OpenPax 0.1.8

A small update to the first release of OpenPax, an open-source engine for Pax Imperia: Eminent Domain. OpenPax comes with none of the game: you need your own copy from GOG.

This is an early release: expect rough edges, and please report what you find.

What's new in 0.1.8

• Lua mods. A mod can now be a Lua script instead of a C# assembly: a main.lua in the mod's folder, nothing to build. Scripts hear the game's events, act every step or every so many ticks, read their own files, keep saved values, and draw from the mod's own random numbers, so a game comes out the same on every machine. Bounty ships in Lua too, as "Bounty (Lua)". See docs/modding/lua.md in the game's folder.
• Saves across mod changes. A save played with mods that are not turned on does not load until they are. Loading a save tells you which mods were added or updated since, and an updated mod can bring its saved values up to date.
• Saves show their mods. In the load lists, a save played with mods that are not turned on has an orange warning and cannot be loaded; one whose mods are at another version is marked too, and loads. Rest the pointer on the warning to see which mods.
• Linux packages update themselves. The .deb and the Flatpak now come with OpenPax's package repositories: install either once, and your system's updates (the software center, flatpak update, or apt upgrade) bring every later version. Copies installed from 0.1.7's packages need this one installed by hand, once.
• Licenses. A new button at the bottom of the main menu opens the open source and attributions window: every component OpenPax includes or follows, with its license in full.
• The tall sector panel at 2x. The planet panel's new background filled only a quarter of the panel in large windows; it now fills it at any size.

If you have 0.1.3 or later, the game offers this update itself.

Everything else is as in 0.1.7; 0.1.0's notes cover what's in OpenPax.

Getting started

1. Download the bundle for your system below.
   • Windows: run OpenPax-0.1.8-win-x64-setup.exe, or unzip OpenPax-0.1.8-win-x64.zip (the whole folder) and run openpax.exe. Windows warns about an unsigned program: click More info, then Run anyway.
   • Linux: any one of these:
     • openpax_0.1.8_amd64.deb: install it with sudo apt install ./openpax_0.1.8_amd64.deb, then start OpenPax from the menu or run openpax. Updates come with your system's updates.
     • OpenPax-0.1.8-linux-x64.flatpak: install it with flatpak install --user OpenPax-0.1.8-linux-x64.flatpak (it fetches the freedesktop runtime from Flathub), then start OpenPax from the menu. Updates come through your software center or flatpak update.
     • OpenPax-0.1.8-linux-x64.tar.gz: unpack it and run ./openpax. This one updates itself.
   • macOS (Apple Silicon): OpenPax-0.1.8-osx-arm64.tar.gz. Run ./prepare_mac.sh once from the unpacked folder, then open OpenPax.app.
2. On first start, point OpenPax at your copy of the game: an installed copy, or GOG's offline backup installer (setup_pax_imperia_2.0.0.12.exe). The small GOG Galaxy installer holds none of the game.
3. The import converts the game once, into your user folder (a few minutes). Then the game starts.

Source

The bundles include FFmpeg (LGPL libraries, and a GPL movie converter built with x264). The exact FFmpeg and x264 source archives they were built from are attached below as source-…; see THIRD-PARTY-NOTICES.md.

License

OpenPax is free software under the GPL-3.0. Pax Imperia: Eminent Domain was developed by Heliotrope Studios, and the game and the Pax Imperia name belong to THQ Nordic GmbH. OpenPax is a fan project, not affiliated with or endorsed by Heliotrope Studios, THQ Nordic or GOG.