Robot War Engine

About

Total Annihilation is a 1997 science-fiction real-time strategy game developed by Cavedog Entertainment for Windows and Mac OS, later expanded with two expansion packs and a spin-off, Total Annihilation: Kingdoms. Robot War Engine (RWE) is an open-source real-time strategy engine designed for high compatibility with Total Annihilation's original data files, letting the original game's assets run on a reimplemented engine. It's officially available for Windows, with Linux also built and tested, and there is no stable release yet, only bleeding-edge CI builds. A separate Electron-based launcher, written in TypeScript with React and Redux, handles the multiplayer lobby.

How it differs from the original

The multiplayer lobby is implemented as a separate launcher application rather than recreating the original in-game lobby, so that mod-compatible matchmaking can eventually be managed independently of any single mod's game data.

Getting started

Requires the original Total Annihilation data files (.hpi, .ufo, rev31.gp3, etc.) copied into the game's Data folder, since RWE does not include any original game assets. No stable release exists yet; the latest build is fetched from the project's continuous-integration system.

Known issues & limitations

• platform: Currently only available on Windows; Linux and macOS official binaries will be available when the project reaches a stable version.

Media