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Original post by Deleter if you are aiming for original, do not have elves, dwarves, orcs, goblins, wizards/sorcerors, warriors, or rogues. Heck, if you want an "original" idea (gad I hope someone hasn't done this already) take a quote by one of the big SF authors (I believe it was Clarke) "Really advanced technology would be indecipherable from magic" I think depending on what way you go with this, you may get something totally unique.

are you describing StarCraft? lol...

A few ideas for Fantasy RTS.

Make it truly 3d
Go all out with units, (Dragons, gnomes, Giants, Etc.)
Have units fight with bonus's negatives from terrain.
Give races with magic the ability to dynamically alter the terrain, (Desert patches, raise hills, create valleys, etc.)

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Original post by Takaloy Quote: Original post by Deleter if you are aiming for original, do not have elves, dwarves, orcs, goblins, wizards/sorcerors, warriors, or rogues. Heck, if you want an "original" idea (gad I hope someone hasn't done this already) take a quote by one of the big SF authors (I believe it was Clarke) "Really advanced technology would be indecipherable from magic" I think depending on what way you go with this, you may get something totally unique. are you describing StarCraft? lol...

um, not in the least. If you are talking about the Protoss, they are very technologically defined. I can see where you are coming from, but let me explain more of what I was talking about.

If you look at magic in the fantasy genre, it is typically used by using odd word combinations or sounds or gestures of different sorts. People do not study it in an attempt to create more, so much as to discover more and see what it can do. They understand that saying the words has a certain effect, yet they do not understand why it has this effect. In other words, they do not have control over the magic, moreso a wizard is like a small ship in a vast ocean. He has reason to hope his efforts will be successful, but he is far from being certain and completely in control.

Now how this relates to that quote: At some point, technology will be so fully integrated into humanity that we no longer understand it as a seperate entity (Like the protoss do), but rather as a part of our lives. Where it actually came from and the details of how it works will be lost to time, as we don't think to preserve it any more than we think to preserve society; they are both simply there. However, as time goes on, certain elements of that techonology will break down, but people will have no idea why as all technological knowledge is gone. Therefore a lot of mysticism and ritual will be injected into the use of technology. At this point, we have pretty much arrived at the description of magic. With the wizards who know how to use the magic, i.e. technology, the obscure words and gestures that activate processes whose technological identity has long been lost, and the vague and uncertain understanding of it.

Obviously this is just one take on that idea, you could also say that there are those in charge who retain the knowledge of technology and thus maintain it. But the above description is more along the lines of what I was thinking of when I posted the above quote. The Protoss' technology is indeed somewhat akin to magic, however there are many indicators that it is still a seperate identity in thought, if even a highly depended on and quite necessary one.

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Original post by robert4818 Make it truly 3d

And have the flying units actually fly in 3D, not just a 2D plain above the ground. One method is to break the world up into cubes (like squares for the ground) and use these for positioning.

If your game includes magical effects or creatures, you could add a sort of magical allignment to the landscape that affects things.

For example, suppose you treat "magical corruption" kind of like the pollution in simcity where certain things like war-torn battlefields, graveyards, or sinful buildings corrupt the land make it harder for farms to raise crops or some buildings to work there.

Conversely, a corrupted landscape could be an ideal place for undead creatures or for black magic to work in.

Like in "The Black Cauldron" the cauldorn born were undead and nearly invincible but they could only leave the corrupted land for a certain amount of time before they had to return and recharge.

Ideas for an original RTS game? Go and read Sun Tzu's "Art of War". This book has interesting ideas you could borrow to increase the strategy value of your game. Make the player think in order to win, and not just learn the keyboard shortcuts to activate the best abilities...

Son Of Cain

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Original post by Son of Cain Ideas for an original RTS game? Go and read Sun Tzu's "Art of War". This book has interesting ideas you could borrow to increase the strategy value of your game. Make the player think in order to win, and not just learn the keyboard shortcuts to activate the best abilities... Son Of Cain

actually, I think reading Art of War will have little to do with an original game idea? Most RTS strategies can be built around Sun Tzu's concept. In short, Sun Tzu's AoW exist in every RTS and every RTS collaborates some/most of Sun Tzu's principles.

Well, I disagree - for example, the whole concept of taking enemy resources for yourself, fighting for supply lines, taking advantage of terrains, and so on... all this have been neglected in most of the RTS in favor of graphics and quick gameplay.

Now, I'm not suggesting an over-complex strategy game, but if the player is required to use his brain to win, instead of his own knowledge of the game and his speed with the mouse, that would be of a higher value to me. And I think I'm not alone on this.

Son Of Cain

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Original post by Son of Cain Well, I disagree - for example, the whole concept of taking enemy resources for yourself, fighting for supply lines, taking advantage of terrains, and so on... all this have been neglected in most of the RTS in favor of graphics and quick gameplay. Now, I'm not suggesting an over-complex strategy game, but if the player is required to use his brain to win, instead of his own knowledge of the game and his speed with the mouse, that would be of a higher value to me. And I think I'm not alone on this. Son Of Cain

Red Alert, didn't we have a thief class or something?
Terrains - this is implemented in most RTS. We take advantage of slopes for better Line of Sight, shallow valleys to prevent melees from massing in. In Warcraft III, being in the lower terrain means you have a higher % of miss compared to being on a higher terrain. In Starcraft it gives higher damage from higher ground units etc.. Fighting for supply line, I think this is the essence of today's RTS. We're basically fighting for expansion and supply. In C&C series it is more visible because of the area of influence of supply etc.

AoW already exist in any sort of battle, be it in games, business or the debate we are having now.

True, I won't deny your examples, they are valid. But my point is that they should be taken more seriously. A mere % diff in damage or to-hit calculations is not enough to make terrain an issue - at least IMHO.

Son Of Cain