README.md: add a section about downloading and running DP

[xonotic/darkplaces.git] / README.md

diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 6c29a5c2d77a7e1b6bd243be0772533c7946fd03..41a7b7e63a945ad1fa72031552ff9fd024727a72 100644 (file)
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -15,14 +15,31 @@ Developed by LadyHavoc. See [CREDITS](CREDITS.md) for a list of contributors.
 ### [Matrix](https://matrix.org/docs/guides/introduction)
 [![#darkplaces:matrix.org](https://img.shields.io/matrix/darkplaces:matrix.org?color=660000&label=%23darkplaces%3Amatrix.org)](https://matrix.to/#/#darkplaces:matrix.org)
 
+## Downloading and running
+
+Linux x86_64 builds are available in [GitHub CI](https://github.com/DarkPlacesEngine/darkplaces/actions?query=branch%3Amaster) artifacts.  
+
+More complete builds are available in [xonotic.org](https://beta.xonotic.org/autobuild/) engine zips.  
+These support Windows, Linux and macOS, and include the current libraries needed for all features.
+
+DarkPlaces supports many Quake-based games and you can select which it will run by renaming the executable so it's prefixed with the game's name, for example `rogue-sdl.exe`, or by passing a cmdline argument such as `-rogue`.  The supported list and related details are defined in [com_game.c](https://github.com/DarkPlacesEngine/darkplaces/blob/master/com_game.c).
+
 ## Build instructions (WIP)
 
-You will need the following packages regardless of platform:
-* SDL2
-* libjpeg
-* libpng
-* libvorbis
-* libogg
+These instructions are adequate for Quake, but for Xonotic please refer to [its wiki](https://gitlab.com/xonotic/xonotic/-/wikis/Compiling).
+
+### Required packages
+
+The minimum SDL version is 2.0.18 for Linux and 2.24.0 for Windows.  
+The following package names are for Debian, see below for Windows and Mac.
+
+##### Client
+Build (mandatory): `build-essential` `libjpeg-dev` `libsdl2-dev`  
+Runtime (optional): `libcurl` `libpng` `libfreetype6` `libvorbisfile`  
+
+##### Dedicated Server
+Build (mandatory): `build-essential` `libjpeg-dev` `zlib1g-dev`  
+Runtime (optional): `libcurl` `libpng`  
 
 ### Windows (MSYS2):
 
@@ -52,9 +69,13 @@ From a terminal, in the engine's root directory, input `make`. On macOS, input `
 
 Input `make help` for options.
 
+If you get errors (that don't seem to be about missing dependencies) try `make clean` before compiling, especially if you updated your system since the last time you compiled.
+
+
 ### Windows (Visual Studio)
 
-Instructions coming soon.
+May work but not recommended due to lack of support for C standards, and lack of maintenance.
+Instructions TODO.
 
 ## Contributing