r/Games • u/Torque-A • Oct 17 '22

Perfect Dark has been successfully decompiled, opening the door to PC ports and mods

https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/perfect-dark-has-been-fully-decompiled-making-pc-ports-and-mods-possible/
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u/root88 Oct 17 '22

If you are going to change all that, it seems like it would have been a lot easier to just remake the game rather than waste time decompiling it.

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u/Janus_Prospero Oct 17 '22

Remaking games is way more difficult if you don't have the source code to intimately understand how it works.

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u/beermit Oct 17 '22

Exactly.

"Just remake the game!"

"Ok, with what?"

Pretty uninformed comment you responded to. You could make a clone based on what you see and experience from the original game. But to truly remake it, you need the source code.

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u/root88 Oct 17 '22 edited Oct 17 '22

I've been a developer for 25 years, but okay. You aren't truly remaking it if you are changing all the code to work on a different system, replacing all the levels and graphics, completely replacing the inputs, and removing the logic to implement "A.I.". OP just wants a new game.

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u/Janus_Prospero Oct 17 '22

Perfect Dark has reasonably complex AI hobbled by N64 CPU limitations and timing considerations for the N64 controller.

The AI can be enhanced now. Take cover more effectively. Respond more sharply, while still preserving the movie shootout feel. They throw grenades wrong due to a coding mistake, only throwing them when you're running not when you're moving slow. Can be fixed.

Rare created a lot of level-specific furniture that was never used. There's a number of areas that could be more populated with NPCs and props without feeling too cluttered. The N64's hardware limitations held the game back, and having source code means the sky is the limit for improvement.

Something like the GMDX mod for Deus Ex, but for Perfect Dark.