Julius

Julius is an open source re-implementation of Caesar III. It will stay true to the original while bringing the game to new systems as well as improving the UI and adding support for widescreen resolutions. This version should even be compatible with save files from the original game! As usual, asset files are required to run it, but since the current release is at version 1.0 it should be rather complete.

I found no screenshot from it, but this unofficial video shows the game:

Unknown Horizons

The description of Unknown Horizons from it's official page describes the project very well:

A 2D realtime strategy simulation with an emphasis on economy and city building. Expand your small settlement to a strong and wealthy colony, collect taxes and supply your inhabitants with valuable goods. Increase your power with a well balanced economy and with strategic trade and diplomacy. 

The game certainly lives up to that and I can attest that it is really fun to play. The game recently got a new release called 2019.1, which follows up from the gigantic release made in 2017. I've been following the progess of development and have been impressed by how much that has been done with this game during the last few years. This new release has, among other things, an isometric mini-map that shows the same rotation as the main game view and ambient objects that makes the world more varied and nicer to look at. There are of course also many internal improvements and fixes of all kinds. A great time to give this excellent game a go!

A nice little settlement in Unknown Horizons.

0 A.D. - Alpha 23 Re-release

Hasn't Alpha 23 of the impressive 3D RTS 0 A.D. already been released? It has, but now it's been re-released with several bugs and other maintenance-related things fixed. Many improvements has been made to online play and security and there are also a few other fixes. If you play this game an update is recommended while waiting for a new feature-release.

A battle at sea in 0 A.D. Notice the beautiful water!

Freeciv 2.6

Freeciv has had a major release after three years of hard work. This great empire-builder has so many improvements I couldn't even begin to mention them. Rest assured that the game plays better than ever, so perhaps it's time to get a multiplayer-session together and have some fun! Remember that if you don't think the main game has enough options or a graphical style that suits you, you can change it up with rulesets, modpacks or new art and tilesets. Also, don't forget that the game can be played online in the form of Freeciv-web, complete with a WebGL-based 3D engine.

You probably need to click this image of Freeciv to notice all the little detail that hides beneath those flags. :)

TripleA

TripleA is a strategy game designed to play as a digital version of the classic Axis & Allies boardgames. It can be played both online, over LAN or single player against AI. There are several maps included, focusing on everything from World War 2 to the Napoleonic Wars, even including several futuristic and fantasy scenarios. It's possible to create new maps and share them with other players as well. TripleA will probably require a bit of patience but there is certainly a lot to like for those who want to invest time in it. I also must mention that many of the maps looks really good.

The beautiful Napoleonic Empires map from TripleA.

Freeciv WebGL 3D

You might have heard of Freeciv, the Free empire-building strategy game inspired by the history of human civilization. It's a very fun and complete game, with some vey fine 2D graphics. But if you fancy something looking a bit more modern, or simply prefer polygons to tiles, have a look at Freeciv WebGL 3D! It let's you play Freeciv with full 3D graphics, directly in your browser. While I would personally prefer a downloadable native version, this approach let's anyone try the game out easily without installing anything. A rather advanced computer is required though. This is the first non-beta release, but work is still ongoing, so expect more improvements in the future!

3D does make the landscape come alive in Freeciv WebGL.

Unknown Horizons - 2017.1

I was just browsing around for something new to write about, when I stumbled upon some very good news: The fantastic city building RTS project Unknown Horizons is not only alive, but has just got a shiny new release! The last release was from 2015, but now 2017.1 is out! The changelog is really long: there are new gameplay features, loads of new and updated graphics, new sounds, interface improvements, text improvements and loads of other things! The only caveat is that multiplayer might not work. If that is the case, it will most likely be fixed in coming releases, since it has worked nicely before. A must-try for strategy-sim interested!

This is a very old screen from Unknown Horizons, but I couldn't find a newer one right now.

Wyrmsun - 2.5.2

Regular readers will no doubt know about Wyrmsun. This excellent RTS / Grand strategy mash-up recently received huge campaign maps filled with missions and adventures in it's 2.5 release. Now two minor releases with additional fixes and improvements have been released, also including a new campaign called "The First Dwarves". Enjoy!

Lots of flavor-text and world-building are part of Wyrmsun. Here a literary work has been created.

0 A.D. - Alpha 21

0 A.D. - one of the most impressive games in it's genre that I know of - has got another humongous release: Alpha 21! Don't let the word alpha fool you, this game is already more complete than most big-name finished and released titles. And this version adds a very long list of additions:

First off there are new game modes: in Herocide/Regicide each player starts with a hero and loses the game when it dies, Wonder Victory have got options to delay the win until other players have had the chance to interfere with the wonder-builders victory and in Last Man Standing you can guess how alliances can shift during the course of the game when only one player will remain until the end. Moreover, a whole new faction, the Seleucid has been added, complete with unique buildings. There are also several other new buildings and models, new champions, units can be set to patrol areas, team bonuses can make certain buildings affect the whole team and buildings and units can be upgraded (a sentry tower can become a stronger defense tower, for example). There are also many new maps: both pre-built skirmish maps and a whole bunch of new random map settings. Together with improvements to random map generation these will provide some very fun and varied maps to play on. Finally, a whole host of user interface improvements have been implemented, together with usual array of smaller fixes and such.

If you even remotely interested in strategy games, I urge you to give this a try. It really is a very impressive and fun game, especially when played together with friends.

The new Seleucid buildings from 0 A.D. in all their glory.

OpenRA 20161015

Fancy a game of Command & Conquer, Red Alert or Dune 2000? Now might be the time, since the OpenRA project just released 20161015. New in this version is a much more advanced Content Installer, that can now download more content automatically as well as fetch it from more types of media. There are several new campaign-missions implemented and players in multiplayer matches are now awarded a total score based on several variables, making other things than kills and deaths count. There are also lots of fixes, re-balancing and other minor features and visual additions. It's a big release for an already very stable and complete game.

OpenRA's new score-screen in action. It certainly makes multiplayer feel more exciting and dynamic.

Burning trees is a new visual effect in OpenRA.

Freecol

FreeCol is a turn-based strategy game inspired by the classic games Colonization and Civilization. It's all about building a nation; exploring, trading, expanding and eventually declare independence. The graphics are nice and the game have a lot of polish. I have only played it a small bit, but I believe it is quite complete and fully playable despite the seemingly low version number 0.11.6. Here is a download if you feel like taking up the challenge. There is even multiplayer-support for those interested!

This screen is not new, but gives a good idea of what to expect of FreeCol.

Wyrmsun 2.3

The amazing Grand Strategy RTS mixup Wyrmsun is now at 2.3, and it's a glorious release! The changelog is way to long to summarize, but you can be sure pretty much all aspects of the game has been added to or improved. If you haven't yet, now is the time to try it!

A small troop on it's way into the unknown in Wyrmsun.

OpenTTD 1.6

OpenTTD is a simulation game where you're tasked with running a transportation business. It's based upon Transportation Tycoon Deluxe, though compared to the original OpenTTD has a long list of improvements and new features. Crazy enough, it is for example possible to play a multiplayer game with up to 255 players! Version 1.6 was recently released, so if this sounds interesting you should try it!

So many small details! I believe OpenTTD is a game that rewards those who invest time in it.

0 A.D. Alpha 20

Amazing RTS 0 A.D. just released their latest version, alpha 20! This release, dubbed Timosthenes, comes with 10 new maps, some new techs to research, the ability to share drop sites with allies, lots of interface improvements, some new and improved graphic assets and more. No matter if you play by yourself against the challenging AI or if you play multiplayer against other humans, 0 A.D. is an extremely well made game that should not be missed.

Graphics are truly fantastic, with amazing levels of detail and variation.

Unknown Horizons

Unknown Horizons is a strategy game of the more complex type, in a very good way. If you have been interested in running a small society, managing everything from getting the necessary wares in enough supplies to exploring and expanding through warfare or diplomacy, this is a must to look into. Created as something along the line of the Anno-games, the Unknown Horizons projects has been doing a great work for many years now, creating a very solid and polished base. Attention to detail flows through the entire project, which can really be seen when playing it. It's still very much in development, and every release brings new features. But it's also very much playable and has lots of content. Have a go and try for yourself, and if nothing else, check out their awesome artwork!

0 A.D.

Next I'd like to mention 0 A.D., another of those projects so impressive it's almost hard to believe what it has achieved. 0 A.D. is a realtime strategy game, not unlike Age of Empires or Empire Earth, though with a fair share of "own" ideas that sets it apart from it's kind.
Focusing on ancient civilizations, 0 A.D. aims to be as historically correct as possible while still being an enjoyable strategy game. Every civilization is unique, and nine different ones are available at the time of writing. What impresses me most is that every one has it's own units and buildings, carefully crafted with lots of detail and brought together in a stunning game engine, drawing up a fantastic landscape. Watching ships reflect in the water waves or shadows fall from every tree or little building is a sight to behold.
Graphics isn't everything though, but thankfully 0 A.D. delivers on gameplay as well. Balance is good, AI is fun to play against (though I admit I am no expert) and there are loads of maps and options to try out. Best of all though, the game has multiplayer support, so you can play against other players, or team up against AI opponents. (A favorite of mine, co-operation simply is more fun.)

0 A.D. is a very complete game, but as most open projects it is always under development and many new features and improvements are released in a new version every few months. The current is called Alpha 13 Magadha and can be downloaded here for Linux, Windows and Mac OS. Of course, source is available there as well. As a fun bonus, the historical background of each release name can be read together with the release notes. Have a look, it's very interesting. :)

An example of the high level of detail put into each building in 0 A.D.