Recommended Posts

I am looking for an easy and fun RTS game, that can be played over the LAN.

Very very old graphics apart, I think Warcraft 2 would have been fun, but I seem unable to connect over LAN, since dial up modem is not in use anymore.

Starcraft is maybe too complex. I wonder if there is a cartoony and simple RTS series out there, somewhat similiar to Warcraft 2 and 3. There will be up to 4 computers running XP, playing this, a few months from now, once I can find it.

Link to comment
https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/1072035-easy-and-fun-rts-networked-game/
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

C&C games are a good bet as others have said.

I'd recommend RUSE but it doesn't have LAN support from what I can tell (although you can still play it online even if you are in the same room). Most of my favorite strategy games aren't what you'd call simple though (TA, SupCom, Sins, Homeworld, Shogun 2). Company of Heroes could be one but its slow and works off a lot of subtleties.

Starcraft isn't complex whatsoever, honestly. :)

Command and Conquer 3 could be a good one to try, or Command and Conquer Generals since you're graphics aren't amazing.

*raises an eyebrow* StarCraft is definitely complex.

Second your recommendation of C&C though.

I am looking for an easy and fun RTS game, that can be played over the LAN.

Very very old graphics apart, I think Warcraft 2 would have been fun, but I seem unable to connect over LAN, since dial up modem is not in use anymore.

Starcraft is maybe too complex. I wonder if there is a cartoony and simple RTS series out there, somewhat similiar to Warcraft 2 and 3. There will be up to 4 computers running XP, playing this, a few months from now, once I can find it.

If you liked warcraft 2 you might like dota, there are also many addons and stuff for the game, tower defense and such!

How do you consider Starcraft to be more complex than C&C or other RTSes? It has the same basic principles, number of units, structures, controls, etc.

Could just be that I play StarCraft 2 at a high level and by comparison other RTS games generally feel much easier, and Brood War is even more complex than SC2. The mechanics are definitely different despite the basic principles being the same. So it could just be me, but from my viewpoint SC is a lot more complex than C&C and other RTS games. Especially the newer RTS games.

*raises an eyebrow* StarCraft is definitely complex.

Second your recommendation of C&C though.

If you pit 2 people are have never played it before, they will not find it any harder than playing C&C. Half the joy of starcraft is that it's as complex as you want it to be.

Could just be that I play StarCraft 2 at a high level and by comparison other RTS games generally feel much easier, and Brood War is even more complex than SC2. The mechanics are definitely different despite the basic principles being the same. So it could just be me, but from my viewpoint SC is a lot more complex than C&C and other RTS games. Especially the newer RTS games.

Most other RTS's don't focus on mirco as much. There are a select few games that focus on it more than the macro portions (CoH, Warhammer, etc). Games like CnC, Total Annihilation, SupCom, Sins, and RUSE focus much more heavily on the macro build structure which is in some cases far simpler than microing every unit command. It's just a matter of memorization at that point. Just remember, if you play C&C: RA or RA2 Prism Tanks will be the death of you :p

If you pit 2 people are have never played it before, they will not find it any harder than playing C&C. Half the joy of starcraft is that it's as complex as you want it to be.

That goes for pretty much any rts. If you're a hard core C&C player it's more complex than SC. But then again, even SC players should agree they're oth playboys compared to TA and it's legacy SupCom(maybe not so much the sequel).

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Posts

    • But the reality is it will work for people's needs, and they don't care about the technology that makes it. Clearly not everyone's needs, but that low end space where personal laptops were only used to type emails, watch content and browse websites, but they didn't want to do that on a small screen device. Heck, writing that out I can now see the connection and reason it'll do so well. Apple is about experience. If the experience is bad, they don't release it. Low end Windows laptop manufacturers up until this point have not taken that into consideration ever before, so slow laggy usage with brittle slimey plastic shells were common. I hope that the low end space at least creates better physical products that last a bit longer, and if Microsoft get their act together, they could also have a solid OS on such low end hardware that would actually make the experience work for what the hardware was intended for. The fact that the CPU is a "cellphone", sorry mobile phone processor is irrelevant. It's about the experience, and so far, that sounds quite solid.
    • Hello, Bonjour is Apple's implementation of a multicast-DNS service, which allows devices running Apple's software and/or hardware to find each other on your local network.  I believe the Windows version was last updated around 2010. If you do not need it, you can stop and disable the Bonjour service in the Services Control Manager (filename: SERVICES.MSC).  Once you have done that, the operating system will no longer attempt to load the service. Regards, Aryeh Goretsky  
    • This AMD RX 9070 16GB GPU that performs close to Nvidia 5070 is under $600 by Sayan Sen With the memory shortage that's prevalent nowadays, discounts are super-hard to get. As such we post good deals whenever they pop up. Recently, we covered a few great discounts on SSDs wherein you can get a 4TB TeamGroup NVMe PCIe Gen4 drive for just $400 thanks to a special coupon. If you want a faster product but don't need all that capacity, you can also opt for Samsung's 990 PRO 2TB that is on sale for its lowest price in over three months. Let's say though that you are on the hunt for a 1440p gaming card. In that case AMD's RX 9070 non-XT can help, and with its 16GB VRAM, you can also run AI models locally without worrying about bottlenecking (check out our recent 9070 GRE reviews for gaming and productivity to get an idea). The PowerColor Reaper variant of the RX 9070 is currently on sale for just $580 which is a very good price in the current state of affairs (purchase link under the specs table down below). The Reaper cooler on this 9070 uses a triple‑fan design with ring‑blade fans, paired with premium dual ball bearings to extend lifespan and reduce friction. "Intelligent" fan control allows the fans to remain idle at lower temperatures, only spinning up when the GPU is under load. A nickel‑plated copper base makes direct contact with both the GPU and memory modules, helping to spread heat evenly. PowerColor also applies Honeywell PTM7950 phase‑change thermal interface material (TIM), which fills microscopic gaps between the die and heatsink for more efficient thermal transfer. The fan shroud is shorter in height as the firm has made it such that it can be used in certain SFF (small form factor) cases. The technical specifications of the Reaper RX 9070 are given in the table below: Specification Value Stream Processors 3584 Units Video Memory 16GB GDDR6 Memory Speed 20.0 Gbps Memory Interface 256-bit Engine Clock Game Clock: up to 2070 MHz Boost Clock: up to 2520 MHz Bus Standard PCI Express 5.0 x16 Display Connectors 1 x HDMI 2.1b, 3 x DisplayPort 2.1a Maximum Resolution DisplayPort: 7680 × 4320 HDMI: 7680 × 4320 Board Dimensions 289mm × 111mm × 41mm 304mm × 127mm × 42mm (with bracket) Slot 2 Minimum System Power Requirement 600W Power Connectors Two 8-pin PCI Express Get the PowerColor Reaper RX 9070 at the links below (you get only a 90-day warranty on Woot): PowerColor Reaper Radeon RX 9070 16GB Graphics Card (RX9070 16G-A): $579.99 (Sold and Shipped by Amazon US) (Was: $700) PowerColor Reaper Radeon RX 9070 16GB Graphics Card (RX9070 16G-A): $559.99 (Sold and Shipped by Woot US) Good to know This Amazon deal is U.S. specific, and not available in other regions unless specified. We only use first-party seller links (at the time of article publishing); ensure that you purchase from a first-party seller link only. Check out Today's Deals on Amazon | or our recent tech deals. Become a Prime member (for Students or SNAP) via Neowin Get Prime Access - Prime for half price (for qualifying Medicaid, EBT, SNAP) Subscribe to Prime Video, Audible Plus, Music Unlimited or Kindle Unlimited via Neowin As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
    • Are they marketed as an entry into astronomy or astrophotography? I do astrophotography. With big rigs, lots of computers, cables and headaches. I love it. And by learning this ridiculously complex hobby, I’ve learned about the objects I’m shooting. Astronomy followed from photography.
    • Microsoft confirms Recycle Bin bug across all versions of Windows by Usama Jawad A couple of days ago, we reported that the latest Patch Tuesday update has seemingly resulted in a lot of issues for many users, including OneDrive and Dropbox access problems, BitLocker recovery lockouts, and BSODs. Although Microsoft is yet to acknowledge these bugs, it has confirmed another, relatively smaller issue across all supported versions of Windows. In an update on its Windows Release Health Dashboard, Microsoft has confirmed that after installing June's Patch Tuesday update (KB5094126), you'll experience unexpected behavior when leveraging Recycle Bin. Basically, when you attempt to delete an item from the Recycle Bin, the confirm dialog will show you the internal file name of that content rather than the actual name. For example, the file may be named abc.png, but the confirm dialog will ask if you're sure that you want to permanently delete $Rxxxxx.png from the Recycle Bin. This is pretty much it for the scope of the bug itself; it just displays the wrong name in the confirm dialog. The correct name will be shown in the list view of the Recycle Bin and if you restore the file, it will return with the correct name as well. This issue affects pretty much all supported versions of Windows client and server, including: Client: Windows 11, version 26H1; Windows 11, version 25H2; Windows 11, version 24H2; Windows 11, version 23H2; Windows 10, version 22H2; Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 2021; Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 2019; Windows 10 Enterprise LTSB 2016 Server: Windows Server 2025; Windows Server 2022; Windows Server 2019; Windows Server 2016; Windows Server 2012 R2; Windows Server 2012 As things currently stand, Microsoft is working on a concrete solution that will be released in a "future" Windows update. It remains to be seen if the firm will wait till the next Patch Tuesday or roll out an out-of-band (OOB) fix. The good news is that commercial customers can deploy a workaround right now, but they will have to reach out to Microsoft Support for Business for additional details.
  • Recent Achievements

    • Week One Done
      Jordan Smith earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Reacting Well
      BizSAR earned a badge
      Reacting Well
    • First Post
      AndreaB earned a badge
      First Post
    • Week One Done
      Huge Trailer earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Week One Done
      Classifyskilleducation earned a badge
      Week One Done
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      578
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      184
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      75
    4. 4
      Michael Scrip
      72
    5. 5
      neufuse
      64
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!