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Serfbound Player Guide

Serfbound runs in the browser. The app does not include, host, sell, download, or redistribute original DOS/Amiga game data. You provide your own local data file through the browser file picker.

Phase 31 now records written permission for a separate Serfbound-distributed licensed converted package path. That package path is not the same thing as your imported local SPAU.PA: imported local data still never uploads, and the import-your-own-data path remains supported.

Requirements

  • A modern desktop or mobile browser with JavaScript, the File API, IndexedDB, and WebGL2 enabled.
  • Either a Serfbound-hosted licensed package configured for the current release, or your own local DOS data file. The current verified local file is SPAU.PA.
  • A stable Serfbound URL. Browser storage is tied to the origin, so changing scheme, host, or port can require reimporting data.

Import Local Data

  1. Open Serfbound in the browser.
  2. Use Import data.
  3. Choose your local SPAU.PA file.
  4. Wait for the Data panel to show Data imported.

The file is read by your browser. It is not uploaded to a Serfbound server. After a successful import, Serfbound stores the current imported archive in IndexedDB for that browser origin.

Licensed Converted Package Path

The licensed package path lets Serfbound provide a browser-native converted runtime package under the written consent record in LICENSE-CONSENT.md. When a release configures a package URL and checksum, the browser downloads that Serfbound-distributed package once, verifies it, caches it in IndexedDB, and reuses it on later visits without re-downloading.

This is distinct from importing your own file:

  • Imported data: you select SPAU.PA; it stays in your browser and is not uploaded.
  • Licensed package: Serfbound distributes a converted runtime package under the recorded permission; the Data panel shows Licensed package as the source.

If the Data panel says File not usable, choose SPAU.PA. Other files are not accepted by the current browser slice.

If the Data panel says Data loaded and explains that it could not be saved for next time, the current session can continue, but you may need to reimport after reload.

Start And Play The Current Slice

After a licensed package is ready or import succeeds:

  1. Use Start game.
  2. Select land on the map.
  3. If the Action panel says Build flag available, use Build flag.

The current browser slice proves deterministic game start, selection, one build action path, save, reload, and resume from either a licensed package or imported local data.

Save, Load, And Resume

Use Save game after a local game is running. A valid save appears as Saved game after reload.

To resume:

  1. Open the same Serfbound origin.
  2. Confirm the Data panel shows Data imported or Licensed package ready.
  3. Use Load game.

The save is tied to the game data source. If Serfbound says the saved game uses another game data source, restore the same licensed package or import the same SPAU.PA source used when the save was created, or clear the save and start again.

Reset Controls

Clear save deletes only the local-game save. It keeps imported SPAU.PA data available.

Clear data deletes imported data when Imported data is the active source. When Licensed package is active, it deletes the licensed package cache. Either path returns Serfbound to the no-data setup state. After Clear data, import SPAU.PA again or reload a configured licensed package before starting a local game.

Use browser site-data controls only as a last resort. Clearing site data removes both imported data and saves for that origin.

Troubleshooting

If imported data cannot be restored and Serfbound shows Saved data unavailable, use Clear data, then import SPAU.PA again.

If a saved game is corrupt or from an unsupported version, use Clear save. This does not remove imported data.

If saving fails because storage is full or blocked, clear unrelated browser storage, allow site storage for the Serfbound origin, and retry Save game.

If the app looks stale after a release, refresh the page. Release hosts should revalidate index.html and cache hashed assets immutably. If a stale state persists, clear site data for the Serfbound origin, reload, and reimport local data.

If you move between http and https, change subdomains, or change ports, your browser treats that as a different origin. Reimport SPAU.PA on the new origin.

Playing with the original interface

Once your data is imported, the title screen on the canvas is the front door: tap or click SEED to reroll the world, SUPPLIES to cycle your starting stock, MISSION to pick a campaign mission, and START (or press Enter) to play. In the game, the original panel bar drives everything: the build button opens the construction menus, the road button lays roads, and the map/stats/sett buttons open the minimap, the resource stats, and the knight/audio settings.

Keyboard play: arrow keys scroll the map, Enter starts the configured game from the title screen, and 0/1/2/4 pause or set the game speed. Game sessions autosave automatically while running.

High-resolution displays render at native sharpness automatically. The world view scale (1x/2x/3x zoom — the modern SVGA) cycles with the V key or the shell's "View scale" button; it follows your screen's pixel density by default.

Touch play: tap to act, drag to scroll, pinch to zoom the world view, pan with two fingers, and press-and-hold a tile to inspect it without building anything.

Two-player (experimental): with data imported, "Host 2P (this browser)" in one tab and "Join 2P (this browser)" in another tab of the same browser starts a lockstep match — both tabs simulate the same world and your commands execute on both. It runs entirely in your browser (no servers; your game data never leaves the machine). Internet play arrives with the online-play phase.

Online correspondence (optional, experimental): a community-hosted identity + mailbox service lets you sign in, challenge players to correspondence matches with agreed terms and pickup deadlines, and climb a ladder where only dual-attested results count. Online identity is optional; Serfbound stores only the credential data required for the sign-in method you choose and the public name you play under. Current public sign-in uses a device key generated in your browser as the legacy bridge; identity v2 retires device keys after a one-time standing migration and uses email/password, Apple/Google/Meta providers, or passkeys. Your game data never uploads and never touches any server; every received move is re-verified by your own simulation.

Hot-seat 2P (pass and play): two players share one machine in correspondence style — you play a session window, hand the seat over (Enter picks the turn up before the countdown runs out), your opponent watches a high-speed recap of your window, then plays theirs. Tip: ?seed= in the address bar (16 digits, 1–8) pins the world so you can share or replay it.

Sound and music

Sound effects and music decode from your own data and start after your first click or tap (browsers require a gesture). Mute switches live in the sett popup and persist on this device.

Installing and playing offline

Serfbound installs as an app from your browser's install option. The app shell works offline; your imported data and saves live in this device's browser storage, so the game keeps playing without a network. Original game data is never uploaded or cached outside your device.

Reporting problems

If something breaks, press "Copy error report" in the side panel and paste the result into a new GitHub issue (the "Serfbound bug report" template). The report carries your browser, the game version, and the last few errors with game facts like the tick and map seed — it never includes your imported game data. Reporting is always your explicit action; the game sends nothing on its own.