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General discussionTurn based StarCraft?(43 posts)(43 posts)
(43 posts)
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This is my favourite topic
Posted June 20, 2021
The whole reason for playing Starcraft is it's oozing atmosphere, music and general production values, playing another game to get the same experience, no matter how good it is, is a different experience.
Some RTS games have a slow down time option, pause function or perhaps there is a mod which can do it.
I suggest watching playthroughs of missions which give you problems. Most of the time there is a special strategy involved to exploit some weakness or unbalance and a ballbuster mission becomes a breeze to play through.
Posted June 20, 2021
was gonna mention Final Liberation as the closest to a "turn-based StarCraft" but since the OP chooses his games based on the looks I won't )
Posted June 20, 2021
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Strijkbout: The whole reason for playing Starcraft is it's oozing atmosphere, music and general production values, playing another game to get the same experience, no matter how good it is, is a different experience.
Some RTS games have a slow down time option, pause function or perhaps there is a mod which can do it.
I suggest watching playthroughs of missions which give you problems. Most of the time there is a special strategy involved to exploit some weakness or unbalance and a ballbuster mission becomes a breeze to play through.
IIRC, there are options to slow down the game's speed. Also no shame in using cheats for campaigns either. Using them in SC2 just locks you out of achievements. OP can also simplify hotkeys by rebinding them to grid layouts (QWE, ASD, ZXC) style by modding here, since some spell hotkeys are all over the keyboard.
Post edited June 20, 2021 by Canuck_Cat
Posted June 20, 2021
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Strijkbout: The whole reason for playing Starcraft is it's oozing atmosphere, music and general production values, playing another game to get the same experience, no matter how good it is, is a different experience.
And Disciples is a different experience than Heroes of MIght & Magic, but it's still worht recommending to any HoMM fan :)

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Strijkbout: I suggest watching playthroughs of missions which give you problems. Most of the time there is a special strategy involved to exploit some weakness or unbalance and a ballbuster mission becomes a breeze to play through.
I really don't think that would be any fun for me. I hate watching Let's Plays, and playing a game essentially following a walkthrough is hardly entertaining (unless it's a point & click you play solely for the laughs or something like that).

Besides, the point of the thread isn't as much about salvaging my StarCraft experience or finding a praticular game for me right now, it's more about me being curious about games that might possibly fit the bill because I felt like there's a "turn-based Starcraft" shaped hole in the market so to speak, so I though it might be and interesting thread.

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osm: was gonna mention Final Liberation as the closest to a "turn-based StarCraft" but since the OP chooses his games based on the looks I won't )
I'm not sure I follow, but I'm pretty sure you're trying to troll rather than say anything valuable.
Post edited June 20, 2021 by Breja
Posted June 20, 2021
Perhaps this one (and its predecessor).
Posted June 20, 2021
Another vote for RTS with active pause option here. It negates the requirement of fast micromanagement, one thing that I really struggle with in RTS games.
I'll recommend Dawn of War 1 and it's second standalone expansion Dark Crusade. Not available digitally DRM-free, but boxed versions have no DRM (former after patching and latter from the start). Used copies can be found on Allegro with (mostly) sensible prices.
Posted June 20, 2021
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rtcvb32: Hmmm i remember seeing a warhammer chess games when TB was still alive.
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MadalinStroe: Warhammer 40,000: Regicide... just saying.
Mhmm. Looks similar to starcraft too, though lacking the zerg.

To note not big on Warhammer myself, can't seem to get interested in it.
Posted June 20, 2021
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MartiusR: A bit tough topic, but I'll try:

1.Laser Squad: Nemesis / UFO: Gniew Boga (sadly, not available in digital distribution, but used copies on various auction portals have rather reasonable prices) - tactic game, sci-fi theme, 4 playable races, you're making orders in turns, then watching "results" for short time (similar solution was also used in Combat Mission), it's almost 100% tactic, as the "bases" (which you can set before battle) are used just as a hubs for replenishing ammo.

2.Missionforce: Cyberstorm - definitely focused on tactic combat (turn-based of course), economy is minimal, present only between missions. One thing - there are fighting only robots/mechs, so IMO it's the thing which will make a difference comparing to Starcraft.It's available on GOG.

3.Already mentioned Warhammer 40k: Sanctus Reach - IMO it's one of the most accessible turn-based tactic games, so it definitelly shares with Starcraft the "accessibility" feature, aside from that, it's WH40k universe, so I guess that part is rather self-explanatory (important thing - in base game you have available only Space Marines and Orks, two DLCs are necessary to have 2 additional races (Imperial Guard and Chaos Demons).It's also present on the GOG.

4.Fallen Haven & Fallen Haven: Liberation Day - rather accessible game, economy is happening "between missions", it's definitely on bigger scale than previously mentioned games (maybe comparable iwth Sanctus Reach) in terms of amount of units present on the battlefield. Of course present on GOG.

5,Already mentioned Battle Isle: Incubation - extremely accessible, extremely fun, has very challenging campaign though.
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Zimerius: Fallen Haven comparable with Sanctus Reach? That is a bit stretching it, no? Sanctus Reach is this skirmish based turn baser where you guide your set number of troops through a variety of missions that all look similar while Fallen Haven is this expand/exterminate game where you build up both forces and defenses while trying to capture sectors and gain the upper hand before your single opponent does that on you. Its amazing how that game's graphics managed to survive the test of time btw!
I've made small mistake with constructing that sentence, I've meant that in terms of scale of battle (amount of troops on both sides) those two games are relatively close. Just wanted to point this out, since Laser Squad: Nemesis, Missionforce: Cyberstorm and Incubation have battles on "smaller scale", having a couple/a dozen of troops/robots on your side.
Posted June 20, 2021
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Zimerius: Fallen Haven comparable with Sanctus Reach? That is a bit stretching it, no? Sanctus Reach is this skirmish based turn baser where you guide your set number of troops through a variety of missions that all look similar while Fallen Haven is this expand/exterminate game where you build up both forces and defenses while trying to capture sectors and gain the upper hand before your single opponent does that on you. Its amazing how that game's graphics managed to survive the test of time btw!
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MartiusR: I've made small mistake with constructing that sentence, I've meant that in terms of scale of battle (amount of troops on both sides) those two games are relatively close. Just wanted to point this out, since Laser Squad: Nemesis, Missionforce: Cyberstorm and Incubation have battles on "smaller scale", having a couple/a dozen of troops/robots on your side.
Aha, now i see what you mean. All are great games btw! Do you know where you can find a working version of Laser Squad? I only remember playing a demo but never really gotten into it
Posted June 20, 2021
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MartiusR: I've made small mistake with constructing that sentence, I've meant that in terms of scale of battle (amount of troops on both sides) those two games are relatively close. Just wanted to point this out, since Laser Squad: Nemesis, Missionforce: Cyberstorm and Incubation have battles on "smaller scale", having a couple/a dozen of troops/robots on your side.
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Zimerius: Aha, now i see what you mean. All are great games btw! Do you know where you can find a working version of Laser Squad? I only remember playing a demo but never really gotten into it
Original Laser Squad? Wow, I was looking for DOS version for some time, but it seems to be extremely rare on auction websites, I've seen so far only one offer and with very, very high price.

But Laser Squad: Nemesis is rather common and cheap, for sure on ebay (used copies are much cheaper than new one), unfortunately it's not available anyhwhere in digital distribution. I was trying in recent years to contact Julian Gollop and ask about possibility of re-releasing both LS and LS:N, but I've never succeeded (all attempts of direct contact ended without any reply, and his co-workers from current studio, Snapshot Games, are not interested in this topic).
Posted June 21, 2021
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Breja: Not what I originally asked for, but a sci-fi Commandos-like would be welcome anyway.
It cannot really qualify as a sci-fi commandos, but there are some similarities: have you ever looked at the mech commander series? (both are great, but 1 imo is the best). Instead of a group of unique soldiers with different capabilities, you have unique pilots piloting different mechs customized to fit different combat roles. With jumpjets you even get to flank or 'infiltrate' big bases to take out key structures (e.g. gate controls so your other mechs can enter a base) . Quotation marks there because infiltration I think suggests some degree of subtlety, which I'm not sure you can find in any real measure when a 60 ton war-machine blasts across a fortified wall with jump thrusters...
Posted June 21, 2021
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Zimerius: Aha, now i see what you mean. All are great games btw! Do you know where you can find a working version of Laser Squad? I only remember playing a demo but never really gotten into it
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MartiusR: Original Laser Squad? Wow, I was looking for DOS version for some time, but it seems to be extremely rare on auction websites, I've seen so far only one offer and with very, very high price.

But Laser Squad: Nemesis is rather common and cheap, for sure on ebay (used copies are much cheaper than new one), unfortunately it's not available anyhwhere in digital distribution. I was trying in recent years to contact Julian Gollop and ask about possibility of re-releasing both LS and LS:N, but I've never succeeded (all attempts of direct contact ended without any reply, and his co-workers from current studio, Snapshot Games, are not interested in this topic).
I found the 2002 version on Abandonware, its a shame your attempts to contact them have failed, I had a lot of fun last night with playing through the few campaign missions
Posted June 21, 2021
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Breja: I was never very good with RTS games, and I think I only got worse with time. I like the relaxing pace of turn based games so much more, and StarCraft isn't an easy game for people who don't like multitasking in a mad rush.
Does it feel too "unrelaxed" even if you crank the Starcraft gamespeed all the way down to the minimum?

That's one of the reasons I like the original Starcraft so much; it lets you slow the game down to snail's pace, when things get hectic and enemies attack from several directions, so that you have time to respond to all of them.

I think Starcraft 2 changed that that at least in the higher difficulty levels, you can't slow the game down (much) anymore. And I hate SC2 for that, and other RTS games which are some kind of reflex games. I guess they are meant for online matches where neither player has the ability to slow down or pause the game.

Then there are also those RTS games where you can pause the game and give orders in the paused mode. At least some of the Age of Empires games were like that, at least AOE3.

I am unsure if turn-based gameplay is really suitable for a RTS game like Starcraft, where you may control quite many units. Turn-based gameplay is more suitable for tactical games where you have a very limited amount of units, so that the rounds don't take forever because you have to issue orders to all/most of them every round.

Real-time mode is more suitable for games with lots of units, as it flows better. As long as it has either the ability to slow the game down a lot, or even pause it, when things get hectic.
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This is my favourite topic
Community
General discussionTurn based StarCraft?(43 posts)(43 posts)
(43 posts)