OpenHV - Free RTS Based on C&C Red Alert Gets New Version
A new version of the open-source game OpenHV, a free RTS based on the Command &Conquer: Red Alert's OpenRA project, has been released.
New version of OpenHV, a free RTS built on the foundations of Command & Conquer: Red Alert has been released. The update is numbered 20210922 and focuses mainly on bug fixes.
The game runs on the OpenRA engine, a project aimed at modernization of the first two installments of Command & Conquer. OpenHV does not use any graphical elements from the series, however, so the developers were able to make it available as a free standalone game.
OpenHV is an interesting project, because it is based on a game that has never been released. We are talking about Hard Vacum, which was created in the 90's by Daniel Cook, an artist who is now mostly known for his lovely independent gems like Alphabear or Road Not Taken. The creator never finished the strategy game, but in 2005 he released what he had managed to get done, including all the visual elements and basic gameplay. A group of amateur developers decided to use this to create a new game based on the OpenRA engine. And that's how OpenHV was born.
The result turned out very good. The game refers to the style of early RTS game, relying on fast-paced skirmishes on a large scale, but adds a lot of improvements to the proven solutions, making the whole thing not seem outdated. Plus, Daniel Cook's sprites still look great, especially in the high resolution that OpenHV runs in.
The game offers multiplayer with a small but active community, a skirmish mode that enables us to fight against AI and a handful of story missions (more should be added in the future). The project is being constantly developed and there's no indication that this will change in the near future.
