Building on Windows Subsystem for Linux

Step-by-step guide to building OpenRCT2 on WSL

This guide covers building OpenRCT2 from source using Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL). This is a great alternative to building natively on Windows, as it provides a Linux environment with easier dependency management.

Prerequisites

Installing WSL

1. Enable WSL

   Open PowerShell as Administrator and run:

   wsl --install
   

   This installs WSL 2 with Ubuntu by default.

2. Restart your computer

   After installation completes, restart Windows.

3. Set up Ubuntu

   Launch “Ubuntu” from the Start Menu and complete the initial setup (username and password).

4. Update packages

   sudo apt update
   sudo apt upgrade -y
   

Alternative: Installing a specific distribution

To use a different Linux distribution:

# List available distributions
wsl --list --online

# Install a specific distribution
wsl --install -d Ubuntu-22.04

Installing Build Dependencies

Once inside your WSL Ubuntu environment:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y \
  git cmake ninja-build \
  g++ pkg-config \
  libsdl2-dev \
  libzip-dev libpng-dev \
  libssl-dev libcurl4-openssl-dev \
  libfreetype6-dev libfontconfig1-dev \
  libicu-dev libzstd-dev \
  zlib1g-dev

# Optional dependencies
sudo apt install -y \
  libflac-dev libvorbis-dev libogg-dev \
  mesa-common-dev libgl1-mesa-dev \
  ccache

These are the same dependencies as building on native Linux. See the Linux build guide for distribution-specific package names.

Building OpenRCT2

1. Clone the repository

   git clone https://github.com/OpenRCT2/OpenRCT2.git
   cd OpenRCT2
   

   You can clone the repository on the Windows filesystem (/mnt/c/Users/...) and build from WSL, but performance will be better if you clone directly in WSL’s filesystem (~/).

2. Create a build directory

   mkdir build
   cd build
   
3. Configure the build

   cmake .. -G Ninja -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
   
4. Compile

   ninja
   

   The build will generate the openrct2 GUI binary and openrct2-cli headless server.

Running OpenRCT2 from WSL

Option 1: Using WSLg (Recommended for WSL 2)

WSL 2 includes WSLg, which provides GPU acceleration and native GUI support:

./openrct2

OpenRCT2 will launch with a graphical window on your Windows desktop.

WSLg is available in Windows 11 and Windows 10 (build 19044+). It provides the best experience for running GUI applications from WSL.

Option 2: Using X Server (WSL 1 or older WSL 2)

If WSLg is not available, install an X server on Windows:

1. Install VcXsrv or X410

   • VcXsrv: Download
   • X410: Microsoft Store
2. Launch X Server

   For VcXsrv:

   • Run XLaunch
   • Select “Multiple windows”
   • Display number: 0
   • Start “No Client”
   • Check “Disable access control”
3. Configure display in WSL

   # For WSL 2
   export DISPLAY=$(cat /etc/resolv.conf | grep nameserver | awk '{print $2}'):0
   
   # For WSL 1
   export DISPLAY=:0
   

   Add to ~/.bashrc to make permanent:

   echo 'export DISPLAY=$(cat /etc/resolv.conf | grep nameserver | awk '\'{print $2}'\'):0' >> ~/.bashrc
   
4. Run OpenRCT2

   ./openrct2
   

Option 3: Headless Server Only

For running a multiplayer server without GUI:

./openrct2-cli host /path/to/save.sv6

This doesn’t require any graphical setup.

Accessing Windows Files

Windows drives are mounted in WSL at /mnt/:

# Access C: drive
cd /mnt/c/Users/YourUsername/Documents

# Copy RCT2 files from Windows
cp -r /mnt/c/Program\ Files\ \(x86\)/Atari/RollerCoaster\ Tycoon\ 2/ ~/rct2/

While you can access Windows files from WSL, building and running OpenRCT2 entirely within the WSL filesystem (~/) provides better performance.

Accessing WSL Files from Windows

You can access WSL files from Windows Explorer:

# Open current directory in Windows Explorer
explorer.exe .

Or navigate to \\wsl$\Ubuntu\home\yourusername\ in Windows Explorer.

Build Options

Portable Build

cmake .. -G Ninja \
  -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release \
  -DPORTABLE=ON

Headless Server Build

cmake .. -G Ninja \
  -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release \
  -DDISABLE_GUI=ON

Debug Build with Tests

cmake .. -G Ninja \
  -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug \
  -DWITH_TESTS=ON

ninja

# Run tests
ctest --output-on-failure

Performance Optimization

Using CCache

Install CCache for faster rebuilds:

sudo apt install ccache

CMake will automatically detect and use it.

Parallel Builds

Ninja automatically uses all CPU cores. To limit:

ninja -j4  # Use 4 cores

File System Performance

For best performance, keep your source code and build artifacts in the WSL filesystem (~/...), not on the Windows filesystem (/mnt/c/...).

File I/O is significantly faster on WSL’s native ext4 filesystem than on NTFS through the /mnt mount.

Troubleshooting

Cannot connect to display

If OpenRCT2 won’t launch graphically:

# Check DISPLAY is set
echo $DISPLAY

# Test X server connection
sudo apt install x11-apps
xclock

If xclock doesn’t work, your X server isn’t configured correctly.

WSLg not available

Check your Windows version:

winver

WSLg requires:

• Windows 11, or
• Windows 10 build 19044 or later

Update Windows if needed, or use an X server (Option 2 above).

Missing dependencies

If CMake reports missing packages:

# Verify package is installed
dpkg -l | grep libsdl2-dev

# Reinstall if needed
sudo apt install --reinstall libsdl2-dev

GCC version too old

GCC 12+ is required. Ubuntu 22.04 includes GCC 11 by default.

Install GCC 12:

sudo apt install gcc-12 g++-12
export CC=gcc-12
export CXX=g++-12

Or use Clang:

sudo apt install clang
export CC=clang
export CXX=clang++

OpenGL/Mesa errors

If you encounter OpenGL issues with WSLg:

# Disable OpenGL
cmake .. -G Ninja \
  -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release \
  -DDISABLE_OPENGL=ON

Permission denied on /mnt/c

If you get permission errors accessing Windows files:

# Check mount options
mount | grep /mnt/c

# Copy to WSL filesystem instead
cp -r /mnt/c/path/to/source ~/
cd ~/source

Comparing WSL vs Native Windows

Feature	WSL	Native Windows
Dependency management	Easy (apt)	Complex (vcpkg)
Build speed	Fast	Slower
Setup complexity	Simple	Moderate
Integration with Windows	Good	Native
Debugging tools	GDB	Visual Studio
File performance	Fast (WSL fs)	Fast

WSL Tips

Limiting WSL memory usage

Create or edit %USERPROFILE%\.wslconfig on Windows:

[wsl2]
memory=8GB
processors=4

Shutting down WSL

From Windows PowerShell:

# Shutdown WSL
wsl --shutdown

# List running distributions
wsl --list --running

Updating WSL

wsl --update

Next Steps

• Building on Linux - Full Linux build documentation
• Building on Windows - Native Windows build method
• Contributing - Guidelines for contributing code