millimeters-of-aluminum/README.md

# Project Millimeters of Aluminum

A space simulation game built on a custom fork of the Godot Engine (4.x) with 64-bit double-precision physics enabled.

## 📋 Prerequisites

Before compiling the engine, ensure you have the following installed on your system.

### 1. Python & SCons
The Godot build system relies on SCons, which is written in Python.
* **Install Python (3.6+):** [Download Here](https://www.python.org/downloads/)
    * *Windows Users:* Ensure "Add Python to PATH" is checked during installation. [Check this stackoverflow answer](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/57421669/question-about-pip-using-python-from-windows-store).

* **Install SCons:** Open your terminal/command prompt and run:
    ```bash
    pip install scons
    ```

### 2. C++ Compiler
Godot requires a C++ compiler to build from source.

* **Windows:**
    * Install **Visual Studio Community** (2019 or later).
    * During installation, select the **"Desktop development with C++"** workload.
* **Linux:**
    * Install GCC or Clang.
    * *Debian/Ubuntu:* `sudo apt-get install build-essential pkg-config libx11-dev libxcursor-dev libxinerama-dev libgl1-mesa-dev libglu-dev libasound2-dev libpulse-dev libudev-dev libxi-dev libxrandr-dev`
* **macOS:**
    * Install **Xcode** from the App Store.
    * Run `xcode-select --install` in the terminal.

---

## 🛠️ Setup & Compilation

This project uses a custom engine build to support solar-system scale coordinates (Double Precision). You **cannot** use the standard Steam or website version of Godot to open this project.

### 1. Clone the Repository
Clone the repository with the `--recursive` flag to automatically pull the engine source code submodule.

```bash
git clone --recursive [https://codeberg.org/YOUR_USERNAME/ProjectMillimetersOfAluminum.git](https://codeberg.org/YOUR_USERNAME/ProjectMillimetersOfAluminum.git)
cd ProjectMillimetersOfAluminum
```

_If you have already cloned without recursive, run:_

```
git submodule update --init --recursive
```

### 2. Configure Engine Ignore (Optional but Recommended)
To prevent your Editor from trying to import the thousands of raw assets inside the engine source folder:
1. Navigate to `godot_engine/`.
2. Create a new empty file named `.gdignore`.
3. Compile the Engine

Run the build command for your platform from the godot_engine/ directory.

**Windows:**
```Bash
cd godot_engine
scons platform=windows target=editor precision=double arch=x86_64
```

**Linux:**
```Bash
cd godot_engine
scons platform=linuxbsd target=editor precision=double arch=x86_64 
```

**macOS:**
```Bash
cd godot_engine
scons platform=macos target=editor precision=double arch=x86_64 
```
_Note: (-j6 flag tells the compiler to use 6 CPU cores. Adjust this number based on your hardware to speed up compilation. Not using the flag will use all available cores)_

---

## 🚀 Running the Project

Once compilation is complete (usually 10-30 minutes), the executable will be located in godot_engine/bin/.

Do not open the project with standard Godot.

Navigate to `godot_engine/bin/`.

Run the binary ending in `.double.x86_64` (e.g., `godot.windows.editor.double.x86_64.exe`).

Import and open the `project.godot` file located in the root `ProjectMillimetersOfAluminum` folder.

### Troubleshooting
"No valid compilers found" (Windows): Ensure you installed the C++ Desktop Development workload in the Visual Studio Installer. Just the editor is not enough.

Jittering Objects: If objects jitter at large distances, ensure you are running the double precision binary and not a standard build.