When comparing Zero-K vs Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion, the Slant community recommends Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion for most people. In the question“What are the best RTS games for PC?” Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion is ranked 8th while Zero-K is ranked 15th. The most important reason people chose Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion is:
With the large scale of the game, you can control many fleets in several solar systems, which, on easier difficulties, allows for a leisurely pace to play. This makes the game a worthwhile, relaxing and semi-stress-free strategy title played on a grand scale.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Multiplayer online battles
You can create your own multiplayer battles, even password protected ones for playing with friends only.
Pro Expansive tech tree
Land, sea, and air. Choose your favorite play-style and use the appropriate tech tree. There are tanks, bots, walkers, planes, helicopters, boats, and submarines available to you.
Pro Flat tech tree
All units are available from the start of the game. There are no unit upgrades and you don't need to build certain buildings to reach the next level of unit.
Pro Awesome graphical effects
Despite it is an open source engine, the graphics are fantastic.
Pro Cross-platform game
There are versions for Linux and Windows. The easiest way to play in Linux is using Lutris platform.
Pro Leisurely real time combat
With the large scale of the game, you can control many fleets in several solar systems, which, on easier difficulties, allows for a leisurely pace to play. This makes the game a worthwhile, relaxing and semi-stress-free strategy title played on a grand scale.
Pro Hard battles
You need a lot of power to win.
Pro Diplomacy used in a smart way
Factions you play against can send you quests that may affect your relationship with others in the match. By taking on these quests, or even downright refusing them, your standing with the respective faction will change, causing a rippling effect that will increase or degrade your relations with others. Thus you must choose whom to aid and who to shun in an effort to create a strong alliance. This diplomatic depth of strategy can greatly change the outcome of a game depending on the strength of your alliance and military, as it is only as strong as your opponent is weak. And there is nothing stopping them from forming an alliance of their own.
Pro Huge, gorgeous battles
Cranked all the way up, the graphics are simply divine.
Cons
Con Bad visual design
Obviously this is an open soruce project so nobody expects AAA level gfx but this one looks exceptionaly bad. Some of the weapon effects are hideous to look at. Simple things like UI buttons and color scheme seem to be visually out of sync with the way unit models and the map terrrain look.
It seems like a mishmash of visual styles which is probably a result of many different contributors of varreying skill levels.
There definately are visually consistent and pelasant ot look at open source games so The visual design of the game needs to have some sort of strcut guidline or rely primarily on the taste of a single individual from the ZK team.
Con Flat balance
The economy is very close to a Total Annihilation economy (despite all the changes they introduced) but the unit balance resembles games with harder unit counters like Warcraft and Starcraft. In Blizard games, there are different ways to limit what unit type or kind you can build at any stage of the game, like tech structures which the opponnet can scout.
In Zero - K this is not the case since there are no tech buildigns focusing the player on a certain unit type which can be scouted. You can make all units at all times. The gameplay design feels amateur and not thought through From the broadest perspective. It also manages to miss the advantages of the Spring engine and mixes the need to micromanage units that counter each other with big Area of Effect Weapons.
Con Slow-paced logistics and combat necessitates situational awareness
Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion is a strategy title on a massive scale, with players able to colonize multiple solar systems in any given match. Due in part to this scale, there is a perceived slowdown in gameplay; lengthy building construction, minutes-long research and slow unit movement. While the game, at its heart, does appear to be slow (and sometimes is), awareness of your surroundings is paramount. With fleets sometimes taking minutes to arrive at a destination, and defensive structures quickly falling to a massive fleet, it is easy for players to move out of position allowing key worlds to become targeted and lost in enemy incursions if they expand too quickly. However, not expanding quickly enough can halt the player from building up a fleet capable of taking on an enemy, or pirates head-on. In essence, you must learn to balance fleet needs, knowing the right time to expand, while keeping large groups of your ships scattered in key positions to await reinforcements should the need arise.
Con Steep learning curve can deter casual players
While the game is one of the slower Real-Time Strategy titles, there is a huge learning curve that can wreak havoc on fledgling players. With some research required in order to colonize certain planets, researching use of larger fleet and capital ship sizes, to maintaining a thriving economic civilization, it will take many, many matches before players feel knowledgeable and skilled enough to play on larger maps or even against more difficult AI. With no true Single Player to speak of and little way of help in terms of tutorials, you must play in order to learn, sometimes using trial and error as a way of making progress.
Con Very long games
Depending on the size of the map and how many players involved in it, matches can last for several hours, even days, as the host can save progress for the game locally. The amount of time that needs to be dedicated to any given match can be a deterrent for those that are only interested in playing quick multiplayer games with friends, online opponents, or AI.