I got my retro-gaming frontend ported to Vista using the ClanLib API. The effort was daunting, but worth it. The challenges to overcome were the following:

  • compiling ClanLib for Windows
    • learning to use the free version of MS Visual Studio 2008 Express for C/C++
    • obtaining and using the correct DirectX SDK that is compatible with ClanLib
  • integrating for Windows
    • adding a CreateProcess() to play background media
    • Windows XBOX 360 controller returns different values than the Linux xpad driver
    • extending myarcade.xml to include WIN32 and LINUX attributes

An unexpected, positive outcome of the WIN32 static binary is that it can also run under WINE fully accelerated — wow!! A negative is Sony PS3 controllers are not compatible under Windows, only Linux.

The results can be tested by downloading this re-distributable binary (with some original VIC20 titles). The code can be inspected from this source archive, which includes the project files for Linux (Code::Blocks) and Windows (VS) as well as the debug and static builds of ClanLib libraries and headers.