When comparing AssaultCube vs Zero-K, the Slant community recommends Zero-K for most people. In the question“What are the best open-source games?” Zero-K is ranked 23rd while AssaultCube is ranked 24th. The most important reason people chose Zero-K is:
You can create your own multiplayer battles, even password protected ones for playing with friends only.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Minimal resource usage
AssaultCube is extremely fast, small, and network efficient for an FPS game.
Pro Cross platform support
AssaultCube runs on Windows, Mac, and Linux.
Pro Fast-paced multiplayer FPS gameplay
AssaultCube does a good job of adding fun, fast paced shooter gameplay (like in Counter Strike) to the open source world.
Pro Activity in multipayer
Many people online. You can play it every time you wish.
Pro In-game level editor with support for realtime multiplayer editing
Admins of a server can enter edit mode for a map during gameplay, updating components of the map live without needing to run other software or develop any code or image assets.
Pro Variety of fun game modes
Pro Has a decent number of community servers
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.
Cons
Con Few weapons
Few weapons. Really. One assault weapon, one pistol, one sniper rifle and one shotgun. Boring.
Con Lack of gameplay refinement
AssaultCube does not have that many weapons (though they do have some variety). Additionally, the game is not very balanced, as spawn points are sometimes in vision of other enemy spawn points.
Con Outdated graphics
Based off the original Cube engine, which has dated quite a bit.
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.