Total Annihilation

I spent hundreds (perhaps thousands?) of hours playing TA as a kid. TA was an incredible technical feat in 1997. Full 3D units that turn, aim, and fire at enemies, 3D height-mapped terrain, gravity, projectile physics, dynamic shadows, environmental fires. From an RTS standpoint it also has incredible depth, with radar, artillery, ICBMs, active and passive countermeasures, complex patrol paths, bombardment, and units deployable across land, sea, and air. The score is performed by a living, breathing symphony orchestra. Many of TA's gameplay elements have not been replicated in modern titles. For instance, in modern games you get a button in the UI which launches an airstrike or artillery barrage. In TA you build the artillery, fly out a radar aircraft, and target your artillery to fire at the blips on radar. Flying units can be ordered into combat air patrols and will fly back for repair as needed. If the enemy air defense is too dense, your airstrike isn't going to hit. TA does so much, so well, with a level of polish that is rarely seen even in modern games. Even TA's spiritual successors, the Supreme Commander and Planetary Annihilation games, don't come close to the original. They tried to do more but lost the simplicity that made TA work so well. I played this on Fedora and encountered a few bugs. At launch it says I have the wrong version of Direct X. The mission narration is cut off, and the game doesn't seem to like running in 4k with multiple displays. In spite of this, the game runs fine in 1080p. I'm glad this classic lives on. It's a treat for any RTS fan.

Best RTS from <2000, smoothest economy, coolest units

game just stopped working, resolution problems,lacking expansions here on steam, played often now cannot , either there is no commander on screen at higher res or the mouse scroll stops working