The RTS pause/break button

[blackboxme]

Most RTS give the ability to pause the action using pause/break and issue orders.

What is your opinion on it?

Among my friends, all the best RTS players use pause/break constantly in single player mode. Then in multi player, when they obviously never use it, they're brilliant.

[Thrik]

I've never really done or thought about this, but I guess it's a good way of training yourself to make good strategic decisions if you play RTS games competitively (as pretty much any regular multiplayer gamer does).

I personally prefer the thrill of the moment though — it sounds like the kind of thing that can ruin flow as much as quick save can sap all the tension out of an FPS.

[elmuerte]

I would think using pause all the time makes you less good. Because without pause you need to "think fast", where with pause you can plan your next move. In multiplayer you would only be able to plan your strategy before you start the game.

[Chris]

I would think using pause all the time makes you less good. Because without pause you need to "think fast", where with pause you can plan your next move. In multiplayer you would only be able to plan your strategy before you start the game.

However, it may also acclimate you to thinking regularly at all. Frequently during an RTS, I simply forget to actually think strategically, because it's so frantic. I imagine if I paused a lot during a non-versus setting, it would make me accustomed to recognizing various situations and applying some quick tactical thought, instead of just acting in a completely kneejerk, reactionary way to pretty much everything, which is how I currently play most strategy games and how I operate in life.

[Nappi]

I'm constantly pausing in games like Company of Heroes and (less frequently) Total War. I find it a lot more satisfying be able to use "advanced" tactics that require you to control multiple units at once than to play the game strictly in real time. It also feels a bit frustrating that some of your units basically have to stand still just because you can't can't control them all at once while the opponent doesn't have this limitation.

Also, I think I might be a bit slow.

[blackboxme]

I would think using pause all the time makes you less good. Because without pause you need to "think fast", where with pause you can plan your next move. In multiplayer you would only be able to plan your strategy before you start the game.

Don't you ever run into the issue where RTS seem too out of control, and it's hard to figure out exactly what is effective?

I'm just trying to explain why even though all of my friends have been playing Age of Empires 2 for the same number of years, these 2 guys are several orders of magnitude better than everyone else, and they are both pausers, while the weaker players like me aren't.

I mean, these guys play in the idealized way that you think a strategy game should be played, where each decision is really well thought out: it's not just a frantic race of build orders and civilizations. They set traps, bluff, feint, their bases are based on 17th century fortification theory.

[blackboxme]

I'm constantly pausing in games like Company of Heroes...

How do you fare in multi player? I know that internet play is probably insane.

[Nappi]

I actually have never tried it. It's just not my cup of tea I guess. I'd imagine I would get my ass kicked, though. Not just because I'm used to pausing but also because I tend to take things slow anyway.

[elmuerte]

Don't you ever run into the issue where RTS seem too out of control, and it's hard to figure out exactly what is effective

Last time I really played RTS was around the time of KKND (also played earlier games like C&C, WarCraft, Z, ...). The "simple" times of RTS.

After that I did try to play Total Annihilation (somewhere in 2000-2001) with some friends who are very good. So, I got totally annihilated. And at that time it did seem too out of control. But recently I haven't played any RTS, don't really like the genre that much (or it's simply too complicated for me).

I don't know if those two friends were "pausers", I actually think they're not because they mostly play online. They used to be in the top something of Supreme Commander players.

[brkl]

I'm pretty sure Total Annihilation didn't have pause. I bought that game and even played it for a bit.

I'm not an RTS player at all, though. Having a pause button might these days actually allow me to play an RTS -- otherwise I just won't. Does DoW2 have pause?

[Donk]

I have never done this and my RTS fu is weak. I will try this now and see if I can get a different experience. Stay tuned.

[Thrik]

I'd imagine pretty much every RTS can be paused, assuming the action doesn't continue while you're in the ESC menu, saving your game, etc. You just might not be able to see what's going on.

[Nachimir]

I would think using pause all the time makes you less good. Because without pause you need to "think fast", where with pause you can plan your next move. In multiplayer you would only be able to plan your strategy before you start the game.

Chris is right, it's no use thinking fast without training to back it up. Drilling, training, roleplaying situations, etc. feeds your brain the elements it needs to call upon in any related stressful situations. Likewise, animals play at hunting and learn from their parents rather than just having a go. There's even a martial art based around improvisation, and they get new students to practice in slow motion in order to pick up decision making, anatomy and combat. Being able to think fast is as much about knowledge and practice as it is intelligence.

Edit: I played quite a lot of Dawn of War online, mainly in teams with friends. We found that offline play against AI taught very little except basic unit counters and efficient build orders, which are vital, but real players tend to be a great deal more creative than AI (to the point of it being a flaw in DoW: Good strats spread and become boring. Overpowered ones even more so).

Even without a pause button, it didn't take us long to start recognising typical situations, expecting certain units to show up, etc. The best way of learning RTS games is getting your ass kicked, watching replays of it if possible, and having people to discuss individual games with. We built repertoires of strategies, like being able to specialise in a certain unit quickly to back up a team mate, turtling behind team-mates to race to a powerful late game unit, etc., and quickly figured out complimentary team strategies.

(My favorites stand alone for Eldar. 1: Bonesinger teleports behind enemy base, builds webway gate in the fog of war. When enemy starts attack, dump infantry straight into their base, watch enemy panic and run all the way back across the map while you destroy his base. For maximum annoyance, make sure to get all your troops back into the gate before he arrives. 2: Grav tanks full of fire dragons. Team mate and/or other units engage to bait enemy, grav tanks jump right over battle, unload, FDs take down vehicles, while the tanks strafe infantry. They either die or messily retreat through grav tank fire).

Being able to download replays from tournament games and send them to friends was also a really excellent feature; it's a massive pity that new patches tended to make them unplayable.

Edited March 13, 2009 by Nachimir

[blackboxme]

I just finished reading Jonah Lehrer's "How We Decide"

Had some interesting stuff that pertains to this: namely, how does Gary Kasparov make strategy decisions in chess? How does Tom Brady decide where to throw the ball to?

Basically they practice a lot, focusing on correcting their strategic mistakes; then when they are actually playing, incorrect strategies just feel bad. You can train the negative side of your dopamine system by focusing on the times when you end up in an error state.

Kind of an interesting idea: Tom Brady isn't a super-genius in his conscious mind, he just trained his feelings.

[Nachimir]

Absolutely. Emotion and reason aren't opposites, they're just different, though emotion (for what the term is worth...) tends to deal with things on shorter timescales.