14 DAY TRIAL // 0 A.D., a free, open source, cross-platform, real-time strategy (RTS) game of ancient warfare with historically-based war/economy, that allows players to relive or rewrite the history of Western civilizations, is now at version Alpha 15.
The latest version of 0 A.D, Alpha 15, has been dubbed Osiris and features a lot of changes and improvements.
“Units get a bonus when they are in range of a special building, like a wonder, or another unit, such as a hero. This feature adds a new layer of strategy to the game. So far, in Alpha 15, temples regenerate health for nearby units, and most heroes have auras. This feature is set for expansion and further refinement over the next few alphas,” reads the official announcement.
Highlights of 0 A.D Alpha 15:
• The new in-game multiplayer lobby is a place to meet other players and play games together; • The new Alpha 15 version debuts the Ptolemaic Egyptians as a new playable civilization; • A new mode has been implemented called Skirmish maps. According to developers, they’re similar to scenarios, but can be easily changed according to your preferences; • Users can now order the troops to protect other units or buildings; • Users will hear a sound and receive a chat message when the units have been attacked; • When possible, users can ask your newly-produced units to garrison in the production building; • The units in formations run around less, and now know how to get to the closest available place in the formation; • A new and improved user interface design has started a while ago. With Alpha 15 you can see it in action the first time.
The installation is pretty simple, especially if it's done from a PPA (a source package is provided by the developers). Just open a terminal and enter the following commands:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:wfg/0ad sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get install 0ad
(If you get errors about unmet dependencies, check that you have the Universe repository enabled in /etc/apt/sources.list.)
A complete list of changes is provided in the official announcement. Download 0 A.D Alpha 15 right now from Softpedia.