SpeedBreaker: Carbon v0.1.0

SpeedBreaker: Carbon is here

On October 31, 2006, Need for Speed: Carbon came out. For its twentieth anniversary, here is
SpeedBreaker: Carbon v0.1.0: the Xbox 360 game, recompiled to run natively on your Mac, Steam
Deck, Steam Machine, Linux PC and Steam Frame. It runs on the same engine as
SpeedBreaker for Most Wanted, as its own
app with its own saves, so you can have both.

No game files are included: you need a backup of your own Xbox 360 disc of the USA
Collector's Edition (Which copy do I need?).

What's new

• Need for Speed: Carbon, native, for its 20th anniversary. SpeedBreaker: Carbon runs the Xbox
  360 game recompiled for your computer, on SpeedBreaker's engine: a Mac with Apple silicon,
  SteamOS (Steam Deck, Steam Machine and other x86-64 Linux PCs) and the Steam Frame, as a big
  flat screen in the headset (not VR).
• Your own disc. The first start installs the game from your copy of the USA Collector's
  Edition: a disc image (.iso) or the files extracted from one, checked file by file. No game data
  comes with SpeedBreaker: Carbon.
• The standard edition isn't supported yet. If your copy is the standard USA edition, the
  installer says so by name. Support for it is being considered: see
  Which copy do I need?
  for how to tell the two apart, and where to say you want it.
• Any screen. Fill Screen fills 16:10, 21:9 and taller screens without stretching, and renders
  the screen's own shape (a Steam Deck draws 1280x800). Internal Resolution renders above the
  360's 720p (Auto picks from the screen and the GPU), with anti-aliasing, sharpening and
  anisotropic filtering.
• As on the 360. A steady 60 fps, the movies paced as on the console, the nitrous light trails
  at the 360's length, and the 360's display gamma, so the game's own Brightness slider works.
• Controllers and keyboard. Xbox, PlayStation and other controllers with rumble, and a
  keyboard you can rebind. F1 (or Back + Start) opens the settings over the game; Quit Game is
  there too.
• When something goes wrong, Settings > Advanced > Save Bug Report puts the logs and a
  screenshot in one .zip for you to send. Check for Updates asks GitHub for a newer
  SpeedBreaker: Carbon, only when you press it.

More about it

• Not in this first release: Smooth Motion, two-player split screen and the Language option of
  SpeedBreaker for Most Wanted. Carbon plays in its disc's language.
• Your saves and settings live in their own folder, apart from SpeedBreaker for Most Wanted's:
  both can be installed side by side.

The full list of changes is in CHANGELOG.md.

Which file is for my device?

Device	Download	Setup
Steam Deck, Steam Machine and Linux PCs (x86-64)	SpeedBreaker-Carbon-steamos-x86_64.tar.xz	Steam Deck and Steam Machine, Linux
Steam Frame (arm64)	SpeedBreaker-Carbon-steamos-arm64.tar.xz	Steam Frame
Mac with Apple silicon, macOS 15 or later	SpeedBreaker-Carbon-macos.dmg	Mac
iPhone and iPad (experimental)	SpeedBreaker-Carbon-0.1.0-ios.ipa, or build it yourself with Xcode	iPhone and iPad
Windows (beta)	SpeedBreaker-Carbon-0.1.0-windows-x64-beta.zip, on its own v0.1.0 Windows beta 1 pre-release page	Windows (beta)

The two SteamOS files are not interchangeable: the arm64 one is for the Steam Frame only, and the
x86-64 one doesn't run on the Frame. Each download has a .sha256 file next to it (see Checksums
below).

All downloads are built from this release's source, commit 184dd60. Settings > Advanced
says SpeedBreaker: Carbon v0.1.0 (184dd60), and the first line of the game's log
SpeedBreaker v0.1.0 (184dd60).

The Source code archives that GitHub adds hold SpeedBreaker: Carbon's own source, with no game
code or data. Building from them needs your own disc; see
Building from source.

iPhone and iPad: the experimental IPA

SpeedBreaker-Carbon-0.1.0-ios.ipa is signed by nobody: a sideloading tool such as AltStore
signs it with your own Apple Account and installs it. It is experimental: please report how it
goes, working or not, with your device and tool.

• The game asks iOS for more memory than most apps (Extended Virtual Addressing and Increased
  Memory Limit). A free Apple Account can give at most the second, and only with some tools:
  AltStore Classic 2.2 or later is expected to keep it; SideStore 0.7 drops both. Without them
  the game may not start, or iOS may close it in busy scenes.
• A free Apple Account's apps stop opening after 7 days until the tool refreshes them, and at most
  3 sideloaded apps can be active at once. These are Apple's limits.
• iOS or iPadOS 17 or later, on an A15-class chip or newer (iPhone 13 and later, M-series iPads), with a controller or keyboard. So far only an iPhone 18 Pro Max has run it.
• Sideloading the IPA
  has the steps and which tools keep what.

Windows: a beta

The Windows version is a beta, on its own
v0.1.0 Windows beta 1
pre-release page, with its own notes and checksums: SpeedBreaker-Carbon-0.1.0-windows-x64-beta.zip.
So far it has been tested on one laptop with Intel UHD Graphics and a 60 Hz screen; Most Wanted's
Windows testers report NVIDIA and AMD graphics running fine, and Intel Arc is untested.
Reports from other PCs, working or not, help a lot.

How these downloads were tested

Each download attached here was tested before release. It was unpacked or opened as the setup
steps say, with a fresh home folder, and the game was installed through the installer from a disc
image:

• x86-64: on a Steam Machine: the installer from the Collector's Edition disc image (78 files, verified), a Quick Race at 60.0 fps at 1280x800 and at 3440x1440, a Canyon Duel, free roam, Quit Game, closing from the system, a crash report, and a second copy turned away while the first runs. Then installed on a Steam Deck OLED.
• arm64: on the Steam Frame, outside the headset: the installer, the prologue, a Quick Race at 60.0 fps at 1280x720, free roam, FSR 1, Quit Game, closing from the system, a crash report, and a second copy turned away while the first runs.
• Mac: on a clean macOS 15 install (a virtual machine): Gatekeeper's first-open steps, the installer from the disc image, the game fullscreen at 60 fps, the settings and Check for Updates. Its tests also ran on a MacBook Pro with an M1 Pro.
• iPhone and iPad IPA: checked as a package (its ad-hoc signature, its contents and licenses). It is experimental: this version was played on an iPhone in testing, but this exact file wasn't installed on one.

Checksums (SHA-256)

File	For	Size	SHA-256
SpeedBreaker-Carbon-steamos-x86_64.tar.xz	Steam Deck, Steam Machine, Linux PCs	18.2 MB	3d50be5a32b41d1fc5b3f3d272fb4b3ef1408317877ed3824579e600dd7fc399
SpeedBreaker-Carbon-steamos-arm64.tar.xz	Steam Frame	16.0 MB	4d5dc5362102c5a26705584988cece168dcf35de6e6cf2f4f6e2ef6d611afd49
SpeedBreaker-Carbon-macos.dmg	Mac (Apple silicon, macOS 15 or later)	23.0 MB	f2a84df167a70c7122e0137729b9916c8877a69e875830574713349d514e9c09
SpeedBreaker-Carbon-0.1.0-ios.ipa	iPhone and iPad (experimental, to sideload)	18.6 MB	48634cfed9f957e59d81d56b3bf0e0f1765d90977578ce89b75e2d60e078ddec
SpeedBreaker-Carbon-0.1.0-third-party-source.tar.xz	Source of the LGPL and GPL libraries in the downloads	213.6 MB	69ab40be3d55f02306472e7a954f5b3a9584b1c4861a5c262303d54508a7a076

Each file has its .sha256 next to it on this page. Download both into the same folder, then
run sha256sum -c SpeedBreaker-Carbon-steamos-x86_64.tar.xz.sha256 on SteamOS or Linux, or
shasum -a 256 -c SpeedBreaker-Carbon-macos.dmg.sha256 on a Mac (with your file's name). It
should say OK.

Known issues and limits

• Not in this release yet: Smooth Motion, two-player split screen and the Language option.
  The game plays in its disc's language. Also not yet: steering wheels (not tried with Carbon),
  importing Xbox 360 saves, and mouse control in the game.
• Real 90 and 120 Hz screens haven't been tested with Carbon yet. The pacing at 120 Hz (each
  frame shown for exactly two refreshes) and the 90 Hz note were checked on simulated displays
  only. 60 Hz is the safe choice; reports from real 90 and 120 Hz screens are welcome.
• Steam Frame: it plays as a big flat screen in the headset; it is not a VR mode. It was
  tested outside the headset only: play in the headset hasn't been tried yet. If the picture
  isn't smooth there, set Display > Frame Rate to 30 fps (the headset's compositor shares
  the graphics chip). The Frame's file manager can't unpack the download: use the Konsole
  command in the setup steps.
• Mac, the first time you open it: the app isn't notarized by Apple, so macOS refuses to
  open it and of...

SpeedBreaker: Carbon v0.1.0 Windows beta 1

SpeedBreaker: Carbon v0.1.0 for Windows: beta 1

This is a beta. It's the same v0.1.0 as the Mac and SteamOS downloads, now for Windows. So far
the Windows version of SpeedBreaker: Carbon has been tested on one laptop with Intel UHD
Graphics. It runs on the same engine as SpeedBreaker for Most Wanted, whose Windows beta testers
report NVIDIA and AMD graphics running fine. Please try it and
tell us how it runs, especially on the PCs we couldn't test.

What's in v0.1.0 itself is on the v0.1.0 release page.

Download

SpeedBreaker-Carbon-0.1.0-windows-x64-beta.zip (16.7 MB), below, with its .sha256
checksum file.

What's been tested, and what hasn't

Tested on a ThinkPad laptop with Intel UHD Graphics (Core i5-10210U, Windows 11) and a
60 Hz screen: installing the USA Collector's Edition from its disc image through the
installer's own pages, with Choose a folder... (and a OneDrive folder refused); the default
install place and portable mode; What's new; every settings page; the prologue, a Quick Race
circuit and free roam; Quit Game; a crash report and Save Bug Report. On that laptop a race runs at
about 25-28 fps at 1x, as SpeedBreaker for Most Wanted does there (an integrated GPU of 2019 is
below what the game needs for 60).

Not tested yet:

• NVIDIA and AMD graphics cards with Carbon. Most Wanted's Windows testers report them running
  fine on the same engine.
• Intel Arc graphics (including the Arc 130T/140T in Core Ultra laptops).
• 120 Hz and 144 Hz monitors. At 120 Hz each frame should stay on screen for exactly two
  refreshes; at 144 Hz the game shows a one-time note about the uneven refresh.
• Real controllers on Windows with Carbon (the tests drove a virtual pad), desktop PCs in general,
  and other Windows 10/11 versions.

Expect rough edges. If something's wrong on your PC, a bug report is the most useful thing you
can send.

What you need

• Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit.
• A CPU with AVX2: Intel Haswell (2013) or newer, or any AMD Ryzen. Without it the game says so
  and closes.
• A graphics card with Vulkan 1.2 and a current driver.
• Your own backup of your own Xbox 360 disc of Need for Speed: Carbon (2006), the USA
  Collector's Edition (Which copy do I need?):
  an .iso, or the extracted disc files. No game files come with SpeedBreaker: Carbon.
• About 6 GB of free space. A controller is recommended; the keyboard works too.

Install

1. Download the zip, right-click it, choose Extract All, and open the extracted folder.
2. Double-click SpeedBreaker-Carbon.exe.
3. SpeedBreaker: Carbon isn't signed, so Windows may show "Windows protected your PC"
   (Microsoft Defender SmartScreen doesn't recognize the app yet). Click More info, then
   Run anyway. You can check the download first: put the .sha256 file next to the zip and
   run certutil -hashfile SpeedBreaker-Carbon-0.1.0-windows-x64-beta.zip SHA256 in a Command
   Prompt; the hash must match the file's. If Windows blocks it with no "Run anyway" (Smart App
   Control does), it can't be started on that PC for now.
4. The installer looks for your .iso in your user folder, Downloads, Desktop, Documents and Games
   and on your other drives, or you browse for it (or for an extracted disc folder). It checks the
   game and edition, and shows where the game will go (Internal storage, another drive, or
   Choose a folder...; not in OneDrive). It copies and verifies every file (78 files, a few
   minutes). Then Start the game.

Saves, settings, logs and the installed game go in %LOCALAPPDATA%\SpeedBreaker Carbon, apart
from SpeedBreaker for Most Wanted's: both can be installed side by side. Check for Updates isn't
available on Windows yet; watch the Releases page. README.txt in the zip has controls, portable
mode, updating and uninstalling.

Reporting a problem

1. In the game, open the settings (F1, or Back + Start on a controller), go to
   Advanced, and choose Save Bug Report. A zip appears on your Desktop.
2. Open an issue with
   "Windows beta" in the title: your graphics card and monitor (and its refresh rate), what you
   did and what happened, and attach that zip. Your Windows user name is left out of it.

If the game doesn't start at all, attach the newest files from
%LOCALAPPDATA%\SpeedBreaker Carbon\logs and a screenshot of any message.

Unofficial Windows builds made by others (for example from forks) aren't supported here:
we can't tell how they differ from this one. If you used one, please try this beta and report
with it.

Source code

This build is commit 184dd60, the v0.1.0 source; the first line of the game's log says
SpeedBreaker v0.1.0 Windows beta 2026-10-29 (184dd60). The source of the LGPL code by
others in it (FFmpeg and libmspack, and how FFmpeg was configured for Windows) is
SpeedBreaker-Carbon-0.1.0-windows-third-party-source.tar.xz, below.

Checksums

File	SHA-256
SpeedBreaker-Carbon-0.1.0-windows-x64-beta.zip	10632cd5533999a3ffedd2a89c2ffdc1ca3e6f0d025da44de01d2865ec02915e
SpeedBreaker-Carbon-0.1.0-windows-third-party-source.tar.xz	f5314d3ca3aebb60a0642abfaf75e314b9fa4341a47a680c3913b417afcd8749