hi, scott !
just in case you don't know it yet:
here's an info LUCARDA gave me some time ago about compiling on windows, that worked great for me (= total compiling noob):
====================================================================
First follow instructions to set up Msys2. You should install the 64bit installer (this one will let you build 32 and 64 bit apps).
https://github.com/msys2/msys2/wiki/MSYS2-installation
Once the base Msys2 has been installed add with -pacman the packages described here:
https://github.com/pure-data/pure-data/blob/e3009daf1acfa1c46adc67416b89019d...
====================================================================
best
oliver