Alter Echo for PC 1.1.2

Alter Echo (Xbox, 2003), statically recompiled to run natively on PC. The installer builds the game on your computer from your own copy of the North American (NTSC) Xbox release, either a disc image (.iso) or its extracted files. No game files are included.

What's new in 1.1.2

• Installs are much faster. A clean Linux install on a 2014 quad-core (i7-4790K, 16 GB) went from about 20 minutes to 11.7. A PC with more cores should gain more.
  • Translating the game's code takes about 4 minutes instead of 6.5. The translator was decoding the same code several times over; the C it produces is byte for byte the same.
  • Compiling runs one file per CPU thread, as many as your free memory holds, instead of at most 2 at a time. To choose the number yourself: JOBS=4 bash AlterEchoInstaller.sh on Linux, AlterEchoInstaller.exe /jobs 4 on Windows.
• Updating to 1.1.2 takes about 4-5 minutes, not a full build. It changes the translator, so the game's code is translated again, but only the translated files that come out different are compiled again, and with 1.1.2 none do.

Updating: run the new installer and choose the same folder. Your saves and settings.ini stay.

Earlier in 1.1

• Widescreen, on by default (1.1.0). A wide screen or window (16:9 up to 21:9) is filled with a wider view instead of black bars; the HUD, menus, text and movies keep their shape. widescreen = 0 in settings.ini gives the console's 4:3 with black bars.
• Linux: fixed a crash at startup (1.1.0), malloc(): unaligned tcache chunk detected.
• Fast updates (1.1.1): an update copies in only what changed and compiles only that. If you updated a Linux install to 1.1.0, running 1.1.1 or later over it repairs it.

Which file do I download?

Your system	Download	Then
Windows 10/11	AlterEchoInstaller.exe	Run it, choose an install folder and your disc image, and wait 15-30 minutes. Start Alter Echo from the Start Menu
Linux	AlterEchoInstaller.sh	In a terminal: bash AlterEchoInstaller.sh. Give it your disc image and a folder, and wait 10-20 minutes. Start Alter Echo from your applications menu

You don't need the "Source code" downloads below unless you're building it yourself; the README explains how.

Good to know

• Windows will warn you: "Windows protected your PC". The installer isn't signed. Click More info, then Run anyway. The installer downloads its build tools (GCC with CMake and Ninja, about 270 MB, and the capstone disassembler) and checks each against a pinned checksum.
• Linux: if build tools are missing, the installer lists them and asks before installing them with your package manager (pacman, apt, dnf or zypper). It builds the native Linux version. No Wine is needed.
• About 6 GB of free disk space is needed in the install folder. Your saves, settings and logs stay inside it.
• Memory: the build uses up to about 2 GB while translating and, while compiling, as much as it finds free (less 1 GB). With 8 GB of RAM it compiles 2 files at a time.
• Controls: an Xbox 360-compatible controller, or keyboard and mouse. The README lists the keys, settings and troubleshooting.

How tested is it?

• Linux: played start to finish. For 1.1.2, a clean install with the installer took 11.7 minutes (an Arch-based system, a fresh user folder) and the game ran at 60 fps; an update over it after a translator change took 4.3 minutes and compiled 2 small files. The translated code was checked byte for byte against 1.1.1's. On Debian/Ubuntu, Fedora and openSUSE the package names it installs are untested, so if it stops at that step, please report it.
• Windows: experimental. The installer and the game it builds have only been run under Wine, never on a real Windows PC. For 1.1.2 only the new compile-count choice was checked under Wine; the install times above are estimates. If you try it, please open an issue with how it went, whether it worked or not, and attach install.log from the install folder if the installer stopped.

Checksums (SHA-256)

85e1ad7643ccb189cceebb107307fb4d66179af83a4c4a57053d3ef3d3b7a9ae  AlterEchoInstaller.exe
ba5a2ee74ede540ebb289414945101d31b21a76528ea21beec476943ea8eb83d  AlterEchoInstaller.sh

Built on the xboxrecomp toolkit by sp00nz and its contributors, via this fork. Alter Echo is a trademark of its owner. This project is not affiliated with the game's developer or publisher.