This project recreates the source of Wing Commander as shipped in Wing Commander: The Kilrathi Saga (1996). The reconstructed game core is C, the ix audio library is C++, and the reference build uses Microsoft Visual C++ 4.20 to reproduce the original Win32 executable as closely as possible.

A native SDL2 port is available for Windows, Linux, and macOS. It supports Kilrathi Saga data and has partial support for the original DOS game data.

No copyrighted game data is included.

Status

All 1,472 identified functions are accounted for: 1,470 have source implementations and the remaining two are compiler-generated jump thunks that must not be recreated manually.

make report calculates per-function machine-code similarity to the retail executable; those scores measure reconstruction fidelity, not gameplay completeness.

Similarity

Run make report for the current per-function results. Generated report output is not stored in this repository.

Screenshots

Mission briefing	Tiger's Claw hangar

Title sequence	Cockpit combat

Download and run the SDL2 port

Download the archive for your platform from GitHub Releases. Extract its contents into an installed Kilrathi Saga or DOS Wing Commander directory and keep the bundled runtime libraries beside the executable. Start it with that directory as the working directory:

# macOS or Linux
cd /path/to/WC1
./wc1-modern

# Windows PowerShell
cd C:\path\to\WC1
.\wc1-modern.exe

With DOS data, compressed packet resources, OriginFX/AdLib music, and synthesized sound effects work; other DOS-specific data or behavior may not.

Fixes and features

What the port adds on top of the reconstructed game. The first group is always active; the rest need a switch, and switches can be combined.

./wc1-modern --enhanced --joystick-rumble

Enhanced renderer

The OpenGL renderer keeps the original indexed artwork, palettes, cockpit, and HUD; only space objects are redrawn at output resolution. The software renderer remains the default.

Output-resolution ships	Cockpit combat

SDL2 port controls

Esc pausing is a port addition. The original leaves it inert during spaceflight, and there is no in-flight quit or restart: a mission ends only by landing on the Tiger's Claw, ejecting, or dying. Quitting is done from the barracks menu (Quit Wing Commander), and retrying a mission means saving to a bunk beforehand and reloading it from there.

The default --joystick-mode=original keeps the original two-axis, two-button controls. Two WCAT-style layouts are also available:

On mapped controllers, buttons 1–4 correspond to A, B, X, and Y; hold X to engage the afterburner.

In either WCAT-style mode, LB/RB cycle guns and missiles, LT/RT or the left/right stick clicks open navigation/map and engage autopilot, and the D-pad provides full speed, stop, communications, and target lock.

With communications open, D-pad Up/Down moves the highlighted choice, Right selects it, and Left closes the list. Flight and weapon controls remain active.

The four-axis mode defaults to --joystick-axes=twin-stick-roll. Additional twin-stick, HOTAS, throttle, and rudder layouts are described in the SDL2 port documentation.

Build from source

Clone the submodules first:

git submodule update --init --recursive

SDL2 port

Install a C/C++ compiler plus the SDL2 and LZO2 development packages, then run:

make -j modern

The executable is written to out-modern/wc1-modern (or out-modern/wc1-modern.exe on Windows). make run-modern launches it with Kilrathi Saga data in data/full; make run-modern-dos uses DOS data in data/dos.

Reconstructed Win32 build

The default target builds WC1.EXE with the original MSVC 4.20 toolchain under wibo:

make -j

To run it, provide a Kilrathi Saga disc image. The Makefile extracts the game data, substitutes the reconstructed executable, downloads DREAMM when needed, and launches it in an emulated Windows 95 environment:

make run GAME_ISO=/path/to/kilrathi-saga.iso

Use make debug GAME_ISO=/path/to/kilrathi-saga.iso to start DREAMM's debugger.

Reconstruction workflow

binary-comp is required only for comparison and verification commands:

python3 -m pip install "binary-comp[all] @ git+https://github.com/gg-sl-oss/binary-comp.git"
make compare-func FUNC=perform_maneuver
make verify

These commands require the retail executable at data/full/WC1.ORI.EXE and the original-code exports under code-full/.

Contributor references are intentionally limited to:

• compiler and flag evidence;
• matching patterns;
• disassembly export workflow;
• compilation-unit order;
• function naming policy;
• SDL2 port architecture; and
• release process.

Acknowledgements

Special thanks to:

• Origin Systems who created Wing Commander and developed its Kilrathi Saga port;
• Electronic Arts for publishing Wing Commander: The Kilrathi Saga;
• GOG for keeping Wing Commander 1 + 2 readily available;
• AllTinker for the W.C.A.T. overhaul, whose fixes and analysis of the DOS release have been valuable references;
• the WCDX project for its pioneering compatibility work on the Kilrathi Saga release; and
• Aaron Giles for the DREAMM emulator, used to run and study the original release, and ymfm, which powers the SDL2 port's AdLib emulation.

License

See LICENSE. OpenAI Codex and Anthropic Claude were used during the reconstruction.