This project is an attempt to modernize Blitz3D by adding cross-platform & 64-bit support.

So far, we've made huge strides in making this happen. Some of the basic samples (such as castle, driver, and tron) can run on macOS with little-to-no modifications.

This is achieved by adding LLVM-powered code generation to the original compiler. A basic test suite test/all.bb has been implemented to help ensure the compiler functions as expected and the runtime can execute without error.

(Note: The 32-bit Windows build still uses the original Blitz code generation.)

You can get the latest Windows & macOS builds from the releases page.

If you're looking to customize your build further or interested in Linux/other platforms, see Building.

If you need help with anything, please ask on the Discord server.

For bug reports & feature requests, feel free to open an issue.

All 3rd-party dependencies are included in the repo or linked as submodules to keep the project simple to build.

The single exception to this is LLVM due to it's size and the time required build. A pre-built toolchain is provided for Windows & macOS. Download the appropriate archive for your platform, and unpack it into an llvm/ directory in the root of this repository.

Download cmake (3.16+) and ninja.

Install Visual Studio 2022. Be sure to install the MFC components.

To build 32-bit or 64-bit, open x86 Native Tools Command Prompt for VS 2022. For 64-bit, open x64 Native Tools Command Prompt for VS 2022.

> powershell
> git clone --recursive https://github.com/blitz3d-ng/blitz3d-ng b3d
> cd b3d
> # download and unpack LLVM archive
> .\make.bat release

Once the build is complete, you can open the _release/ directory and run Blitz3D.exe as expected.

Install Xcode and brew.

$ brew install cmake ninja
$ git clone --recursive https://github.com/blitz3d-ng/blitz3d-ng b3d
$ cd b3d
$ make llvm # or download the pre-built archive
$ make ENV=release

Setup will vary across distributions, but here is an example for Ubuntu.

$ sudo apt-get install -y git ninja-build libxml2-dev zlib1g-dev build-essential autoconf libtool gettext autopoint gperf cmake clang libwxgtk3.0-gtk3-dev libxrandr-dev libxinerama-dev libxcursor-dev uuid-dev libfontconfig1-dev
$ git clone --recursive https://github.com/blitz3d-ng/blitz3d-ng b3d
$ cd b3d
$ make llvm # or download the pre-built archive
$ make ENV=release

Alternatively, you can build everything with docker. See env.sh and the env repo for some example Dockerfiles.

The original Blitz3D help is available in the _release/help directory in HTML form. We've started replacing it with a Markdown based system. You'll need a ruby 3.1.2 install to generate the documentation.

$ make help

• Add misc. quick fixes & improvements (i.e., add "missing" features like BlitzClose.)
• Improve help files & styling.
• Swap out FMOD for something with a more permissive license.
• OpenGL, Vulkan, Metal, and newer Direct3D renderers.
• macOS, Linux, Android, iOS support.

The zlib/libpng License

Copyright (c) 2013 Blitz Research Ltd

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.