Building with Code::Blocks

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These are instructions for building Pioneer for Windows using the Code::Blocks IDE, with GCC as the compiler.

Compiler and IDE

First, acquire C::B: http://www.codeblocks.org/. Version 13.12 is verified to work.

Then, you will need a compiler toolchain. Install the 32-bit TDM-GCC bundle from: http://tdm-gcc.tdragon.net/. You may add the bin/ directory to your PATH but that is not necessary.

You may use other distributions (http://sourceforge.net/projects/mingwbuilds/, http://mingw-w64.sourceforge.net/) but then you most likely cannot use the prebuilt dependencies package.

In C::B, open Settings->Compiler..., selected compiler should be GNU GCC compiler. On tab "Toolchain executables" the paths should be:

  • Compiler's install directory: C:\TDM-GCC-32 (or wherever you put it)
  • C compiler: mingw32-gcc.exe
  • C++ compiler: mingw32-g++.exe
  • Linker for dynamic libs: mingw32-g++.exe
  • Linker for static libs: ar.exe
  • Resource compiler: windres.exe
  • Make program: mingw32-make.exe

Also, in Settings->Debugger you can set the path to C:\TDM-GCC-32\bin\gdb.exe for debugging to work.

Premake4

Premake4 is used to generate the C::B project file. The latest release 4.3 might work, but here is a more recent executable built from the premake-stable branch:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/95790686/premake4.zip

TODO: put this in pioneer-thirdparty repository

Third-party dependencies package

If you use TDM-GCC32 to compile, you can use this package with prebuilt dependencies (SDL, Assimp, libPNG etc.). Otherwise you have to gather your own dependencies.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/95790686/pioneer-cb-deps.7z

Extract it to your preferred location, and copy the .dll files to the Pioneer directory.

TODO: put this in pioneer-thirdparty repository

Building the game

Open command prompt and go to pioneer/win32/codeblocks. Generate the project file:

premake4.exe --thirdparty=D:/Dev/mingw32 codeblocks

Substitute the correct location for the third-party deps root folder, using forward slashes. Using --thirdparty is optional if you set the correct include and lib paths in C::B settings.

Pioneer.cbp is generated in the build/ subdirectory, open it in C::B and build the pioneer subproject. The executables are placed in the pioneer root directory. Copy the .dlls from the third-party dependencies before running for the first time.

You need to regenerate the project every time a source file is added or removed. The generated project will not be committed to the repository.

Extra options for the premake script

--thirdparty=[location], Folder where the third-party deps are extracted
--noconsole, Don't open a console window when running the game.
--release-symbols, Include debug symbols in release build. Makes debugging possible, results in a larger executable.

Known issues

  • Plenty of warnings from contrib header files.
  • Starting the build for the entire workspace does not give the correct build order. Launch the build for the pioneer subproject instead.