A community-maintained open-source revival of the classic space combat game Parsec.
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- Playing the game
- Building from source
- Running the client
- Running a game server
- Running a master server
- Multi-server networks & stargates
The easiest way to play is to download the latest Windows installer from the
GitHub Actions artifacts — pick the most recent successful
Build on windows run and download openparsec-installer.exe. Run the
installer, launch Open Parsec from the Start menu, and connect to a server
from the in-game server browser.
You will need a copy of the game assets submodule:
git clone --recurse-submodules https://github.com/CrazySpence/openparsec.git
- Visual Studio 2019 or later (2022 recommended)
- Open
platforms\vs\Parsec.sln - Select the Parsec target (client) or parsec_server target
- Set configuration to Release / x64 and build
SDL2 and SDL2_mixer DLLs are included under platforms\vs\lib\x64\ — no
separate download needed.
The Windows CI workflow (windows-build.yml) produces a self-contained
installer via NSIS that bundles all required DLLs including the MSVC runtime.
# Install dependencies (Debian/Ubuntu)
sudo apt install libsdl2-dev libsdl2-mixer-dev premake4
cd platforms/premake
premake4 gmake
make client # builds parsec_root/client/parsec
make server # builds parsec_root/server/parsec_server
make # builds both- Xcode 9.3 or later
- Open
platforms/xcode/Parsec.xcodeproj - Select target parsec (client) or parsec_server
- Build → binaries land in
parsec_root/{client,server}/
⚠️ The Raspberry Pi build (platforms/premake-rpi/) has not been actively tested on recent hardware or OS versions and may require additional work.
⚠️ ChromeOS support has not been actively tested in recent years and may require additional work.
After building, the client binary and all required files are in
parsec_root/client/. You also need the assets from the
openparsec-assets
repository in the same directory (the submodule populates this automatically).
Launch the binary. Use the in-game server browser to find public servers, or enter a server address directly.
After building, the server binary and all required files are in
parsec_root/server/.
cd parsec_root/server
./parsec_server # Linux / macOS
parsec_server.exe # WindowsThe server reads boot_sv.con on startup, which loads ship and object
definitions and then executes settings.con and _level.con. Edit those two
files to configure your server.
| Command | Example | Description |
|---|---|---|
sv.conf name <name> |
sv.conf name Enyo |
Server name shown in the browser |
sv.conf maxplayers <n> |
sv.conf maxplayers 16 |
Maximum simultaneous players |
sv.conf simfreq <hz> |
sv.conf simfreq 100 |
Physics simulation rate (default 100) |
sv.serverid <n> |
sv.serverid 1 |
Unique numeric ID for this server. Used by stargates to identify link targets |
sv.netconf.port <port> |
sv.netconf.port 7777 |
UDP port to listen on (default 7777) |
nebula.id <n> |
nebula.id 3 |
Background nebula / skybox (2–5, see table below) |
sv.game.killlimit <n> |
sv.game.killlimit 15 |
Kills required to end a round |
sv.game.timelimit <sec> |
sv.game.timelimit 600 |
Round time limit in seconds |
sv.game.restart.timeout <sec> |
sv.game.restart.timeout 10 |
Seconds between round end and restart |
sv.game.extras.autocreate <0/1> |
sv.game.extras.autocreate 1 |
Automatically spawn powerup pickups |
sv.game.extras.max <n> |
sv.game.extras.max 25 |
Maximum pickups in the world at once |
sv.masterserver.conf name <host> interval <sec> |
sv.masterserver.conf name master.openparsec.com interval 5 |
Register with a master server |
sv.masterserver.sendheartbeat <0/1> |
sv.masterserver.sendheartbeat 1 |
Enable heartbeat to master server |
Nebula IDs:
| ID | Appearance |
|---|---|
| 2 | Green |
| 3 | Red |
| 4 | Grey |
| 5 | Blue |
_level.con places the objects that live in the game world: stargates (links
to other servers), teleporters (local warp pads), and planets.
Links your server to another server. Players fly into the stargate to transit to the linked server. The loadout (ammo, weapons, shields) is preserved across the jump via the master server.
sv.link serverid <id> pos ( <x> <y> <z> ) dir ( <dx> <dy> <dz> )
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
serverid |
The sv.serverid value of the destination server |
pos |
World-space position of the gate |
dir |
Direction vector the gate faces (usually 0 0 1) |
Example — two gates side by side:
sv.link serverid 2 pos ( 500 0 1000 ) dir ( 0 0 1 )
sv.link serverid 4 pos ( -500 0 1000 ) dir ( 0 0 1 )
Local warp pads: a player enters the entrance and exits at the exit point. Unlike stargates, teleporters keep you on the same server.
tp.create pos ( <x> <y> <z> ) expos ( <ex> <ey> <ez> ) exit_rot_phi <phi> exit_rot_theta <theta>
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
pos |
Entrance position |
expos |
Exit position |
exit_rot_phi |
Exit orientation — pitch (degrees) |
exit_rot_theta |
Exit orientation — yaw (degrees) |
Example:
tp.create pos ( 500 500 500 ) expos ( 200 2000 2000 ) exit_rot_phi 50 exit_rot_theta 180
Decorative (and collidable) planets.
sv.planet pos ( <x> <y> <z> ) rotspeed <n> ring <0/1> size <f> tex <name> ringtex <name>
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
pos |
Centre position in world space |
rotspeed |
Rotation speed in BAMS units (8–16 is typical) |
ring |
1 to add a ring, 0 for none |
size |
Visual radius as a float; omit to use the class default |
tex |
Surface texture name (without extension) — see table below |
ringtex |
Ring texture name (without extension) — see table below |
ringinner |
Ring inner radius (float); omit to use default |
ringouter |
Ring outer radius (float); omit to use default |
ringtiltx |
Ring tilt around X axis in degrees |
ringtiltz |
Ring tilt around Z axis in degrees |
Surface textures (tex):
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
planet_terra |
Earth-like green/blue |
planet_ocean |
Ocean world |
planet_mars |
Red desert |
planet_ice |
Ice world |
planet_gas |
Gas giant |
planet_lava |
Lava world |
Ring textures (ringtex):
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
ring_saturn |
Classic Saturn rings |
ring_ice |
Icy rings |
ring_dust |
Thin dust ring |
ring_dense |
Dense opaque ring |
Example:
sv.planet pos ( 0 0 2000 ) rotspeed 16 ring 1 tex planet_terra ringtex ring_saturn
sv.planet pos ( -3000 500 1000 ) rotspeed 8 ring 0 tex planet_mars
The master server tracks which game servers are online and provides the list to clients. It also acts as the transit registry — it temporarily holds a player's loadout when they jump through a stargate so the destination server can restore it on join.
The master server is the same binary as the game server, started with the
--master flag:
./parsec_server --masterGame servers register by adding to their settings.con:
sv.masterserver.conf name <master-ip-or-hostname> interval 5
sv.masterserver.sendheartbeat 1
The default master server is master.openparsec.com.
You can link multiple game servers into a network that players can fly between via stargates.
Setup checklist:
- Each server must have a unique
sv.serveridin itssettings.con. - Every server must register with the same master server.
- In each server's
_level.con, add ansv.linkfor each neighbouring server, using the neighbour'ssv.serveridand its public IP/port. - Stargates are bidirectional by convention but must be placed on both servers — a gate on server A pointing to B, and a gate on server B pointing back to A.
Loadout transit:
When a player flies through a stargate the client saves their current ammo, weapons, energy and shields to the master server. The destination server queries the master on join and restores the loadout. Records expire after 5 minutes if the player never connects to the destination.
Example three-server layout:
; Enyo (serverid 1, nebula 5) — _level.con
sv.link serverid 2 pos ( 500 0 1000 ) dir ( 0 0 1 ) ; gate to McAuliffe
; McAuliffe (serverid 2, nebula 2) — _level.con
sv.link serverid 1 pos ( -500 0 1000 ) dir ( 0 0 1 ) ; gate back to Enyo
sv.link serverid 3 pos ( 500 0 1000 ) dir ( 0 0 1 ) ; gate to Gimle
; Gimle (serverid 3, nebula 3) — _level.con
sv.link serverid 2 pos ( 500 0 1000 ) dir ( 0 0 1 ) ; gate back to McAuliffe