Hi All...Ive been wondering, how well does gamestudio perform with RTS games? What I mean to say is essentially, if I make a strategy game using the A7 engine, can I expect it to function properly? Im trying to pick a medium for developing my dream game but...the engine IS the most important part. Bear in mind, Im capable of modifying or rewriting parts of the engine if need be...Thanks!

Even if you are capable, you cannot rewrite parts of the engine since you do not get the source code of it. You have to script your game in a scripting language. And you can check this scripting language out for free. There is a free version of Lite-C with model editor included.

A7 can be used for RTS games, currently the team i work for is creating a multiplayer rts/fps, and its working fairly well. If you have experience writing dll's that's even more power to you, and will probably even more likely make your experience using this engine as pleasurable as writing a game can be :P for example our game uses a custom networking dll since the a7 multiplayer is not quite adequate for a commercial rts game (in our opinion).

Well, Machinery-Frank, I have access to a gamestudio pro edition (legit, not warez) from a friend, so I could mess with the source that's included with it if I wished....but I just wanted to know of the engine was even going to be able to handle a huge RTS that may have on the order of 1000 or more units at one time...

There is not "source" for the engine itself. 3D GameStudio is not like Ogre or these other engines that give you the source code so that you can modify or extend the engine. You can, on the other hand, program DLLs to add some functionality or you can even replace the engine (but why buy it if you are going to replace it?).

maybe he's working with the templates and thinks they're the source of the engine .

No, no, I have not actually seen the source with my own eyes, I was just told (perhaps not accurately) that the engine's source is accessible...but that's beside the point. I can program DLLs, so I suppose that this engine is the one for me? Sorry if I seem to be acting a bit dense, Its actually just a INSANE amount of pickiness-this game which I have painstakingly drawn up, theorized, agonized, etc over is intended for the actual market, so the engine MUST be strong, or the whole thing will come tumbling down. Nobody wants to play a laggy or glitchy RTS.

RTS needs multiplayer today. 3dgs can do that but it's not that easy. There are several plugins you can use though.
On the other hand you can use a free engine (like Irrlicht, Ogre3D or Lightfeather)

As Machinery_Frank already stated, you can make tests with the free Lite-C to see whether it fits with your requirements, pushing F11 shows you a debug panel with the count of fps, tris, objects, functions running etc.
The engine of Lite-C and A7 is quite the same, Lite-C lacks only some additional features like shaders, decals, beams, file packer, automatic LOD, compiling to an exe.

and remember, you dont need to be able to have 1000 entities to simulate 1000 entities, and to make it appear to have 1000 entities. remember you can make one entity a out of a group. just figured i'd throw that out there although the engine could probably run 1000 entities.