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Client compile guide — SwgTitan and SwgGodClient

This document describes prerequisites, solution layout, and build steps for the two primary Windows client applications on Win32 (32-bit x86). Paths are written relative to the repository root unless noted.

What you are building

Ship name (solution) Project file Binary output (examples)
SwgTitan client/src/game/client/application/SwgClient/build/win32/SwgClient.vcxproj SwgTitan_d.exe, SwgTitan_o.exe, SwgTitan_r.exe
SwgGodClient client/src/game/client/application/SwgGodClient/build/win32/SwgGodClient.vcxproj SwgGodClient_d.exe, SwgGodClient_o.exe, SwgGodClient_r.exe

The game exe project keeps the internal name SwgTitan via <ProjectName> while still living in SwgClient.vcxproj.

Intermediate and output folders:

  • client/src/compile/win32/<ProjectName>/<Configuration>/

Suffix convention:

  • _d — Debug
  • _o — Optimized
  • _r — Release (typical for deployment)

Prerequisites

Policy — do not upgrade projects

Do not upgrade the projects. Keep them on the Visual Studio 2013 toolset: PlatformToolset v120, ToolsVersion="12.0", and the original solution format. When Visual Studio offers Retarget solution or a newer platform toolset, decline those changes and do not check in modified .vcxproj / .sln toolset upgrades. Install the MSVC v120 (VS 2013) C++ build tools (see below) so the tree builds as authored, instead of “fixing” it by retargeting to v142 / v143 / v150.

Required tools (summary)

Item What this tree expects Notes
OS Windows 10 or later (64-bit) Host is x64; you still build a Win32 (x86) game client.
IDE / build Visual Studio 2013–2022+ (Community, Professional, Enterprise) or Build Tools for Visual Studio (no GUI) The solution file is Format 12.00 and lists Visual Studio 18 in the header; any recent VS that opens the solution is fine.
C++ workload Desktop development with C++ Installs MSBuild, the C++ compiler, and the Windows SDK as one unit.
MSVC toolset PlatformToolset v120 (MSVC 12.0, “Visual Studio 2013” toolset) Required—follow Policy — do not upgrade projects (above). Install MSVC v120 – VS 2013 C++ build tools via Visual Studio Installer (Individual components).
Target platform Win32 (32-bit x86) Requires x86 MSVC libraries (included with desktop C++).
Windows SDK Whatever your workload installs (10.x / 11.x) Native headers/libs for Win32; DirectX 9 headers/libs are covered by vendored client/src/external/3rd/library/directx9, not only the SDK.
MSBuild Ships with Visual Studio CLI builds: Developer Command Prompt for VS or Developer PowerShell for VS so msbuild is on PATH. Typical path (adjust year/channel): .\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Community\MSBuild\Current\Bin\MSBuild.exe.
Runtimes (players) VC++ Redistributable matching v120 / VS 2013-era runtime Developers rarely install this to compile; players need the x86 redistributable that matches the MSVC runtime linked into Release SwgTitan_r.exe (typically the Visual Studio 2013 VC++ redistributable when building with v120).

Visual Studio Installer — workloads and components

  1. Install Visual Studio (recommended: 2022 current channel) or Build Tools for Visual Studio 2022 if you only compile from the command line.
  2. Select workload Desktop development with C++.
  3. On the Installation details panel, ensure at minimum:
    • Windows 10/11 SDK (check at least one recent SDK).
  4. Under Individual components, install the legacy compiler used by this repo (names vary slightly by VS version):
    • MSVC v120 - VS 2013 C++ build tools (search for v120 or 2013).

If v120 is missing, Visual Studio may prompt to Retarget the solution—do not apply that; install v120 and reopen the solution so projects stay on Visual Studio 2013 as required above.

Visual Studio 2013 (optional native IDE)

For an IDE that matches PlatformToolset v120 without mixing in newer Visual Studio versions, you can install Visual Studio 2013 Update 5 from Microsoft’s ISO:

Visual Studio 2013.5 Ultimate — English ISO

Mount or burn the ISO, install with C++ workload support as offered by that installer, and verify licensing for your use case.

What the project files declare

  • ToolsVersion="12.0" on .vcxproj files (MSBuild 12 / VS 2013 era); modern MSBuild still loads these.
  • PlatformToolset: v120 for Win32 Release/Debug/Optimized on the main executables.
  • CharacterSet: MultiByte (not Unicode) for the game client project.

Other tooling (optional for these exes)

  • Git — to clone the repo; not part of the compile.
  • PowerShell 5.1+ — some repo scripts; not required to run msbuild on the solution.
  • CMake — not used by swg.sln (engine uses .vcxproj / MSBuild).

Disk space

  • Reserve several GB under client/src/compile for object files and static libraries over a full solution build.

Third-party and engine dependencies

The client links a large set of static and import libraries (Miles, Bink, Qt, Mozilla xul, Direct3D 9, zlib, PCRE, libxml2, STlport on x86, etc.). Vendored headers and prebuilt .lib / DLL pieces live under client/src/external/3rd/library/ and related trees. Do not remove or rename those paths without updating the .vcxproj files.

You do not need to install every SDK manually if your tree already contains the expected binaries for Win32; missing libs usually show up as LNK1104 / unresolved external at link time.

Optional: x64

This repository has ongoing x64 work (see x64-migration.md and planning.md). The swg.sln checked into this tree exposes Debug | Win32, Optimized | Win32, and Release | Win32 only. Treat Win32 as the supported path unless your branch adds x64 solution platforms.

Solution entry point

Open:

client/src/build/win32/swg.sln

Both SwgTitan and SwgGodClient are first-class projects in this solution. Each has a long list of solution-level project dependencies (engine libs, clientGame, clientGraphics, ui, Mozilla, etc.). Building the exe from Visual Studio normally builds those dependencies first.

Build steps (Visual Studio)

  1. Launch Visual Studio and open client/src/build/win32/swg.sln.
  2. Set Solution Configuration to Release (for shipping binaries), Optimized, or Debug as needed.
  3. Set Solution Platform to Win32.
  4. In Solution Explorer, right‑click SwgTitan → Build (or Rebuild after major engine changes).
  5. Repeat for SwgGodClient when you need the God Client.

For a clean full client stack, use Build Solution once; it is slower but reduces missing static-lib errors.

Build steps (MSBuild, command line)

Run from a Developer Command Prompt for VS (or any shell where msbuild resolves). Adjust the solution path if your repo root differs.

Release game client:

msbuild client\src\build\win32\swg.sln /t:SwgTitan /p:Configuration=Release /p:Platform=Win32 /m

Release God Client:

msbuild client\src\build\win32\swg.sln /t:SwgGodClient /p:Configuration=Release /p:Platform=Win32 /m

If MSBuild does not pull every dependency, build the whole solution once:

msbuild client\src\build\win32\swg.sln /p:Configuration=Release /p:Platform=Win32 /m

Post-build copy (staging folder)

Both projects run Post-build events that copy the resulting exe (and, for SwgTitan / SwgGodClient Release, matching *_r.dll from the compile tree) into a fixed deploy directory:

D:\titan\exe\win32_rel\

If your repository is not at D:\titan, either:

  • Create D:\titan as a junction/symlink to your actual repo root, or
  • Edit the Post-build event commands in SwgClient.vcxproj and SwgGodClient.vcxproj to match your paths.

Until those commands succeed or are updated, binaries still appear under client/src/compile/win32/... even when nothing is copied to exe/win32_rel.

Verification

After Release:

  • client/src/compile/win32/SwgTitan/Release/SwgTitan_r.exe
  • client/src/compile/win32/SwgGodClient/Release/SwgGodClient_r.exe

If post-build is configured: copies under D:\titan\exe\win32_rel\ (or your overridden folder).

Troubleshooting

  • Unresolved externals when linking SwgTitan or SwgGodClient
    Rebuild the static libraries the exe depends on—especially clientGraphics, clientGame, sharedObject, and swgClientUserInterface—or run a full Rebuild of the solution for the same Configuration and Win32 platform.

  • Wrong CRT / mixed debug-release libs
    Every dependent project must use the same configuration family (e.g. all Release for SwgTitan_r.exe).

  • Platform mismatch (0xC000007B) at runtime
    You are mixing 64-bit DLLs with a 32-bit exe or vice versa. Run from a layout where all DLLs next to the exe match Win32 for these builds.

  • God Client / Qt-related link errors
    SwgGodClient pulls Qt and many of the same stacks as the main client; ensure Win32 Qt libs under client/src/external/3rd/library/qt/... match what the project expects.

Related documentation