Skip to main content

Getting Started

Install Godot, import the project, and run your first battle.
Published

Last updated: 2026-11-03

Sparta is a Godot 4.7 project. It needs no environment variables, no build step, and — crucially — no downloaded art: units draw themselves as colored placeholder tokens, so the battle is playable the moment you press play.

Just want to play? Download a build

Pre-built binaries for Windows, macOS, and Linux are attached to each GitHub Release. Grab the zip for your platform, unzip it, and run — no Godot install needed.

The builds are unsigned, so the first launch needs one extra step:

  • macOS (universal — Apple Silicon and Intel): right-click Sparta.app → Open, then confirm. (Or clear the quarantine flag: xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine Sparta.app.)
  • Windows: if SmartScreen warns, choose More info → Run anyway.
  • Linux: mark it executable if needed (chmod +x sparta.x86_64) and run it.

To build from source or work on the game instead, follow the developer setup below.

1. Install Godot 4.7 (Standard build)

Download Godot 4.7.x — Standard build (GDScript, not the .NET/C# build) from the official downloads page.

Important

Use the Standard build, not .NET. Sparta is pure GDScript; the .NET build is for C# projects and is not what this project targets.

2. Import the project

  1. Open Godot.
  2. Click Import.
  3. Select this repository’s project.godot.

3. Play

Press F5 (Play). The battle starts immediately:

  • Two armies spawn — blue at the top (yours), red at the bottom (the enemy).
  • Units are colored tokens on a green field. No art download is required.

That’s it — you’re in a battle. Head to How to Play for the controls, or Tactics That Matter to start winning.

Running headlessly (optional)

You don’t need a display to validate the project — handy for CI or a cloud editor. From the project root:

# Catch parse/load errors without opening the editor:
godot --headless --path . --quit

To actually play, though, you need the desktop editor with a display — a headless environment has no window to render the battle into.

Installing Godot in a headless Linux environment

Most Linux CI (and remote/cloud editors) can run Godot headlessly once it’s installed. Add this to a setup script (matches the project’s Godot version):

wget -q https://github.com/godotengine/godot/releases/download/4.7-stable/Godot_v4.7-stable_linux.x86_64.zip -O /tmp/godot.zip
mkdir -p "$HOME/.local/bin/"
unzip -q /tmp/godot.zip -d "$HOME/.local/bin/"
mv "$HOME/.local/bin/Godot_v4.7-stable_linux.x86_64" "$HOME/.local/bin/godot"
chmod +x "$HOME/.local/bin/godot"
rm /tmp/godot.zip
export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"
Note

If the engine version changes, update both the download URL and the binary filename in the snippet above.

Tests

The project has a GUT test suite (vendored at run time in CI). See test/ in the repository for how it’s wired.

Source: README.md in the repository.

Back to top