There's a new patch available for Linux servers to fix one critical crash bug. If a player attempted to build more walls than he was allowed to, the server would crash. Download the following file and replace your "server_i486.so" from 1.07 with the one from this file.

    Download 1.072 Linux Server Patch.

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    Update your bookmarks to point to the new url: http://forums.empiresmod.com, of if your DNS hasn't updated yet, http://www.empiresmod.com/forums.

    Thanks for waiting. I hope no one thought "oh no, I'll have to re-register for the third time!" Everything is exactly the same as it was when the forums went away. We have upgraded to a newer version of vBulletin, but any changes from the previous version will likely not be noticed by the average user. If you notice any problems, please let me know.

    Development of 1.08 is coming along. Our new weapon models have been completed and are currently being animated. They have the same basic design as the previous models. Now, their textures are vastly improved and they have iron sights. We also have two new maps almost completed and currently undergoing testing. We'll post screenshots soon.

    Beyond 1.08, coding of aircraft is starting to show its progress. Flight physics and controls are fully implemented, and you can fly with a joystick or mouse. G-LOC (g force induced loss of consciousness) is also implemented where pilots will experience tunnel vision and then complete blackout if they pull too many gs for an extended period of time. Dogfights will become intense as each pilot begins to wear out and lose consciousness if they aren't careful after trying to outmaneuver the other. Aircraft only maps will be aimed at a 1/16 scale with such as objectives as bombing runs and escort missions. 1/8 scale maps and below will feature normal Empires gameplay of base building and commanding of ground troops in addition to aircraft.

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    Don't be alarmed. The Empires Forum is currently down while we relocate it to another server. This may take a few days.

    I've uploaded a new patch, 1.071, which is a small client side only patch for 1.07. It fixes several crash bugs created from switching to the Episode 1 engine.

    Click to download.

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    Once again, it's time for another release. Empires V1.07 fixes many bugs and increases stability. We've moved Empires to the new HL 2 engine introduced in Episode 1. This means that if you didn't have HL2 Deathmatch installed before, it's now required to play. The new engine fixes problems with recording and playing demos and may improve performance overall.

    New title screen background created by Dee from the Empires Forums

    Visit the download page to get Version 1.07 Beta.

    View the Change Log for Version 1.07 Beta.

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    Version 1.06 has been released. Both players and servers need to update. The main goal with this update is to introduce three new maps: MValley by R_Yell, Slaughtered by Hellion, and Gauntlet by Doobie. The first two mentioned maps were created by the community. Doobie has also updated Escort adding several new paths to take and other modifications. In addition to the new maps, I've fixed many bugs. Any previously mentioned features that were planned for 1.06 have not been completed yet and are being pushed back to a later release. We did not want to keep the community waiting while we had new maps and bug fixes to release.

    Emp_Gauntlet 01 / Emp_Gauntlet 02 / Emp_Gauntlet 03

    Emp_MValley 01 / Emp_MValley 02 / Emp_MValley 03

    Emp_Slaughtered 01 / Emp_Slaughtered 02 / Emp_Slaughtered 03

    Visit the download page to get Version 1.06 Beta.

    View the Change Log for Version 1.06 Beta.

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    Version 1.06 will not be made available over the weekend in a break from our usual release schedule. I'll be gone on a short vacation over the holiday weekend, and we're holding onto this release a bit longer to include a major update to weapons. Our weapon models are getting improved skins and animations as well as the addition of iron sights for all rifles. Secondary fire will bring up the iron sights in addition to zooming the player's view. One new map will be included, done by Doobie and will be a regular map, not a flag map like District402 or Escort.

    For anyone who has attempted to record and playback a demo only to find it fail will be pleased to hear that Valve, in their usual helpful manner, has responded and fixed the underlying bug in the Half-Life 2 engine. Demo playback should begin functioning as soon as they release their next update for Half-Life 2 via Steam.

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    Empires 1.05 Beta has been released. Both clients and servers will need to download this update as usual. This update features bug fixes and one new map, District402. The Brenodi Empire's control in the urban areas of District 402 has been eroding over the past weeks. Clamping down on the area has only increased the Northern Faction's support, and the NF have taken control of a weapons bunker in order to solidify their hold on the area. Seeing that the situation has turned dire, the Brenodi Empire sends an APC carrying its most experienced soldiers to regain control and eliminate the Northern Faction stranglehold on the area. Take note, most of the capture points are located inside buildings. If you see a flag outside a building, then you most likely have to enter the building to capture.

    Emp_District402 01 / Emp_District402 02 / Emp_District402 03

    Visit the download page to get Version 1.05 Beta.

    View the Change Log for Version 1.05 Beta.

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    We've changed our forums to run on vBulletin instead of IkonBoard. Successfully transferring all posts from the old forums to the new forums was becoming less and less likely. We decided to just make the switch and keep the old forums available but locked. If you're having problems viewing the new forums, try clearing your browser's cache.

    Empires 1.04 Beta is now available for download. Both clients and servers will need to download this update as usual. Besides bug fixes, this update also includes one new map, Badland, and fixes to Escort and Canyon! Badland is a milestone as it is the first fan created map to be included as an official map. Gobanzo Mon is the creator and deserves recognition for his excellent work. If you're a mapper, you can get started mapping by using the included Empires.fgd with each public release, and visit the Mapping section of our forums for help. We look forward to including more fan created maps in future releases.

    Important note to server admins: Emp_badland will have to be manually added to your "mapcycle.txt" file to place the map in your server's map rotation.

    Emp_Badland 01 / Emp_Badland 02 / Emp_Badland 03

    Visit the download page to get Version 1.04 Beta.

    View the Change Log for Version 1.04 Beta.

    I was recently interviewed by Marc Saltzman of the Global Gaming League. It covers the history of Empires and what we're planning for the future. In other news, work on 1.04 Beta continues in the neverending quest to fix bugs and tweak gameplay. Expected release is April 29.

    Read the article.

    There's a new bug in 1.03 Beta that was missed, caused by the new client-side turret code. Both artillery tank cannons are backwards in 1.03 Beta. In response, we are releasing an optional client-side hotfix as 1.031 Beta. The only fix is for the artillery tanks' cannons. This is an optional update for all clients.

    Visit the download page to get Version 1.031 Beta.

    Empires 1.03 Beta has been released. Both clients and servers will need to download this update as usual. Again, bug fixes and small improvements are the focus. Our next patch will feature much needed map updates/fixes.

    Visit the download page to get Version 1.03 Beta.

    View the Change Log for Version 1.03 Beta.

    Click here to read how to setup a windows or linux dedicated server.

    Empires 1.02 Beta is now available for download. Both clients and servers will need to download this update. Again, bug fixes and optimizations are the focus of this patch. Lag should be further reduced from 1.01 Beta, and servers should be able to handle more players.

    Visit the download page to get Version 1.02 Beta.

    View the Change Log for Version 1.02 Beta.

    Click here to read how to setup a windows or linux dedicated server.

    By request, the change log for 1.02 Beta is now available for viewing. I'm eager to see how far we can push the server player limit with the latest optimizations.

    Click here to read what's changed in Version 1.02 Beta.

    Work is progressing on version 1.02 Beta which has a planned release of this Saturday. The majority of the commander crashes should be fixed and changes to resources are being done to attempt to make the mid to end game more exciting. As it is now, both teams have so many resources that there's no point in attempting to fight over any resource nodes. Optimizations are also continuing to be made to decrease server loading. As it is now, cpu usage is the main source of the lag due to the complexity of some physics objects.

    The Media section has been corrected and updated. It had some missing images ever since moving to a new host after the release of 1.0 Beta. All images now work, and there's a new section showing off the fan contributions created using Garry's Mod. Thanks go to Dee and HL_Maniac of the forums.

    If you're looking for a resource of information on Empires, visit the Empires Wiki. It's maintained by Kelvin from the forums and features lots of helpful information not covered in the Empires Manual. It is a Wiki so if you'd like to contribute, you're more than welcome to. Thank you Kelvin for setting that up and maintaining the site.

    Empires 1.01 Beta is now available for download. Both clients and servers will need to download this update. The main focus of this release is to fix bugs, reduce lag, and make a linux server available. The client is only available in a 6 meg patch which requires Empires V1.0 Beta be installed. The server is a full install in the form of a zip file that both windows and linux users can access.

    Visit the download page to get Version 1.01 Beta.

    Click here to read what's changed in Version 1.01 Beta.

    Click here to read how to setup a windows or linux dedicated server.

    First of all, thanks for all the positive feedback. This weekend has been very overwhelming with all the mixed emotions and sudden reaction to the mod. Our two most important concerns now are to finish a Linux server and to optimize vehicles to reduce the lag. This is a beta so we all want to remind you that we're continually working to improve the mod and to thank all of those who have sent in bug reports.

    If you're running a server, there are some things you can do to improve your performance and work around some issues. First of all, rename the 'maplist.txt' that comes with the server to 'mapcycle.txt'. This tells the server to run through all of the available maps. Some servers are only running one map because of this. For performance tweaks, read this post on the forum. All Empires related server cvars are listed in the 'server.cfg' file located in the 'Empires/cfg/' directory. These include ways to limit the number of vehicles able to be created in game.

    If you are not aware yet by reading the forums, if you crash at all while playing Empires, it will create a memory dump file corresponding to the crash. This file has a '.mdmp' extension and is located in the same location as your 'hl2.exe'. Find the corresponding file that matches the time and date that you crashed, and e-mail it, along with a brief description of what was going on to bugs@empiresmod.com. The more memory dumps we receive, the more crashes we can fix.

    I'd also like to remind everyone to study the gameplay manual if you have not done so already. It explains many questions that new players have. If you have any other questions, please visit the forums. There you can talk to the developers and give feedback on the mod. Thanks again.

    The client is now available for download.

    Visit Download Page

    The manual/player's guide for Empires is now on-line for viewing. It is also included in the client release.

    Player's Guide

    I've uploaded the installer for creating an Empires win32 server, and it is being sent out to mirrors. Get this file only if you want to host an Empires server on windows. A linux server will be forthcoming at a later date. The client download will be made available in roughly 18 hours and is 413 megs.

    Visit Download Page

We've completed our official trailer for Empires v1.0 Beta. It is now available for download in two versions, a larger high quality version and a smaller low quality version. It is encoded with DivX and requires the DivX codec in order to be played. The planned release date can be found at the end of the video.

    High Quality from Moddb.com (177 megs)
    Low Quality from Moddb.com (90 megs)

We appreciate all of our eager fans waiting patiently while we finish up the last few remaining items left to do. I have no official release date to offer yet, but we are working hard on making that date be as soon as possible.

For the meantime, here are screenshots of the Brenodi Empire's turrets to hold you over. The engineer can build one for himself (upgrading to level 2 and 3 if he has the Upgrade skill), and the commander can build many while paying resources for each one (his turret upgrades are based on researching the upgrades from the Research Tree). The MG turret attacks players with bullets, and the ML turret attacks vehicles and buildings with homing missiles.

    Imperial Machine Gun Turret Level 1
    Imperial Machine Gun Turret Level 2
    Imperial Machine Gun Turret Level 3
    Imperial Missile Turret Level 1
    Imperial Missile Turret Level 2
    Imperial Missile Turret Level 3

Some of you may have noticed our moddb.com page updating our progress to 90%. This is my sign to you that we are indeed getting close, but there is no firm date. We are pushing to get everything done. The plan is to finish the small list of coding tasks left to do, and then I will post an update along the lines that all features planned for the first release are done with an update of our plans.

Until that time, here are some new screens. The first five screens depict the skill selection panels where you can choose a general skill or one of your class' specific skills. Every time you make rank, you can choose one more skill. Making rank consists of killing infantry, destroying an enemy vehicle, destroying an enemy building, capturing flags, repairing/building buildings, defusing mines, and participating in your squad if you're apart of one.

    General Skills
    Scout Skills
    Rifleman Skills
    Grenadier Skills
    Engineer Skills

This is a level with large starting areas for both teams to construct a base. However, there are only two passages which lead from each base, and they all combine to meet in the center. Each passage way has ramps that start off under construction, but if an engineer builds them to full health, the ramps become solid and only allow vehicles to exit from your base. This adds an extra layer of defense by blocking all enemy vehicles from driving freely into your base. The central area has five structures for infantry to find cover inside and two valuable resource points outside. This area is going to be difficult to keep under control. If you keep up to date with our forums, then you've seen this level before, but these shots depict our health and ammo areas on the HUD which haven't been shown before.

    X Map 1 of 3
    X Map 2 of 3
    X Map 3 of 3

I'm in the process of relocating our web site to a new server with some modifications. Currently, most of the site is functional but not all media has been uploaded yet. Yesterday, our site was compromised via an exploit in FusionNews, a PHP script which we were using to post news and allow comments to be posted for news items. The infiltrator then proceeded to send out spam e-mails advertisting the usual low life spam products with his newfound access. It sounds like a big joke, but unfortunately, it's all true. Our previous host wasn't very sympathetic to the situation and shut us down due to the excessive resources the large volume of outgoing spam e-mails was using. We will most definitely not be implementing any replacement for the ability to post comments for news item. I enjoyed the comments everyone left in the past, but from now on, the forums will be the only way to post feedback in a similar fashion.

The people from Gamesurge Radio have requested to interview me on their next radio show (Wednesday, Oct 19 at 7 PST/9 CST/10 EST, PM ). They will take questions from their irc channel (#gamesurgeradio on the GameSurge irc network) during the show.

Last week, we released a new closed alpha for our testers to playtest. It includes almost all features and functionality planned for our first public beta. Testing is going very well, and the testers have been very helpful in uncovering bugs and other unwanted "features." It's a huge step forward from the days of Battlefield 1942 modding where we were constantly stumped with crash bugs and the lack of any kind of debugging interface. To respond to our loyal fans on the forums who have been asking for a new update, I'm posting thirty shots from our latest closed alpha. The map featured in these shots is emp_canyon created by DoobiePimpin. Its focus is on base building and destroying the enemy team's command vehicle. Enjoy.

Vehicle Creation: Select Chassis
Vehicle Creation: Select Loadout
Vehicle Creation: Vehicle Armor
Vehicle Creation: Weapon Grouping
Vehicle Creation: Build Summary
Team Selection
Class and Weapon Selection

Northern Faction Lineup
NF Jeep
NF Light Tank 1
NF Light Tank 2
NF Light Tank 3
NF APC
NF Medium Tank 1
NF Medium Tank 2
NF Medium Tank HUD
NF Heavy Tank 1
NF Heavy Tank 2
NF Artillery Tank 1
NF Artillery Tank 2

Imperial Base Building
Buildings Require an Engineer to Finish Construction
Imperial Medium Tank
Imperial Armored Fighting Vehicle and Jeep
Imperial Heavy Tank With Gunner
Imperial Artillery Tank 1
Imperial Artillery Tank 2
Imperial Soldier
Imperial Engineer
Northern Faction Soldier

I'm back on solid ground and am here to stay (look at the team page or previous posts if you don't know what I mean).

Work is still progressing well. The big push right now is to get all of our vehicles done. Coding for vehicles is nearly complete, and all texturing is almost done. The Imperial Medium Tank is the only one drivable at the moment, but that will change in a short amount of time as the first to be done is always the hardest. Getting the rest of the vehicles in game is simple work as they only need to have their models imported. They'll reuse all of the code that was forged for our vehicles which was done for the initial import of the Medium Tank.

Writing the vehicle code has been a monumental task. We've chosen to take a more simulation approach compared to other vehicle heavy games like Battlefield 2. We're talking about fully customizing a vehicle's weapons, armor, and engine via a unique customization GUI, and our damage system takes into account many factors besides just a projectile's damage. Those in the IRC channel managed to get a sneak peek of the vehicle customization GUI, but I'll post updated screenshots of it here within a few days. Also, check back soon for screenshots showing in-game footage. For now, here are some vehicles renders to hold you over.

Imperial Jeep
Imperial AFV
Imperial Medium Tank
Imperial Heavy Tank
Imperial Command Vehicle


Northern Faction Light Tank
Northern Faction Medium Tank

Hello loyal Empires fans. It sure is getting hot here in the Arabian Sea. I apologize for my previous update. That interview fell through, and my attempts at getting media out to you didn't have as much momentum as I hoped.

What I really wanted to say was how things are going. The core coding for all of our main areas are almost all in place. This includes weapons, skills/abilities, classes, the commander, and buildings. I'm currently working on the squad system. As the squad leader, you're able to order your squad members and get access to unique skills only available to the squad leader. The main role of the squad system is to add a layer of organization to the team to help the commander carry out his strategy and to reward players for team play.

The only main area that is left to be coded is the vehicle and aircraft code. This area is going to take a bit of work, probably about a month based on my previous progress. Once all of our vehicles and aircraft are implemented, we'll be looking towards a public beta with the work shifting to bug fixing, balance, and polishing. I'm eagerly anticipating the day we'll be able to show our work to the community. My experience with modding HL2 has been very rewarding, and I've encountered very few obstacles along the way.

Things will pick up around here in August when I'll finally be able to return home and have access to a regular internet connection. As always, if you'd like to help us out in anyway (programming, art, or feedback), please e-mail me.

I wanted to make a quick post since I know everyone has been wondering what is going on with the mod. I've been very occupied with coding for the mod, and we've made a lot of good progress. We're up to version 0.25 of an internal alpha that has a lot of things finished. Most of our infantry related things are finished, and most of our models are in game. A lot of the RTS related features still need to be coded though. We're looking to do a media update in the near future to coincide with a new interview to show off our progress.

We could really use another coder or two and an animator. If you have experience in either area and have worked with the Half-Life 2 SDK, please e-mail me.

    We have a new forum to replace our old one. It can be reached at forums.empiresmod.com.

    I know some people out there are wanting an update on our progress. Here are three preview pictures ( swamp01 / swamp02 / swamp03 ) showing off one of our maps and the drivable imperial jeep.

    I've also updated the team page since we had gained several new mappers and coders, but I had not yet added their names. Our new mappers are TR0LL (who's actually been with us for awhile), DoobiePimpin, and DuctTapeProdigy. Our recent coder additions are Ettinger and Loepelmann. We've all been working hard since the full SDK has been available and will keep everyone informed of our progress.

    I'm certainly relieved that Half-Life 2 has turned out so well. It definitely gives me a thrill that we're modding for such a great game, now if only they'd release the full SDK already!

    For some real news on Empires, Duke has completed low poly versions of three of our player models, and they exhibit his incredible artistic abilities as usual. The Northern Faction soldier model (3880 triangles) will be used by the general grunt class of the game whose expertise lies in packing the most firepower. He does this by getting the option to carry the largest infantry weapons and can upgrade his skills related to improving his weapon handling. The imperial soldier model (4050 triangles) is the Brenodi Empire's equivalent of the general grunt class. The imperial engineer model (3820 triangles) is the model used by those choosing to play as an engineer who has the ability to repair vehicles, create ammo for others, and build buildings. The imperial models exhibit more equipment and higher quality uniforms due to their military's superb funding as the Brenodi government is heavily focused on crushing the Northern Faction. Multiple LOD meshes of all models will be present in Empires so that we may maintain a large number of players on the battlefield without making things unplayable due to the framerate.

    Last week, Al3xand3r from FPSCentral interviewed Duke, Megel, and me. He has recently posted the interview along with a general preview of what the mod will offer. Also, included are four exclusive shots of the imperial jeep and Northern Faction fighter aircraft.

    I've uploaded two pictures (front and back) of the newly created soldier model for the Northern Faction team. This one was made by Duke, and the model speaks for itself. As I mentioned before, we're going for a ragged soldier type look to him as the Northern Faction is on the verge of defeat at the start of Empires' timeline even though they've held on for such a long time. He's seen here wearing an old uniform of the Chekotan military which has been dissolved for over ten years.

    I've uploaded a new screen shot of the Brenodi Empire's medium tank in the media section under "Vehicles". This incredible model was created by Duke who continues to claim the responsibility of designing the imperial side. As you can see, it looks more advanced than the Northern Faction's technology. Its turret is angled to minimize the impact of projectiles and deflect their momentum away. The twin fan exhaust vents in the rear are necessary to fully maintain its engines' air requirements. Planned upgrades for the tank are cannon sizes, engine power output, armor strength, and multiple choices of smaller support weapons which attach to the top hatch's lip.

    Much work has been accomplished in the past month, and I have several more shots of our work that I will be uploading throughout the week. I'm excited to say several more vehicles are completed as well as the Northern Faction's player model. He exemplifies the freedom fighter type idea that we're striving for with a stance more towards a battered but determined military soldier than a civilian who's taken up arms, but I should keep quiet about him until I post his picture up later.

    Those close to the project know I was away for the past month and had a lot of time to brainstorm. In that time I managed to organize all of our thoughts and designs into our official bible which has been long overdue, but we now have our crystal clear vision marked down in a concrete document. It's been something that needed to get done for awhile. The only obstacle to its completion was the sheer amount of our collected ideas and information that needed to be included due to the grand scale of our mod. I also started reading deeper into the subject of nanotechnology to get a greater understanding of one of the main influences of our mod. I feel strongly about attempting to give a more realistic and interesting take on the subject compared to the standard gloss over by previous games. Previous games such as Total Annihilation merely used it as a method to explain how one unit was able to construct entire bases, but it is one of the most important elements of our story as hinted at by the write up in the info section as well as the driving force behind many of the elements in the mod. It will definitely add a great deal of depth to the mod while we still attempt to include the subject in a realistic and thoughtful manner.

    I also want to mention how exciting it is that Counterstrike: Source has been released, and we can all get a glimpse of the Half-Life 2 engine up close. Everything about it is incredible looking, and I've been finding myself playing more as a spectator to take its graphical splendor in. On one level today, I ended up staring off into the sloping hills of the background scenery of a level, wishing that the SDK was available so that I could pull it into the playing field instead of being confined to the level's predefined boundaries. Here's wishing the SDK is released soon so that we can all begin sculpting our ideas into a reality.