Free Hero Mesh is a puzzle game engine for grid-based puzzle games with
levels, strictly based on changing game state due to the sequence of
inputs, e.g. Sokoban and Hero Hearts. You can define your own classes of
objects using the Free Hero Mesh programming language.
It is also designed to be compatible with EKS Hero Mesh puzzle sets, which
must be converted to Free Hero Mesh using the provided "mbtofhm" program.
However, Free Hero Mesh adds a lot of new features and bug fixes compared
with EKS Hero Mesh, many of which have already been implemented, and many
of which have not been implemented yet.
It is available in a Fossil repository; there are two sources:
* Main: http://zzo38computer.org/fossil/heromesh.ui
* Mirror: http://chiselapp.com/user/zzo38/repository/freeheromesh
(The main source is more often updated. The changes to the main copy will
occasionally be pushed to the mirror. Contributions are not accepted at
the mirror directly; they must be made in the main repository first.)
=== Installation ===
Currently, there isn't much of this; contributions will be accepted.
There is a shell script for compiling it available, though.
Requirements:
* Linux (it should hopefully work on other POSIX systems, although this is
untested; it might use some Linux-specific functions and/or GNU-specific
functions; I may be willing to accept contributions if this can be fixed).
* SQLite version 3 (a recent version). Add a symlink to the sqlite3.o file
into the same directory with the source files (or you can compile it from
source with the desired options; the default options will do, although it
is safe to omit the deprecated functions and to set SQLITE_DQS=0).
* SDL1.x (the compatibility layers have not been tested with this
software; if you have tested it please report it, and you may contribute
patches to fix it).
* A C compiler, with GNU extensions (tested with GCC; it has not been
tested with Clang, but I expect it to work; report it if it doesn't work).
* If you wish to alter some of the files, Node.js or a compatible
JavaScript runtime is required for compiling these files (you do not need
this if you do not wish to modify Free Hero Mesh).
* The smallxrm is required. It is included with this package; you must
compile smallxrm.c as smallxrm.o (one way is "bash smallxrm.c", or you
can use gcc or clang with the options you want).
* Colour display, with resolution at least 640x480 (preferably more), and
at least 256 colours.
* Keyboard and mouse, with three mouse buttons (the mouse wheel is not
needed and is not used, but it is OK if you have it).
The distributor should edit man6/heromesh.str in order to correctly
specify the directory containing the documentation files. (This does not
affect the working of Free Hero Mesh itself; it only affects the man page.)
Before using it, you must create a file called .heromeshrc in your home
directory; you may use default.heromeshrc to start with, and then customize
it as you wish.
If compiled with "./compile p" then it is installed as "bin/heromesh"
(relative to the current directory, which should be the directory where
the source files are) and installs "bin/current.heromeshrc" as well (if it
does not already exist; it won't overwrite an existing file). In this case,
it can be used as a "portable app" mode.
There are optional runtime features that may require other programs in
order to use them, but that you can ignore if you do not use them. Such
optional features include:
* If you want to import/export pictures, you will need an implementation
of farbfeld. ImageMagick 7 includes an implementation of farbfeld, so if
you have that, then that will work. There are also other implementations,
such as the original "farbfeld" package, and Farbfeld Utilities.
* If you want to use the clipboard functions, you will need xclip or some
other program to interact the clipboard with stdin/stdout.
(The X window system is not necessarily required; you can use any system
that can be used with SDL.)
=== Documentation ===
Free Hero Mesh includes the following documentation files (plain text):
* ARCHITECTURE: Describes the source code of Free Hero Mesh. This is only
relevant if you wish to modify Free Hero Mesh, or if you want to look up
something in the code and want to know what file to look at.
* README: This file. Describes how to find the Fossil repository, the
installation, documentation, discussion/community.
* bindings.doc: Describes the configuration of key/mouse bindings.
* class.doc: This document describes the Free Hero Mesh programming
language. Read this if you want to define your own classes of objects.
* codepage.doc: Describes the use of code pages and the file format of the
codepage.har file.
* commandline.doc: Describes the command-line arguments. The man page
also describes the command-line arguments, although the commandline.doc
file has a more elaborate description.
* config.doc: Describes the configuration options for Free Hero Mesh.
* export.doc: The level export format is described in this file; it can
be used for importing as well as exporting.
* man6/heromesh.6: Man page; includes information about command-line
arguments, environment variables, and link to further documentation.
(You should install this in your man pages directory.)
* man6/heromesh.str: Must be installed in the same directory as the
man6/heromesh.6 file. The distributor should change this to point to
the correct directories where the files are stored; these directories
will be mentioned in the man page
* misc/mbform.doc: Describes the .mb file format for Hero Mesh. (Not
directly relevant to Free Hero Mesh. It contains information that was
used for writing the converter, and may be of interest to some readers
for other purposes, but is neither used nor does it contain anything
that is needed for users or developers of Free Hero Mesh.)
* picedit.doc: Describes the picture editor.
* puzzleset.doc: Describes what makes up a puzzle set.
* sql.doc: This file lists and documents each of the SQL functions and SQL
tables that are available. This is not relevant to programming the rules
of the game; it is used for user customization, and for performing batch
operations when editing, and for producing reports.
=== Other files ===
Free Hero Mesh also includes the following other files, which are not the
source code files, compilation files, or documentation files:
* codepage.har: Contains fonts for code pages. Code page 437 is included
inside of the executable file and does not need this file; this file is
only needed for code pages other than 437.
* default.heromeshrc: An example configuration file which you can customize
for your own use. You should at least set the proper paths to the files.
* mbtofhm.c: Converter from Everett Kaser's MESH engine into Free Hero
Mesh. Give the base name of the output files as the command-line argument,
and receives the .mb file from stdin.
* misc/har.c: A small C program for dealing with Hamster archives. This is
not properly a part of Free Hero Mesh (and is not needed in order to use
or compile Free Hero Mesh), but is included since it is likely to be useful
for some users (e.g. to copy pictures/sounds between puzzle sets).
* misc/sokoban.tar.gz: Example puzzle set.
(The files in the misc/ directory are not part of Free Hero Mesh nor are
they needed by Free Hero Mesh, but are provided for convenience. They can
safely be ignored or deleted if you are not using them.)
=== Community/discussion ===
For discussion of Free Hero Mesh, use the NNTP server. This is a newsgroup
in the zzo38computer.org NNTP server, named:
un2.org.zzo38computer.soft.freeheromesh
You may use it for:
* Announcements about Free Hero Mesh
* Questions about the use of Free Hero Mesh
* Questions about the implementation of Free Hero Mesh
* If you made up your own puzzle sets, to link to them
* To comment on other puzzle sets
* Bug reports
* Feature requests
* Patches
* Contributions to documentation, including this file
* Anything else related to Free Hero Mesh, that I may have missed
You may also post bug reports and feature requests using the ticketing
system on the Fossil repository.
There is also the IRC channel #freeheromesh on Libera. Logs of this IRC
are available at:
https://logs.esolangs.org/libera-freeheromesh/
=== License ===
Free Hero Mesh is public domain. See the LICENSE file for details.
=== Frequently asked questions ===
(If you have any more questions, please ask.)
** Is it any good?
I suppose it is a matter of opinion, isn't it?
** It says "FATAL: Failed to open xclass file (No such file or directory)"
when trying to load the puzzle set. How to load it correctly?
You must use the base name. For example, if the puzzle set files are
named "sokoban.xclass", "sokoban.class", "sokoban.level", and
"sokoban.solution", then you must type "heromesh sokoban" to load it.
(This assumes that the file is in the current directory. If it isn't,
then you must also specify the directory name, in addition to the puzzle
set base name.)
** How to access the NNTP?
You can use a NNTP client program, often called a "newsreader" program.
Many email programs can also do NNTP, including Mozilla Thunderbird.
There are also specialized NNTP programs, including Pan and bystand.
(Some are text, some are binary, and some are hybrid; you will need one
that supports text or hybrid.)
** Is there documentation with tutorial or introduction?
I like the kind of documentation that the existing one is, although I
am aware that some people prefer a different style. Someone who is better
at writing that different style should do so and contribute please.