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OpenSE4 0.9.0

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@lowlevelmetal lowlevelmetal released this 04 Oct 20:44
· 184 commits to main since this release
v0.9.0
cbfea0f

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 0.8.1

Thank you to everyone who tried 0.8.1 and reported problems. This release fixes them, and brings the game to more computers.

More systems

  • Windows 7 SP1 to Windows 11 from one download. The Windows build now uses the C runtime every Windows 7 SP1 machine already has, so nothing extra needs installing. The installer explains when Windows is too old. Folder names with accented or non-Latin letters now work on Windows 7 to 8.1 too.
  • ARM Linux, 64-bit (aarch64) and 32-bit (armhf, ARMv7 with NEON). These packages need glibc 2.34 or newer (Debian 12, Ubuntu 22.04, Raspberry Pi OS 12).
    • Machines that can run the game: Raspberry Pi 4 and 5 on current Raspberry Pi OS, recent RK3588 boards, Apple Silicon under Asahi Linux, and Snapdragon laptops. The game needs Vulkan 1.3 or OpenGL 3.3.
    • Older boards such as the Pi 3 can't draw the game, but they can host the dedicated server.
    • Games on ARM play exactly like games on PCs, so everyone can play together.

Fixes from your reports

  • Crash after a battle: choosing Strategic when an enemy arrived through a warp point could crash the game.
  • Turns are safer: an error during a turn can no longer advance the game or save half a turn. A second End Turn click, or Enter, pressed while a turn is still processing no longer ends the next turn too.
  • Crash reports: if OpenSE4 ever crashes, it writes a report to opense4.log and tells you where to find it. Please send that file with any crash report.
  • Windows over windows: while a window or a question is open, the main screen no longer takes clicks or keys. End Turn can't be pressed during a battle or while designing a ship.
  • Music and sound:
    • Music keeps playing instead of stopping after its first track.
    • The random popping is gone: sounds and tracks now fade instead of being cut off mid-wave, and the mix no longer clips.
    • opense4.log says which music it found and why a file couldn't play.
  • Race Report: it is now a proper report window, with its tabs and a Close button. It closes together with the Empires window.
  • Black holes: system reports, black holes included, wrap and scroll instead of cutting off their text.
  • Stray lines under warp points and asteroid fields are gone.
  • Text size: at larger text sizes, text no longer spills out of buttons or over other text.

Closer to the original game

  • Colonizing moons: when a sector holds several planets or moons, a window asks which one to colonize, as in the original. Warp, Drop Cargo and Attack use the same picker.
  • Log pictures: every entry in the Log shows its picture again.
  • Following your ships: in turn-based games the view follows your ships through warp points while their orders run.
  • Keeping your selection: looking at another system keeps your selected ship, its report and its orders.
  • Right-click reports: the owner box at the top of Set Construction Queue opens the planet's report, and a facility or component on the Facil and Comps tabs opens its report.
  • Ability tab: shows one readable line per ability, as the original does.
  • Report tabs: go back to Detail for each new selection.
  • Moving population: you can move it between your colonies in the same sector with Cargo Transfer.
  • Sector marks: a sector marks only the planet it shows, with either a colony box or a colonizable star.
  • Only Latest: in the designer and the build queue, Only Latest keeps only the newest of each line (a new Contra-Terrene engine hides Ion Engine III).
  • Hidden planets: you can't colonize a planet your empire can't currently see, as in the original. This matters only in modded or unusual situations; normal galaxies never start with one.

Compatibility

0.9.0 plays together with 0.7.0, 0.8.0 and 0.8.1 over the network and by e-mail (protocol 5), and they read each other's saves (save format 7).

Downloads

File For
OpenSE4-0.9.0-windows-x86_64-setup.exe 64-bit Windows 7 SP1 to 11: the installer
OpenSE4-0.9.0-windows-x86_64.zip 64-bit Windows 7 SP1 to 11: the same programs to run from any folder
OpenSE4-0.9.0-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)
OpenSE4-0.9.0-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)
OpenSE4-0.9.0-linux-armhf.tar.gz 32-bit ARM Linux (ARMv7 with NEON) with glibc 2.34 or later (Raspberry Pi OS 32-bit)
OpenSE4-0.9.0-SHA256SUMS.txt SHA-256 checksums of the 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.

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.

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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