FreeOrion is a turn-based, epic space strategy game that takes inspiration from Master of Orion. It is a free and open-source software that allows players to explore, colonize, and battle their way to victory in a vast galaxy filled with dangerous enemies and mysterious alien races.
One of the most impressive things about FreeOrion is its modular design. This allows for a significant degree of customization from the community, making it possible to tweak both the game engine and story elements to your liking. Furthermore, the development team is fully dedicated to creating a living, breathing universe within the game, complete with a grand campaign model.
That being said, there are a few requirements you'll need to meet before diving into FreeOrion. To start, you'll need GiGi, preferably the latest version from CVS, and for version 0.3, you'll also need to use the branch GIGI_VERSION_0_6_0. You'll also need SCons, as well as Python (required by SCons and soon by FreeOrion itself), FreeType2 (a GiGi dependency), Boost 1.32 (earlier and later versions are not yet supported), log4cpp, DevIL, SDL, and FMOD 3.4 (note that FMOD EX 4.0 is not supported).
It's important to note that while FreeOrion is gratis (i.e., free), it is not technically free software. Also, if you're running Linux 64-bit (AMD64), you won't be able to access the game. Finally, if you plan on using GraphViz, you'll need to make sure you have either version 2.0 or 2.2, as 1.16, 2.4, and 2.6 are not supported.
Version 0.3.13: N/A