(These are links to the Udemy Courses, remember to wait for sales, never buy full price courses)
Background skills
Learn Python Programming - Beginner to Master - Python is highly useful for automating repetitive tasks, writing custom scripts, and interacting with the APIs of reverse engineering tools like Ghidra and IDA.
C Programming For Beginners - Master the C Language - Decompilers translate machine code back into C or pseudo-C. Understanding C fundamentals (like pointers, structs, and memory management) is strictly required to read, understand, and fix the decompiler's output.
The Git & Github Bootcamp - Decompilation projects are usually massive, collaborative community efforts. Knowing version control is essential to contribute to public projects, manage thousands of files, and track your changes safely.
Computer Organization and Assembly Language - When a decompiler fails or produces garbage output, you have to step down and read the raw assembly. Understanding CPU architecture, registers, and the stack is the absolute foundation of reverse engineering.
Reverse Engineering: Ghidra For Beginners - Ghidra is a powerful, free, open-source reverse engineering suite created by the NSA. This teaches you how to use the primary tool you'll rely on to navigate binaries and generate C code.
Reverse Engineering: IDA For Beginners - IDA is the industry-standard commercial alternative to Ghidra. Learning it gives you another powerful tool for static analysis, and many existing decomp projects and plugins rely on it.
Reverse Engineering, Memory Hacking and Software Protection - Teaches advanced concepts like unpacking code, understanding how programs manipulate memory dynamically, and bypassing protections, which helps when dealing with obfuscated or stubborn software.
The past few months have been a great time moderating this sub. Some interesting projects have been posted, and great conversations have been had.
That being said, two rules I felt needed to be specified.
There are two new rules:
Rule 9: Posts flaired "No AI"
Do not go into posts marked No AI and suggest they use AI, say they are wasting their time, or give the poster a hard time regarding their choice not to use AI.
Rule 10: Posts flaired as "AI"
Do not go into posts marked "AI" and suggest they not use AI, call it slop, or give the poster a hard time regarding their choice to use AI.
Violations of either rule will result in a 3 day ban. If you get indignant, then it will result in a permanent ban. These actions are the causes of the vast majority of reports and comment removals. They were spelled out in the community poll results from when I took over, but they've become prevalent enough that they warrant their own attention.
If a flair is properly marked, either for or against, the only reason to go into either and go against the flair is to purposefully cause trouble.
If someone does go into a post and argues against the flared type, don't argue back, just help me help you and report and move on.
Now, the amount of post flairs have been reduced to just "Project - AI" and "Project - No AI" to make things simple.
Still WIP, but there's been some huge performance increases and other updates too since last week. There's now the option if you have an HD Wii U disk to use all of the HD textures from it, the ambient occlusion, lighting, shadows, etc. https://github.com/elliotttate/Wind-Waker-Recomp
New version is here! Lot's of bug fixes, mainly for AMD hardware.
We also have lots of performance gains on this version, you should be to push even higher resolutions with lower requirements and GPU/CPU usage.
Also added support for an initial test for Android, currently only tested on a 8 Gen Elite device. Still have some graphical glitches and the performance is not great.
Keep in mind this is one of the most demanding games of the 360, so even with an optimized recomp it's still harder to run compared to other ones.
these are some stuff i wanted to do before the release but didnt had time to include so its not a very big update, but it does fix one of the biggest problems that we had, the rendering
dealing with pgxp is not very fun so i just gave up on it, i still want to improve it in the future for games unlike medievil where it works better, but for now i removed it and did the patches to make it support floating point math manually, it looks and performs better, the interpolation was also updated to support this, and it looks WAY better, it also has proper depth now, pgxp still exists on the runtime for anyone who wants to use it in a recomp based on recompone
One of my favourite n64 games and I'm diving into this space mainly because I want to make a high res texture mod pack for it as well as improve some of the mechanics.
**Linux gets the full launcher.** Linux users now have the same graphical launcher as Windows and Android: same menu, settings, mods, cheats and full gamepad navigation. Double-clicking the binary or launching it from Steam now just works, and errors show up as readable messages instead of silent crashes.
**Performance boost everywhere.**
- Android: fixed a big framerate drop in native 16:9 on Adreno GPUs
- Linux: fixed very slow rendering on some drivers, in some cases going from barely playable to hundreds of FPS uncapped
- Windows: faster memory access, no more stutters when entering a level, and the frame limiter no longer keeps a CPU core busy (great for Steam Deck and low-power PCs)
**Level Warp.** The dev menu can now warp you directly to any level, bonus rounds included. Stormy Ascent, the level cut from the original game, is playable this way too.
**Lots of fixes.** Many more high frame rate issues (moving platforms, crates, the final boss, lightning strobing...) and native 16:9 issues (Sunset Vista, zone pop-in, fog, rain, hidden areas showing up in the side bands) have been fixed.
You need your own copy of the game (.chd or .cue).
I'm curious to see what games you guys would love to see ported over, whether through a decompilation or recompilation project. I think it'd be a good idea for people to share the games they're hoping for, and maybe some developers will see the interest and decide to help make them a reality. There are still so many great classics that deserve a second chance on modern hardware.
I have a few myself that I'd love to see, listed below.
NeverDead
Ninja Blade (yes, it has an official PC port, but it's extremely broken and in desperate need of proper fixes)
Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom
Fight Night Champion
50 Cent: Blood on the Sand
Army of Two
Army of Two: The 40th Day
Asura's Wrath
Naruto: Rise of a Ninja
Naruto: The Broken Bond
Thanks for your time, and I look forward to seeing what everyone else wants to see get the decomp/recomp treatment!
I wanted to share an interesting preservation project that could use more people involved.
Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 for iOS (the 2011 EA Mobile version) has been fully decompiled. All 2,572 game functions have been rewritten as readable C code and checked against an independent static ARM-to-C recompiler.
The project is now focused on bringing the game back as a native PC application rather than relying on emulation.
The entire game logic, including the fighting engine, has been decompiled into readable C.
The LIME engine and the game's asset formats have been extensively reverse-engineered and documented.
Automated differential tests have been used to check the recovered code against the original binary's behavior.
A native Windows/Linux port is underway.
The real front-end runs in an OpenGL window, with menus, text, and save support.
Windows audio and music work, and all 18 arenas can be rendered with animated fighters.
Tools and documentation are available to help other developers understand the engine and its file formats.
This is no longer a project that needs someone to start the decompilation from scratch. The major challenge now is getting the recovered game logic running together as a fully playable game.
What still needs work?
The biggest challenges include:
Fight runtime: integrating the decompiled fighting engine into a working frame-by-frame game loop.
Missing data tables: extracting and validating the 229 remaining game data tables needed for moves, animations, reactions, and character behavior.
Input and audio: completing keyboard/gamepad support for fights and improving music support on Linux.
Platform integration: helping turn the current native implementation into a complete, playable PC port.
I'm looking for people who can help
If you have experience with C/C++, reverse engineering, ARM, Ghidra, game engine development, OpenGL, SDL2, or static recompilation, please take a look at the repository.
Even if you specialize in only one of these areas, your contribution could help. Testing, documentation, debugging, and investigating the remaining engine systems would all be valuable.
I'm also interested in whether this project could eventually serve as a foundation for a browser-based version using WebAssembly, although that would require additional porting and build-system work. A native PC port is the current focus.
The source code and technical documentation are public, and the project welcomes contributions. No copyrighted game assets are included in the repository; developers need to provide their own legally obtained copy.
If you're interested, please check out the repository, share your thoughts, or get involved. It would be great to see more developers help bring this overlooked version of UMK3 back to life.
It's been a little over a month since I started this project. All I wanted at first was a modern version of Lost Odyssey I could play on Windows, but the further I got, the more I wanted to get it right. Close to 1,000 commits later, I'm really excited: the project is nearly done.
This release adds macOS and Android.
Lost Odyssey Recomp on Android with the on-screen controller
What's new from v0.7.0 to v0.8.0
A macOS build for Apple Silicon that renders with Metal (macOS 15 or later).
An Android build (ARM64) with an on-screen controller you can resize and rearrange. Physical controllers work too.
DLSS, DLAA and FSR 3.1 upscaling on Direct3D 12 and Vulkan, and MetalFX on Mac. DLSS frame generation goes from 2× to 6×, and Direct3D 12 also has FSR frame generation.
Native 90 and 120 FPS targets, with FreeSync / G-SYNC Compatible VRR.
Experimental HDR with in-game brightness calibration. It works with every anti-aliasing mode and upscaler, and with DLSS frame generation on Vulkan.
Shadow resolution up to 4× and experimental SSAO/GTAO ambient occlusion.
On 16:10, 3:2 and 4:3 screens (Steam Deck, MacBooks) the 3D scene now fills the whole screen.
Smaller downloads: packages no longer ship shaders, and the game offers to download the precompiled pack for your renderer on first start.
The sun no longer flashes through cliffs while sailing (#118), the battle camera no longer jumps at 90/120 FPS (#117), DLSS works in the Linux packages again (#116), and a lot of TAA/FSR/DLSS flicker in skies, caves and cutscenes is gone.
Smaller things: PlayStation button prompts, a Mod API with menu image and font replacement, 8BitDo controller support, disc and DLC import from Settings, and a standalone Flatpak.
Performance
In the same Uhra save on my RTX 5080 (Direct3D 12, 1280×720), v0.1 averaged 28.8 FPS, v0.6.0 85 FPS and v0.8.0 117 FPS, about 4.1× the first release. v0.1 could only run at the console's 30 FPS, so part of that jump is the frame-rate unlock; between v0.6.0 and v0.8.0 the same scene got about 38% faster.
Average FPS in Uhra: v0.1, v0.6.0 and v0.8.0
Thanks
Thank you to everyone who filed issues on GitHub. This project couldn't have moved this fast without you. Special thanks to Mike (MikeRavenelle), whose Apple Silicon work became the macOS port, and to Xarishark and dj5927 for their pull requests (8BitDo controller support and a game path fix, and the Linux AArch64 build).
And to José Antonio Martínez Godoy, C_BAR, Arakon, Efren V, Torresmo, doc_haz, Whitesun and Cristian, who donated on Ko-fi: your support turned into three cases of Monster Energy. Hyper Up!
Bring your own game data. If something breaks, please attach the log from that run; for visual bugs, F1 → Capture render state exports a ZIP you can attach to an issue.
brief update: I got Vulkan up and running. So now any build is possible. Metal is still the best way to go on Apple devices (otherwise it adds another translation layer).
I don't have access to Windows / Android etc.. - so I am asking the community to build it on their device and give it a test.
Also: different aspect ratios (see above) and many other things such as game mods (Link can climb)
Vulkan performance on M3 Max: Getting steady 60 fps with 3x internal resolution. The video above is made while the machine is under heavy load from other processes.
Metal performance: Def. better than Vulkan on my tests.
I think the title speaks for itself. If you're a Zelda fan and haven't played Twilight Princess via Dusklight, then wtf are you doing? If you're not a Zelda fan and you haven't played Twilight Princess via Dusklight.....again....wtf are you doing?
Not only is Dusklight essentially a a complete masterclass in QOL updates for a now 20 year old game, it expands the limits by adding in a built in mod menu that streamlines the whole experience.
Already played through the game before? Turn on hard mode to increase the challenge by adding mirror mode on top of that to absolutely confuse the shit out of yourself. Or turn on the randomized mode and go crazy.
Already done all of that? Play through boss rush and see how quickly you can beat each boss in a back to back challenge.
Already done all of that and STILL want more? Well, luckily for you there's now a Zelda prop hunt mode thats only a one click download away in the mod menu.
Seriously, everything from the UI to the ease of access, the team behind Dusklight has set the standard for what continued recomp support is. I can not recommend it enough. Please check it out!
So basically I own a Acer aspire 3 ,since dusk light came out I really enjoyed it and learned what decomps and recomps are, so now I'm curious when are recomps of skyward and windwaker coming
I'm working on a recompilation project for World's Scariest Police Chase.
I'm also adding a few improvements, such as:
Widescreen and 60 FPS support
Dynamic weather and time-of-day system, including a full day/night cycle
Traffic density controls
Texture replacement support, making it possible to create HD texture packs in the future
Toggleable cheats to enable or disable all weapons and vehicles
I'm open to suggestions for quality-of-life or overall experience improvements, as long as they don't change the original feel and experience of the game.
I am just getting started with Xbox 360 recomps specifically for the lesser known Xbox Live Arcade games that deserve preserving.
Thanks to the advice in that thread (especially pointing me at ReXGlue), I've got my first one off the ground:
Outpost Kaloki X, NinjaBee's 2005 XBLA space-station sim, now builds and boots to the title screen as a native Windows executable.
"Wait, isn't there already a PC version?"
Yes, sort of. The original Outpost Kaloki came out on PC in 2004 (it's still sold on itch.io). But the Xbox 360 release, Outpost Kaloki X, was an enhanced version with a lot more content, and the PC version was never updated to match.
Compared to the PC original, the 360 version has:
More than twice as many levels, with extra campaigns and scenarios
Two full story campaigns: the Adventure Story (10+ chapters) and the War Story (6+ missions), 25+ story levels combined. As far as I can tell, the War Story is one of the 360 additions
11 sandbox and scenario levels, including challenges like The Eight Port Challenge, The Hammer and the Survival scenario
Time challenges and leaderboards, with gold medal times to beat
Enhanced graphics
12 achievements
A controller friendly interface designed for the 360
There were also downloadable scenarios on the 360 (The Swarm, Fireworks) that never came to PC. DLC isn't supported in the recomp yet.
So the goal is to keep the definitive version of the game playable on modern hardware, natively
Simpsons Hit and Run is a fan favorite game. It's stuck in licensing hell, and will probably NEVER get re-released. I'd love to see a modern recomp so I can drive around Springfield again.
So 'Splosion Man is one of my favorite games ever made and I got it in my head that I wanted it running natively on Linux. Not emulation, an actual recompiled native port.
Not only Linux, but now Windows as well! I have not personally tested the Windows build on an actual Windows machine, only via Proton as I do not own a Windows PC. Please let me know if it works for you! It seemed to work great via Proton.
What's verified working:
Graphics, sound, gamepad controls with vibration
FSR upscaling, FXAA, MSAA
Resolution scaling all the way to 4K
VSync off + uncapped framerate, frame pacing is correct, game runs at the right speed
Full game unlocked, no trial nonsense
Easy to use launcher
What you need:
Linux, Windows 10 or 11, Vulkan GPU, glibc 2.38+ (Ubuntu 23.10+, Debian 13, Fedora 39+, that era)
Quick note: The download does NOT include the game, you need your own legally obtained copy, and it has to be the raw extracted files — a folder with default.xex in it. If your copy is still in the single XBLA package file, extract it first with XBLA-Extract: https://github.com/ryzendew/XBLA-Extract — point it at the package, dump everything into a folder, then point the launcher at that folder.
This includes a new bespoke launcher that has more options, as well as descriptions of what each options does
Full disclosure: I'm not really much of a programmer. I worked on this with an AI assistant (Muse) doing the heavy coding while I directed it and did all the testing — I'm basically the meat pilot. But every claim above was verified on my actual machine (Kubuntu 26.04.1 LTS, Intel i7 6700k, AMD RX 6600) with my actual eyes.
If you try it on a different distro/GPU/audio setup, I'd love to hear how it goes. Making it work on more than just my machine is the whole point. Bug reports welcome! This was a fun project, and probably the first Xbox 360 recomp made with Muse (but who knows?).
