Recoil Engine Reconstruction

This repository is a source-faithful native C/C++ reconstruction of the Windows x86 engine for Zipper Interactive's 1999 game Recoil.

The project aims to recover readable, maintainable source that preserves the behavior, ABI-sensitive structure, and late-1990s Windows engine boundaries of the original game. It is a reconstruction effort, not a modern port.

What's Included

• src/Battlesport - recovered game shell and gameplay-facing source.
• src/GameZRecoil - recovered engine subsystems for rendering, video, sound, FMV, HUD, geometry, input, networking, assets, and utility code.
• src/native - native target wiring and include bridges for the reconstructed source.
• tests/native - focused native behavior and ABI checks.
• docs/reconstruction - compact durable notes about recovered engine facts.
• export - text snapshots from executable analysis used to guide recovery.

The public repository is source-only. It does not redistribute the original game executable, game data, extracted assets, decompiler databases, legacy SDK payloads, redistributable DLLs, or compiler toolchains.

Engine Overview

The recovered source is organized around the original engine boundaries:

• Battlesport contains the MFC application shell, frame windows, game-state transitions, mission startup, player and network gameplay glue, pickups, and HUD integration.
• GameZRecoil/RecoilApp contains the reconstructed state host and state objects used by menus, FMV playback, gameplay, and transitions.
• zVideo, zRndr, zImage, and zModel cover DirectDraw/Direct3D-era video setup, software and hardware rendering paths, image and texture handling, model display, lighting, and material behavior.
• zSound and zFMV cover DirectSound/A3D-era audio, CD audio, sample sets, streamed and grouped sound playback, and Video for Windows FMV scripting.
• zHud, zInput, zNetwork, zGeometry, zMath, zReader, zClass, and zUtil cover UI widgets, input mapping, DirectPlay networking, clipping and geometry helpers, math, asset loading, object/class runtime data, and save or resource utilities.

The codebase intentionally keeps late-1990s Windows C/C++ idioms where they matter for layout, calling conventions, provider behavior, and generated code shape. Modern helper code is limited to places where it makes reconstruction, testing, or review practical without changing the recovered engine contract.

Status

Reconstruction is ongoing. Some subsystems have source-level implementations and focused tests, while others remain partial or documented as recovered facts. The project favors evidence-backed source recovery over broad rewrites, so code may retain original-era naming, structure, and implementation style where that helps preserve behavior.

License

The reconstructed source, tests, and documentation in this repository are released under the MIT License; see LICENSE.

That license does not grant rights to the original Recoil game, original retail executable, game data, extracted resources, third-party SDKs, redistributable DLLs, decompiler databases, or compiler/toolchain payloads.