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Zero-k: A libre sci-fi RTS game, with an economy based on metal and energy

zero-k.info

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Re: Zero-k: A libre sci-fi RTS game, with an economy based on metal and energy

#11

Post by BlueTemplar »

liotier wrote: post #7

Is Zero-k still popular now that its cousin https://www.beyondallreason.info has matured ?

Popularity has been waning naturally, just like the popularity of Spring lobbies before it, with respective peaks around 2017 and 2010, but AFAIK the newfound popularity of BAR has been also bringing significant new blood to these other Spring/Recoil games.

(Without commercial levels of advertising, a lot of Total Annihilation / Supreme Commander / RTS fans had never heard of them, word of mouth can only go so far... at least until Twitch streamers became super-popular ?)

Re: Zero-k: A libre sci-fi RTS game, with an economy based on metal and energy

#12

Post by Tuna-Fish »

dmos62 wrote: post #8
liotier wrote: post #7

Is Zero-k still popular now that its cousin https://www.beyondallreason.info has matured ?

Wasn't aware there's a successor. Screenshots make it seem very similar. Anyone played it?

Not really a successor, but as the poster above said, a cousin.

This lineage of open-source games started from Total Annihilation, which had a lot of mods that ran into engine limitations. This resulted in a bunch of enterprising open-sourced devs to develop a compatible engine, without those limitations. This engine (Spring Engine) has then evolved into something much more impressive and capable. Zero-K was implemented on this engine. Beyond All Reason uses the Recoil engine, which is a fairly recent for of Spring.

Re: Zero-k: A libre sci-fi RTS game, with an economy based on metal and energy

#13

Post by ewy1 »

So happy to see this here! I used to play this a lot with my boyfriend - we were pretty evenly matched, and the game allowed for so much freedom which made every game wild. The most impressive feature is - in my opinion - the wide variety of commands you can provide to your units and how their AI interacts with them. For example, if you build a crowd of fast and agile grunts and make them match speed with a slower tank, they will still avoid enemy projectiles with their superior speed.

Re: Zero-k: A libre sci-fi RTS game, with an economy based on metal and energy

#14

Post by killerstorm »

jadbox wrote: post #9
dmos62 wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wasn't aware there's a successor. Screenshots make it seem very similar. Anyone played it?

They are similar but different. BAR is more of a unique game (for better or worse), while ZeroK is much closer to an HD remake of Total Annihilation.

Are you sure?

BAR units are generally similar to TA units. It captures the feel of "what TA would be if it was full 3D and high resolution". Of course, balance is different, but TA balance was very odd.

ZeroK seems to have terrain modification mechanics which is not present in TA.

In BAR terrain can be damaged by big explosions, but it's very limited.

FWIW I never played ZeroK but based on their intro video BAR seems to be closer to TA visually.

Re: Zero-k: A libre sci-fi RTS game, with an economy based on metal and energy

#15

Post by BlueTemplar »

jadbox wrote: post #9
dmos62 wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wasn't aware there's a successor. Screenshots make it seem very similar. Anyone played it?

They are similar but different. BAR is more of a unique game (for better or worse), while ZeroK is much closer to an HD remake of Total Annihilation.

It's pretty much the inverse : http://zero-k.info/Forum/Thread/29067

BAR used to stand for "Balanced Annihilation Reloaded" - so it's sticking very close to TA, while Zero-K has been experimenting much more freely with what is possible in the Spring/Recoil engine.

It's also probably a factor that BAR has spent a decade in development hell (under a different team than now ?), so it just didn't have the velocity to fork away sufficiently, even if it wanted to.

Re: Zero-k: A libre sci-fi RTS game, with an economy based on metal and energy

#16

Post by BlueTemplar »

ewy1 wrote: post #13

So happy to see this here! I used to play this a lot with my boyfriend - we were pretty evenly matched, and the game allowed for so much freedom which made every game wild. The most impressive feature is - in my opinion - the wide variety of commands you can provide to your units and how their AI interacts with them. For example, if you build a crowd of fast and agile grunts and make them match speed with a slower ta…

Indeed !

https://youtu.be/7qEGJlBLJSg

(Most, but not all of these are shared with other Spring-Recoil games.)

Re: Zero-k: A libre sci-fi RTS game, with an economy based on metal and energy

#20

Post by DayDollar »

Tuna-Fish wrote: post #12
dmos62 wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wasn't aware there's a successor. Screenshots make it seem very similar. Anyone played it?

Not really a successor, but as the poster above said, a cousin. This lineage of open-source games started from Total Annihilation, which had a lot of mods that ran into engine limitations. This resulted in a bunch of enterprising open-sourced devs to develop a compatible engine, without those limitations. This engine (Spring Engine) has then evolved into something much more impressive and capable. Zero-K was implemen…

Eh, the engine was a accident. It started out as a 3d-viewer, capable of replaying ta games by the svedish yankspankers (clan sy).

What started out as a viewer, escalated into a 106.0 version long engine, providing a war that consumes planets, each side with only one final wish - Total Annhilation at Zero-k, beyond all reason.

Naw, the community comes and goes ebbs and flows. Its mostly on recoil discord, some are still on the irc server, the rest is on the BAR discord.

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