2012: bad year for RTS?

[GoodGame]

MOBA's sort of had an start with Herzog Zweig, back in 1989 (its pushing it, but some of the dynamics were there), but as you say the real thing wouldn't come out up until DOTA made an appearance. Tower Defense though, I'm gonna have to call that a foul, the genre is much older than that. I was even playing would-be TD's back in the late 90s with the real maps coming out around the early 2000s, but preceding Warcraft 3.

In any case, it is true that both genres are much older than what people give them credit for, taking in consideration as well how young the RTS genre is.

Herzog Zwei (AirMech) is arguable, but that's a hybrid game all the same.
Command and Conquer is the classic one, about 1995. Dune is the original one. I've heard of a few before then, but really you can't claim RTS as a genre before C&C, because it was mostly an experiment before C&C.

Regardless, trying to degrade MOBA as 'upstart' is ridiculous, just like people loved degrading RTS because it displaced their favorite turn-based mil-sim games. That's all I want to say.

 

[Double A]

This looks awesome.

 

[bonefang]

Planetary Annihaltion really sounds good.

I have a doubt this B*** is gonna need a lot upkeep

i mean hardware wise
I meant computer upgrades

 

[ZeletDude]

Yeah I've been looking at that for a while..

 

[hoplitejoe]

I miss Ensemble Studios

 

[xThomas]

People still play Age of Kings. People finally figured out the code, now they made an unofficial expansion, Love that game.
ES is dead, but their strategy blockbusters live on

So it's not like a terribly bad year.

Then again only RTS' I ever was willing to play and keep playing besides Age of Empires (series) ended up being Starcraft. One. And it was a demo (though fun)
Had one (actually a bunch) of the Warcrafts. I couldn't play it after AOE, it was just.. horrible

An Indie development called 0 A.D. just reached Alpha 12. It has potential, feels somewhat like Age of Empires, but it's just not the same. Might be my eyes, the 3d, idk, maybe it's just because it's in alpha, it's incomplete at this stage and I can't mess around with options.

 

[alpav]

Yeah the failure of ES was a huge disappointment to me. AoM, AoE II, AoE III, and RoN were my favourite games but sadly the company failed.

 

[Double A]

The company didn't fail. Microsoft closed them for seemingly no reason. It was their intention to close them right after Halo Wars regardless of how well the piece of crap did.

 

[hoplitejoe]

I think it did quite well anyway, with any luck Robot Entertainment will go back to the RTS, and the rest of Ensemble leave Zynga.

 

[Hehehe]

If I remember correctly, there were quite a few RTS games being released 5-10 years ago. Anyway, the market became saturated and people became bored with RTS games (at least I did). With the exception of Total war games, if one considers them to be RTS, I haven't looked forward to an RTS game for a long time. RTS is quite a refined genre, all the classics (like Age Of Empires 2 or Supreme Commander, to name a few) are out there if players ever feel like playing an RTS, so it's hard for a newcomer to succeed unless they revolutionize the genre.

In other words, I feel like everything has been done already and all the new RTS games would be more of the same, unless they revolutionize the genre, which doesn't seem likely.

Though I admit I am following Planetary Annihilation (successor to Supreme Commander) with cautious optimism.

 

[Thrawn]

Why would a new RTS game need to revolutionize the genre? Wouldn't the most important requirement be that it's fun to play? I believe it'll be perfectly possible for a developer to make a new RTS game in a new IP that is fun to play without needing to revolutionize anything.

 

[Double A]

Unless the game's about the industrial revolution.

 

[Hehehe]

Why would a new RTS game need to revolutionize the genre? Wouldn't the most important requirement be that it's fun to play? I believe it'll be perfectly possible for a developer to make a new RTS game in a new IP that is fun to play without needing to revolutionize anything.

I don't know about you, but I've played a lot of RTS games. So much so, that a lot of them seem kinda samey to me. So, if it's more of the same, I know I won't be having fun. Maybe I'm making too far reaching conclusions here but I imagine I'm not the only one.

 

[Double A]

Like dinosaur pirates?

 

[sherbz]

I want to know when the next warcraft will be coming out. Ive studiously avoided WOW, but love the franchise. Its been ages since the frozen throne came out. I think Blizzard ought to have the time now that starcraft and mists of pandaria are out of the way.

 

[Sonereal]

Nope. They are going to start on the next WOW-expansion and continue milking the cow for all its worth.

 

[Maniacal]

Blizzard's focused on Starcraft and its "expansions". I doubt we'll see another Warcraft RTS until the 2020s.

 

[Double A]

What makes you think there'll ever be another one?

 

[Maniacal]

It seems likely, even after burning so many people on world of diablo 3. I don't care if there is ever another one or not though.

 

[sherbz]

What makes you think there'll ever be another one?

There is clear demand for it. I cant honestly see them getting that much more out of WOW. Unless of course they release another one.