OpenSE4 0.14.1

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 0.14.0

A player on Discord pointed out that every ship moved at once, and that a long move slid along one straight line. In SE4, each group makes its own move in turn: a lone ship, a fleet, or ships ordered together. That is part of the fun of watching your designs fly.

• One group at a time. Each group makes its whole move square by square, turning at each bend, before the next group starts. This happens at the start of your turn, when your ships carry on their orders, and when you give an order during the turn.
• The view follows your ships. At the start of your turn the view follows each of your groups as it moves. After a warp jump it moves to the arrival system once the ship reaches the warp point.
• An option for all at once. Options has a new choice under OpenSE4, "Ship movement": one group at a time (the default, as in SE4) or all at once. A click or a key still skips the animation.
• The movement replay. In simultaneous games the Play Movement Log replay also moves each ship on its own, one after another.
• Differences from SE4, on purpose:
  • You also see the computer players' visible ships move, where SE4 shows a black "taking turn" screen.
  • In network and e-mail games, your copy of the game only gets the end positions from the host. Each group glides straight to its new square there, one after another.

Compatibility

0.14.1 plays with 0.14.0 (network protocol 9) and reads its saves (save format 10). It still does not play with 0.13.0. Every player in a network game must have the same game-changing mods.

Downloads

File	For
OpenSE4-0.14.1-windows-x86_64-setup.exe	64-bit Windows 7 SP1 to 11: the installer
OpenSE4-0.14.1-windows-x86_64.zip	64-bit Windows 7 SP1 to 11: the same programs to run from any folder
OpenSE4-0.14.1-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)
OpenSE4-0.14.1-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)
OpenSE4-0.14.1-linux-armhf.tar.gz	32-bit ARM Linux (ARMv7 with NEON) with glibc 2.34 or later (Raspberry Pi OS 32-bit)
OpenSE4-0.14.1-SHA256SUMS.txt	SHA-256 checksums of the downloads

Every download holds five 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);
• the modding tool (opense4-sdk).

It also holds the Hegemon mod (mods/; turn it on in the Mods window), the modder's documents and examples (sdk/) and, in the zip and tarballs, PORTABLE-README.txt. 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). Modders start with sdk/docs/README.md.

Known limitations

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

• Details still being checked: where the original's behaviour couldn't be pinned down, OpenSE4 makes a stated choice. These choices are listed as open questions in docs/spec/, for example how the original treats a mine group chosen in battle, or the default names past the tenth fleet.

• Original .map files: reading them has only been tested with maps OpenSE4 wrote, since no map file from the original was at hand. Reports with real map files are welcome.

• 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.

• Scripts run on MicroPython: in-game scripts use a built-in, sandboxed Python (MicroPython with additions), so libraries such as numpy are only available to external bots.

• Rules mods near their time limit: a rules mod that runs very close to its per-turn time limit could, rarely, replay a turn slightly differently.

• Hegemon rarely finishes off an empire within 150 turns; it wins by growing far ahead.

• 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.

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

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, among them MicroPython and miniz.