Well hello everyone, my name's Jake and I have a quick question for the classy community of GOG. I've been a hardcore PC gamer for some time now, though I've ignored an important factor in PC gaming itself: RTS games. I've played games throughout the years, RPGs and Turn-Based Strategies to name a few. Browsing through my collection of games, I realized that I'd never actually played a RTS game before, and need advice. I'm a quick learner (I taught myself Visual Basic) and am looking for a good RTS to start out with. Is Starcraft good to start with, or something newer?
Thanks,
Jake

For single player games:
World in Conflict - amazing story, fun gameplay. Not a typical RTS - there is no base building.
Command & Conquer Red Alert 2 - Just a really fun game.
Multiplayer:
Starcraft - Only, ditch normal games and play use map settings maps. They're an incredible amount of fun.

DEFIANTLY start out with Starcraft, not only is it a good FIRST GAME EVER, but it's also easy to learn!

The first two Age of Empires games are quite easy to get into, are a lot of fun and seem to still be easy to find at local stores.

Total Annihilation is awesome, but a little open for a "starter" RTS. I would go with Age of Empires 2. The Command & Conquer games can be frustrating because the build queues are a bit narrow.
Once you get some skill, then move up to TA, then Rise of Nations, and then Empire Earth.
On the other hand Rise of Nations is amazing, you could certainly learn the basics and then some from it. Fairly modern graphics, multiple play concepts, and classic to modern techs.

All the best games have already been mentioned but I'll add that if you don't get along with one of the games try another. RTS have a lot of difference in how they actually play. Starcraft is alot different RTS to say something like Age of Empires or Empire Earth. The Total War series of games are good as well and completely different again from the games I've already mentioned.
I'd personally go with Dawn of War to start with though as you can pause and issue commands to your troops. Fairly handy if you start getting overwhelmed with the game, lets you figure out whats going on etc.

That is the very thing I'd recommend avoiding, while it does make it easier to play, you may begin to rely on the feature if you aren't used to playing without it, and it's better to not start bad habits.

Not quite only an online thing. If you ramp up the difficulty in single player, you tend to get rushed by the AI as well. More the case in skirmishes rather than the campaign.
C&C Whichever, unfortunately has a lot of rushing in the single player campaigns. Unending tides of enemy units keep coming at you.
But some people like that, others prefer a more tactical affair.

I don't know I've got quite a few of my non rts gaming friends into the genre with the game. Although it has the potential to develope a bad habbit of relying on pause it also lets people figure out whats going on without getting their asses handed to them time and again and then giveing up in frustration.

Starcraft just has too much tedious micro. Also, even though the game is incredibly well balanced for expert players,there are many strategies that are very hard for beginners and even intermediate players to counter. In many cases (not neccesarily expert ones), i think people with a high APM can beat people with lower one, even if the slower player understands the tactics and strategy better. Basically, I think Starcraft is too hardcore for a beginning rts player.

World in Conflict! Yes, good one there. It's like Ground Control, but smaller in scale. Good thing, too.

Indeed, a lot of the later UI innovations are missing. Stuff like autocast and being able to use an ability when multiple units are selected, for one.

Starcraft is an old example of a game that has over a decade been perfectly balanced. It can run on old systems, modern ones, and even Linux. It's so popular if you want to play online you can with tons of people, and AI bots are fun singleplayer too. You could even do an online bot-bash, 2 people vs 4 AI bots for example.
Another good game would be Total Annihilation. That is another classic with same benefits as above, though adds in physics like bullet arc and delay and units can miss. Walkers are better for rough terrain where tanks have more HP and damage for the same cost, though tanks can't go up steep hills. It's an awesomely balanced game and in it's own right a good start, it's where I started before C&C even ;)
C&C is a simple RTS series, rush best unit you can afford. Not great if you're after strategy exactly. A free alternative is Spring engine, it's free and "mods" are also free. Most mods are RTS's based off Total Annihilation, but it's a true 3d engine and has so much more to offer, and can look eerily realistic. It can run on my old single core PC with medium-low settings very fast with 1000 units and comes with bots. For a spacial RTS with 3d movement look at Homeworld and O-R-B. Both are also old and cheap and give you a unique opportunity to control ships in space with 3d formations.
For a good squad-RTS look at MechCommander 2. It was released free and I beat it 10 times over past few years. It focuses on you building mechs with your own configuration and using pilots you hired to pilot them, pilots get better as they fight more but if a pilot dies he's gone. It's an awesome game and also runs well on older systems.
Finally, if you got a good dual-core or better, Supreme Commander. That is also an advanced RTS with more micromanagement needed than Total Annihilation and most Spring mods. It's made by same people who made TA and is the unofficial sequel that has matured so much many find it unpleasant to enjoy. You have to be a veteran of RTS's to get the most out of SupCom, but it's great when you can dig it.

You could try [url=]http://wz2100.net/[/url] it's an old commercial game that is open source nowadays. It's not quite as simple as C&C but to be honest most of it's complexity is superficial, give it a go!

I guess I'm the only one who didn't like Total Annihilation. Anyway, I think that the best introduction to RTSs is the Red Alert series. Between the low difficulty and hilarious storyline they are easy to get into and enjoy even without being a fan of the genre. Starcraft is awesome, but it is pretty complex and pretty hard if you aren't used to managing resources and balancing forces.

I second Total Annihilation. Beats Starcraft IMO.

Grab the beta for Starcraft 2. Best you can do as far as resource gathering RTS is concerned.