why are RTS games so hard?

I have been playing CnC3, Supreme Commander and CoH and man.. they are so hard.  In CoH, anytime I play online I get utterly destroyed.  In the CnC3 demo I can't even win on normal.

Why are RTS games so incredibly hard (for me anyway)? 

I have been playing CnC3, Supreme Commander and CoH and man.. they are so hard.  In CoH, anytime I play online I get utterly destroyed.  In the CnC3 demo I can't even win on normal.

 

Why are RTS games so incredibly hard (for me anyway)? 

wookieeassassin

I have been playing CnC3, Supreme Commander and CoH and man.. they are so hard. In CoH, anytime I play online I get utterly destroyed. In the CnC3 demo I can't even win on normal.

Why are RTS games so incredibly hard (for me anyway)?

wookieeassassin

i can play games sub consciously and my own mind can concentrate on what to do next.FootFetish24

Multiplayer RTS has arguably one of the steepest learning curves ever.

What you need to do is play the AI for a bit, and slowly work up the dificulty levels. Once you can reliably beat Hard AI then you are ready to play online. Also dont expect to win right off, people use verydifferent strategies so it is much harder to predict what they will do (unlike ai).

the best, easiest way to get good at rts games is, first, to learn all the armies, and secondly to watch replays of good, well respected members of the game's community (these guys usually have egos up to here so they're always putting their replays on forums - but with good reason, those guys are damn good)

learn their queues, what structures they build and in what order, and what units they use, and then use them as they use them - that's all there is to it for most rts games - if you know the units and their respective counters, and you know how to balance building an army against developing technology or secondary bases, or whatever - and you can scout well and secure resources then you're a good player right there

watch replays of others, and copy them - and then start enjoying living by that formulaic build queue - because that's all you're gonna be doing for the rest of your life in whatever game...

practice does not make perfect, though - practice can be detrimental - if you become too accustomed to certain styles, you can become too predictable and that's a major problem because, once you've gotten your own formula down, you have to start thinking about the formula other guy is using - and adapting what you do slightly to counter the enemy... if your enemy recognises, say, your early unit selection, or the layout of your base, then they - at least the good ones - can have a pretty good idea already of what you're going to do five minutes from now... rts games are just too limited, too few effective formulae, for them to not know where you're heading

the same applies to AI as well, only to a far lesser extent - you can still use replays to learn build queues, though - copy them and you're already as good as them in the early stages without even trying 

Multiplayer is often a big issue, a lot of MP RTSs have a lot of provision for rushers to exploit, luckily Ive found that surpeme commander isn't so, mainly because of the resource management. Im part of the RTS gamers union, so feel free to have a look on our boards, join and ask for advice.

The way I start with SupCom is:

1 mass extractor followed by three generators, then link a factory to the generators, get it producing engineers and then use your ACU to get the nearest mass extractor points up and running. That generally helps get a base up without crashing yoru economy. Mass fabricators are also very useful if you have a lot of them.

Another piece of advice for SupCom: Don't chain large lines of reactors and fabricators and such like, as one big explosion causes a major problem....the lot goes BOOM!

RTS games takes a lot of practice to get accustomed to especially if you are completely new to the genre. Just keep working on it. I first played Starcraft back in '99 and since then I've had sort of a feel for every RTS I've played since. It also takes quite a bit of knowledge to outsmart your opponent, keep that in mind.vegas_6

Tough are the RTS, grasshopper

RTS requires a longer learning curve then say a FPS and you cant manipulate and trick with the AI so easy like you can do in a FPS. Its more about outsmarting the opponent and foresee movements. I think the genre (RTS) is a little bit  harder then most other genres were you arent controlling more then your main character