Total Annihilation: 5 Open Source Clones Compared
Robot War Engine and Total Annihilation 3D both require copying over the original Total Annihilation data files (.hpi/.ufo and similar) to run. Beyond All Reason instead runs on the Recoil RTS engine with its own assets and no original-game requirement, distributed as a full downloadable application — this repository holds only its moddable Lua game code, meant to be swapped into a local dev-mode copy of the installed game. Zero-K runs on the Spring Engine, which is catalogued separately here and whose own development has halted, even though Zero-K's development remains active.
Comparison table
Availability
- Status
- Playable
- Platforms
- Linux, Windows
- Play in browser
- No
- Mobile
- No
Project health
- Development status
- Active
- Last updated
- today
- Stars
- 4,207
- Contributors
- 344
- License
- —
- Engine
- —
Compatibility
- Requires original assets
- NoThe game is built on the Recoil RTS engine with its own assets; no original game data is required.
- Modding support
- YesSupports custom Lua game code through mod directories ending in .sdd; developers can create and share custom rulesets.
- Multiplayer
- Online
Availability
- Status
- Playable
- Platforms
- Windows, Linux, OSX
- Play in browser
- No
- Mobile
- No
Project health
- Development status
- Halted
- Last updated
- 2y ago
- Stars
- 3,997
- Contributors
- 172
- License
- —
- Engine
- —
Compatibility
- Requires original assets
- —
- Modding support
- —
- Multiplayer
- Online, Local
Availability
- Status
- Playable
- Platforms
- Linux, Windows
- Play in browser
- No
- Mobile
- No
Project health
- Development status
- Active
- Last updated
- 1d ago
- Stars
- 827
- Contributors
- 154
- License
- GPL-2.0
- Engine
- —
Compatibility
- Requires original assets
- —
- Modding support
- —
- Multiplayer
- Online
Availability
- Status
- Unplayable
- Platforms
- Windows
- Play in browser
- No
- Mobile
- No
Project health
- Development status
- Sporadic
- Last updated
- 6mo ago
- Stars
- 123
- Contributors
- 6
- License
- GPL-3.0
- Engine
- SDL2
Compatibility
- Requires original assets
- YesRequires Total Annihilation data files (.hpi, .ufo, rev31.gp3, etc.) to be copied to the Data folder.
- Modding support
- —
- Multiplayer
- —
Availability
- Status
- Semi-playable
- Platforms
- Linux, OSX, Windows
- Play in browser
- No
- Mobile
- No
Project health
- Development status
- Halted
- Last updated
- 5y ago
- Stars
- 64
- Contributors
- 2
- License
- GPL-2.0
- Engine
- SDL2
Compatibility
- Requires original assets
- YesRequires original Total Annihilation game resource files (HPI/UFO files) for maps, units, and weapons.
- Modding support
- —
- Multiplayer
- —
| Title | Beyond All Reason | Spring | Zero-K | Robot War Engine | Total Annihilation 3D |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Status | Playable | Playable | Playable | Unplayable | Semi-playable |
| Platforms | Linux, Windows | Windows, Linux, OSX | Linux, Windows | Windows | Linux, OSX, Windows |
| Play in browser | No | No | No | No | No |
| Mobile | No | No | No | No | No |
| Project health | |||||
| Development status | Active | Halted | Active | Sporadic | Halted |
| Last updated | today | 2y ago | 1d ago | 6mo ago | 5y ago |
| Stars | 4,207 | 3,997 | 827 | 123 | 64 |
| Contributors | 344 | 172 | 154 | 6 | 2 |
| License | — | — | GPL-2.0 | GPL-3.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Engine | — | — | — | SDL2 | SDL2 |
| Compatibility | |||||
| Requires original assets | NoThe game is built on the Recoil RTS engine with its own assets; no original game data is required. | — | — | YesRequires Total Annihilation data files (.hpi, .ufo, rev31.gp3, etc.) to be copied to the Data folder. | YesRequires original Total Annihilation game resource files (HPI/UFO files) for maps, units, and weapons. |
| Modding support | YesSupports custom Lua game code through mod directories ending in .sdd; developers can create and share custom rulesets. | — | — | — | — |
| Multiplayer | Online | Online, Local | Online | — | — |
| Preview | | | | |
Known limitations
- platform: Currently only available on Windows; Linux and macOS official binaries will be available when the project reaches a stable version.
Frequently asked questions
Are the Total Annihilation clones on this page open source?
Yes — every clone catalogued here is an open-source project. Availability, license, and development-status details for each one are listed in the comparison table above.
What license do these Total Annihilation clones use?
Zero-K and Total Annihilation 3D (GPL-2.0); Robot War Engine (GPL-3.0).
Do I need to own the original Total Annihilation to play these clones?
Beyond All Reason runs standalone, no original files needed; Robot War Engine and Total Annihilation 3D require original game assets to play.
Which Total Annihilation clone is the most actively maintained?
Beyond All Reason and Zero-K are currently under active development, based on recent commit activity. See the "Development status" row above for every clone's current status.
See the full write-up for each clone, or go back to Total Annihilation.