History Main / CommandAndConquerEconomy

* Once purchased, the unit usually does not require supplies/ammo to be delivered to frontlines, so it's a one-time payment. Even if there is an exception, it's just that: an exception to underline that these particular bombs (or whatnot) are worth purchasing them for resources every time.

* ''VideoGame/{{Banished}}'' - Your citizens won't build ''anything'' without an order.

* Most games in the ''VideoGame/HarvestMoon'' series follow an AnEconomyIsYou model: the success of your farm spurs on the growth and success of your village. Then there's ''[[VideoGame/HarvestMoonIslandOfHappiness Island of Happiness]]'', where the island's re-development doesn't happen if you don't explicitly order and pay for it. [[note]]most of the infrastructure destroyed and population chased off by storms[[/note]] New roads, bridges, expansion of the local hotel - if you don't pay for it, it doesn't happen.

* The Koei line of ''VideoGame/RomanceOfTheThreeKingdoms'' video games (as in, the ones named for the series, not VideoGame/DynastyWarriors), you are a warlord that has to manage an ever-growing series of cities; fortunately, you can create districts and delegate your officers to do most of the micro-managing.

* The maximum size of your army and/or base is only limited by some ArbitraryHeadcountLimit like food or energy, which is not actually produced/accumulated but maintained: you either have enough to build another unit/tower, or you don't.

This is why YouRequireMoreVespeneGas. Compare EasyCommunication, where it's your units who require an unrealistic amount of instruction from the player. Contrast AIGeneratedEconomy where the game handles the economy.

* All of the buildings are built rather quickly (1-2 minutes tops) once you pay for them, order their construction and specify the location (plus get your builder units there, if any). Similarly, your units are "trained" at their respective building for a short time, then are ready for action, popping out of said building instead of traveling from outside the map to you. Some games HandWaive this by saying that those troops were actually pre-trained or pre-manufactured elsewhere and are only delivered to you on call.

Of course, this grossly unrealistic Command Economy mechanism in games like ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquer'' is often one of the AcceptableBreaksFromReality; many players would find it less fun to put down some infrastructure, set certain policies and watch the results rather than tinkering with everything themselves. Also, it is obviously more difficult to create an AI that could simulate the dynamics of city or civilization development in a reasonable manner. Some games, like the later ''Total War'' and ''Civilization'' games, avert this by allowing you to let the AI manage cities autonomously. Even then, experienced players rarely use that feature when it's available, because they don't trust the AI to make smarter decisions than a human.

* In ''VideoGame/AgeOfEmpiresII: the Conquerors'' construction and research has to be ordered , however villagers will automatically gather nearby resources if they have constructed a drop off point that corresponds to it, and military units will automatically attack nearby enemies ([[ArtificialStupidity often getting themselves killed in the process]]).

** ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedII'' starts us off by having the player able to repair and build houses in Monteriggioni. Having the player pay to build shops, Churches, pay for barracks, mining and even a brothel. Partly subverted as as you build your own mansion will improve in appearance as you sister will have more money to refurbish the house.

* The settlers of ''VideoGame/Fallout4'' won't bother to build or do ''anything''. If you manage to recruit a full settlement of 20 settlers, they'll all wander around complaining there's no food, no water, no beds. You the player have to plant every last crop, build every last house, every settlement defense, down to the individual beds and chairs. If there are no critical food/water shortages, they'll even refuse to take jobs until you assign them. There's a mod that changes this, such that you simply designate zones for certain types of buildings and resources, and the settlers build them when you're not looking (meaning they simply appear with suspension of disbelief assigning credit to the settlers)

* ''VideoGame/DwarfFortress'' might meticulously model every detail of the dwarves' mental lives, but they still won't build or dig anything without orders from the invisible omnipresent player. Highlighted by [[http://www.threepanelsoul.com/comic/on-mixed-economies this]] ''Webcomic/ThreePanelSoul''. The third-party utility Dwarf Foreman was created to automate manufacturing, automatically dispatching work orders to create more of an item should your stocks fall below a certain amount. There was an attempt at an AIGeneratedEconomy that activates at a certain point, but it was DummiedOut for being highly dysfunctional.

* ''{{VideoGame/Majesty}}'' averts this trope - no heroes get hired or guilds/guardhouses/marketplaces built without your royal order, but most of the infrastructure of your city - houses, sewers, graveyards, and places of ill repute - is outside your control, and can interfere with your municipal/strategic planning (not to mention spawning sewer rats and undead). So is the control of the heroes themselves, who must be incentivised with bounties if there's any particular place or monster you want them to discover or slay.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Outpost 2}}'', you get to build structures and vehicles, something the citizens of the base will not do on their own. You also get to build structure kits, satellites, launch vehicles, and interstellar starship parts, all of which have to do with the story.

* The settlers of ''VideoGame/{{Fallout4}}'' won't bother to build or do ''anything''. If you manage to recruit a full settlement of 20 settlers, they'll all wander around complaining there's no food, no water, no beds. You the player have to plant every last crop, build every last house, every settlement defense, down to the individual beds and chairs. If there are no critical food/water shortages, they'll even refuse to take jobs until you assign them. There's a mod that changes this, such that you simply designate zones for certain types of buildings and resources, and the settlers build them when you're not looking (meaning they simply appear with suspension of disbelief assigning credit to the settlers)

* The ''{{Cultures}}'' series takes this to absurd lengths. Your citizens will not build anything, begin gathering materials, get a place to live, get a job, bring resources to and from stockpiles, buy anything, marry, or even have children without you telling them what to do. You can even order them to eat and sleep (admittedly realistic for troops, but?).