Official forums for BZFlag.org

I dunno

Did you download BZEdit or BZFed?

I just remembered - if you got BZFed - you'll probably have to compile it.

Oh! Of corse yes!

What does that mean? I'm sure I heard my brother talking about compiling once but I was thinking about sauasages on a BBQ

Check in the folder you extracted it to for a "install" text file. If there is one - read it, it should have instrucs.

I'm confused

Did you download a .zip, .bz2, .bz, .tgz or what?

I'll give detailed insrtuctions after this

Willl I ever make a map?

Ummm, if you've downloaded bzfed, you most likely got some source code that needs to be compiled. Does the file name end in .tar.gz or .tar.bz2 ? The only type file that you can double click on and it gets installed are .rpm files. Let me know if you find an rpm for bzfed, because I sure couldn't find one!

If it's a tar of some sort, you probably have the right file, but now you need to untar and compile it, not to mention take care of all of the dependencies (other programs that bzfed needs to run) that bzfed has. Since you're on Fedora, (what I'm using too) you'll probably use yum to install them.

You'll need to talk to your dad about it, as you'll need root access to install a bunch of stuff. It's been a while since I did install it, but you will need to install libgnomeui and libgnomeui-devel. Probably some other stuff too.

From your GUI, (graphic user interface) double click on the tar.bz2 file or right click and select either file roller or archive manager. You should get a new window with a folder in it. Drag that folder to your /home/yourusername folder.

Then, open a command line, and type:

./configure
make

(hitting enter after each line)

and then, switch to super user mode, and type:

make install

If you have all your dependencies in place, all should be well.

Most likely, the ./configure step will complain about something being missing. Install the missing programs, and you should be good to go.

Since you seem to be unfamiliar as to how this all works, I'd suggest you either ask your dad to explain it all, or use google to find something like: "compile from source tutorial" or some such to explain in greater detail what is going on. Also, it isn't always obvious what the configure script is looking for. Google the error message, and you'll usually find out.

Good luck, and if you get this done, try downloading and compiling bzflag from CVS. I can say that it's well worth the effort.

One more thing: this whole compile from source thing is a real pain in the rear, but it allows for much greater flexibility and time saving from a code writing standpoint. Especially if you're not getting paid for it. Also, you get a program that is exactly suited for your system.

Here's a screenie of what you should get if you succeed:

Pretty cool map editor, but to bad it doesnt have a grid like bzedit