Exult Forum

I've created two (very!) basic packages for Ubuntu 10.10, one for the exult-1.4.9rc1 release and one for the all-in-one audio pack, for both i386 and amd64. The i386 builds are untested.

The ~/exult.cfg file will have to be updated manually with the location of your blackgate and serpent directories. The all-in-one audio pack will be detected automatically if it's installed.

The binary and source packages are available from my launchpad ppa. Add the following line to your software sources: ppa:dallen.wilson/ppa

Instructions on doing this are available here: https://launchpad.net/+help/soyuz/ppa-sources-list.html

You should add as suggested packages the mods (keyring, sifixes etc) and propose it for the main repository.

That package is OLD.

Paulo, what package?

Dallen, thanks for providing those.

I thought you were refering to a package that includes the mods. The mods are better not added to any package. They have their own site and people are better served downloading them from there.
The package you link to only contains the latest final version of Exult. If you stick to finals that is the right package. Of course we recommend the release candidate

Why not? Just package them as recommended packages (and depending on exult) and it all works.

Installing manually is a pain, especially when you want to upgrade packages.

I'm with Paulo on this one. Installing things manually is the linux of ten years ago, and I'm not going to put up with it in 2011 I'll get around to packaging the mods eventually, I'm sure.

My more immediate goal is to decipher the debconf script that the official ubuntu package uses, to allow the user to set the path to the Black Gate and Serpent Isle from a gui when it gets installed. Editing the config file manually to point to my ultima7 and serpent install locations is also something I'm not going to put up with in 2011.

I'm sure this has been brought up before, but being able to set those paths from within Exult would be pretty slick, too.

You just have to put the games in the right location and exult will find them.
Because we can't offer the games you will ALWAYS have to do manual stuff in regards to Exult.
I don't really mind you making install packages of the mods, I just don't see any good reason doing that for things that are prone to change. But, be my guest...
It makes more sense making an ubuntu package for the new all-in-one audio zip.

Oh you did that

I did indeed. Packaging it was actually more work then exult was, because of the default path. More on that in a moment.

As to the mods, once the grunt work of making the first package is done, it's trivial to update it if a new version of a mod is released. If we accept that most mods will be prone to change, I would still assume it will be developed, eventually finished, and released as more-or-less stable and unchanging. Surely at that point, packaging it makes sense?

On the subject of Exult's default path, I noticed something odd (but fortunate) with the all-in-one audio pack.

The readme states that the default path is /usr/local/share/exult, and if the contents are placed there, Exult will find them automagically.

However, /usr/local is a problem when making a package for any debian-based distribution. The Debian packaging guidelines Strongly Frown on any package installing things to /usr/local, so much so that many automated build systems (including Ubuntu's Launchpad.net) will outright refuse to accept the source package if it tries. I think it's an inane and annoying rule, but mine not to reason why.

I shrugged and had it install them to /usr/share/exult instead, and to my surprise Exult still found the music and sound effects without any input from me.

I assume this is alternate-default is intentional, and applies to the game data locations as well? If it does, setting up the game data locations when the package is installed becomes trivial; Making a few symlinks is much easier then editing a quasi-xml config file, from a packagers perspective.

Hrm, this board needs an edit button :/

Digging through the ChangeLog file, I found an entry dated 2010-03-09 by Marzo Sette Torres Junior that indicates the default path will follow the --prefix or --datadir setting that ./configure is run with. I'm compiling a new build now to test this.

It still wouldn't explain the audiopack working, since I didn't set this previously.

Yep, default path does adhere to the --prefix option. That's nifty, almost like someone saw this coming

New builds are available, and I built an exult-studio package as well.

Hey guys,

I'm new to this so please bear with me.

I've installed this .deb package for Exult but I can't get it to find the gamedata ANYWHERE. I've edited the paths on the .exult.cfg file tons of times but it just won't find it.

Any tips?

Thanks in advance,

P.S. I'm using Ubuntu 11.04

Well, where did you put the games? And what does your .exult.cfg say (copy/paste the content of the tag only)?

Well at this point it is at /usr/share/exult

and this is what's in the .cfg file;

/usr/local/share/exult/blackgate

and

/usr/local/share/exult/serpentisle

*Well at this point it is at /usr/local/share/exult

Ok, where is the file called usecode of both games? And please copy/paste ALL of what's in the game tag.

Where can I find that? o.O

Do you HAVE the games? The usecode file should be in the games static folder.

So the keyring mod never did get packaged did it?

Also btw, you don't have natty packages.

I installed manually the maverik package (downloaded it), and it didn't ask me for the location of the games. Consequently, i am having a hell of a time editing exult.cfg

If you put the games in the default location...

Yeah, i added a symlink now.

No music, though i'm using the "Zipped all-in-one audio pack for manual installation"

Just sound effects.

There are a couple of different ways to play music. Digital music expects the files in a specific location, midi depends on your system and FmOPL emulation should always work.

I think the problem maybe pulse audio - supposedly apps with ALSA frontends should work with it, but the mixer that exult chooses is the "forked" whatever that is (after trying the others).

The icons in the main menu show without the crosses BTW.

The speakers only show whether the sfx files are present.
When you say that the sfx play, then the digital music or the fmopl should work.
For midi you should be able to choose between alsa and forked. May need manual editing of .exult.cfg

But it doesn't (without the editing).

Actually, there is a lot of "Starting forked player failed" on the console.

Well this is retarded.

It needs to start with "sudo".

Might be because my exult folder is in
"/usr/share/games/exult/"

Maybe it should be elsewhere or maybe i should be installing the music into ~/.exult ?

Ah, the music folder is not setup to be read by anyone except sudo maybe (to extract the folder into that did i needed to start fileroller with sudo).

Yeah a chmod 777 to the music dir fixed it.

Maybe you want to warn in case you can't access the dir but it exists?

Anyway, this could be avoided if the music pack was part of the repository, though maybe it is (i had to install the package manually, since there is no natty rep yet).

Well, I do expect linux people to know whether they actually have reading rights. Especially for files you put somewhere manually, you said yourself you did this with sudo, so what else was there to expect?

Yeah well that was the only way i could think of to write the files to the dir.

Anyway, is it a known bug that even invisible (and only the avatar) the enemies still attack?

And... if you can detect that the dir exists (the speaker icons) shouldn't you warn if you can't access the files themselves?

Again, the speaker only shows that the sfx files are installed. This has NOTHING to do with the digital music files and the music folder.
Yes maybe Exult should detect it that people don't have read access to their files, please submit a patch.
And this ONLY affects playing digital music, what about fmopl and midi?
And why you needed to extract the music stuff via sudo isstill beyond me unless you had no rights in there before...

Please file gamebugs in the bug tracker, thugh this might be fixed since 1.4.9rc1...

How can i do a debug build? I'm seeing some segmentation faults with the keyring mod and trunk.

http://exult.info/faq.php#compile_snapshot and use ./configure --help to learn the debug flags and use that in the configure stage.

Holy hell, that's a lot of replies. I guess I didn't set it to notify me, sorry.

I've just added Natty packages to my ppa. Give them a try and let me know how it goes, I haven't upgraded myself yet so I haven't tested them properly. They're essentially identical to the maverick packages, and I don't foresee any issues.

In regards to the other issues you ran in to, I've just re-tested both the exult and exult-audiopack packages after completely purging them from my system; It prompts for the gamedata directories during the install, and the digital music works 'out of the box'. Editing exult.cfg was not required. I'm not sure what caused you such grief.

You are correct in your install location, "/usr/share/games/exult/" is the default location for exult, I patched the required source files prior to building the package. Ubuntu's automated build system is pretty picky about where things go and was choking on the unmodified location (/usr/local/games/exult or somesuch. It really doesn't like anything to go in /usr/local. It's a Debian thing I guess.)

If you have more issues with the packages, feel free to email me (firstname.lastname@gmail.com) or shoot me a pm via sourceforge. I don't really check forums very often.

Also no, I haven't yet packaged any mods. I ran out of packaging steam after I got exult and xu4 done. P'raps I'll poke at it again tonight.

Yeah, well my next stop would be asking you to apply the patch i made (it allows drop without the quantity menu by default).

Dallen is not part of the development team, adding such a patch to an Ubuntu package would be odd IMO...

One doesn't have to be one of the developers to add a patch Though it is generally preferred to let them apply it to their upstream codebase rather then patching it in the package, so everyone can benefit.

Typically a Debian/Ubuntu package only patches issues that are specific to Debian or Ubuntu. Install locations, default search path, shortcuts, that sort of thing.

It's not unheard of to add other patches, but it's usually reserved for specific cases. The most common reasons are the upstream development (ie, the Exult project on sourceforge) being halted or abandoned, or to correct some severe usability issues that upstream doesn't have the time or the inclination to deal with.

In Exult's case, upstream is very much active, and there are no glaring issues (that I'm aware of) that might catch a new user unawares. Exult will run without the U7 game files, for example, and inform the user of what is and is not detected in a useful manner. Unlike xu4, which closes the window with no notice or error upon failing to locate U4. That one I would patch, upstream be damned.

As to your drop-without-quantity patch, throw it on the sourceforge tracker as a patch or feature request and prod the dev's to consider it. Or grab the Ubuntu source package from the ppa and roll your own.

Yeah, that's why I wrote "such a patch"

Exult DOES have a glaring issue with the disappearing objects but that has no patch

xU4 has been changed to have a better error message in the missing u4 files case, just recently in SVN, btw.

Is it recommended not to install the keyring mod? I've noticed there is a "keyring.cc" file and i've been getting more or less random lockups/segmentation faults. Is it included and i should not "install" it in the "mods" folder?

There is no recommendation on NOT using keyring mod. Lockups, segmentation faults are not caused by the keyring mod. Most likely these are caused by the disappearing objects bug.
What do you mean by
"Is it included and i should not "install" it in the "mods" folder?"?

Just install the mod following the instructions that come with it. If the ubuntu package usesdifferent default paths then adapt the instructions (/usr/share instead of /usr/local).

I thought i read somewhere you were about to include it on exult proper.

Wish i could find where is the infinite cycle at least, but i'm not a experienced dbg master (as in, i studied java and never needed to use the arcane text only gnu dbg)

Another think that comes to mind is that the game data files themselves might be corrupted: you have md5 checks for them in exult?

There are no plans to integrate the mods tighter than putting them in a certain folder.
We do not check for corruption. It's a bit much to check with several versions of u7 floating around.

I thought they were all the same, data-wise.