Beyond All Reason (Free Total Annihilation Inspired RTS)

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

An open‑source real‑time strategy game, Beyond All Reason, is earning praise for its ambitious, Total Annihilation–style scale, modern graphics, and deep mechanics, while remaining free to play with GPL/MIT-licensed code and mostly Creative Commons assets. Players highlight both the technical challenges behind its deterministic Recoil engine and cross‑platform support, as well as a steep learning curve and often harsh social dynamics in large 8v8 lobbies, contrasted with more relaxed co‑op and vs‑AI modes. A new publishing deal aims to fund development by selling a single‑player campaign on Steam while keeping the current multiplayer experience free, which some see as a pragmatic compromise and others view warily as a commercialization of community-built work.

Platform and engine / technical constraints

  • Built on Recoil Engine (a fork of Spring RTS) with deterministic lockstep simulation using native floats; this makes exact cross‑platform parity hard.
  • Historically x86‑64 only; experimental Linux arm64 builds now exist. Mac support is still blocked by OpenGL 4.3/Metal issues and float determinism across architectures.
  • Some community efforts aim at OpenGL→Metal translation layers and Vulkan/Zink/MoltenVK stacks to make macOS viable, but performance and determinism remain concerns.

Licensing, openness, and monetization

  • Code is GPLv2/MIT and other open licenses; many assets are CC‑BY‑SA, but a significant portion is proprietary, so the game is “free as in beer” but not fully libre.
  • A publishing deal funds development. Current multiplayer and lots of content remain free; a paid single‑player campaign is planned as the main monetized piece.
  • Some commenters see this as a reasonable way to fund focused work; others criticize using open‑source foundations plus community work to later sell a partly closed product, particularly via closed assets.

Gameplay, modes, and comparisons

  • Strong praise for scale, UX, performance, and large battles (e.g., 8v8, 40v40). Frequently compared favorably to AAA RTS attempts.
  • Viewed as spiritual successor to Total Annihilation and Supreme Commander; some think FAF (Forged Alliance Forever) has deeper mechanics, while BAR offers more modern visuals and QoL.
  • Supports scenarios, skirmish vs AI, co‑op PvE modes (including “Raptors”/tower‑defense style), and a growing set of single‑player scenarios; full campaign is in development.

Difficulty, learning curve, and onboarding

  • Many report a steep learning curve; even experienced TA/RTS players stall early in the scenario set or in high‑skill 8v8 games.
  • Advice: watch replays/streams, practice vs AI, then seek “noob”, “co‑op”, or rotating‑map (“rotato”) lobbies instead of jumping into meta‑heavy main maps.

Community, toxicity, and social infrastructure

  • Experiences vary sharply:
    • Some call it one of the best, most helpful RTS communities, with teaching, sharing units/economy, and noob‑friendly lobbies.
    • Others describe frequent flaming, pressure to surrender early, slot hierarchies that push new players into high‑stress “front” roles, and occasional abusive moderation.
  • Project representatives acknowledge issues, encourage reporting, suggest calmer lobbies, and note active moderation and anti‑smurfing.
  • Heavy reliance on Discord for coordination; prior Matrix bridging saw low use and spam.

Meta, streaming, and broader RTS culture

  • Long sub‑discussion about “meta” optimization, streaming, and esports:
    • Some argue ubiquitous meta guides and try‑hard attitudes homogenize strategies and reduce fun.
    • Others see optimization as a natural evolution of competitive games and suggest appropriate matchmaking, private groups, or PvE for different play styles.