Can we issue orders while the game is paused in SP?

This is a feature that I really like in a lot of RTS games. Basically when too much is going on I like being able to pause the game and then issue a bunch of orders to my units before then unpausing the game. It makes things easier to manage. I understand why this could not work in MP, but what about SP?

God I hope so. World in Conflict is impossible to play on a laptop touchpad because the morons behind it decided pause means you can't do ANYTHING.

Personally I dont understand the issuing commands when paused. In a way its cheating against the AI because you can issue a command while he cant do anything and if he was sending units to you everything he was doing was paused while you safely counter with your game paused. It seems very imbalanced in my opinion. When paused a game should show a menu in the middle of the screen and not allow interaction with the game because its being blocked by a menu after all it is paused while you go do something else.

EDIT: I have never played an RTS that allows this. You would have to give me examples.

As much as I hate issuing commands while the game is paused, it is definitely not cheating vs the AI. The AI can instantly issue orders to everyone on its team at once, and change orders instantly at any time (which gives the computer an unfair advantage, even though it really does need it or else it kinda sucks). Controlling stuff while paused would just make you control your army more like an AI would (not that I like that idea at all).

Are there actually AIs out there, which emulate a player's restrictions (limited knowledge, rate of actions, need to go where you interact,..)?
Most AI systems I've seen, seem to use those super user abilities extensively to reduce the need for a more complex AI.
Most games of today seem to reduce work on AIs in favour of multiplayer modes (why spend time and money on AI if you can get natural intelligence which spends money to play )

I would also like that. I really like games with active pause, I simply prefer a more laid-back style of gaming.

An example of an RTS that lets you do this would be Supreme Commander (in multiplayer too). TA probably does too but I'd need to check.

It's a good feature and should be included.

I dont quite remember it in Supreme Commander but I guess its fine if it doesnt make developing the game harder on the staff.

I would like this as well.

Any "Total War" game. Pausing is useful, especially in very large battles, it is very useful to pause the game, review how the battle is going, making sure your units face the correct way, divide reinforcements. It helped to amplify the feeling of being in control.

This way the battle also feels more like a macro game. Even though units have special abilities and formations, having an APM of 1000 is not really helpful as the units as there is a realistic lag between order and movement, out-maneuvering is hard, even with cavalry.

Doesn't a feature like this train you to perform poorly in multiplayer?

Some people don't care about multiplayer. Also, when playing with friends vs AI it's sometimes useful as well.

Technically true. But it can also be used as a learning tool when introducing new players to the game.

Mike

You're implying multiplayer is "the way to play" RTS games.

As far as video games go, I've found multiplayer RTS to be amongst the crappiest, thus leaving out a very nice feature because of it is, well, stupid.

Most people I have met said that game-pausing in SP is a crutch that you need to get rid of when you play against other players. I disagree. Issuing commands while a game is paused helps you improve your gameplay. For the same reason using a shooting range with immobile targets helps you practice for situations when you'll have to make a snap decision. It lets you repeat actions over and over so that when the adrenaline is flowing, you'll be able to do the same when the game is running live.

When things are happening in an SP game that I don't understand, I can pause it and look things over, then queue up countermeasures. If I couldn't, I would have recently lost my commander in SupCom to a tactical weapons attack and never understood how, or how to counter it.

That's fine and dandy if they stop using it, the problem is when they keep using it as a crutch well past the point they should be.

Mike

I would say, please let them, these kind of players will most likely never play a competitive multiplayer game anyways. And sometimes you just want to relax when you play a game.

Total war, company of heroes, supreme commander, sins of a solar empire, basically all games like anno or tropico (do they count?) and the paradox games (do they count?)

well, actually most RTSés have them. you just need to find them.

I would really love it in PA because it will be an incredible multitasking challenge for a slowpoke like me

Make a poll. I love this feature too. I use it in FA skirmish!!!

Not everything needs to be a poll dagnabit!

Playing against the AI trains you to perform poorly in multiplayer, since it never plays like a human, so I don't think it really matters.