BGDC woes on Windows XP

[Breadcaster]

Hi there!

I've just recently redownloaded Bennu and attempted to get it running on my Windows XP (Professional version, service pack 3) operating system running on a virtual machine through VirtualBoxVM. I've used this method before on other machines and it hasn't had any issues, but this time I can't seem to compile a .dcb.

I can play Bennu games which were compiled on other systems, so the modules and the bgdi works just fine, but whenever I drag a file to the bgdc it fails to compile.

Dragging it to the compile_error batch file I've set up (using the command line - which is just "bgdc.exe %1 pause") just produces this error: "bgdc.exe is not recognised as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file."

I've searched all over the forums and can't seem to find any kind of help for this. What am I doing wrong here? Everything's all in the same folder so I can't see why there should be any issues!

BC

[Drumpi]

First of all, try to open a command windows (execute->cmd), go to the BGDC folder using cd command, and execute just bgdc.exe, without any parameters. You should see the compiler information and help.
Then try the bgdi.exe with same results. Just to see if your OS can execute the BennuGD binaries correctly.

By the way, tell us wich version/release are you trying.

[Breadcaster]

Uh it says BGDI/BGDC 1.0.0, but I'm sure there were previous builds before this one. I basically coded most of the game I'm currently reviving in this version back in 2011 (in windows XP on a VM then as well), so I'm hesitant to update it in case certain things don't work - but if it's the only way to get Bennu working I guess I'll have to.

Here's what I got when I executed both .exes:

Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
(C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.

C:\Documents and Settings\Admin>dir
Volume in drive C has no label.
Volume Serial Number is 907B-A42E

Directory of C:\Documents and Settings\Admin

14/04/2016  18:23    <DIR>          .
14/04/2016  18:23    <DIR>          ..
14/04/2016  22:06    <DIR>          Desktop
14/04/2016  18:24    <DIR>          Favorites
14/04/2016  18:50    <DIR>          My Documents
14/04/2016  13:08    <DIR>          Start Menu
               0 File(s)              0 bytes
               6 Dir(s)   6,482,694,144 bytes free

C:\Documents and Settings\Admin>cd desktop

C:\Documents and Settings\Admin\Desktop>dir
Volume in drive C has no label.
Volume Serial Number is 907B-A42E

Directory of C:\Documents and Settings\Admin\Desktop

14/04/2016  22:06    <DIR>          .
14/04/2016  22:06    <DIR>          ..
14/04/2016  22:05    <DIR>          BennuNew
14/04/2016  22:06    <DIR>          CyberCrisis
14/04/2016  13:13               418 CyberCrisis (FLANK rework).lnk
14/04/2016  19:38           277,638 CyberCrisis.dcb
14/04/2016  18:50               880 Media Player Classic.lnk
14/04/2016  18:50               724 Mozilla Firefox.lnk
16/01/2015  21:29             1,476 Recommended Programs.txt
14/04/2016  13:12               216 Shared Folder.lnk
               6 File(s)        281,352 bytes
               4 Dir(s)   6,482,694,144 bytes free

C:\Documents and Settings\Admin\Desktop>cd CyberCrisis

C:\Documents and Settings\Admin\Desktop\CyberCrisis>dir
Volume in drive C has no label.
Volume Serial Number is 907B-A42E

Directory of C:\Documents and Settings\Admin\Desktop\CyberCrisis

14/04/2016  22:06    <DIR>          .
14/04/2016  22:06    <DIR>          ..
14/04/2016  19:51             6,148 .DS_Store
09/11/2011  18:58           272,384 bgdc.exe
09/11/2011  18:58            30,720 bgdi.exe
30/05/2012  19:34         3,841,821 bugfix_audionote.mp3
14/04/2016  18:58            61,033 chase.dcb
14/04/2016  18:58             5,801 chase.prg
14/04/2016  18:34                18 compile_error.bat
14/04/2016  20:18           277,638 CyberCrisis.dcb
14/01/2012  11:37            46,080 CyberCrisis.exe
14/04/2016  18:00           162,615 CyberCrisis.prg
14/04/2016  18:01            14,953 distcheck.dcb
01/03/2012  01:06               196 distcheck.prg
07/03/2016  15:53           270,939 Flank.dcb
10/09/2012  18:21           156,752 Flank_broken.prg
10/10/2009  17:22           522,240 freetype6.dll
14/04/2016  22:06    <DIR>          gfx
29/02/2016  19:16             6,289 ideasforflank.txt
09/11/2011  18:58           192,000 libbgdrtm.dll
09/11/2011  18:58            33,280 libblit.dll
09/11/2011  18:58            55,296 libdes.dll
09/11/2011  18:58            21,504 libdraw.dll
09/11/2011  18:58            10,240 libfont.dll
09/11/2011  18:58            23,552 libgrbase.dll
09/11/2011  18:58             7,680 libjoy.dll
09/11/2011  18:58             9,216 libkey.dll
09/11/2011  18:58            10,752 libmouse.dll
09/11/2011  18:58            16,896 libogg-0.dll
09/11/2011  18:58           640,062 libpng15-15.dll
09/11/2011  18:58            79,360 librender.dll
09/11/2011  18:58             9,216 libscroll.dll
09/11/2011  18:58             4,608 libsdlhandler.dll
09/11/2011  18:58            12,288 libtext.dll
09/11/2011  18:58            13,312 libvideo.dll
09/11/2011  18:58           157,184 libvorbis-0.dll
09/11/2011  18:58         1,634,383 libvorbisenc-2.dll
09/11/2011  18:58            30,208 libvorbisfile-3.dll
09/11/2011  18:58             4,608 libwm.dll
14/04/2016  22:06    <DIR>          lion cube
14/04/2016  22:06    <DIR>          Loops
09/11/2011  18:58           246,272 mikmod.dll
09/11/2011  18:58             9,728 moddesc.exe
09/11/2011  18:58             5,120 mod_blendop.dll
09/11/2011  18:58             7,680 mod_cd.dll
09/11/2011  18:58             4,608 mod_crypt.dll
09/11/2011  18:58            78,848 mod_debug.dll
09/11/2011  18:58             6,656 mod_dir.dll
09/11/2011  18:58             9,216 mod_draw.dll
09/11/2011  18:58            14,848 mod_effects.dll
09/11/2011  18:58             6,656 mod_file.dll
09/11/2011  18:58            10,240 mod_flic.dll
09/11/2011  18:58            14,848 mod_grproc.dll
09/11/2011  18:58             6,656 mod_joy.dll
09/11/2011  18:58             4,096 mod_key.dll
09/11/2011  18:58            16,896 mod_m7.dll
09/11/2011  18:58            34,816 mod_map.dll
09/11/2011  18:58             6,144 mod_math.dll
09/11/2011  18:58             6,144 mod_mathi.dll
09/11/2011  18:58             5,120 mod_mem.dll
09/11/2011  18:58             4,096 mod_mouse.dll
09/11/2011  18:58             6,144 mod_path.dll
09/11/2011  18:58             9,216 mod_proc.dll
09/11/2011  18:58             4,608 mod_rand.dll
09/11/2011  18:58            33,280 mod_regex.dll
09/11/2011  18:58             4,608 mod_say.dll
09/11/2011  18:58             6,656 mod_screen.dll
09/11/2011  18:58             4,608 mod_scroll.dll
09/11/2011  18:58             9,728 mod_sort.dll
09/11/2011  18:58            10,240 mod_sound.dll
09/11/2011  18:58             6,656 mod_string.dll
09/11/2011  18:58             5,120 mod_sys.dll
09/11/2011  18:58             6,144 mod_text.dll
09/11/2011  18:58             5,632 mod_time.dll
09/11/2011  18:58             4,096 mod_timers.dll
11/10/2009  22:41            11,264 mod_ttf.dll
09/11/2011  18:58             5,632 mod_video.dll
09/11/2011  18:58             5,632 mod_wm.dll
13/05/2012  17:33             3,034 Readme and Credits.txt
09/11/2011  18:58           324,096 SDL.dll
09/11/2011  18:58           143,872 SDL_mixer.dll
14/04/2016  22:06    <DIR>          Sfx
09/11/2011  18:58           235,520 smpeg.dll
13/03/2012  01:20            61,510 terrain.dcb
13/03/2012  01:12             4,477 terrain.prg
09/11/2011  18:58            70,656 zlib1.dll
              80 File(s)     10,122,389 bytes
               6 Dir(s)   6,482,694,144 bytes free

C:\Documents and Settings\Admin\Desktop\CyberCrisis>bgdc.exe
BGDC 1.0.0 (Oct 29 2011 05:25:28)
Bennu Game Development Compiler

Copyright ¨ 2006-2011 SplinterGU (Fenix/BennuGD)
Copyright ¨ 2002-2006 Fenix Team (Fenix)
Copyright ¨ 1999-2002 JosT Luis Cebrifln Pagne (Fenix)

Use: bgdc.exe [options] filename

   -d              Debugging mode
   -o ouputfile    Ouput DCB file
   -i dir          Adds the directory to the PATH
   -a              Automaticaly adds all files to the DCB
   -f file         Adds a single file to the DCB
   -l lang         Specify locale settings
   -s stub         Generate a stubbed executable from the given stub
   -g              Stores debugging information at the DCB
   -c              File uses the MS-DOS character set
   -D macro=text   Set a macro
   -p|--pedantic   Don't use automatic declare
   --libmode       Build a library
   -L library      Include a library
   -C options      Specify compiler options
                   Where options are:
                   a    Enable automatic declare functions

This software is provided 'as-is', without any express or implied
warranty. In no event will the authors be held liable for any damages
arising from the use of this software.

Permission is granted to anyone to use this software for any purpose,
including commercial applications, and to alter it and redistribute it
freely, subject to the following restrictions:

   1. The origin of this software must not be misrepresented; you must not
   claim that you wrote the original software. If you use this software
   in a product, an acknowledgment in the product documentation would be
   appreciated but is not required.

   2. Altered source versions must be plainly marked as such, and must not be
   misrepresented as being the original software.

   3. This notice may not be removed or altered from any source
   distribution.

C:\Documents and Settings\Admin\Desktop\CyberCrisis>bgdi.exe
BGDI 1.0.0 (Oct 29 2011 05:25:38)
Bennu Game Development Interpreter

Copyright (c) 2006-2011 SplinterGU (Fenix/BennuGD)
Copyright (c) 2002-2006 Fenix Team (Fenix)
Copyright (c) 1999-2002 JosT Luis Cebrifln Pagne (Fenix)

Usage: bgdi.exe [options] <data code block file>[.dcb]

   -d       Activate DEBUG mode
   -i dir   Adds the directory to the PATH

This software is provided 'as-is', without any express or implied
warranty. In no event will the authors be held liable for any damages
arising from the use of this software.

Permission is granted to anyone to use this software for any purpose,
including commercial applications, and to alter it and redistribute it
freely, subject to the following restrictions:

   1. The origin of this software must not be misrepresented; you must not
   claim that you wrote the original software. If you use this software
   in a product, an acknowledgment in the product documentation would be
   appreciated but is not required.

   2. Altered source versions must be plainly marked as such, and must not be
   misrepresented as being the original software.

   3. This notice may not be removed or altered from any source
   distribution.

C:\Documents and Settings\Admin\Desktop\CyberCrisis>

[l1nk3rn3l]

download IDE is better  (download setup)

Pixtudio (SDL2 opengl accelerated)  16/32bpp  support
https://sourceforge.net/projects/coldev/files/bennugd2_Pixtudio/


Bennugd (SDL1.3)  8/16 bpp support
https://sourceforge.net/projects/coldev/files/bennupack/

[Breadcaster]

A better IDE isn't going to solve compiler issues :P

I used to use ConTEXT but actually have made the entire game so far using Photoshop CS4, Goldwave and Notepad. I'll happily get a better interface/layout once I've solved the core issue, though - I just want to get the game recompiling and I'll be happy, but until then there's no point me downloading anything else unless it's going to actually solve my BGDC issue.

[Breadcaster]

Has nobody else had this issue with windows XP before? I swear this is exactly the same setup as I used to have so I can't fathom why it's not working...

[Drumpi]

No, I was using a real Windows XP64 with no isues, and working on a real W7 and virtualized W98 and W2000.
So, BGDC and BGDI runs OK by itselfs.
So, go to C:\Documents and Settings\Admin\Desktop\CyberCrisis again and write:
bgdc -g cybercrisis.prg
(I'm suposing it is your main PRG) If it works and has no compile errors, try:
bgdi cybercrisis.dcb
Just to check if compiler and interpreter works OK. If they works, you have to check your .bat file

[Breadcaster]

Amazing!! It's working via command line so it's the batch file, so I can just use the command line for now. Fantastic, thank you ever so much Drumpi. I have to say I didn't think this forum was even active until I checked it out to try to find a solution to this problem but I'm so happy I was wrong - Thanks once again :)

[Drumpi]

You're welcome. We're still active, but we are just a few (and mostly spanish).
The next step if to find out why your .bat file don't execute your game.
In my case, I have a few BennuGD binaries in a separate folder, with all the libraries, instead of copying them in the same folder as you do. Then, I use a bat file like this:

Code Select Expand

set BENNUROOT=C:/BennuGD
set VERSION=r307
set JUEGO=%2
set PATH=%BENNUROOT%/binarios/%VERSION%/bin;%BENNUROOT%/binarios/%VERSION%/externals;%BENNUROOT%/binarios/%VERSION%/libs;%BENNUROOT%/binarios/%VERSION%/modules;%PATH%
bgdc -g %JUEGO%.prg
bgdi %JUEGO%.dcb

So, I can compile with the binaries in C:/BennuGD/Binaries/r307 (the "bin", "externals", etc folders are for backwards compatibility) and the project (and this .bat) in C:/BennuGD/Projects/MyProject. It's cleaner this way. Also, I make another .bat just for compilation, to see the compile errors.
The -g parameter in BGDC is for debug mode, so I can hard-close the program with ALT+C.

[Breadcaster]

You're welcome. We're still active, but we are just a few (and mostly spanish).
The next step if to find out why your .bat file don't execute your game.

It's alright, I have access to my regular tower PC again and the .bat works on that, so no need :)

Although I am now getting a terminal crash in a process that I haven't touched in ages, but I don't think that's related to the compiler... thing is, that code wasn't written by me but by an old friend from DIV-Arena, so I don't understand it fully (it's a bit beyond my capabilities which is why someone else did it instead of me haha). But that's not related to windows XP or the game not compiling, just crashing. :p

[Drumpi]

A .bat is a .bat, so it has to work in every windows. Maybe it's a permission problem.

A program crash is the more difficult kind of error you can fix. First you need to know what kind of crash is: overflow stack, no responding aplication, memory access error... The last one is the most common (and the "no responding...", wich is usually associated to an infinite loop with no FRAME).

The first thing you must do is look for the line who make that error. Use the "say" function. Write a few in some parts of the code, with strings like "loading resources", "hello" or "this is working". If you can read them in the console, the program has executed it, so the error is ahead that lines. Write more lines, or move them until you detect a "say" that don't say anything. Get moving them until you get one line between a working and a not working "say": that's your troubled line. Check if all the values you are using are correct (use say again, something like SAY("I can read " + myVariable)).

I hope my engrish is good enough to make me understand :P

[Breadcaster]

A .bat is a .bat, so it has to work in every windows. Maybe it's a permission problem.

A program crash is the more difficult kind of error you can fix. First you need to know what kind of crash is: overflow stack, no responding aplication, memory access error... The last one is the most common (and the "no responding...", wich is usually associated to an infinite loop with no FRAME).

The first thing you must do is look for the line who make that error. Use the "say" function. Write a few in some parts of the code, with strings like "loading resources", "hello" or "this is working". If you can read them in the console, the program has executed it, so the error is ahead that lines. Write more lines, or move them until you detect a "say" that don't say anything. Get moving them until you get one line between a working and a not working "say": that's your troubled line. Check if all the values you are using are correct (use say again, something like SAY("I can read " + myVariable)).

I hope my engrish is good enough to make me understand :P

Haha it's fine :) and I eventually managed to fix it myself, turns out the issue wasn't in the code i thought it was, it was in a process being CALLED by that process. I just logically figured it out by commenting out certain processes until I pinpointed the one that made the crash, then commented out chunks of code - turns out it was some sort of issue with the particle engine! All fixed now :)

Now I've just got to work out why the ingame console's going bezerk and repeating messages, aha... where's the best place to upload WIPs to once I've ironed out these few small bugs? :)

[Drumpi]

My console usually is in verbose mode. Today is telling me the members of a map list (and every single data it sotre) and the undo list and all of it's members :D
When I finish the debug, I must delete a LOT of say and data_say functions :D

To upload a WIP... I don't know. Usually we use our own pages, but if your WIP is small enough, you can attach it to a post. I'm going to do that when I get a working alpha of my tilemap editor, I will need testers :D :D :D
Or you can use Mega, Sendspace, Dropbox... they are designed for that, more than download movies :P

[cmunoz]

I'm trying to test my game on a friend's computer. We built our computers together, so he has exact same system specs as me, and windows 7 64 bit. Bgdc and bgdi have always worked fine on every computer I've tested on, but on his, running bgdc.exe or bgdi.exe from command line gives this error.

'bgdc.exe' is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program, or batch file.

and

'bgdi.exe' is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program, or batch file.

Could there be a dependency he's missing?

[Drumpi]

Cmunoz, what version of Bennu are you triying?
Did you go to the BGDC/BGDI folder with CD command before execute them?
Have you try with compatibility options? (right click on bgdi.exe, properties, compatibility tab, set as WindowsXP).
...Did he checks for virus? An exe doesn't need any dependence (and I'm working fine in my W7(x64)).