Orion's Belt Overview
Orion's Belt is a 2D browser-based sci-fi MMORTS. Originally created as a school project by two college students, Orion's Belt has undergone several transformations and is in a new version as of 2009. Players can choose from the four races of Utopians, Renegades, Levyr, and Mercs, and start the game with five planets, being tasked with colonizing these and starting them off before jumping into interacting with other players in the galaxy. Players may then oversee production from this stage or engage in battle.
Battles take place on a chess-inspired gridded game board in round mode. A round typically lasts for around six months' time, so there is time for newbies to jump in. In tournament mode, players are given control of a small fleet and can choose from several different modes including Total Annihilation (destroy all enemies) and Regicide (destroy a key unit). Tournaments end with playoffs and champions named.
Orion's Belt is free to play and open source, with support for various platforms.