It doesn't work! What now?
The following frequently asked questions (along with answers) will provide you with solutions some to common errors, problems or misunderstandings when you try to compile, use or get otherwise involved with Pingus.
FAQs - Frequently Asked Questions (and Answers)
- What is Pingus?
- How much does it cost?
- Where can I get Pingus?
- Is there a Windows version?
- Where can I find more levels?
- What does it mean for Pingus to be Free Software?
- I tried compiling it, but something didn't work!
- Why is Pingus still not done after being in development for so many years?
- How can I help the development of Pingus?
- Pingus runs too slow. Is there any way to make it faster?
What is Pingus? |
Last update:14 Jan 2007 [Up] |
The Welcome page answers this question.
How much does it cost? |
Last update:14 Jan 2007 [Up] |
We believe that you should answer this question for yourself. If you think this game is worth some amount of money, you can donate to Pingus via Paypal. Otherwise, you can get the game for no monetary cost. Pingus is Free Software and you are not forced to pay any amount of money for this game.
Where can I get Pingus? |
Last update:14 Jan 2007 [Up] |
You can get Pingus from the download section.
Is there a Windows version? |
Last update:14 Jan 2007 [Up] |
An official Windows version of 0.6.0 was never created and probably never will be. There is however some hope that a Windows version will follow for the next release. If you search the mailing list archives you might also be able to find some unofficial build for Windows.
Where can I find more levels? |
Last update:14 Jan 2007 [Up] |
Foreword: Every level that isn't reachable via the GUI in Pingus
is unsupported and might be completely broken. If you want to try
them you are on your own.
Besides the 22 tested and cleaned up levels of the first island that
come with Pingus. There are also around 120 levels that might be
playable and another 100 levels that are incomplete at the moment.
These levels can be found in the data/levels/playable and
data/levels/wip/ (wip = work in progress). The levels in the
playable/ directory might be playable, but there is no
guarantee for that. They haven't been tested. They might be broken
due to engine changes. They might be far too easy or far too hard or
simply incomplete. The wip/ directory contains levels that
are not playable at all. Some of them might even lack entrances
and/or exits. Don't be surprised that you can't play them. Instead,
these levels can be used as framework for levels you want to create
yourself with the level editor. Yes, you heard it right, Pingus
comes with a fully working level editor. It might not be 100% bug
free, but it was used to construct all the levels that you see in the
game, so don't hesitate to try it out and build your own levels.
What does it mean for Pingus to be Free Software? |
Last update:14 Jan 2007 [Up] |
Pingus is licensed under a Free/Libre Software license called GNU GPL. Basically, this means that everybody is free to download, distribute, and modify it. Moreover, anyone can distribute modified works of Pingus, as long as those works are disributed under a GPL compatible license. In other words, Pingus respects your software freedoms.
I tried compiling it, but something didn't work! |
Last update:14 Jan 2007 [Up] |
Technically, this isn't a question. You have to be more specific. A general suggestion is to search the Bug Tracker for similar problems.
Why is Pingus still not done after being in development for so many years?
|
Last update:14 Jan 2007 [Up] |
Because you didn't contribute! Joking asside, most of the developers involved with Pingus are also involved with a heap load of other projects, so it takes time to find time to develop on the game. Help is of course always welcome.
How can I help the development of Pingus? |
Last update:14 Jan 2007 [Up] |
This project needs help in the following areas:
- Writing documentation
- Writing stories
- Programming
- debugging the editor
- allowing for cygwin/mingw compilation
- Play testing
The fasted way to join development is to join the development stuff on IRC at irc.freenode.net in channel #pingus.
Pingus runs too slow. Is there any way to make it faster?
|
Last update:14 Jan 2007 [Up] |
There are multiple ways to tune the running speed of
Pingus.
Firstly, reducing the screen colour
depth (to 16bit, for example) on a slower computer might
give you a boost of around 50% percent, depending on your
hardware. X11 doesn't allow switching color depth at run
time, and the exact instructions for doing this are outside
of the scope of this FAQ. Consult your distribution
documentation for more information.
Secondly, a gain in speed can be achieved by
reducing the display resolution of Pingus. For example, if
you want to run Pingus at 640x480 you can do this with the
following command:
pingus -g 640x480
Thirdly, you can run Pingus in a fast-mode. This
mode disables all costly particle effects and the
background. Thus, Pingus will look less pretty, but will
probably be a good amount faster. Fast-mode can be turned on
with:
pingus --fast-mode
Remember, the
fast-mode has lots of room for improvement. If it
doesn't help you make Pingus run fast enough, not all is
lost.
If that is not enough, you might also want to play
with the min-frame-skip and max-frame-skip
options. Both should result in a more uniform frame-rate.
This can make the game jerky, but playability can be
improved nonetheless.
Finally, the 'F11' key can help you a great deal in
your optimisation process by showing the frame-rate counter.