"We've advanced a tech level!" Popular belief credits Dune II as the first major RTS, and it certainly launched the genre into the spotlight with near perfect reviews and massive commercial success. However, other RTS games predated it. One was Mega-Lo-Mania, developed by Sensible Software and released in 1991... for the Amiga and Atari ST. You control one of four gods: Scarlet (red), Oberon (yellow), Caesar (green), or Madcap (blue), trying to conquer 28 islands across eras from 9500 BC to 2001 AD, each with new units and structures. You begin with 100 men per island, mine resources, research tech trees to unlock units from primitive cavemen to powerful tanks and lasers. Though smaller in scope than Dune II, it helped pave the way for the genre. The digitized speech and pixelated beauty still holds up if you ask me. Not bad for a 35 year old game.show more

I played this. Very fun. Dune II set the form of RTS - if you look at, say Starcraft II it isn't all that different from Dune II. No hotkeys for groups if memory serves. But otherwise, Dune II set the mould at lasts to the present.

There were quite a few before Dune II (Populous, Mega Lo Mania, Herzog Zwei, etc.) but none did it quite so perfectly as Dune II. I feel that Mega Lo Mania deserved a sequel, sad that it never got on. What's your #1 RTS of all time?

Powermonger was pretty cool. But I'm going to have to go with Dune II.

Fair call. I will go with StarCraft.

🤌

Much like Sim City wasn't the first city management game, but definitely the one that most people played. There was an earlier example in France, from 1986, La Ville Ideale, one of those games that only pervs might have played (hey that's me).

Holy crap... did that ever get an English version? Would love to check it out!

No unfortunately, it remained a Thomson exclusive. If you want you can check it out on my old stream where I translate it

Bookmarked!

This is like how Doom was not the first First Person Shooter, it was just the one that brought all the elements together in a way that really went main stream. Z was another early RTS that was very good in it's own right

Z definitely got less credit than it deserved.

This game rings a bell...

I loved Herzog Zwei on the Genesis.

The grandfather of RTS (with Modem Wars) and truly great. But Dune II and Mega Lo Mania were obviously a few steps ahead...

Stonkers on the Spectrum also predates Dune II

Not quite as complex though hehe :)

Ergonomically terrific

Hmmm... ? :)

Looks fun, but missing the point. Ofc everything is iterative over previous work, but Dune 2 settled the gameplay elements and consolidated the ideas that defined a genre. Not much games in history have that. Dune 2 created the genre, and recognizing it does not downplay others.

It always comes down to the definition of "RTS" and what defines a genre - I think that's where some subjectivity comes into play and thus the various opinions. 🙏

Loved the voice over in this one, almost sounded snarky at times :)

Sensible Software - always known to have their own humor and style :)

Sensible Software was such a great studio, they made a lot of timeless classics.

They also didn't shy away from being a bot provocative -- see Cannon Fodder. Did you play that too?

I think that simulation games, as god games for example, are quite different from RTS genre games. Never was strategy and always was real time. So maybe Dune 2 is still first.

Ported to Sega Genesis and called Tyrants

Same gamplay though I assume?

Yes looks like it! :) I didn't even know it was a different game until I saw people talking about it online

Wir haben kein Material mehr! Nun ist alles vorbei.

Has a different ring to it in German lol!

While a subtle distinction I’d say Mega Lo Mania was more turn based but with auto advancing turns. Certainly when I’ve experimented with remaking the basic design that’s where it’s typically landed. Fantastic game though and ergonomically it’s tewwific.

I didn't have this but remember playing it at my friends house on his nes.

Did it look similar to the video in the post? Or graphics much different?

I spent so many hours on this game on my amiga. I often relaunch btw Great game

Nothing beat the feeling of having an SDI laser shoot down an incoming nuke, while a defensive nuke auto launched in response to obliterate the poor CPU player who rushed the nuke ahead of defences.

I loved me some dune 2 💚

I remember this game! Haven't heard anyone talking about it since those days. A great game that was ahead of its time. I could never complete the game though since I never figured out to put guys in cryo and started the final level with 0 guys. Nostalgia!

It can be replayed right in your browser through many websites - if you ever want to give it another go 35 years later :)

I consider Utopia for the Intellivision to be the first.

OMG... this one right? I wished I had played that back in the day!

That's it! Two player simultaneously. You build factories, school, hospitals. You go out fishing. You can sink your neighbor's fishing vessel. Hurricanes and tropical storms destroy your little empire. And your citizens vote for your popularity. Whoever has the most votes at the end wins. Something like that.

I really, really, REALLY need to get my hands on that somehow. I love old strategy games.

I was 12 when I had it. I figured out a way to beat it every time. When you have fun with it let me know, then I'll share my vicious strategy.

"Ergonomically terrific" - after the development of a stone as a weapon. 😆

Fitting :)) Loved the humor :)

@hadphild good times

@hadphild Played it together? :)

@hadphild On the Amiga

It sounded like they got the old cleaner to say "the factorys been destroyed" classic

N était ce pas une forme de suite de populous / powermonger?

I loved this game and was really good at it . Maybe not one of the “greats” like populous and civilization but a worthy title indeed

For its time I thought it was pretty advanced and also had pretty neat graphics.

The digitized speech was also really fun and memorable especially for the time

I love Mega-Lo-Mania but there were many earlier games that were both real-time and strategy, also. See Legionnaire, Stonkers, Carrier Command, Rescue Raiders etc. Dune II defined a specific subgenre of real-time strategy that ended up being so popular it subsumed the term itself

I put an unbelievable amount of hours for a kid into this game. Kudos for bringing it back to light.

ergonomically terrific!

This is the first game I recall that had a large mining / crafting dimension to it, as you mine different things in different sectors and need certain quantities of each for different items, so there's say a limit to how many of a certain weapon you can make.

I used to enjoy playing it on the Amiga. Good times

One of the last real highlights for the Amiga.

even the name was a banger. loved it

My first game I identified as being a (mostly) RTS was SIEGE by Minecraft. Also released in 1992. I had a lot of fun with that one. It had good reviews, too, but it is sadly mostly forgotten today.

Nah Dune 2 set the entire genre in a very specific format. Mega lo Mania was just one of many "prototypes".

As true that may be, it still is an RTS game 🙏

But that's an anachronistic labelling, not to mention the label RTS itself was invented by Dune 2 Marketing people.

Also true 🙏

It’s so far advanced to similar games on Roblox, it’s like we’ve regressed

Mega-lo-mania is one of the best Sensible games ever. They were at the apex of their creativity. Wonderful