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'''Orchard Lake''' is a medium-sized inland [[lake]], 795 acres (3.2 km²). It has a 110 feet (34 m) maximum depth and is in the city of [[Orchard Lake Village, Michigan|Orchard Lake Village]], [[Oakland County, Michigan|Oakland County]], in [[Michigan]], [[USA]]. It is the second-largest lake in Oakland County after [[Cass Lake (Michigan)|Cass Lake]].
[[Image:Dune 2 cropped screenshot attack on base.jpg|thumb|right|200px|''[[Dune (computer game)|Dune 2]]'' (1992), an early RTS]]
The lake is unusual in that there is an large 35 acre (142,000 m²) island in the middle of the lake, Apple Island. The island was frequently inhabited by local [[Native Americans]] before the coming of Western settlers, who later planted an apple orchard on the island, giving rise to the current name of the lake. Apple Island is now abandoned and has been designated a protected [[wildlife sanctuary]]. The small Cedar Island is near the western shore.
A '''real-time strategy''' ('''RTS''') game is a type of [[computer game|computer]] [[strategy game]] which does not have "turns" like conventional [[turn-based strategy]] video or board games. Rather, game time progresses in "[[real time]]": that is, it is [[continuous game|continuous]] rather than turn-by-turn. (The word "strategy" originally referred to warplan at the level of armies and squadrons instead of giving order for individual units or persons).
The campus of the old [[Michigan Military Academy]] is on the northeast shore of the lake. The campus is now home to [[SS. Cyril and Methodius Seminary]] and [[St. Mary's Preparatory]].
== History ==
[[Image:age_of_empires.jpg|thumb|right|200px|''[[Age of Empires]]'' (1997), Invasion of an enemy]]
The precursor of modern RTS games was ''[[The Ancient Art of War]]'' by [[Dave Murry]] and [[Barry Murry]] of [[Evryware]] (published by [[Brøderbund]]) in [[1984]], followed by ''[[Nether Earth]]'' for [[Zx spectrum|Sincair ZX Spectrum]] in [[1987]] and ''[[Herzog Zwei]]'' for the [[Sega Genesis]] in [[1989]]. However, the genre was defined by ''[[Dune (computer game)#Dune II|Dune 2]]'' ([[1992]]), which at once introduced the core concepts of RTS games: resource-building, base development and direct unit control.
{{Michigan-geo-stub}}
The success of ''Dune 2'' encouraged the development of such games as ''[[Stronghold]]'' ([[1993]]), ''[[Warcraft]]'' ([[1994]]), ''[[Command & Conquer]]'' ([[1995]]), ''[[War Wind]]'' ([[1996]]), ''[[Total Annihilation]]'' ([[1997]]), ''[[Age of Empires]]'' ([[1997]]), ''[[StarCraft]]'' ([[1998]]), ''[[Warzone 2100]]'' ([[1998]]), ''[[Empire Earth]]'' ([[2001]]), and ''[[Empires: Dawn of the Modern World]]'' ([[2003]]). In fact, the designers of ''Dune 2'' traced its spiritual lineage back to the real-time simulation ''[[SimCity]]'' ([[1989]]) and their previous game ''[[Mechwarrior|Battletech: The Crescent Hawk's Revenge]]'' ([[1988]]), a real-time [[wargame]] without base-building elements.
[[Category:Oakland County, Michigan]]
== Gameplay ==
[[Category:Lakes in Michigan]]
Because of the generally faster-paced nature (and the usually shallower learning curve), RTS games have surpassed the popularity of conventional [[turn-based strategy]] computer games. In the past some traditional strategy gamers regarded RTS games as "cheap imitations" of turn-based games, arguing that RTS games had a tendency to devolve into "clickfests", in which the player who was faster with the [[computer mouse|mouse]] generally won, because they could give orders to their units at a faster rate. Real-time strategy enthusiasts counter that [[micromanagement (computer gaming)|micromanagement]] involves not just fast clicking but also the ability to make sound tactical decisions under time pressure. It is noteworthy, however, that due to the games being shorter because of the faster pace of the game and absence of turn switching pauses, RTS games are far more suitable for [[Internet]] play than turn-based games; this is indubitably an important reason for their popularity. Furthermore, turn-based games are ill-suited to meet the increasing demand for realism from casual gamers and they require a greater time commitment than real-time strategy games.
[[Image:Total_annihilation_screenie_3.1415926.jpg|thumb|right|200px|''[[Total Annihilation]]'' (1997), Core base.]]
The more recent generations of RTS games usually have features which reduce the importance of fast mousework, enabling the player to focus more on overall strategy. For example, queuing allows the player to put in an order for multiple units at a single building instead of requiring the player to return to that building to order the next unit built whenever a unit ordered earlier is completed. The ability to set waypoints allows the player to give multiple movement commands to a unit at once. Most games also give each unit strenghs and weaknesses, discouraging players from easily defeating an opponent with simple "[[rush (computer gaming)|rush]]" tactics or "swarm" tactics in favour of more balanced armies.
Generally, most RTS games follow the same general pattern:
# Build up your base and forces (your economy).
# Acquire more resources.
# Attack the enemy, attempting to deprive him of resources and destroy his infrastructure.
However, some games do not allow the player to create new units, or build bases. Some of these games include ''[[Myth (computer game)|Myth]]'' and ''[[Ground Control]]''. These games are purely tactical, forcing the player to make do with the units he or she is given. You could even further define these types of games as [[Real-time_tactical|RTT]], real-time tactical, games.
Most RTS games also feature single-player campaigns -- a series of missions where a human player plays against the computer with a defined scenario and objectives, usually within the context of a background story. Often each mission has a different style of play, sometimes dramatically so. It has become something like to a tradition for single-player campaigns to include at least one mission with no base construction or resource-gathering; typically at the start of these missions the player is given a number of combat units, occasionally with a "hero" unit. These units must be used to complete the mission in a level which is usually mazelike; often additional units can be gained as reinforcements or rescued as the mission progresses. These missions eliminate the resource-gathering, or "macromanagement", as it's called, and focus solely on micromanagement.
[[Image:Warcraft 3 Humans fight Orcs cropped screenshot.jpg|thumb|right|200px|''[[Warcraft III]]'' (2002), Humans fighting orcs]]
Finally, some RTS games, most notably ''[[Homeworld]]'' (1999), have attempted not only to break away from the traditional turn structure of strategy games but also from the idea of a 2D board. These games are played on a 3D battlefield.
Of the games that ''do'' allow the player to build up a base and an army, they seem to be diverging into at least two main camps: micro-management and macro-management.
== Micro-management games ==
'''Micro-management games''' allow an army and base to be built, but they limit the size of the army (sometimes, rather severely). The purpose of this is to create more of a tactical atmosphere, and to prevent one side from simply cranking out units and throwing them at the enemy until he collapses.
By limiting the size of the army, the game requires the player to intelligently utilize his "partially" limited troops. This is more similar to the purely tactical ''Myth''-style games. A good example of this type of game is ''[[Warcraft III]]'', where further units require more ''upkeep''. To simplify the control, however, the player can combine individual units into groups. This is even more found in the game [[ArenaWars]], where every player only has 1000 credits to build units. If the unit dies the credits are refunded.
== Macro-management games ==
[[Image:HW2_Screenshot_13.jpg|thumb|right|200px|''[[Homeworld 2]]'' (2003), Hiigaran Carrier]]
On the other end are the '''macro-management games'''. These games have more of a focus on economic production and large-scale strategic maneuvering, and include games such as [[Total Annihilation]].
== Others ==
Some games, especially on the [[video game console]]s, use RTS merely as a vehicle to tell the story. For example, in the [[PlayStation 2]] game ''[[Kessen]]'' (2000) the player has a limited control over the units, as the game unfolds historical battles with a heavy use of cutscenes.
[[Massively multiplayer online real-time strategy]] (MMORTS) games combine aspects of [[massively multiplayer]] with real-time strategy.
== Graphics ==
Graphically RTS games have evolved from 2D board-like view of ''[[Dune (computer game)|Dune 2]]'' and original ''[[Warcraft]]'' to visually-richer 3D with more detailed environments, such as in the first, ''[[Warzone 2100]]'', and later games, such as ''[[Warcraft III]]'', [[Empire Earth]], and ''[[Command & Conquer: Generals]]''.
As companies are striving to come close to cinematic level of visual quality, the improvements in graphics accelerate. In [[2004]] two landmark games were released: ''[[Rome: Total War]]'' from [[Creative Assembly]] and ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth|The Battle for Middle-earth]]'' from [[Electronic Arts]].
Two notable games are scheduled for [[2005]]: ''[[Act of War: Direct Action]]'' and ''[[Age of Empires III]]''. Both games will feature realistic physics (''Age of Empires III'' uses the ''[[Havok (software)|Havok]]'' physics engine), realistically destructible buildings and ever more stunning graphics. In addition ''Act of War'' boasts a well developed [[techno-thriller]] story by [[Dale Brown]] told via [[machinima]] and [[live action]] cinematics.
== Future games ==
Future games are likely to further enhance the realism of RTS games, giving each unit a limited intelligence, similar to how it's done in [[MASSIVE (animation)|MASSIVE]] (and to some extent in ''The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth'') and generating unit animations procedurally (currently all games use recorded animations done with [[motion capture]] or manually), similar to how it's done in [[NaturalMotion]]'s [[Endorphin (software)|endorphin]] software.
==See also==
* [[List of computer and video games by category]]
* [[Rush (computer gaming)]]
[[Category:Real-time strategy computer games|*]]
[[de:Computer-Strategiespiel]]
[[fr:Jeu de stratégie en temps réel]]
[[nl:Real-time strategy]]
[[pl:Strategiczne gry czasu rzeczywistego]]
[[zh:即时战略]]
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