Off topic: How are games failing you?

[Aezeal]

Rdonj: you do have to do SOMETHING yourself or it's a movie and not a game

I've not played DoW MP.. I just liked it as SP.

[rdonj]

True, but I still would like a more useful AI. Even if they just changed the defensive stance style commands so that it caused your entire formation to respond to being attacked instead of just the parts of it close enough to be triggered that would be a huge improvement in my mind.

[JimMorrison]

Originally Posted by Aezeal

Rdonj: you do have to do SOMETHING yourself or it's a movie and not a game

This is true, but horrible AI implementation can cripple RTS experience as much as any other.

For example, I had some fun playing Empire Earth once upon a time. 2 things TOTALLY ruined the game for me. The first was that there was no "Attack To" command (like Dune: Battle for Emperor, what were they thinking??), so you either specify a target, or you tell them where to go, and they march along not defending themselves at all. The second thing, was that if you didn't babysit ALL of your forces, they would inevitably run off somewhere and die. The game was a micro-management nightmare, due to the extreme simplicity of your "commanders on the ground".

I think DoW is far better than that, partly due to the significantly smaller maps, and partly due to the reduction in non-combat tasks the player must perform - though it did still have its issues with non-babysat troops behaving idiotically.

I don't think anyone wants them to fight the war on their own, but at least they could intelligently perform a task, such as guarding or patrolling, without needing Daddy to come clarify their orders every 30 seconds.

I measure RTS games on their "Oh God" factor. That is, the number of times per hour that I scroll the map, and exclaim, "OH GOD!", over events that I can't avoid without direct control. Due to most games involving more than one focal point, this reaches a threshold where the game feels unmanageable in realistic terms.

[Gregstrom]

Originally Posted by JimMorrison

The first was that there was no "Attack To" command (like Dune: Battle for Emperor, what were they thinking??)

We were dealing with all sorts of 'interesting' requirements for the UI from EA and Westwood.