If I were to introduce someone to RTS for the first time I would start with OTC, especially since it should be able to run on most basic laptops. The lack of violence makes it suitable for children in particular, and would serve as a fun educational platform to teach them about complicated economic concepts such as debt, capital and price fluctuations. On a more personal note, this means that as a YouTuber, I can play at an awful frame rate whilst I’m rendering a video, and with half a second lag during an upload, two things that I’m constantly doing. A multiplayer specific tutorial would certainly be a nice addition, teaching new players the little nuances of the game which are essential to multiplayer.Īnother reason why OTC is so accessible is how it doesn’t require speed and precision to play, someone new to RTS gaming isn’t going to be frustrated by their inability to execute strategies. Unfortunately, there is still a lot left out by the tutorials and which you won’t learn when playing against the AI, so getting into multiplayer is still more difficult that it needs to be. When a player does try multiplayer, it won’t feel like a different game with conflicting strategies. The compelling AI helps make OTC welcoming to new players there’s plenty of fulfilment to be had in playing skirmishes at a comfortable pace without the need to rush into multiplayer. The AI in OTC is far from perfect, but it’s mostly representative of fighting against real human players, a rare feat for an RTS game.
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Most skirmish AI in RTS games are repetitive and shallow because it’s mainly just about learning how to abuse the AI’s flaws. I didn’t bother with the campaign, but I played a fair bit of skirmishes versus AI before jumping into multiplayer because it was fun and challenging in a fair way.
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Most tutorials in RTS games are a boring chore, but OTC packs its tutorials full of humour, making them a pleasant learning experience.
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It only took me a few minutes of the tutorial to have me hooked. I’m often not in the mood for the massive APM requirements of StarCraft, or can’t be bothered dealing with the frustrating moments found in Company of Heroes, OTC is my chill game for when I want to relax but still be challenged. Each match feels like a fresh new challenge since the procedurally generated maps with randomised resource placement and pricing eliminate the concept of a standard build order. I’m having an absolute blast with OTC I’ve already clocked over 100 hours on Steam and have no plans to stop anytime soon.
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Effective use of Black Market powers can cost huge amounts of lost revenue which keeps both players on their toes, and factors into building placement and resource investment.
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Sabotage powers range from calling in the Filthy Pirates to intercept valuable shipments or using an EMP bomb to power off production structures. Some are useful for boosting your economy, but the primary use of the Black Market powers is to sabotage your opponent. The Black Market powers add another layer of complexity and create direct interactions between players. Meanwhile, you should be searching for vulnerabilities to harass your opponents with Black Market powers. Resource prices fluctuate depending on supply and demand, so you need to predict market changes and exploit it in your favour. You need to be thinking about what’s the best way to invest in the most valuable resources while assessing your finances and tossing up between debt, capital and investment. OTC requires critical thinking of weighing up opportunity costs and looking for the best opportunities to exploit. Alternatively, resources are available for purchase, so you could just buy water to produce the food, but the constant demand would shift the price of water up, and if your opponent is already collecting water then they would make a big profit. Food may be selling for a high price, but to produce food you require water, and if there isn’t any water nearby the cost of shipping it might be too much depending on the market price of fuel. But it’s never that simple, the interconnection of the resources creates the constant need for cost versus benefit evaluation.
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When playing OTC, you need to constantly keep an eye on the market price of all the resources and invest in what are the most valuable. OTC is a game about market manipulation, advanced resource management and corporate sabotage. Fortunately, OTC more than makes up for it with the most in-depth and complex economy of any RTS game I’ve played, featuring 13 resources with a very complicated dynamic. Nuanced unit control and micro-management are my favourite parts of RTS games, so I was rather unenthused when I heard about an RTS game lacking any form of combat or unit interaction. Offworld Trading Company (OTC) is the RTS game that I never knew I wanted.