Bottom Earth

8th Apr 2009

Bottom Earth

{{{ Throughout this post I have had to use tricks to get around the server filtering the word python if you see it written in bold that is just one of these tricks, it doesn't have any other significance. }}}

Hello!

This is a post which looks like it's about one thing but turns out to be about something else and then something else again.

Let me start at the beginning.

As you know, MR4 has been on hold for ages now. What I need to do is find some way that we can all collaborate on actually working on it, since I don't have the time (or the hands) to do it all myself any more. My plan has always been to add features to this website to allow you, the members, to add all the components of the game and then join them up into a new MR adventure.

However, that is such a lot of work that I don't know if it will ever happen. Even to start would mean re-writing the current website from scratch.

Lately, I found a website called Launchpad.net. This site is designed to allow people to collaborate on projects. It's a bit complicated to use but I have set up myself, a team called themetalbox (which you are welcome to join) and a test project to get us started. Now that I have one project up there, I feel confident enough to start getting Merlin's Revenge into shape to be put up too.

My page:
https://launchpad.net/~tmb-steve
TMBs page:
https://launchpad.net/~themetalbox

The test project is called bottom-earth and is (or will be) a kind of Trees of War meets Merlin's Revenge type affair. At the moment nothing much happens, some trees grow, and the king appears and builds some houses.

The project's page is:
https://launchpad.net/bum-earth

(I had to use 'bum-earth' because bottom-earth was already taken.)

Now, in order to download this project you don't even need to visit launchpad. You just need to install a program called bazaar. You'll also need to install python and pygame to run it.

Here's how you do it on Ubuntu:
Open a terminal and type:

sudo apt-get install bzr

That installs bazaar, next:

bzr branch lp:bum-earth

That will create a folder called 'bum-earth' in the current directory (which will be your home folder unless you moved). Inside that folder will be the latest version of all the files and folders relating to bottom-earth. Let's check that, type

ls

to list the contents of the folder. You should see a folder called "bum-earth". Next:

cd bum-earth

That takes us into the game folder. We are nearly ready to run the game. Let's install pygame (python is already installed on Ubuntu):

sudo apt-get install python-pygame

And now, we can play!

python bottom-earth.py

To end, you can either press esc or close the window.


OK, what about windows?
It's a little more complicated on the windows side, but not much.
First go to the bazaar website and download the installer:
http://bazaar-vcs.org/Download
scroll down until you see the link for Window installer, click on the default installer.
Next, let's get the pygame installer. Use this link to make sure you get the right version (we don't want the latest one):
http://www.pygame.org/ftp/pygame-1.8.1release.win32-py2.5.msi
Now let's get Python, again, we don't want the latest one so use this link:
http://www.python.org/ftp/python/2.5.4/python-2.5.4.msi

Cool. You can close your browser now, and go to your Desktop (or wherever you have set your browser to store downloaded files). As a precaution, select all the installers and right click on them. Select "Scan for viruses" or whatever the equivalant option is that your anti-virus software has put in the right-click menu. These files should not contain viruses but you should do this whenever you are about to run something that was downloaded from the internet.

Alright, let's start. Double-click on "bzr-setup-1.13-1", select "Run" and click through the installer, you can just leave the default settings.

Once that's done, close the browser window that opened telling you about Tortoise Bazaar and double click on "python-2.5.4". Again, click "Run" and click through the wizard. No need to change any settings. Next do the same for "pygame-1.8.1 release.win32-py25". Just click through once more.

With all that done, reboot.

Once it comes back up, click "start" and then "run". (If you want to be super flash, press Windows+r to do the same thing.)

Type cmd into the little box and press return to bring up a command prompt. You will be in something like "C:\Documents and Settings\steve" except with your name instead of mine.

Type

cd My Documents

to go into your My Documents folder

Now the moment of truth! (Well one of them anyway.) Type

bzr branch lp:bum-earth

This will make a new branch (or copy) of the bottom-earth project on your computer. Bzr will warn you that you need a launchpad account to write change back up, but don't worry about this for now.

Once the download has finished type:

dir

You should see a folder called "bum-earth". If everything scrolls past too quickly try

dir /p

Ok, enough tom-foolery let's get outta here. Type:

exit

to close the console.

Click on Start > All Programs > Python 2.5 > IDLE (Python GUI)
This will start the python IDE.
Click File > Open
Click on My Documents at the side of the File Open dialogue
Double Click on the folder "bum-earth"
Click on the file "bottom-earth" and click "Open"
Click on Run > Run Module
This will start the game. To exit, press the X in the top right corner. The game will lock up and Windows will tell you it's not responding. Click on "Force Quit" and send the error report if you want to.
Ahem, well that's what I get for not testing it on windows.
Next time, I'll show you how to submit a patch to fix this bug!

In the meantime, have a look around the files that downloaded into the bum-earth folder and see what you make of it all.

~steve