Build & Compile

Free Eggbert supports multiple build systems and targets. The recommended approach is CMake with the FreeDirect backend.

CMake (Recommended — Cross-platform)

The canonical cross-platform build uses the Free Direct backend, which replaces DirectDraw/DirectSound with SDL3-based equivalents.

Configure and Build

# 1. Initialize submodules
git submodule update --init --recursive

# 2. Configure
cmake -S . -B build -DSPEEDY_BLUPI_BACKEND=FREEDIRECT

# 3. Build
cmake --build build -j

System SDL Override (Advanced)

If you prefer to use system-installed SDL packages instead of the vendored submodules:

cmake -S . -B build -DSPEEDY_BLUPI_BACKEND=FREEDIRECT -DFREE_USE_SYSTEM_SDL=ON

Dependency Boundaries

The intended dependency chain is strictly layered:

Free Eggbert game code
        ↓
Free API / Free Direct public compatibility headers
        ↓
Free API / Free Direct implementation
        ↓
SDL3 / SDL_image / SDL_mixer internals

• SPEEDY_BLUPI_WINDOWS links only free-api and free-direct
• SDL include directories and libraries stay private to free-api / free-direct
• No game source file should include SDL headers directly

Non-MSVC Compiler Options

Because the codebase originates from decompiled code, it uses constructs that modern C++ compilers reject by default. The following permissive flags are applied:

Visual Studio 2022 (Windows, Native DirectX)

For building against the original DirectX 3 SDK on Windows:

1. Open Speedy Eggbert 2 Source.sln in Visual Studio 2022
2. Set the platform to x86
3. Set the debugger target to Win32
4. Open Project Properties → C/C++ → Command Line → Additional Options
   Add: /wd4700 /wd4703
5. Open Project Properties → General → Platform Toolset
   Set to: Visual Studio 2022 (v143)
6. Right-click the solution → Build Solution

Known Workaround for COM Header Error

On some Windows SDK versions, you may encounter:

c:\program files (x86)\windows kits\8.1\include\um\combaseapi.h(229):
error C2760: syntax error: unexpected token 'identifier', expected 'type specifier'

The workaround is to add this before the problematic include:

typedef struct IUnknown IUnknown;

WebAssembly (Emscripten)

Free Eggbert can be compiled to WebAssembly for running in a browser.

Setup

First, install and activate the Emscripten SDK:

source /path/to/emsdk/emsdk_env.sh

Build and Run

# Configure for WebAssembly
emcmake cmake -S . -B cmake-build-web -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug

# Build
cmake --build cmake-build-web -j

# Run in browser (starts local HTTP server)
emrun cmake-build-web/bin/SPEEDY_BLUPI_WINDOWS.html

Game assets from gamefiles/ (DATA, IMAGE08, IMAGE16, SOUND) are preloaded into the Emscripten virtual filesystem at build time — no manual copying is required.

Persistent Saves on Web

Save data is stored in IndexedDB via Emscripten's IDBFS, mounted at /save inside the virtual filesystem. Data persists across page reloads. Clearing browser site data resets to defaults.

// Export /save to IndexedDB (from browser console)
Module.ccall('FreeEggbert_ExportPersistentData', null, [], []);

// Restore /save from IndexedDB
Module.ccall('FreeEggbert_ImportPersistentData', null, [], []);

These functions are defined in src/web_persistence.cpp and exported via EMSCRIPTEN_KEEPALIVE. On non-Emscripten builds, the file is empty.

Android (NDK + Gradle)

See Platform Support → Android for the full Android build guide.

CMake with Visual Studio Generator

When using CMake with the Visual Studio generator on Windows:

git submodule update --init --recursive
cmake -S . -B build -G "Visual Studio 17 2022" -DSPEEDY_BLUPI_BACKEND=FREEDIRECT
cmake --build build --config Debug

Build TODO Items