I've been thinking about this for a while and after playing some Cnc4 it's come to mind again. The simplification of real time strategy games is a problem which needs to be addressed and sooner rather than later. I found this article on the subject (http://www.digitalbattle.com/2010/03/27/old-school-rts-games-are-a-dying-breed/) and that pretty much covers all the issues. With the exception of Starcraft 2 there are no current or forthcoming RTS games that include the core concepts of base building and resource management. All the most recent games seem to only be focusing on the combat, which for me is not enough. The challenge of micro managing everything is part of the enjoyment. There has to be a developer out there who understands this. I think the timing is perfect for a brand new franchise, all the sequels at the moment are just not cutting it. Hopefully someone out there is working on something in secret and details will be released soon.
That is sad. Why does everything end up being dumbed down? It's not fair on people who enjoy a challenge. At least that article shows that you're not alone in thinking this, and I do hope that Starcraft 2 will indeed be true to its roots, for you and the other gamers who like to manage things and build things up. When are you expecting it to come out?
ReplyDeleteStarcraft and developer Blizzard are big enough to ignore all publisher pressure, so the release date is simply "When it's done"! Hopefully it will be by the end of this year though.
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