Frequently asked questions

What is the best way to describe Empires Mod?

Empires Mod is a Half-Life 2 total conversion that is best described as an RTS/FPS hybrid; a blending of the two genres. Players may take to the front lines on foot, fighting their opponents directly, or command their faction in an RTS-like manner, placing structures and assigning orders to the other players.

What games are similar to Empires Mod?

Games that share mechanics with the Empires Mod typically integrate a seamless blend of first-person shooter and real-time strategy elements. A similar ancestor mod from Half-Life 1 is Natural Selection. Like Empires Mod, NS has building and a very strategical play style. However, its theme is very different and it lacks vehicles.

Over the years, there have been several other games released with comparable mechanics to Empires Mod. Such as Nuclear Dawn, Eximius: Seize the Frontline, Silica and Natural Selection 2.

Is the game free?

Yes! It’s completely free, you can download the game via Steam.

It seems there’s currently no one online; at what times do people usually play?

Our peak times are around 21:00 UTC on Saturday and Sunday, with smaller games starting a few hours before this.

Check out this link for a quick time zone conversion.

You can also check the current player count & history here.

Who is currently developing the mod?

A complete team listing can be found on the Developer Team page.

Why is the game unstable at times?

We are still actively developing this game. As a result, some issues still exist. The development team is rather small and are doing this all for free, so these things take time. Please be patient and report any issues you may find on the official Empires Discord - https://discord.gg/UH6Sc6B.

Does the game include aircraft?

No.

Why does my game keep crashing on Linux?

This game sometimes needs a few additional dependencies. Make sure to install a 32 bit libc (or equivalent).

If you have issues with the fonts rendering too small, please make sure you have Verdana and Ariel installed.

Fedora

Due to issues with Steam, Empires will not run unless there is a 32-bit version of libbsd installed.

Debian

Be sure to have 32bit libc installed.

Arch Linux / Manjaro

Be sure to have ttf-ms-fonts, lib32-openal and lib32-libbsd installed.

Where can I find out even more about Empires Mod?

Have a look at the manual, or if you have any questions, head over to the official Empires Discord server - https://discord.gg/UH6Sc6B.