RTS & RTT Active Pause list

[Sloul Des Tucs]

This thread aims to list all RTS & Hybrid RTS & RTT featuring tactical pause.
This is a work in progress, any help is welcome.
*Our mentions of speed adjustment is just optional on top of the main purpose of this thread.

Some other listings:
Upcoming RTwp games
RTwp of other genre (4x/City builders/Management/Grand strategy/Wargames/RPG...)
RTS and other genre not supporting tactical pause

RTS

Act of War: High Treason
Ancient Wars: Sparta Definitive Edition
Annihilate The Spance
Age of Empires - franchise (except AoE IV:AE)
AoE III remove pause box
Age of Mythology
Age of Mythology: Retold (note that Buildings and walls must be placed unpaused; speed in sp skirmish slow/standard/fast)
AI War: Fleet Command
Ancient Space
Andalia
Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation
Axis and Allies
Beyond All Reasons ===> FREE
Emperor: Battle for Dune ===> ABANDONWARE
Celtic King: Rage of War
Company of Heroes - franchise speed adjust workaround
Cossacks Franchise
Cossacks 3 remove pause box
Desert Kingdoms 2
Empire Earth - franchise
Empyrean: Frontiers - franchise
Earth 2100 - franchise
Five Nations
Globulation
Golem Gates
Haegemonia
Heroes of Annihilated Empires
Homeworld - franchise + Remake + Deserts of Kharak
Imperivm RTC - HD Edition "Great Battles of Rome"
Industrial Annihilation
Iron Harvest speed adjust workaround
Kohan - franchise pause also works in multi
Medieval Warfare
Megaglest ===> FREE/Open Source
Oil Wars ===> FREE
OpenRA Red Alert / Dune 2000 / Tiberian Sun / OpenHV / Cameo / Combined Arms ===> FREE/Open Source
Original War
Perimeter
Paraworld
Planetary Annihilation
Phantom Signal
Retro Commander ===> FREE
Rise of Nations - franchise
Rising Kingdoms
Rusted Warfare
Sins of Solar Empire - franchise
Soil ===> FREE
Spore
Star Wars Empire At War bind pause to space
Star Wars Galatic Battleground
Stellar Warfare
Supreme Commander - franchise
Sword of the Stars - franchise
Terminator: Dark Fate - Defiance
The Settlers : Heritage of Kings
Total Annihilation - franchise
Dawn of War speed adjust workaround
Warfare
Warzone 2100 (ctrl+- to obtain tactical pause, can be remapped to mouse wheel)
Zero-K ===> FREE/Open Source

Hybrid RTS

Age of Darkness: Final Stand
Alien Marauder
Arcane Wilds
Abandon Ship
Battle Mages
Castles
Conan: Unconquered
Creeper World - franchise
Desynced
Divinity: Dragon Commander (Bullet Time)
Dune: Spice Wars
First Queen
From Glory to Goo
Gelluloid Domination
Gods Against Machines
King Arthur - The Role Playing Wargame
Lords of Magic
Mechcommander
Nexus: the Jupiter Incident
Overlord
Particle Fleet: Emergence
Rogue Command (Bullet Time)
Sacrifice
Songs of Silence
Star Sector
Star trek: Star Fleet (Bullet Time)
Star Wolves - franchise
Syndicate
Tempest Citadel
The Last Federation
They are Billions
UFO After - franchise (X-COM like)
Warlord Battlecry - franchise
Warrior Kings - franchise

Real Time Tactics

Age of Undead
Aggression: Europe Under Fire
Ancestors Legacy
Armored Brigade - franchise
Battlefield Commander WWII
Battlefleet Gothic: Armada (bullet time)
BattleGroupVR
Battlevoid - franchise
Black Moon Chronicles
Blitzkrieg - franchise
Broken Arrow (Bullet time)
Call to Arms (Bullet Time)
Call to Arms - Gates of Hell: Ostfront *CAUTION* not sure if all sp mode have tp, feedback needed
Cepheus Protocol
Ceres
Codename Panzers - franchise
East India Company
Faces of War
Galaxy Angel
Gratuitous Space Battles - franchise
Graviteam Tactics - franchise
Grit and Valor - 1949
Ground Control - franchise
Hostile Waters: Antaeus Rising
Infested Planet
Ironclads - franchise
King Arthur: the role playing wargame - franchise
Last Train Home
Mech Commander
Men of War - franchise
Myth
NEBULOUS: Fleet Command
Panzer Claws
R.u.s.e.
Red Glare
Regiments
Roma Invicta
S.W.I.N.E. ===> FREE
Sea Power : Naval Combat in the Missile Age
Shadow Company: Left for Dead
ShemHaMephorash
Soldiers of Anarchy
Soldiers: Heroes of World War II
Space Menace
Space Reign
Star Hammer (wego)
Stardust Exile
Steel Division - franchise
Sudden Strike - franchise
Syrian Warfare
The Valiant
Tom Clancy's EndWar
Total Conflict: Resistance (Bullet Time)
Total War - franchise
Transistor (wego)
Unconventional Warfare
Wargame: Airland Battles (Bullet Time 1/10th)
Wargame: European Escalation (Bullet Time 1/10th)
Wargame: Red Dragon (Bullet Time 1/10th)
Warno
Victory at Sea
Welcome Back, Commander
World in conflict
World War 1

Special cases

Achron: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/VideoGame/Achron
Battle of Empires: 1914-1918 //it seems you can pause and give one order to a single squad
Conquest - Frontier Wars //tactical pause half baked
Dark Planet: Battle of Natrolis tactical pause only available through hotkeys, and keyboard controls didn't work, but i could still use it with the menu mod
Lambda Wars Tactical Pause half-baked, cannot screen scroll and select units ===> FREE
Spellforce 3: ALT option slow down on heroes

[SteahmChip]

Overlord not to be confused with War of the Overworld (ie War for the Overlord or variants)
Overlord is 3rd person action adventure
Overworld is a dungeon builder the subject of our interest (speed slider 50% to 150% normal speed, no pause to give orders),
list updated.

-------------------------------------------
Steel Division 2 added

[EUG]Papa Yankee [developer] Jun 26, 2019 @ 8:31am
You can use the active pause ("P" by default) during Skirmish Battles in solo: the game is paused but you can still give orders.
https://steamcommunity.com/app/919640/discussions/0/1640915206446015924/

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

EDIT

Cleaned up the list by removing footnotes section which gave workaround information for enabling pause / speed adjustments on some games,
may add it in another way as some posts over time get lost

[SteahmChip]

Battle of Middle Earth 1 and 2 and Command and Conquer Generals speed hack work around

Hex edit Speed adjust work around for Battle of Middle Earth 1
and for C & C Generals (see further below)
-Open the game folder and locate the latest patch.big (at this time probably _patch106.big)
--Search for FramesPerSecondLimit" (without quotes)
--value is 38 (patch 1.08 has 30 FPS value).
--Change that value to a lower number, even as low as 10 or lower.
--run the game and the figures will move much more slowly across the screen but give you much more time to plan strategy and play with special hero effects.
--Mouse scroll speed in game settings can be adjusted fo compensate.
--hex edit search for ScrollSpeedFactor and change values to larger numbers ie 1.0 to 2.0 etc (may take some experimentation).

This hex edit works also for BFME 2 and Witch King:
Location:
Battle for Middle-earth II patch 109
X:\my install directory\The Battle for Middle-earth (tm) II\
File: __BT2DC-v1.09w.ini

Patch switcher overwrites changes from the patch backup folder so for patch 100 and 106 change ALL ini.big files in both directorys ie main
X:\my install directory\The Battle for Middle-earth (tm) II\ini.big
and backup ie
X:\my install directory\The Battle for Middle-earth (tm) II\106\ini.big

Rise of the Witch-king (RotWK)
Location:
X:\my install directory\The Lord of the Rings, The Rise of the Witch-king\
File: ##############202_v8.4.0.big

In the hex editor text search the file for the one instance of 30 near FramesPerSecondLimit = 30
--Change that value (30) to some lower number, 20, 15, 10 etc.

--C&C Generals
Use set-up menu to adjust FPS from 30 to lower (15 lowest), otherwise:
Location:
X:\my install directory\Command and Conquer - Generals\
file: ini.big

--C&C Generals /Zero Hour
Command and Conquer Generals Zero Hour
X:\my install directory\Command and Conquer - Generals\Command and Conquer Generals Zero Hour\
file: INIZH.big

In the hex editor text search the file for the one instance of 30 near FramesPerSecondLimit = 30
--Change that value (30) to some lower number, 20, 15, 10 etc.
Use ingame menu to speed up mouse
else
hex hedit search "ScrollSpeedFactor" (no quotes), and increase number to higher value

[SteahmChip]

Age of Empires 3
While on the list for active pause, it needs a workaround to function properly:

In the "my documents" portion of the install
(C:\Users\Your name\Documents\My Games\Age of Empires 3\Startup),
-go into the Startup folder.
-make a file called user.cfg with your preferred text editor,
-open it then add this line:
-hidepopups
-save it.
FYI MODS may overwrite this file:
If the pause popup is obscuring your screen after a mod is installed
redo the user.cfg file .

AOEII DE Pause Discussion
https://steamcommunity.com/app/813780/discussions/0/1639802081897288044/

[SteahmChip]

Possible "speedhack" for Wargame: Red Dragon (remove spaces in https) h t t p s:/www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkiDAN8rv3E

Google, and download Cheat Engine 6.3
-Run Cheat Engine, then run Wargame.
-Select Cheat Engine program and choose Wargame (may see Wargame2.exe).
- Edit > Settings > Hottekeys > Speedhack.
-5 different speeds in 5 different hotkeys.
-0 speed (pause) does not work, set to 0.1 or even 0.01.
(One player described setting one button to give 0.01 speed,
and another to give 1.0 speed, no toggle)

[SteahmChip]

Company of Heroes
Pause key DOES work to stop the action and give orders, but if you want to slow down the speed to "fine tune the action..."

Sample keyboard Speed adjust for Company of Heroes

In Steam; Right click on Company of Heroes properties >Launch Options >(type in)-dev -nomovies

THIS was originally written for for DOW but seems to work in COH

Create a text file in the root of your \<Company of Heroes>\<Dark Crusade folder> or \<Soul Storm folder>
Name it:autoexec.lua
In this autoexec.lua put this into it and save it:

-----------------------------Begin cut below this line--------------------------------------

-- For DoW seems to work in COH (for more info see link below)
-- http://forums.revora.net/topic/42522-how-to-have-an-all-ai-battle-super-fast-game-speed-etc/
-- cheat mods may already have this function
-- change values below to what you want (default is 8 or 10 depending on source consulted)

bind("F1","setsimrate(1)")
bind("F2","setsimrate(2)")
bind("F3","setsimrate(3)")
bind("F4","setsimrate(5)")
bind("F5","setsimrate(8)")
bind("F6","setsimrate(12)")

--------------------end cut abov this line

press F1 through F6 keys to change speed

===========================================

Company of Heroes 2
For speed adjusts:
--may have to adjust RelicCOH2.ini files
--and insure console is enabled
--and learn their commands ie setsimrate(3)
(above command slows game down. Speed will stay that way until you change it or close out and relaunch the game)
--see game documentation for more about console
--some cheat command mods also let you bind setsimrate speeds to key commands so you do not have to type in the command in the console each time

RelicCOH2.ini is found:
X:\my install path\Steam\steamapps\common\Company of Heroes 2\RelicCOH2.ini

Edit with text editor

RelicCOH2.ini fix if console key does not work
; consoleKey = CONTROL+SHIFT+Grave (default line comment out (;) add the one below)
consoleKey = CONTROL+SHIFT+F1

[SteahmChip]

Note that the active Pause for DOW1 is limited, you can scroll the screen to see the map, can zoom in for some good screenshots and give orders, but you cannot see/ hear any cues/ indications those orders were given (ie no acknowledge sounds, no move arrows on the map or units showing in the build queue).
You must unpause then then visual indicators will appear and units will move in the direction you ordered.
Also if you select a builder, the submenus for the action to be taken is not accessible until unpaused.

In Dawn of War 1, (Game of the Year, Winder Assault, Crusade and Soulstorm) for speed adjustments that can be used from the keyboard, in short visit here for an autoexec.lua and follow instructions for use that can be added to these games:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2955144612

Place autoexec.lua in your main Dawn of War folder:

X:\my install path\Steam\steamapps\common\Dawn of War Gold
X:\my install path\Steam\SteamApps\common\Dawn of War Dark Crusade
X:\my install path\Steam\steamapps\common\Dawn of War Soulstorm

In game library, right click on your game > properties > Set Launch Options and type in
-dev
click ok
Run game
Do not run game in -dev mode for multiplayer else undesirable things could happen.

[kazerniel]

added Five Nations based on group page message (idk if in the right category)

[Sloul Des Tucs]

Added Iron Harvest

[Sloul Des Tucs]

Added Age of Darkness: Final Stand

[SteahmChip]

edit: the game is very much playable vanilla with the pause, here is a showcase
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFDe-7GP6xM

Cossacks 3
3 settings fast, medium, slow, pause. Plus + key speeds game up; Minus - key slows game down until pause mode.
Pause mode however darkens screen and displays a PAUSE box in the center, blocking full view.

You can still use pause mode as is to inspect the battlefield and give orders, however the pause box and darken screen feature can be REMOVED.

Go to
X:\MySteamGames_InstallDirectory\steamapps\common\
Cossacks3/data/gui/menu.inc/showpause.inc

Locate and backup file "showpause.inc"

Open "showpause.inc" with a text editor

locate below lines:

• = ; const cPadding = 16;
  
• = ; const cMinWidth = 145;
  
• = ; const cMinHeight = 68;
  
  change to
  
• = ; const cPadding = 1.6;
  
• = ; const cMinWidth = 14.5;
  
• = ; const cMinHeight = 6.8;
  
  save file and run game.
  
  NOW you can hit keyboard minus - and slow game to pause mode WITHOUT darkening the screen and WITHOUT seeing the PAUSE dialogue box blocking your view.
  To unpause and speed up again as usual use keyboard + key.
  
  There might be other ways to edit the file "showpause.inc" to get the same result, but this worked so I went with it.

[SteahmChip]

Iron Harvest while it has PAUSE, has no internal slowdown adjustments.
If you have Nvida Control Center, you can slow down FPS to 20 and the pace will be less frantic so you can anticipate a pause or make less use of it as you have more control of your units:
NVIDA Settings (lower right in hidden icons)>3d Settings>Manage 3d Settings>Program Settings (wait for it to load)>Select Iron Harvest (add it if not there)>max Frame Rate >On >and set the slider to 20fps.

In the game settings>Enable FPS Counter >Always
and the FPS counter will appear in the top right showing around 20-21 FPS

If you want to install FPS limiters, RivaTuner Statistics Server seems to work with Iron Harvest.
Install program>launch it>add IronHarvest.exe (X:\MyInstallPath\...\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\Iron Harvest\release\IronHarvest.exe)
>Custom Direct3D Support (switch to ON)>Set Framerate limit ie 15 is fine.

In the game settings>Enable FPS Counter >Always
and the FPS counter will appear in the top right showing around 15-16 FPS.

[tukkek]

Dune: Spice Wars is tagged as both RTS and real-time-with-pause on Steam. I haven't played it personally, though.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1605220/Dune_Spice_Wars/

[SteahmChip]

Dune: Spice Wars appears to have Active Pause in as confirmed in some discussions found there (unknown if it has speed control for Single Player):

[Q:]"Does this game have active/tactical pause?"
[A:]"Yes it does, you can press Space anytime to pause. "

And of course no multiplayer pause (which is fine):

"And you can't even properly control the larger groups as you can barely click on individual units. Fine in SP as you can just pause,..."

Dune: Spice Wars added to RTS using active pause (thanks tukkek)

[kazerniel]

Knights of Honor II: Sovereign apparently has tactical pause in both the overworld and battle game modes.

https://steamcommunity.com/app/736820/discussions/0/3728449612309757996/

store page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/736820/Knights_of_Honor_II_Sovereign/

[Sloul Des Tucs]

I'm unsure if it qualifies as a RTS per etiquette though.
Sounds more like a Grand Strategy / Gestion game.