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Beyond All Reason (BAR) is a free/open source real-time strategy video game. Powered by the Spring game engine, it was created to uphold the legacy of Total Annihilation. Beyond all Reason most notably introduces updated graphics, models, sound effects, soundtrack, and user interface, with the original aim to free the game from the proprietary assets of Total Annihilation.
CORE and ARM are portrayed as the Cortex and the Armada, respectively. In addition to Alien Raptors, there is a new faction, named Scavengers.
Currently, the game is in playable open-alpha, with the multiplayer gameplay nearing a finalised state. It is still being refined on a daily basis in terms of the client and infrastructure, and the development team is currently working on a single-player campaign. It currently offers ordinary skirmishes, 2 survival modes, and a bunch of simple scenarios.
SpecsUpdate
Pros
Pro Powerful micro and macro controls
Well timed shots can alter the entire game, however massive combat feels amazing.
Pro Graphics and sound work
Great graphics and great music, what more could you want with thousands of robots fighting while you experience no lag.
Pro Nostalgic yet modern
This game take heavily from an old RTS Total Annihilation. Major nostalgia from that, but with a crisp WAY more fluid modern game.
Pro Realism
Very real feeling, everything feels like it has mass behind it, and explosions feel big, real, and fiery.
Pro Possible to use the terrain to your advantage
Mountains and hills can deflect or stop artillery's shells, acting almost like a wall to hide behind.
Pro The most sophisticated UI of any RTS, bar none
The ability to move units in lines, to cover areas and to issue complex queues sets BAR far ahead of other RTS games that still use unit controls that have barely improved since Starcraft.
Pro Great PvE
Great Chickens and Scavengers dedicated PvE modes.
Competent skirmish AI.
Fantastic Chicken mode, it feels as if you are in starship troopers defending yourself against all odds.
Pro Great unit variety while maintaining better balance than most TA/SupCom esque mods/games
Pro Tons of unit types
Never reach stagnation, there is always something bigger and stronger. As opposed to other modern games where you always have the same lame reskinned trash.
Pro All ground weapons can fire on air units - but not necessarily hit them
Innovative system used in Spring Game Engine which is also utilized by another Spring Engine-based game named Zero-K. Basically, all ground weapons can fire on air units when they are within vertical range but likewise, physics play a huge part in this in that a good amount of ground weapons are not effective at hitting agile air units but are still able to hit ones that don't move fast enough to dodge all ground weapons like Gunships.
Pro Challenging A.I.
Everything now a days it handed to you, winning in this game, takes strategy and planning. It feels SUPER rewarding when you win (even if you did just hide behind a mountain like a coward in your turtle base as you bombed and nuked the enemy to death).
Pro Unit leveling system using how much damage it caused
Very cool system that will show what units are veterans or not.
Pro Planes and aircraft feel real and nimble
Great balance, as some planes can only shoot air, and some can only shoot ground targets.
Pro Nuclear bombs, and Anti nuke systems
This creates a very tense situation.... WHO WILL BE THE FIRST TO CREATE NUKES?!?!?!
Pro Only game where defenses feel like defenses
Your cannons can destroy things from far away, and walls and defensive structures deal out damage, while being super sturdy and tanky. As a defensive structure should feel, unlike other games where walls are weak, forts feel sad, and things like defensive towers or weapons are weaker only meant to help a little bit while your armies clash. Not this game, you can build a MASSIVE cannon to bombard the enemy base, creating tension as the enemy tries to destroy your big cannon that took forever to build and took tons of recourses.
Cons
Con Ruins other RTS games
After playing this, you can't play other RTS anymore as you miss the amazing controls, scale and sky-high skill ceiling of BAR.
Con Low player count
Players numbers are dependant on the time of day, although there is almost always a 1v1 available.
Con Has a considerable learning curve
It's quite hard to get the hang of achieving appropriate continuous stable flow of managing macro/economy.
Con A.I. clumping
Sometimes the A.I. will break while clumping up on the map, however, they will still find a way to beat you (they are working on this though).
Con Managing commands (dragging patrol points and such) is good but not quite SupCom good
Managing patrol/ferry/attach points in SupCom is incredible easy with large draggable icons at each intersection. While most functionality is available in BAR it just isn't quite as smooth yet. It's expected to change as development continues.
Recommendations
Comments
Out of Date Pros + Cons
Con No unit kills stat
It used to be in Total Annihilation and some miss it. You used to be able to see how many kills a unit or building would have.
Con Dev team actively against certain types of automation
If you like Zero-K's style of auto-skirmish and other such things, this game doesn't have it. IMO it should be in and optional for those who don't want it (default off).
