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System requirements

Pacman is designed for Linux systems running X11 window manager. The game has been developed and tested on Debian Testing, but should work on most Debian-based distributions.

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Minimum requirements

  • Operating System: Linux with X11
  • Architecture: i386 or x86_64
  • Display: Any resolution (320x200 game resolution will be scaled)
  • Audio: ALSA or PulseAudio compatible sound system
  • Tools: GCC compiler, Make, xrandr utility

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Required dependencies

The game requires several development libraries to compile and run:

libsdl1.2-dev

SDL 1.2 development libraries for graphics and window management

libsdl-image1.2-dev

SDL Image library for loading BMP sprites and textures

libglfw3-dev

GLFW library for monitor resolution detection and management

libmikmod-dev

MikMod library for audio and sound effects playback

x11-utils

X11 utilities including xrandr for display configuration

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Installation steps

1

Update package lists

First, ensure your package lists are up to date:
sudo apt update
This refreshes the package database to ensure you get the latest versions.
2

Install all dependencies

Install all required libraries in a single command:
sudo apt install libsdl1.2-dev libsdl-image1.2-dev libglfw3-dev libmikmod-dev x11-utils
The installation process will:
  • Download approximately 15-20 MB of packages
  • Install SDL 1.2 core and image libraries
  • Set up GLFW for monitor detection
  • Configure MikMod for audio playback
  • Install xrandr and other X11 utilities
On Ubuntu-based systems, you may be prompted to confirm the installation. Press Y to continue.
3

Verify xrandr availability

Confirm that xrandr is properly installed and accessible:
which xrandr
You should see output like /usr/bin/xrandr. If xrandr is not found, the game will display a warning but can still run without automatic resolution restoration.The game checks for xrandr at startup:
src/main.c
int xrandr_disponible() {
    if (access("/usr/bin/xrandr", X_OK) == 0) {
        return 1;
    }
    return (system("which xrandr > /dev/null 2>&1") == 0);
}
4

Install build tools (if needed)

If you don’t have GCC and Make installed, add them:
sudo apt install build-essential
This meta-package includes:
  • GCC C compiler
  • GNU Make
  • Standard C libraries
  • Development tools

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Platform-specific notes

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Debian / Ubuntu

The installation commands above are designed for Debian and Ubuntu systems. These distributions use the APT package manager and have all required libraries in their default repositories.

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Other distributions

On Red Hat-based distributions, use DNF or YUM:
sudo dnf install SDL-devel SDL_image-devel glfw-devel libmikmod-devel xorg-x11-utils
On Arch-based distributions, use Pacman:
sudo pacman -S sdl sdl_image glfw-x11 libmikmod xorg-xrandr
On openSUSE, use Zypper:
sudo zypper install libSDL-devel libSDL_image-devel glfw3-devel libmikmod-devel xrandr

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Verifying installation

After installing dependencies, verify that key libraries are available: 
# Check SDL
pkg-config --modversion sdl

# Check SDL_image
pkg-config --modversion SDL_image

# Check GLFW
pkg-config --modversion glfw3
Each command should return a version number. If any command fails, that library may not be properly installed.

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Troubleshooting

This game specifically requires SDL 1.2, not SDL2. While SDL 1.2 is considered legacy, it’s still available in most distribution repositories and works perfectly for this classic-style game. The codebase is not compatible with SDL2 without significant modifications.
If you see warnings about xrandr not being available:
⚠️  ADVERTENCIA: 'xrandr' no está disponible en el sistema.
No se podrá guardar ni restaurar la resolución automáticamente.
The game will still run, but won’t automatically restore your display configuration on exit. Install x11-utils to enable this feature.
If you get compilation errors about missing headers like SDL.h or GLFW/glfw3.h, ensure you installed the -dev or -devel packages, not just the runtime libraries. Development packages contain the header files needed for compilation.
This game requires the X11 window system and will not run on Wayland without XWayland compatibility layer. If you’re using Wayland, ensure XWayland is installed and enabled.

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Next steps

With all dependencies installed, you’re ready to compile and run the game:

Continue to Quickstart

Learn how to compile the game with Make and start playing

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