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[Lestrage]

Hey could you make it easier to install DF in Linux systems. I had great trouble in getting DF and Soundsense to install and work on Ubuntu last time I tried and in the end I stayed with windows system  . Also would be cool if DF showed up on the Software center / package manager.

[Lightman]

Install the console (ncurses) version. That's easy enough

[lethosor]

Install the console (ncurses) version. That's easy enough

What? There's only one build of DF on Linux (per architecture as of 0.43.05), which supports SDL and ncurses, but it requires the same installation procedure regardless of whether you're using ncurses or not.

Anyway, getting DF to show up in package managers is probably the responsibility of whoever maintains those package managers (e.g. I think it's in a community repo in Arch's package manager). Soundsense isn't really something Toady can make easier to install on Linux, since he's not involved with it at all.

[Lightman]

What? There's only one build of DF on Linux (per architecture as of 0.43.05), which supports SDL and ncurses, but it requires the same installation procedure regardless of whether you're using ncurses or not.

Yes, of course. My joke was supposed to be that if you are using ncurses output, you probably aren't going to be using external programs like Soundsense. That would make the installation a little easier.

[mikekchar]

Yeah, installing soundsense on Ubuntu looks like it might be a PITA.  Not super difficult if you are familiar with how Java, pulse audio and lib32 libraries work, but probably unreasonably difficult for newbies.

Having DF show up in the Software centre is unlikely because Ubuntu basically rides on the work done by Debian.  Debian only packages free (as in freedom) software and DF is not free (as in freedom -- it's only free as in beer).  So the only way it will happen is if somebody else does it.

It's not super difficult to make a "deb" package -- especially for something like DF which has few dependencies.  I'm running Arch linux and the dwarf fortress package actually has no dependencies at all, so probably the same will be true for Ubuntu.  For what it's worth, here's the Arch package build script for soundssense: https://aur.archlinux.org/cgit/aur.git/tree/PKGBUILD?h=soundsense Again, it won't help you build a debian package unless you understand it, but it's a starting point.

If you do it, then you will learn a lot about Linux along the way -- *and* you will make an easy to install debian package that anyone can use.  Tools like DFHack and DT are a bit different because they require that you open up a security hole on the computer (you have to allow one process to muck with the memory of another process, which is a *very, very, very bad idea*... No idea why Windows allows it...)

But anyway, I encourage you to give it a try.  While it might be quite frustrating and take a long time, all information is available online and it's the kind of thing that anyone can do if they work at it.  Although I don't have Ubuntu installed any more, I've built deb packages before, so fee free to PM me if you have any questions.

[lethosor]

Tools like DFHack and DT are a bit different because they require that you open up a security hole on the computer (you have to allow one process to muck with the memory of another process, which is a *very, very, very bad idea*... No idea why Windows allows it...)

That's just the case for DT, actually. DFHack runs in the same process as DF. And working with other processes' memory is allowed so debuggers can work (although there should be restrictions on which processes can do that).