First off a few misconceptions, You are not actually downloading the Evolution RTS right away, you are simply downloading the Weblobby, which is a very simple barebones lobby, from there it is automatically filtered to Evolution Games. The easiest way to acquire the content is to join a multiplayer game, the rest should be automatic, you will download the map, the mod, and the engine.

There are many things about the engine and the game that you could like and certainly join, esp. if you love all sorts of RTS. The biggest issue is the weblobby, hopefully they will make it user-friendly over time now that it is getting rapid feedback. If you can get past over the Weblobby into the game, your going to have a good time. But if you can't its not your fault either. Anyway have fun gaming!

And Remember if you can get past the lobby, you can have a good time, always ask for help in main lobby chats and there is a good chance somone could help you.

My review is just a word of caution in case you are interested in single player only. In single player you are given a short grace period to build before the AI starts spawning units all over the map. Even the very easiest AI defeated me 100% of the time within the first 20 or so minutes. If you enjoy the RTS genre do check this game out but don't expect to play around in singleplayer. Perhaps grab a friend for multiplayer if you want to learn at your own pace.

This game has a lot of potential if you find you enjoy it. You can check out some of the VODs on YouTube to get a feel on how to play it. Also the developers are active in the community which is awesome.

http://www.youtube.com/evolutionrtsgame

As you can see I have barely any hours on this title, but I can assure that I have played EVO RTS for many years since it was in its early stages. I can understand how the lot of you have never heard about this game, and how the game and the engine behind it, is the most robust and next gen in terms of gameplay and mechanics. and can do almost anything. The maps are completly deformable and the tactics that can be used are limitless. Not to mention the dynamic soundtrack. and the amazing unit models that make other big time devs look like amatures. and the effects and how intense the battles can get, are staggering. Now all we need on Steam that also uses the Spring Engine is NOTA and Zero-K ad I'll never need to by another RTS again. Thats my two cents, and congrats Forboding_Angel on making it to Steam and showing steam users that games can kick some major ass, and still be completly free, Thats the power of open source.

ZealousFoX Out!

Well worth the $0, at first i was skeptical about the price, but i was reassured because it matches my credit card balance and i like to keep things equal, i find it likely that about 80% of the negative reviews didnt actually put real effort into learning the mechanics of the game(played for .5 hrs), or even set up the game :) not to fear, its good :) im still terrible at it, but enjoy it thoughly, i reccomend it to anyone willing to take the time to learn, not exactly casual... but not like anyones gonna care if you dont know what your doing, especially early on, it helped that some awesome guy, who was the only other person in a chat room was willing and friendly enough to help me figure out the basic mechanics, by starting a game and saying, learn or die.... that was a false statement, in the act of dying i was also able to learn! :) over and over
until he left me with a CAI bot to play against, which works 70% of the time, so its awesome
8/8 m8, jk thou like 8/10 itll be more fun when im better, atm i enjoy it alot anyways

UPDATE 4/20/14
In light of the recent update, it's necessary I update my review with it, to maintain accuracy. The original contents are below.

The layout of the game lobby has improved dramatically. I was actually able to start a game through Single Player mode, fairly independent of the multiplayer lobby. That doesn't mean I actually had any idea how to play the game at that point, but it was a start.

I received comments that the issues in my previous review were resolved; they weren't. Not the main ones. I need to say, the lobby still doesn't seem user-friendly enough for newbies to join right in. The major unaddressed problem was the absence of documentation or instructions for the lobby, and now that I can start a game, a lack of game rules or a tutorial came into play too. If there are rules available somewhere, they aren't visible enough for me to find them. (If there are instructions on the Spring site, link 'em to me please.)

With the new update, the game has really upped its... game (snort). It’s much improved, but only relative to its ease to start with. There are legit unresolved problems that even the new update didn’t address, and are probably keeping the more inexperienced off of their doorstep. It's difficult because I really want to give this game a shot- but I've spent over two hours messing around with the game and lobby settings, and haven't even been able to blow anything up. I really need some direction for me to recommend this game, but for now it's too undeveloped for me to stick a “yes” on it.

UPDATE 5/4/14
I'm holding true to my promise that I would update this further.
So, this review has been getting reviewed pretty good. It attracted enough attention that even the developer came to my page! (This was my initial impression, before realizing that every negative review on the game was downvoted by this individual.)

To start, the first thing even close to help I received was the developer finding my review and labeling me as “not using my noggin” when dealing with in-game commands. I'm not holding grudges, our issues are resolved. However, nothing is laid out, and the service I've received by a helpful community member (and only a community member, that is, someone not responsible to the game itself) has been the only clarification. The lobby is scary, in-game less so, and it's all expected to be figured out by the player, as made evident by the developer. Apparently it was not just me who wasn't able to build something so simple as generators, which was seen as obvious and common sense during development and doesn't require explanation (however, the developer did design a very helpful piece of video tutorial, just for me, that can be found in the comments or here: http://www.twitch.tv/evolutionrts/b/524601270 – I feel loved).

So the service is garbage, if I can sum it up.
Shout-out to Paladin, for the help I did get. :)


--ORIGINAL TEXT-- 4/8/14
Note: This is not a review of the gameplay itself, and you'll find out why in a second.

The download for the game is simply a download for a game lobby.
OH GOD WHY.
I hung around for around 25 minutes trying to figure out how to just start a game. The Terms of Service for the Spring Engine lobby were easy to read, props for that. Other than that, there was no documentation/instructions for getting you familiar/set up/started, and the layout of the lobby featured tabs and whatnot that remained completely unexplained because of it. Apparently I needed to downoad game files from an obscure site location to start a game. I found this out after I made a feeble attempt at starting a match. DENIED. What's even worse is that, for some reason, you have to join a multiplayer game to get the downlaods available to you. If this all sounds vague, it's because it was.
I chatted with another equally confused player (probably from Steam as well) who was just about to head out when I beat him to the door.
Granted, I would need longer to experiment with the lobby and learn how to start a game, but that was time I didn't have (a LOT of time I don't have). I instead spent my time writing a review. So there.

Overall, gameplay not included, this is not designed for casual gamers who do not posess preobtained knowledge of how game lobbies work. This game won't be worth it to me until the setup is unobscured and clarified.

good game, but there is a easy line between vets of the game and newbies. when i started a single player game i faced a very easy ai, thinking this would be wonderful training BECOUSE IT HAS NO 'TOTORIAL'. within 2 mins, i knew i made a bad move, i swifly made defences, but there was too many of them. i died shortly after my anti-armor defence was made and desroyed. i thought about that battle, and asked to my self. what the fluff did i just witness. i then tried a shard ai, thinking that becouse they have no dificuly rating they are the training dummy ai. i put one shard on my team and one on the enemy team. that was when i noticed that, shard enimies dont die, they just get stronger, realy fast. the first shard was defeated, but my shard and i were overwelmed when the enemy made a queen endgame unit. it swiftly desicrated my bastian that was set in the middle of the map, and i tried to turtle, and play simcity with the economy, but the queen qestroyed everything.

the experiances that i had in the game, showed me that, there is a void, in the system in the game. the ai need wording, in the terms of difficuties, and should create a totorial, showing how the game is played, not just letting to players try and figure things out.

-wolf

A decent game when you manage to get past the clunky and over complicated lobby. It features a Starcraft feel with very sharp looking maps and decent gameplay.

Good graphics and interesting buildings/units can be created, making it daunting to someone new to the RTS genre. It is very unforgiving to even veteran players, and I would recommend playing with a friend in custom games to figure out what your doing, or you will be quickly destroyed.

When you begin the game, you choose a location on one side of the map, depending on where you start and quickly need to build as a large amount of people love to rush and end the game quickly. When the game tends to last longer, if you happen to win a decent victory, a lot of people choose to leave early as its just easier to hop into a new game, where you have a fair chance at winning.

I personally do not like the lobby system and how confusing it is to learn, I am probably just used to WC3/SC's easy to use matchmaking systems, so take a shot at it, try and learn how to find a game and enjoy yourselfs, its free, so you can't lose by trying it out.

Personal Rating: 1.5/5