<s>
Allegiance	B-Application
is	O
a	O
multiplayer	O
online	B-Application
game	I-Application
initially	O
developed	O
by	O
Microsoft	O
Research	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Microsoft	O
later	O
released	O
under	O
a	O
proprietary	O
shared	B-License
source	I-License
license	B-License
in	O
2004	O
and	O
is	O
maintained	O
and	O
developed	O
by	O
volunteers	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2017	O
,	O
the	O
license	B-License
was	O
changed	O
to	O
the	O
free	O
MIT	B-License
license	I-License
.	O
</s>
<s>
Allegiance	B-Application
is	O
an	O
online	O
multiplayer	O
real	O
time	O
strategy/space	O
simulation	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Flying	O
a	O
ship	O
is	O
unlike	O
other	O
space	O
sims	O
as	O
Allegiance	B-Application
uses	O
a	O
linear	O
drag	O
flight	O
model	O
,	O
where	O
the	O
absolute	O
speeds	O
are	O
limited	O
,	O
but	O
ship	O
inertia	O
still	O
plays	O
an	O
important	O
role	O
in	O
maneuver	O
considerations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
due	O
to	O
Allegiances	B-Application
combination	O
of	O
RTS	O
and	O
space	O
sim	O
elements	O
,	O
some	O
reviewers	O
classify	O
Allegiance	B-Application
in	O
a	O
genre	O
of	O
its	O
own	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
of	O
the	O
most	O
important	O
ships	O
in	O
Allegiance	B-Application
,	O
the	O
scout	O
is	O
responsible	O
for	O
finding	O
all	O
of	O
a	O
map	O
‘	O
s	O
sectors	O
and	O
alephs	O
at	O
the	O
beginning	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Teams	O
earn	O
money	O
in	O
Allegiance	B-Application
through	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
miners	O
,	O
drone	O
craft	O
which	O
harvest	O
Helium-3	O
from	O
special	O
asteroids	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
three	O
principle	O
technology	O
paths	O
in	O
Allegiance	B-Application
,	O
each	O
relying	O
on	O
a	O
specialized	O
base	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
games	O
in	O
Allegiance	B-Application
end	O
with	O
the	O
destruction	O
or	O
capture	O
of	O
all	O
one	O
team	O
's	O
major	O
bases	O
,	O
and	O
each	O
techpath	O
has	O
tools	O
to	O
accomplish	O
that	O
goal	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Allegiance	B-Application
has	O
a	O
reputation	O
for	O
not	O
being	O
an	O
easy	O
game	O
to	O
learn	O
,	O
even	O
with	O
its	O
simplified	O
flight	O
model	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
a	O
surprise	O
strike	O
,	O
the	O
UN	O
forces	O
end	O
the	O
siege	O
with	O
military	O
action	B-Application
and	O
take	O
over	O
the	O
rich	O
He3	O
deposits	O
in	O
Leonov	O
Crater	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Soon	O
all	O
of	O
humanity	O
learns	O
of	O
the	O
existence	O
of	O
alephs	O
,	O
which	O
are	O
the	O
sole	O
source	O
of	O
FTL	O
travel	O
in	O
the	O
Allegiance	B-Application
universe	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Initially	O
developed	O
by	O
Microsoft	O
Research	O
,	O
Allegiance	B-Application
was	O
first	O
released	O
for	O
multiplayer	O
on	O
the	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Zone	I-Application
under	O
the	O
name	O
Allegiance	B-Application
Zone	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
its	O
brief	O
retail	O
life	O
Allegiance	B-Application
had	O
drawn	O
a	O
dedicated	O
following	O
that	O
continued	O
to	O
play	O
beyond	O
Microsoft	O
's	O
discontinuation	O
of	O
support	O
for	O
Allegiance	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
allow	O
the	O
player	O
community	O
to	O
maintain	O
Allegiance	B-Application
themselves	O
,	O
on	O
the	O
commercial	O
End-of-life	O
the	O
source-code	O
was	O
released	O
under	O
a	O
shared	B-License
source	I-License
license	B-License
in	O
2004	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
up-to	O
now	O
maintained	O
and	O
developed	O
by	O
volunteers	B-Architecture
of	O
the	O
fan-community	O
under	O
the	O
name	O
FreeAllegiance	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
July	O
27	O
,	O
2017	O
,	O
Microsoft	O
Research	O
changed	O
the	O
license	B-License
from	O
MSR	O
shared	B-License
source	I-License
license	B-License
to	O
MIT	B-License
license	I-License
,	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
community	O
's	O
initiative	O
to	O
bring	O
Allegiance	B-Application
to	O
Steam	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Allegiance	B-Application
garnered	O
generally	O
favorable	O
reviews	O
,	O
according	O
to	O
aggregator	O
Metacritic	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
Microsoft	O
dropped	O
support	O
for	O
Allegiance	B-Application
,	O
the	O
game	O
has	O
continued	O
to	O
be	O
developed	O
and	O
the	O
game	O
has	O
received	O
additional	O
praise	O
and	O
recognition	O
,	O
but	O
the	O
playerbase	O
has	O
not	O
substantially	O
increased	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Allegiance	B-Application
was	O
a	O
runner-up	O
for	O
the	O
best	O
multiplayer	O
game	O
of	O
2000	O
in	O
PC	O
PowerPlays	O
annual	O
awards	O
,	O
behind	O
Counter-Strike	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
also	O
a	O
finalist	O
for	O
Computer	O
Gaming	O
Worlds	O
multiplayer	O
game	O
of	O
2000	O
award	O
,	O
which	O
went	O
to	O
EverQuest	B-Protocol
as	O
Allegiance	B-Application
failed	O
to	O
gain	O
traction	O
in	O
the	O
video	O
game	O
market	O
.	O
</s>
