Alien Breed HD

A C port of Alien Breed 3D (Amiga), translating the original 68000 assembly into C and rendering with SDL2 on Windows, Linux, and macOS. The game logic, level format, and data layout follow the Amiga version; assets must be extracted from the original game.

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Repository layout

• Root – PC port (C + SDL2): src/, data/, tools/. Build from here with CMake; game data goes in data/.
• amiga/ – Original Amiga 68000 assembly (.s), includes, and reference assets (e.g. amiga/pal is copied to data/pal at configure time).

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What this project is

• Source: The Amiga game was written in 68000 assembly (.s). This repo contains both the original assembly (for reference) in amiga/ and a PC port in C at the repository root.
• Port: The C code in src/ reimplements the renderer (wall/floor/ceiling texturing, sprites), movement, AI, objects (doors, lifts, switches), and game loop. Data files are the same format as the Amiga (big-endian where applicable).
• Runtime: The port uses SDL2 for video, input, and (stub) audio. No original Amiga binaries are executed.

You need game data from the original Alien Breed 3D (e.g. from the game’s ADF disk images). The port does not ship any copyrighted assets.

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Extracting game data from ADF files

Game data comes from the original Alien Breed 3D release (e.g. Amiga ADF images). You must own or have the right to use the game.

1. Getting files out of the ADF

Use unadf to extract the contents of the game’s ADF image(s). For example:

unadf game.adf

This extracts the disk contents into the current directory. Copy or rename the extracted files so they match the layout under data/ (at the repository root) in the next section.

2. Where to put the data

Place all game data in data/ (at the repository root). Create this structure inside data/:

Path	Description
includes/	Sprites and gun: .wad, .ptr; gun also uses .pal from includes/ or pal/.
levels/, level_a/, …	Level data for level 0, 1, … (see below).
sounds/	All sounds.

Wall textures in includes/walls/ (exact filenames):

GreenMechanic.wad, BlueGreyMetal.wad, TechnoDetail.wad, BlueStone.wad, RedAlert.wad, rock.wad, scummy.wad, stairfronts.wad, BIGDOOR.wad, RedRock.wad, dirt.wad, switches.wad, shinymetal.wad, bluemechanic.wad.

Each .wad can be raw or =SB= compressed; the loader decompresses automatically.

Levels (per level index 0, 1, … → level_a, level_b, …):

• levels/level_a/twolev.bin – level data
• levels/level_a/twolev.graph.bin – level graphics (walls, floors, roofs)
• levels/level_a/twolev.clips – clip data

If a level file is missing, the port falls back to a small procedural test level.

Gun: includes/newgunsinhand.wad, includes/newgunsinhand.ptr, and a palette (pal/newgunsinhand.pal or includes/newgunsinhand.pal). If the palette is missing, a default grayscale one is used.

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Build

Requirements

• CMake 3.16+
• C11 compiler (MSVC, GCC, Clang)
• SDL2 – fetched automatically by CMake (FetchContent)

Steps

From the repository root:

mkdir build
cd build
cmake ..
cmake --build . --config Release

On Windows with Visual Studio you can open the generated solution in build/ and build from the IDE. The executable is typically build/Release/ab3d1.exe (Windows) or build/ab3d1 (Unix).

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Run

Put game data in data/. Run the executable from the repository root so it can find data/:

cd path/to/Alien-Breed-PC
build/Release/ab3d1.exe    # Windows
./build/ab3d1              # Linux/macOS

If data is not found you'll see [IO] WARNING: Could not locate data/ directory. Ensure data/ exists and contains at least includes/floortile (and the other files you need).

Without real level data, the port still runs and uses the built-in test level so you can test the renderer and controls.

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Controls (typical)

• WASD – movement (press N to activate on the menu if required)
• Mouse / arrow keys – look / turn
• Space – use (doors, switches)
• ESC – exit to shell on the main menu
• TAB – level selection on the main menu (level passwords can be saved on exit)

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References

• Original Team 17 sources: alienbreed3dii
• RTG version: ab3d-rtg
• VS Code Amiga Assembly extension: prb28.amiga-assembly