- Build 19 Is Live - 5 February 2025
It Lives! This build addresses the issues with losing the file-share server's capability.
- Modifications and the Community - 3 January 2022
One of the things that drew me to Empire and Empire Deluxe way back when was the capability to make your own maps and scenarios. This afforded me countless extra hours of game play as I explored the creations of others. This was pretty rare back then, with only a few other games like Breach/Rules Of Engagement allowing users to make their own scenarios (Games like Doom/Quake had strong communities for modding even without official tool kits to assist, and that really create some fantastic things..). To me it showed the power of creativity is with the fan base. That is why I started the map/scenario page for the 1993 game to collect this creativity. This 'extra stuff' for game play is why I have always tried to add capabilities within the game to make modifying it a little easier, and this is documented in the manual. This is not an easy challenge in design and development, but hopefully…
- 2021 Holiday Season Is Here With Maps and Scenarios - 26 November 2021
.and with that the holiday brings out Santa Sarge! Killer Bee Software's carefully crafted marketing tool. I continue to maintain a fairly low profile. My time is still very limited due to several life events. Fortunately, Build 18 has turned out to be quite stable so I have not needed to patch up to a build 19. Over the summer I did convert all of the stock scenarios from the 1993 Empire Deluxe and the scenario disk to the scenario/map download area. The conversion of these scenarios has been the number one ask from fans of the older versions. You can access these maps and scenarios from the “Maps/Scenarios” option off the main menu, then click on the button in the lower left corner for “UL/DL Maps and Scenarios” and peruse the Maps and Scenarios to download. The scenarios are stored under “OriginalScens”. But when you look at the different collections you will see there are many (over…
- Build 18P Has Arrived! - 2 November 2020
It has been a while since I have been able to muster up enough time to get a build going. This addresses a lot of issues. One of the key ones is the “Classic AI” is not Enhanced Set ready, as it can now use submerged subs. So if you have used the classic in the enhanced set, stay a little more alert as the waters are no longer as safe as they used to be. This version also has several bug fixes and minor enhancements. I want to thank everyone for their messages of support and bug reports. I really appreciate it. I hope you find this build enjoyable. since it has been a while, so hopefully I did not miss a step and it all crashes and burns. If it does, we will put the fires out this month and release another patch. Send me an email. For Steam people, updating should be easy. For itch folks, don't forget to check this thread: https://killerbeesoftware.itch.io/empire-deluxe-combined-edition…
- Back In The Saddle (Almost) - 31 August 2020
Good news! I am now moving towards build 18 of Empire Deluxe Combined Edition. I now have a new build environment and am working on several things that have been out standing and then a couple of extra things I have been meaning to put back in. I am a little rusty with the code so taking it slow. The map area for online maps is looking pretty good. If you have a map or scenario to share, please up load it – we are always looking for more! I am also seeing some rumblings about more people working in the AI. This next build will have a few changes in the EmpireCommon lib to facilitate things like overriding the General Names in the AI DLL. So hang in there, the patch will be here soon.
- A Musical Interlude - 9 March 2020
Just wanted to give a heads up to those fans that like to stroll down memory lane with the kinder, gentler vibes of games gone by. Today Xeen Music has released remastered recordings of the MIDI sounds of Empire Deluxe from 1993. These tracks were written by and originally plunked into MIDI form by Rob Wallace. Xeen Music has also a bunch of other tracks from many other classics, such as King's Quest and Might and Magic. Check out the channel, as they are striving to build the music from the original MIDI files when they can. Obviously, this is a true love for an art maybe somewhat lost, but not forgotten.
- Thanks - 29 November 2019
It has been a very busy year for me. I don't like to put personal issues out there and want to say I am fine, but there were multiple personal life changing events that have occurred over the course of this year that caused a re-alignment of how my life is working in several ways. Being a lone indie developer, this has a big impact. All these circumstances have unfortunately put a stop to development of further versions of EDCE for other platforms as well as designs for another Perfect General for the immediate moment. At a point in the future, these things may resume. Fortunately EDCE has been very stable and only a few minor issues have arisen since the last patch. I still have made time for support and make sure to answer emails and questions/potential issues with the game, so please don't hesitate to contact me. We are moving on looking forward to the next 50 years! It has been brou…
- It's The Big Time Now - 16 April 2019
At some point in your life you recognize that you are Made. For Sarge, that moment has finally been obtained with the introduction of the Empire Deluxe T-Shirt series, produced by The Mandala Girl. https://cdn.steampulse.org/steam/asset?u=https%3A%2F%2Fsteamcdn-a.akamaihd.net%2Fsteamcommunity%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fclans%2F31081533%2F2cd876becb04f27ac6162384c01d3c2635e94fd0.jpg These shirts can be reviewed on the The Mandala Girl website, and ordered through Amazon. https://www.the-mandala-girl.com/empire-deluxe-t-shirts/ The Mandala Girl involves player and a member of our Empire Community. They were wanting to express a love for the greatest computer wargame ever and to take it to the next level. With only 5 million printed, supplies are limited so order soon, as the time has come for you to show us your true nerdiness by wearing one to a party!
- A Year In Play - 31 December 2018
https://cdn.steampulse.org/steam/asset?u=https%3A%2F%2Fsteamcdn-a.akamaihd.net%2Fsteamcommunity%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fclans%2F31081533%2Fabcbcf0ee2fd24b15ef44d64a89d25cdf52f00f1.jpg With the New Year time here, my expertly crafted and designed marketing tool, Santa Sarge, makes another appearance. Now an almost 20 year tradition, you can feel the subliminal urges that he casts upon you to play Empire Deluxe. Though he is definitely late this year due to a 'real life' event, he is always happy to show his mug. We have now logged an entire year since the release of the Combined Edition. The great news is EDCE is included in Das Tactic's strategy games list for this year. I always enjoy Das as he is not a carefully crafted marketing tool, but actually plays games he likes in a very detailed way. His list has many titles, and there are a few in it that I do not have that I am going to look over. You might find some things that appeal to you from his…
- Build 017 - 9 November 2018
Build #017 has been released. This is a small fix addressing an email issue that came up after the Unity 2017 upgrade. The collection of maps is getting larger. If you have not browsed them in game for a while, you should take a peek. This can be accessed from the Maps/Scenario Edit screen – then click the button in the lower left corner. And as always, if you have something to share, please do! --Mark
- Build 016 Released : Fileshare Play and Unity Upgrade - 19 October 2018
https://cdn.steampulse.org/steam/asset?u=https%3A%2F%2Fsteamcdn-a.akamaihd.net%2Fsteamcommunity%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fclans%2F31081533%2Fbe314a76b60d74ea1493a41c6f0bd4dd1ce298e6.png Build 16 is now out and it is very exciting. It contains a major addition. First, for me the most important aspect of this is Fileshare play. It removes a great deal of the logistical issues associated with email play. Turn around can come quite rapidly, and it is a lot of fun. Please make sure you read the manual entry on this (page 86 in updated manual) and understand how it works. Then find a frenemy and have at it. Second, B16 will sport a more recent version of the Unity Player. This will be what Unity calls v2017, which will be a step up from 5.3. In testing, some issues with the upgrade were detected and corrected. Right now I do not see anything, but everyone has a different play style and you might travel where other players don't go. So if you see something…
- Fileshare In Action - 7 October 2018
Today I will treat you to my action-packed, superbly narrated and obviously well prepared demo of sending fileshare turns. https://youtu.be/tB1mSJJSXUw Be aware that I play BOTH sides of the game in the demo, but I wanted to make sure you saw how it behaves. So when you watch it, makes sure you think about if from either position 1's perspective, or position 2. When you get you hands on this, do not register a position you do not intend to play. Remember - do as I say, not as I do. ;> Beyond some other minor repairs, the only other real tricky thing about this update is that it will be an upgrade of the Unity Engine from version 5.3 to a version they are calling “2017”. There were some minor issues that cropped up due to this, but I believe they have all been squashed. Right now I feel baring any horrific discovery this will be out before the end of October. I am very excited to get thi…
- So What Is This Fileshare Play I am Hearing About? - 25 September 2018
So late last month I wanted to announce that “Fileshare Play” was going to be introduced in build 16. Since that time it has been undergoing testing both internally with me and with a couple of 3 player games (which include a mod) with an independent group. I am quite excited about this as I continue to look for ways to facilitate PvP play in a reasonable, economic way. “Fileshare Play” is very much like play by email, with a game file being placed between players. With email, a file has to be sent via the email, meaning either the game program needs to be configured to talk with your SMTP server so a file can be sent, and you receive the game file in your email program as an attachment and you have to add it in a specific directory for the game to digest and play it. With fileshare play, the game file is sent to a file server via http. and a registry is updated indicating who last play…
- Working On A New Way To Multi-Play - 31 August 2018
I am happy to announce that the next version of Empire Deluxe will have a new Multi-player option, and that will be what I am calling “Fileshare Play”. This will be very similar to email play, except the game will automatically be sent and received via http over the Internet. This enables you and an opponent or two to have quick turn around times, as you can wait for the turn to come back to you, or occasionally check to see if you have any games to play. I cannot give you an estimated delivery time for the build yet, but it is implemented and now testing. I checked the online maps the other day and some people have been busy. ;> Don't have much else to comment, but I wanted to put the Fileshare info out there, so I will leave you with this screen shot of my current Fileshare play screen. https://cdn.steampulse.org/steam/asset?u=https%3A%2F%2Fsteamcdn-a.akamaihd.net%2Fsteamcommunity%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fclans%2F31081533%2Fb72e00e661de6272951c30e%25E2%2580%25A6
- Just Playing The Game. - 14 July 2018
Was working On Europe. Liked this screen shot: https://cdn.steampulse.org/steam/asset?u=https%3A%2F%2Fsteamcdn-a.akamaihd.net%2Fsteamcommunity%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fclans%2F31081533%2Fd3fdc62893c1d4c31809625195430bc01942103c.png If you have a screen shot you like, please share. --Mark
- Onwards With Build 15 - 28 June 2018
Today is the release of build15, which is actually a small patch up to fix a few issues that have been uncovered since the production release. The most notable of this fixes is a network error arising from the use of map labels in Network games, causing out network protocol to be set at 3. Also, the lack of control button graphical changes for Morphing were confusing some players when it came time to make Morph decisions. The full patch notes list is posted here: http://killerbeesoftware.com/edce/dev/ Some maps are beginning to come into the community map archive. Milkman has produced several now, including The crater map: https://cdn.steampulse.org/steam/asset?u=https%3A%2F%2Fsteamcdn-a.akamaihd.net%2Fsteamcommunity%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fclans%2F31081533%2Fa92e6dd3f535c1e1a3863823d310f7bf358a5603.png A separating sea map: https://cdn.steampulse.org/steam/asset?u=https%3A%2F%2Fsteamcdn-a.akamaihd.net%2Fsteamcommunity%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fclans%2F31081533%2F2367804dee16dae1405deba094fd3449c5af8c69.png and…
- Exit From Early Access, Onward to Full Release - 1 June 2018
Well, I guess it is officially a game. Build 14 marks version P 5.0.14 where the P stands for “Production”. Just what does this mean? It means my belief is the game has reach a high level of stability/quality, which was the primary goal of Early Access. That does not mean it is perfect, but you should be able to play many hours bug free I hope. (If you do find an issue, as always let me know). The map/scenario uploading is in place, and I do have people looking over and using the open source AI code. So I know it will never be perfect, but as of now the game is considered in “Full Release”. Version P 5.0.14 (still known as build 14 to all of you 'insiders'), has not made a ton of changes, but there were a couple of notable additions: Waypoints – Map labels now hove the ability to contain one of eight key-bindable waypoints. When you set the key for a waypoint in your keybinds, and then…
- A Couple of Things - 3 May 2018
https://cdn.steampulse.org/steam/asset?u=https%3A%2F%2Fsteamcdn-a.akamaihd.net%2Fsteamcommunity%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fclans%2F31081533%2F665aae5c40ed3b74cbbbf315ad2cf4219976f903.png (Screen Grab of You Tube Video of WWII Mod) I do not have a great deal to report at this time, which is a good thing. Lucky build #13 seems to be very stable, and only some rare edge case/minor issues have cropped up. So I do suspect the time for the end of Early Access draws nigh. WWII Weasel has been quite prolific with his WWII mod. On Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/EmpireDeluxe/ He provides links to two different sets for play. Also on Reddit he has posted a video of the mod to show some of the different units. I do not know what AI he was using there, but it was not very aggressive. Even though a mod like this seems built with PvP play in mind because of the number of new unit types, I have definitely enjoyed playing it and learning the units using the Expandin…
- The Baker's Dozen Build - 12 April 2018
https://cdn.steampulse.org/steam/asset?u=https%3A%2F%2Fsteamcdn-a.akamaihd.net%2Fsteamcommunity%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fclans%2F31081533%2F6ac5dca931603437e4f4b35541685b012a72aa9f.png Build #013 is now out of the oven and ready for consumption. This build has dealt with some network play issues and some other minor things. The release notes for this version are here: http://killerbeesoftware.com/edce/dev This build is telling me that the time for “Early Access” is growing short, and the game will soon be in full release. This does not make the assumption that there are no more bugs, or that nothing else can be added, but I definitely believe the game has reached a good confidence level in its stability. If this build goes as well as expected, then the EA time will soon draw to a close. If you have not been tuned in, there is a discussion going on in the Steam forums about building the AI. The details are here in this thread: https://steamcommunity.…
- A Few Shout Outs - 5 April 2018
https://cdn.steampulse.org/steam/asset?u=https%3A%2F%2Fsteamcdn-a.akamaihd.net%2Fsteamcommunity%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fclans%2F31081533%2Fda072074d73424234af04675ea6f5f57bc700884.png Them! I have build 13 in the oven, but I suspect my schedule is going to get the best of me and I will not get the build fully tested for a release until next week. I am turning my hamster wheel as fast as I can, but as you should know I am a one man shop. But this got me thinking that I want to give a shout out to some of those that are helping spread the word for the game either through videos, or mods. First I want to shout out thanks to Das Tactics, who has made some videos of Empire Deluxe. He plays a lot of interesting stuff and I have watched him on several occasions to get a feel for a title. He is quite prolific and it is obviously a labor of love. His channel can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/user/Das24680/featured And then there have been a couple…
