RTS Faction Specialization Reimagined blog - Quadhelix

Fans of Command & Conquer: Generals should be intimately familiar with the idea of faction or subfaction specialization: the "Tank General" has the best tanks, the "Air Force General" has the best airplanes and helicopters, the "Stealth General" is the best at hiding things, etc. However, this form of specialization seems a bit one-dimensional - e.g., everything about the Tank General's tanks is better and everything about his not-tanks is worse.

A more interested approach would be to have different factions/subfactions specialize in different aspects of the different branches of specialization. Thus, one faction might be the "Air Force Faction" in the sense of having the widest variety of aircraft and thus the most versatile air force, while another faction is the "Air Force Faction" in the sense of having their aircraft available earlier in the game than anyone else. Similarly, yet another faction could be the "Air Force Faction" in the sense that its aircraft are the most powerful and cost effective.

So you might have a faction setup that looks something like the following (discounting roles that are relatively the same across all three factions - e.g., Humvee/Technical/Gatling Tank at Tier 1):

• Faction A: Has light scout/gunship helicopters available from the War Factory at Tier 1, two different types of Main Battle Tank at Tier 2 (e.g., one specialized for taking on low-tier units and one for dealing with high-tech units), and a potent stealth bomber at Tier 3
• Faction B: Has a cheap light main battle tank that is available at Tier 1, powerful helicopter gunships available from the Tier 2 helipad/airfield, and a number of different specialized stealth units at Tier 3 (e.g., Nod's Stealth Tank and Specter Artillery)
• Faction C: Has stealth rocket buggies at Tier 1, the overall best main battle tank in the game at Tier 2, and a relatively diverse air force (e.g., dedicated air superiority fighters, ground attack aircraft, and tactical anti-structure bombers) spread out over Tier 2 and Tier 3.

Of course, these are just examples of possible layouts, but they give an illustration of what factions conceptualized under this paradigm might look like.

Or, rather than completely randomizing it, there could be limited grouping - something like this:

• Faction A': Has a light helicopter gunship available from the war factory at Tier 1, two different types of Main Battle Tank at Tier 2 (e.g., one specialized for taking on low-tier units and one for dealing with high-tech units), and a relatively diverse air force (e.g., dedicated air superiority fighters, ground attack aircraft, and tactical anti-structure bombers) spread out over Tier 2 and Tier 3
• Faction B': Has a cheap light main battle tank available at Tier 1, powerful helicopter gunships available from the Tier 2 helipad/airfield, and a potent stealth bomber at Tier 3
• Faction C': Has stealth rocket buggies at Tier 1, the overall best main battle tank in the game at Tier 2, and a number of different specialized stealth units at Tier 3 (e.g., Nod's Stealth Tank and Specter Artillery)

Or something like that. Of course, depending on how one characterizes things, Faction A' could be labelled a "specialization" faction, Faction B' an "elite forces" faction, and Faction C' as a general stealth faction.

However, it probably wouldn't make sense to, e.g., have a faction that gets a weak tank, light gunship, and stealth raider at Tier 1 and then nothing later in the match, because such a faction would likely be overpowered in the early game and then peter out as the game progressed. Similarly, a faction that has the best main battle tank, best air unit, and best stealth unit, but all at Tier 2 or later, would have the problem that they would be very weak in the early game, but overpowered in the late game. Of course, the real problem might not be the arrangement itself, but only my lack of imagination on how to make it work.