Do you mean RTS games....I think it should have long term appeal, since most RTS games currently are too short, and one you have played them, nothing makes you wanna go back. Plau the units ARE SO THICK!!!!!!!!!!

One of the things I would like to see more of in RTS games is use of terrain. In games like Starcraft there is just high and low ground, but in the real world there is much more varriation. Furthermore, terrain is one of the MAJOR factors that influences real combat situations so its absence in computer games in unfortunate. different terrain types should have different movement rates, attack and deffence bonuses, etc. as well as affecting visibility. It would also be cool if you could hide your troops in some tall grass by a road or something and wait for the enemy to come marching through (the scene from "Last of the Mohicans" where the english are ambushed comes to mind...)

Also, I wish there was some way to prevent the use of masses or forces fighting wars of atrocity. I''m not sure how this would be implemented (higher unit cost maybe) or at least have some way to eliminate the need to micro-manage 100 different units... Maybe there would be some way to implement a command structure where there are generals and stuff that control different groups of your units and you can simply give them orders (this is sort of like control grouping, but it could add another dynamic to the game...) Also, better AI could improve this situation b/c the units would do what was best more of the time...

I have lots more ideas, but this is getting a little long, so I''ll end it here... what do other people think of these ideas?

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I think that ALL RTS games are 1) far too easy 2) all the same. I mean I beg for a new original game were a player has to do more that just build base...build units..build more units..kill enemy...watch cut scene...
How many games are like that? We need sme originality. How about having a non-linear story, ie. the player is free to choose his/her next move. Also this ridiculus mass unit building tat ALWAYS goes on has to change. It is not fun. There must be other ways to win a battle/war? Yes, C&C and similar games do attempt to do this, but they force the player to do it, like in the missions were you are given 4 men, and you have to infiltrate a base. The player is given no options about what to do. He has to use what he is given. That isn''t fun! Why not make it so that the player may want to choose to use a certain unit, not force him to. Hence goes that all units should have strength and weaknesses, so that the player has to think about a plan of attack, and then try to execute it...

Heh, actually, I think Close Combat (4) has quite a few of those features .

Personally, I want games with more ways to deform/destroy the landscape. For example, it would be cool if you could build a moat around your base by digging a channel and diverting water to it. Or maybe you could kill the enemy by setting the whole forest on fire. Just some ideas .

--TheGoop

PRISMA: I totaly agree! I think a good mix would be something similar to Myth where your individual units servive from battle to battle and gain experience/kills/etc. This makes the player feel more attched to their "veteran" units and makes the game more interesting. It would also allow you to build a base in the earlier levels and build some basic units, but then for some missions you could just choose some of the units that survived the previous mission to for a squad to infiltrate a base. With this new freedom, I think it would be easier to develop a non linear story line depending on how you choose to comlete each mission...

TheGoop: Deformable land would be awesome! Moats, fires, etc... just more benefits of a more 3D landscape!

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There is one thing that I look for in games: STORY. I think that a storyline can make or break a game. There are a few games out there that have a very good storyline (Homeworld), and even though the game itself is not ''the best'', the story helps to draw you into the game. I was playing that game for hours on end, just to see how the story would turn out. The only problem with the norm, is that most storylines are linear...why not give total control to the player. This could work very well for RTS, since traditionally the player is forced to play a certain way. What not leave it up to him?