The legacy compiler and SDK requirements for native plugin work.

Build environment

KenshiLib plugin development has an unusual legacy toolchain. Read the upstream setup material before installing components or changing system-wide development settings.

Required toolchain

• Visual Studio 2019 or newer as the working IDE.
• Visual C++ 2010 x64 compiler tools for binary compatibility.
• DirectX SDK from June 2010 when required by the project.
• Boost 1.60.0 or the dependency package linked by the examples repository.
• A Release build configuration; Debug builds are documented as broken.

Practical workflow

1. Clone or download the official KenshiLib examples and their documented dependencies.
2. Verify the compiler and SDK environment before modifying an example.
3. Build Hello World in Release mode.
4. Install the resulting plugin using the example's instructions.
5. Confirm loading in the RE_Kenshi debug log.

Compiling RE_Kenshi itself

The core project has additional dependencies, submodules, and legacy ATL/MFC requirements. Plugin authors normally do not need to compile the core or KenshiLib from source.

Treat archived compilers and SDKs as legacy software: obtain them from sources you trust and keep the build environment isolated where practical.