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OpenSE4 0.10.0

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@lowlevelmetal lowlevelmetal released this 05 Oct 09:08
· 2 commits to main since this release
v0.10.0
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OpenSE4 is an open-source engine for Space Empires IV Deluxe. It plays the classic game on your own installed copy of Space Empires IV Deluxe and contains nothing from the original game.

OpenSE4 is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by the game's publishers.

What changed since 0.9.0

Thank you to everyone who played 0.9.0 and reported problems here and on Discord. This release fixes every open report, and lets your games move between OpenSE4 and the original.

Your games from the original

  • Load an original saved game. Load Game opens the original's .gam files (version 1.95) and converts them as they load. Use Change Directory to open the original's SaveGame folder, or start with opense4 --load=PATH/GAME.gam. A note lists anything that came across only approximately.
  • Save a game for the original. Save Game has a new Save for SE IV button. It writes the game in the original's format, with the players' History files beside it. Copy them into the original's SaveGame folder to play on there.
  • Checked in the original: the converted games load in the original and play on. Players sign in to multiplayer games, the Log lists its entries, and ships keep their orders.
  • What doesn't carry over:
    • partial damage to a ship's parts (the original stores each part only as destroyed or intact);
    • the random sequence: the next turn won't roll the same dice;
    • diplomatic messages not yet delivered;
    • part of the computer players' memory, on import;
    • passwords, on export.
  • Same data files on both sides: the original only accepts a game made with the same data files as its install, so a modded game needs the same mod there.
  • Command line: opense4-convert converts in both directions and describes a saved game of the original. It is included in every download.

Sound

  • Muted in the background: the music and sound effects go quiet while the game is minimized or another window has the focus, and come back when you return. You can turn this off in Options ("Mute when the game is in the background").

Fixes from your reports

  • Upgrade on the Designs page (#5): each part is replaced by the newest part of its line that you have researched, as in the original. Ion Engine III now becomes Contra-Terrene Engine I once you have it, instead of the other way round. Upgrade always opens the designer, as the original does.

  • Ships ordered together (#7): in turn-based games, ships you shift-select and give one order now move as one group and fight one battle, as in the original. If the trip takes more than a turn, they carry on separately from the next turn, as they do in the original; a fleet keeps them together.

  • Fleets in the sector list (#8): each of your fleets is one row, as in the original. Clicking it opens the Fleet Report. In its list of ships, a left-click makes a ship the fleet leader and a right-click opens its report.

  • Hide Obsolete (#1): Hide Obsolete and Stats\Strategy in the Designs window are kept with your empire and in saved games, as in the original.

  • System picture (#2): the system's picture no longer covers the top bar of the sector details pane.

  • Scores and Treaty Grid (#3): both windows fit everything:

    • ten empires to a page;
    • each column headed by the empire's flag and the start of its name (hover for the full name);
    • Scores now has one column per empire, so every figure shows in full.

  • Inbox notice (#4): "Inbox: 1 waiting" only counts messages you can still answer from the Log, so it clears once the chance to reply has passed.

  • Construction progress over 100% (#6): the progress figure counts each resource only up to what the item needs, so it stays under 100% until the item is built. Building itself was always right.

  • Error box in the Log (#9): the Log's details pane no longer causes a developer error box for entries without text, such as retrofits. Release builds never show these boxes; they are written to opense4.log instead.

  • Combat entries in the Log (#10): we could not make a battle entry go missing in about 1,500 test battles. Two things that could hide entries are fixed:

    • the error box from #9, which covered the list;
    • the Log reopening part way down a new turn's list.

    If you still miss one, please attach a save from just before the battle.

Compatibility

0.10.0 does not play with 0.9.0 or older over the network or by e-mail (protocol 6), so every player needs to update. It loads saved games from 0.7.0 to 0.9.0 (save format 8 now; 7 still reads).

Downloads

File For
OpenSE4-0.10.0-windows-x86_64-setup.exe 64-bit Windows 7 SP1 to 11: the installer
OpenSE4-0.10.0-windows-x86_64.zip 64-bit Windows 7 SP1 to 11: the same programs to run from any folder
OpenSE4-0.10.0-linux-x86_64.tar.gz 64-bit Linux on PCs with glibc 2.34 or later (Ubuntu 22.04, Debian 12, Fedora 35, SteamOS 3 and newer)
OpenSE4-0.10.0-linux-aarch64.tar.gz 64-bit ARM Linux with glibc 2.34 or later (Raspberry Pi OS 64-bit, Asahi, Ubuntu and Debian on ARM)
OpenSE4-0.10.0-linux-armhf.tar.gz 32-bit ARM Linux (ARMv7 with NEON) with glibc 2.34 or later (Raspberry Pi OS 32-bit)
OpenSE4-0.10.0-SHA256SUMS.txt SHA-256 checksums of the downloads

Every download holds four programs:

  • the game (opense4);
  • the dedicated server for network and play-by-e-mail games (opense4-server);
  • a data checker (opense4-datacheck);
  • the saved-game converter (opense4-convert).

Libraries, our own fonts, the manual and the lessons are built in.

Running it

  • Windows: run the installer, then start OpenSE4 from the Start menu, or unpack the zip and run opense4.exe. Neither is code-signed yet, so Windows SmartScreen may warn the first time ("More info", then "Run anyway").
  • Linux, on a PC or on ARM: unpack and run ./opense4, or run ./install-desktop-entry.sh once to start it from your desktop's application list. On ARM boards without a Steam install, copy the game's files from another computer (see docs/SETUP.md).

The game looks for a Steam install of Space Empires IV Deluxe. See README.md for other locations and command-line options (opense4 --help).

Known limitations

  • This is still an early build, marked as a pre-release.

  • Not yet tested on real hardware:

    • Windows 7: only under Wine, with each program's imports checked against what Windows 7 provides.
    • ARM: only through emulation and native ARM test runners; the game window hasn't been opened on a real ARM graphics chip yet.

    Reports are welcome.

  • Following warps: the view follows your ships through warp points in local, hotseat and e-mail games, but not yet for players who join someone else's network game.

  • Computer players hold slightly fewer colonies by turn 100 than the original's (about 15.8 against 17.0 per empire).

  • In network and e-mail games, every battle is resolved strategically, as in the original.

  • Designs window: it doesn't yet remember which tab was open, as the original does.

License

OpenSE4 is free software under the GNU General Public License, version 3 or later. The Noto Sans fonts are under the SIL Open Font License. THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.txt in each download lists the bundled libraries and their licences.

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