i still think that the C&C series is probley one of the better RTS's there are but than im a space head hence why im stuck to SOASE untill a new space RPG/RTS comes out thats better mmorpg space's are out of the question

to me this is an action/rpg game, not an rts, at least not the type im looking for

Definitely the C&C series. You also might want to consider World in Conflict, it's more of a tactical focus but it's still amazing.

I heartly recommend Dawn of War with all the expansions. I know a lot of people didn't like Soulstorm, but I'm a fan. Dark Eldar are by far my favourite race. Dais of Destruction for the win.

Warhammer(s)... but, if you're in for some nostalgia and a precursor of all RTS games that soon or ever followed; Total Annihilation. See you in six months, though.

Im going to have to repeat what was said before, with DoW1, and World in Conflict being good choices to get ahold of a great game. 

DoW1 was a real RTS, multiple buildings, tons of units out at once, no crazy hero crap, and if you get gold+Dark Crusade you have 7 races to choose from in a great game, add soulstorm and you have 9 races to chose from in an ok game.

World in Conflict is an rts, thats both well made, and that a campaign thats written and acted in better than a few movies that came out recently.

Now to add something new, Rise of Nations+Thrones and Patriots, great RTS and very fun to play, has tons of civilizations to choose from as you lead them from the stone age to the future.

and now I think im going to list all recomendable RTS i know of

Rise of Legends - Fantasy version of Rise of Nations, but slightly more restrictive in where you can build capitals to force confict. Great game with three distinct factions, and steampunk mech's for the humans.

Black and White 2- lacks multiplayer is the only thing I can say against Lionhead's game. The creature system is fun to teach and train, and the citizens are decently capable of handling their own economy. It also gives options other than war, such as impressing others into joining you. The god powers are also alot of fun, nothings more hysterical than lobbing a fireball at an attacking force.

Homeworld 2 - Ive never played Homeworld 1, but Homeworld 2 is a fun game with the same unique system as last game. And with its diverse ammount of units and counter units is fun to play.

Star Wars Empire at War - if you like RTS, and you like SW, then this game should belong yo you. It has all the great units from the movie, plus some from the expanded universe. you fight the battles on both land and space, and should you go imperial have the option to devistate planets with a Death Star.

Total War Series - TBS'ish overworld map + realtime battles makes this series exelent, and with a diverse ammount of games to chose from there should be a setting for everyone. (i dont recomend Empire, its a bit odd, though my opinion may change eventually)

Star Trek Armada - Great game, impossible to get ahold of but still needs fo be mentioned. has 4 races from Star Trek battling it out. those races are the Federation, Klingons, Romulans and the Borg. All of their iconic ships from the Next Generations Era are available.

looking at men of war it seems to be a bit too tactical for some, maybe ill try it

god there are so many choices ha

i have soulstorm, i always wanted to get star wars and rise of nations/legends

i tried black and white 2 and was interested

i guess the real problem is picking one

awesome, men of war has a demo on steam and it's only $30 for whole thing, ill grab world in conflict demo also

i just tried men of war, ill have to get back to it again, there was a shit ton too do, it talked about reloading manually. sounds cool but i just need to try again(there was no formal tutorial which is fine). i think ill try again in a bit

Two games that haven't been mentioned yet. First is Pax Imperia: Eminent Domain. It's a LOT like sins really, being a 4xRTS. It has it's flaws, but it's still pretty good (It's old too, going on 10 years).

The other series I *HIGHLY* recomend is the Kohan games, both the first and 2nd one. It's also sort of a 4xRTS, but it's a fantasy setting rather than scifi.

Unfortunately the multiplayer on both of these is pretty much dead AFAIK, but they're still great games!

I loved company of heroes, don't know how active the community is though.  One of the best rts games I have ever played (I've only played the base game).

It is not for you if you like to turtle, it is purely offensive.

I have no idea why you guys like C&C so much.  I find them so lacking for some reason.

Judging by the list, your preference is somewhere inbetween braindead and less traditional RTS games.  DoW is probably the best choice.  It's one of the better recent additions.

If SC and WC weren't on that list, I'd recommend Kohan, but it may be a little slow for your preferences.  It requires far more thinking and little to no reflexes.  If it didn't bore you, it would be a big hit.  It's almost as slow as Black and White 2, but without the playing god aspect that takes up so much time.

The Rise of X series is also very good, very similar to Age of Empires in mechanics.

thankyou for your worthless incorrect comment. if supreme commander isnt a typical rts, the follow up to TA which is in many cases argued to be the best rts right up there with starcraft, then idk what is

i would not consider supreme commander braindead. i would actually consider it the opposite of braid dead, it's very micro heavy and takes a lot

starcraft speaks for itself, and now adays the traditional rts could be seen as company of heroes, where capturing points is key (dow 2 uses this in mp and world in conflict does as well)

so essentially, i think my list has no games which could be described as braindead, and i also think my list has a lot of traditional games, old and new