Hey, folks.

What are some really solid futuristic RTS games that have come out in recent years?

Games that I like that are not futuristic but I dig the gameplay include:

Total War series
Star Wars: Empire at War

I dig gameplay that is not speed-based like StarCraft, but more meditative. I've tried the new C&C games and they're not my thing.

Would you folks suggest some stuff, please? Thanks in advance!

Perhaps Warhammer 40k: Dawn of War 2? It has a demo too, so you can try it before buying.

There was a thread about space-sims were you can also many RTS recommendations and not only about space battles, but also some more classical rts like Warhammer.

Edit: Wvprs post is maybe very interesting for you. He gives a little overview about different types of strategy games, also some space and land based rts games.

Sins of a Solar Empire. Dawn of War 1 & 2.

Was going to recommend SC2, but since you're nnot after fast-paced games, Sins of a Solar Empire, or Galactic Civilizations 2?

Dawn of war 2 has much more rph elements to it its like space company of heroes but gameplay is really enjoyable. You can always try Command & conquer tites. I have heard bad things about 4 but 3 was ok

Dawn of War - Dark Crusade or Dawn of War - Soulstorm for tactical battles linked together with a pseudo-strategic on top. A bit like Total War-lite in a Warhammer 40,000 setting.

The original Dawn of War and Dawn of War - Winter Assault for their linear but more elaborate storylines.

Dawn of War 2 emphasises tactical and small squad-based action than its predecessor. I've only played the demo but it was pretty neat.

I still prefer the first Dawn of War because I get to summon super units like a Chaos Bloodthirster to swat the enemy infantry around with his axe.

Supreme Commander Gold. Supreme Commander 2 is a bit faster paced. It's a good game in it's own way. But I think you'll prefer the first one. It's a good game, but not an RTS or sci-fi and it's pretty fast paced.

Dawn of War ins't sci-fi????
I think you got your games mixed up there.


Dawn of War series is traditional RTS with base building, resource gathering and armies. However Dawn of War 2 takes out the base building aspect along with reduced army sizes; it focuses on more tactical gameplay with smaller groups of troops


You might also consider the Ground Control series (on GoG). These focus around a similar idea of limited armies and tactical play. The first has pre-selected armies before the battle which you then fight over the fields with; whilst the second game introduces resurces and reinforcements via transport, but still focuses around tactical unit management.


I'd also strongly second Sins of a Solar Empire; large spacefleets and space stations, focused around longer drawn out games. There is also an upcoming stand-alone release (ie not quite a sequal game but a reworking that does not require the original to play).


Dark Reign 2 (on GoG) is also a great futuristic battle game. Focused on ground battles with some airsupport. It also has a great unit reactions controller which lets you make units fit very specific roles; not just stop, attack, move and stand ground - instead you can make scouts that flee combat, hunter killers that seek out and engage; defenders etc... . There is also the original game on GoG which presents similar gameplay but is a much older title.

Errr I think you might be splitting hairs with the definiation of sci-fi. Generally speaking most would consider Dawn of War/Warhammer 40K to be science fiction - its futuristic fiction (with space ships, aliens and suchlike) so yeah it fits the general sci-fi requirements.

And yes its tactical, but its still real time strategy; it just does not involve traditional base building (which is not a requirement for RTS, just a typical component of it).

AI War: Fleet command is really good.

Gratuitous space battles is different and quite fun as well. You can get it in the latest humble bundle

Check out Starcraft 1 and 2

It's not splitting hairs when the creators don't consider it sci-fi, when it includes numerous fantasy elements and when it's just generally nothing to do with sci-fi. Space ships and aliens? - Star Wars has space ships and aliens in it. Yet it's pure swords and sorcery fantasy. Space ships and aliens might well be an indicator that what you're looking at is sci-fi, but as Star Wars and 40K prove, that's not always the case.

The reason why these things are often considered sci-fi is because one of the most popular forms of sci-fi is looking at what our future might hold for us. Something neither Star Wars or 40K are trying to do. 40K is about the future of a fantasy world. You don't have to look far to see the fantasy is still very much in tact.

Tactical = individual skirmishes. Strategy = overall war. Base building is kind of cheap in a lot of games as it's not something you'd really do on the front lines (Supreme Commander and Total Annihilation are among the few that make sense of it). But it does at least help justify calling it strategy.

Tactics is what DoW2 is all about. You could argue that the in between mission map implies strategy, but unlike Dark Crusade, it doesn't really provide any choice beyond 'do you want to do some bonus missions or not?'

I'm not knocking DoW2. Far from it. I'm sticking up for it. Because when you apply labels to it like RTS you're applying expectations. And that's why a lot of people immediately went off the game. They went into it expecting an RTS.

It's like selling a Ferrari as a family car. It might be great on its own terms for its own purposes. But there's no room for the kids and groceries though. So as a family car it would suck.

Eh, with what passes for "sci-fi" we might as well call warhammer 40k that :D Still, it IS our future, holy Terra is, after all, Earth, there is Mars and everything, whereas I do not believe original warhammer was set on Earth.

Nevertheless, I wouldnt call it sci-fi and I wouldnt call most so-called "sci-fi" shows that either, I think sci-fi should at least remotely be based upon scientific discoveries or just general probability. That's Star Trek, for example, or Babylon 5. Most modern science fiction is just fantasy with spaceships...