What happened to the Real Time Strategy genre?- Part 1 Classics

[@leonrussell262]

As someone who grew up on the cutting edge of RTS games i just want to say you did the genre proud with this content. Keep up the good work.

[@AitsZ]

Thanks for the support! And I am glad you enjoyed the video. I will do my best to make future content as fun and worth watching!

[@balintmagyar3285]

Totally agree!

[@AitsZ]

@@balintmagyar3285 Thank you!

[@bunnybreaker]

I'm glad you mentioned the sound effects of Warcraft 2. Back before everyone had a computer in their pocket, I have fond memories of going to the one friends house who had a computer and making our own sound packs for Worms from the WAV files from Warcraft 2 😊

[@AitsZ]

I love Worms! Especially Armageddon. But Warcraft 2 sounds are just memorable. It has to be the first thing that comes to everyone's mind when they think about Warcraft 2. That and the cheat codes lol. Thank you for the comment!

[@MI982]

I played Dune 2 to oblivion. I still keep a piece of paper on which I wrote all of the map codes as a memento. It brings back fond memories.

[@AitsZ]

Haha now that is dedication. Thanks for the comment!

[@danielguy3581]

Weirdly, 'oblivion' literally means being forgotten.

[@Beus38]

Oh, the good old memories ;) I also played Dune 2 for hundreds of hours back in the day, and even made my own modifications to it :) With no internet, no documentation, no nothing, just by looking at the game files in a hex viewer, I understood their structure and made my own program in Turbo Pascal to un-pack and pack back those .pak files and another one to "decipher" the "encrypted" files and "encrypt" them back (it was merely a very simple compression where some commonly occuring pairs of bytes were replaced by a single >128 byte) and made some customizations to them :) Most notably, I modified the scenario files to replace the annoying sandworms with friendly devastators or similar, and made some other things to make winning easier 😀 I still keep everything on one of my disks, including the sources and the modified game files 🙂

[@MI982]

@@Beus38 That's pretty wizard.

[@Knights_Oath]

Thankfully I don't have to imagine what it was like, I lived it and it was amazing. I was the rare sports nerd that would come home from soccer or baseball practice to play video games. I still have my floppy disks and CD with their cases with the codes still on them.

[@amogus8844]

From all the rts games i loved empire earth and battle realms the most. I still play them.

[@VeryM2023]

All the sounds from Warcraft 1 & 2 are forever ingrained in my mind 😅

[@AitsZ]

I think most can say that is the first thing that comes to mind when remembering warcraft lol. Thanks for the comment!

[@bobby4tw]

glitteringprizes 😏👌

[@scottmune4484]

YOUR SOUNDCARD WORKS PERFECTLY

[@bobby4tw]

Ok so no one got that. I get it g Z

[@RagingGoblin]

For its time, C&C had -- in parts -- mind-blowing graphics. The icons for the different units alone seemed very realistic at the time. I wouldn't say it was technically (far) ahead of Wc2, but it definitely took advantage of its possibilities with the maps drawn in an aquarelle-ish style that cleverly blended a lack of details with artistic abstraction.

[@AitsZ]

I can agree with that. Warcraft 2 sprites were noticeably more cartoonish, even the humans. But I didn't mind. Thanks for the comment!

[@incaseofimportantnegotiations]

it was insanely far ahead of wercraft 2 just play both dos versions today and see the difference. warcraft2 is just a modified dune2 with better controls c&c is the future

[@andrzejkulakowski]

Those games were golden, and besides clunkiness they still retain that captivating magic art style, that was lost in time evidently.

[@samsneedamyer5935]

That was a quality video, quite informative. I've always wondered why it isn't as popular as before

[@AitsZ]

Thanks for your support!

[@exodous02]

I have fond memories of playing WarCraft II with my brother. We only had one PC so we would make maps and have the other play through them. We had huge overarching story lines, each map another chapter. I don't remember any of the story lines but we numbered each map and we were up in the 60s, probably higher but that is the latest I can remember. There was also a unit editor and we would take a hero from the expansion, edit the abilities and made it the general we could control. I do remember it was tied into our Hero Quest games. I still play WarCraft II every now and then. A few of the Command and Conquer games also, but later ones. I really think StarCraft ended RTS, it is the perfect mix of graphics, sound, ease of play, and strategy. After StarCraft the number of new RTS titles slowed down but SC still continued to have tons of players. For the most part that is all anyone plays anymore.

[@AitsZ]

Yea Warcraft II was special for its unique map editor at the time. For me it was the story, campaigns and the narrator's epic voice that made the feel so attached when I was young. StarCraft was probably the climax of the RTS, I would agree on that it is a very well rounded game with simple but efficient mechanics. Thank you for the comment and I hope you take a look at the future parts of this RTS timeline!

[@dustinseth1]

A friend and I rented Dune 2 for sega Genesis one weekend when we were kids and were blown away. Hadn’t played anything like it.

[@GMoDiLLa]

Fond memories of going over to my neighbors house to play as a kid. We’d sit on these, especially wc2 and c&c. Still playing AoE2 to this day!

[@AitsZ]

AOE2 is a timeless classic! I am glad the community is still holding strong!

[@cx5307]

I played all the games, starting with Dune 2, for countless hours. Especially Warcraft 2 with a null modem. We played extremely difficult maps cooperatively. When we had finally defeated the computer after the twentieth attempt, we immediately started the map editor to create an even more difficult map.

[@AitsZ]

Yea I miss the days were I can get lost in playing a game especially RTS that demands a lot of time. The map editor to me was such a gem for Warcraft 2. Thanks for your comments!

[@Warmaker01]

I had bought that Dune 2 game for my Sega Genesis in the mid-1990s. One of the last games I bought for the system in those days. Great game. When I was preparing to be stationed overseas to Okinawa, I had left my family a bunch of my stuff, which included a Sega CD / Genesis combo, Playstation 1, Sega Saturn, and tons of games. My sister took immediately to the Playstation, never saw her mess with the rest. However, my dad was fond of still playing the old Sega Genesis. He basically took over my Sega CD / Genesis combo, but only played the Genesis games, games that he had gotten me for the old, chunky Genesis when I still lived at home. Back then he loved Herzog Zwei for the Genesis. That was what I saw him play most of the time. It was only Dune 2 that broke that habit and I saw him keep playing that game even when I went home on vacation during the early 2000s. He had a PC starting in the late 1990s and I offered him my discs for the awesome Starcraft, but he never did accept. He was in his 60s by that time. He knew how to work with computers but he never did any gaming on it. I tried to talk about how great Starcraft was but he wouldn't budge. Dune 2 was all he needed.

[@AitsZ]

Wow that is awesome. Dune 2 was a stellar game and it really was ground breaking for the genre. Thanks for the comment!

[@AitsZ]

Wow that's awesome! Dune 2 was a stellar game for it's time and it really was ground breaking for the genre. Thanks for the comment!

[@Callofdootie]

Herzog Zwei will forever have a space in my heart.

[@tomaszachar809]

Great video, the sounds and music... What a nostalgy

[@AitsZ]

Yup one of my favs about the classics! Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@andrewj1754]

I'm so glad you called out the Warcraft 2 soundtrack. Such a banger.

[@AitsZ]

I am going to go out on a limb, and upset some people but I think it is one of the best OST for the RTS. All of the tracks just fit perfectly to the theme. I am glad there are others who enjoy WC2 OST too! Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@thehellyousay]

Warmonger for Sega Genesis in the early 90s. 195 maps, had to make your way across it to win. Some maps were unbeatable.

[@AitsZ]

Ill be honest never heard of this game. I am trying to look for it online but I can't find anything on it. Maybe it has another name? I was not a huge fan of using the controller for the RTS until I came across Halo Wars which I enjoyed and may have changed my perspective on this. Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@lincolntravelconcierge4846]

@@AitsZ Powermonger

[@Zsteel]

Command and Conquer was my 1st RTS I ever played, I even still have discs for the PC & PS1 somewhere.

[@AitsZ]

That is pretty sweet. I have a few original RTS CD'S but none that are big names like C&C. Thanks for the comment!

[@Silanael]

I started out with WarCraft II, then Red Alert, ending up with StarCraft that I still play on occasions. I feel the decline of RTSes has to do with the decline of people/gamers that these days come with a shorter attention-span not well suited for controlling an entire army and infrastructure - the MOBA-genre that is essentially a stripped, dumbed down RTS, speaks for this with its popularity.

[@LCTesla]

I think its just a genre that peaked early. When you have so many excellent older games to play that aren't very graphics-dependent, its kinda superfuous to create new ones.

[@AitsZ]

Someone else mentioned a similar point to this in the comments. And it is a very valid point. We often criticize new RTS by comparing it with the older ones. And end up going back to the old ones. Thanks for the comment!

[@alldamnnamesaretaken]

Herzog Zwei (of which you showed the cover) was my first rts game. Still have fond memories of it.

[@louper3002]

Love it, brought back some good memories. Good work!

[@AitsZ]

Thanks for the supportive words! Glad you enjoyed it!

[@dreamautumn604]

Omg, I Absolutely loved warcraft. It was so scary to me as a kid, but I loved every bit of it!

[@AitsZ]

Haha. Yea Warcraft 1 just had a darker feel to it.

[@sligacheese6470]

Yes like the ogre’s bloodlust

[@aristoxenedagonie9316]

Musics and (french) sounds of Warcraft 2 are engraved in my memory. Thank you for this great retrospective, can't wait part 2 !

[@AitsZ]

haha that just seems to be a common theme with Warcraft 2. I am glad you are eager for the next part. Hopefully it should be up soon. Thank you for your support!

[@stevenbentz2341]

The original Red Alert and Command and Conquer made up most of my childhood, and most of the things we complain about today about them didn't bother us. At the time it was the greatest thing since sliced bread. Whenever I go back and play old games I sometimes wonder how we managed to play games back then and have such an awesome time while playing when the graphics were bad, stupid ai, and you can go down the list in comparison to today but the games back then had so much passion and ambition behind them for their time. Red Alert certainly shaped my gaming preferences from an early age. Loved the video. You got a like and subscribe from me, and hope to see more content like this. Love watching "documentaries" on the history of gaming. Brings back such good memories.

[@AitsZ]

Yea it is interesting to look back at games and think that we were mesmerized when new gameplay aspects were introduced then. And now it is more of a feeling like " How did we enjoy this". But it still nice to appreciate how far this genre and video games in general have come from. Thank you so much for the kind words and support!

[@Darkened234]

I think there were much more important RTS in this "classic" era. C&C and Warcraft were just the most fine tuned and had moderate difficulty. Other games brought much more innovative ideas but lacked in quality or were just to difficult for the avarage player. I think of games like Z, Settlers, Dungeon Keeper, Popolous, Anno, Battlezone.

[@AqoCyrale]

I think one thing people won't realize today, is that back then, those games had AMAZING graphics. I remember when I first saw Dune 2, I thought it was beautiful. I felt so deeply immersed in the world's universe thanks to how good the graphics seemed to me at the time. It made me pick up drawing and learn to draw various war machines heavily inspired by the game's art direction, and read the entire Dune book series. Then when Warcraft 2 came out, once again, I was blown away by how good the graphics were. Everything was so sharp and detailed. It felt so satisfying to play the game, just because it looked beautiful, and every single unit you controlled or spell you cast or UI button you clicked felt satisfying to look at. Modern RTS don't really do that for me anymore. I think Company of Heroes looks fine, but... it doesn't make me go "wow". Planetary Annihilation looks fine, but... it doesn't make me go "wow". And don't even get me started on all the others. They feel so uninspired. I don't think this is nostalgia goggles. Back then, the creators of the games kept trying to one-up the previous games, by making something more cool and over the top compared to previous titles that existed. And it was really cool. Modern RTS just feels like it tries to be very "realistic" and "balanced for competitive play", which is fine and all, but it doesn't try to be "cool", and that really ruins the fun and excitement. I personally love competitive play, I played competitive starcraft broodwar for over 5 years on private ladder with koreans, I played a ton of other games like C&C3 and RA3 and Dawn of War all in a very competitive setting, but even I get bored of this. If developers just focused on making a "cool" game, instead of a "balanced" one, RTS would thrive again. Starcraft was so cool when it came out. Every faction is completely different. Units can go invisible? Carriers can carry small planes in them? Zerg units can burrow underground? Terran buildings can fly? Zergs can evolve? Protoss can teleport and control both robots and spellcasters? Everything about the game was just so COOL. Starcraft wasn't popular for its competitive scene. Proleague in Korea was just 1% of the game's population. 99% was people playing UMS just enjoying the cool atmosphere the game had.

[@royasturias1784]

Obscure RTS games of the time frame: Outpost 2 Divided Destiny: improvement of the first game, two factions this time with their respective research trees, the world being a magnet of natural disasters and hazards especially the Blight in certain missions, the late-game space race (build your new mobile space station module by module to escape the unterraformable planet) Cannon Fodder: no base building, just making do with the troops that you have to accomplish missions Z: a CnC clone with more comedy despite your troops consisting of mostly robots, capturing enemy buildings while trying to protect your one HQ, IP itself recently acquired by the UK-based Rebellion (of Sniper Elite and Zombie Army fame) Myth The Fallen Lords, Myth II Soulblighter: Dystopian fantasy RTS games developed by the now Sony subsidiary Bungie, featuring gore and gibs as a selling point

[@sarcasmo57]

Yeah man. I played a bunch of these. Only watched my mate play Dune though, it seemed rad at the time.

[@phenel]

i'm so happy westwood went their own way with their own IP. CnC was formative for my gaming development, as was warcraft 2.

[@incumbentvinyl9291]

5:39 - Interesting. I played through both campaigns about five years ago with little trouble. The last map is huge with both branches, but not overly difficult. There aren't that many units, and making use of the heal spell and having lots of range units is key. You can eventually box the enemy out of surprise attacking you by blocking pathways with multiple units.

[@AitsZ]

I think I also got a lot worse at the classic RTS because I played War 1 countless times since its release. And when I finished again right before creating this vid, it just felt a lot harder to me compared to the others I covered in this vid. Thanks for commenting and watching!

[@incumbentvinyl9291]

@@AitsZ Yeah, Warcraft 1 is about patience. Warcraft 2, about skill. I've never completed Warcraft 2 without cheats, I could not beat the last level. Keep up the good work!

[@meierlinksd4996]

Oh man. There was one that I saw very briefly on this video that I definitely remembered. I also remember its sequel, too. The Ancient Art of War. And ... The Ancient Art of War At Sea. Yes, it was primitive with primitive graphics, but the memories! Look out for Caesar, here comes Sun Tzu!

[@ahhhttoooddgg9711]

As an age of empires fan, I find it amazing how that game Continues to carry on with such a good following so many years later. Guess I’ve always just played that because it’s a game you can push yourself pretty much to impossible limits and even the best of the best are probably only operating at 90-95% maximum ability. So I’ve never really thought about the fact that RTS in general isn’t around much anymore. I did play C&C back in the day too though.

[@AitsZ]

AOE 2 is one of my favorite RTS and video game in general. And you are right, it's absolutely amazing how the devs have kept it relevant for so long, with all expansions and remakes. It's the same game engine called genie from the first AOE back in 1997. Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@Leny1777]

You are criminally underrated

[@AitsZ]

Well thank you! I do try to give the max effort when creating these videos. Glad you enjoyed!

[@estebancantero4751]

I loved this video! All the games here are gems!! Thanks for the video!!

[@AitsZ]

Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@Natsocenis]

Dune 2 at the age of 6 was a revelation, I miss a solid RTS game.

[@Zypzu]

On this list, Warcraft 1 & 2 we’re my childhood. And you’re right, while they feel clunky now, especially Warcraft 1, at the time these games were amazing and thought the controls were as they should be. Played through the campaign on both of them recently.

[@AitsZ]

I will never forget the day my father came back home with WC2. Life changing moment. Thanks for the comment!

[@Zypzu]

@@AitsZ I know the feeling, for me it was Warcraft 1. It was on this brand new format that our computer didn’t have, something called CD’s. :-D Good times 😊

[@hetrodynegaming8907]

I wish you had given an honorable mention to Overlord. The menus paused the clock, but action progressed in real time outside of them. Strictly speaking not completely RTS, but since it predates even Utopia I think it deserves a nod.

[@professorkatze1123]

Dune 2 and CnC were my first RTS. i never got into warcraft and starcraft. these days i still play supreme commander forged alliance, AoE2, dawn of war dark crusade and a few others once in a while

[@AitsZ]

I find a lot of classic RTS players usually play and love either Dune 2 and CnC or Warcraft series, I hardly ever see an overlap. Which makes sense as Warcraft to me focused more on the story whereas Dune 2 and CnC were all about the gameplay mechanics. Thanks for the comment!

[@KVPMD]

I played C&C (Starting with Red Alert but going back to C&C Tiberium Conflict). The music and interface were so good and Warcraft2 I tried later on was really no match in my eyes. WC3 had a cood campain but I prefered my games faster so SC and even mroe SC2 were my favorites. They also brought me into eSports and on the other hand I now play C&C Rivals so it still impacts me til today :)

[@KyleNike84]

Oh, you're doing some stuff right, that's for sure! I grew up playing these games, and I remember exactly how Warcraft:O&H felt and how awesome was the limitless unit selection in C&C was. The way you described all that is top notch. My only advice would be to pay attention to how your mic sounds -- there's too much room echo there. Try recording under a blanket to nullify the echo, that's what I did when I was recording my voice for a project.

[@AitsZ]

Thanks for the kind words! Yes sound is definitely something that needs to be worked on. I may give the blanket method a try as a heard of it from someone else too. Thanks again for the support!

[@KyleNike84]

​@@AitsZ, no problemo! The content is good, the delivery just needs a few finishing touches, but you're on the right track. Keep it up!

[@CaptainRotmeat]

I played Warcraft II a little bit, but was mostly unaware of these other games. Thank you for providing some education!

[@AitsZ]

Thanks for the support! WC 2 was probably my favorite out of the classics.

[@poisonhemlock]

The Intellivision was before my time, but I did get to play Utopia at a friend's place as a kid, as well as Sea Battle. It was a blast.

[@AitsZ]

Definitely before my time as well. But that is great that you were able to play it! Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@corgibuttz2550]

Fun video! I grew up playing most of those games. I'm interested to see where you think Myth: The Fallen Lords would land.

[@AitsZ]

I am glad you enjoyed it. I will have myth in a timeline video different from this series. Along the lines of hidden gem RTS. So it is on my plans to cover. Thanks for the comment and watching.

[@enomiellanidrac9137]

My uncle had a demo version of Warcraft 1 on his Mac, he was not playing any video game himslef, but would sometime pull the demo he had for us to play and so I ended up trying the game when I was around ten years old. Being left to play without clear instruction on a game in English I knew nothing of I just had to do some serious trial and error to understand what I was supposed to do: with no other thing on screen I tried destroying my own buildings and my own units getting multiple game over before I realized I wasn't on a tiny island and the mostly black screen could actually be explored... oh the memories.

[@AitsZ]

Warcraft was really difficult to learn. I mean the RTS was in its infant stages at that time so not a lot of people knew how to play. But once I got the hang of it. Boy was it ever fun! Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@RighteousnessWillPrevail]

I grew up back in the day with Dune 2000, Red Alert, Red Alert 2, Tieberian Sun, StarCraft, and Star Wars Galactic Battle Grounds. And you could say Star Wars Rebellion though a bit different thsn usual RTS games. The golden age of RTS games is indeed over. Very sad. I love Dune 2000 and StarCraft the Most. I'm Purple Ordos and Protoss. There will unfortunately never be Grand RTS games in these styles again. I was lucky to be born in an age where these existed as the new games of the time.

[@BluehearT_RedsouL]

Played Dune 2, Warcraft 1,2,3 including expansions, C&C, Red alert, Starcraft 1, 2. Good times growing up on PC games.

[@AitsZ]

For sure there was just soo much variety for the RTS. Now you would be lucky to find 1 decent game released within the year. Thanks for the comment and watching!

[@MichaelBusse1]

On the Commodore 64 i remember the games Dark Empire and Johnny Reb 2. These could deffinatly be considered RTS games in their own right, although without the ressource management aspect. But they are often overlooked when talking RTS. But great video :)

[@AitsZ]

Interesting, never heard of these. Definitely worth checking it out. Thanks for the support;

[@Khinshadova]

No Warwind?

[@sheadoolittle]

Blizzard died and then their corpse murdered Warcraft 3

[@georgehelyar]

C&C only let you place buildings adjacent to existing buildings so my brother and I used to build sand bags up to the enemy base, which they wouldn't attack, and box them in, then mine out the whole map and kill them with turrets in their base. Ridiculously slow way of playing the game but good memories. I still have all my old CDs of these games

[@boreopithecus]

There was a special atmosphere to Dune 2 that I don’t think any of the subsequent RTS games have matched.

[@AitsZ]

It was very unique and ground breaking when it came out. And ever since most RTS have tried to mimic most of its aspects.Thanks for the comment!

[@VitaminJ7734]

What a blast is notalgia this was.

[@AitsZ]

Thanks for the kind words. Making this vid really gave me some deep memories of joy growing up too!

[@ivanvoloder8114]

My definitive favorite RTS is Supreme Commader: Forged Alliance and Wargame series.

[@thehellyousay]

Total Annihilation. Virtually any of the games. Blitzkrieg. Good god, I've owned games I can't remember the names of that were just as good.

[@nagyandras8857]

dune 2 had a partial form of fog of war. whitout a working radar the minimap did not show the units.dune 2 allso had unit healing. scatter and run was indeed tactics employd in dune 2. thing is, it was advanced way ahead of its time.

[@DrunkenPug]

Dope video I still play rts games casually and it all started with wc2 and red alert as well as total anihilation. Shout out to halo wars 2 for being an innovative modernish rts

[@AitsZ]

Thanks for the support! You gotta love those classics! And TA is by far the most underrated RTS for being the most innovative. Halo wars has to be the only RTS I have played with a controller and enjoyed. So I will for sure be covering Halo in the future.

[@trobertw]

Im really looking forward to "sins of a solar empire 2" coming out soon. The first game is an awesome RTS

[@LudosErgoSum]

I got every single achievement in StS. It's of the best games ever made, both digital and board game wise'

[@misterprecocious2491]

My two favourite RTS's are Warzone 2100 and Earth 2150 both by Pumpkin Studios, still play 2100 today.

[@balintmagyar3285]

Honestly, I played first with Age of Empires 1-2, StarCraft 1, Red Alert 2, WarCraft 3 and Armies of Exigo. After that I searched and played tons of hours with WarCraft 2 and Dune 2000. One of my best years of my life. 🤗

[@AitsZ]

Can't argue about any of those games.Most of those were a big part of my life too. Thanks for commenting and watching!

[@blaire4115]

Pretty cool video, but... you mentioned some obscure Mattel game first, but not a word for Herzog Zwei for Sega Genesis, which considered by many people a real progenitor and inspiration for later RTS games? (And rightfully so, if I say so myself).

[@AitsZ]

You are right, I did realize after making the vid I should have added in sometime for Herzog Zwei as it was instrumental for the RTS even though it did not have all the basic RTS principles that Dune 2 standardized. I mistakenly was worried about video length at the time. Glad that you somewhat enjoyed the video anyway. Thanks for the comment!

[@ggd2mf603]

If you keep this kind of content up, you will grow really fast.Pretty soon i can say with pride "I was his subscriber #13"

[@AitsZ]

Thank you!I really appreciate the kind words! It makes me feel even more motivated to work on my upcoming vids even at the cost of some sleep.

[@ggd2mf603]

@@AitsZ yeah I was about to go through your channel when i noticed the uploads was only few hrs ago. How many part series is going to be?

[@AitsZ]

@@ggd2mf603 It will be a 3 part series. Classics, Golden age and Modern. I am really glad you feel interested in this series!

[@javierramirezdiaz143]

You have done an incredible work

[@AitsZ]

Thank you! I really appreciate the support! Don't forget to check out part 2 & 3 please.

[@javierramirezdiaz143]

@@AitsZ I already did. It was a great journey full of nostalgia and I thank U for that. But I would advice to analyze more the genre in a future, cuz the last part felt more like a description and investigation of the bests games more than an exposure of the genre itself. I mean what U did in the last 5 minutes could been more minutes during the video. But great work nonetheless.

[@AitsZ]

@@javierramirezdiaz143 I appreciate the honesty. It is all part of the learning curve, and the best advice comes from the viewer's. Thank you!

[@jamespaguip5913]

Their are indie devs who do make new RTS of their own for example alien marauder, tempest rising, immortal gates of pyre, knights of honor and interstellar.

[@andremoore810]

C&C was by far my most played game. I can remember the first games and expansions to the red alert series. Yuri's Revenge and Renegade I believe were my most played in the series. Renegade stands out the most, almost not even a competition. It's still up and going today. Even though it's not part of the RTS genre, it's a huge part of the C&C experience.

[@tyronejohnson409]

beautiful channel, thank you!!!!

[@AitsZ]

Thanks for the kind words! Comments like these always make my day. And hopefully you will enjoy the future vids equally. Thanks for the support!

[@tyronejohnson409]

@@AitsZ ❤️

[@rzmonk76]

You left out Warhammer Dawn of War, which had a significant impact on the genre.

[@Stony_Stevenson]

Very nice video, thank you! First time I ever heard of Utopia. Loved to see my chilhood favourites talked about. When you talk about the stories of the games, I personally would prefer if you didn't go so much in detail and instead focus on the themes of the story. With technical aspects, such as pathfinding, on the other hand, I'd love to hear more - whether details of the technical limitations or any other interesting details. Also at 6:43, the music examples are cut a little too short. I was looking forward to the 'drop/change' and instead you cut into the next clip too soon. Overall very nice video, hope to see more. Good luck! Subscribed.

[@AitsZ]

Glad to hear you enjoyed the video! I will definitely work on some of these suggestions you have brought up for the next video. I was wondering if the story explanations were getting too into depth. Thank you for subscribing and hopefully you enjoy the upcoming video as well!

[@saitougin7210]

Cool video man. I will watch the following ones as well. I like how you pointed out what very basic game mechanics / conveniences the games didn't have back then, since one can easily forget that nowadays, since after all those years of real time strategies, one kind of takes these things for granted. This makes one appreciate these mechanics more. (On this note, one could have mentioned that in the not so old remake of the first two Command & Conquer games they actually added some of the features that originally only later games of the series had, in order to make it more up-to-date / faster / interesting. But I guess this might technically fall into the scope of the third video of this series - so it's ok it is not mentioned here.)

[@AitsZ]

C&C was ahead of its time if you compare it to Warcraft which was released the same year. Better mechanics, graphics and more advanced features. But for whatever reason during that time you were either in love C&C or Warcraft 2. And at that time WC2's story, visual and music just sucked me in. But asking me now I would say the C&C had slightly more influence for the RTS picture overall. Thanks for supporting! And I hope you enjoy the other parts!

[@TatarKhanEng]

@@AitsZ There was a friendly competition going on between Blizzard and Westwood Studios, both tried to one up each other. So additions to the games were made as soon one found out that another was doing something different.

[@Xerardo-Ancient-Game-Music]

I love the Dune 2 soundtrack by Frank Klepacki and Dwight Okahara. Check out Dune Legacy if you want to play Dune 2 with modern quality of life features.

[@AitsZ]

I love Dune 2 but I wouldn't mind a modernisation of it's gameplay. I'll definitely check it out. Thanks for the comment!

[@designator7402]

Hey, this is some good stuff. May youtube look favourably upon your future!

[@AitsZ]

Thank you! I really appreciate the support!

[@designator7402]

​@@AitsZ can't wait for the next part. Keep it up!

[@PyroMancer2k]

I played most of the classics on your list. While remembered for being ground breaking I think they aren't played as much these days is because they lack a lot of the QoL improvements with the UI. Having to click move then the location to move, the same with attack, and so many other things. At the time developers were still learning the ropes of how to make UI systems and thus a lot of things we take for granted no one had thought of doing yet. I tried to go back and play some of the a little while back but got so frustrated with the controls not being easy and intuitive like the more modern games that I just put them back on the shelf. The other issue a lot of classics have is they were made back in the DOS era and thus you need an emulator to even run them. Where as I imagine a lot of them that will show up on your next list are in the more recent windows era and thus can easily play on modern system without the need for emulators, as well as likely still being sold on online sites.

[@AitsZ]

Absolutely. They are slightly outdated. But it would be nice to have a remaster, but that probably won't happen aside from C&C which already had one. Thanks for the comment!

[@Brukner841]

RTS is something I love coming back to every few months, recently bought Total Annihilation and it's so fun with friends. But it overall did get stale, I can't stop playing Heroes 1, 2, 3, and rogue like games though.

[@AitsZ]

Yea maybe switching up genres once in a while can be a good thing and you will soon appreciate it again. That's my experience at least lol. Heroes we are talking about HOMM? If that is the case my favorite is 3, and 4 would have been my fav if the game was actually completed properly and other issues with the devs. Long story I guess. But I actually have the HOMM series in mind to cover in the future. Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@cx5307]

I can’t remember my own phone number, but I still remember "pot of gold", "glittering prizes" and "It is a good day to die"...

[@AitsZ]

Haha! I was thinking the same thing when playing Warcraft recently. I feel like cheat codes will be stuck in my head for the rest of my life.

[@franciscomuro8427]

I have been able to play most of these games with the notable exception of Dune II and Utopia. I had first played Age of Empires II and my dad eventually got us a copy of Warcraft and a bootleg of Warcraft II. I will admit Warcraft is a game I love to hate. It was a game I forced myself to play through because I wasn't allowed to play Warcraft II until I beat Warcraft. I played as humans and it was brutal as using DOS Box on a Vista computer was awful. I couldn't multi-select, there weren't any of the action commands that we take for granted today with the mouse and as stated in the video the computer cheats like that one kid from class. I had to choose the action I wanted and give each individual unit the command. There were hotkeys but I was young and never crossed my mind. I did it through. I beat the Orcs and felt so accomplished that I couldn't believe I did it. It is a fun RTS but living in a post-Starcraft, Warcraft III, Age of Empires, and Age of Mythology RTS landscape I hated not having my quality-of-life tools. This is a big factor I find for many people who are so used to playing modern games that have so much quality of life that going back to play some of these older games. You almost feel like playing with one hand at times with trying to understand how to play these games. Because once I got to Warcraft II oh boy it didn't matter what the game didn't have, what it did made it feel like playing a whole new game. A second fact is that these games are difficult to get running. Many people don't want or can't take the time to set up emulators or work the progress to play these older games. This is why remasters or community updates are so important to preserve and enable these games to be played. I do love all of the classic RTS' I have played and highly recommend anyone interested to play them. They hold up for the most part incredibly well and give you valuable insights into how the RTS genre grew.

[@Raducu2oo5]

Still play WC2 when nostalgia hits and I want to run through the campaign (still can’t beat the expansion haha)

[@IHeliosI]

Everyone always forgets KKnD 1 and 2 C&C's weird little cousin.

[@Elfcheg]

Lacking ability to select multiple units in Dune 2 was very natural, because I played its Genesis port :) So yeah, no mouse for me. Finished all three campaigns, although I remember how unfair AI could be sometimes.

[@AitsZ]

I never played C&C on the genesis. I imagine it would be difficult to control, as I have tried other RTS on console and did not enjoy except for Halo Wars strangely. Thanks for the comment!

[@moonboy5851]

Bring them back I say! Some of my fav gaming moments were with RTS

[@AitsZ]

I agree. Miss the days when you can have conversation with an average person about an RTS. If you were to do that with the younger generation today, they would look completely confused. Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@william421]

Command and Conquer is the goat.

[@Westkane11]

You got an important fact wrong: C&C was released before Warcraft II, C&C was first released September 26, 1995 while Warcraft II first released December 9, 1995, this means that it was C&C that introduced: Click enemy to attack, multi unit selection and scroll map and not Warcraft II, as you claim around kzbin.info/www/bejne/h3TPgmV4abhspZo , but to be fair it was a close call, which can easily be mistaken.

[@AitsZ]

You are right. I think I kept WC 1 and 2 simultaneously after each other as I felt it would make sense to explain the story. But yea it would mean that multi unit selection and a few other aspects introduction would go to the honors of C&C. Thanks for bringing that up!

[@LordCoranhon]

And 25 years ago, a brazilian company released Outlive, it was a good RTS that got bad timing with the release of Starcraft

[@AitsZ]

Interesting would love to delve more on that RTS as I never really heard of it. Thanks for the comment!

[@elcek6384]

Very nice vid. I really wish RTS games would make a comeback. But I don’t think the current market would favor that :(

[@AitsZ]

Thank you! Me too and I think a lot of others feel the same way. There are a few modern (newer) RTS although very rare, that are still very fun I will be showing on the last part of the RTS. Vid should be available in the coming weeks. Stay tuned! And thanks again for the support!

[@Norrieification]

I have hope that Stormgate will help revitalize the genre, and maybe other new RTS coming out, like DORF.

[@roydickel9183]

Was a Huge Dune 2 and later C&C fan slightly surprised you didn't mention C&C was a byproduct of Westwood losing the rights to make Dune 3

[@BenoHourglass]

I'd say that what I remember the most would probably be Starcraft and KKnD. Mostly because it was almost impossible to beat.

[@AitsZ]

Yea the campaigns for both games were difficult especially Brood War. Thanks for the comment!

[@BenoHourglass]

@@AitsZ I think that I only got past the first level in KKnD.

[@z-impi8476]

i started with warcraft and stuck with starcraft 1 until today. i still play the old titles. TSUn Firestorm i stil awesome. (for the brotherhood - NOD ❤)

[@PlaythroughEmporium]

Really hope RTS can make a proper comeback soon.

[@royasturias1784]

Indie and double-A pub-devs need to be highlighted more often.

[@jamespaguip5913]

Their are indie devs who do make new RTS of their own for example alien marauder, tempest rising, immortal gates of pyre, knights of honor and interstellar.

[@slobodanmitic1354]

Still playing all of the mentioned games.

[@AitsZ]

Great to hear the RTS community is still alive! Thanks for the comment!

[@GreySectoid]

Nice video, subscribed.

[@AitsZ]

Thank you for the support!

[@gctechs]

I play the original DOS versions on my retro PC.

[@AitsZ]

Oh yea. You are not a fan of the remastered versions? Thanks for the comment!

[@gctechs]

​@@AitsZ Well, I am a fan of retro PC computing first and foremost. There's nothing like to take a CD from the original big box release, insert in into your Mitsumi 4x CD drive and install the game on your AMD 5x86-133 MHz rig. And the original 1995 DOS installer of the C&C is so magnificent. But yeah, I also like remasters.

[@dreamautumn604]

Graphics quality improved sooooo much since the 90s!

[@AitsZ]

It has. Although gameplay will always come before graphics to me!

[@WillyMacShow]

Aoe2 is the goat

[@Angrydudu]

loved warcraft 2. Age of empires 2 is a personal favorite of mine and its still going strong Age of empires 2 definitive edition got tournaments and thousands of people watching but its not as big as the games with millions of viewers and the audience is mostly 25+ years not alot of kids watching probably

[@AitsZ]

AOE 2 is also one of my favs. I just love the unique civ bonus and units. It really allows you to play into the strategy you want. Thanks for commenting!

[@LOREHAMMER40000]

It's still going strong and we're all having a good time without you

[@AitsZ]

Cool. What is your favorite RTS? You seem like a "Beasts and Bumpkins" kinda guy. Don't worry the game is all yours, I will be glad to stay as far away as possible from that game.

[@Jose-tv2pl]

awesome vid man

[@AitsZ]

Thanks a bunch!

[@marekkos3513]

great video.thx

[@AitsZ]

Thank you for your support!

[@ManDuderGuy]

Maybe you mentioned it, but: one reason RTS isn't "big" anymore is because RTS requires mouse and keyboard, and the market nowadays largely caters to consoles. If it can't be played on a console, your game is going to have a hard time.

[@AitsZ]

This is absolutely one of the causes of the RTS demise. There are few other causes that are believed to have impacted it. I don't want to spoil as it is in the last part of this RTS timeline. I recommend checking it out if you have the chance. Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@ManDuderGuy]

@@AitsZ :) For sure

[@TheAnon03]

I'd make an argument that Stronghold from 1993 (no relation to the later series with the same name) should count as an early RTS. EDIT: Just to say, Warcraft 1 also had an editor but it only allowed you to customise unit stats from what I remember, Also Warcraft had hero units before Warcraft II.

[@AitsZ]

You are somewhat right. But both were done very poorly and were not known in WC1. In WC1 you used lothar just to walk back out of the caverns. I don't even think you were given an opportunity to attack using him. And I believe the editor was simply a random map generator. Regardless, thanks for the comment and watching.

[@TheAnon03]

@@AitsZ If there were enemies left alive on the map you could absolutely use him and his attack was pretty strong from what I remember. I think all the other "hero" units were hostiles but they all had custom sprites at least. There was a random map generator in the game but there was also an "editors edition" that came with another tool on a floppy disc.