Links and instructions can be found at: https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/downloads/
Be sure to install MSVC v142 - VS2019 c++ x86/x64 build tools
as part of the installation.
Links and instructions can be found at: https://git-scm.com
The recommended way to build MacroQuest is from a source code checkout using Git. There are many how to guides for installing and setting up git. Here is one of them
Clone (create a local copy) the repository. This will create the subfolder macroquest
that containes a copy of the source code.
git clone https://github.com/macroquest/macroquest.git
Initialize the submodules. Move (cd) to the newly created macroquest
folder before executing this command. If you have run this step before, you can skip it.
git submodule init
Update the submodules to the newest versions. Ensure you are in the newly created macroquest
folder before executing this command.
git submodule update
If this is your first time downloading the source code, proceed to Build Steps.
MacroQuest is updated often, especially after a patch. Make sure before you build that you have the latest source code for MacroQuest and all of its dependencies.
If you already have the source, it is a good idea to make sure that you pull all the latest changes.
git pull --rebase
Update Submodules. This ensures that dependencies have the latest code.
git submodule update
At this point, the source should be ready to compile. Proceed to Build Steps.
- Open the
MacroQuest.sln
file in thesrc
directory. Double clicking this file should open Visual Studio. If prompted to upgrade, click Cancel. - Make sure your eqlib branch is on
live
ortest
- Select the
Release
and(x64)
configuration from the drop-down menu near the top of the window. - Since the project moved to 64-bit, ensure all project configurations are set to
(x64)
in the Solution Macroquest Property Pages. From the Visual Studio main menu, select Build then Configuration Manager then ensure the Platform column for each project is set to(x64)
. - Select
Build -> Build Solution
from the menu.
The built files will be placed in build/bin/Release
. To start MacroQuest, run MacroQuest.exe
. This will launch the application to the tray, and install MacroQuest into any running EverQuest processes.
- Open the
MacroQuest.sln
file in thesrc
directory. Double clicking this file should open Visual Studio. If prompted to upgrade, click Cancel. - Make sure your eqlib branch is on
emu
- Select the
Release
andWin32
configuration from the drop-down menu near the top of the window. - Select
Build -> Build Solution
from the menu.
The built files will be placed in build/bin/Release
. To start MacroQuest, run MacroQuest.exe
. This will launch the application to the tray, and install MacroQuest into any running EverQuest processes.
By default MacroQuest does not separate build outputs. Regardless whether you are building for Live or Test or Emu, all release outputs go to build/bin/release
. However, macroquest does
provide an option to separate these out further by setting the environment variable MQ_BUILD_SEPARATE to 1. When this environment variable is set to 1, the Client Target is added to your build
path. For example, when building for Live your output path would be build/Live/bin/release
while when building for Emu your output path would be build/Emu/bin/release
. This allows you to
share the same macroquest directory and just swap eqlib when you want to change client builds.
Note: If you have any custom plugins you want to build, put the sources for them in the plugins
folder, for example: plugins/MQ2Foo/MQ2Foo.cpp
Do not put them in src/plugins
, this path is reserved for the MacroQuest developers.
To add any personal plugins to the solution:
- Right-click the solution in the Solution Explorer and click
Add -> Add Existing Project...
- Select your
.vcxproj
file - Repeat as necessary
If you are converting plugins over from Legacy MacroQuest (e.g. MQ2), it is recommended that you re-run the plugin generator first, and then copy your source files into the generated project.
For example:
cd plugins
mkplugin MQ2Foo
This will generate a MQ2Foo.vcxproj
, MQ2Foo.cpp
and several other files in a MQ2Foo folder. You can now add this project to the solution and add/replace the sources with your own.
Folder Name | Purpose |
---|---|
build | Build artifacts. This is where you can find the output when you compile MacroQuest and your plugins. |
contrib | Third-Party source code. |
data | Additional non-source code files used by MacroQuest. |
docs | Documentation |
extras | Optional files that are not required, but may be useful. This includes sources for plugins that are no longer maintained. |
include | Public header files that are used for building MacroQuest and plugins. |
plugins | This folder is reserved for you to add your own personal plugins. |
src | The source code for the MacroQuest executable and its core plugins. |
tools | Source code and additional tools that are used for MacroQuest development, but not part of the main project. |
plugins/mkplugin.exe
Generates a new plugin from the template. Use this when creating a new plugin, or when converting an existing plugin from legacy MacroQuest.
src/MacroQuest.sln
The main MacroQuest solution file. Use this to build the project.