Building and installing LinRadiant


This document describes the process of building LinRadiant from the source for Linux and Windows, how to install a prebuilt binary package, as well as how to uninstall the package if necessary.

The first step of building from the source -- regardless of the OS you use -- is to download the LinRadiant source package.

Building the Linux version

Required environment:

  • Linux with a recent kernel (preferably >= 2.6.0)
  • gcc >= version 3.1 (preferably >= 4.0)
  • GNU make
  • gtk+ >= 2.4.0 (requires glib, atk, pango, iconv, etc)
  • gtkglext >= 1.0.0 (requires opengl, source)
  • libxml2 >= 2.0.0 (source)
  • zlib >= 1.2.0 (for archivezip module, source)
  • libpng >= 1.2.0 (for imagepng module, source)
Most modern Linux distributions fullfill these requirements. If any of the required libraries is missing, you have two options:
  • Get the library from the package repository of your Linux distribution
  • Download the library source (links above or here) and build and install it
Copy the source package to a suitable directory (we assume now that it is /home/yourname/src). Uncompress the package using the following commands from a terminal: 

  cd /home/yourname/src
  unzip linradiant-curr-src.zip
You should now have a new directory in /home/yourname/src called LinRadiant. The original source package may be moved now to some other location if you wish.

The next step is configuration of the build system and the gamepack installer. Open the file config.mak in the directory /home/yourname/src/LinRadiant in a text editor and set the variables inside according to your preferences (the file contains explanations about the role of different variables). Do the same with the file config.pack in the same directory.

Next you have to make a couple of files executable first (otherwise the build process will fail). Run the following commands from the terminal: 

  cd /home/yourname/src/LinRadiant
  chmod 777 script1
  chmod 777 script2
  chmod 777 script3
Next run the following commands to build and install the editor: 

  make
  make install
Be patient, the 'make' command may take several minutes to complete. The editor should now be installed and configured. It can be started from the install directory specified in config.mak using the following command: 

  linradiant.x86
I have tested the above procedure under Vector Linux 5.9. It should be fairly independent of the Linux distribution used. If you have any problems building the package under your system please, contact me, maybe I can help you.

Building the Windows version

Required environment:
  • Windows XP or later
  • MinGW and Msys (see install guide)
  • LinRadiant dependencies (libraries) installed
Note: We assume that you have installed the Msys/MinGW system to drive C:. If not, you should substitute the correct drive letter in the directory names mentioned below. Also, when we say 'uncompress' you may use any unpacking utility that preserves path names (Total Commander is a good choice, it can handle both '.zip' and '.tar.gz' archives).

Download the package containing LinRadiant dependencies. Uncompress the package (linradiant_mingw_dep.zip) into the c:\mingw\msys\1.0 directory. You should now have a new directory called c:\mingw\msys\1.0\usr containing a lot of stuff. These files are all needed for building the editor.

Uncompress the source package linradiant-curr-src.zip into your Msys home directory (c:\mingw\msys\1.0\home). You should now have a new directory called c:\mingw\msys\1.0\home\LinRadiant.

The next step is configuration of the build system and the gamepack installer. Open the file config.mak in the directory c:\mingw\msys\1.0\home\LinRadiant in a text editor (DO NOT USE MS Word, use Notepad) and set the variables inside according to your preferences (the file contains explanations about the role of different variables). Do the same with the file config.pack in the same directory.

Note: When you edit the files, always use the forward slash character '/' in path names instead of the usual backslash '\' (the Windows convention).

Start your Msys environment (use the batch file msys.bat in the directory c:\mingw\msys\1.0). Change to the LinRadiant directory by using the following command: 

  cd LinRadiant
then run the following commands: 

  make
  make install
Be patient, the 'make' command may take several minutes to complete. You should now have WinRadiant installed and configured in the install directory you specified in config.mak. You can start the editor by double clicking winradiant.exe in that directory.

I have tested the above procedure under Windows XP Pro (32-bit). If you have any problems building the package under your system please, contact me, maybe I can help you.

Installing binary packages

I have prepared binary packages for those people who are reluctant or too lazy :-) to build the editor from the source. Please note, however, that the Linux binary was prepared and tested under Vector Linux 5.9 and there is no guarantee that it would work under other Linux distributions (although there is a fair chance that it will).

First you have to download the appropriate binary package for Linux or Windows

Linux installation:

Copy the binary package to a suitable directory (e.g. /home/yourname/programs). Uncompress it by using these commands in a terminal: 

  cd /home/yourname/programs
  gzip -d linradiant-curr-bin-linux.tar.gz
  tar -xf LinRadiant.tar
  rm -f LinRadiant.tar
You should now have a new directory in /home/yourname/programs called LinRadiant. Change to this directory to continue the installation process. First you should make the configuration utility executable. Run these commands from a terminal: 

  cd /home/yourname/programs/LinRadiant
  chmod 777 gameconf
The next step is to configure and install the gamepacks you need, otherwise LinRadiant will abort with an error message. Open the file gamepack.conf in /home/yourname/programs/LinRadiant using a text editor and modify the variables inside according to your preferences (the file contains explanations about the role of different variables). After you have made the changes, install the gamepacks by using the following command in the terminal: 

  gameconf
Note: To reset the gamepack system you can remove all previously installed gamepacks by using the following command: 

  gameconf clear
LinRadiant should now be properly installed and can be started from the directory /home/yourname/programs/LinRadiant by using the following command: 

  linradiant.x86
Windows installation:

Uncompress (unzip) the binary package to a suitable directory (e.g. d:\games\WinRadiant).

The next step is to configure and install the gamepacks you need, otherwise LinRadiant will abort with an error message. Unfortunately, there is no automatic way (yet) to do this like in the Linux package. See the document on manual gamepack configuration.

WinRadiant should now be properly configured and can be started by double clicking winradiant.exe.

Uninstalling the package

If you installed the binaries by 'make install' (after building from the source), then you can remove the installed package by using the following command from within the LinRadiant source directory (note: Use Msys when doing this under Windows!): 

  make uninstall
Another (simpler) way is to delete the directory in which the binary package is installed. This works because the install procedure writes everything into this directory, no other locations are modified.