About everything about strategies
Strategies … Great genre, although I love shooters and RPG more. However, that the Civilization 5, that Tropico 5, Stellaris, Cits: Skyline, Crusader Kings 3 are beautiful games in which I played more than one hundred hours.
And express my love for these games, I decided through the blog, having studied and telling about strategies, everything I can. In parallel, causing a desire to touch the genre for both newcomers-chaumers and avid nerds who bypassed many amazing games.
A long time ago.
It all started about more than two thousand years ago … In ancient India, where the chambers’ game was invented, which is the ancestor of the other games using a wooden board. Five figures were present: Raja (King), Advisor (Ferge), Elephant, Horse (Rook), Pig. All of them moved about the same rules as in modern chess on the board of 8×8 cells. Victory was achieved by the complete destruction of enemy figures. The game was almost immediately called gambling, but over time they recognized its strategic component, and many commanders began to actively train on it the tactics of fighting.
Around 1030 BC.e. The game was widespread in the states of the Middle East, where the historian Biruni in his works described the version for four players.
But in the middle of the seventh century, the Arabs won the Middle East, after which they processed the rules and called the game “Shatrand”. New figures appeared and the rules were slightly changed, so the victory could be achieved without the complete destruction of enemy figures, it was enough to put the mat to the king.
Closer to the middle of the fifteenth century, chess has acquired a modern form and name that we still know. And in the nineteenth century, they became recognized as an international sport, after which teams and professional players began to form, they are grandmasters.
It is also worth mentioning that the chaturanga spread to the east. Where their own chess versions appeared: Syantsi (China), Changi (Korea), Macrooke (Thailand) and Sogi (Japan) . All these games are incredibly popular in their homeland, where their own tournaments are held.
Sogi. Its origin is not fully known
Do not forget about the checkers that appeared approximately in the third century.e. and quickly gaining popularity throughout Europe.
And chess, checkers, and other games using a wooden board will be transferred to the future in the video game format. But the first to be honored with the honor of chess.
Also, in the twentieth century, the active development of board games begins, which, roughly speaking, descended from games using the board. For example, in 1934 the game of Monopoly appeared, the first well -known economic strategy. And in 1957 in France, director Albert Lamorossi invents the game risk, which will become the basis for many early video game strategies. And running ahead a little, I will mention Magic: The Gathering Richard Garfield, released in 1993, combining the card and board game, founding a new squeal – a collection card game (KKI). They are also called card strategies.
Chess computerization
The first computer chess appeared approximately in 1769. “Mechanical Turks” was made specifically for Queen Maria Teresia. Inside him was a professional player who was responsible for all the moves of the “Turk”.
Later, in 1951, Alan Turing wrote the Turochamp algorithm, it is also the “Turing paper machine”. Man had to make a move for about half an hour, and the algorithm itself was conditional. Due to the lack of access to computers, the algorithm was checked only once, Turing colleague easily won a party from the car.
Only a year later, a chess game of 6×6 was made in the Los Alamos nuclear laboratory, without an elephant figure. She lost to professional players, but won the newcomers.
In 1957, a full -fledged version of 8×8 chess with all figures was made.
The following steps all subsequent years was the development and improvement of computer intelligence. The most famous event can be called February 1996, when the current world champion Harry Kasparov won the Deep Blue supercomputer with a score of 4-2. The match showed that “artificial intelligence” can defeat the world grandmaster. Which happened next year, when Kasparov lost Deep Blue with a score: 2 victories, 3 draws, 1 defeat. And as the world champion did not insist on revenge, IBM calculated the mission of the executed, refusing to offer a grandmaster.
I thought, since the car that spent the whole batch so hard makes the move confidently, it means that it sees that the eternal shah of blacks cannot be announced. And did not check. And there was a draw! So I had a suspicion: it hurts a non -memorial error. Elementary human yawn
Kasparov in an interview with Kommersant after the match
Well, what about the video!?
You need to understand, at least one important thing – strategies can be divided into sucks that are intertwined. For example, the great and terrible Simcity includes both the urban planning and economic simulator and construction with management. Therefore, to call a certain game the first in the backbone is quite difficult.
As I already … said? He wrote. The first strategies in video game format can be called chess that were just chess.
Only in 1972, the Invasion game, which is an adaptation of the board game, risk risk.
The gameplay was like in a regular board game. Two or more players were sitting on the couch at the table with the game, and played in it like a regular desk. And on the TV screen, players independently fought from the game. It all looked creamy and slowly. If you discard part of the console, it would be just a board game. However, she gave impetus to develop new attempts to create strategic video games.
The gameplay is well shown here
But if you go into the very wilds of the past, you can find the first urban planning simulator – Hamurabi, written on Focal in 1963, and was a text game that inspired the first Civilization and Simcity in the future.
In 1977, the game Empire developed for the PDP-10 was released. The purpose of the game was to defeat two or one computer opponent, using the army, dividing the infantry, tanks, fighters and ships. Producing units could captured cities. The game of Walter Bright could be developed, but because of a series of events, he was able to receive income from the game only in 1983. And the sequel came out quite late, in 1995.
The next important event was the adaptation of the Bismarck Table. 1980 Computer Bismarck on Strategic Simulations, Inc, was the first full-fledged step-by-step-by-step-by-step-man-Warheim strategy. Such foundations were laid as: characteristics of units, bases arrangement, and return of orders in one move. The player opposed the computer who would score more points, he won. The game became step by step due to technical restrictions, but this did not stop making big profits and good reviews. The genre began to gradually form.
Eastern Front (1941) Chris Crawford was published in 1981 under the publishing house Atari and immediately set a new quality bar in strategies. A time of time appeared, the creation of your own scenarios, a change of seasons and weather, deeper management, tactics of battle and a smooth scrolling card. So, due to the features of the terrain and the time of the year, of different types of troops, their advantages and disadvantages, as well as morality and supply. In the game, managing the Third Reich, it was necessary to capture the USSR during the Operation “Barbarossa”. It was necessary to score 255 points and capture as many cities as possible. The strategy turned out to be quite hardcore because of a rather advanced artificial intelligence for its time. The project received high marks and solid sales.
In the same year, the first “God’s simulator” appeared – Utopia, developing all the ideas of predecessors, acquiring a regime for two players. Opponents competed on glasses, who is better to build an island for people’s living. There was a possibility of uprising, weather effects and to attack another player.
Andromeda Conquest came out a year later and it can be called a full -fledged 4th strategy. The player colonized the planets, managed the economy and waged war against artificial intelligence or three other players. The course was divided into three phases: the distribution of resources, the formation of the space fleet and the distribution of commands to the fleet. The purpose of the game is to capture 10 star systems faster than the rest.
A year later, Geopolitique 1990 appeared. In it, playing for the United States, it was necessary to defeat the USSR with the help of the army, the agent network and other countries. The press and players love the project for variability, although everyone disappointed the lack of a game for the USSR and versions for two players.
In the same 1983, Strategic Studies Group released Reach for the Stars, inspired by the Stellar Conquest board game. The purpose of the game is to build its own space empire. At the start of the player belongs one planet. During the game, you can invest resources in the development of technology, ships and environment. There was a construction of ships to explore new planets, colonization and conduct of hostilities. The process itself is step by step. You could play against the computer and other players.
Many journalists call Reach for the Stars the first 4th strategy, t.To. Andromeda Conquest is too primitive and you can only formally call it.
In 1985, Balance of Power was released, which became the logical development of the ideas of Geopolitique 1990. There was the opportunity to play for the USSR, play against a person, more depth and variability. And visually the game was much more attractive.
At the same time, in Japan on Famicom, Amiga and MSX, the first part of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms series about medieval China was released. It is only interesting because, in addition to beautiful graphics, she had personal features of the ruler.
Three years later, Target Games releases https://1redcasino.uk/ Laser Squad. She is the ancestor X-Com: Ufo Defense and the first step-by-step tactical game in which we control a detachment of fighters on the map in order to destroy the enemy.
In 1989, Maxis developed Simcity – the first full -fledged worked out urban planning strategy that inspired Sid Meyra on Railroad Tycoon and Civilization. Write about this game briefly, it will be offensive. Everything you need to know – she set the standards that developers use to this day.
A year later, EA published imperium. Purpose – dominance in the galaxy or survive up to 1000 years. There was everything that was in Gameplay in the games under consideration: diplomacy, colonization, research, expansion, production and distribution of resources. However, there was one main drawback – a small amount of visual information and a lot of windows with the text that was bored to read.
Railroad Tycoon Sid Meyer appeared in parallel. On the one hand, similar to Simcity, and on the other, has its own unique features: deep economy, historicity, competition and logistics.
And all in the same 1990, New World Computing developed King’s Bounty, she is also the ancestor of the heroes of the sword and magic. She forever remained in history as the first step -by -step game with RPG elements and an excellent balance. In the future, only a third of the heroes will be able to surpass it.
A year later, on Famicom, and later Nes was released L’Empeereur. I had to play for Napoleon, where the goal was to capture the whole of Europe. For the first time, diplomacy, full step -by -step battles and wider management opportunities in the genre of global strategies appeared for the first time. We can say that the game was ahead of its time.
And in September of the same year, the first part of Sid Meier’s Civilization is released, which I already talked about. It is called the founder of the genre of global strategies, a tree of technology appeared in it, feedback with the player and the possibility of victory not through the destruction and capture of opponents.
Do not forget about the 1992 Dune II from Westwood Studios. The game is the founder of real -time strategy, which laid the foundations for other Genre games. The main difference, at least at that time it was that time passes constantly and it could not be accelerated or slow down, only pause, and the economy is auxiliary character. The main goal is the destruction of the enemy.
And the last thing to mention is X -Com: Ufo Defense . The first widespread step -by -step tactical strategy. Inspired by Laser Squad, she developed her ideas verifying the balance to an almost complete ideal.
And continuing this excursion into history is a little pointless. All subsequent years was active development, mixing and revision of the genre and frying. Thanks to Warcraft 3, Dota 2 appeared in 2012 and the Moba subjunction. The Internet contributed to the origin of online in the genre, and the emergence of browser strategies. And Blizzard, inspired by Magic: The Gathering, issued Hearthstone to the public in 2014, fully transferring the KKI to the video game format.
However, despite all this, in the second half of the 2000s, strategy began to lose their former popularity. Less large projects began to come out, and only the most famous and eminent series of the Civilization and Tropico type remained afloat. But say that the genre died stupid. Here, as with quests, which simply changed, becoming interactive cinema, and who did not accept this change, played projects from indie developers. Starting from the 2010s, strategies began to leave small independent studios and on smartphones.
Among the entire galaxy of studios, Paradox Interactive, founded in 1998. And since then producing mainly strategies of different varieties. Mostly global and 4x. Thanks to great openness to players and support for games modifications, they were able to attract a huge fan base that helps to keep the company afloat still. Under her publishing house are the Europa Universalis, Hearts of Iron, Victoria and Crusader Kings series, and they also helped release Cits: Skylines and Stellaris. I love everything that they publish, but I think that the company has overdo it with the number of additions to its games.
Or it bothers me alone?
About CITIES: SkyLines generally silent
Perhaps paradoxes inspired other publishers and developers to revive the genre, t.To. the last three years have been released a lot of solid games. And I hope that the genre will not bend again.
The story came out a little chaotic and a little longer than I thought. All this is very brief and literally in two words about each game. In fact, everything can be analyzed in more detail and more detailed.
Cool of course, but what to play and where to start?
The main difference between the genre of strategies and the rest is the use of strategic thinking during the game. Adding others, the mechanic changes and divides the genre into several parts and subspecies.
Step -step strategies (TBS)
Based on the name, it can be understood that all players take turns, usually several actions can be done in one move, and the production of units, the construction of areas, buildings and technology research occupies several moves. The player has more time to think and plan, and the dynamics can sag a little.
The most famous representatives are the famous series of heroes of the sword and magic, her ancestor King’s Bounty, as well as a solid Disciples. You can also attribute the series Civilization, Humankind, Old World, but they are more related to the genre of 4 and global strategies.
I advise you to start with the third or fifth of the heroes, or from the first part of the King’s Bounty restart . You have to manage the base, pump your characters, hire an army and distribute troops between the protection of bases, buildings and your own offensive army. A large slope is made on the worked out step -by -step battles, which resemble a good batch of chess. Two detachments met will fight taking into account the area and units that they have. Sometimes, even with a weak detachment, you can win, thanks to good fight tactics. I hope you will love these games more than me.
Real Strategies (RTS)
Differ from step by step in that there is no sequence of moves. Resource collection takes place by special unit – workers, and the economy is of the main gameplay in nature. The main thing is the destruction of the enemy, but with development, other ways to achieve victory appeared.
You most likely heard about representatives – this is the founder of Dune 2, and its developing ideas Command and Conquer, and the historical series Age of Empires, Empire Earth, Cossacks, or with the original Starcraft universe, Warcraft, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War and thisNot all.
You can start in two ways, depending on the overall video game experience:
– Age of Empires 4 or HD Remaster of the second part, the first Cossacks, Dune 2000, Command and Conquer are suitable, and especially smart will cope with Starcraft .
– Smeshariki can always recommend Warcraft 3: Frozen Throne with RPG elements and an editor who can turn the game into anything, Cossacks 2 with a deeper tactics of battle and a large number of fighters on the map, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War – Soulstorm with nine races that are not similar to each other.
At first, everything may seem easy, but by raising AI bots, you will understand that you can’t play at all. But this is not a reason to throw the game, you just have to understand the balance of units and the general development strategy, you will become an excellent player in RTS.
Genre games are trying to reproduce the real tactics of hostilities. Can be both step -by -step and in real time. Perhaps, of all the sunshines, he remains the most not alive due to the complexity of the appearance of innovation in the gameplay. It is considered the most difficult in the genre. I always thought that this was more pumped chess.
You may have heard about X-Com and its restart, series Jagged Alliance, Commandos, Desperados, single projects Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun, Robin Hood: The Legend of Sherwood, or even about Final FinalFantasy Tactics.
Of the step-by-steps, you can always recommend the first part of the X-Com restarts about the attack of aliens to the Earth, with a percentage that is hated by the whole system, where even in a bake to the enemy a fighter may miss. Phoenix Point partially solves this problem. The game itself is cheaper, but no less exciting X-COM, only instead of aliens-creating similar from Lovecraft’s works.
From tactics in real time, to allocate something for beginners, as it is difficult for me, because of the general similarity of gameplay. From personal experience, I recommend starting with Robin Hood: The Legend of Sherwood. The game is isolated from any series, has pleasant characters, not an intricate gameplay, a simple but solid plot and a really good increase in complexity during the passage. Even I, a full noob in such games, almost went through the game. Why almost? Some external circumstances played.
Construction and management simulators
In these games, the military component is either absent or limited. Everything is tied to development, expansion, financial and social development, in conditions of limited resources. This may include urban planning, economic, political and various taughts (from Ang. Tycoon – magnate).
Urban planning simulators, perhaps the least, but worthy and even more so. Simcity, Cities XL and Cits: Skylines were able to leave a trace in history, overshadowed all the others with their success and elaboration.
You can start playing any of them, but CITIES: SkyLines is considered to be the best. If you decide to play Simcity, I recommend 2000 and a fourth part. I would like to mention, albeit a small, but incredibly complex Banice, about a small settlement of people who survive approximately in the era of the New Age, which will give even avid players to light. And curious Workers & Resources: Soviet Republic about the construction of a city in the USSR.
Once I will build a similar city in CITIES: SkyLines
A little more economic simulators. Thanks to Steam and a shorter scale, even one person is able to make his simulator. The games of this direction are characterized by a distinctive feature – the player owns one business in a particular industry, whether it be a railway company, a transport company, a game or a movie studio, or an entertainment park. If desired, you can find such a simulator in completely any industry, but most likely it will be made for a laughter for. In a certain period of my life, I played only in them, sometimes distracted by something plot.
Where to start here – completely depends on what you want from the game. Want to develop games, release your own console, absorb all competitors? Your choice is Mad Games Tycoon and its sequel as the most worked out taicuns on the development of games. Want to make films, arrange scenery, improve your directors and actors? The Moves is for you just for you. If you want to manage your railway company, then Railroad Tycoon 3, or less worked out Sid Meier’s Railroads, is suitable for you! Both games will be able to tighten you for decades, although they do not have a sandbox mode, which I love so much. And if you dream of your entertainment park, RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 will tighten with its scripts and a solid study of the simulation. However, if you are scared away by obsolete graphics, then Planet Coaster will solve this problem, I have nothing to say about the game, there is no Russian language in it, because of which I did not dare to play it, but the reviews of players and critics are high. My main favorite still remains tropico 5, because of the ability to hold its island state from the colony to the present. Satire, jokes, a system of logistics, economics and political relations, make the game deep. Maybe a sixth part is better, but I never played it.
Mad Games Tycoon
Railroad Tycoon 3
Rollercoaster Tycoon 3
The last thing to mention here is political simulators in which the game simulates the country’s policy and political relations or its parts. Unlike wargam, the military component is not so important. And there are very few purebred games.
What to advise here, I find it difficult to answer. Personally played only in Democracy 4, which consists of graphs, reports, elections and sliders. The game is not bad, but the ordinary gamer will definitely scare away. Urban Empire makes a good simulation of political parties pursuing their goals and interests, but I still did not understand how to play it so as not to go bankrupt at the beginning of the game. If you know how to play it correctly, then be sure to write in the comments.
And so, political simulators can be called a series of Tropico, Hearts of Iron, Europa Universalis, Victoria and Crusader Kings. But politics is only part of the bulk of the gameplay in these games.
The basis is imitation of military conflicts. Do not confuse with global strategies with an emphasis on the military unit. For example, the Total War series does not apply to Wargams.
And here is the problem, in this subgenr I finds out not playing at all, so I trusted my friends, acquaintances and other players in this part.
Perhaps the most famous representative in our country is the domestic series Blitzkrieg from Nival Studio. The games of the series are famous for their study, smart AI and the opportunity to participate in all military operations of the Second World War. I think it is worth starting with her. And if you are disgusted by the Russian game, then for you there is a series of Steel Division about the entire Second World War, and Wargame about the occurrence of the Third World War in the second half of the 20th century. Each series has its own characteristics and unique chips, if you are a lover of history, like me, then you should try (which I will do).
Here, games specialize in the fact that the player takes part in the period of world history, governing the state, various factors are taken into account: neighbors, science, production, approval, etc.D.
I advise you to start with Crusader Kings 3 . It has a Russian language, a full -fledged 3D graphics, an incredible role component and a low threshold of entry. You have to take on the role of the ruler in the Middle Ages, which covers the whole of Europe, North Africa, the near and partially Far East. Your ruler can fall into various situations that you could not even think about. Or from some part of Total War. I personally really liked Napoleon: Total War . It does not require an ideal understanding of all aspects of the gameplay. There is a simple development of cities, technology research and the main feature of the entire series – worked out in real time with a huge number of detachments and honestly displayed people.
Crusader Kings 3
If I am interested in you and want to continue, you can try Hearts of Iron 4 about the Second World War and Europa Universalis 4 about the new time, very complex and difficult to master, but when you understand how to play them, do not drop it anymore.
What is special for 4X strategies that they are distinguished from global? The presence of four main elements of gameplay, they are four X, which gave the name to the genre. Four elements are: exploreing (Explore), Expansion (Expand), Operation (Exploit), Destination (Exterminate), all of them are interconnected. For example, in Hearts of Iron 4 there is no study of new lands, it is Explore. It sounds a little more attracted by the ears, which is why players argue about the need to divide such games into global and 4x.
No matter how it was. You have most likely heard about the main representative of these strategies. Yes, I say? I am writing? I mean Civilization, which burst into the market in 1991 and is not going to leave.
I strongly recommend at least try to devote several hours of fifth part. Why exactly her? It has the lowest threshold of entry from the entire series, a pleasant visual and a large number of modifications. The game absorbs you and does not let go for a very long time. I personally played a total of more than 2000 hours on a pirate and license. I recommend that you take all the additions right away, without them the game is not full -fledged.
When you are pushing and getting used to it, the doors to the sixth part and direct competitors will be open for you – Humankind and Old World . They may first seem to be overgrowths of a famous series, however, starting to play and feel all the changes and additions that they brought to the familiar Civilization formula.
I will not crucify here for a long time. Here games are very similar to each other. There is one map, three lines of the path between the bases of two teams, a huge number of heroes that are not similar to each other, the heroes themselves during the game become stronger, increasing their level and buying objects at the base. There are also creeps that help destroy the enemy towers on the lines of the path. The purpose of the match is to destroy the enemy base
The genre itself came from the user modification of Dota in the game Warcraft 3: Frozen Throne. Valve noticed the popularity of the map, invited the creators and released a full -fledged game: Dota 2, which became the ancestor for the rest of the Moba Games.
Here … I can’t advise anything. At all. I always bypassed similar games, although I played one, but it was closed. So try and study the issue yourself. And let the knowledgeable people write in the comments where it is worth starting and whether it is worth it at all, start. (Now, at least rename the blog)
Collectible card games
The gameplay in the games of this lift is focused around the acquisition of a huge number of cards and the compilation of several decks for different gameplay. There are certain sets of rules that may differ from the game to the game.
Naturally, the most famous KKI is Blizzard Hearthstone. Taking as the basis of Magic The Gathering, they created something unique, and most importantly – understandable for everyone. The game does not have a high entry threshold and is available on all platforms for free, which guaranteed it popularity around the world. It is with Hearthstone that you can start and finish. But if you are not enough, then you can always play Guint from the Third Witcher, who has become an independent game or a video game version of Magic The Gathering, which is much deeper than the Blizzard creation.
Browserki and mobile phones
Yes, I’m serious. A separate squeal has been allocated for them, in which I decided to add mobile projects, t.To. The time of browser strategies is coming to an end. Gameplay, I think you know. You have your own base that needs to be pumped, improved, build new buildings and protect. You can create fighters thanks to which you can attack other players. There are clans, ratings tables and donat, which will help to pump faster. Being younger, I played a lot of such games, but then I realized that they have no value and there really is little to do not depend on the player.
And of course, everyone knows about Clash of Clans . This is the most popular and understandable example of this genre. If you play such games, then nothing bad. It is bad when you get into such games and there are more and more of them, and normal games on smartphones no longer go out … Okay, I will burn on this topic somehow another time.
Afterword
Perhaps everything. We plunged into the history of strategies, figured out genres and sunshines, while learning about new and not very games for ourselves. I hope I could interest you and inspire you to conquer new genre heights in your gaming path. I definitely inspired myself to play at least one wargam.
Thank you all for your attention. Write for sure that I missed, what I forgot and where I made mistakes. And also what strategies it is worth playing in and what are your loved ones.