Frequently Asked Questions

Is Army of Earth free?

Yes.

What do I need to run it?

A Windows PC or a Mac. The download is a zip file rather than an installer, so there is no setup step. On Windows, unzip it wherever you like and run ArmyOfEarth.exe. On a Mac, unzip it and open Army of Earth — the app isn't notarised with Apple yet, so if macOS blocks the first launch, open System Settings → Privacy & Security, scroll down, click Open Anyway, and launch it again. That only happens once.

The Mac build is a universal app: it runs natively on both Apple Silicon and Intel Macs, macOS 11 or later.

We don't have an official list of minimum specs yet. If it runs, it runs.

There is no Linux build at the moment — one is built and ready, but it is held back by a Unity engine bug that ruins performance on some machines, and we won't publish a download in that state.

Do I need an account?

Yes. You sign in before you reach the main menu, and registering takes about a minute. You can play straight away once you've registered, and you don't need to verify your email address to get into a match. Verifying only matters later, for ranked play. If the account service happens to be unreachable, you'll be offered an offline option, so a bad connection can't lock you out of Practice or a LAN game entirely.

Why can't I see the whole map?

That's deliberate. The minimap only reveals enemies near a friendly, powered Radar. Everywhere else stays dark, even if there's a fight going on there. In the 3D view it's more forgiving: you'll spot enemies once they come within a reasonably generous distance of your own units or buildings, Radar or not.

This is tighter than the original was. The original quietly sent every player's computer the whole map's information and simply chose not to draw the parts you weren't meant to see, which meant a modified client could reveal all of it for free. Ours can't, because the information a modified client would need is never sent to it in the first place.

Why did my building stop working?

Almost certainly power. Every building except a Power Plant draws on your team's shared power supply, and if your base needs more than your Power Plants provide, the newest buildings you put up switch off first until things balance out. Build another Power Plant, or free up some demand.

Where did the gold go?

Gold patches don't last forever. Each one holds a set amount of credits, and once a Mine has drawn it all out, that patch is finished. Mining there stops for good, so go and find a fresh one.

How do I get a rank?

You can't yet. Ranked play (Rating, Rank and the leaderboard) is switched off and hidden while the game is in this state, so nothing you do in a match currently changes any of those numbers. The manual's "Ranked play" section covers how it's meant to work once it's turned back on.

Can I host my own server?

For a LAN game or solo Practice, yes. "Host a game (LAN / dev)" in the main menu starts one on the spot, with no setup required.

Running a public server that shows up for everyone else in the browser is a different matter. Right now that means building the dedicated Linux server and registering it by hand, which is a developer job rather than something you can do from the menu. So not yet, if you just want to run a game for friends to find.

Can I play solo?

Yes. Practice drops you straight into a full match with AI controlling all five other teams. Nobody else needs to be online.

What happens if I disconnect mid match?

You're taken off that match's roster the moment your connection drops. Whether you can get back into the same match afterwards comes down to timing, because a match stops accepting new players once it's down to a handful of surviving teams. Disconnect late enough and you may not be able to return to that particular game. Quick Join or the server browser will always find you another one.

(Whether rejoining a match you were dropped from gives you your old tank and credits back, or starts you fresh, isn't something we could confirm. See the note at the bottom of this page.)

Why won't my Artillery fire?

Your team needs a working Armory before Artillery will fire at all, so check that one is built, powered and still standing. If it is and you still can't fire, you're probably just out of ammo. Artillery only holds 5 shots and reloads one every 25 seconds.

Did I lose my credits when I died?

No. A normal death and respawn never costs you credits, and you keep whatever you were carrying. The only way to lose credits during a match is if your entire team is wiped out and you're folded onto a new one. In that case your pooled credits go to your new human teammates and you start again from zero.

My team was wiped out. Am I out of the match?

Not necessarily. As long as at least one other team is still standing, you and your surviving teammates get folded onto a random surviving team and carry on playing, with a small score penalty. You're only actually out of the match once your team is the very last one eliminated, and that's when the Victory or Defeat screen appears for you.

Can I switch teams mid match?

Yes, right up until you personally own a building that's still standing. After that you're committed to that team for the rest of the match.

Can I hurt my own teammates?

No. Friendly fire heals rather than damages, so there's no way to kill your own team, by accident or otherwise.

Can I mute chat, or is there a family friendly mode?

Both. Settings has a straightforward chat mute, and a separate "Child safety" toggle that turns off chat (both sending and receiving), the internet radio and the links out to the forums, all at once.

Can I stream my own music while I play?

Yes, which is a bit unusual. Settings has a "Live music" option that streams an internet radio URL you give it, with its own volume slider kept separate from the master volume.

What is "War of Attrition"? Why is there a building count number in the build menu?

War of Attrition was a rule in the original. Once a match's building count climbed too high, it froze all construction except for Summoners, and stayed frozen until a team was defeated. It exists in this game too, but it's switched off by default, so you won't run into a sudden construction freeze in an ordinary match.

How do I report someone?

Honestly, there's no report button in the game yet. If something needs attention, raise it with whoever runs the server you're on, or on the forums. A banned account is locked out and removed from any match it's in within seconds. The Code of Conduct covers what we do and don't tolerate.

Is this the official game? What happened to the original?

No, and it isn't affiliated with or endorsed by the original developer.

Army of Earth was released in the late 2000s by a small studio called Fundictive, as a free online game. Its servers eventually went dark and the game disappeared with them. This is a clean room rebuild: new code throughout, written by studying whatever survived rather than by reusing any of the original's own code or assets.