21 KiB
Instructions
These instructions explain how to set up the tools required to build pokeemerald, which assembles the source files into a ROM.
If you run into trouble, ask for help on IRC or Discord (see README.md).
Windows
Windows has instructions for building with three possible terminals, if users encounter unexpected errors in following instructions for one of the terminals. These instructions are:
The instructions have been ordered by the performance of their respective terminal. Out of the provided terminals, WSL1 builds pokeemerald the fastest, and is thus highly recommended, but is only available on Windows 10. msys2 is the second fastest, and Cygwin is the slowest. Unscientific benchmarks suggest msys2 is 2x slower than WSL1, and Cygwin is 5-6x slower than WSL1. For advanced users, WSL2 is an option and is even faster than WSL1 if files are stored on the WSL2 file system, but some tools such as porymap cannot interact with said files due to problems outside the control of maintainers.
All of the Windows instructions assume that the default drive is C:\. If this differs to your actual drive letter, then replace C with the correct drive letter when reading the instructions.
A note of caution: As Windows 7 is officially unsupported by Microsoft and Windows 8 has very little usage, some maintainers are unwilling to maintain the Windows 7/8 instructions. Thus, these instructions may break in the future with fixes taking longer than fixes to the Windows 10 instructions.
Windows 10 (WSL1)
WSL1 is the preferred terminal to build pokeemerald. The following instructions will explain how to install WSL1 (referred interchangeably as WSL).
If WSL is not installed, then go to Installing WSL1. Otherwise, if WSL is installed, but it hasn't previously been set up for another decompilation project, then go to Setting up WSL1. Otherwise, open WSL and go to Choosing where to store pokeemerald (WSL1).
Installing WSL1
Open Windows Powershell as Administrator, and run the following command (Right Click or Shift+Insert is paste in the Powershell).
dism.exe /online /enable-feature /featurename:Microsoft-Windows-Subsystem-Linux /all /norestart
Once the process finishes, restart your machine.
The next step is to choose and install a Linux distribution from the Microsoft Store. The following instructions will assume Ubuntu as the Linux distribution of choice. Advanced users can pick a preferred Linux distribution, but setup instructions may differ.
Open the Microsoft Store Linux Selection, click Ubuntu, then click Get, which will install the Ubuntu distribution. If the link does not work, then open the Microsoft Store manually, and search for the Ubuntu app (choose the one with no version number).
Setting up WSL1
Open Ubuntu (e.g. using Search). WSL/Ubuntu will set up its own installation when it runs for the first time. Once WSL/Ubuntu finishes installing, it will ask for a username and password (to be input in). Note that there will be no visible response when typing in the password, but the terminal will still read in input.
A few notes before proceeding:
- In the terminal, Copy and Paste is either done via
- right-click (selection + right click to Copy, right click with no selection to Paste)
- Ctrl+Shift+C/Ctrl+Shift+V (enabled by right-clicking the title bar, going to Properties, then checking the checkbox next to "Use Ctrl+Shift+C/V as Copy/Paste").
- Some of the commands that you'll run will ask for your WSL password and/or confirmation to perform the stated action. This is to be expected, just enter your WSL password and/or the yes action when necessary.
Update WSL/Ubuntu before continuing. Do this by running the following command:
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade
Note that these commands will likely take a long time to finish.
Note: If the repository you plan to build was created before 2020/XX/YY (e.g. modifications of pokeemerald that haven't updated) then follow the legacy WSL1 instructions. These repositories can be identified by the older revision of the INSTALL.md
Certain packages are required to build pokeemerald. Install these packages by running the following command:
sudo apt install build-essential binutils-arm-none-eabi git libpng-dev
(If the above command does not work, try the above command but replacing apt with apt-get).
Choosing where to store pokeemerald (WSL1)
WSL has its own file system that's not accessible from Windows, but Windows files are accessible from WSL. So you're going to want to install pokeemerald within Windows. You'll have to change the current working directory every time you open WSL.
For example, if you want to store pokeemerald (and agbcc) in C:\Users\<user>\Desktop\decomps, enter this command:
cd /mnt/c/Users/<user>/Desktop/decomps
Note that the directory must exist in Windows. If you want to store pokeemerald in a dedicated folder that doesn't exist (e.g. the example provided above), then create the folder (e.g. using Windows Explorer) before executing the cd command.
(The Windows C:\ drive is called /mnt/c/ in WSL. Replace <user> in the example path with your Windows username. If the path has spaces, then the path must be wrapped with quotations, e.g. cd "/mnt/c/users/<user>/Desktop/decomp folder". Windows path names are case-insensitive so adhereing to capitalization isn't needed)
If this works, then proceed to Installation.
Otherwise, continue reading below for Windows instructions using msys2.
Windows (msys2)
If devkitPro is not installed, or is installed but without the GBA Development component, then go to Installing devkitPro. If devkitPro is installed, but msys2 hasn't previously been set up for another decompilation project, then go to Setting up msys2. Otherwise, open msys2 and go to Choosing where to store pokeemerald (msys2).
Installing devkitPro
Download the devkitPro installer here.
Run the devkitPro installer. In the "Choose Components" screen, uncheck everything except GBA Development unless if you plan to use devkitPro for other purposes. Keep the install location as C:\devkitPro and leave the Start Menu option unchanged.
Setting up msys2
Open msys2 at C:\devkitPro\msys2\msys2_shell.bat.
Note that in msys2, Copy is Ctrl+Insert and Paste is Shift+Insert.
Certain packages are required to build pokeemerald. Install these by running the following command:
pacman -S make gcc zlib-devel git
(This command will ask for confirmation, just enter the yes action when prompted).
Download libpng.
Change directory to where libpng was downloaded. By default, msys2 will start in the current user's profile folder, located at C:\Users\, where <user> is your Windows username. In most cases, libpng should be saved within a subfolder of the profile folder. For example, if libpng was saved to C:\Users\<user>\Downloads (the Downloads location for most users), enter this command:
cd Downloads
(While not shown, msys uses forward slashes / instead of backwards slashes \ as the directory separator. Windows path names are case-insensitive so adhereing to capitalization isn’t needed. If the path has spaces, then the path must be wrapped with quotations, e.g. cd "Downloads/My Downloads". If libpng was saved elsewhere, you will need to specify the full path to where libpng was downloaded, e.g. cd c:/devkitpro/msys2 if it was saved there)
Run the following command to uncompress and install libpng.
tar xf libpng-1.6.37
cd libpng-1.6.37
./configure --prefix=/usr
make check
make install
Then finally, run the following command to change back to the user profile folder.
cd
Choosing where to store pokeemerald (msys2)
At this point, you can choose a folder to store pokeemerald into. If so, you'll have to change the current working directory every time you open msys2. If you're okay with storing pokeemerald in the user profile folder, then proceed to Installation.
For example, if you want to store pokeemerald (and agbcc) in C:\Users\<user>\Desktop\decomps, enter this command:
cd Desktop/decomps
Note that the directory must exist in Windows. If you want to store pokeemerald in a dedicated folder that doesn't exist (e.g. the example provided above), then create the folder (e.g. using Windows Explorer) before executing the cd command.
If this works, then proceed to Installation.
Otherwise, continue reading below for Windows instructions using Cygwin.
Windows (Cygwin)
If devkitPro is not installed, or is installed but without the GBA Development component, then follow the instructions used to install devkitPro for the msys2 setup before continuing. Remember to not continue following the msys2 instructions by mistake!
If Cygwin is not installed, or does not have all of the required packages installed, then go to Installing Cygwin. If Cygwin is installed, but is not configured to work with devkitPro, then go to Configuring devkitPro for Cygwin. Otherwise, open Cygwin and go to Choosing where to store pokeemerald (Cygwin)
Installing Cygwin
Download Cygwin: setup-x86_64.exe for 64-bit Windows, setup-x86.exe for 32-bit.
Run the Cygwin setup and leave the default settings. At "Choose a Download Site", select any mirror within the Available Download Sites. At "Select Packages", set the view to "Full" (top left) and choose to install the following:
makegitgcc-coregcc-g++libpng-devel
To quickly find these, use the search bar and type the name of each package. Ensure that the selected package name is the exact same as the one you're trying to download, e.g. cmake is NOT the same as make.
Double click on the text that says "Skip" next to each package to select the most recent version to install. If the text says anything other than "Skip", (e.g. Keep or a version number), then the package is or will be installed and you don't need to do anything.
Once all required packages have been selected, finish the installation.
Configuring devkitPro for Cygwin
Open Cygwin.
Note that in Cygwin, Copy is Ctrl+Insert and Paste is Shift+Insert.
Run the following commands to configure devkitPro to work with Cygwin.
export DEVKITPRO=/cygdrive/c/devkitpro
echo export DEVKITPRO=$DEVKITPRO >> ~/.bashrc
export DEVKITARM=$DEVKITPRO/devkitARM
echo export DEVKITARM=$DEVKITARM >> ~/.bashrc
(Replace the drive letter c with the actual drive letter if it is not c).
Choosing where to store pokeemerald (Cygwin)
Cygwin has its own file system that's within Windows, at C:\cygwin64\home\<user>. If you don't want to store pokeemerald there, you'll have to change the current working directory every time you open Cygwin.
For example, if you want to store pokeemerald (and agbcc) in C:\Users\<user>\Desktop\decomps, enter this command:
cd c:/Users/<user>/Desktop/decomps
Note that the directory must exist in Windows. If you want to store pokeemerald in a dedicated folder that doesn't exist (e.g. the example provided above), then create the folder (e.g. using Windows Explorer) before executing the cd command.
(Replace <user> in the example path with your Windows username. If the path has spaces, then the path must be wrapped with quotations, e.g. cd "c:/users/<user>/Desktop/decomp folder". Windows path names are case-insensitive so adhereing to capitalization isn't needed)
If this works, then proceed to Installation. Otherwise, ask for help on IRC or Discord (see README.md).
macOS
The Xcode Command Line Tools Package is required. Open your Terminal and run the following command:
xcode-select --install
If devkitPro is not installed, then go to Installing devkitPro (macOS). Otherwise, open the Terminal and go to Choosing where to store pokeemerald (macOS)
Installing devkitPro (macOS)
Download the devkitpro-pacman-installer.pkg package from here.
Run the open command to install the devkitPro package. The command arguments depend on where the package was saved to. For example, if the package was saved to ~/Downloads (the Downloads location for most users), enter this command:
open ~/Downloads/devkitpro-pacman-installer.pkg
(If the path has spaces, then the path must be wrapped with quotations, e.g. "~/Downloads/My Downloads/devkitpro-pacman-installer.pkg").
Now devkitPro must be configured with the tools required for GBA development. Run the following commands:
sudo dkp-pacman -Sy
sudo dkp-pacman -S gba-dev
sudo dkp-pacman -S devkitarm-rules
At this point, press Enter to confirm the installation. After the tools are installed, devkitPro must now be made accessible from anywhere by the system. To do so, run the following commands:
export DEVKITPRO=$HOME/devkitpro
echo "export DEVKITPRO=$DEVKITPRO" >> ~/.bashrc
export DEVKITARM=$DEVKITPRO/devkitARM
echo "export DEVKITARM=$DEVKITARM" >> ~/.bashrc
echo "if [ -f ~/.bashrc ]; then . ~/.bashrc; fi" >> ~/.bash_profile
Choosing where to store pokeemerald (macOS)
At this point, you can choose a folder to store pokeemerald into. If so, you'll have to change the current working directory every time you open the Terminal. If you're okay with storing pokeemerald in the user profile folder, then proceed to Installation.
For example, if you want to store pokeemerald (and agbcc) in ~/Desktop/decomps, enter this command:
cd Desktop/decomps
Note that the directory must exist in the folder system. If you want to store pokeemerald in a dedicated folder that doesn't exist (e.g. the example provided above), then create the folder (e.g. using Finder) before executing the cd command.
If this works, then proceed to Installation. Otherwise, ask for help on IRC or Discord (see README.md).
Linux
Open Terminal and enter the following commands, depending on which distro you're using.
Debian or Ubuntu
Run the following command to install the necessary packages:
sudo apt install build-essential binutils-arm-none-eabi git libpng-dev
Then proceed to Choosing where to store pokeemerald (Linux).
Other distributions
(Instructions for other distributions would be greatly appreciated!)
If your distro is not listed here, try to find the required software in its repositories:
gccg++makegitlibpng-dev
Then, install the devkitARM toolchain of devkitPro as per the instructions on their wiki.
Choosing where to store pokeemerald (Linux)
At this point, you can choose a folder to store pokeemerald (and agbcc) into. If so, you'll have to change the current working directory every time you open the Terminal.
If this works, then proceed to Installation. Otherwise, ask for help on IRC or Discord (see README.md).
Installation
If pokeemerald is not already downloaded (some users may prefer to download pokeemerald via a git client like GitHub Desktop), run:
git clone https://github.com/pret/pokeemerald
If agbcc has not been built before, run the following commands to build and install it into pokeemerald:
git clone https://github.com/pret/agbcc
cd agbcc
./build.sh
./install.sh ../pokeemerald
If agbcc has been built before, but was last built on a different terminal than the one currently used (only relevant to Windows, e.g. switching from msys2 to WSL1), then run the following commands to build and install it into pokeemerald:
cd agbcc
git clean -fX
./build.sh
./install.sh ../pokeemerald
Otherwise, run the following commands to install agbcc into pokeemerald:
cd agbcc
./install.sh ../pokeemerald
Then, change directory back to the base directory where pokeemerald and agbcc are stored:
cd ..
Now you're ready to build pokeemerald
Build pokeemerald
First, change directory to the pokeemerald folder:
cd pokeemerald
To build pokeemerald.gba for the first time and confirm it matches the official ROM image:
make compare
If an OK is returned, then the installation went smoothly. Note: if you switched from Cygwin to msys2, you must run make clean-tools once before any subsequent make commands.
To build pokeemerald.gba with your changes:
make
Windows users: Consider adding an exception for the pokeemerald folder in Windows Security using these instructions. This prevents Microsoft Defender from scanning them which might improve performance while building.
macOS users (this is probably outdated): If the base tools are not found in new Terminal sessions after the first successful build, run echo "if [ -f ~/.bashrc ]; then . ~/.bashrc; fi" >> ~/.bash_profile once to prevent the issue from occurring again. Verify that the devkitarm-rules package is installed as well; if not, install it by running sudo dkp-pacman -S devkitarm-rules.
Building guidance
Parallel builds
See the GNU docs and this Stack Exchange thread for more information.
To speed up building, first get the value of nproc:
nproc
Builds can then be sped up by running the following command:
make -j<output of nproc>
Replace <output of nproc> with the number that the nproc command returned.
nproc is not available on macOS. The alternative is sysctl -n hw.ncpu (relevant Stack Overflow thread).
Debug info
To build pokeemerald.elf with enhanced debug info:
make DINFO=1
devkitARM's C compiler
This project supports the arm-none-eabi-gcc compiler included with devkitARM. If devkitARM has already been installed as part of the platform-specific instructions, simply run:
make modern
Otherwise, follow the instructions below to install devkitARM.
Installing devkitARM on WSL1
gdebi-core must be installed beforehand in order to install devkitPro (which facilitates the installation of devkitARM). Install this with the following command:
sudo apt install gdebi-core
(If the above command does not work, try the above command but replacing apt with apt-get).
Once gdebi-core is done installing, download the devkitPro software package here. The file to download is devkitpro-pacman.amd64.deb.
Change directory to where the package was downloaded. For example, if the package file was saved to C:\Users\<user>\Downloads (the Downloads location for most users), enter this command:
cd /mnt/c/Users/<user>/Downloads
(Replace <user> with your Windows username)
Once the directory has been changed to the folder containing the devkitPro package, run the following commands to install devkitPro.
sudo gdebi devkitpro-pacman.amd64.deb
sudo dkp-pacman -Sy
sudo dkp-pacman -S gba-dev
Note: the last command will ask for the selection of packages to install. Just press Enter to install all of them, followed by entering Y to proceed with the installation. devkitpro-pacman.amd64.deb is the expected filename of the devkitPro package downloaded (for the first command). If the downloaded package filename differs, then use that filename instead.
Run the following command to set devkitPro related environment variables (alternatively, close and re-open WSL):
source /etc/profile.d/devkit-env.sh
devkitARM is now installed.
Other toolchains
To build using a toolchain other than devkitARM, override the TOOLCHAIN environment variable with the path to your toolchain, which must contain the subdirectory bin.
make TOOLCHAIN="/path/to/toolchain/here"
The following is an example:
make TOOLCHAIN="/usr/local/arm-none-eabi"
To compile the modern target with this toolchain, the subdirectories lib, include, and arm-none-eabi must also be present.
Useful additional tools
- porymap for viewing and editing maps
- poryscript for scripting (VS Code extension)
- Tilemap Studio for viewing and editing tilemaps