Hi, I’ve finished making a game in Panda3d, using python. How do I turn the game into a neat .exe-file instead of a folder of .py-files?
Also, will the game be able to run on a machine that hasn’t got python and panda installed?
Hmm… Well, I’d use the McMillan installer to turn the main python file into an exe, then run all the other python files through squeeze so people can’t hack your game, and pack the Panda libraries with them. Not sure if this works, never tried it, but given the way Panda functions, I say it works OK. The only problem is the prc file.
So turning a panda game into an .exe is not a built-in part of the program?
Isn’t there some easier way?
In theory, any tool that can package python programs should be able to pacakge panda programs. I’m guessing there are a lot of tools out there.
We have a tool we use here, it was used to package airblade. (See “airblade-1.0.2.exe” in the downloads section of the website). It makes a nice installer, but it has a few flaws. First, it’s part of the panda build system. Which means you need to have a C compiler to be able to use it. Second, it’s not quite as optimized as it could be. Third, it doesn’t hide your python code. Once installed, you code will be there plain to see.
In time, we’ll make it easier. But for now, you’ll have to download a third-party tool.
Consider py2exe. This is the tool that Toontown uses.
Of course, there’s a bit more to it to get a package as nice and tight as Toontown’s is, and one day something like that will be a part of the Panda distribution, but for now you’ll have to do the setup work yourself.
David