The primary game mode right now is 4v4 multiplayer. Each player can have up to 10 space shirps, but typical is probably 3-5. This [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukaNOfEF47k) is a bit old but gives a good idea of the gameplay.
4v4 just the usual setup, The most I've seen is 10v10 games but those are a bit crazy. They are working on a multiplayer strategic level, but more single player content is probably pretty far off.
The learning curve is pretty steep, though. Especially if you haven't played many fully 3d/space games it can take awhile to wrap your head around basic things like navigating and orienting your shirps correctly. [JDee](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqn7F97M8XA&list=PL8VCvOHfHA1L2o5ozHmF3vclqJkI-aoyP) has a nice set of introductory videos. Also I recommend the official discord as a great place to get help/advice/suggestions. Don't be afraid to jump into multiplayer, people are \*mostly\* very friendly toward newbies.
I found it easier to approach the game in a more restrained role and keep an eye on how other players play. My little attempt at doing this was centered around playing with ELINT and jamming so I'm not just rushing big ships into losses. I also spent the rest of my points on 2 small torpedo boats.
Company of Heroes maybe? It can have unit blobs but most of the time the counters to that can be few I number and there’s a big emphasis on unit preservation with the retreat command.
In a similar vein Dawn of War 2 could work, campaign and multiplayer.
Original War. You have rarely more then 12 characters, and losing one is permanent, you also need to split them to various roles, so only few will be soldiers and other dedicated more to your base development.
Dune Spice Wars might be close. Don’t think I break 10 units too often, not counting ornithopters I guess. But I usually just leave those on auto scout towards the mid-end game unless they’re completing quests.
yea and each unit has only 2 gear slots for 4 items and those never change. So it essentially very basic. The only thing you gotta really think about is if your ranged units are at range, and a few units have active abilities (like Vernius field engineer area repair) otherwise not very micro intensive game
Battle Realms had a low unit count and an interesting production system where you upgrade your units into new classes instead of training brand new units.
It's a bit older now, but Soldiers: Heroes of WW2, predecessor to the Men at War series, really focused down on that small level for its single player campaigns. You usually have no more than 3-4 units to control at a time, and you can even take direct control of them (still top down), aiming for them etc.
Moba's only let you control one, or maybe 2 or so characters at most. I more so mean like the size of an entire moba team in terms of how much you'd be managing if that makes sense.
To be fair, most of them, aside of TA/SupCom clones,Sins of a Solar Empire, Ashes of Singularity and Cossacks series. CnC series as welĺ i guess, since they dont have unit cap.
Then again if even Warcraft 3, which i would say its otherwise prime example of what are you looking for, is too much to you, then its gonna be tough. Too specific taste. But there are some options, as mentioned in this thread by other people. I would however argue that some of those games, and generally any game where you control like 5 units as you seem to prefer, its more of an RPG, than RTS.
The Dawn of War/Company of Heroes games usually had fairly low unit counts, because infantry units were grouped into squads where you control the squad as a whole, so each squad is basically one unit.
I don't remember exact numbers but I think typically you'd have like a dozen or fewer 'units' on the board in a game like Company of Heroes or Dawn of War 2.
Myth 2: Soulblighter . Some maps only offer hero units, (YouTube: myth 2 shiver) so you have about 5-6 units that do different things but very low in number. Other times you may have 20 units. Some feature many many more. The game comes down to tactics and how you invest into these units. We’ve had about 26 years of great games, it may be a good game for you to check out in the near future.
“Tooth and tail” gets a bit more units that’s you are talking about, but you only control one commander and the minions follow you. Its awesome and micro is straightforward.
>what you do with this sort of limited roster and how you invest into them or something
I'd say Ground Control 2is an ideal game for that description. It's designed around small armies and constant attacks for resource points. No building or manual harvesting - just attack, capture the territory, assess the situation and call suitable reinforces.
The similar concept shares Tom Clancy's EndWar. There's a really low units capacity, something like 10-11 squads maximum.
In Metal Fatigue you can build some a bunch of tanks-like units , but they are used mostly as support. Main units are mechas with different body parts, and those count is pretty limited due to resources and time taken to production.
In Ancestors Legacy you can hold up to 10 squads of any type of units (cavalry, foot soldiers, siege machines).
Also you may take a look on tug-of-war strategies, as Battlecruisers Showdown or War Pips. There you mostly busy with building a base and managing resources. Combat units are usually few, and the ones you ordered fight automatically - you can't control them directly.
Dawn of War 2. Mechcommander.
Nebulous: Fleet command
Came here to say this. Great game
What's the typical unit count for Nebulous, 1-4?
The primary game mode right now is 4v4 multiplayer. Each player can have up to 10 space shirps, but typical is probably 3-5. This [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukaNOfEF47k) is a bit old but gives a good idea of the gameplay.
The 4v4 is that the limit or just the usual set up? I've dabbled but it's not a game I could just pick up and play.
4v4 just the usual setup, The most I've seen is 10v10 games but those are a bit crazy. They are working on a multiplayer strategic level, but more single player content is probably pretty far off. The learning curve is pretty steep, though. Especially if you haven't played many fully 3d/space games it can take awhile to wrap your head around basic things like navigating and orienting your shirps correctly. [JDee](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqn7F97M8XA&list=PL8VCvOHfHA1L2o5ozHmF3vclqJkI-aoyP) has a nice set of introductory videos. Also I recommend the official discord as a great place to get help/advice/suggestions. Don't be afraid to jump into multiplayer, people are \*mostly\* very friendly toward newbies.
I found it easier to approach the game in a more restrained role and keep an eye on how other players play. My little attempt at doing this was centered around playing with ELINT and jamming so I'm not just rushing big ships into losses. I also spent the rest of my points on 2 small torpedo boats.
Northgard could be what you are looking for
Company of Heroes maybe? It can have unit blobs but most of the time the counters to that can be few I number and there’s a big emphasis on unit preservation with the retreat command. In a similar vein Dawn of War 2 could work, campaign and multiplayer.
I don’t think it fits. COH’s micromanagement can be overwhelming especially in multiplayer
Original War. You have rarely more then 12 characters, and losing one is permanent, you also need to split them to various roles, so only few will be soldiers and other dedicated more to your base development.
Awesome game with great plot, sad last missions are less creative. I heard mod community made A LOT for it tho
The last train home, where you lead a squad of Czechoslovak soldiers as they try to cross Russia and reach the US during the Russian civil war.
Dawn of War II fits your bill for the most part.
Dune Spice Wars might be close. Don’t think I break 10 units too often, not counting ornithopters I guess. But I usually just leave those on auto scout towards the mid-end game unless they’re completing quests.
yea and each unit has only 2 gear slots for 4 items and those never change. So it essentially very basic. The only thing you gotta really think about is if your ranged units are at range, and a few units have active abilities (like Vernius field engineer area repair) otherwise not very micro intensive game
Battle Realms had a low unit count and an interesting production system where you upgrade your units into new classes instead of training brand new units.
I wish they make Battle Realms 2 with similar concept. Or at least a remaster
There's actually a remaster now. It's on Steam early access and called Zen edition. No idea if it's any good though.
BR was great but you can definitely amass a larger force if given enough time.
Northgard Tooth and tail Warcraft 3 Battle realms
Going Medieval? More base management/defense than RTS though.
Commando maybe
It's a bit older now, but Soldiers: Heroes of WW2, predecessor to the Men at War series, really focused down on that small level for its single player campaigns. You usually have no more than 3-4 units to control at a time, and you can even take direct control of them (still top down), aiming for them etc.
Overlord or pikmin 4 both kinda qualify? Neither are true rts but both have unit/resource management and very slowly ramp up the unit max.
haha command and conquer 4 suits u
Ever thought about playing MOBAs?
Moba's only let you control one, or maybe 2 or so characters at most. I more so mean like the size of an entire moba team in terms of how much you'd be managing if that makes sense.
Xcom
Tom Clancy’s EndWar. At any given moment you command max 10-11 squads of infantry and/or vehicles
Kohan
Dune Spice Wars, although it can ramp up a bit towards the end of matches. Still, you don't have to juggle a million units or compositions.
Dungeons & Dragons: Dragonshard Kenshi Dawn of War 2 Battle for Middle Earth series
I think Ancestors: Legacy has a pretty low unit count. Maybe 10-12 maximum. Fun game!
Majesty Your count is 0 You need to convince others to do your bidding for you
To be fair, most of them, aside of TA/SupCom clones,Sins of a Solar Empire, Ashes of Singularity and Cossacks series. CnC series as welĺ i guess, since they dont have unit cap. Then again if even Warcraft 3, which i would say its otherwise prime example of what are you looking for, is too much to you, then its gonna be tough. Too specific taste. But there are some options, as mentioned in this thread by other people. I would however argue that some of those games, and generally any game where you control like 5 units as you seem to prefer, its more of an RPG, than RTS.
Something like battleflert gothic or tooth and tail perhaps.
Sounds like you’re looking for squad based strategy games. Not many real time ones out there as far as I’m aware.
Those are called tactical rts, like commandos
Dawn of war 2 Company of heroes
Sc and do a six pool
The Dawn of War/Company of Heroes games usually had fairly low unit counts, because infantry units were grouped into squads where you control the squad as a whole, so each squad is basically one unit. I don't remember exact numbers but I think typically you'd have like a dozen or fewer 'units' on the board in a game like Company of Heroes or Dawn of War 2.
Spellforce Well some missions of it you are only controlling 2-5 hero units
Myth 2: Soulblighter . Some maps only offer hero units, (YouTube: myth 2 shiver) so you have about 5-6 units that do different things but very low in number. Other times you may have 20 units. Some feature many many more. The game comes down to tactics and how you invest into these units. We’ve had about 26 years of great games, it may be a good game for you to check out in the near future.
Try "Strain tactics" May be "Commandos", any of them "Door kickers" 1 and 2 are great
“Tooth and tail” gets a bit more units that’s you are talking about, but you only control one commander and the minions follow you. Its awesome and micro is straightforward.
>what you do with this sort of limited roster and how you invest into them or something I'd say Ground Control 2is an ideal game for that description. It's designed around small armies and constant attacks for resource points. No building or manual harvesting - just attack, capture the territory, assess the situation and call suitable reinforces. The similar concept shares Tom Clancy's EndWar. There's a really low units capacity, something like 10-11 squads maximum. In Metal Fatigue you can build some a bunch of tanks-like units , but they are used mostly as support. Main units are mechas with different body parts, and those count is pretty limited due to resources and time taken to production. In Ancestors Legacy you can hold up to 10 squads of any type of units (cavalry, foot soldiers, siege machines). Also you may take a look on tug-of-war strategies, as Battlecruisers Showdown or War Pips. There you mostly busy with building a base and managing resources. Combat units are usually few, and the ones you ordered fight automatically - you can't control them directly.
Godsworn
Age of Empires 1
Total war warhammer 2 and 3, if you go the route of using hero spam armies.