In the days of Command & Conquer, Warcraft (without the World of) and the Korean phenomenon Starcraft, Real-Time-Strategy was king.

Now, MOBAs have taken that spot in the competitive gaming scene, leaving RTS fans forgotten, cold, and alone.

If you’re one of the cold and lonely RTS fans hungering for a modern revival of the genre, the makers of upcoming ‘diesel-punk’ RTS Iron Harvest want your input. KING Art launched their survey today, ending May 14th.

“Dawn of War 3 isn’t what you’ve hoped for? Halo Wars got it all wrong? KING Art, developer of upcoming diesel-punk RTS game “Iron Harvest”, wants to know what you are looking for in a modern RTS for PC and consoles.”

Sure, this could be construed as volunteering for marketing research, but I’m of the age that adored RTS and thought MOBAs would be a fad. I was incredibly wrong there but would still enjoy a new take on the genre.

Answer questions like: How long should matches last, which feature would you like brought back, and even suggestions of RTS games/series the dev team should check out.

Personally, I like a focus on streamlined usability, which sounds like a disgusting marketing term. To put it simply, I want it to be intuitive and simple to control a wide variety of units. That could mean intelligent unit A.I. and behavior selections, or simpler rock/paper/scissors dynamics that take the micro-management out.

I’d also like to see optional modes that start players with the same amount and type of units. This would remove the base-building meta-game for those who want a simpler battle on even footing.

If you’re looking for a simpler RTS throwback, Petroglyph’s 8-Bit Armies/Hordes/Invaders is worth checking out. I can also highly recommend Homeword: Deserts of Kharak.

Do you think the RTS genre could come back? How would you improve it?