Multiplayer RTS to Play against 2 Mates from Home

hoondaboy on 26/03/2020 - 11:44
Last edited 26/03/2020 - 17:47

Gday all,

Years ago (and I mean YEARS ago) I used to really enjoy playing Red Alert (Command & Conquer) against mates from the home PC.
You'd invite 2 mates into a map (of which you could choose from a number of predetermined or custom maps) and then you'd spend hours building an army, etc.
But the best thing was being able to play against your mates - not just AI.

Is there anything out there now which is like this? Looking for something relatively cheap and cheerful as our computers aren't high performance gaming machines…and we're all tightarses.

Is there anything on Steam or Origin or buy outright (does anyone do that anymore?!?)?

Thanks for any recommendations.

EDIT
Bunch of legends! Thanks for all the advice. I'll be hitting up cncnet tonight, and will certainly be looking to a few of the other recommendations as the days/weeks/months roll on.
I'll put my username up here for anyone who wants to battle on!

Gaming

Comments

  • spackbace on 26/03/2020 - 11:46
    +2

    Command & Conquer Remastered Collection

    Not till June :( Bet they wish they were able to release it now!

    • hoondaboy on 26/03/2020 - 12:00

      Yeah I saw that pop up. Looks pretty awesome. If we're all still in lockdown come June I'll likely pick it up.

      I guess I was hoping there'd be a different game with similar gameplay that was released in the last 2-5 years that still had the ability to play each other online.

      • Faro on 26/03/2020 - 12:13

        I'm not too familiar with the gameplay of Command and Conquer, but have a look into Wargroove. Should not be demanding at all, has multiplayer for up to 4 people, is a turn based strategy game and costs under $30.

        It's similar to things like Advance Wars if you've had any experience with that series.

  • Antares on 26/03/2020 - 12:10
    +2

    Starcraft 2? It's fairly old so should run fine…

    I'm unsure if you actually want an RPG though, since C&C wasn't an RPG, it was a strategy game.

    • hoondaboy on 26/03/2020 - 12:41

      Ha. Yep. So a quick google says I've been saying it wrong all these years. ffs.
      Anyway RTS is what I'm chasing and Starcraft looks like the best immediately-available option.
      Not cheap though - $99 RRP for a 10 year old game?!?
      But COVID-19 has me by the short and curlies so it'll probably have to do.

      • navyskies on 26/03/2020 - 12:44
        +2

        Starcraft 2 is free to play AFAIK. They changed a while ago. Where did you see it for $99?

        Check battle net.

        You guys might also enjoy DOTA or LoL.

      • ployer on 26/03/2020 - 13:11
        +2

        Starcraft 2 is free. You have to pay for the campaigns though and certain level caps and other random stuff. But playing with friends and people online is free.

  • HighAndDry on 26/03/2020 - 12:14
    +1

    You're thinking of RTS (Real time strategy), not RPG haha =p.

    But there haven't been any great/casual ones in recent years, the gaming market has moved to adventure games and MMO games like Fortnite/etc.

    The last great one is probably…. Ashes of the Singularity? But that's a lot less casual and has a steeper learning curve than C&C ever did.

  • floppy on 26/03/2020 - 12:17
    +8

    how about Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition, always a classic

    • hoondaboy on 26/03/2020 - 12:45

      This actually looks really good - but I can't find a definite "Yes you can play this against mates online" anywhere. Looks like it was remastered in 2019.
      I never played the original but it looks like it ticks the boxes.

      • floppy on 26/03/2020 - 12:55
        +1

        i haven't played this version, but i did use to play the original online multiplayer with mates. it used some weird old competitor to steam to run i think.
        i think it is much simpler now to play multiplayer tho as its all in game

      • sovereign01 on 26/03/2020 - 13:54
        +1

        Yep you definitely can! It's arguably the best RTS ever made, if you enjoyed C&C you'll definitely enjoy AoE2

      • Lockieasy on 26/03/2020 - 16:01

        Of course you can. It has a custom game lobby aswell as ranked match-making if you wanted to team up against other players competitively.

        You can play it with a $1 Game Pass for PC subscription if you wanted to try it out first. You can also try Halo Wars 1&2 with the same subscription while you're at it.

    • Penalty boxer on 26/03/2020 - 13:16

      +1

  • tsunamisurfer on 26/03/2020 - 12:33

    RPG? something like Guild Wards 2?

  • ployer on 26/03/2020 - 13:10
    +1

    https://cncnet.org/

    You can play some of the old command an conquer games for free including red alert with your friends. This is a community hosted server I believe. I played this for awhile actually.

    • StrayfireX on 26/03/2020 - 17:32

      I used C&C Online for a while, pretty good service.

      • hoondaboy on 26/03/2020 - 17:45

        How do they sort out licensing for the games, especially with games being remastered and re-released?
        Or are they literally "these games are SO old we don't even care anymore"?

        • StrayfireX on 26/03/2020 - 21:08

          More that they are replacement services for the now defunct gamespy.

          It's mostly a server that lets you run already licensed games.

          • hoondaboy on 27/03/2020 - 16:53

            @StrayfireX: Ahhhh right.
            So where does one get a hold of a licenced version of a 20 year old game?!

            • ozbjunkie on 30/03/2020 - 04:59

              @hoondaboy: Origin has the complete CNC collection.

              You should be able to find a key online at allkeyshop.com for around 10Aud.

              • Mugsy on 30/03/2020 - 08:30

                @ozbjunkie: The complete collection is also down to $5 from time to time.

  • pao2x on 26/03/2020 - 13:13
    +2

    Company of heroes
    Warhammer Dawn of War 2-3
    Homeworld 1 2 remastered
    Starcraft 1-remastered or 2

    • sghetti on 30/03/2020 - 09:10

      I don't get in to RTS all that much, but Company of Heroes was great. I'd love to play that in a multiplayer scenario, had enough fun in the single player campaign.

  • Azrael169 on 26/03/2020 - 13:31

    Starcraft 2 - Base game and multiplayer are Free 2 Play. You can pay for the campaigns but if you just want Multi only its a free option. It also has the benefit for Co-Op mode which you can play a bit for free as well (I still regularly play Co-Op). Lastly it has modified maps which give alternative game types which can be fun as well.

    Honestly its the best gameplay wise and free of charge… win/win

  • djones145 on 26/03/2020 - 13:34

    although not rts
    left 4 dead and payday are great co op games u can try and wknt need great computers

  • ColstonAUS on 26/03/2020 - 14:11

    halo wars remastered and halo wars 2 are more basic than some of the others recommended but they are heaps of fun and the graphics are heaps good, especially in the cinematics

  • Tech5 on 26/03/2020 - 15:25
    +3

    Supreme commander 1/2, Starcraft 2, Age of Empires 1/2, Warhammer Dawn of War 1/2, Warcraft 3, Total war series (Old ones like rome total war)

    These are all relatively old games that will not tax your PC. All can be played online

    Supreme commander, Dawn of War 2 probs my favorites and are very highly rated

  • gmeney on 26/03/2020 - 16:28
    +1

    Total Annihilation. Old game, but one of the best RTS in my opinion. Predecessor to Supreme Commander.

    Currently $2.99 on gog.com.

    https://www.gog.com/game/total_anihilation_commander_pack

  • Poperdobs on 26/03/2020 - 16:55

    If you haven't played company of heroes I highly recommend you check it out, I'm a big Red Alert fan myself…

  • yolohobo on 26/03/2020 - 21:17

    If there's 3 of you playing - Dawn of War II has a mode called The Last Stand, which is a 3 player coop survival mode.

    It's probably one of the most fun coop gaming experiences I've had.

    It's worth noting all the Dawn of War II games have this mode, but I'd recommend getting the latest standalone expansion -
    Dawn of War II - Retribution

    Unfortunately the game isn't on sale anywhere at the moment though.

  • ngengerous on 27/03/2020 - 01:20

    +1 for Company of Heroes.

    Would also highly recommend Stronghold Crusader HD - just under Age of Empires for me, an absolute blast to play.

  • Mugsy on 27/03/2020 - 07:42

    As others have said, Starcraft 2 is F2P (as is the first Starcraft… it's only the remastered version that requires a purchase) so start with these.

    And if you're not already getting them, Epic Game Store has been releasing free games every week over the past year… there's not too many strategy games but they have Paladins on there which is F2P and there's currently a freebie DLC giveaway: https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/526780

  • trankillity on 27/03/2020 - 09:45

    I'd strongly recommend Northgard. It's a great mix of slower-paced macro strategy and combat. Kinda like a real-time Civilization, but just Vikings.

  • hornbill on 29/03/2020 - 00:17
    +1

    Have enjoyed playing Supreme Commander 2 with mates recently. Resource grabbing, researching tech and giant experimental units that are fun.
    Can get quick 30/ 45min rounds out of it and looks like 75% on steam at the moment.

    • ozbjunkie on 30/03/2020 - 05:01

      Agree supcom2 is great if you don't want to overwhelming depth. But supcom1 forged alliance playing on FAforever is where it's at if you need something to do for 6 months of lockdown.

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