Skip to content

OpenSE4 0.8.0

Pre-release
Pre-release

Choose a tag to compare

View all tags
@lowlevelmetal lowlevelmetal released this 03 Oct 18:33
· 138 commits to main since this release
v0.8.0
855cc7e

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 0.7.0

This release reworks the guided tutorials after a top-to-bottom review of how they feel to a new player.

Guidance that can't be lost

  • Steps check the right ship. A step that asks for an attack ship now waits for one. In "Exploring and colonizing" the colony ship is sent out before anything explores, so a stray click can no longer send it exploring and leave the lesson impossible to finish.
  • The lock follows the window in front. Only what the step points at responds, even when one window sits on top of another (the ship designer over Designs, Set Queue over the queues, the simulator over Designs).
  • A way back instead of Skip. If you close a window the step needs, the button that reopens it gets a dashed cyan outline, and the panel says what to press ("Press the Designs button (F3), then Create"). If a window covers the outlined part, its Close button is pointed out.
  • Skip only when there is truly no way back. It appears after 10 seconds, never during steps that simply take a few turns, and skipping no longer cascades into the next step.
  • Questions keep their keys. Answering a lesson question with N or Enter no longer also fires a main-window shortcut.
  • The End Turn question comes to the front. It no longer opens behind an open window.
  • Calmer feedback. A refused click first says "Click the pulsing yellow outline". Free Play is offered only after a few refused clicks, and it is switched off whenever a lesson starts.
  • A steadier outline. It never fades below 55%, has a dark edge so it stands out from the game's own frames, and flashes at most twice a second.

A lesson panel that stays out of the way

  • Never over a question. The panel stays under the game's prompts and pop-ups and places itself clear of them, so at 800×600 OK and Colonize can always be clicked.

  • Follows the text size. The panel sizes itself from Settings → Graphics → Text size, and its buttons flow into rows that never overlap.

  • Compact at 800×600. Action steps show a compact panel with a More button, so the window being taught stays visible.

  • Keys for the panel:

    • Alt+N (Next);
    • Alt+B (Back);
    • Alt+K (Skip, when offered);
    • Alt+R (Read More).

    You can change them in Settings → Controls. Shift+F1 opens the manual during a lesson too.

  • Order strip pages at 800×600. When the outlined order is on another page of the order strip, the panel says so and points at the arrow.

Shorter, clearer lessons

  • Every step starts with what to do, in bold, then a short reason.
  • Much less to read. Steps average 39 words instead of 48, the longest has 59, and nothing needs scrolling at 1024×768.
  • Your own design names. Lessons show the names your designs carry ("click Aaóuane twice"), and the simulator and build lists show each design's type.
  • Lists show the row you need. When a step names one of your designs, Set Queue and the Combat Simulator scroll it into view.
  • Progress lines. Steps that wait on the game say how far along you are ("Systems explored: 3 of 5", "Turns: 1 of 3").
  • Content fixes:
    • Ctrl+L explained correctly;
    • the Log that opens by itself explained;
    • a design-type step in "Designing ships";
    • "close the window, then End Turn";
    • a step that finished instantly removed.

Finishing and coming back

  • A richer result. It recaps what you practised and names the next lesson. After the last tutorial it suggests the Land Rush training game.
  • The Learn window points you onward. It counts "N of 7 done" and marks the next lesson.
  • Resume where you left. The Learn window offers "Resume (step N)" for a tutorial you left unfinished.
  • A start-here hint. First-time players see a hint at the intro's Tutorial button.

Testing

  • Input scripts at both sizes. The scripts play every tutorial through at both 1024×768 and 800×600 (tools/run_input_tests.py --small). New scripts cover the lock with stacked windows, the way back, Skip, prompts and the panel.
  • CI plays the fixture-data scripts at both sizes.

Compatibility

0.8.0 plays together with 0.7.0 over the network and by e-mail (both use protocol 5), and they read each other's saves (save format 7). It doesn't play with 0.6 or earlier.

Downloads

File For
OpenSE4-0.8.0-windows-x86_64-setup.exe 64-bit Windows 10 and 11: the installer
OpenSE4-0.8.0-windows-x86_64.zip 64-bit Windows 10 and 11: the same programs to run from any folder
OpenSE4-0.8.0-linux-x86_64.tar.gz 64-bit Linux with glibc 2.34 or later (Ubuntu 22.04, Debian 12, Fedora 35, RHEL 9, SteamOS 3 and newer)
OpenSE4-0.8.0-SHA256SUMS.txt SHA-256 checksums of the three downloads

Every download holds three programs:

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

Libraries, our own fonts, the manual and the lessons are built in. The game needs a GPU with Vulkan or OpenGL 3.3.

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: unpack and run ./opense4, or run ./install-desktop-entry.sh once to start it from your desktop's application list.

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.
  • Computer players hold slightly fewer colonies by turn 100 than the original's (about 15.7 against 17.0 per empire). This is still being investigated.
  • Windows builds are tested in CI and under Wine. The executables aren't code-signed.
  • 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.

Assets 6
Loading