Last updated: 07/08/2006
There are a few Unix/Linux distributions that include Bygfoot in their repositories. In such a case, it is recommended to use the distribution specific installing method, since it keeps your system clear and your package manager informed about installed packages.
In case you know of other distros including Bygfoot, please email me so that I include them here.
Debian branches include various Bygfoot versions. Stable has the old 1.8.0 version currently, whereas 1.9.1 is in testing and the latest versio, 1.9.2, is in unstable. Generally, the latest Bygfoot version gets uploaded to Debian within a few weeks after the release at most.
To install Bygfoot, edit your sources.list file appropriately and execute
apt-get install bygfoot.
I usually also upload the deb package created by the maintainer to the
SourceForge.Net project site. If you want to install the game using this package,
you have to type dpkg -i package.deb. However, this won't resolve dependencies
like apt-get does.
Ubuntu includes Bygfoot in the universe repository (last time I checked
they had the very latest version). After adding universe to your sources,
you should be able to install the game with apt-get just like with Debian.
Fedora contains Bygfoot in its main repository so you don't have to configure anything.
You can install it by typing yum install bygfoot in your console or using pirut
(Add/Remove Software in menu).
After Bygfoot gets successfully installed you can find it in your Games menu.
Last time I made a new release, it got included in Gentoo's portage the same day (without me doing anything -- in the case of Debian, I usually email the maintainer of the Bygfoot package).
Right after a release, the package is masked in portage (naturally), but it becomes 'testing' after a few days.
To install, call emerge bygfoot (after making the appropriate adjustments to your portage
configuration files if necessary).
SuSE doesn't include Bygfoot in official releases; however, I usually provide RPM and SRPM packages with Bygfoot releases -- they should work on your SuSE system, provided you have the necessary supplementary packages installed (GTK+2, mainly).
There's also a Belgian guy who regularly makes SuSE packages when I release new versions (so I guess my RPMS aren't that perfect). I don't know how long he'll kept this up (I don't know him at all), but anyway, here's the link to his page.
To install an RPM (this applies to other RPM-based distributions, too), call
rpm -Uvh bygfoot-XYZ.rpm.
Bygfoot also gets regularly ported to FreeBSD by Pav Lucistnik. However, I don't know how installing packages on BSD systems work, so you're alone there.
NOTE: As of Bygfoot 2.0.0, there's a Windows package bundled with all
the necessary GTK+ files. The package is around 4 MB bigger than the one
without GTK+. The advantage is that you won't have to download and install the
runtime environment at all, you can simply unpack the bundle and play the
game. The bundled package has a -GTK suffix.
If you prefer the non-bundled package, read on.
Since Bygfoot is a GTK program, you first need the GTK+2 runtime environment for Windows. You can get it here (you need the .exe 32-bit Windows version).
After installing the runtime environment, you can download and unpack the Bygfoot Windows package, switch to the game directory and start the game.
Of course, you don't have to reinstall the runtime environment to be able to play later Bygfoot versions, you only have to do it once (you only have to update the RE if some newer Bygfoot version uses functions only available in newer GTK+2 versions).
This might be the easiest way to try out Bygfoot on a Linux x86-system.
The binary package is a simple tar.bz2 archive containing everything you need
(except for the GTK+2 RE, which should be installed on your system). You don't have
to install it, you just unpack it and type ./bygfoot.
If it doesn't work, you have to resort to a package for your distro or the source package.
This section is directed at Linux users. If you use Windows and REALLY REALLY want to try to compile the source package, have a look at this thread at the forums.
To be able to compile the source package, you need to have the following development packages installed (note the word development; it means that on a common system, it doesn't suffice to have gtk-VERSION installed you need gtk-devel-VERSION or something similar).
To build, you also need GNU make and a C compiler, of course.
If the requirements are fulfilled, extract the source package (called bygfoot-X.Y.Z.tar.bz2)
by calling tar xfj bygfoot-X.Y.Z.tar.bz2, go to the build directory (called bygfoot-X.Y.Z)
and type ./configure. (To see a list of options that can be passed to the script,
type ./configure --help.)
If the script runs fine and creates the Makefiles you can proceed by typing make
to compile the sources. If the configure script exits with an error, have a look
at the error message and try to figure out what's missing (e.g. GTK+2 version too
old).
After you've compiled the sources, you have to become superuser (type su -
followed by the root password); switch to the build directory and type
make install. This will copy the compiled executables and the data files
to the appropriate destinations, typically to /usr/local/bin (executables)
and /usr/local/share/bygfoot (data files).
To uninstall the game, type make uninstall in the build directory; you have
to be superuser to do this.
Because of this uninstall possibility, you should leave the build dir alone even after you've installed the game successfully (unless you don't mind if your system gets cluttered with compiled packages).
As of versions 1.6.1 and 1.7.1 an online update script called
bygfoot-update is shipped with Linux/Unix packages. The script can be used
to accomplish various tasks:
cvs syntax.
Since the script is menu-driven (using zenity if available or dialog if not),
there isn't much to explain about it. You can call bygfoot-update --help (or -h)
to see a summary of command line options.
The CVS version is the bleeding-edge Bygfoot version. You can use it to explore features that are being developed before they get included in an official release. You can also help iron out bugs before releases.
I've never used CVS with Windows, so I can't help Windows users here. The rest of this section applies to Unix/Linux users.
The easiest way to get a CVS version is to use the update script.
Just call bygfoot-update --cvs, select a directory where the cvs version
should get downloaded to, choose 'anonymous' as username and press OK.
You can also use cvs directly, but the cvs syntax isn't simple
and you better read the
SourceForge.Net instructions
first.
After downloading the CVS version, you have to first call ./autogen.sh
and then make.
IMPORTANT: The CVS version isn't meant to be installed like the source
package (with make install). You have to start the game with ./src/bygfoot
from the build directory (the dir containing the autogen.sh script).