0 A.D.

Release Date: March 31, 2016 Early Access

Strategy, economic, RTS, free-to-play, ancient history, indie games, ancient Rome, multiplayer, singleplayer

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A free-to-play real-time strategy game by Wildfire Games, a studio founded by developers and gamers who work for free in their spare time. Initially, the title was supposed to be a mod for Age of Empires II but eventually it was ported to a new engine and made available as a standalone production. The main goal of its creators was to present the most important civilizations that existed on Earth between the 5th century BC to the 5th century AD.

Plot
Mechanics
Technical aspects
Misc.

0 A.D. is a free real-time strategy game for PC. The project was developed by Wildfire Games. It isn’t an ordinary studio since it consists of various developers and gamers who work in the spare time. The team created Rome at War, a famous modification for Age of Empires II: The Age of the Kings.

Plot

The developers’ main goal was to present the most important civilization that existed on Earth between the 5th century BC and the 5th century AD. Initially, only several were available — Celts, Greeks, or Romans, among others — but as development progressed, new ones were included. Although the game tries to stay faithful to historical realities in recreating weapons, buildings and the like, it doesn’t tell the story of any actual conflict, letting all implemented civilizations fight one another. Therefore, we have to choose a side and lead it to victory.

Mechanics

0 A.D. is a real-time strategy (RTS) game and generally doesn’t stand out from among other classic productions of the genre. Therefore, we control a nation of our choosing and develop it throughout centuries. The player’s primary task is to develop its territory. To do so, we have to build farms that produce food for our population. Moreover, we have to gather raw materials, such as stone or wood, which are required to erect new buildings. 0 A.D. offers plenty of them, including, for example, animal pens, docks, shops, barracks, temples, or watchtowers. Every structure naturally has a different purpose — pens let us produce meet, docks provide us with fish and trading opportunities, barracks are for military recruitment, and temples train medics.

Developing a civilization and taking care of its population’s basic needs isn’t everything, though, because we also have to prepare for potential conflicts. To do so, we obviously have to recruit many soldiers that will deter or repel an attack, or conquer nearby settlements and cities.

Technical aspects

0 A.D. for PC is powered by a proprietary technology of Wildfire Games called Pyrogenesis. The engine was developed for the purposes of the said production and offers high-quality graphics, especially for a free project developed after hours.

Misc.

The game is available completely free of charge. It means that it can be downloaded from its official website, and we don’t have to worry about micropayments, energy system, or even advertisements. What’s more, the developers let the players modify their production and even use its parts in their own projects, but in the latter case, they have to follow some rules (specified on the official website).

The development of 0 A.D. for PC started in 2001. Initially, the game was supposed to be a mod for Age of Empires II: The Age of the Kings. In 2003, it was ported to the Pyrogenesis engine and became a standalone game. An early version was released around 2010.

Last updated on October 28, 2016

Originals

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