diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index c59cf68..a23c292 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -40,6 +40,11 @@ ipch/
 *.log
 rpl4.log
 
+# Build-output static libs that land in lib/ (the two committed dependency
+# libs, OpenAL32.lib and libsndfile-1.lib, stay tracked).
+/lib/Munga_L4.lib
+/lib/DivLoader.lib
+
 # Stale Subversion metadata
 .svn/
 
diff --git a/BUILD.md b/BUILD.md
index 30ae1d9..77bf71b 100644
--- a/BUILD.md
+++ b/BUILD.md
@@ -4,6 +4,13 @@ This is the Win32 source for the pod-racing game **Red Planet**, built on the
 in-house **MUNGA** engine and its **L4** (Win32 / DirectX 9) platform layer.
 The code targets the Visual Studio 2005/2008 era and the legacy DirectX SDK.
 
+> ✅ **Verified build (2026-07-01):** all 4 projects build clean (`Release|Win32`)
+> with **Visual C++ 2008 Express SP1** + **Windows SDK v6.0A** (VS-bundled) +
+> **DirectX SDK (June 2010)**. Outputs: `Release\rpl4opt.exe` (the game),
+> `Release\RPL4TOOL.exe`, `lib\Munga_L4.lib`, `lib\DivLoader.lib`.
+> Only compiler *warnings* remain (deprecated CRT calls, int→Scalar narrowing,
+> benign `LNK4006`/`LNK4221` duplicate-symbol notes). See §7 for the CLI recipe.
+
 ---
 
 ## 1. Requirements
@@ -135,9 +142,39 @@ now builds it:
 Checklist for a clean Express build:
 
 1. Install **Visual C++ 2008 Express SP1**.
-2. Install the **Windows SDK 7.1** (for `WS2_32.lib`, `dbghelp.lib`, core Win32
-   headers/libs that Express's bundled SDK subset may not fully cover).
-3. Install the **DirectX SDK** (already done — June 2010) and confirm `DXSDK_DIR`.
-4. Open `WinTesla.sln`, pick `Release|Win32`, build.
-5. If the linker can't find `dbghelp.lib`, remove it from
-   `RP_L4` → Linker → Input → Additional Dependencies (it is unused).
+2. Install the **DirectX SDK (June 2010)** and confirm `DXSDK_DIR` is set.
+3. Open `WinTesla.sln`, pick `Release|Win32`, build.
+
+> The Windows SDK **v6.0A** that ships with VS2008 already provides `WS2_32.lib`
+> and `dbghelp.lib`, so a separate Windows SDK 7.1 install was **not** needed in
+> the verified build. `dinput8.lib`/`dxguid.lib` come from the DirectX SDK.
+
+---
+
+## 7. Verified command-line build recipe
+
+This is exactly what produced the verified build. The key gotcha: a shell opened
+*before* the DirectX SDK set the machine-level `DXSDK_DIR` will not see it, so the
+recipe sets it explicitly.
+
+```bat
+@echo off
+call "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 9.0\Common7\Tools\vsvars32.bat"
+set "DXSDK_DIR=C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft DirectX SDK (June 2010)\"
+cd /d C:\VWE\RP411
+vcbuild /nologo /rebuild WinTesla.sln "Release|Win32"
+```
+
+Expected result: `4 Projects succeeded, 0 Projects failed`.
+
+### DirectX SDK paths per project (all via `$(DXSDK_DIR)`)
+
+For the build to find DirectX headers/libs, each project that touches DirectX
+must reference the SDK through `$(DXSDK_DIR)`. This is now wired up as:
+
+| Project | Include `$(DXSDK_DIR)Include` | Lib `$(DXSDK_DIR)Lib\x86` |
+|---------|:---:|:---:|
+| Munga_L4 | ✅ | ✅ |
+| RP_L4 | ✅ | ✅ |
+| RPL4TOOL | (not needed) | ✅ |
+| DivLoader | ✅ | (static lib, no link) |
diff --git a/DivLoader/DivLoader.vcproj b/DivLoader/DivLoader.vcproj
index 7131b30..8c44300 100644
--- a/DivLoader/DivLoader.vcproj
+++ b/DivLoader/DivLoader.vcproj
@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@
 			/>
 			<Tool
 				Name="VCCLCompilerTool"
+				AdditionalIncludeDirectories="&quot;$(DXSDK_DIR)Include&quot;"
 				Optimization="0"
 				MinimalRebuild="true"
 				BasicRuntimeChecks="3"
@@ -99,6 +100,7 @@
 			/>
 			<Tool
 				Name="VCCLCompilerTool"
+				AdditionalIncludeDirectories="&quot;$(DXSDK_DIR)Include&quot;"
 				RuntimeLibrary="2"
 				WarningLevel="3"
 				Detect64BitPortabilityProblems="true"
diff --git a/RP_L4/RPL4TOOL VS2008.vcproj b/RP_L4/RPL4TOOL VS2008.vcproj
index 6709af3..8b909ba 100644
--- a/RP_L4/RPL4TOOL VS2008.vcproj	
+++ b/RP_L4/RPL4TOOL VS2008.vcproj	
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@
 				AdditionalOptions="/FORCE:MULTIPLE"
 				AdditionalDependencies="WS2_32.lib Munga_l4.lib dinput8.lib dxguid.lib"
 				LinkIncremental="2"
-				AdditionalLibraryDirectories="..\lib"
+				AdditionalLibraryDirectories="&quot;$(DXSDK_DIR)Lib\x86&quot;;..\lib"
 				GenerateDebugInformation="true"
 				SubSystem="1"
 				RandomizedBaseAddress="1"
diff --git a/RP_L4/RPL4TOOL.vcproj b/RP_L4/RPL4TOOL.vcproj
index 8b710c5..9760f82 100644
--- a/RP_L4/RPL4TOOL.vcproj
+++ b/RP_L4/RPL4TOOL.vcproj
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@
 				AdditionalOptions="/FORCE:MULTIPLE"
 				AdditionalDependencies="Munga_l4.lib libsndfile-1.lib WS2_32.lib dinput8.lib dxguid.lib"
 				LinkIncremental="2"
-				AdditionalLibraryDirectories="..\lib"
+				AdditionalLibraryDirectories="&quot;$(DXSDK_DIR)Lib\x86&quot;;..\lib"
 				GenerateDebugInformation="true"
 				SubSystem="0"
 				TargetMachine="1"
@@ -139,7 +139,7 @@
 				AdditionalOptions="/FORCE:MULTIPLE"
 				AdditionalDependencies="Munga_l4.lib libsndfile-1.lib WS2_32.lib dinput8.lib dxguid.lib"
 				LinkIncremental="1"
-				AdditionalLibraryDirectories="../lib"
+				AdditionalLibraryDirectories="&quot;$(DXSDK_DIR)Lib\x86&quot;;../lib"
 				GenerateDebugInformation="true"
 				SubSystem="1"
 				OptimizeReferences="2"
diff --git a/docs/BUILD-NOTES.md b/docs/BUILD-NOTES.md
index 0199490..474088a 100644
--- a/docs/BUILD-NOTES.md
+++ b/docs/BUILD-NOTES.md
@@ -118,6 +118,37 @@ Changes:
 `CString` in this file is **MUNGA's own** class (`MUNGA/CSTR.h`), not ATL's, so
 dropping the ATL headers does not affect it.
 
+### 2.5 Wire remaining DirectX SDK paths (build now succeeds)
+
+The first real build attempt surfaced two projects that referenced DirectX but
+were never repointed at `$(DXSDK_DIR)` (they had no hardcoded path to replace in
+§2.3):
+
+- **DivLoader** failed to compile (`VGCDivLoader.h`: cannot open `D3DX9.h`).
+  Added `AdditionalIncludeDirectories="$(DXSDK_DIR)Include"` to both compiler
+  configurations.
+- **RPL4TOOL** failed to link (`LNK1181: cannot open input file 'dinput8.lib'`).
+  Added `$(DXSDK_DIR)Lib\x86` to `AdditionalLibraryDirectories` in both
+  `RPL4TOOL.vcproj` and `RPL4TOOL VS2008.vcproj`.
+
+After these edits: **`4 Projects succeeded, 0 Projects failed`** for
+`Release|Win32`.
+
+> **Environment gotcha:** the DirectX SDK installer sets `DXSDK_DIR` at machine
+> scope, but any shell already running when it was set won't inherit it. The
+> first build failed on `D3DX9.h` purely because the build shell had an empty
+> `DXSDK_DIR`; setting it explicitly in the build script fixed it. See the CLI
+> recipe in [BUILD.md](../BUILD.md) §7.
+
+### 2.6 Build outputs kept out of git
+
+The Release build writes `Munga_L4.lib` and `DivLoader.lib` into the tracked
+`lib/` directory (that is their configured output path). These are build
+artifacts — `Munga_L4.lib` alone is ~200 MB — and are now git-ignored by name.
+The two genuine dependency libs in `lib/` (`OpenAL32.lib`, `libsndfile-1.lib`)
+remain tracked. Executables and per-project `Release/`/`Debug/` intermediate
+folders were already covered by `.gitignore`.
+
 ---
 
 ## 3. Project reference data