Eldritch Warlord said:
Holding X creates a waypoint (though issuing a move order that isn't a waypoint will override any assigned waypoints)
no, but you can quickly cycle through bases, armies, points of immediate interest, and your leader (if you have a leader)
no, but I believe the All Units and Local Units combined with subselecting with the right trigger make up for this.
no, I'm sure most people wouldn't miss stances though, they aren't all that useful
no, not much more useful than stances though, and units hold manually assigned formations fairly well
no, but you can hold left trigger to quadruple your scrolling speed
units automatically attack enemies within range, they won't stop but you'll get the "enemy engagement" warning and right on the d-pad will bring you there to stop them yourself.
armies are created automatically (for cycling through with down on the d-pad) and you can choose among types of selected units with the right trigger
Some of those are opinionated but just because it doesn't function exactly like it does on a PC doesn't mean it can't be done.
I'm not comparing it to the PC, I'm comparing it to other console RTSs, all of which have far, far more functional controls. You're right that there is still a lot you can do, but one might say the same if limited to one button and a joystick. What it comes down to is, I have far fewer options and control functions. There's no getting around that point, and I don't like it. Other RTSs would be unplayable with these controls, and I guess I prefer them.
I did not know about holding X- I'll look into that later, I don't have access to the demo atm.
Still not a bookmark!
I don't think they make up for it. In other games, I need to select the units I want quick. To me, a good traditional RTS (and Halo Wars is exactly that, although lacking features) should demand it.
Stances- depends what game you are playing. In some games they are very important. I miss them, and this is nothing but a list of my complaints, after all.
Formations- not essential to every game, but unlike stances, everybody likes them, and at this point I'm waiting for Halo Wars to give me
something.
Expand minimap- Again, yes, I have options, but far fewer than in other games.
Again, fewer options. What if I want to use units of the same type to kite an enemy, or use their specials efficiently against multiple enemies? It's virtually impossible, or at least excruciatingly inefficient.
We just have a difference of opinion here. I just like the controls of other RTS games that give me far more efficiency. Tasks that would be simple in other games are like pulling teeth to me in Halo Wars. I thought Halo Wars would provide a new and different console RTS experience, but it's just the old stuff with features hacked out. It will appeal to a lot of people, and I certainly have no problem with that, but I think I have very reasonable points for why I just can't like it.
Big Halo:CE fan btw. I even liked 2 and 3.
EDIT: I don't mean to sound condescending, but those for whom Halo Wars is their first RTS can't imagine the complexity of games like Age of Empires III, or even BFMEII on the Xbox 360. And they might not like it if they did, but I certainly do.