Yeah that one. Games such as these are a challenge and I do not have a great deal of experience in game programming although I do know a lot of the theory. The concept of these games when broken down to the simplest form isn't that complicated, it is, in its simplest form a grid where you can place buildings and each building changes a number which is stored globally and then used in the update loop to affect the game. Like I said that is a very simplified and possibly somewhat tunnel vision version but it can be made as complicated as desired.
I would like to use the above as a starting point to create a very simple basis of a game, and then, as experience builds, improve upon it and add bits, making it more advanced and complicated as I go. I do not intend to jump straight in and go for a full fledged RTS straight from the start.
Hope that makes sense.
Rob