I'm not an expert of autotools, so this package does not provide any configure script. If someone volunteers to write one, I'll be happy.

There is just a makefile, which assumes you already have installed a working gcc and some libraries, namely:

  libjpeg	[6b-14]
  libpng	[1.2.35-1]
  zlib		[1:1.2.3.3.dfsg-13]
  libsdl	[1.2.13-4+b1]
  libsdl-mixer	[1.2.6-1.1+b2]
  libfreetype 	[2.3.7-2]
* libsamplerate	[0.1.7-3]
  (plus libmikmod and Ogg/Vorbis shared libs)

(the numbers in brackets are just the versions with which sfrotz runs on one of my Linux boxes - it certainly will run with other versions, but I cannot guarantee anything)

NOTE: the * before libsamplerate means it's optional (see below for installation option). It's used to resample AIFF sounds that aren't sampled at the same frequency as the main audio frequency with which SDL is inited (typically 44100 Hz). SDL_mixer only handles frequencies that are an exact submultiple of that, so if you have e.g. an effect sampled at 22222 Hz, without libsamplerate it will sound a bit funny.

NOTE2: libmikmod and Ogg/Vorbis libs are only needed in binary (shared libs), as they are dynamically loaded by SDL_mixer. In their absence, you'll be able to compile and run the program, but you won't hear MOD/OGG music.

As concerns the other libraries, you'll need BOTH the binaries AND the C headers of them (-dev packages, in Debian lingo). Also, sfrotz has only been tested - up to now - on Debian 5 (Lenny) 32 bits and Debian 6 (squeeze, beta1) 64 bits.

INSTALLATION & USAGE

After ensuring that you have gcc (3+) and gnu make, and having installed all the necessary libraries (see above), unpack the tar.gz into some temporary directory, cd there and enter

$ make

or

$ make withoutsamplerate

in case you don't have, or don't want to use, libsamplerate.
If all goes well, you should have an executable named 'sfrotz' in the same directory. You can then move or copy it somewhere else (i.e. into some directory on your 'path', or into /usr/bin if you have the rights). Remember that it's a command-line application, so you'll have to type something like

$ sfrotz [options] mygame.z5

or similar, to execute it (but if you have been able to reach this point, any further explanation is likely to be superfluous...) Issuing the sfrotz command without arguments should print a short list of available options; other options are found in the manual (sfrotzmanual.html).

Note that sfrotz reads some setup parameters from a file, which by default is .sfrotzrc in the current directory (may be changed by the -I option). Remember that this file (an example of which is included in the package) is normally not visible through your graphic interface (KDE or Gnome) - you shold tick the appropriate option (e.g. 'view hidden files' in Konqueror) to be able to edit it.

Have fun!