SetupGuide

Linux Setup Guide

• If you're running Gentoo linux, you're lucky, because an ebuild is already available. If not, a short walk-trough to compile, run and debug spring on provided below.

• In short, to get spring compiled under linux, make sure you've got all necessary development packages installed. On (K)Ubuntu linux, and maybe Debian too, this can be done by copying the following in a root terminal (or use the graphical package manager Synaptic or Adept if you can't stand commandline):
  
  apt-get install build-essential subversion scons libsdl-dev libopenal-dev libglew-dev libboost-dev libboost-thread-dev libboost-filesystem-dev libboost-regex-dev libdevil-dev libfreetype6-dev python2.4-dev
  
  For any other distribution, grab these libraries and the base development packages too (for Gentoo, base development packages aren't needed, because everything is compiled from source: they're already installed). I've no clue about RPM based distros. But google is your friend.

• To grab the sourcecode from SVN (using commandline SVN), refer to this berlios page about SVN. Use one of the two anonymous checkout methods (upper two) unless you're a spring developer (but in that case you wouldn't be reading this, right?).

• To compile the sourcecode, switch to the trunk directory created by the svn checkout in the previous step. Then type: scons configure to configure the build. (You can fine tune the build by passing options to this command [for enabling debugging/optimizing etc.]. Type scons --help to view the available options.) Now, if you really installed all development package, the scons configure will output: "Everything seems OK. Run `scons' now to build.". If it outputs with an error you're probably missing a development package.

• As instructed on end of previous step, type: scons Spring will now build including NTAI, JCAI and a few GroupAIs. You should end up with a file trunk/game/spring (the executable) and some shared objects (SOs or DLLs) in trunk/game/aidll

• Now, grab the linux data tarball and extract it somewhere. This will create a directory taspring-linux-data-0.71b1 (or higher version number).

• Put a symlink to the spring executable in the data directory:
  ln -s /path/to/trunk/game/spring /path/to/taspring-linux-data-0.71b1/spring

• Optionally, make symlinks for the shared objects in trunk/game/aidll too.

• Now run spring by cd'ing (change dir) to the taspring-linux-data-0.71b1 directory and typing: ./spring If you've compiled with debugging enabled, you might want to run inside gdb to provide the devs with a backtrace if spring crashes: gdb ./spring
  • Basic commands inside gdb are:
    • run - Run the program (spring)
    • bt - Print a backtrace
    • quit - Quit
    • help - This one's important

• Be happy!

Tips:

• Checkout File Universe for much more maps & mods.
• If spring hangs/crashes while in full screen mode, you can press ctrl+alt+backspace to restart X, so no need for a reboot.
• A binary release of AAI, a skirmish AI, is included in the data package.
• If u get the error "open /dev/[sound/]dsp: No such file or directory" U will need to add OSS emultaion in ALSA section in your kernel.

If you really can't figure out how to get spring compiled, or you think there's a bug in the code or the buildsystem...

• just poke any developer on IRC
  • channel #taspring on FreeNode
  • or channel #sy on QuakeNet
• post it on the forum
• or file a bug in our Bug tracking system.