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Commanders,
Launch day is here! The game is available now.
There are a couple small items I'm still actively pushing this morning. A couple of the single player maps will be available shortly. Additionally, for multiplayer, rather than rush into it, I'm going to give it a couple days before starting a proper 'Season 0' for a ranked mode. Finally, we're putting the finishing touches on an account details/progression module that should be ready to go later today or tomorrow.
If you run into any issues, use the in game bug report button or check out our discord: https://discord.gg/space-imperia-4x
Brett, Jake, Mike, Ryan
Commanders,
The new UI is live on the demo branch! We've been very busy getting the final touches all together, and in my haste I neglected to update the tutorials with the new UI. The experience there has been lacking. The set of tutorials just got fully updated, so issues should resolve now.
If you see any issues with the new UI, feel free to use the in-game bug reporter.
Looking forward to launch tomorrow!
Brett
Commanders,
My brother, Ryan Reichert, has spent the last ~9 months iterating on music for Space Imperia 4X. Ryan is a talented musician and violinist of over 20 years. As such, we're pleased to announce the Space Imperia 4X Official Soundtrack. This will launch with the release of the game at $4.99. There will be a launch discount as well as a discounted Supporter Bundle for both the game and the soundtrack. The majority of the soundtrack's proceeds go directly to Ryan.
The first track Ryan created back in October - what is now the main menu theme - immediately set the tone for the project. I thought to myself, ‘this is Space Empires Imperia’. I absolutely love the music. I listened to the first track for about two months straight while working on the game.
Since October, he has added four additional tracks, each of which has an alternate version that plays during combat. In total, this is about 55 minutes of well-themed music. All of Ryan's music plays in the game without this optional add-on. If you like the game and the music, consider supporting my brother, Breich Games, and GMT Games with the Official Soundtrack.Brett
FIXES
Crash when selecting a ship next to two MS Pipeline hexes
Ships could enter nebulae/asteroids/unexplored after already moving that turn - now first-move-only, per the rulebook
AI was firing with screened ships from round 2 on - screened ships can retreat, not shoot
Combat softlock when your only acting group was screened - you can pass now
Combining damaged groups silently repaired a ship; damage now survives merges and damaged pairs can't combine
Splits could leave phantom 0-ship counters or exceed the counter supply
Destroyed colonies stranded mineral/wreck markers
Phantom mine battles nobody could act in (purged from older saves too)
End Turn silently dying on older saves
Tab now cycles units, the action strip returns after retreats, and the stack icon follows your selection
Retreat button explains itself instead of offering nothing
Combat freeze when no valid targets exist
Tutorial softlocks in exploration, the Tech step, and 'Build Three Destroyers'
Loop streaming a previously recorded developer playthrough. Soon, I'll have a new playthrough ready - for now, any new players interested in the game, check out how Space Imperia 4X works!
FEATURES
v1 combat effects were added, significantly enhancing the current combat experience
the entire game engine and game AI code was ported to C++; this is an enabler for running games w/ AI opponents in multiplayer
game AI logic updates: expect an improved vs AI experience
Launch day is less than three weeks away! Our small team at Breich Games is hard at work getting the final mile of features ready for launch. Here's a quick roadmap of what we're working on and where we're at:
My brother, Ryan Reichert, has created a few more in-game tracks that just got merged - they're playing now in the demo branch!
My partner, Jake Weise, has been hard at work creating and testing an initial set of Steam Achievements. They're shaping up well, and we're excited to have them for launch.
Jake is also a passionate Steam Deck user and has been optimizing the game for it. A fun find - Godot 4.6's Linux build doesn't work very well with the Steam Deck, and right now we plan on forcing the Windows build as default for Steam Deck launching (it just works slightly better). He's got some more insight into that part, and will be writing a small update post at some point talking about it.
Over the last 6-8 weeks, our artist, Mike Lindner, and I have been rapidly iterating on an updated UI. We're still putting the finishing touches on it, but you can expect a much improved combat experience as well as overall UI. You can expect to see this merged into the demo branch within the next week or two. Here's a couple peeks (still polishing and updating). Any and all feedback appreciated:
Mike has also added a set of combat effects that sync up with our current combat sounds. This was something we wanted to get to for the demo much earlier, but such is the way of engineering work: sometimes things get pushed back. These effects will also be hitting the demo branch in the coming week or two.
Over the last couple months, I've spent a lot of time experimenting with and progressively improving the quality of the game AI. This is always a moving target - the AI can always be better - and it is really hard to do solo. But, I think you'll find that the AI has generally improved in quality. These changes will also trickle in over the next week or two leading up to launch.
One fun thing we're excited to share: vs. AI games will have a new Threat progression. As you beat an AI on a particular map setup, you'll unlock progressively-stacking rules that the game AI will have in future games (if you choose to play with them). This will add a layer of progression and difficulty to vs AI games that should challenge new and veteran players alike.
Some players have asked for co-op vs AI functionality, and we'll have that on launch day. I expect to also include Threat as an option for these games.
During our multiplayer beta, we tested out the network infrastructure with success. One feature that was painfully missing is synchronous 'quick starts' for multiplayer games. This allows players to take their turns at the same time, significantly decreasing the time of the early game. Under certain conditions (likely, per map), synchronous mode will disable and the game will revert to one-turn-at-a-time mode, as games are today.
We'll be adding an initial ELO system for players who wish to play in a ranked format. I will likely make this in a modern 'season' approach, as going forward (yes, thinking Close Encounters and beyond :eyes:), there will be quite a bit more optionality with how games can be played. More to follow here - and once it is out (for launch) any and all feedback is super helpful.
Additionally, we'll have a set of turn timers available for multiplayer games, as well as a basic Karma system. The idea here will be to have a score that indicates how likely a player is to finish a game without timing out. Lobbies will be able to filter based on minimum Karma. Again, open to any and all feedback - nothing here is set in stone, and it will iterate and improve over time after v0 is out.
Finally, all of the original Space Empires 4X scenarios in the play book, as well as minor game options, will be in there for launch. I plan on adding a few additional ones that players have requested (namely, unlimited combat counters) and I should be able to get to those before launch. Notably, however, I do not currently plan to implement the true solo rules of the board game for launch. This isn't a no forever, it's just not something I will get to for launch day. If these true solo rules are something others really want to play with, let me know and I'll be sure to cycle it in post-launch.
Looking forward to launch day - see you there!
Brett
If you’re just finding us during Next Fest: welcome! We’re a small indie team at Breich Games: myself (Brett Reichert), my partner (Jake Weise), and our art director (Mike Lindner). My brother (Ryan Reichert) is making the music and some sound effects for the game.
Space Imperia 4X is the official digital adaptation of Space Empires 4X, a board game by Jim Krohn and published by GMT Games in 2011. It has the depth of a solid 4X game with matches taking a fraction of the time. Because the game began on the tabletop, it is a streamlined, elegant system that aims to remove the bloat of other games, while keeping the overall feel deep and strategically rewarding. With random maps and lots of optionality for tech and build paths, no two games play the same.
We’ve added four short tutorials to teach the game’s core systems, one at a time: basics, exploration, economy, and combat. Each one is quick and focused, and teaches some of the aspects of the game’s systems.
The AI logic has been significantly improved: the patch for this will be dropping later this evening (Sunday). Making the AI strategy better is an ever-moving target, but for new (and existing) demo players, we think you’ll find the new iteration much more engaging.
We’re still iterating on a number of features to tidy up for launch next month, which is rapidly approaching!
All games
UI overhaul
Team scenarios/remaining map setups
More optional rules
Auto upgrade, unlimited combat groups
Single player progression system (increasingly difficult AI opponents)
Better event/game action logging
v2 pass on sound design
Multiplayer
AI opponents in multiplayer matches (including for co-op team games)
Simultaneous play during opening rounds
Turn timers
Lobby and in-game chat
Karma/ranked systems
And as a sneak peek - this is still very much WIP and being actively developed, but here's a concept we're iterating on for the UI overhaul.
Enjoy the battles!
Brett
FEATURES
Spanish, Italian, German, and French language support - I kept major nouns (ship names, tech names) in English for consistency - open to ideas here
FIXES
Tutorial (and at some point, in game) wasn't showing the Tech menu at all
Music and effects sliders weren't wired up to the correct audio channels
FIXES
Reverted broken game build
FIXES
General fixes around mines soft locking combat
FEATURES
New splash screen
In anticipation of Next Fest, we're hard at work on a much more deliberate, staged tutorial experience for new players. More to follow!
FIXES
Aggressive mouse to window locking fixed
Combat button was disappearing sometimes during group fire
Game crashed sometimes when AI tried to act before it was actually its turn
FEATURES
AI better utilizes its miners
Commanders,
We’re pleased to announce that Space Imperia 4X will launch on Steam for PC, Mac, and Linux/SteamOS on Tuesday, 28 July! The retail price is $22.99 and there will be a launch discount.
Originally, we planned on a June release date, but we had to dodge a few wrenches, specifically:
We strategically had to change from participating in February's Next Fest to June's
June Next Fest runs from 15-22 June
If a game participates in Next Fest (we will be), it cannot release until after Next Fest is over
The Steam Summer Sale starts 3 days later running from 25 June - 9 July
We felt that launching a couple weeks after a major Steam sale would be best for the game, so we decided to move the launch date back from the June target. This merely gives us more time to make the game better!
July's release is only the start of Space Imperia 4X - Jim's Space Empires 4X board game series is a very deep, rewarding system and we cannot wait to get his entire game into digital players' hands! (And, later this year, to Titan a few planets here and there.)
Brett
FIXES
Fixed a screening issue with aliens where the game state wouldn't advance
Fixed an issue where builds were allowed (but failed) for more than the tray limit for groups
Fixed an issue where the player going last did not have valid bombardments triggered on turn 3 (transitioning into economy and skipping bombardments)
FEATURES
Reworked the bombardment scene: bombardments (visually) were something that I added very last minute before the demo and always needed a re-work; bombardments are now relatively smoother and less jarring, and are some form of 'well it's better now'. Bombardments are still something I want to iterate on going forward and for now this is a decent step above what was there before
Added additional camera controls: edge-of-screen mouse panning; right click mouse panning; all of which are adjustable in settings
FIXES
With auto fire mode, some code paths were making screen and fire buttons non-visible; the visibility of various combat buttons is now explicitly set at the start of each relevant combat phase
Guarded against edge case where a player got stuck in econ phase despite both AI and player submitting builds
FIXES
Bombardment/animation queue was not draining, causing re-plays every time
FIXES
AI was over valuing defense when enemy ships near home planet, causing the AI to completely turtle
visual settings were not persisting between sessions
FEATURES
quick combat: reduces the time between click and bang to .1s
group fire: when selecting a target, the firing group will fire all rounds until a. rounds complete or b. the target is fully destroyed (all ships destroyed not just one)
Additionally, in preparation for the multiplayer beta (and beyond), single player and multiplayer games now run from the same game rules engine and testing harness. Previously, there was a separate (and ever diverging) game rules engine in Godot (GDScript, for single player) and in the web (Python, for multiplayer). I'll be writing up a bit of the (nerdy, coding) history behind why this came to be in a future dev blog. Overall, this is a huge unlock for maintainability going forward and I'm really excited to have it out of the way.
Brett
FIXES
the engine was wrongly allowing offensive mine movement
Bombardment fixes/handling properly bombarding at end of turn
added a 'target enemy' disabled major button during targeting
fixed an issue where combat didn't trigger before going to econ phase
We're getting ready for the multiplayer beta this coming Friday - and, there are some bigger, long term code updates I'm working on to better facilitate changes going forward. I'll highlight them later in the week.
Brett
Hello everyone, Two weekends ago I had the pleasure to attend GMT Games’ Warehouse Weekend, a four day board gaming event held twice a year. On the Saturday, I ran a game of Space Empires 4X for 5 new players plus myself. We opted to play a 3v3 scenario - very tight on the regular board! - and added a few things from Close Encounters (expansion one) and All Good Things (expansion three).
I have worked on Space Imperia for almost four years now, and it has been at least two since I actually played the board game in person. I miss doing so! Teaching the game in physical form opened my eyes to better ways to portray the game - especially for new players. Some of these takeaways should be very helpful, especially leading up to June Next Fest (approaching quickly!).
We did a 3v3 match - this is made possible by All Good Things, which adds two ‘Alternate’ empires. I didn’t even know a 6 player scenario existed, so we gave it a go given the player count! I was the brown in the middle on the camera side of the board, as were my two teammates yellow and green. We played the ‘Blood Brothers’ alliance mode, where all players on one team take one turn together and may stack and participate in combat together. This ended up being an excellent way to run a large team game and once everyone understood the core game, we were moving along at a decent pace. Team games will exist in the full digital version.
For veterans of Space Empires 4X - and for players of the Space Imperia demo - you know that ships do not automatically receive new technology. They must spend an entire turn at a friendly shipyard and spend their hull size to upgrade to all the latest tech. I think this is a very rewarding way to play the game, and forces players to think about when to commit a force towards the enemy.
For new players of the board game, this is a very difficult thing to teach (and maintain!) while also teaching all the other aspects of the system. The game, of course, is a blend of simple systems that make for a highly replayable experience. Managing and understanding upgrades, however, is just too much for a new player to take in on their first game.
So, in digital form, I’m going to update the demo to have the ‘auto upgrade’ option available. And, for new players, I will default that to enabled.
Everyone expanded rather quickly, and we all started to realize just how close we were to the enemy. My alternate race had different scouts - they’re 2 attack, 0 defense, but fire in D, so I decided to mass them after exploration in anticipation of combat.
In both digital and physical forms, the unknowns of player purchases are a critical aspect of the game. And, when the game finishes, it’s often helpful to discuss who built what and when with your opponents. This is especially helpful for new players to help them better understand tech and build paths. Right now, in digital form, there is a limited stats overview at the end - this is very much a v0 interface (and still has some bugs). A friend suggested a more detail-oriented version of that end view, including who built what and when, charts, stats, etc., and I think that would be a great add to help new players after their first game.
The orange player’s planets were much closer to his start, and he more or less stayed back at this point. Red and green were getting ready to skirmish, and yellow was poised to make some blue colonies have a bad day. My three ships at this point were 6 scouts with attack and defense 1 - an upside of the auto upgrade system.
Another observation from the in-person game was that teaching and experiencing the combat system are two different things. It wasn’t until we had a few definitive battles that new players started to fully understand how combat worked. When I compare this to a new player’s experience in Space Imperia, I imagine it’s probably very similar. Adding a more step-driven set of tutorials would help in that respect. I’m going to be adding 4-6 ‘mini tutorials’ as small gates towards how all the games’ systems work, with the culminating one being a small 3x3 map against a less furnished opponent - ‘destroy their homeland to win this tutorial’.
Yellow and I managed to pressure blue by the fourth round. My scouts successfully destroyed his colony with bombardment, while yellow was about to roll for bombardments (and had a reinforcement of cruisers coming from F2).
All of these insights will be very helpful for June Next Fest. Space Imperia has an excellent opportunity to expose the game to lots of new players, and these micro adjustments should help teach new players a little better than the current format.
Brett
FIXES
Combat camera no longer locks or drifts off the wrong target
Popups now stack in the correct front-to-back order
Combat no longer re-fires during the movement phase or after loading a save
Newly-built ships with newer tech no longer get folded into older same-class counters and lose their abilities — only fully tech-identical ships combine
Settings (render scale, combat log toggle) now persist between sessions
Numerous fixes for alien combat, mine combat, post-combat board orientation, and ghost/missing ships
FEATURES
Civilian ships can now move into hexes containing enemy ships
Refreshed Economy panel dropdown UI
Lost in Space popup (simple)
A set of small AI improvements
Hi everyone,
We're pleased to announce signups for our multiplayer closed beta slated for May!
You can sign up on the Steam store page as well as fill out the form here:
BETA SIGNUP
The last month has been exciting! I've never launched a game before, and while there were bugs and crashes and interface issues and things that could be better - I'm happy with the state of the demo at the moment. Things will continue to improve, of course, but it's time to test multiplayer!
Space Imperia was built for multiplayer from day one. For the last six months, the focus of game development has been on building out and honing the AI and the overall look and feel of the game. And, while the demo is only single player, we've been playing internal multiplayer games for months now.
The beta test will run from 8-18 May. We're specifically looking for players who have played Space Imperia often, whether board game or digital, and specifically those of you who have played the Board Game Arena implementation of Space Empires 4X. (Incidentally, the BGA adaptation is the reason I started this project back in 2022!)
I'm most excited for multiplayer in Space Imperia, as for years I've wanted to get to the point where all the content of the game could be played in a modern, turn-timer manner against my friends. (And, it turns out, I'm not that good at the game lol)
Goals for the beta:
identify and fix server-related bugs
Test lobby system
Test turn timer implementation - both for live games (short timers) and long games (multiple hours per turn)
Test account system as well as discord notifications
Overall multiplayer experience feedback and suggestions for improvement
Join our discord to discuss the beta. See you on the battlefield!
Brett
JOIN THE DISCORD
Remove TV effect
FEATURES
Event system live - see when techs are revealed by the enemy ('Events' top left) and also view enemy known techs (click enemy color top middle)
Selecting a ship for movement: if you click ANYWHERE on a highlighted movement hex, the click will always go through, NO ships on that hex are selected anymore. If you deselect the ship or click on a non-movement highlighted hex, then the clicking will work as it did before (unselect, or select other ship if one was clicked). This makes movement much, much easier. Thank you for all the feedback on that one!
Edge case counter limit issue where the last counter to be built could only build quantity 1
Units do not hide until they start a turn at a friendly colony
FEATURES
Add ship scuttling
Indicate whether or not a ship is hidden to the enemy
Put fleet quantity to the left of the info bar, removing it from the top
In combat, added a 'return to map' button
AI was having freezes during screening and retreating (was fixed and pushed on the 6th/7th)
Mines bugs where last ship was killed using a mine but the game state didn't transition
Mines were incorrectly bombarding colonies (but never hitting correctly)
Mines were allowed to explore unexplored hexes
Fixed AI retreating forward issue
FEATURES
Added limited undo - you may undo your last move so long as: it is your turn; your last move was not into ANY enemy ships
Changed hex outline schema; colony ownership is now indicated by player color
As a side note - the AI will get a full v2 overhaul leading up to launch. And, keep an eye out for a fun announcement this week about multiplayer testing!
Brett
About
This page aggregates Steam news feeds, patch notes, and developer announcements for Space Imperia 4X, sourced from official Steam community posts.
Major updates, balance changes, and seasonal events often correlate with player-count spikes — cross-reference announcements here with the live charts on the main Space Imperia 4X statistics page.
Articles link back to Steam for full changelogs. SteamScope refreshes news entries as new posts are published to the game's Steam hub.