longer build-up phases.

However, features of the initial phase are usually:

Build a functioning economy
The necessary number of resource collectors is created in order to ensure the permanent flow of raw materials that is necessary for strategic competitiveness.

Expansion of your own base
All required buildings are built at your own starting position (base) and the area is equipped with various obstacles and defenses. Depending on the game, the bases are different in size and stretch. Secondary bases are also built more often in later stages of the game, but many games favor a single primary base.

The basic structure is thus that of an entrenched defender fighting against an attacker.

Exploring the map
Mostly with simple and / or fast military units, the immediate area on the map is searched for raw materials and strategically important points. The exploration methods result from the map view.

One possible tactic in the initial phase is the so-called rush :

A player tries an attack in the early stages of the game with cheap or quick-to-build military units. This tactic can lead to disadvantages in the subsequent course of the game if it fails, but if it is successful it can weaken the opponent's economy or even lead to its immediate defeat.

Another tactic is the Tech Rush :

Both the offensive and the defensive are largely neglected in order to obtain decisive technological advantages as quickly as possible. Although the Tech Rush is naturally susceptible to the Rush , it usually brings decisive advantages in the later game if successful, whereby the opponent can be defeated relatively easily. Of course, a technology game mechanic must be implemented for this.

Main and Combat Phase

This is where most of the game takes place. This phase can hardly be determined in terms of time and can be divided into various (mostly game-related) individual phases.

Since the player also has the most options within this phase, the possible events can only be roughly categorized. In addition, many computer games are now developing their special tactical and strategic characteristics.

Typical game mechanics

The following features can be demonstrated in many games:

Fight for supremacy and victory
The players fight against each other (very rarely against each other against the computer, but more often in teams against each other) to achieve the goal of the game. Therefore, a series of tactical battles or maneuvers take place, from the struggle for the infrastructure, the attack on resource collectors to the frontal attack on the enemy base.

Technological expansion and specialization
In some games the further development of units and buildings is possible, either in the form of
- General unit upgrades (unit upgrading) , that is, to improve all units of a troop type (e.g. to convert to a higher one, to equip all units of the respective type with a new weapon ...) or
- special unit upgrades , i.e. improving an individual unit
  or other improvements in your own civilization. In the main phase, the player specializes in certain technologies and strategies.

Slow downsizing of the economy
With the increasing dwindling of resources and the often very comfortable raw material account at the end of the game, the strategic elements continue to increase until mostly only a rump economy is left and the management of the economy takes up only a small area.

Common game goals

In addition to the scenarios, which mostly provide for special or a number of different game objectives ( winning conditions ), there are a number of popular game objectives and game modes .

The classic aim of the game is to destroy all or most of the opponent's units.

This goal of the game can be differentiated into the destruction of all units, only the military units, only the bases, etc.

The strategy game variant of Capture the Flag (CTF) , also called King of the Hill (KotH) , is mostly the task of finding a certain area or certain objects to control on the card for a certain time.

It is less common to achieve a certain number of points (within a time limit).

Points (or score ) is a rating assigned to the player by the game system according to criteria such as defeated opponents, resources received, etc. This varies greatly from game to game.

There are also some game variants that sometimes appear:

So-called fastmaps (or also funmaps ) are very small maps that are usually played with high initial resources . In these, the initial phase is intentionally shortened or omitted, and the total playing time is also greatly reduced.

In a deathmatch , the players start on normal maps, but with significantly more resources and / or units.

The multiplayer cards in particular are usually symmetrical with an even distribution of raw materials.

Multiplayer modes

Most games have both a mode in which you play against an artificial intelligence in different levels of difficulty ( single player ) and one in which you compete against other human players ( multiplayer ).

Most of the time, so-called campaigns are also offered, in which the player can play a series of fictional or real scenarios that follow a thematic and / or temporal sequence in the single player . The campaigns are often lavishly provided with scripted, unexpected events that do not exist in normal games and often contain video sequences and extensive background stories.

In multiplayer, on the other hand, games are usually played on supplied or randomly generated cards.

Many games today offer partly extensive map editors to create your own campaigns, scenarios and maps.

The multiplayer game was initially limited to connections via modem or null modem cable , in which usually two to four players could play together. With the advancing development and price drop of PC technology, LAN connections quickly became popular. At large LAN parties , real-time strategy games play a major role alongside first-person shooters .

In recent times the Internet has become more and more important as a gaming platform. As a result, almost all real-time strategy games are also online games today . There are many clans on the Internet that play real-time strategy games.

Range of variation in real-time strategy games

The range of real-time strategy games available is very wide, and the gameplay is very different in spite of some of the same game principles. Further aspects for classifying real-time strategy games are:

Micromanagement vs. Macro management

In games that focus on macro management, the player commands large armies or economies, the processes of which are individually automated by computer routines. For example, the player's task is more to proportion the number of military units or to divide them into groups, but not to assign orders or targets to individual units. Example: Supreme Commander .

In games in which micromanagement is in the foreground, the player controls comparatively few units - due to a unit limit or high unit costs. These games require the player to be more concerned with the individual strengths and weaknesses of his units. Examples: Warcraft III , Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War , Company of Heroes .

Strength of the economic aspect

Although strategy is of course in the foreground in all strategy games, another measure is how important economic management is and how much percentage of the game time the player has to devote to the economy.

In games with a strong economic aspect, successful strategies depend on the extent to which the player succeeds in securing a balanced and lasting flow of resources. If he does not succeed in this, he may lose despite tactical superiority. The player has supplies of various goods (for example wood), and units and buildings - depending on their nature - require certain amounts of various goods in order to be built. The money economy plays a subordinate role - if at all.

In games with a low economic aspect, economic issues are almost completely excluded. The production or the extraction of resources are automated and run in the background; a weak or strong economy does not necessarily affect the course of the game. The economy runs entirely on money, so units and buildings are more or less bought and not built. There is no procurement of individual materials. If there are different sources of raw materials in the game, they always bring money and differ at most in terms of productivity and rate of mining.

On this scale, Command & Conquer may serve as an example of a game with a low economic aspect and Age of Empires as an example of a game with a strong economic aspect.

Place and time of action

Frequently encountered backgrounds for strategy games are:

Antiquity to Renaissance
The focus is on fighting with the classic armies of infantry , cavalry and archers. The game is geared towards real people and units. The campaigns are also based on historical topics. Examples: Age of Empires , Age of Empires II , Stronghold , Knights and Merchants .

First and Second World War to modern times
In this framework, fighting with infantry, tanks, artillery and other modern war equipment comes to the fore. Frequently recorded topics are the East-West conflict and the Second World War. Examples: Sudden Strike , Blitzkrieg , Command & Conquer and the Wargame series, such as Wargame European Escalation .

Fictional future, science fiction
The troop types of the 20th century are being replaced by invented developments and freely invented ones are being supplemented. In addition to humans, foreign alien races and technologies often appear. Example: StarCraft , Star Trek: Armada , Earth 2150 or Homeworld .

Mythology / Fantasy
In these games, characters such as dragons , orcs or elves are included, and elements from other mythologies (especially the Greek) are added. Divine miracles and magic can be found in such games. Examples: Age of Mythology , Warcraft , Battle Realms , The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth .

Related genres

The division into genres is by no means always clear in computer games, and there are therefore only a few original real-time strategy games. The simultaneity and strategy aspect is easily compatible with the elements of other game types. Frequent overlaps can be found with the following genres:

turn-based strategy games

Turn-based strategy games are usually more complex and build on more profound relationships that the unlimited time frame allows. Despite the close proximity to this genre, the gameplay differs considerably: Real-time strategy games require responsiveness and skill, while their turn-based counterparts rely more on overview and planning skills. Examples: Master of Orion , Civilization and X-Com series. There are also mixed principles, such as the Total War series.

Real time tactical games

This category includes a few but successful games such as Myth , Sudden Strike or Syndicate . These games do not work with unit types or civilizations that the player builds, but on a few game characters that the player controls in a tactical situation, without prior building or troop production. Here there are similarities in the interface, the map view and the simultaneity, but the game goals and scenarios are completely different.

Business simulations and building games

Many of today's economic simulations already act in real time, and many of them offer the possibility of taking military action against the enemy, for example like the Anno or the Settlers series. Many building strategy games also run in real time, for example Cities: Skylines or Banished .

Computer role playing game

If the characters take on a more individual character, transitions give role-playing computer to. In Gangsters: Organized Crime and Gangsters 2, all gang members not only have different skills, but also a personal name and a unique appearance. Your clout can be improved with the appropriate equipment.