Was thinking of a nice simple RTS combat game and I remembered this game 
Very simple combat and really fun at the same time. I think some of this style of control for combat might fit well with Stonehearth. Not over the top Micro and very simple to understand and use. Sometimes you don’t need to rediscover the wheel just make it more flashy
At the very least it’s a free game and fun to play.
yeah, I played it when it came out, and later again when it became free.
Very fun game and interesting break from the usual RTS, which is amazing at the time it came out (and still damn amazing nowadays, which shows how “original” RTSes are). And still very worth playing… (just talking about it makes me want to play it again)
Some “revolutionary” features (of that time):
persistent bases!!! (well at least for each of the 3 main chapters of main story). You build a base in a fixed area that is persistent in between missions (which takes place on separate maps, linked by your airships).
modular unit design !!! use weapon, body, and propulsion. research new parts in each domain and mix and match to your heart’s content, from ground to water to air units!.
real squad !!! linking units together make them function together (in a simple way). The most common is a leader unit which linked units under it together. Others will be artillery linked to a spotter unit, or linked to a squad leader for support fire. Link air units to a sensor tower or counter battery sensor and they will be ordered to attack any threat the tower/sensor detects.
“smart” units !!! units will autoretreat to designated safezones/repair points if taking damage beyond a user-set threshold. After repairing, they will auto join their squad leader if they are in a squad.
“real” artillery. Not the cheapo arty units you see in other RTS that barely shoots across the length of your screen. These artillery units/installations shoots across the WHOLE DAMN MAP! Just watching and listening them in action alone is enjoyable to me. Which also brings out the importance of “spotters”: arty units can shoot that far, but they can’t see that far. Also, enter counter-battery sensors, which detects incoming artillery fire and “computes” the possible source of that fire (which can be beyond usual sensor range). Link your own artillery to these sensors and they will auto-retaliate to those computed spots (which also emphasize why mobile artillery units should fire a barrage, then quickly change location to avoid retaliation fire )
fun air units, that makes “bombing runs”. Air threats and anti-air threats also forms a major part of the gameplay. Air-superiority units can also be linked to air sensor to auto-intercept incoming bombers.
interesting campaign (overall). no spoilers here.
And old game, in many ways, still unsurpassed in originality and fun.