wget https://aur.archlinux.org/cgit/aur.git/snapshot/castle-engine-git.tar.gz
tar xzvf castle-engine-git.tar.gz
cd castle-engine-git/
makepkg -sriDownload
Table of Contents
1. Download the engine for your system
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Note
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To build applications using the engine you also need to install a compiler. The Windows and Linux downloads already contain the latest stable version of FPC, so you can build and run projects out-of-the-box. For more information and options, see the manual about installation. |
2. Alternative download and installation options
2.1. GitHub releases with more variants (like downloads not bundled with FPC)
More downloads are available on https://github.com/castle-engine/castle-engine/releases/snapshot . They contain:
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Alternative "non-bundled" versions for some platforms (without the
-bundlein zip name). Use them if you want to install the Pascal compiler (like FPC or Delphi) yourself. Remember to point CGE to your compiler using the "Preferences" editor window. -
For Windows, alternative zip versions instead of self-installing exe.
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Win32 platform, which we still support but discourage. The world has largely moved to 64-bit (for Windows and other OSes) so we recommend using Win64.
2.2. Itch.io
Head over to Castle Game Engine on itch.io to download the engine from Itch.io.
For extra comfort, use itch.io app. It’s very nice and allows to download + install the engine, or later update, with really 1 click.
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Note
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This installs the latest released engine version, like 7.0-alpha.3. Not a snapshot.
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2.3. Arch Linux User Repository
Arch Linux users can install Castle Game Engine from AUR (Arch User Repository).
The package is available on https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/castle-engine-git/ . Follow the standard AUR installation process:
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Do it manually following AUR docs, like
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Or use a helper like yay or paru. Once you have it working, execute
yay -S castle-engine-gitorparu -S castle-engine-giton the command-line.
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Note
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This installs the latest engine version from the GitHub repository (master branch). Bleeding edge! (But in practice, often stable to be used even for production work.) |
3. System Requirements
3.1. Linux (including Raspberry Pi)
Linux binaries for desktops (x86_64 CPU) and 64-bit Raspberry Pi (Aarch64 CPU) require GLIBC >= 2.34. This should be OK on any modern Linux distribution. If you have Debian 11 (oldstable, bullseye) you have to upgrade to at least Debian 12 (stable, bookworm).
If you have to use an older system, you can still use CGE by compiling it from sources to link to your current GLIBC. We plan to distribute the engine also as snap package in the future, which will sidestep this limitation.
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Note
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This limitation applies to the provided engine binaries only. For your own applications, they will require the same GLIBC as the system on which they have been built, as this is the standard behavior of Unix linker. Consider using CI/CD (like GitHub Actions or GitLab CI/CD or Jenkins) to build your applications on a system version independent of your dev machine. |
Linux binaries for 32-bit Raspberry Pi (Arm CPU) work fine with older GLIBC, including the one in Debian’s bullseye. This is done deliberately to support older Raspberry Pi 4 32-bit installations.
3.2. General
In general our engine is supported only on systems that have security support from their vendors.
This in particular applies to Windows (as of 2024, this implies we support only Windows >= 10). No matter how much you like your Windows XP, it’s time to move on :), either to a newer Windows or to a different system, like Linux.
Notes and explanation:
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Older OS versions may work by accident, but you have to understand that we do not actively test the engine on them.
You’re still welcome to report a bug, even if you encounter it on an unsupported system. As long as you specify your OS version and understand that the answer may be "it looks like this crash is caused by an outdated system / GPU drivers, please upgrade". There are many options to upgrade (including free and light-weight options like Linux) and you will surely find some solution even for an older hardware.
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Independently of Castle Game Engine, we do recommend you upgrade your system for security reasons. If you do anything that consumes untrusted input (like connecting to the Internet or using Bluetooth), using a system with up-to-date security is critical nowadays. There are real, known, exploitable security vulnerabilities in older systems.
Note that we’re not alone in this approach. Google Chrome, Firefox, Steam, GPU drivers…. a lot of the software is not supported on older systems. Which means that if you use an old system, you’re not only missing out on system updates, you also miss on updates to web browsers, drivers and other software. This implies eve more security risks.
To improve this documentation just edit this page and create a pull request to cge-www repository.
