Prerequisite libraries needed to compile or run LAC for Raspberry Pi

[bbosen]

As shown in THIS YouTube video clip:

https://youtu.be/XeYBhxb_yrk?si=iTtJVucs1RSRYhtT ,

Any attempt to compile 32-bit Raspbian Linux Air Combat on a "virgin" Rasperry Pi 4b or 400 system will demand three free, well-known libraries. When that video clip was recorded, the exact names were:

1 of 3: freeglut3-dev-2.8.1-3
2 of 3: libsdl-dev-1.2.15-dfsg2-4+rpt2
3 of 3: libsdl-mixer1.2-dev-1.2.12-15

The video clip shows EXACTLY how I did it when I experienced my first success.

That set of video clips was recorded back in 2020 and as time progresses, the names and release number details of those libraries will change. Furthermore, that film was recorded when I was a Pi "newbie" and back in those days I didn't know that the Pi community prefers the "apk" file compression conventions over the "tar.gz" conventions I was using. However, the process of de-archiving "apk" files is essentially identical to the illustrated process for de-archiving "tar.gz" files.

Nevertheless, I am confident that any Pi user of ordinary skill should find that video clip useful and ought to be able to compile LAC from the published source code.

If you don't want to compile LAC, you will find a precompiled binary executable included in our standard Pi download archive.

Before you can run that precompiled binary on your 32-bit Pi4b or 400 under Raspbian, you must obtain three well-known, free software library components. Their names are very similar to those listed above, but they don't include the development source code. Their names are:

1 of 3: freeglut3-2.8.1-3 or later
2 of 3: libsdl1.2debian-1.2.15+dfsg2-6~deb10u1 or later
3 of 3: libsdl-mixer1.2-1.2.12-15 or later.

When you run it, if it can't find one or more of the three corresponding run-time libraries, it will terminate with a descriptive error message on the invoking bash shell console. You'll notice that those files have names that are very similar to the ones listed above, but because they are run-time libraries and NOT development libraries, the names probably do not include "dev". The process for finding and installing those libraries will be essentially identical to the process shown in the video clip.

UPDATE from March 2024: All of the above work was done on a 32-bit Raspbian system. If your system is something newer (like 64-bit Raspberry Pi OS) you will need to compile LAC from the source code or seek a download package specifically identified as containing a compiled 64-bit executable for your specific platform.

[bbosen]

I just purchased a new Raspberry Pi 5 with 4GB of RAM. I had to compile LAC from source code. The Pi5 compiling prerequisite libraries are just:

1 of 2: "Image loading library for Simple DirectMedia Layer 1.2 development files"
2 of 2: "Mixer library for Simple DirectMedia Layer 1.2 development files"

I used the free, well-known "codeblocks" integrated development environment for the compilation.

The Pi5 runs Linux Air Combat SPLENDIDLY at 720P resolution (1280x720 pixels). I was able to increase video quality from "2" all the way up to "4" and I was able to increase the render range from "110" up to "160". The increased video detail is readily apparent with the silky-smooth framerate rock solid at 59 and 60FPS.

[bbosen]

Here's a new YouTube video showing EXACTLY how I downloaded, de-archived, compiled, linked, installed, and ran the published Raspberry Pi LAC source code archive on a brand-new Raspberry Pi 5:

And here's a follow-on YouTube video clip showing what LAC looks like on a Raspberry Pi5 after a few minutes tweaking its menus for the best video resolution and (compared to the Pi4b) with improved video detail and increased render distance: