Free strategy & tactical games

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

thesheeep here's one that might be fitting for this thread.

https://www.lifewire.com/rise-fall-civilizations-at-war-812408

About Rise & Fall Civilizations At War
Rise & Fall Civilizations At War is a real time strategy game originally released in 2006. The game is set during the first millennium BC and and contains a mix of traditional real time strategy game play as well as first and third person shooter game play. The game received mostly positive reviews and after 2 years it was released by Midway Games as ad supported freeware sponsored by the U.S. Air Force.

I haven't played the game or tried any of those download links.

 

[thesheeep]

Yeah, definitely fits, weird as it may be with that ad & Air Force stuff .
I'll add it, thanks.

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

bump.

 

[Beowulf]

Finally.

 

[index.php]

Star Ruler 2

Spoiler

"Star Ruler 2 is a massive scale 4X/RTS set in space. Explore dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of systems in a galaxy of your choosing, expand across its planets, exploit the resources you find, and ultimately exterminate any who stand in your way. The fate of your empire depends on your ability to master the economy, field a military, influence galactic politics, and learn what you can about the universe."

Ready to play version (compiled+music): https://github.com/Megalex42/StarRuler2-Source/releases

Zero-K

Spoiler

Open source RTS game similar to Total Annihilation and Supreme Commander. It's also available on Steam.

Aurora 4X

Spoiler

"The Dwarf Fortress of 4X space games"

Netstorm
Link is dead, new location: http://www.netstormhq.net/

1848
Link is dead, new location: https://archive.org/details/1848_game

S.W.I.N.E.
Link is dead, new location: https://www.moddb.com/games/swn/downloads/s-w-i-n-e-full-game
HD patch: http://digi.atw.hu/2.3.php?lang=en

 

[hoothoot]

nice thread

 

[hoothoot]

might be keen to mp some of these if anyone else is. Netstorm looks like could be good fun.

also this just got proposed https://rpgcodex.net/forums/index.p...r-tournament-pester-the-pole-for-info.127400/ [OPENRA tournament] if anyones keen

 

[thesheeep]

Added new stuff and updated links, thanks index.php .

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

War Wind went free on GOG some time ago.
https://af.gog.com/game/war_wind?as=1649904300

On the other hand Armored Brigade and Armoured Commander 2 which were mentioned in this thread have gone commercial.

 

[thesheeep]

War Wind went free on GOG some time ago.
https://af.gog.com/game/war_wind?as=1649904300

On the other hand Armored Brigade and Armoured Commander 2 which were mentioned in this thread have gone commercial.

Funny how nowadays older games just seem to shift around from free to commercial and the other way around...

 

[visions]

Age of Fear: The Free World: https://store.steampowered.com/app/882410/Age_of_Fear_The_Free_World/

Fantasy tactical combat game. Other entries in the series aren't free but The Free World is a free introduction to the series.

 

[JarlFrank]

Age of Fear: The Free World: https://store.steampowered.com/app/882410/Age_of_Fear_The_Free_World/

Fantasy tactical combat game. Other entries in the series aren't free but The Free World is a free introduction to the series.

Age of Fear is an underrated series.

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

https://www.soil-rts.com/
https://www.indiedb.com/games/soil

Soil is a space real time strategy game inspired by Homeworld and others. You have base, you mine asteroids, build ships and send them to their deaths. Ships are made of subsystems and hardpoints, destroying them removes functions of those subsystems and removes turrets. Debris from damaged or destroyed ships can be mined for more resources. Game features unfinished campaign and somewhat working multiplayer (there may be some desyncs, but if it doesn't happen too often games resyncs automatically) Game is primarily made for windows, but most likely runs on linux with WINE (at least it does on Ubuntu)

 

[octavius]

Don't know if it has been mentioned, but the old classic Lords of Midnight is now free on GOG.

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

Widelands.

 

[Wyatt_Derp]

Frank Hunter's classic Civil War game is free here

Tried it a while back, it runs a bit wonky on modern Windows systems, but it does still work. Great game.

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

SOVL is a ruleset for playing fantasy wargames. It can be played with miniatures on a table or digitally on Steam.

Fantasy armies meet on the battlefield and fight until one side is the bloody victor. Units of soldiers maneuver on the table and the outcome of melee combat, volleys of arrows and destructive spells is decided with dice rolls.

Features in the digital version:

Campaign mode: "Trail of Death" is a procedural campaign with roguelite elements. Start with a small warband and develop it into a grand army that can challenge the final boss.

SOVL Army Builder: Create and customize your army for any of the SOVL factions. Choose a Commander to lead, select units and their equipment, and design a color scheme.

AI Battle: Take your custom army and try it out against an AI opponent. Test your unit compositions and optimize your strategies.

Steam Multiplayer: Play games online against others on Steam. Challenge your friends and crush them on the battlefield!

 

[Lagi]

SOVL is a ruleset for playing fantasy wargames. It can be played with miniatures on a table or digitally on Steam.

Fantasy armies meet on the battlefield and fight until one side is the bloody victor. Units of soldiers maneuver on the table and the outcome of melee combat, volleys of arrows and destructive spells is decided with dice rolls.

Features in the digital version:

Campaign mode: "Trail of Death" is a procedural campaign with roguelite elements. Start with a small warband and develop it into a grand army that can challenge the final boss.

SOVL Army Builder: Create and customize your army for any of the SOVL factions. Choose a Commander to lead, select units and their equipment, and design a color scheme.

AI Battle: Take your custom army and try it out against an AI opponent. Test your unit compositions and optimize your strategies.

Steam Multiplayer: Play games online against others on Steam. Challenge your friends and crush them on the battlefield!

thats a nice warhammer-like rules set, better than Games Workshop creation i think ... not too many variety of troops, there was some crazy units in whm.
I enjoy it. It show how simple tabletop wargames really are, they just bloated by the ruleset.
You basically want to land a flank charge (that all what this battle is about), then target is locked in unfavorable position till he flee, but dwarfs f.ex. are very stubborn and prefere to get wipeout that run.


here are rules explained
https://perwahl.github.io/SOVLRules/docs/GameLoop/CombatPhase.html

if your skill is higher than opponent you hit on 3+ (66%), otherwise on 4+ (50%)

each point of difference between power and defense shift the % to wound 50% +- 17% per point (one point on d6 from 4+). f.ex. Power 5 vs Def 3 = 83% wound chance


i play it few times.
game is all about properly landing this one flank charge that is winning you the battle, all after that is just pressing space to roll the dice.

I would said all this combat system and dice rolling is just wrist exercise because it not affecting the battle too much. You cannot make any choice. You just rolling buckets of dice.
To make it more interesting the game need more units, more movement on the board and ... faster dice rolling.

 

[thesheeep]

Added some of the more recent posts. Now I'm also using the watch feature on this thread, so there is a chance it will take me less than 1-2 years to update the list in the future

 

[Hag]

Small grand strategy game with auto battles, real challenge and weird humour. Very good to kill a couple hours.

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

https://rpgcodex.net/forums/threads/mysterious-castle-tactics-combat-in-a-roguelike-world.149898/

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

 

[index.php]

thesheeep

Star Ruler 2 - The old link is broken, but here's but here is a new way to download it:

Java-based installer, launcher and mod manager for the Open Star Ruler project:
https://github.com/OpenSRProject/OpenStarRuler-Launchpad/releases

Beyond All Reason

Spoiler

Beyond All Reason is a realtime-strategy created by a team of passionate developers in love with the genre. Built on the powerful SpringRTS engine it aims to revive the vibes of the glorious Total Annihilation and it's spiritual successors like Supreme Commander or Planetary Annihilation.

Loria

Spoiler

Loria is a homage to classics from golden era of strategy games, with modern spin on controls and user experience.
Game introduces not just RTS elements but also RPG elements such as: hero units, collecting items and quest driven missions offers for a more interesting take on the RTS genre.

GOG: https://af.gog.com/en/game/loria?as=1649904300

Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/946660/Loria/

Machines: Wired for War

Spoiler

The 3D Real-Time Strategy video game from 1999 developed by Charybdis and distributed by Acclaim.

Mindustry

Spoiler

Mindustry is a hybrid tower-defense sandbox factory game. Create elaborate supply chains of conveyor belts to feed ammo into your turrets, produce materials to use for building, and defend your structures from waves of enemies. Features include a map editor, 24 built-in maps, cross-platform multiplayer and large-scale PvP unit battles.

OpenHV

Spoiler

A mod for OpenRA based on the Hard Vacuum design by Daniel Cook. It aims to be an open content real-time strategy game with no exceptions. Set in the distant future where mega corporation battle themselves this standalone title comes with multiplayer (LAN and internet) support, competent skirmish bots as well as an integrated map editor. It allows for spectators to join and replays to be shared.

OpenSA

Spoiler

A recreation of Swarm Assault game in the OpenRA engine. The goal of this project is to bring modern controls and quality life improvements to Swarm Assault game released in 1999 while still being faithful as much as possible to the original source material. Although the project does not hesitate to add new content which enriches the overall gameplay.

Control huge swarms of ants, beetles, spiders, scorpions and wasps in a desperate attempt to control the landscape. Begin your crusade by conquering easy levels and progress to harder levels where your knowledge of each creature's strengths and weaknesses will be heavily tested. Play Swarm Assault today and discover why these creepy crawlies dominate this planet!

Remnants of the Precursors

Spoiler

Remnants of the Precursors is a modernization of the 1993 strategy game "Master of Orion". You will play as one of 10 unique races and lead them to galactic domination or, if you fail, humiliation and defeat. Micromanagement is minimal and the gameplay smooth and streamlined.

• RotP v1.04: https://rayfowler.itch.io/remnants-of-the-precursors
• RotP-Fusion is a community maintained fork with some new features: https://github.com/Xilmi/Rotp-Fusion

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

Youtuber Nookrium is doing video series about free games on Steam.
Here's some that fit into this thread.