RP412/docs/BUILD-NOTES.md

Repository & Build Findings

Notes from the initial git import and build assessment of the Red Planet v4.10 Win32 source. See BUILD.md for the practical build instructions; this file records what was found and what was changed, and why.

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1. What this repository is

• Win32 source for the game Red Planet v4.10 (string confirmed in RP_L4/rpl4.log: Red Planet v4.10).
• Engine: MUNGA (MUNGA/) — a cross-platform C++ game/sim engine.
• Platform layer: MUNGA_L4 (MUNGA_L4/) — Win32 + DirectX 9 backend (Direct3D 9, DirectInput 8, OpenAL audio, SOS audio middleware headers).
• Game code: RP (RP/) and RP_L4 (RP_L4/).
• Support projects: DivLoader (asset/DIV loader), Setup1 (installer).
• ~551 tracked files, ~9 MB.

Toolchain detected on the import machine

At import time the build machine had no usable C++ toolchain:

• No Visual Studio, no cl.exe, no VCBuild.exe, no vswhere.
• Only .NET Framework MSBuild.exe (v2–v4) — which cannot build .vcproj.
• MinGW gcc/g++ (unusable for this MSVC/DirectX codebase).
• The required DirectX SDK (March 2009) was not installed.

A build attempt confirmed the blocker:

error MSB3428: Could not load the Visual C++ component "VCBuild.exe".

Building therefore requires installing VS 2005/2008 + the DirectX SDK (the user is sourcing these separately).

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2. Changes made during preparation

2.1 Git hygiene (initial import commit)

• Removed stale Subversion metadata (Setup1/.svn/) that pointed at a dead server (https://dev.vgcorps.com/svn/WinTesla).
• Added .gitignore — VS build artifacts, IDE state, *.log, OS cruft. This excludes the runtime log RP_L4/rpl4.log.
• Added .gitattributes — normalizes line endings, forces CRLF on Win32 source, marks .lib/.res/.egg/.rtf as binary.

2.2 Solution cleanup (WinTesla.sln)

The original solution referenced 10 projects, but only 4 exist in the repo. The 6 dangling references were removed so the solution loads cleanly:

Removed project	Path referenced	Present?
BT410_L4	BT410_L4\BT410_L4.vcproj	❌ missing
TextureExp	TextureExp\TextureExp.vcproj	❌ missing
MeshExp	MeshExp\MeshExp.vcproj	❌ missing
SphereExp	SphereExp\SphereExp.vcproj	❌ missing
DetailExp	DetailExp\DetailExp.vcproj	❌ missing
MatReplaceExp	MatReplaceExp\MatReplaceExp.vcproj	❌ missing

Remaining (present) projects: RP_L4, Munga_L4, RPL4TOOL, DivLoader. Their GlobalSection(ProjectConfigurationPlatforms) entries were pruned to match. SolutionConfigurationPlatforms (Debug/Release/Remote Debug | Win32) were left unchanged.

The 6 missing projects appear to be model/texture exporter tools and a sister game project (BT410 — a different pod title) that live in other repositories. If you obtain them, re-add them to the solution.

2.3 DirectX SDK path un-hardcoded

Munga_L4.vcproj and RP_L4.vcproj (the VS2005 / v8.00 files) hardcoded:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft DirectX SDK (March 2009)\Include
C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft DirectX SDK (March 2009)\Lib\x86

Both were replaced (6 occurrences each) with the installer-provided variable, matching what the existing ... VS2008.vcproj variants already used:

$(DXSDK_DIR)Include
$(DXSDK_DIR)Lib\x86

DXSDK_DIR is set by the DirectX SDK installer and ends in a trailing backslash, so $(DXSDK_DIR)Include resolves correctly.

Status update: the DirectX SDK (June 2010) is now installed at C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft DirectX SDK (June 2010)\, and DXSDK_DIR is set machine-wide to that path. All required headers (d3d9.h, d3dx9.h, dinput.h) and libs (d3d9.lib, d3dx9.lib, dxerr.lib, dxguid.lib) are present. The un-hardcoded projects resolve to it automatically.

2.4 ATL removed (enables VC++ Express)

The Express editions of Visual C++ ship without ATL. The codebase's only ATL usage was in MUNGA_L4/L4APP.cpp — <atlbase.h> / <atlconv.h> and the USES_CONVERSION / W2A macros (28 references, all in that one file), used purely to convert wide command-line arguments to ANSI in the arg parser. No COM, no CComPtr, no ATL windows.

Changes:

• Replaced the ATL includes with a self-contained L4WideToAnsi helper class (a WideCharToMultiByte wrapper) plus local USES_CONVERSION / W2A macros that reproduce ATL's W2A semantics — each use yields an independent buffer valid until the end of the enclosing full-expression. Every call site consumes the result immediately (compare via stricmp, assign to MUNGA's CString, or pass to atoi/atol), so the behaviour is identical.
• Set UseOfATL="0" in Munga_L4.vcproj, RP_L4.vcproj, and the two VS2008 variants.

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 §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.

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3. Project reference data

Collected from the .vcproj files for quick reference.

Configuration types

• ConfigurationType="1" → Application (exe): RP_L4, RPL4TOOL
• ConfigurationType="4" → Static library: Munga_L4, DivLoader

Link dependencies

• Munga_L4: OpenAL32.lib D3D9.lib D3DX9.lib DXERR.lib
• RP_L4: WS2_32.lib Munga_l4.lib dinput8.lib dxguid.lib openal32.lib libsndfile-1.lib d3dx9.lib d3d9.lib dbghelp.lib
• RPL4TOOL: Munga_l4.lib libsndfile-1.lib WS2_32.lib dinput8.lib dxguid.lib

Preprocessor definitions (RP_L4)

• Debug: WIN32;_DEBUG;_WINDOWS;_CRT_SECURE_NO_DEPRECATE
• Release: WIN32;_WINDOWS;_CRT_SECURE_NO_DEPRECATE

Character set

• Munga_L4, RP_L4, RPL4TOOL: CharacterSet="1" (Unicode)
• DivLoader: CharacterSet="2" (MBCS)

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4. Orphaned / non-build files (informational)

These files are present but are not referenced by any project, so they do not affect the build. Left in place for historical completeness:

• MUNGA_L4/JOYSTICK.asm — MASM source, not in any .vcproj. No MASM toolchain is required to build. (L4JOYSTK.h exists but the .asm is unused.)
• MUNGA_L4/sos/SOSMAWE.C and the sos/bc4, sos/wc header trees — SOS audio middleware for old Borland/Watcom compilers; headers only.
• RP_L4/TEST.EGG, RP_L4/last.egg — .egg data blobs. last.egg is likely runtime-generated ("last loaded"); kept in tracking pending confirmation.
• docs/audionotes.rtf — design notes.

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5. Open questions for the owner

1. Are the 6 removed projects (BT410_L4, *Exp tools) needed here, or do they belong to separate repos?
2. Is RP_L4/last.egg a real asset or generated output? If generated, add it to .gitignore and untrack it.
3. Which VS version is the target going forward — keep VS2005/2008 .vcproj, or upgrade to .vcxproj for a modern VS + Windows SDK (dropping the legacy DirectX SDK in favor of the Windows SDK's Direct3D)?