Dependencies

Crossfire runs on most POSIX-compliant systems, including Linux and BSD. Compiling Crossfire requires:

• A C compiler supporting at least C99
• A C++ compiler
• Crossfire archetypes (from a release tarball or Git)
• Crossfire maps (from a release tarball or Git)

If you are building from Git, you also need:

• autoconf/automake
• pkgconf/pkg-config
• libtool
• flex

In addition, there are a number of optional dependencies that make the game even more fun. These include:

• Support for dynamically loaded libraries. Most modern operating systems should have it. This is needed for server plugins.
• Python 3 - this is needed for the Crossfire Python plugin (CFPython) and is highly recommended. Most maps, quests, and NPCs will not work without it. On some platforms, you will need the "development" package that comes with header files.
• SQLite3 - for cflogger and cfnewspaper. These plugins are still under development and aren't very useful at the moment.
• Check - for unit tests. This is only required for plugin developers.

Compiling

Symlink the Crossfire archetypes and maps in the source directory:

$ ln -s /path/to/crossfire-arch lib/arch
$ ln -s /path/to/crossfire-maps lib/maps

If you are building from Git, run autoconf:

$ autoreconf -i

Generic instructions for using autoconf/automake are in INSTALL. We recommend building with debugging symbols on (-g) and low optimization (-O0) to assist in debugging crashes. Briefly:

$ ./configure CFLAGS="-g -O0" CXXFLAGS="-g -O0"
$ make
$ make install

An older, step-by-step guide is available on the wiki: http://wiki.cross-fire.org/doku.php/server:server_compiling

To build the Crossfire Resource Editor (CRE), first build the server, and then run:

$ cd utils/cre && qmake && make

Final Steps

• Configure your server (see $PREFIX/etc/crossfire/)
• Make maps available in $PREFIX/share/crossfire/maps/

Website

Official Website: http://crossfire.real-time.com/

Crossfire Wiki: http://wiki.cross-fire.org/

SourceForge Downloads Page: http://sourceforge.net/projects/crossfire/files/

IRC

It's possible to link up with a small community of Crossfire players and developers on irc.libera.chat in the #crossfire channel. Though activity waxes and wanes, it's often possible to get live help there.

Mailing Lists

For the latest subscription for crossfire mailing lists, go to: http://crossfire.real-time.com/mailinglists/index.html

There you can subscribe/unsubscribe any of the mailing lists. Links to archives of the mailing lists can be found there, as well as at: https://www.mail-archive.com/crossfire@metalforge.org/

Reporting Bugs

Bugs should be filed in the Crossfire bug tracker on SourceForge: http://sourceforge.net/p/crossfire/bugs/

When reporting bugs, make sure you include the following:

• If you have a sourceforge login, make sure you are logged in. This way, if there are questions about the bug, you will be notified about the request for more information.
• What version of crossfire did you use?
• What type of computer did you use (CPU type)
• What is the version of the OS?
• What compiler (and its version) did you use (ie, gcc, icc, etc)?
• Which flags did you give it?
• If the bug happens when compiling crossfire, send an EXACT copy of the compiler line, as well as the errors it puts out. Sending bugs of the sort 'it failed with a line like ...' doesn't help at all.
• If you are using any of the plugins, what version(s) of Python and SQLite do you have installed?
• If the bug happened while running crossfire:
  • Include any output before to the bug.
  • Give a description of what you did before the bug occurred. The better detailed the description, the better chance we have of figuring out where the bug happened, or how we can recreate the bug.
  • If possible, a stack trace from gdb (or other debugger) is very helpful.

The more information provided, the better chance of the bug being fixed in a timely fashion.

Further debugging information can be found at http://crossfire.real-time.com/debugging_tips.html

Reporting Crashes

Your server must be compiled with debugging symbols enabled for your crash reports to be useful.

When your server crashes, look for a core dump file. Run the following command and include the output in your bug report:

$ gdb /path/to/crossfire-server /path/to/core_dump -batch -ex 'backtrace'

Submitting Patches

See the doc/style-guide.txt file.

Patches should be sent to the Crossfire patch tracker on SourceForge: http://sourceforge.net/p/crossfire/patches/