SoaSE in Starcraft terms

Is your friend incapable of understanding anything that isn't placed in terms of Starcraft? Has he not played any other RTS?

Beyond vague aesthetic similarities between the races (and even that's a stretch), the games play very differently. Tell him about the separate battlefields around each planet. The heavier emphasis on economy and culture. The much larger scale. The focus on macro rather than micro in larger games.

These traits aren't incomprehensible and if you just can't get the point across, isn't there a demo out, now?

Yes, but just to help you out, because this is how I'm trying to explain it to my brother, the only one that really resembles anything is the TEC. Advent and Vasari may be the same as protoss in zerg, with advent shields and such, but they both play very differently in the long rung. I find myself playing like zerg in the beginning of advent, but that's about it.

im not real sure how to compare it to SC. Maybe Aramada II since battles mainly happen around planets and everything is in space.

Why does everyone compare Space RTS games to Starcraft, I mean, Hell, can't a game be judged on it's own merit rather than attempting to compare it to another.

Because some people can't go into completely new ground, they need some familiarity. Even though that might twist their perception horridly.

So how exactly would you explain Dawn of War (with 9 races) to them then? Did they have Starcraft explained to them in the first place because surely that was new ground for them? Or have they only lost that capability since playing Starcraft? Isn't playing each race and finding out what they are like part of the fun?

Exactly OctopusRex, why match a race up to a SC race to find your play style, each race doesn't have a defined strategy, it's always open for player interpretation.

I wasn't defending the 'need', which I tried to hint with the last sentence. I find it reaaaally annoying. Now, how to explain culture to them...

Explaining culture is like proving God's existance, it measures up differently for everyone.

Look at it like a matrix if you must.

TEC are like Zerg with respect to making lots of fast cheap units
Advent are like Zerg with respect to using territory (creep ~ culture)
Vasari are like Zerg with respect to lots of little hooks and pointy bits on their ships, and using other races to their advantage (e.g. infested marines)

TEC are like Protoss with respect to very little
Advent are like Protoss with respect to psionics
Vasari are like Protoss with respect to expensive and more powerful units

TEC are like Humans with respect to the use of nuclear weaponry
Advent are like Humans with respect to very little
Vasari are like Humans with respect to using lots of science

There are no parallels for a lot of things - stealth in Starcraft doesn't exist in Sins, for example, and Sins plays a whole lot more with resourcing capability upgrades.

-- Retro

Starcraft is the GOLD STANDARD of RTS's. I'm sorry if you don't like that, but it's WWW Link

As for my friend, yes of course he's capable of understanding it in non-SC terms, and he's already played the game at my house and loved it (he's buying this weekend), but it would still have been nice to draw some parallels. However, as Retro has pointed out, it's practically impossible to make any meaningful comparisons due to the game's innovativeness.

First off, never quote a website where anyone can change the facts. Secondly, no one said Starcraft wasn't revolutionary or anything, it's just better to judge a game based on what it's got, not how similar it is to something else.

I agree with you on all points, however, I wasn't judging the game on any level; I was simply trying to explain it to someone using something he was already familiar with. Surely there is nothing wrong with that.

I think SC sucked ten years ago and i still think sc sucks. But thats my opinion.

So you want to compare a 10 year old 2D RTS game with a new 3D (kinda) 4X RTS???

Well, I guess they kind of are the same - 3 races. Both use keyboard and mouse. And you have to build stuff and collect resouces. You're right - why did I waste money on Sins when I could go and find Star Craft!!!

The thing is, Blizzard nailed down the three basic offensive playstyles with their three races - lots of cheap units, a few expensive units, or a balance. That makes SC a good watermark for attack-based RTSes - though not for defensive or ability/spell-based ones.

I'd say:
TEC = Terran/Zerg hybrid - lots of OK units.
Advent = Protoss/Zerg - lots of shields, but relatively weak units. Have to rely on abilities and different tricks to win, like Protoss.
Vasari = Protoss/Terran - fewer, more expensive ships. Tough like bloody 'ell. Best stealth capacity in the game - having the only stealth-capable unit, the Jinsura Navigator.

If I now show off my n00bity in either game, feel free to descend on me like a pack of carrion-eating ghouls.