Getting straight to it - how do you combine two hugely different styles.

First up Definitions: 

- A visual novel is a genre of game that combines narrative storytelling with static graphics, often featuring player choices that influence the story's outcome. 

- Real-time strategy (RTS) is a genre of video game where players control units and structures to secure areas of a map and/or destroy their opponents' assets, all in real-time.

Background

If you think about it, many RTSs like Command and Conquer, Starcraft etc have huge transition cut scenes: where you are briefed etc. So my thinking was to extend this into a game of in itself. 

The game Drone Commander i'm working on tells a story of your abduction by humanoid aliens, on their way to battle the drone fleet. Things get complicated fast, and you have to think on your feet as the drone fleet have tracked them back to Earth. 

Because you need to convince people, the decision you make will impact your growth and success....so 

Mechanism:

1. Talk to people, earn their respect. You can gain things like RP, XP, SP, CPU time and other buffs.
2. Apply these buffs in the 'management mode', where you can research new drones, unlock abilities for them. Set your attack formations, weapons load outs, cyber attack surfaces etc.
3. These buffs then feed directly into the RTS part of the game, your starting forces, how much advantage you have and so on.

The loop feeds back in on itself, as each solar system you visit, there are multiple optional and mandatory campaigns (skirmishes), the more you invest the more you get. Doing optional skirmishes unlocks more Visual novel dialogue and the same is true the other way round.