Zaurus Freeciv

Download Zaurus Binary 1.6Mb - Version 0.0.5
Download Source 5.4Mb - Version 0.0.5
Download Client Upgrade 755Kb - Only if you have a version earlier than 0.0.5

This is the homepage of the project to port Freeciv to the Sharp Zaurus SL5500 Linux PDA. For information about Freeciv that is not specific to the Zaurus port, see the Freeciv homepage. If you want to help, read the development page. To get an idea of the rate of progress, have a look at the Zaurus Freeciv weblog.

Warning! Don't expect it to be too fantastic - it's quite low on functionality so far. You can explore the map, build cities, change what the cities are producing, and issue commands like sentry, irrigate and build road.

What You Need

A Terminal application for your Zaurus.
An SL5500 - the 5000D does not have enough memory.
As of 0.0.4 you will need to create a swapfile. This is an unfortunate effect of running a desktop program on a PDA! You can create a swapfile in the RAM storage area to effectively allocate more of the Zaurus's 64MB of RAM as memory. Until I come up with an easy, automatic way of doing this, you can follow these instructions. Use the free command to check the swapfile is working. You can use swapon [filename] to activate the swapfile once it is created. If you have trouble, mail me - I don't want this to stop people from being able to use the program!

Installation

It's early days, so no fancy .ipk package for now - follow these instructions!

Download the bzipped tar file using the link at the top of this page.
Copy it onto your Zaurus somehow. For example, put it on /mnt/card/.
Open up the terminal and change to the directory you put the file in.
Type the command (without quotes): "tar -jxvf freeciv_zaurus_x_x_x_bin.tar.gz"
Type "cd freeciv_zaurus_x_x_x" to change into the directory where the files have been unpacked.
Type "./install.sh" to run the install script. This simply puts the .desktop and icon files in the correct places so that the client's icon appears on the taskbar.
Go to Settings, select Shutdown and then Restart Qtopia. This is required to make the client's icon work.

How to run Freeciv

Open the terminal.
Change to the directory where the files have been unpacked.
Type "./civclient&" to start the client. It takes a while! The & ensures you get the prompt back for the next step.
Switch back to the terminal and type "./civserver" to start the server.
Switch back to the client and choose connect - the default connect options should connect to the local server.
Switch back to the server and type "start" to start the game. This will make the nation selection box appear so you can choose who to play as. You can also type commands like "set aifill 6" before starting the game to create AI opponents.
Switch back to the client and play! (Finally!)

How to Play

Switch to the "Map" tab to view the map. Use the scrollbars to scroll around. Use the cursor pad to move the currently active (flashing) unit. You can move diagonally by pressing diagonally on the cursor pad. When you can't move any more, switch to the "Info" tab and press the "End Turn" button. Switch back to the map view to continue. To build a city, choose that option from the Orders menu on the menu tab. Tapping units selects them, tapping cities brings up the city dialog box.

Version History

If you already have an older version you can just download the upgrade which replaces the client executable. Just un-bzip the file wherever civclient lives, delete the old civclient and rename the file civclient_x_x_x to just civclient. The file needs to be the right name for the taskbar icon to work.

New in version 0.0.5

Select nation and leader box at the start of the game
About box
Non-functional rates box

New in version 0.0.4

City dialog box
Changable city production
Buy city production, sell city improvements
Many orders commands work, e.g. irrigate, build road, sentry, etc.

Known Problems

Still needs many more features to be fully playable!
When disconnecting from one game and connecting to another, the client leaves the ghost of the previous map on the display. Quit the client and restart instead of re-connecting.

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