Wildfire Games has released 0 A.D 28 “Boiorix”, a new version of the free, open-source real-time strategy game of ancient warfare. With one very important detail. 0 A.D. has been in public development since the early 2010s with numbered alpha versions. Now, for the first time in 16 years, with release 28, the team has dropped the “Alpha” label entirely.
Another major highlight of this release is the addition of a new playable faction: the Germans. This semi-nomadic group includes the Cimbri and Teutones, and features a flexible economy with supply wagons and fortified wagon camps.
According to the announcement, they also have unique military units like Cimbrian raiders and log rams, as well as special technologies such as Wagon Trains and Migratory Resettlement, giving them a unique strategy in the game.
Apart from that, this release also introduces several technical and gameplay improvements:
- Gendered Civilians: The main economic unit now includes both male and female models. This change replaces the old “female citizen” label and matches the visuals more closely to history, without changing the game balance.
- Direct Font Rendering: A new system using the FreeType library now renders fonts as the game runs. This improves text quality, supports East Asian languages without needing large preloaded files, and makes it easier to modify fonts.
- New Game Setup Options: Players now have more choices for configuring skirmish and scenario settings, giving them greater control over how they play.
- Lobby Improvements: The multiplayer lobby now checks TLS certificates by default, making hosting easier and more stable.
- Engine and Platform Updates: The SpiderMonkey JavaScript engine has been updated to version 128, improving memory handling and expanding platform support. Official AppImage bundles are now available for Linux users.
- New Quotes, Tips, and Balancing: The update adds a dozen new historical quotes and gameplay tips to improve the user experience. Several balance changes also refine naval, civilian, and faction-specific mechanics.
0 A.D. 28 is available for Windows, Linux, and macOS, and remains free to download, redistribute, and modify under the GNU Public Licence v2 for code, and Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike 3.0 for artwork. Players are advised to deactivate mods before updating to avoid conflicts.
For more details, check out the official announcement.