Check out the fancy new trailer for Beyond All Reason a really great free and open source RTS

Nice trailer for a good game. I play this from time to time and it's highly recommended if you are into RTS.

Looks like Total Annihilation.

Gorgeous! I keep reminding the same every year: this game keeps getting improved, and so fast, in so many ways, meanwhile Supreme Commander development stopped a long time ago...

Does anyone know how this game compares to Zero-K? I spent a lot of time playing Zero-K last year and it become one of my favourite games. Special mention to the huge and diverse singleplayer campaign, which these kind of games usually lack. Kudos to the developers.

Quoting: MnolegDoes anyone know how this game compares to Zero-K? I spent a lot of time playing Zero-K last year and it become one of my favourite games. Special mention to the huge and diverse singleplayer campaign, which these kind of games usually lack. Kudos to the developers.

It's pretty similar to Zero-K but more polished. In terms of gameplay I would say the main difference is that BAR has the concept of generations, i.e. there are regular factories and advanced factories.

Quoting: MnolegDoes anyone know how this game compares to Zero-K? I spent a lot of time playing Zero-K last year and it become one of my favourite games. Special mention to the huge and diverse singleplayer campaign, which these kind of games usually lack. Kudos to the developers.

BAR is Zero-K with the following pros and cons (for me anyways):

Pros:
Smoother animations of units
Better animations
More units to make

Cons:
Shields do not 'link' to share power, so overlapping only helps if you actually have two shields getting hit at the same time
Terraforming does not exist
Some unit avatars in the build menu only show part of the unit so you may not be able to tell by the picture what the unit is until you get used to it.

Observations:
In BAR, to access more powerful units, level 1's must build level 2's, which then can build level 3's and the real heavy units. If you prefer an upgrade path then this might be just your thing.
In Zero-K, the only limit to what you can build is getting your economy roaring along, making territory that much more important to conquer and hold for the resources it gives you.
In BAR, you can generate a lot of energy, then use converters to convert excess energy into metal. You would not even need metal extractors at that point so holding territory is less of a resource grab than just keeping the enemy from surrounding you.

I like BAR alot but in Zero-K I enjoy terraforming walls and ditches to funnel the enemy into my defensive towers and deny them the opportunity to just run into my base.

All of this seems rather.... unreasonable.

Quoting: TherinS

Quoting: MnolegDoes anyone know how this game compares to Zero-K? I spent a lot of time playing Zero-K last year and it become one of my favourite games. Special mention to the huge and diverse singleplayer campaign, which these kind of games usually lack. Kudos to the developers.

BAR is Zero-K with the following pros and cons (for me anyways):

Pros:
Smoother animations of units
Better animations
More units to make

Cons:
Shields do not 'link' to share power, so overlapping only helps if you actually have two shields getting hit at the same time
Terraforming does not exist
Some unit avatars in the build menu only show part of the unit so you may not be able to tell by the picture what the unit is until you get used to it.

Observations:
In BAR, to access more powerful units, level 1's must build level 2's, which then can build level 3's and the real heavy units. If you prefer an upgrade path then this might be just your thing.
In Zero-K, the only limit to what you can build is getting your economy roaring along, making territory that much more important to conquer and hold for the resources it gives you.
In BAR, you can generate a lot of energy, then use converters to convert excess energy into metal. You would not even need metal extractors at that point so holding territory is less of a resource grab than just keeping the enemy from surrounding you.

I like BAR alot but in Zero-K I enjoy terraforming walls and ditches to funnel the enemy into my defensive towers and deny them the opportunity to just run into my base.

How does the AI handle terraforming? Can't image it doing any sort of sensible building. Does it derp out a lot when the path finding gets all mucked up? :)

This and all the SpringRTS games look very interesting. I haven't looked at Total Annihilation in over 20 years. Its "descendents" look amazing! That being said, I've always leaned more to the style of Warcraft I/II and the Age of ... games myself. Might have to take a peak at these games and see what they're like.


Last edited by Caldathras on 20 August 2024 at 6:09 pm UTC

Quoting: BrokattHow does the AI handle terraforming? Can't image it doing any sort of sensible building. Does it derp out a lot when the path finding gets all mucked up? :)

The AI does not terraform that I've seen, nor does it restore terrain once it has been terraformed or damaged due to powerful explosions. Yes, it is possible to box in the AI completely, though I've never been able to do so because it spreads out so quick. Then again, there are spider units, flying units, jumping units, and artillery units/towers, so building walls do not keep you completely safe. Artillery units that shoot fire missles are double dangerous because they can shoot over your walls and fire ignores shields, so the AoE from fire will still damage you.