Why RTS?

Why RTS?

What is RTS?

Real-Time Strategy is one of the classic game genres. In RTS games the player gives orders to units, rather than controlling a single character directly. RTS games also feature a pattern where players start with a handful of worker units, who they use to gather resources, build a base, use the base to build an army, then fight their opponent. RTS games are not simply games that are played in real-time and have strategy, as most games can be described that way.

Competitive RTS

While RTS games can be single-player, Neon Marble Rust is focused on multiplayer gameplay. This means online networking was important, and one of the first things developed. Player accounts and match-making ratings are not-yet-implemented, but these do add a lot to the amateur -competitive scene.

The first big competitive RTS was StarCraft, particularly in Korea. There's many reasons why Korea was the place where this happened, but we won't be getting into that here. Point is, Korean StarCraft players were the first sign big contracts, be regularly on TV, and have significant cultural impact outside of gaming. There must be something about RTS games, that made it particularly successful for competitive players.

The Many Skills

Many people have said StarCraft is the hardest game to master, but lots of games are hard. What makes RTS games unique is how many different ways the game can be challenging. Competitive RTS players who want to improve have many different areas of thier game to work on. Players are in control of their whole base and whole army, and in games like StarCraft very little is automated, it's all on the player.

There's macro, which includes controlling mining, producing units, and building bases. There's also micro, which includes army movement, and combat. There's also strategy, so the player needs to execute their build-order, monitor their opponent, and devise new strategies as the match progresses. These are not comprehensive lists, there is simply a lot for the player to master.

It's important to note that there is very little in RTS that is too hard for a typical player. What separates players is their ability to handle everything the game, and their opponent, throw at them. As a result playing fast is one of the keys to being a strong player. Typical players tend to play at a speed of 60-100 actions-per-minute, where professional players are up around 300-400.

Conclusions

One of the key designs of Neon Marble Rust is to make the game hard in as many ways as possible. The game forces the player to take control of parts of their economy that are automated in other games, like how workers can't be rallied to resource-patch to automatically start mining. Resource conversions add an extra layer of macro management, and unit-movement was designed so skillful players can move their armies around extremely fast.

Again, it's not about making things nearly impossible to do. In isolation, each challenge the game gives the player is reasonable and doable for average players. But when they are all combined it can become overwhelming.

It's also important to note that the game has a whole system built around the Mojo resource, which allows the player to make some parts of the game much easier. Players can use Mojo to help automate parts of their economy, or spend Mojo on an Invasion command which allows them to avoid having to control large armies. These of course come with significant draw backs, but they allow players to play the game how they like.

The RTS genre allows Neon Marble Rust to be a game about needing to control a lot of moving parts, and developing a strategy to win. Players can also purposefully make things harder for their opponent, hoping to get them off their game. There’s many different ways that a player could be stronger or weaker than their opponent, meaning matches are all unique, and underdogs may be able to find an advantage to exploit. NMR is designed to really dig into the strengths of the RTS genre.