What is Empire Deluxe and the Empire Series?

 
The Empire series was started by Walter Bright in the seventies, with version 1.0. In the late eighties, Walter Bright and Mark Baldwin took the game and put it on the PC. This version of Empire, (version 2.0), is called “Empire Wargame of the Century”. It was quite popular, and I remember many sleepless nights playing this game.
 

In the early to mid 1990’s, coming off the success of the Tank Battle game The Perfect General,  Mark Baldwin and Bob Rakosky took Empire Wargame of The Century, added some units and rules, and created Empire Deluxe. (version 3.0).
 

Empire Deluxe Internet Edition is version 3.50 of what is arguably THE best computer turn-based strategy game series of all time. Gamespy still ranks the Empire series as #48 on their Best Games of All Time list. Empire Deluxe Internet Edition is made from the source base used in the mid 90’s to create Empire Deluxe, and makes no rule changes to the game. Many new conveniences have been added to the game, and it is much more customizable.

 
For those new to the Empire Series, the basic objective of Empire Deluxe is global domination on a strategic scale. Players start in random positions, produce units, and expand over a randomly generated map. Empire Deluxe is actually many games in one. It has a Basic, Standard, and Advance Rule Set, which allow the user to experience Empire the earlier way, or to use the rules and units added by Baldwin.


The units in the game are generic in nature, with Infantry, Armor, Fighters, Bombers, Transports, Destroyers, Submarines, Cruisers, Battleships and Aircraft Carriers. It is up to the player to determine the production of these units and effectively use them to overcome his opponents.


There are up to six participants in the struggle for total control. The opponents can be a mix of Computer Players and Human players. The Human opponents can participate via Hot-Seat play, Play-By-Email, or remotely via LAN or Internet play. Even though Empire Deluxe has over a decade of history, there is still a strong community in which players looking for opponents and even compete in yearly tournaments to see who truly is the best.


The game is more than just six players on a random map. The game also contains a map and scenario editor so that you can build worlds of up to 254x254 squares and add cities and even units. Hundreds of very detailed maps and scenarios have been generated over time, covering various worlds and battles, real and imagined.


So if you want the turn based strategy game that still keeps people up at all hours of the night, this is the one for you!


What has Been Added to Empire Deluxe with Empire Deluxe Internet Edition?


Though from the same source base as Empire Deluxe, Empire Deluxe Internet Edition adds a great deal of value to the game. Empire Deluxe has been out of print for many years, and its last build was for 16-Bit Microsoft Windows 3.1. It had begun to become unplayable on modern day 32-bit operating systems such as Windows XP under certain conditions.


Empire Deluxe Internet Edition has been completely rebuilt in an XP development environment, and has been tested on Windows 95, 98, ME, 2000 and XP. Various GPF issues experienced with the older version of Empire Deluxe no longer exist.


Empire Deluxe Internet Edition also adds IP (Network) play. Now, global conquerors can butt heads via the Internet if they so desire.


Empire Deluxe Internet Edition has new graphics. But understanding that that is not enough for those who want total control over how their world and units look, the graphics are now openly exposed so that creative players can change and even replace the icons and graphics in the game.



Empire Deluxe Internet Edition also allows various customizations to the interface, such as variable zoom settings and the use of custom sounds and music,


Empire Deluxe Internet Edition has fixed many errors and exploits that plagued an otherwise excellent game, but could not be repaired due to it being out of print, such as the dreaded “Resignation Cheat”, or the “Combat Report Cheat”, or the “Long Names” bug.


Empire Deluxe Internet Edition has added various small things in the game play interface to make life a little easier for the supreme ruler, such as waking up a ship on Sentry after it is fully repaired, or having a city set to “No Production” alert you when it reaches a certain production value, or the ability to determine the odds of combat through the “Battle Odds Calculator”, or display labels for the production efficiencies of the cities on the map.


Empire Deluxe Internet Edition now has a map editor which can make symmetrical maps when you feel you just want to test your maneuvering ability against your opponent. Maps have also increased in size to 254x254, and thousands of cities can be placed on the map if desired. The ability to adjust the map building criteria has been added, as well as a DLL interface for the ‘serious’ world builder who wants to write code to generate their own kinds of worlds.


All in all, if you loved Empire Deluxe before, you will love Empire Deluxe Internet Edition. If you have never tried Empire Deluxe, but you love strategy based games that are easy to learn, yet are a challenge to master, then Empire Deluxe Internet Edition is a must for you.

 
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