Getting Started

Forum: Games
Topic: Getting Started
started by: Sir Lunch-a-lot

Posted by Sir Lunch-a-lot on June 26 2005,20:29

Hello. I am rather new to linux. I downloaded DSL a bit less than a week ago and got it installed to my Hard Drive.

Anyway, I am wanting to run more Opensource games (such as those I find at happypenguin.org), but most of them seem to require SDL or something of that sort. I, most unfortunately, must do any of my downloading in windows as I have a winmodem, and cannot connect to the net in Linux, and so, cannot use apt get.

Do I even need SDL? Does this XFree86 I've seen mentioned take SDL's place? If I do need SDL, how do I install it with the availiable RPM files?

I've already posted for some help in the happypenguin forums, but then I thought, "Heck, I should go to the DSL forums instead. Then its more Distro Specific."

So, any help you guys can provide this noob would be much appreciated.

Posted by nickelplated on June 26 2005,21:32

You're going to have to get SDL, XFree86 doesn't take it's place. SDL is like, a games graphics engine. It takes a lot dependencies too, it might be kinda hard to get that stuff and then transfer it over..Maybe we can get your modem working. What's the problem with it that you're having?

Posted by Sir Lunch-a-lot on June 26 2005,21:44

Well, its a WINmodem, and not a hardware modem. I have some files I found a while back for winmodems under linux, but they have to be compiled, and I have no idea how to do that.

Edit: Transferring files over isn't much of a problem. I would just download them under windows, reboot in linux, and try to install them there. I've already installed a console game (lin-city) this way. In the site I found with the debian SDL packages (I'm suspecting that this is what I want, debian, right?) They had various platforms (ie, i386, Alpha, etc). Now, if I'm downloading SDL stuff for i386 platform, what should I do when certain dependancys are only availiable under platform type Alpha, for example?

Edit: I just remembered something. When I had tried to install the driverset, it searched for GCC, and other compilers, and turned up empty. I tried downloading GCC, but all I came up with was unassembled source code. Not too useful if you need a compiler in the first place. Although, maybe the fact that I was trying to download an older, smaller version might play a role in it only coming as source code.

Posted by SaidinUnleashed on June 26 2005,22:01

sdl is a very, very small framebuffer graphics library.

Try this.

apt-get install libsdl1.2debian

Posted by nickelplated on June 26 2005,23:29

Yeah, your best bet on how to get it is using apt-get from the command line after fixing your winmodem situation. But just in case you're wondering, getting a package just straight from the page..Well if there's a dependency for that package for your system, then that dependency does indeed exist for your system.

But you're never going to be able to make full use of Linux unless you get your internet working on it, so we might want to go over some stuff on how to compile something from source code so you can get that modem to work. It's pretty easy once you know how. I'd also recommend you get a book from the library on introducing yourself to linux's command line. Something like "How Linux Works" would probably be a good one for you. Compiling from source is just uncompressing the files, navigating to those files in a terminal, running the configure file, then type the word make, then type the words make install.
If you use an instant messaging program I could probably log onto one as well and walk you through it pretty easily, but going back and forth over the finer points of how to accomplish that can be a bit tricky on a message board.

Another option is to go to a Linux User Group in your area and have them help you out, there's LUGs all over the place and they have installfests where you can bring your compy in and they'll install and configure it for you to help you get set up. I've heard they're pretty cool. Here's the site with the groups on it:
< http://www.linux.org/groups/ >
Here's a page on winmodems in relation to linux, if you need it:
< http://start.at/modem >

Posted by SaidinUnleashed on June 27 2005,01:14

Or, for $14, you can get a real, live, walking, talking controller modem from Acortech.com

They work GREAT. I bought 3 of them (one for me, one for my bro, one for my dad) and they ROCK.

< Check it out. >

Acortech has great service and ships as fast as Newegg. If you don't believe me, check resellerratings.com. Acortech is #9.

Pretty good, says I.

-J.P.

Posted by nickelplated on June 27 2005,02:53

Wow, they've got some cheap stuff on there. Might just have to pick up one of those five dollar mouses. (:

Posted by Sir Lunch-a-lot on June 27 2005,19:12

SaidinUnleashed, that modem sure looks like a swell idea. Its too bad that the cheapest shipping to Canada is more than the modem itself costs... (I think that once everything is said and done, I'd being paying over $50 Canadian) But thanks for the suggestion. I think that I just might have tol shop around for a real modem, internal or external. Out of curiosity, did you notice any Internet speed increases with that modem over winmodems?

Posted by Sir Lunch-a-lot on June 27 2005,23:15

One other thing that I should mention, is that when I last tried installing the winmodem stuff in DSL, I tried using the make command, but it said that it could not find the command "make". Also, when running config (or was it install?), it was saying that it could not find gcc. So, how can you guys use the make command with DSL? Do I have to download it from someplace? Is it very carefully hidden?

I'm going to reboot in linux and try again in a moment, and see if there might be something that i have missed.

Posted by Sir Lunch-a-lot on June 28 2005,02:39

You know that game called xbubbles? Does it require SDL to run? If so, that must mean that I have done something right, and am getting SDL stuff going, because I got that game installed and running just fine. If not, oh well.

Posted by Sir Lunch-a-lot on June 29 2005,03:22

I thought I'd just conclude this thread by saying thank you for all your assistance. It may not seem like you told me much, but it was just enough to keep me going, and learning. I got GCC installed, and now I just have to get the kernel sources to compile the LINmodem drivers. Then, I'll hope and pray that I can get on the internet under linux with it. My experience with DSL is turning out rather good so far.