Running the Game

Runtime Requirements

Game asset files — gamefiles/DATA, gamefiles/IMAGE08, gamefiles/IMAGE16, gamefiles/SOUND must be present
Working directory — the executable must be run from the project root so that relative paths to gamefiles/ resolve correctly
On Windows with native DirectX: DirectX runtime libraries
On all platforms via FreeDirect: SDL3, SDL3_image, SDL3_mixer (bundled by default)

Desktop (Linux / macOS / Windows)

# Run from the project root directory
./build/bin/SPEEDY_BLUPI_WINDOWS        # Linux/macOS
build\bin\SPEEDY_BLUPI_WINDOWS.exe      # Windows

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Working Directory

The game opens assets using paths like gamefiles/DATA/config.def. If you run the executable from inside build/bin/, these paths will fail. Always run from the project root.

Web (Emscripten)

# Start a local HTTP server and open the game in a browser
emrun cmake-build-web/bin/SPEEDY_BLUPI_WINDOWS.html

The web build preloads all game assets into the virtual filesystem at compile time. Save data is automatically stored in the browser's IndexedDB.

Android

# Install and launch via ADB
adb install -r android/app/build/outputs/apk/debug/app-debug.apk
adb shell am start -n org.openeggbert.freeeggbert/.FreeEggbertActivity

Configuration File

The game reads and writes a configuration file at gamefiles/DATA/config.def. This is a plain-text file. If it is missing or malformed, the game may fail to start.

Keys parsed by ReadConfig() in src/blupi.cpp. See Configuration for full details.

Key	Values	Description
`FullScreen`	0 / 1	Windowed (0) or fullscreen (1)
`TrueColorBack`	8 / 16	Color depth for background images
`TrueColorDecor`	8 / 16	Color depth for decor images
`MouseType`	1–9	Mouse cursor type (1=graphic, 2=Win, 3=Win+pos)
`SpeedRate`	1–2	Game speed multiplier
`Timer`	10–1000	Timer tick interval (ms, default ~50)

Display Mode

The game runs at a fixed resolution of 640×480 pixels. On the FreeDirect/SDL3 backend, the window can be resized, and the game image will be letterboxed to preserve the original aspect ratio.

On Android and widescreen displays, Free Direct uses SDL_LOGICAL_PRESENTATION_LETTERBOX, which automatically adds black bars on the sides or top/bottom. The game image is never stretched.

Audio at Runtime

The game loads sound effects and music from gamefiles/SOUND/. If this directory is missing or empty, the game will run without audio (or may crash — needs verification).

The default audio backend is the DirectSound/MCI path (_BASS=FALSE). The BASS library alternative can be enabled at compile time. See Audio System for details.

Common Runtime Issues

Problem	Likely Cause	Solution
Game exits immediately	Missing `gamefiles/DATA/config.def` or asset directories	Ensure all asset directories are present under `gamefiles/`
Black screen / no rendering	CPixmap::Create() initialization failure	Known decompilation artifact; check build logs. See Known Issues
No audio	Missing SOUND directory or audio backend issue	Verify `gamefiles/SOUND/` exists with .blp files
Network features unavailable	DirectPlay initialization fails silently	Expected; game falls back to single-player. See Network System

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