---
key: mechanic/strategy-planning--t067
type: mechanic
id: strategy-planning--t067
lang: en
title: Real-time strategy
summary: >-
  Commands execute continuously while attention is divided between economic
  growth, scouting and army control.
updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
status: active
url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/strategy-planning--t067/'
jsonUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/strategy-planning--t067.json
markdownUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/strategy-planning--t067.md
aliases: []
tags:
  - Strategy games
  - Mechanics and variants
sourceIds:
  - source-32d0598945d8807a
  - source-d151685557d93da9
sources:
  - id: source-32d0598945d8807a
    title: OpenRA
    url: 'https://www.openra.net/'
    verifiedAt: null
  - id: source-d151685557d93da9
    title: 'Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition'
    url: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/1466860/'
    verifiedAt: null
relations: []
placements:
  - catalogId: strategy-planning
    id: t067
    title: Strategy games
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/strategy-planning/#t067'
    categoryIds:
      - mechanics
supersededBy: []
attributes:
  preview:
    updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
    title: Real-time strategy
    description: >-
      Commands execute continuously while attention is divided between economic
      growth, scouting and army control.
    image:
      src: images/mechanics/strategy-age-empires4-01.webp
      width: 1440
      height: 810
      game: 'Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition'
      sourceUrl: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/1466860/'
      originalUrl: >-
        https://shared.akamai.steamstatic.com/store_item_assets/steam/apps/1466860/ss_5384805fa5d365b069f197498269fabd7143cb4c.1920x1080.jpg?t=1780854334
      credit: >-
        World's Edge / Relic Entertainment / Forgotten Empires / Climax Studios
        / Xbox Game Studios
      rights: >-
        © World's Edge / Relic Entertainment / Forgotten Empires / Climax
        Studios / Xbox Game Studios. All rights reserved.
      caption: A settlement economy develops in real time
      alt: A settlement economy develops in real time
      markers:
        - x: 70
          'y': 73
          label: Villagers harvest the fields
        - x: 30
          'y': 24
          label: A mill beside the food source
    tips:
      - Expose idle workers and threats so the player can divide attention.
    examples:
      - title: 'Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition'
        url: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/1466860/'
endsAt: null
provenance: >-
  Original bilingual editorial overviews authored for gamemechanics.pro on
  2026-10-20 and reviewed on 2026-10-21. Scenarios are hypothetical design
  examples; prototype checks describe work to perform, not completed playtests.
  Primary sources support the stated techniques and implementation context, not
  every proposed variant.
license: CC-BY-4.0
codeLicense: MIT
attribution: gamemechanics.pro contributors
catalogKey: catalog/strategy-planning
---
# Real-time strategy

id: strategy-planning--t067
type: mechanic
key: mechanic/strategy-planning--t067
lang: en
status: active
url: https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/strategy-planning--t067/

Commands execute continuously while attention is divided between economic growth, scouting and army control.

## At a glance

![A settlement economy develops in real time](https://gamemechanics.pro/images/mechanics/strategy-age-empires4-01.webp)

[Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1466860/) · © World's Edge / Relic Entertainment / Forgotten Empires / Climax Studios / Xbox Game Studios. All rights reserved.

1. Villagers harvest the fields
2. A mill beside the food source

- Expose idle workers and threats so the player can divide attention.

- [Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1466860/)

## How it works

Commands execute continuously while attention is divided between economic growth, scouting and army control.

## Variants

### Mechanic variants

<a id="t067-variants"></a>

- Production queues commit resources over time. <a id="t067-v1"></a>
- Control groups command several units together. <a id="t067-v2"></a>
- Raids interrupt uninterrupted economic growth. <a id="t067-v3"></a>
- Expansion raises income and defensive frontage. <a id="t067-v4"></a>

## Design example

A second mine accelerates unit production but requires defending two distant approaches.

Prototype check: Test whether useful orders remain available at a low input rate without compulsory repeated clicking.

## Context and limits

Strategy connects production, territory, information and long-term commitments against an uncertain opponent. Each overview separates player actions, state changes and alternative rules. Examples are hypothetical design scenarios, not claims about a named game. A prototype check states an observable question for the next iteration. Existing detailed references remain separately linked from the direction map.

## Connected materials


## Sources and provenance

Original bilingual editorial overviews authored for gamemechanics.pro on 2026-10-20 and reviewed on 2026-10-21. Scenarios are hypothetical design examples; prototype checks describe work to perform, not completed playtests. Primary sources support the stated techniques and implementation context, not every proposed variant.

- [OpenRA](https://www.openra.net/) (id: source-32d0598945d8807a)
- [Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1466860/) (id: source-d151685557d93da9)

CC-BY-4.0 · gamemechanics.pro contributors