Hi AloC83,
Yes, RTSs are tons of work to write. There's animations, unit state behavior, usually a complex GUI, pathfinding, and networking to name a few. Pathfinding is more complex than some other genres because you usually need point-to-rectangle pathing, rather than just point-to-point pathing, for example when a unit goes to attack a building (a rectangle).
I originally thought I could write Orcs vs. Martians in under a year, by keeping the gameplay simple. I was definitely wrong. There's just so much infrastructure to write. Not to mention time spent learning the tools, libraries, and engines used. IMO Damocles' numbers sound pretty reasonable.
It is a fun genre to work in though. Good luck!
