Real-time strategy
[2][3] In a real-time strategy game, each participant positions structures and maneuvers multiple units under their indirect control to secure areas of the map and destroy their opponents' assets.
In a typical RTS game, it is possible to create additional units and structures generally limited by a requirement to expend accumulated resources.
These resources are in turn garnered by controlling special points on the map or possessing certain types of units and structures devoted to this purpose.
More specifically, the typical game in the RTS genre features resource-gathering, base-building, in-game technological development, and indirect control of units.
Some features have been borrowed from desktop environments; for example, the technique of "clicking and dragging" to create a box that selects all units under a given area.
The genre initially evolved separately in the United Kingdom, Japan, and North America, afterward gradually merging into a unified worldwide tradition.
[independent source needed] Tim Barry in May 1981 described in InfoWorld a multiplayer, real-time strategy space game that ran ("and probably still is") on an IBM System/370 Model 168 at a large San Francisco Bay Area company.
"[10] According to Matt Barton and Bill Loguidice, Utopia "helped set the template" for the genre,[11] but has "more in common with SimCity than it does with Dune II and later RTS games.
"[14] On the other hand, Scott Sharkey of 1UP argues that, while Cytron Masters "attempted real time strategy", it was "much more tactical than strategic" due to "the inability to construct units or manage resources".
[19] Another early title with real-time strategy elements is Sega's Gain Ground (1988), a strategy-action game that involved directing a set of troops across various enemy-filled levels.
Drawing influence from Herzog Zwei,[25][26] Populous,[27] Eye of the Beholder, and the Macintosh user interface,[25] Westwood's Dune II: The Building of a Dynasty (1992) featured all the core concepts and mechanics of modern real-time strategy games that are still used today,[28][29] such as using the mouse to move units, and gathering resources,[5] and as such served as the prototype for later real-time strategy games.
The mouse, and the direct control it allowed, was critical in making the RTS genre possible.”[25][30] The success of Dune II encouraged several games that became influential in their own right.
[5][29] Warcraft: Orcs & Humans (1994) achieved great prominence upon its release, owing in part to its use of a fantasy setting and also to its depiction of a wide variety of buildings (such as farms) which approximated a full fictitious society and not just a military force.
Total Annihilation, released by Cavedog Entertainment in 1997, introduced 3D units and terrain and focused on huge battles that emphasized macromanagement over micromanagement.
Dungeon Keeper (1997), Populous: The Beginning (1998), Jeff Wayne's The War of the Worlds (1998), Warzone 2100 (1999), Machines (1999), Homeworld (1999), and Dark Reign 2 (2000) were among the first completely 3D real-time strategy titles.
It is only in approximately 2002 that 3D real-time strategy became the standard, with both Warcraft III (2002) and Ensemble Studio's Age of Mythology (2002) being built on a full 3D game engine.
While often classified in the broader Strategy game genre, Clash of Clans still possesses many of the classic RTS elements, such as a "perspective of god", control over buildings and mobile units, and resource management.
Hard Vacuum was intended to include "resource gathering from mineral deposits", "base building", and "a wide range of fighting with units".
[44] Rusted Warfare and other traditional RTS titles utilized the element of classic PC-gaming nostalgia in order to drive the game-playing experience.
Traditional RTS games released in the late 2010s - early 2020s were developed with a focus on coupling the traditional-style gameplay with uniquely styled, or hyper-realistic graphics.
According to Troy Dunniway, former Westwood developer who has also worked on Command and Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars: "A player controls hundreds of units, dozens of buildings and many different events that are all happening simultaneously.
[48] In the context of strategy video games, however, the difference is often reduced to the more limited criteria of either a presence or absence of base building and unit production.
A third common criticism is that real-time gameplay often degenerates into "rushes" where the players try to gain the advantage and subsequently defeat the opponent as quickly in the game as possible, preferably before the opposition is capable of successfully reacting.
[58] For example, the original Command & Conquer gave birth to the now-common "tank rush" tactic, where the game outcome is often decided very early on by one player gaining an initial advantage in resources and producing large amounts of a relatively powerful but still quite cheap unit—which is thrown at the opposition before they have had time to establish defenses or production.
For example, the Hegemony series made supply and (seasonal) resource management an integral part of its gameplay, thus limiting rapid expansion.
Similarly, Halo Wars, which was released in 2009 for the Xbox 360, generated generally positive reviews, achieved an 82% critic average on aggregate web sites, and sold over 1 million copies.
In the case of Homeworld, the game is set in space, offering a uniquely exploitable 3D environment in which all units can move vertically in addition to the horizontal plane.
However, the near-industry-wide switch to full 3D was very gradual and most real-time strategy titles, including the first sequels to Command & Conquer, initially used isometric 3D graphics made by pre-rendered 3D tiles.
Japanese game developers Nippon Ichi and Vanillaware worked together on Grim Grimoire, a PlayStation 2 title released in 2007, which features hand-drawn animated 2D graphics.
Company of Heroes is another real-time strategy game that uses realistically modeled physics as a part of gameplay, including fully destructible environments.
