[PC][Late 2000's] Rather obscure F2P multiplayer browser-based sci-fi RTS
Platform(s): PC (Browser-based with optional client download)
Genre: Science fiction RTS
Estimated year of release: 2003-2009
Graphics/art style: 3D, aerial view
Notable characters: Can't remember much. I remember there was a faction that was abbreviated "GA" or something similar. I am fairly certain it had "Global" in the name of the faction, and it was not accessible by normal players while I was playing. Global Alliance, or something like that. They had a tan or yellowish color scheme and completely new units and buildings.
Notable gameplay mechanics: Base building and unit creation. I remember building resource-gathering buildings and scanners (revealed units in an area). There may have been shield generators as well. There was a fully-voiced campaign mode complete with cutscenes, but it was more of a "demo" of the full product. Multiplayer with a server browser. At least two factions to choose from with unique units, but one (the aforementioned "Global" group). There was a lot of content locked behind a closed alpha or beta. I don't remember the resources you gathered. Land and air units were present, and I don't believe there was any water. The maps weren't too big, but I remember they had MASSIVE trees on the outskirts of the "main" map I played on (it could've been the only one). It was very green and I think the trees may have had white bark. I believe there was some sort of cloaking mechanic, but I may have that mixed up with fog-of-war. One of the campaign maps (something like the second mission) was set in a desert.
Other details: I think this game no longer exists. I vaguely remember hearing about it being discontinued. I could be wrong, but the name of the game may have started with an "A". My memory is vague, but I believe the "main" faction you played as had a black or blue color scheme, though it could have also been white. I distinctly remember black buildings with blue lights on them. Not sure if you could change the color--your opponent might have always looked red. I can't remember if it was strictly 1v1 or if you could have more players. There was an option to download the client of the game, and it may or may not have had extra content in the downloadable version. The game was free to play with an account. I cannot remember if there were any aliens in the game, but I distinctly remember at least two different human factions. Testers could play the extra faction against normal players. The free version of the game had a blue menu scheme with a strange animated effect, possibly gameplay or cutscene videos in the background.
Regarding the alpha/beta: There was a significant amount of content only testers could access, such as an extra faction (mentioned above). You had to apply for the beta program, but the process may have been expedited through payments (I was little at the time so I couldn't pay for the game, though I really wanted to). Perhaps the BIGGEST addition to the beta was the introduction of space battles. These battles were set on a flat plane and had all-new units. I didn't get to experiment with this game mode for very long, as I moved across the country shortly after being accepted and lost interest in the game.
The email I used to gain access to the testing group was some old Yahoo! account. It has since been wiped and deleted for inactivity and there's no way I can recover the email. It almost certainly had some information that could help me track down this game. That was years ago though. Feels bad.
Unfortunately, I'm 90% positive this game is no longer around. I remember it was very fun and I sunk plenty of hours fighting random folk online. I managed to get my friend to play the game a few times, but he doesn't remember much of it at all. I can't remember when the game went offline, but it must have been around 2010--maybe later, but I highly doubt it. Mostly, I'm just looking for the name for nostalgia purposes and to see what ever happened to the developers.
The game was hosted on its own website. Or... perhaps the devs' site. I don't think you could access it from anywhere else unless you downloaded the client.
This was around the time I was heavily invested into another (yet vastly different) browser-based RTS, Tinywarz (now Drop Shock). I was also frequently wasting time on Miniclip and AddictingGames and I vaguely remember finding out about this game through an advertisement on one of those sites (or perhaps somewhere similar). Since the game is discontinued (or maybe even rebranded?), Googling it has been extremely difficult. Since it was never really that popular, it's a long-shot... but if anyone has ANY information about this game, I'd greatly appreciate it!
Additionally, I can confirm this was not a Command & Conquer title or anything using the Spring RTS Engine. That being said, the graphics were very similar to something you'd find on Spring RTS.
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Tidium to
tipofmyjoystick
