Oh my god, I miss this game. The computer I had it on had a corrupted harddrive so I could never save the files, and it was sad that no one played anymore.
It was a wonderful little game and each ant (or termite) species played in a unique way.
There was the 'normal' ants. Nothing special about them. Just...normal ants.
Slave-makers relied on attacking enemy colonies early not only to improve their economy but also to expand their military. Literally only they could have every ant in the whole game through raiding other nests and making it back with the spoils.
Leaf-cutters has the best economy of the game, but they had to give more to get more. Leaf harvesting workers, and then smaller garden tending workers. And, of course, they have normal strength soldiers and much larger major soldiers.
Termites were for the turtles. They had watchtowers to get an early warning of attack and multiple castes of soldiers. The tunnel guards were stronger than typical soldiers but forever bound to the boundaries of the termite territory. Elite Tunnel guards couldn't even leave the nest until a hole left behind from a destroyed structure was made. But if they had a lot of tunnel guard at that point...you better pray you have a lot more soldiers. The termites also anates. (I thought they were alates though?) If your king or queen was killed, an anate could take over. Perhaps a prevention from assassination attacks. I mean I wouldn't know, I never played online with people.
The gliding ants could attack from above, catching the enemy by surprise and able to use their maneuverability to outflank enemy ants. They also did passive damage to enemies when they were attacked due to the spikes on their bodies.
It's sad that this game never made it off the ground, it was fun! But, maybe there can be a takeaway for EotU. Some ideas for new ants perhaps! Like, in case you guys ever decide to add the treetops into the game, there can be a home for the gliding ants!
I don't know how the game is going to pan out though. Going to have to wait and see.