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Installing Galactic Empire

From Galactic Empire wiki

Galactic Empire is distributed as a BBS module, not a standalone game. Installation begins by choosing a build that matches both the host and the version of the game. This page covers the common steps; the linked guides provide version-specific files, registration, and emulator instructions.

Choose a game and host

Game Suitable host and starting point
Classic GE 3.2e Original 16-bit MajorBBS/Worldgroup game. On MBBSEmu, use a compatible classic package and consult the classic setup notes. The distributed build may require a board-specific registration setting; see Classic registration and security system.
Elwynor GE Faithful 32-bit port of classic GE for Worldgroup 3.2 and The Major BBS V10. Use its own package and installation instructions; it is not interchangeable with the 16-bit classic module.
ge-next Persistent GE game with separate 16-bit MajorBBS/Worldgroup and 32-bit MajorBBS V10 builds. Supported MBBSEmu versions use the 16-bit package. See ge-next installation.
ge-arena Separate match-based module, available in 16-bit and 32-bit builds. It has its own file prefix, configuration, and saved game; do not install it as an update to ge-next.

Download a full release archive for the selected game and architecture. A patch archive assumes a particular installed version and may omit files needed for a new installation. Read that release's notes before copying anything, especially when replacing an existing game. Playing on someone else's BBS requires no local module installation; see Where to play online.

Understand the files

File type Purpose
*.DLL, *.MDF The executable module and its MajorBBS module definition. The MDF identifies the module and its message resources. See MajorBBS integration.
*.MSG, *.MCV Editable message/configuration sources and compiled runtime resources. Main messages, help, and ship classes normally have separate MSG files. Loading a module on a board should generate MCVs based on the MSG files; do not copy MCV files from a different installation. See Configuring Galactic Empire.
*.DAT Starting data in a full archive, then the live saved game after play begins. The files used vary by game; the team file is text, not a Btrieve database. See Database files.
*.NEW, *.VIR Clean data templates supplied with 16-bit and 32-bit packages respectively. Retain them for a deliberate fresh start; they are not backups of the live game.
Other text files Release notes, menu text, licensing, and optional frontend documentation or utilities. Keep them with the matching release.

File prefixes identify the game: classic uses MBM*, ge-next 0.3+ uses MPOGEMP for its module and MPOGE* for support files, and ge-arena uses MPOGA*. Do not mix files just because their suffixes or purposes look alike. Nor should 16-bit and 32-bit databases or compiled messages be swapped without an explicitly supported conversion path. Database files lists the actual saved files for each game.

Install a new game

  1. Extract the complete, matching release to the location expected by the host. If installing more than one GE variant, keep each one's files and saved data separate.
  2. Register or enable the module through the BBS's module/menu setup using its MDF. Under MBBSEmu, configure the module in modules.json instead; follow Running Galactic Empire with MBBSEmu for emulator-specific setup. Classic registration is a separate matter from host module registration.
  3. Review any settings that must be chosen before play. See Configuring Galactic Empire.
  4. Start the host. Check its log for missing DLLs, messages, databases, or record-size errors. Enter the game as a test user, check its menu and help, create or load a ship where applicable, and verify a scan and a saved change.

Full release archives normally include starting .DAT files, so startup is not a general instruction to rebuild a database from .NEW or .VIR. An arena match may generate its own sectors during play, but that is different from creating the installation's data files. To reset an existing game, stop it and follow the complete procedure in Database files.

Upgrade or roll back

ge-next can generally be upgraded across point releases only, for example ge-next 0.3 should upgrade to ge-next 0.3.3 just fine. Classic GE games cannot be upgraded to ge-next. ge-next 0.2 and lower games cannot be upgraded to ge-next 0.3.

Before an upgrade, stop the game or take a host-supported consistent backup. Preserve the entire matching saved-data set, the DLL, MDF, MSG and MCV files, local text resources, and host configuration. Under MBBSEmu, also account for its live SQLite .db companions; see MBBSEmu database handling. Read every intervening release note for incompatible record layouts, required resets, renamed files, or new configuration entries.

Install the new module and use its MSG sources as the baseline, merging local settings deliberately. Do not overwrite live .DAT files with the starter files from a full release unless you are intentionally resetting the game. Do not bring over MCV files from the previous instance; an old MCV may refer to the wrong message identifiers or options in a new DLL. After starting the upgrade, inspect the host log and test an existing account and saved record before opening the game to everyone.

If an upgrade must be undone, restore the DLL, resources, configuration, and all saved data from the same backup point. Replacing only the DLL is not a safe rollback after newer code has written records. The detailed procedure and reset distinctions are in Database files.

Running multiple variants

Classic GE, ge-next 0.3+, and ge-arena can coexist because their current releases use different module names and file prefixes. Give each its own host registration, message resources, and saved files. Distinct filenames prevent collisions; they do not make one game's databases compatible with another's. Refer to ge-next installation for that game's exact files and to Database files for the data each variant keeps.

Further guides

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