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C&C has really dated controls today, too. The C&C remaster added a lot of modern QoL improvements.

Try Populus again.

Or not... I had such good memories of it, but then tried it again a few years ago and, uh, it's just terrible. The concept is still cool, but it's just pain to play. The memories were way better.

Yeah... the whole "put esoteric graphical buttons required for frequent and repetitive game actions on a static background around the viewport" is thankfully consigned to the dustbin of history.

I realize why it was done: maximizing interactive graphics on the limited hardware of the day by shrinking the rendering region.

But good god, making core user interface elements that unusable is a fever dream only someone completely unfamiliar with time-motion studies or prior mainframe keyboard art could dream up.

They could have at least made it hands-on-keyboard and had a shrunken viewport.

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