Support · Step 01
Install Empty Epsilon
Umbra Orbital runs on Empty Epsilon, a free and open source bridge simulator. There’s nothing to download from us: you install Empty Epsilon once, and join our servers from it.
Get the game
Windows
Free on Steam. Install, done — no setup, no account beyond the one you already have with Steam. This is the one we recommend: it keeps the whole crew on the same version without anyone thinking about it.
Linux & Android
Builds live on the official Empty Epsilon download page. The Android build is experimental — it works, but a phone is a cramped place to run a warship.
Mac
There is no official Mac build. We compile our own from the same source and it’s currently in validation, so we hand it out one crew member at a time rather than posting a link. Ask us and we’ll set you up.
[ SCREENSHOT — the Empty Epsilon store page on Steam, with the Install button ]
The version has to match
Our servers run EE-2024.12.08 — the current stable release, and the same one Steam installs. If your client is on a different version, expect trouble: you may not be able to join at all, or ships may quietly disappear from your screen mid-game because your copy doesn’t have that ship on disk.
Steam keeps you on the current stable automatically, which is exactly why we recommend it. The flip side: when a new stable lands, Steam will update you before it updates us. If that happens, hold off for a day and tell us — we move the servers and the missions across as fast as we can.
Will my machine run it?
Almost certainly. Empty Epsilon is famously light — if your computer was made in the last decade, you’re fine. It’s a 2D bridge, not a flight sim.
What actually helps
A headset with a microphone — speakers plus an open mic turns into an echo chamber fast. And room for a browser window next to the game: that’s where your room card and the voice chat live while you play.
First launch
Open Empty Epsilon and you’ll land on its main menu: Start server, Join server, Options, Quit. For our games you only ever need Join server — the ship, the mission and the server are all on our side. Start server runs your own private game against the AI, which is a fine way to practise your console but has nothing to do with your campaign character.
[ SCREENSHOT — Empty Epsilon main menu, with Join server highlighted ]
Installed? Good.
Next: what actually happens on the night of a game.