From Nostalgia to Disappointment: My Frustration with Tempest Rising

[B-o-m-m-e-l]

I used to love Generals! Back then, it was a leap forward in graphical realism—we were all impressed by the detailed units and immersive atmosphere. Even battles in 800x600 on a 17" Monitor ^^ resolution felt exciting. It was just cool to see the units in action.

But Tempest Rising really disappoints me in this regard. Once again, we get these clunky, plastic-like models that look like Playmobil or Lego. The buildings are okay but feel uninspired and bland. Why does the style always have to go in this direction? It feels like I’m playing with Matchbox cars instead of commanding a serious strategic army. That completely kills the fun for me.

When it comes to gameplay, I miss the days when I could build bunker bases and hold my ground in epic 1-vs-8 skirmishes. There was tactical depth—you could break through enemy defenses using tunnels or take out key structures with special weapons. Today? The moment you start building, you’re immediately overwhelmed by waves of enemy units. There’s no real strategy anymore, just mindless unit spam.

If Tempest Rising featured realistic tank models and a more thoughtful tactical system, I’d buy it in a heartbeat. But another Playmobil-style strategy game? No, thanks. I was briefly hyped, but that excitement is long gone.

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Erste Eindrücke zu Tempest Rising

Damals habe ich Generäle geliebt! Es war ein Meilenstein in Sachen grafischer Realismus – wir waren alle beeindruckt von den detaillierten Einheiten und der Atmosphäre. Schon die Schlachten in einer Auflösung von 800x600 waren ein Erlebnis. Es war einfach cool, die Einheiten in Aktion zu sehen.

Doch Tempest Rising enttäuscht mich in dieser Hinsicht. Wieder einmal diese klobigen, plastikähnlichen Modelle, die stark an Playmobil oder Lego erinnern. Die Gebäude sind zwar okay, wirken aber uninspiriert und lieblos gestaltet. Warum muss der Stil immer in diese Richtung gehen? Es fühlt sich an, als würde ich mit Matchbox-Autos spielen, anstatt eine ernsthafte Strategieschlacht zu führen. Das nimmt mir komplett den Spaß.

Was das Gameplay betrifft: Früher konnte ich Bunkerbasen bauen und mich in epischen 1-gegen-8-Skirmish-Schlachten behaupten. Es gab taktische Tiefe – man konnte gegnerische Basen knacken, Tunnel nutzen oder mit Spezialwaffen gezielt Schwachstellen angreifen. Heute? Kaum baut man etwas, wird man direkt von einer Welle Einheiten überrannt. Statt strategischer Überlegungen herrscht stumpfer Einheitenspam.

Wenn Tempest Rising realistische Panzermodelle und ein durchdachteres Taktiksystem bieten würde, wäre ich sofort dabei. Aber so – ein weiteres Playmobil-Strategiespiel? Nein, danke. Ich war kurz gehypt, aber das ist leider verflogen.

[Vodka]

Realism is overrated. Realistic games look bland and age very poorly.

As for the gameplay - didn't CnC games always play like this? The core series i mean. Not Generals.

[Cat]

The first Red Alert was kinda real except for the superweapons (chronophere/time travel and iron curtain). Those things were rare anyway, and more of a plot device for the campaigns. We also had some weird science weapons like Tesla coils and MAD tanks, but those aren't over the top.

[EvilReFlex]

Readability is more important than realism!

[Delirio]

Originally posted by Vodka:

Realism is overrated. Realistic games look bland and age very poorly.

Originally posted by EvilReFlex:

Readability is more important than realism!

Pretty much this.

I much rather have cool fictional designs that are easy to recognize on screen than "realistic" units which are impossible to tell apart.

If you are a fan of realistic stuff you should look into games that are more simulator style.

[John Travoltige]

Originally posted by Delirio:

Originally posted by Vodka:

Realism is overrated. Realistic games look bland and age very poorly.

Originally posted by EvilReFlex:

Readability is more important than realism!

Pretty much this.

I much rather have cool fictional designs that are easy to recognize on screen than "realistic" units which are impossible to tell apart.

If you are a fan of realistic stuff you should look into games that are more simulator style.

I don't think he's talking about the realism itself in the appearance of the units, what he means is that the appearance of the units is generic and uninspired and that the graphic style is not very detailed, very bland, which has become the norm for many games of the genre.

Also, many old games had a richer look and managed to remain readable without problems... look at c&c tiberium wars or even isometric games like dorf which is currently in development and looks stunning.

Okay the game is not ugly, but let's be honest it is very far from being beautiful and has nothing original graphically speaking.

[Delirio]

CnC 3 did not have very good graphics, may I remind you that Crysis also came out in 2007.

Heck Dawn of war released in 2004 and looked better than CnC 3.

Dorf has some kind of charm but those are not "good graphics" by any stretch. It's one step up from being a pixel game.

What are you even saying my man.

[John Travoltige]

Originally posted by Delirio:

CnC 3 did not have very good graphics, may I remind you that Crysis also came out in 2007.

Heck Dawn of war released in 2004 and looked better than CnC 3.

Dorf has some kind of charm but those are not "good graphics" by any stretch. It's one step up from being a pixel game.

What are you even saying my man.

In terms of graphic quality, I think that 2d and 3d are two separate areas that should not be compared too much.
But for artistic quality, it is not enough to be in 3D to have it, Dorf has a real identity, there is research and originality in the design of the units, the different races each give an impression of coherence and depth in their identity. Like Nod and GDI in the Tiberium series, or the races of Starcraft.

[Delirio]

https://gaming.yugatech.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/tempest-rising-4-2048x1152.jpg

I don't see anything wrong in the way this game looks, but I guess to each his own. Peace.

[Chubzdoomer]

Originally posted by Delirio:

CnC 3 did not have very good graphics, may I remind you that Crysis also came out in 2007.

Heck Dawn of war released in 2004 and looked better than CnC 3.

Hard disagree on both of those points.

Crysis was an exception to the rule. C&C 3 was still a very sexy RTS when it released, and I don't think a better-looking RTS existed at the time. Dawn of War absolutely did not look better, and that game was never even all that notable from a graphics standpoint.

[Cat]

Wait until the OP sees the tempest sphere balls.

[Oscar the Ham Bandit]

But... but... the demo had no bugs...

[Siwyj]

Could you point me where from OP took that Tempest Rising should be similar to Generals?

[Breeding Medicine]

considering things you've said Terminator Dark Fate must be a game you'd enjoy a lot

[InVader]

How does bunker defense result in tactical depth??? You're just playing a tower defense game lol. The unit spam is due to eco being too high.

Btw. sounds to me like you want a Generals successor. Go look at Hyperwar or WARNO.

[puppet74]

rose tinted glasses? gen looks bad, it always did, even on release. Sci fi setting in my opinion is way better for rts, but again thats just opinion. I tihnk tempest rising looks great, much better than any recent rts that has come out. You can zoom in pretty close and the units look pretty good honestly