This is a hack that allows you to run the old native Linux version of SC3U, released by Loki Software in 2000, on your current Linux distribution.
Make sure you have a 32-bit capable C compiler.
You are most likely running a Linux distribution on a shiny 64 bits CPU, but the binaries you are trying to run are build for the classic 32 bits PC architecture. In the Debian/Ubuntu world, you will need to install the gcc-multilib package.
You will also need to install patchelf and a really old version of libstdc++.
Build the code:
$ make
Go to the game directory and make use of patchelf's blackmagic:
$ patchelf --replace-needed libSDL-1.1.so.0 libSDL-1.2.so.0 sc3u.dynamic
$ patchelf --replace-needed libSDL-1.1.so.0 libSDL-1.2.so.0 sc3bat.dynamic
$ patchelf --add-needed libstdc++-libc6.2-2.so.3 ./sc3u.dynamic
$ patchelf --add-needed libstdc++-libc6.2-2.so.3 ./sc3bat.dynamic
You can now run the game:
$ LD_PRELOAD=/path/to/sc3u-nptl.so ./sc3u.dynamic
You can also run the Building Architect Plus tool:
$ LD_PRELOAD=/path/to/sc3u-nptl.so ./sc3bat.dynamic
This isn't heavily tested. But it worked for a few minutes on my computer and I was able to complete the "Tutorial on Getting Started" scenario.