Hey everyone, and thanks for checking out this thread.
See, I am a complete RTS noob, meaning I have huge problems playing games of this genre even though I find them to be very enjoyable.

I just purchased Empire Earth a few days ago and completed the Learning Scenario, as well as the first mission of the Greek scenario, but I am now completely stuck on Mission 2 in that same scenario (Yeah, imagine how terrible I am if I can't even pass the second level of this game. You are welcome to make fun of me and how dumb I am).

I don't want to just look up videos or strategy guides to get an easy strat that will help me beat this level, because I feel that would take the fun out of it... However, I do really wish I could get some pointers on general things I should keep in mind when devising a strategy! The learning scenarios taught me basic things about the game, but never really addressed the 'flow' of the game.

So, here I am, asking the brilliant tacticians of GoG to help me (if that isn't too much to ask).
Are there some general principles to playing Empire Earth and, maybe, RTS games in general?

I understand that this is a dumb question to ask in many ways since the whole game is about adapting to any situation, but I just can't get into the right mindset it seems.

For example, should I generally focus on moving up an epoch? How many ground units are generally enough in the beginning? My idea was that five shock, five cavalry and five archers would be good enough, but it seems like Overkill surprisingly and a waste of initial resources. Should building up an army be my first concern, or should I hold off on making too many units of each type until I have reached the next epoch? Should I always make houses to boost morale, even in scenarios that involve me moving from one area to another rather than holding a fortified position? Should I always invest in temples and priests? (The tutorial didn't make Temples seem all that important, honestly).

Again, I am very sorry to bother you with dumb questions like that, but I really do want to beat this whole game, it'd feel very rewarding to someone like me who can't even beat the second level of the game. Also, was Empire Earth a bad 'starter'-RTS game? Is there any game on GoG that you feel would be a better intro for someone like me, something that could warm me up so that I could tackle this game when I feel more confident later on?

(I left this thread as a general thread rather than a help thread, because I didn't want to limit this to only Empire Earth necessarily)

I'm sorry for replying late (I just noticed this thread today). I'm not qualified to give advice on Empire Earth because I've always struggled with the game myself, but I'd still like to commiserate with you about the second Greek mission. It gave me problems all the time back in the day, and I only managed to beat it after much trial and error. I haven't played the game in around 6 or 7 years (and the game is currently refusing to run on my Mac), so I apologize if my memory is a little fuzzy. In fact, I think the sixth Greek mission is about as far as I ever got in the campaigns.

Possible Spoilers:

This mission is probably giving you trouble due to the nature of the scenario/plot. If I remember correctly, the opening minutes are not representative of ideal starting conditions. For one, you begin on a cramped little island with just enough space and resources to get you on your feet. The objective calls for you to cross the ocean, so you need to work quickly to get that all-important journey underway. The constant enemy invasions underscore the need to get out of there, and I don't think it's possible (or worthwhile) to prevent your island from being overrun. Once you've made your way to the main continent, things start to get a little more manageable. Did you get that far yet?

So, to reiterate, this is one of those missions where you can't afford to dally or build up in comfort. The clock is ticking before the scripted(?) invasions beat your initial base into the ground, so you need to act quickly and with purpose. I remember feeling really discouraged when I kept failing to survive those opening minutes. Once I had a clearer sense of my objective, I was able to play more determinedly and progress to the mission's less-intense mid-game phase. Please let me know if you got past it or if you're still having trouble.

Thank you for the reply!

Since I posted this, I have already been able to beat this mission. I am now almost finished with the Greek campaign. When I reached Mission 3 or 4, I decided to beat the game using a walkthrough. I am just too inexperienced with Strategy games and Empire Earth is very hard for me to beat.

Not an easy game, but it is fun even with a walkthrough just to see how history plays out in this game. That said, I wish the Greek campaign was maybe a little shorter, I want to move on to England already!

I find Empire Earth extremely enjoyable, but only after learning how to control the pace and my approach. Surviving huge AI attacks one after another is not my idea of fun.

For me, the key was to use random island maps. I focus on towers with maximum range and hit points, and use them to protect every vulnerable point on my island coast. This means mining as much stone as possible, but makes it possible to delay other military development until after the first age or two.

I played on Easy until I became more competent. To reduce the chance of suffering an early attack, I start with 8 citizens, but start the AI with only one. My first unit produced is an explorer dog to scope out the island and find where the resources are.

Personally, I don't like confusing massive battles. So I limit the total number of units to 200, normally a limit of 100 for me and 100 for the AI. Then I use a profile that gives me an extra 15% population, for a maximum of 115. Later, when this limit becomes a problem, build a fortress. A fortress stores currently unneeded population and troops without counting them against the population limit.

When fishing boats are available, send out one to explore the map. Put an explorer dog on each new island discovered to learn what is there. If the AI has the audacity to build something on one, think about a guerrilla raid to capture their citizens and/or raze their outpost. When there is a good supply of stone, start building towers around the other islands, especially at sea lane choke points. Towers are tough, and even if defeated, take out many, many AI troops first.

Final phase is to find a point on the periphery of the AI home island to land and build a tower, preferably below a coastal mountain base that is hard for the AI to attack in force. As soon as enough space is conquered, build walls and multiple towers to reduce the ferocity of the attacks. My first reaction to the annoying "We are being attacked!" message is to hit the F3 key to pause the game and study the situation.

So far, I haven't bothered to go past the Dark Age, since I enjoy the early ages so much. Playing on Medium difficulty makes attacks more frequent, and the game more challenging with increasing competence. The AI does cheat by giving itself resources, but this is not necessarily a problem, since my enjoyment is in creating my own strategy.

It doesn't help that the AI is cheating.
I tried it, it really does. Pre-nuclear age, it covers the map with walls despite barely having enough workers to do so, and constantly rebuilds his base as you tear it down.
Post-nuclear age, if you don't rush it, it'll just spam nuclear bombers and goes Hiroshima on your face (apologies to Japanese people).

The AI is not fun to play with in Empire Earth.

Addendum : it REALLY is cheating, that sneaky little son of a dog.
From another thread, I have found this link : empireearth.wikia.com/wiki/AI_Cheat
I was not paranoid ! I KNEW IT !

facteur_rien: I agree that Empire Earth can be unreasonably difficult unless controlled. I've been fortunate enough to find techniques that make the game enjoyable for me. With these, I've found the AI is fun to play.

Playing on Easy using random island maps has worked well, at least up to the Dark Age. So far, I've never seen the AI build a wall in these random island games. Possibly this is because I kept it simple until I learned how to proceed. Now, I focus on my own development and protection of my own island, then raid any AI settlements on initially-empty islands. Maybe this approach does not give the AI time to think about walls? Or it doesn't bother once it thinks its home island is adequately protected by coastal towers?

New military units are produced in the "suicidal psychopath" aggressive mode. They foolishly chase after any visible AI unit until they are encircled and easily killed by other AI forces. This is frustrating. So I learned to immediately set new units to the more conservative "stand your ground" mode until there is a reason to take risks.

Currently, I just completed the first three missions of the Greek Campaign on Easy, and found them also enjoyable, though sometimes more hectic than I would like. The historical context is truly interesting.

Glad you got through it! Shortly after you posted this reply, I managed to install the game on my Mac and completed the whole Greek campaign for the first time. It certainly was tricky at times, although not nearly as impossible as I remember it in the early 00's. I doubt I'll get to the other campaigns, though, because I find Random Maps more fun and less restrictive. I agree. The aggressive AI drove me insane for years, and I'm only beginning to finally defend better in land-based games. I grew up playing Warcraft 2, so I wasn't used to being attacked from every conceivable direction and at the worst of times. I especially hate(d) how AI raiding parties would run past my Clubmen and wreak havoc on my workforce. Even if I managed to kill the attackers, I'd find half of my citizens dead and the remaining hunters, foragers, and miners in total disarray. Nowadays, I'm stationing single Barracks units at strategic points outside my base to give me advance warning about AI invasions. Unfortunately, rolling a map with your initial resource piles all spread out makes defending even harder and more expensive than it ought to be!