Platform Support

Free Eggbert supports multiple platforms through the FreeDirect/SDL3 abstraction layer.

Summary

Platform	Backend	Status	Build Method
Windows (native DirectX)	DirectDraw / DirectSound	Partial	Visual Studio 2022
Windows (FreeDirect)	SDL3	Partial	CMake
Linux	SDL3 (FreeDirect)	Partial	CMake
macOS	SDL3 (FreeDirect)	Needs Verification	CMake
WebAssembly	Emscripten + SDL3	Partial	emcmake
Android	SDL3 (NDK)	Partial	Gradle + CMake

Windows

Native DirectX (Visual Studio)

The original build target uses the real DirectX 3 SDK (dxsdk3 submodule) with Visual Studio 2022. This path uses DirectDraw and DirectSound directly.

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Needs Verification

The native DirectX 3 path may expose decompilation artifacts that the FreeDirect backend tolerates but real DirectDraw rejects. See Known Issues for details on the suspected double CPixmap::Create() call and fullscreen initialization problems.

CMake + FreeDirect

Building with CMake on Windows uses the FreeDirect backend instead of real DirectX. This requires the third_party/ SDL submodules.

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

Linux / macOS

Build using CMake with the FreeDirect backend. No system SDL packages required by default.

git submodule update --init --recursive
cmake -S . -B build -DSPEEDY_BLUPI_BACKEND=FREEDIRECT
cmake --build build -j

On Linux the default compiler is GCC or Clang. The permissive compiler flags (-fpermissive, -fms-extensions, etc.) handle decompiled code constructs that strict C++ would reject.

WebAssembly (Emscripten)

Build

source /path/to/emsdk/emsdk_env.sh
emcmake cmake -S . -B cmake-build-web -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug
cmake --build cmake-build-web -j
emrun cmake-build-web/bin/SPEEDY_BLUPI_WINDOWS.html

Assets

Game assets are preloaded into the Emscripten virtual filesystem at build time from gamefiles/DATA, gamefiles/IMAGE08, gamefiles/IMAGE16, and gamefiles/SOUND.

Persistent Saves

Save data is stored in the browser's IndexedDB via Emscripten IDBFS, mounted at /save. This persists across page reloads. Clearing browser site data resets the saves.

// Export save data
Module.ccall('FreeEggbert_ExportPersistentData', null, [], []);

// Import save data
Module.ccall('FreeEggbert_ImportPersistentData', null, [], []);

Web Rendering

On widescreen displays, the game image is automatically letterboxed using SDL3's logical presentation mode. Touch and mouse coordinates are mapped from physical screen coordinates into game logical coordinates — touches on black bars do not register as in-game clicks.

Message Loop Consideration

The native build uses a classic Win32 message loop with a multimedia timer. Emscripten does not work well with a blocking infinite loop, so the web version needs a Free API / launcher-level main-loop adapter. This is an active area of work and is handled at the FreeDirect layer, not in game code.

Android

Prerequisites

Tool	Recommended Version
Android Studio	Ladybug (2024.2) or newer
Android SDK	API level 35
Android NDK	30.0.14904198
CMake (NDK bundle)	3.21+ via SDK Manager
Java (JDK)	17 (bundled with Android Studio)

Setup

Open Android Studio → Settings → SDK Manager → SDK Tools
Check NDK (Side by side) version 30.0.14904198
Check CMake version 3.21+
Click Apply and let Android Studio download and install

Create android/local.properties:

cp android/local.properties.template android/local.properties
# Edit and set sdk.dir to your Android SDK path

Game Assets on Android

Game assets are linked via symbolic links in android/app/src/main/assets/:

android/app/src/main/assets/ ├── data → ../../../../../gamefiles/DATA ├── image08 → ../../../../../gamefiles/IMAGE08 ├── image16 → ../../../../../gamefiles/IMAGE16 └── sound → ../../../../../gamefiles/SOUND

If symbolic links don't work, copy the directories instead:

cd android/app/src/main/assets
cp -r ../../../../../gamefiles/DATA  data
cp -r ../../../../../gamefiles/IMAGE08 image08
cp -r ../../../../../gamefiles/IMAGE16 image16
cp -r ../../../../../gamefiles/SOUND  sound

Build

cd android
./gradlew assembleDebug

Output: android/app/build/outputs/apk/debug/app-debug.apk

Install and Run

# Clear previous install (resets extracted assets and save data)
adb shell pm clear org.openeggbert.freeeggbert

# Install
adb install -r android/app/build/outputs/apk/debug/app-debug.apk

# Launch
adb shell am start -n org.openeggbert.freeeggbert/.FreeEggbertActivity

Logcat Diagnostics

adb logcat | grep -E "SDL|FREEAPI|FREE_DIRECT|Eggbert|free-eggbert"

Log Tag / Message	Meaning
`free-api: SDL_main starting`	SDL_main entry point reached
`free-api: FreeApiAndroidSetup begin`	Android asset setup started
`FREEAPI_ANDROID: smoke-test data/config.def EXISTS`	Required config file found
`free-api: asset extraction complete`	All assets extracted successfully
`FREE_DIRECT_PRESENT: source=…`	Render loop is running
`FREE_DIRECT_INPUT: raw=…`	Input events being processed

Release APK

# Create a keystore
keytool -genkey -v -keystore android/free-eggbert-release.keystore \
        -alias free-eggbert -keyalg RSA -keysize 2048 -validity 10000

# Create android/key.properties with keystore credentials
# Build the signed release APK
cd android
./gradlew assembleRelease

Android Troubleshooting

Problem	Solution
`INSTALL_FAILED_UPDATE_INCOMPATIBLE`	Uninstall first: `adb uninstall org.openeggbert.freeeggbert`
App exits immediately	Asset extraction failed. Check logcat for `free-api:` entries. Verify symlinks in `android/app/src/main/assets/`
No audio	Verify sound files are present in the APK. Check SDL_mixer WAV support.
Crash on launch	Check logcat for native crash. Common: missing `libmain.so` or incomplete `git submodule update`

Rendering Across Platforms

Free Eggbert uses a fixed 640×480 logical resolution. On all platforms via FreeDirect, the game renders to this size and SDL3 handles scaling to the actual display:

Desktop: Windowed at 640×480, resizable with letterboxing
Web: Letterboxed to fit the browser window
Android: Letterboxed to the device screen, black bars on sides or top/bottom

← Running the Game Architecture →