Massively multiplayer online real-time strategy

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Massively multiplayer online real-time strategy (MMORTS) is a genre of online computer game that combines real-time strategy (RTS) with a large number of simultaneous players over the Internet. Players will often assume the role of a general, king or figurehead of some kind, leading an army into battle, while at the sametime maintaining the resources needed for such warfare. The titles are often based in a sci-fi or fantasy universe and are distingushed from single or small-scale multiplayer RTSs by the number of players and common use of a persistent world, generally hosted by the game's publisher, which continues to evolve even when the player is not currently playing.

Unlike MMORPGs, the MMORTS genre is still in its infancy with only a handful of active games, none of which have come from a large publisher. Vibes, a French developer, created the first MMORTS, Mankind, in 1998 starting the genre rolling. Mankind

is a massively multiplayer online real-time strategy (MMORTS) computer game published in December 1998 by the French computer game developer Vibes. This game so defined what the MMORTS persistent nature means. Even when players are not online, their mines extract ores, factories create equipment, ships continue commerce, and combat units continue to do battle.

Shattered Galaxy is a massively multiplayer online real-time strategy game that was released in 2001 by Nexon Inc., now known as KRU Games. It is very different from Mankind' in that it focuses on squads of units fighting in 15 minute intervals.

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In MMORTS genre very important problem of how to deal with offline player's emerges, and can be credited as one of the major reasons that the genre has not progressed. Unlike MMORPGs which typically have a user's character disappear from the game world upon logout, the same idea can not apply to an MMORTS. Most MMORTS titles place the player as the leader of some sort of nation-state, and the disappearance of one would not make sense. Therefore when a player logs out the nation would be largely unguarded. Developers have been trying to compensate for this problem with advanced artificial intelligence to control a player's army, or restrictions on destructive acts against offline users.

MMORTSs must also deal with resource competition. In a single player real-time strategy, resources are mostly limited. The genre almost forces the game designers to use an unlimited resource system like Total Annihilation. But that just forces players to built and built faster with new player upon joining the game find the world full. One way to treat this world lock is by restarting the server's persistent world periodically and have several worlds in existence. It could be once a month or even once a week but then the game play slowly turns into standard player experienced other multiplayer RTSs.

On the other hand MMORTS some time exhibit very strong RPG aspects. Also not inherently bad but no real MMORTS-RPG hybrids have surfaced to the market. Also common confusion or mixing is with browser based strategy games. These strategy games are very massively multiplayer in nature are not strictly real time. But the lines are blurred on what the MMORTS genera strictly is and would be for some time. It would take a popular MMORTS to define the boundaries.

MMORTS also pose several technical problems. Because the player controls not just an avatar but tens if not hundreds of units simultaneously this puts an enormous price tag on bandwidth if the level of interaction is to compete with modern single or multiplayer real time strategy games. Most MMORTS reduce the level of simulation that need to be synced with the server which puts serous limitations on types of simulation that can be preformed. The limitations include limited view rules such as radar and terrain blocking algorithms, limited physics simulations such as artery arcs and shock waves, limited air and undersea combat. Simulation has to rely on simple mechanisms to stay in budget which by the player of the RTS genera might be considered outdated.

• Mankind - A 1998 title developer and publisher by Vibes
• Shattered Galaxy - A 2001 title developed by Kru Interactive
• Ballerium - A 2006 title developed by Majorem
• Boundless Planet - A 2006 title developed by BoundlessPlanet
• Dreamlords - 2007 title developed by Lockpick Entertainment
• Darkness and Light - A 2007 title developed by N-Log Inc.

• Society - Stardock Entertainment
• Saga - Wahoo Studios
• One feature of the upcoming RTS Tom Clancy's EndWar is the multiplayer feature. There is a simulated World War that has a front line based on battles that take place during the day. However, the term MMORTS has not officially been used.

• Massively multiplayer online game
• MMORPG (Massively multiplayer online role-playing game)
• List of browser games
• Real-time strategy
• Online Game

• Extensive List of MMORTS Titles with Details