FAQ
At this point in the port, Xsera only has the first two technical demos and is currently at the development stage. Xsera will most likely have open beta testing, and information will be released when it reaches the beta stage, but please be patient - this will take a while.
We have an IRC channel for general discussion: irc.ambrosiasw.com, channel #xsera. Other rooms are sometimes used by developers, but please do not disturb them there.
What is Ares?
Ares is a hybrid top down shooter and real-time strategy game released in 1997 under Ambrosia Software and Nathan Lamont for Mac OS 9. It had a number of attributes not present in other games at the time, including fleet management, smooth camera zooming to switch between close-up views and battlefield-wide displays, plug-in support, multiplayer, and - last but certainly not least - a fiercely loyal community that has continued to produce modifications for Ares until very recently.
Now, that community is armed with the original Ares source code and Nathan Lamont's approval to develop Xsera, a port of Ares to Mac OS X (currently 10.4 through 10.6, PPC and Intel). Windows and Linux ports are planned as well.
One might say: "That should be easy - just make a Carbonized version!" But, it's not that simple. Ares calls upon legacy Mac frameworks, such as QuickDraw, that did not survive the trip to OS X. It would require software emulation of what would have been hardware acceleration in OS 9, which behaves abysmally on any hardware, be it a slow(er) PPC or a fast Intel running it through Rosetta, still with a performance hit. Thus, the Xsera team is rebuilding Ares using widely supported, modern libraries such as OpenGL and SDL instead of the obsolete QuickDraw, and the more common programming languages C++ and Lua.
What is Xsera?
What exactly is Xsera?
Xsera is a port of Ares, the game described above. It is being ported from Mac OS 9 to Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux. It is an open source project, and we hope to make it very moddable and accessible. You're in the right place to learn more about Xsera - keep reading!
Why has this project been named "Xsera"?
Xsera is "Ares X" backwards, and was decided upon by the developers, with no objections from Ares fans. Nathan Lamont, the creator of Ares, wishes to not have the word "Ares" in the title until he deems Xsera an accurate port of his game, at which point he will give it his blessing and allow it to be named "Ares X".
How does one pronounce "Xsera"?
The general consensus is to pronounce it "Ecks-SAIR-uh". As in the letter "X", then the name "Sarah".
Who is working on Xsera?
Myself (adam_0), prophile, GameFreak, and LNSU are the chief developers. nfreader is our organizational leader, and also created a website. redsteven is our contact to Nathan Lamont. Rickton is creating original sound effects. Shlimazel has agreed to work on ship graphics, which are turning out nicely.
Dark.Revenant was working on graphics for explosions, weapons, and shields, but he no longer has access to the equipment that he needs in order to complete the project.
What has been completed so far?
We have released two demos so far. Visit our code repository to view our code base. We have an up-to-date progress log.
What will Xsera look like, upon completion?
Not a lot is known about what the final project will look like, but a few things are certain - it will be as loyal to the original Ares as possible. We are aiming for extensibility of sound, graphics, and gameplay in general. Our initial goal was to port to Mac OS X, but we hope to port to Windows and Linux as well.
Where can I learn more?
The Links section contains more useful information, and we also have an IRC channel.
What's the difference between Xsera and Antares?
The Xsera and Antares developers released a joint statement regarding the differences between Xsera and Antares and what this means for the end user.
Graphics
Will Xsera support thousands or millions of colors?
We plan to support both and make this port highly compatible.
Will Xsera allow the use of 3D models?
We plan to allow the use of 3D models in Xsera. This does not mean that Xsera will have fully 3D graphics, but it will allow you to view 3D models instead of 2D sprites, which are really just pictures of a 3D model taken at various intervals. The result: more eye candy and a cleaner looking game.
What's going on with graphics?
Currently, Xsera will contain the original Ares graphics. These are very pixelated, and if anyone else would like to help in that department, it would be greatly appreciated. Please see the next question for a slight catch. We are also attempting to enhance the graphics via a program called Image Smith. We are still unsure as to the effectiveness of this method.
What about the original 3D models of all objects?
Nathan Lamont has the original 3D models for the objects, but has not agreed to release them. In light of the fact that Xsera would have the ability to use 3D models, we hope that he lets us use his original models.
What was Dark.Revenant doing with the graphics?
Dark.Revenant volunteered to create and update graphics for explosions, weapons, and shields. He made a plugin for EV Nova for these items. Unfortunately, he no longer has access to the tools he needs to work on it. Thankfully, another Ares fan, khlae, offered not only to work on the updated graphics for those items, but to also create an Xsera logo.
Porting
Will you port Hera?
We plan to port Hera as well, but this is further down the line.
Will Ares plugins work with Xsera?
Pallas Athene is working on extracting data from the old Ares format, so hopefully they will work by some sort of conversion.
How compatible is "highly compatible", in reference to a previous question?
Xsera should work on both PowerPC and Intel computers running OS X, as well as Windows and Linux computers. The system requirements will be minimal, since the game will be very similar to the original.
The minimum requirements for OS X will be version 10.4.10. That being said, Alistair has plans to make adjustments for older systems. We'll keep you posted.
What is "Xsera" versus "Apollo"?
Xsera is the game. Apollo is the generic top-down 2D / 2.5D engine on which Xsera is built.
Will Apollo be available for the general public to use?
As open source, yes, but the developers will own it. We plan to release it under the MIT license, which allows for you to do whatever you want with the code (including making your own games and selling them) as long as we, the original creators, are properly acknowledged. Just don't assume we'll give you tech support for it ;)
Will Xsera be ported to iPhone?
The Xsera team doesn't have the time required to port Xsera to the iPhone. Such changes would involve OpenGL, which would have to be ported to OpenGL ES (the mobile version), and a lot of features would have to be taken out.
A practical consideration is that Xsera has far too many controls to be played on an iPhone. Although the iPhone's gestures could help with this, it still doesn't seem very feasible without changing the fundamental gameplay mechanics.