Zero K

Nothing's cooler than Zero K

Zero-K is a FREE, multiplatform, open-source RTS game. It aims to be dynamic, action-packed and hassle-free, full of clever strategies and constantly moving combat with games lasting an average 20-30 minutes.

Zero K is a Game Mod for the Spring engine. Originally started its life as "Complete Annihilation," which was a fork of the (at the time) abandoned "Balanced Annihilation," which itself was fork of the equally (at the time) abandoned "Absolute Annihilation" project, which was an expansion and rebalancing mod of the original Total Annihilation game by Cavedog, ported over to the Spring engine to take advantage of the benefits of the advanced features of the gaming engine.

Many of the units in this game borrow their features from similar units in its predecessors, but the designers decided to break from the past storyline, in the hopes of divorcing the game from its roots as a duplicate of an existing copyright.

Tropes used in Zero K include:

Command and Conquer Economy: Partially justified in that you are using metal and energy in the form of nanotech. How you got them from the stores, however...
Crippling Overspecialization: Averted; All players use the same units.
Easy Communication
Easy Logistics: As long as a unit is active, it can use the materials collected anywhere else in the game. Partially subverted by the large weapon structures; they require the economy to be producing a minimum amount of energy, and the weapon has to be within range of an energy pylon... one that is within range of a sufficient energy source or a similarly-connected second pylon. Taking out the nearby pieces of a pylon network can render the heavy base defenses useless, and it's easier than taking out the guns.
Glass Cannon: The Ultimatum has a disintegration gun that can vaporize a heavy tank in one blast. It isn't much in the defense department, though.
Lightning Bruiser: The Detriment has 4/5 the hitpoints of a Jugglenaut, does twice the damage, and moves at twice the speed.
Mighty Glacier: The Jugglenaut (not a typo) Can barely move, but in addition to heavy laser cannons, it has a gravity gun to keep you there.
Mind Control: The rather interestingly-named Dominatrix.
No Recycling: Averted, just like all the predecessors.
You Require More Vespene Gas: Like its predecessors, there are two resources: Metal and Energy