Trivial AI Task Automation In RTS Games

[MoLAoS]

Haven't seen the Homeworld franchise mentioned yet. Homeworld 2, especially, has a lot of the features you desire:

- Units automatically attack their optimal target (Bombers will prefer frigates and bigger, fighters will go after other fighters, corvette's chew out anything smaller than themselves, etc) - that way, you could select your entire armada, attack-select the enemy fleet and watch each unit go after their preferred targets. GLORIOUS.
- Resources come in the form of space rocks - Resourcer (herpderp) units will, once set loose on a group of rocks, go after the nearest rock and fly back and forth toward the nearest depository (Foreman/carrier/mothership). That way, you could have cute little mining ops going all over the place by placing foremen-units/carriers at all the fields, while your mothership moved into a more favourable position away from the stones
- Actually, fuck all this, Im reinstalling ALL the Homeworlds. Including Cataclysm, fuck the haters.

There are so many games to buy and I have so little free money. I always intend to get Homeworld but I end up buying something else and having to wait and then I forget about it, and cycle ad nauseum.

I really support automatic optimal targeting. But I would like it to be more than a type selection from a list. Still, that is better than nothing.

[Bobtree]

Zero-K's flat tech tree (you just choose which factory to start with, and the first is normally a free and instant spawn) is a deliberate design decision. It's also notable that you can reclaim a factory for a 100% refund, so you aren't stuck with a bad investment and can retool to compete if your strategy has been countered. This goes with the inclusive community play-style of big team games that has many players in a repeating auto-balanced match that persists long-term. That's part of the galaxy map meta-game, but you don't have to participate in that or join a faction or be on a relevant side in each battle just to play with them. It took me a while to grasp how this is set up, but I think it's rather smartly done.

[MoLAoS]

Zero-K's flat tech tree (you just choose which factory to start with, and the first is normally a free and instant spawn) is a deliberate design decision. It's also notable that you can reclaim a factory for a 100% refund, so you aren't stuck with a bad investment and can retool to compete if your strategy has been countered. This goes with the inclusive community play-style of big team games that has many players in a repeating auto-balanced match that persists long-term. That's part of the galaxy map meta-game, but you don't have to participate in that or join a faction or be on a relevant side in each battle just to play with them. It took me a while to grasp how this is set up, but I think it's rather smartly done.

True it is a good decision for that particular game, considering all their other design decisions.