Has anyone ever done an RPG/RTS combo? I know there is Warcraft III where the RTS has heroes that follow the game but I'm thinking something that is a little more RPG. Take a standard RPG where the player starts out as the commander of a small number of military units (I'm thinking midieval type but it doesn't have to be limited). The gameplay would likely be where the player character would be fully controllable but the units under the player's command would act like semi-independant RTS units. So the first part of the game the player would be tasked with holding a target (say a bridge). At this point it would mostly be RTS stratigy to hold off some oncoming onslaught. After successfully defending the bridge, the player's unit is allowed some down time. During this period, the player can socialize with his unit, shop for new equipment, learn crafting skills, go join fighting at the front line, etc... While the player is off doing something else, a runner finds him to inform him the enemy is making a major push and with his excellent work at holding the bridge, the player is now in command of more units. Over time the player would gain a larger and larger command as well as gaining standard RPG skill increase. At the same time the players units would also gain skill increase. The player could suggest what his units should train but they could follow their own path if they are stubborn. Its possible that this can't be done due to the system resources required to have a full AI war occuring that the player could be involved int but I think this would be a very fun game if it could be made.

i think iv seen a few games like this, thers lots of RPG/TBS, i think the biggest thing is making it feel like more than a cut down RTS without adding a ton of micromanagament

GunzOnline. Kill people, get money and exp, get better weapons. It's loads of fun if you're into games that have their own individual tricks.

I think that RTS players wouldn't enjoy the RPG sections, and vice versa.

The suikoden series uses both RTS and RPG elements. Its pretty fun, but I'm not sure its quite what you're looking at.

There are a bunch of games that come close to what your suggesting (Dynasty Warriors although that is an action/strategy/RPG game..., Total War series, etc.). In fact there was a game that came out not too long ago, Dragonshard, that combined the two. However I can't think of a single game that meshes the two in some form thats truly interesting (although Dragonshard was pretty good). It seems like most games they just tack on RPG elements to it for replay value.

I've definitely thought of this concept before and even wrote up a rough design document outline for a sci-fi RPG/RTS, but I don't think I've seen any game implement the concept very well. Currently I'm more interested in creating the design doc for an Action/RTS game. Battlefield 2 has already done this to some extent with the addition of the Commander mode, but hasn't achieved the level of depth that I would like to pursue for my game concept.

It seems these days though that more games are emerging that can't so easily be dropped into a single game-type category. A temptation of many designers is to market their game as innovative or original simply because they've merged different genres or game-types to create a hybrid. I was guilty of this for a while, but have matured since then and come to the realization that games shouldn't be dictated by the various game-type describers (RTS, RPG, MMO, FPS, Sim, Action, etc) or combinations thereof. Considering the genre/game-type is a good starting point for a designer when creating a new concept, but in the end the game-type should be the result or effect of the game that was designed and not the cause. I hope that makes sense.

One problem with classifying and marketing your game as a particular hybrid such as an RPG/RTS, an Action/RTS, a Sim/MMORPG, or an Action/RTS/RPG is that you may put too much faith and confidence in the uniqueness of the hybrid classification then the true merits of the game itself. I don't think you're necessarily doing this, but I thought it's something that all designers should be aware of. Man, I'm sounding preachy.

Anyway, I think a game that incorporates elements of an RPG and RTS could be an interesting venture. Best of luck.

Quote:

Original post by Bob Janova I think that RTS players wouldn't enjoy the RPG sections, and vice versa.

I love both of them, and would be glad for a mix. I'm not sure if it would come out well, though.

Have a look at "Kingdom under Fire" http://www.kuftc.com/. It is not very far into the RPG but might be a good starting point to look at.

I used to play Warzone 2100 and I don't know if it would quite qualify as a true RTS/RPG hybrid although it definitely seemed to borrow elements and concepts from both. The game seemed to be more on the RTS side of the fence then the RPG side in my opinion, but either way it was fun. Despite everything that you could do in the game, the world itself seemed rather bland but fortunately this was offset by gameplay. Just my thoughts.