Exult SVN snapshot for OS X Intel + PPC

[Dominus]

After much testing and failing I *think* I produced a working universal snapshot for OS X 10.4 and upwards.
I can only test this on OS X 10.5 and 10.6, so please anyone with older systems test this (and of course all others, please test this as well).

This snapshot comes with Mt32emu enabled and I also compiled it with a patch to enable CoreMIDI. CoreMIDI is needed if you own a real MT32 and want to use it with Exult. In the Audio options select CoreMIDI.
I included this patch because it needs testing as well and it's kind of hard to get people to test it otherwise

For people owning a MT32 and not experienced with hooking it up to a Mac, once you connected it to a MIDI port on your Mac (I'm using a MIDI-2-USB device) and then plugged in stereo cable to your line-in, you might need the utility "LineIn" http://www.rogueamoeba.com/freebies/ to actually hear the output of the MT32 on your mac.

So, please, anyone on Mac, please test this snapshot!

Known issues:
- Switching from windowed to fullscreen mode is probably not workin for Exult resolutions smaller than 640x480
- Fullscreen with scalers point, interlaced and scale2x might not work correctly with ATI/AMD Radeon graphic chips


Edit: and sorry for the strange download place. I'm currently without my own web space and thus have no real free upload space.

Edit: Uploaded new version

Edit: uploaded yet another new version!

Edit: the download is now availlable from our download page http://exult.info/download.php
I'll try to update it often, but I'll probably be not as up to date as Kirben is with his Windows snapshots!

Edit: I'll upload a working copy now and will only be able to provide a new snapshot in about a month.

[Dominus]

btw. I cannot build a static Exult Studio. The many GTK+ libs that are needed are messing everything up. Sorry, no way for me...

[Dominus]

I uploaded a new version, the link in the first post changed

The only change is that the data folder is now part of the app bundle, though the name is hardcoded right now, so when you rename that Exult.app you will not be able to start it anymore.
Please test it further and please also tell me whether it works

[MeddlingMonk]

It worked on my PPC Mac with one small oddity. It placed a 'blackgate' folder on the desktop which is where I placed your bundle (not wanting to overwrite my own in Applications). It was empty. No idea why the folder was created. I didn't run SI but assume it would have placed a 'serpentisle' folder on the desktop as well.

[Dominus]

Thanks for the report. Especially for reporting that it worked on your PPC.
As for the folder, was it empty? Could it be that the exult.cfg had the path "./blackgate" somewhere in the tags? If you have it under this is where Exult will create the gamedat file on run relative to the app's location.

[MeddlingMonk]

Yes, the folder was empty. It's odd that my own builds don't behave this way, but I think I need to go through exult.cfg for other reasons as well (it's no longer showing mods in the menu but the mods do show up in Fedora) when I get some time this weekend maybe.

[Dominus]

If you want we could go through the cfg together, I'd like to know which setting caused this.

Marzo has written a patch for making the app bundle use the data folder in the bundle, regardless of the bundles name. It's not yet in SVN, but when it lands i'll make a new snapshot (I really need to sort the webspace out, badongo is not a good place for this).

[monotremata]

Awesome news man! I figured I was kinda done with Exult since I finally finished SI on my PC but Im grabbing this right now and will test on my old dual G4 running 10.4.11 as soon as its done downloading!

I dont suppose you can share how you finally pulled it off?
I about tore my hair out working on this for the last couple of years!

[monotremata]

Oops never mind I just noticed you posted the procedure in a thread below.

Gonna try that out myself and see how it goes!
Didnt realize it may have been Fink's fault we couldnt do it.
Fink can compile and install instead of using prebuilt packages but you have to set it to use the Unstable branches of the repository. Fink's stable branches are usually a few versions behind so Ive always used the Unstable branch to keep things more up to date..
Although like you mentioned Macports allows you to specifically build a UB, I dont think these options are in Fink anywhere...

[MeddlingMonk]

Mono, I'm pretty sure there are no universal options in Fink. I've searched the docs and the mailing list archives. I found a statement from about four years ago giving an unambiguous 'no' on whether Fink will support universal binaries, and the fact that there's nothing newer on the subject probably means nothing has changed at all on that front.

Dom, as for my cfg file...I expect I'll find that it's just misconfigured somewhere. But, on the other hand, under Fedora I haven't bothered to specify the path because their inside the blackgate and serpentisle folders where they ought to be and that is where they are on the Mac. But, like I said, I'll have to make time to sort it. But, assuming you've got any mods installed, is Exult picking them up on your Mac? I'd be astounded if the answer were 'no'.

[Dominus]

mods get picked up here automatically without setting a path to it in the cfg. This requires the mods folder to be a subfolder of the folder given in


Let me know how the look at exult.cfg fares

[monotremata]

Mine doesnt show mods as well.. Also doesnt seem to be reading my old saved games either. I copied the newer ones from my PC over so maybe thats the case, but those were only SI saves.. My old Black Gate ones arent working either.

I changed my path from the default so the Gamedata and save games were in ./[game folder] instead of ~/.exult/[game folder].
I never noticed that somewhere along the way Exult changed its paths on me cause all my saves from the last time I played on the Mac are still in the game folders themselves heh.

[Dominus]

To get this sorted out, please post the location of
- the game
- the savegames
- gamedat
- mods

Also the contents of your exult.cfg, though only what'S between the and tags.
When you say, the old saves don't work, how do they not work? (you shouldn't use the really old ones anyway with SVN for serious gameplay)

[monotremata]

Ok lets see.. I was trying to copy/paste it from Mac to PC so I could post it but the damn line breaks wont come out right no matter how I save the file hehe..

Basically the root of everything is /Applications/Ultima7

Inside there is the Exult.app, and the following folders:
blackgate
serpentisle

Inside each games folder are the gamedat, mods, patch, and static folders.
Save games go right in the root of each games folder.
This pretty much mirrors my same setup on the PC.

Heres the cfg file:



1




./blackgate




./forgeofvirtue


./forgeofvirtue/gamedat


./forgeofvirtue




./serpentisle


(default)




./silverseed


./silverseed/gamedat


./silverseed






Im curious, am I supposed to have paths for forgeofvirtue and silverseed?
My U7 and U7p2 came from the Ultima Collection cd, so those are already part of the games. I just copied the STATIC folders right from the cd to the Ultima7 directory. Ive actually never noticed those in there before (but then again I cant tell you when Exult magically changed my prefs to use gamedat and savegames in ~/.exult either). Either way, when I click on either game and start it, the splash screens indicate theyre installed.

Ive actually never had any trouble updating Exult and not having the save games work, Ive always just updated source, recompiled, and replaced the .app. Before I noticed my .cfg changed the folder locations, as far as I know I was even still using the cfg file from my original 1.2 install years ago.

What I mean when I say they dont work is, anytime I click Journey Onward it tells me I must start a new game first. All the files are still there..
Maybe Ill try changing it back to ~/.exult and move them and see.. Or maybe this newer SVN just broke compatibility?

[monotremata]

Just went through the docs and looked at all the options for the cfg and whatnot..
I just deleted mine and started up Exult so it would make a brand new one.
Looking at the docs, my setup is exactly like the example as far as file locations goes..
Under the section in my new cfg it doesnt even have the path data, just the save compression parameter, and the games show up and load fine, but still cant resume an old save (same message when I click Journey Onward) and no mods are appearing..

[marzo]

Exult no longer sets path settings if they are equal to the default values (as there is no point); the way default paths are generated has also changed. They are now computed as follows:

Code: Select all

Exult.cfg tag     Default
path              ./cfg_game_name
static_path       /static
savegame_path     $HOME/.exult/cfg_game_name
gamedat_path      $HOME/.exult/cfg_game_name/gamedat
mods              $HOME/.exult/cfg_game_name/mods
patch             $HOME/.exult/cfg_game_name/patch

(exception: in Windows, replace "$HOME/.exult" by "LOCAL_APPDATA\Exult"). Note that the only setting which now depends on the tag now is static_path; all others are computed differently.

In any case, you can look at the reported path settings in stdout to make sure; you will probably have to start Exult from a command line to see them (look for "Game path settings" in the output).

[Dominus]

Unless you force the settings savegame_path, gamedat_path, mods, patch the location Marzo gave are the default locations, REGARDLESS of where the path of the game is set.
This way Exult does not write to non-user space (for example /Applications/... is not a location ANY application should write to) unless forced to in the cfg.

[monotremata]

Someone should update the cfg section of the documentation its a little out of date hehe..
The instructions for setting up your cfg in the docs tell you to put it all in the game path folders...

By the way do you guys know how to make those invisible folders show up in a Spotlight search??
I know on 10.3 and before your searches for files would go through the hidden unix layer and you could find anything that way.. In 10.4 and onward none of that stuff shows up when you search.. I never could figure out how to see them without going into Terminal this entire time...
Maybe it should be moved into ~/Library/Application Support by default for easier access?? Just about every other game I have installed puts its saves there so its easy for me to backup and keep tabs on..

Anyways, ok for kicks I moved all that stuff out of the Applications/Ultima7/game_path folders into my ~/.exult folder.

Still have to start a new game for both games and mods still arent showing up.

[monotremata]

Ok shouldve waited to finish that post but heres another one..

I guess the save game point is moot..
It has to be something that was changed recently in Exult since the last time I compiled on the Mac and the last time I played it on the PC (that post I made about finally beating SI)...

Just grabbed the latest snapshot for Windows, installed it over my last one.
Paths are pointed properly, and even on Windows, its telling me to start a new game first..

Not sure whats up with the mods though..
Keyring and SIFixes are installed on both Mac and PC and neither of those show up on either platform..
Perhaps the mods themselves need some updates??

[Dominus]

If gamedat folder is empty (or perhaps a file missing that is now required since SVN) you need to start a new game.
But again, we need to see your exult.cfg file and the exact location of all your stuff to troubleshoot it.

The documentation is wrong since this exult.cfg stuff changed heavily in the last two weeks.

[monotremata]

Ok this is really really wierd..
After just moving my gamedat, mods, patch and savegame files from /Applications/Ultima7/gamename over to ~/.exult/gamename (see two posts above yours)..

I fired up Exult, started a new game in BG so I could enable the Ogg audio..
Made a quick save and exited and then came back here and read your last reply..

I went and checked to make sure all the stuff was still in the gamedat folder and guess what.. Thats now the ONLY folder in $HOME/.exult/blackgate.

Somehow the mods and patch folders were deleted along with all of my old save game files.. WTF??
Same with Serpent Isle..

Ive posted the cfg already and all of my stuff matches exactly what Marzo posted above. I just wiped my cfg from yesterday and let it set itself up by default..

So now I just moved EVERYTHING over from my PC to my Mac.
This would be the gamedat, mods, patch, and save game files for each game.

I just moved them back into $HOME/.exult and the appropriate spots Marzo said above, its all working now for some reason..
I dont get it but oh well, at least now it says Show Mods for both games and I just picked up my last save game in SI inside the temple at the end of the game..

Wow this thing sounds rad using MT32 for MIDI and the Ogg files for the music.. Never did that before maybe Ill go run through both of em again just to hear it like this hehe..

[Dominus]

I went and checked to make sure all the stuff was still in the gamedat folder and guess what.. Thats now the ONLY folder in $HOME/.exult/blackgate.

Somehow the mods and patch folders were deleted along with all of my old save game files.. WTF??
Same with Serpent Isle..

This is really weird... I wonder what is happening there...

[monotremata]

I think it was something stupid on my part actually.. Oops.
Now that I think about it when I was moving the stuff over I was IN the .exult directory in the terminal.

As an example, I used the command mv /Applications/Ultima7/blackgate/gamedat /blackgate.
Thinking since I was already in the .exult folder it would move it to the blackgate folder there.. Stupid me because I put the / in front, it moved all my data to the root of my hard drive instead. I found those folders there just awhile ago and went 'HUH??' hehehe.
So now that I did it properly it works..

What I still dont get though, when my cfg file pointed to all my data living in the /Applications/Ultima7/game folders, nothing worked, but when I moved them to .exult and reset the cfg file it started working.. Im just gonna leave it where it is and be done with it hehe!

I figured out on my PC that I needed to move the stuff to user/appdata/local/Exult as well and now Im back up and running there too.

One last thing that Im wondering about, and its not a big deal at all.. Ive got the sound effects files and the ogg files all properly in the data folder.. Sound and music works just perfect (Im using the digital music and the MT32 Midi), however on the Exult splash screen my Mac always has the red X's over the speaker icons like the sound isnt configured properly. On my PC its all fine and dandy and no red X's.. It works fine on the Mac but Exult just doesnt change those icons for me..

[Dominus]

he he, nice one with the wrong moving

What I still dont get though, when my cfg file pointed to all my data living in the /Applications/Ultima7/game folders, nothing worked, but when I moved them to .exult and reset the cfg file it started working.. Im just gonna leave it where it is and be done with it hehe!

It's because of what Marzo and I wrote about the new ENFORCED default location for the exult stuff. UNLESS you explicitly override the location in exult.cfg (for example if you reall want your mods folder to be in /Applications/Ultima7/blackgate/mods you would need to set /Applications/Ultima7/blackgate/mods in exult.cfg for blackgate) if you don't change the default Exult will look for AND use the folders in .exult. Same behavior in Windows, that's why there was a recent post about this changing behaviour of Windows Exult in the forum.

One last thing that Im wondering about, and its not a big deal at all.. Ive got the sound effects files and the ogg files all properly in the data folder.. Sound and music works just perfect (Im using the digital music and the MT32 Midi), however on the Exult splash screen my Mac always has the red X's over the speaker icons like the sound isnt configured properly. On my PC its all fine and dandy and no red X's.. It works fine on the Mac but Exult just doesnt change those icons for me..

Make sure that the path in in exult.cfg is matching a real, existing folder. If not Exult will default to the bundled data in it's app bundle and since the sfx files are not in there they can not be used.
You can also point the full path for them in exult.cfg, instead ojust using their name...

[monotremata]

Yeah I left the data path out of the cfg and just put them inside the app's bundled data folder (nice that it finally works that way)..
I figured after my moving data mishap I should just delete the cfg and start anew and let it do its thing.

The sound and music and everything work perfect, it just never changes the little speaker icons on the splash screen.
Come to think of it its been like that since the first time I ever compiled and ran Exult..

Not a big deal like I said.

At least after all this time someone finally managed to make a static universal build of Exult!
I still havent tried your method for it but I figure since Im on an old PPC machine running 10.4 I probably wont get as far as you did.
Things working great so far and the sound is killer hehe!
Ive never thought to use the Ogg files and change from the GM midi set before.. Shouldve done that day 1!

[Dominus]

The sound and music and everything work perfect, it just never changes the little speaker icons on the splash screen.
Come to think of it its been like that since the first time I ever compiled and ran Exult..

I really doubt that your sound (meaning sfx) is working, since Exult does not and can not find the sfx files. To get that working, point jmsfx.flx directly to the file, e.g. /users/Mono/.exult/data/jmsfx.flx.

OR put the sfx files into your app bundle (in the data folder in there).

[Dominus]

I uploaded another new SVN snapshot, this time within the dmg that gets automatically created by makefile on OSX when you "make osxdmg" (and some fixes to the SVN since then).

Comments on this dmg are welcome.

[Dominus]

I'm now offering the download directly from our download page. I'll try to update often but I can promise that it won't be as often as Kirben's Windows snapshot is updated.

Nothing changed from yesterdays download, it's exactly the same download for now, except it is hosted on our page and not on badongo.