First of all, interesting how there's a lot of (seemingly) massive and feature-rich open source games, very specifically today on HN's homepage (two by my count, which is a lot!). Open source games have come a long way since the last decade.

Second of all, nostalgia time! I didn't play TA, rather TA: Kingdoms, the medieval-fantasy version. I think today it might qualify as a re-skin but don't quote me on that (edit: I just checked Wikipedia, and no, it isn't a "re-skin" by any means). I started for the story mode but eventually I found myself drawn to the RTS mode. It's my very first RTS and, without aid of the internet, I independently developed tactics and strategy, identifying map choke points and which "kingdom" is best suited for which terrain.

With the traditional human faction, the best result I managed was this stalemate of a scenario in a labyrinthine map. I only ever managed to win with the dark/evil faction. I didn't like how they looked or their back story but their stats and abilities suited my style.

Good times! I didn't really keep up with the RTS genre but maybe I'll give these games a spin when I have the time.