Now this Is my favorite lesser know RTS game. Developed by Eugen system (Act of War series, Wargame series). The games tells the story of a US major, forced to participate in the galactic arena to earn his freedom. Juicy graphics and FX that somewhat holds event today. 3 factions: Nam' era US soldiers, Cyborg army and generic Bug-like army. All of which has it's own campaign. No base building, instead you earn reinforcement points, which you can use to spawn your troops at special Spawn areas. Can't stop loving this game.

This one is kinda odd but fun. What If scenario for WW2. 3 Factions (USSR, Germany and US). Build your base, construct a massive army and attack your enemy. Classic C&C Formula. What stands out the most - the Weird World War aspect. You got huge assault zeppelins, walking mechs, frost bombs, dual rotor helicopters, that kind of stuff. Red Alert style.

I found it for free on Steam; I didn't really understand the game at all, but I know one of you will get the most out of it and enjoy it :D

As I assume many here, I grew up during late 90s / early 2000s RTS boom.

First strategy game I ever played was the OG AoE demo found in a Win98 disk.

At the time I was playing: AoE, EE, Cossacks, Stronghold, C&C, Imperium, RoN and other "mainstream" ones.

Recently, I came across Warzone2100 and got really into it (it's also FOSS now so that's great)

Any other, less mainstream ones, I might have missed at time, that you guys consider must-plays?

Are Earth2140/2150 and Seven Kingdoms any good?

This one holds special place in my heart. Created by Pandemic Studio (THAT Pandemic studio) in 2002, it offers a unique take on Army Men Series.
You command plastic soldiers, fighting other plastic soldiers in everyday environments, e.g. backyard, kitchen e.t.c. Unit roster is pretty generic: Rifle soldiers, Bazooka soldiers, Tanks, Half Tracks.
Every RTS lover needs to play this at least once.

Czech studio that made three RTS 1994-1998.

Paranoia - 1995

First Czech RTS inspired by/clone of Dune II - 1992.

Paranoia II - 1996

I played this one and really loved it, awesome soundtrack and intro.

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBd59L-s3nE

Soundtrack: https://soundcloud.com/atronoss/sets/paranoia-ii-ost-by-phoenix-arts

Husita - 1998

I have played only demo, clearly inspired by Warcraft RTS. Happening during hussite wars (what happens after KCD).

Screenshots: https://visiongame.cz/hra/husita/

Somewhat interesting RTS from 2001. Gamebox says it is based on real US military training program. Features, as the title suggests, Navy, Air and Land units, fun but somewhat simple economy, charming 2000ish graphics, awkward combat and 2 Factions: US and fictional Independent Liberation Army.

But ICYMI it's a solo dev indie game based on Starcraft with some original and C&C ideas.

I relay like this game its VERY!! hard but got a unique feel to it. you capture pre set buildings and convert civilians spreed around the map to your army like ( war wind 2 ) then train them in to units. its a simple small game with a short campaign. Unit balance is BAD! if you miss micro units they die in seconds lol

I was very sad when this was taken off the app store. It was basically sc2 with fantasy units (although the late tier units were futuristic like siege tanks and battlecruisers). There were 3 factions, Humans, Demons and the "Noa" which were elven/elemental I think and had a Protoss feel to them.

Anybody ever play this?

It's more of an RTS but has some heavy city building elements and production chains. It's open source now and they're actively working on it.

a very strange and weird strategy with amazing music

Lol this is bit of troll post can delete if you want
this is a game i made long time ago cause i am huge RTS fan!

Another random game with very different races mixed with 2D and some 3D units. very star crafty

Impact of Power (Destroyers) is a real-time strategy game set in a sci-fi universe developed by Bigbrain soft and published by Intersoft.

Armageddon: For the Crimson Glory is a real-time strategy game in a sci-fi universe developed and published by Mips Soft.

A nother rare game i have a fond spot for. with lots of random game mechanics and idears in it. and lots of jank