Sil-Q is a computer role-playing game with a strong emphasis on discovery and tactical combat. It has a simple but rich combat system which allows for a great variety of choice.
Sil-Q continues the development of Sil which hasn't been updated for a while.
Compiling Sil-Q is not very difficult, and has been tested on Windows, Linux, and OS X.
Makefiles for various other systems still exist as a legacy from Sil. If you manage to build Sil-Q for a system other than Windows, Linux, or OS X please create a git branch with any changes necessary, update this file and open a github pull request against https://github.com/sil-quirk/sil-q.
The first step is the same on all systems, so do this and then look through this file for advice on your specific system.
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Install the Sil source code:
Unzip the file "Sil-src.zip". It will become a folder called "Sil" which contains subfolders called "lib" and "src". Move it to wherever you want to keep it. The src folder contains all the source code while the lib folder contains other files that the game uses. When you are done compiling, the game will be automatically installed in the Sil folder as well.
There are several different unix setups for Sil-Q:
X11: Allows multiple windows, has correct colours. GCU: Works in a terminal using 'curses', has only 16 or 8 colours. CAP: Works even in old terminals, but is monochrome.
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Mess with the Makefile:
Edit Makefile.std in the src directory. Look for the section listing multiple "Variations". Choose the variation that you like best. Remove the # comments from that section's code. Comment out the default section.
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Compile Sil-Q:
Run "make -f Makefile.std install" in the src directory.
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Run Sil-Q:
Go back to the Sil folder and start Sil-Q with "sil".
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Getting the free Cygwin compiler:
Download the free Cygwin compiler. It provides a shell interface very similar to a normal Unix/Linux shell with many useful tools. Install it and start the Cygwin terminal. Make sure to get the 32 bit version.
Note you will have to ensure "make" and the mingw C compiler are installed as they may not be included in your Cygwin default installation.
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Compile Sil-Q:
In the Cygwin terminal change to the src directory and run "make -f Makefile.cyg install". Sil should now be compiled and installed into the Sil folder.
The executable file will be called Sil.exe. -
Run Sil-Q:
Go back to the Sil folder and run Sil.exe.
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Acquire Microsoft Visual Studio 2022.
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Compile Sil-Q:
Assuming you have MSVC 2022, this should be as simple as selecting Debug or Release, opening sil-q.sln in the msvc2019 directory and selecting Build Solution from the Build menu.
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Run Sil-Q:
Go back to the Sil folder and run Sil.exe.
NOTE: This is a very new and very raw port, and requires testing.
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Get Xcode from the app store if not installed:
Use App Store to get Xcode, a free set of development tools from Apple.
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Compile Sil-Q:
In a Terminal window, change to the src directory and run "make -f Makefile.cocoa install". Sil-Q should now be compiled and set up as an OS X application, Sil.app, in the folder above the src directory. You may move Sil.app to wherever you like.
If you are using an arm-based Mac and want a native application, use "make -f Makefile.cocoa ARCHS=arm64 install" instead of the command given above. To generate a universal application that will run natively on either x86_64 or arm, use "make -f Makefile.cocoa ARCHS='x86_64 arm64' install". Building for arm likely requires at least Xcode 12.2 or later. Before building for a different set of architectures, run "make -f Makefile.cocoa clean" to clean up any object files that may not match your new set of selected architectures.
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Run Sil-Q:
In a Finder window, navigate to where you placed Sil.app. Then double click on it to run it. If you are running 10.15 or later and haven't run Sil-Q or Sil before, you'll see a dialog about granting Sil-Q access to your Documents folder since it wants to place saved games, the high score file, and some other data in Documents/Sil.