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@Gingerbreadfork Gingerbreadfork released this 05 Jul 13:14
v1.0
fe48d4e

Wolfenstein 3D was a raycaster. So we gave it real rays.

A source modification of Wolfenstein 3D that grafts a VK_KHR_ray_query
hardware path tracer alongside the original 1992 raycaster — real shadows,
reflective floors, sprite shadows, emissive doors and dynamic muzzle flashes,
all drawn from the exact same live game state the original engine simulates.
There is only ever one simulation; the path tracer just draws what the classic
code is already doing.

Downloads

Platform File
Linux (x86-64) wolf3d-path-traced-linux.tar.gz
Windows (x86-64) wolf3d-path-traced-windows.zip

Each package is self-contained: the executable, compiled shaders, and the
freely-distributable Wolfenstein 3D v1.4 shareware (Episode 1) data — nothing
else to download. Unpack and run wolf3d-pt (wolf3d-pt.exe on Windows).

macOS is intentionally absent — the path tracer needs Vulkan hardware ray
tracing (VK_KHR_ray_query), which MoltenVK does not implement.

Requirements

A GPU with hardware ray tracing (VK_KHR_ray_query + VK_KHR_acceleration_structure):
AMD RDNA2+, NVIDIA RTX (20-series and up), or Intel Arc. Without one the game
still runs — it falls back to the classic raycaster.

Controls

The path tracer runs by default; the classic raycaster is one keypress away.

Key Action
F8 Toggle classic raycaster ⇄ path tracer
F7 / F9 Toggle the side-by-side split comparison
F5 Screenshot (classic + path-traced + split, as BMP)
[ / ] Fewer / more reflection bounces

Standard Wolf3D controls otherwise: arrows/WASD move, Ctrl fire, Space doors,
1-4 weapons, Esc menu.

Playing the full game

Point the engine at your own legally-obtained data for the registered game or
Spear of Destiny:

./wolf3d-pt --data /path/to/wolf3d/data

It auto-detects shareware (*.wl1), full Wolf3D (*.wl6), or Spear of Destiny
(*.sod) by the vswap.* file present.

Licensing

  • Code — GPL, inherited from id Software's original Wolfenstein 3D source.
  • Bundled data — Wolfenstein 3D shareware (Episode 1), © id Software, shipped
    under id/Apogee's original shareware terms (free non-commercial redistribution
    of the complete, unmodified shareware episode). The registered game and Spear of
    Destiny are commercial and are not included.
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