Dawn

Missions and a native loadout editor for Destiny 2 build 86657.

Install a packaged release over an existing game installation using the bundled Dawn installer.

Download the installer ZIP — 0.1.5.1

Release notes and checksum

Preview: Dawn 1.7 Preview 1 — Adieu, Homecoming, and mission guidance

Dawn adds authored Lua missions, native gameplay systems, and an in-game loadout studio. The player release includes the DLL, mission scripts, default settings, vendor rules, and event presets together. The game itself is not included.

• Windows with Windows PowerShell 5.1 or newer.
• An existing Destiny 2 installation with executable version 86657.20.08.23.1800.d2_rc and its complete packages folder.
• A packaged Dawn release ZIP containing Install-Dawn.cmd, Install-Dawn.ps1, READ-ME.txt, release.json, and the payload folder.

Players do not need Visual Studio, Python, Lua, or a source checkout.

Download Dawn-0.1.5.1.zip from the GitHub release. Under Assets, choose that named installer ZIP. GitHub's automatically generated Source code archives contain the source checkout and do not include the installable payload.

Version 0.1.5.1 fixes Gateway's final cannon activation and includes rebindable camera controls, file logging by default, and a standalone uninstaller. The updater keeps existing saves and settings. Read the release notes before installing. Extract the entire installer ZIP into its own folder. Before running anything, check that the extracted folder contains:

Dawn-<release>/
  Install-Dawn.cmd
  Install-Dawn.ps1
  Update-Dawn.cmd
  Update-Dawn.ps1
  Uninstall-Dawn.cmd
  Uninstall-Dawn.ps1
  READ-ME.txt
  release.json
  payload/
    steam_api64.dll
    Dawn/
      settings.json
      hud.json
      movement.json
      player.json
      scripts/
      event_presets/
      licenses/
      vendor_*.txt

• Install-Dawn.cmd is the file you double-click. It starts the PowerShell installer and keeps the window open so you can read its result.
• Install-Dawn.ps1 performs the version checks, installation, backup, and rollback.
• Update-Dawn.cmd starts Update-Dawn.ps1 to update while keeping existing saves and settings.
• release.json identifies the release and lists the expected payload files, sizes, and hashes. The installer uses it to check that the bundle is complete and unchanged.
• payload/ contains the built DLL and the matching runtime content that will be installed.

Keep these files together. Downloading the .cmd or .ps1 file by itself is not enough to install Dawn. Extract the ZIP before running the installer; do not run it from inside the archive.

GitHub's Code → Download ZIP and git clone provide the source code. In that checkout, the installer source lives in tools/install/release/:

tools/install/
  New-DawnRelease.ps1
  release/
    Install-Dawn.cmd
    Install-Dawn.ps1
    Update-Dawn.cmd
    Update-Dawn.ps1
    Uninstall-Dawn.cmd
    Uninstall-Dawn.ps1
    READ-ME.txt
    README.md

This source folder does not contain release.json or payload/. Running its Install-Dawn.cmd directly will therefore fail with a missing release.json error. The launcher does not build the DLL or download the missing files.

To turn the source into an installable release, first build the Release DLL, then run tools/install/New-DawnRelease.ps1 from the repository root. That packaging script collects the DLL and runtime content, generates release.json, and creates the complete player ZIP. Follow Building and packaging from source below for the commands and required build tools. Players receiving that finished ZIP do not need those tools.

The separate tools/install/Install-Dawn.ps1 is the development installer. The player-release instructions on this page refer to the installer in tools/install/release/ after packaging.

Use Update-Dawn.cmd to keep an existing Dawn save. Use Install-Dawn.cmd for a fresh save. The updater is included in bundles starting with 0.1.3; earlier bundles only contain the fresh-install workflow.

1. Extract the entire release ZIP into a new folder, such as a folder under Downloads.
2. Close Destiny 2.
3. Confirm that release.json and payload/ are present, then double-click Update-Dawn.cmd to retain progress, or Install-Dawn.cmd to start fresh.
4. Enter your existing game folder when prompted: the folder containing destiny2.exe.
5. Wait for the installer to confirm success and show the backup location.
6. Launch destiny2.exe normally. The installer does not launch the game for you.

For example, if the executable is D:\Games\Destiny 2\destiny2.exe, enter D:\Games\Destiny 2. Select the game folder itself, rather than its bin/x64 or Dawn subfolder, the source checkout, or the extracted installer folder.

The installer checks the game version and release file hashes before replacing files. It installs matching DLLs and runtime content at both locations the game can load from:

<game folder>/
  destiny2.exe
  steam_api64.dll
  Dawn/
  bin/x64/
    steam_api64.dll
    Dawn/
  .dawn/release-backups/

The first launch rebuilds caches, so it can take longer than later launches. An update upgrades older Dawn databases automatically; a fresh installation creates a new one. Keep the complete release bundle together when updating.

The updater keeps existing databases and their companion files, account identity, Dawn preferences, event selections, and custom files. It refreshes the packaged DLL, mission scripts, vendor rules, and presets. Packaged files replace older versions with the same names; personal scripts with other names remain. Previously packaged content that the new release retires is kept in the backup. Separate root and bin/x64 profiles remain separate.

The fresh installer uses release defaults and does not carry old personal data into the active installation. Both workflows back up the previous Dawn folders and DLLs. Existing Sunrise and Restoration folders remain intact and are not imported by the release updater.

The fresh installer sets Windowed Fullscreen while preserving your existing resolution, render scale, graphics quality, and key bindings. You can choose another mode later in the game's Video settings. This changes the installing Windows user's shared Destiny display preferences, so other Destiny 2 installations under that same Windows user also see the mode change. Replacing only a DLL does not apply this display setting. The updater leaves the native display preferences unchanged.

To update directly from PowerShell in the extracted release folder:

.\Update-Dawn.ps1 -GameRoot "D:\Games\Destiny 2"

Add -WhatIf to preview, or -Restore to roll back the most recent installation/update.

From PowerShell in the extracted release folder, replace D:\Dawn with your game folder:

.\Install-Dawn.cmd -GameRoot "D:\Dawn" -WhatIf

This validates the package and installation and shows the intended changes without changing your game files or display preferences. Omit -WhatIf to install.

Close Destiny 2, then double-click Uninstall-Dawn.cmd and enter the game folder. Keep Uninstall-Dawn.ps1 beside the launcher; no release payload is needed. Newly packaged releases include both files.

The uninstaller permanently deletes all Dawn saves, settings, caches, and backups, including both Dawn runtime folders and the entire .dawn directory. It restores original Steam DLLs when found in your backups before deleting those backups. If none are available, it reports the missing DLLs to recover from your original game backup before launching. Original game files and native graphics/key-binding preferences remain intact. No uninstall backup is kept.

Preview from PowerShell with:

.\tools\install\release\Uninstall-Dawn.ps1 -GameRoot "D:\Games\Destiny 2" -WhatIf

Each installation keeps its backup under:

<game folder>/.dawn/release-backups/<backup-folder>/

To restore the most recent installation, close Destiny 2 and run this from the extracted release folder using the same Windows user account that installed it:

.\Install-Dawn.cmd -GameRoot "D:\Dawn" -Restore

To select an older backup, add -BackupPath with the full path to that backup folder:

.\Install-Dawn.cmd -GameRoot "D:\Dawn" -Restore -BackupPath "D:\Dawn\.dawn\release-backups\<backup-folder>"

Rollback restores the previous DLLs, Dawn folders, and display preferences. It also keeps the files it displaces, including progress made after installation, inside the backup's after-restore folder. Keep the backup and those retained files if you need that progress.

If installation fails after replacement begins, the installer attempts to restore the previous files automatically. If it reports an interrupted installation or incomplete rollback, use the reported backup path with -Restore before trying another installation.

Open Loadout in the in-game menu to edit your character and equipment. Click an item to edit it in the side panel. See Sundial under Acknowledgements for what Dawn adapts from it.

• Edit character identity, progression, equipment, subclasses, and inventories.
• Choose a subclass and attunement, which sets the super and melee, plus jump, grenade, and class ability.
• Browse weapons, armor, cosmetics, perks, and materials with artwork and descriptions from your packages.
• Give, equip, lock, and randomize items; set power and quantities; edit sockets, with wider perk scopes for unconventional combinations.
• Drag an armor stat bar to set a target. Letting go rolls the closest spread the game ships.

Edits apply to the running game, with no restart. Apply live is on by default. Turn it off to build a draft and commit it with Apply, or discard it with Reload. The editor checks inventory limits, one exotic per gear category, and whether the game changed the account under you. The first apply of a session backs up your player database to Dawn/editor-backups.

Most edits show up in game within a moment. Character identity is committed straight away, but the Guardian you are playing may keep its look until you sign in again. Changing class needs matching armor and a subclass before it applies.

Bundled mission scripts include:

• Omega — omega.lua
• Beyond Infinity — beyond_infinity.lua
• The Gateway — gateway.lua
• A Deadly Trial — deadly_trial.lua
• Deep Storage — deep_storage.lua
• Tree of Probabilities — strike_pact.lua
• Hijacked — hijacked.lua
• New Light — launchpad.lua

Eater of Worlds is excluded from this build. Mission scripts load when the game starts; restart the game after changing them.

• Cannot find path ...\tools\install\release\release.json: you ran the installer source from the repository. Use a complete player release ZIP, or build and package the source using the instructions below. release.json is generated during packaging and is not committed in the installer source folder. Creating an empty JSON file will not fix this: the installer also needs the exact payload files and their matching manifest.
• You cannot find Install-Dawn.cmd: in this repository it is under tools/install/release/. In a packaged player ZIP it is at the top level of the extracted folder, alongside release.json and payload/.
• The game is still running: close Destiny 2 and run the installer again. The installer does not stop the game automatically.
• Unsupported game version: select the folder containing build 86657.20.08.23.1800.d2_rc. The installer checks the executable version before proceeding.
• A release file is missing or changed: extract the complete release ZIP into a new folder. Keep release.json and the entire payload folder together with the installer.
• An interrupted installation needs recovery: close the game and restore the reported backup using the rollback command above, then retry the installation.

git clone --branch production https://github.com/isinternets/Dawn.git dawn
cd dawn
& "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\18\BuildTools\MSBuild\Current\Bin\amd64\MSBuild.exe" `
  Dawn/Dawn.vcxproj /p:Configuration=Release /p:Platform=x64 `
  /p:PreferredToolArchitecture=x64 /p:CL_MPCount=2 /m:2 /v:minimal /nologo

.\tools\install\New-DawnRelease.ps1 -Release '0.1.0-example'

Dawn is possible because of the research, tools, and contributions shared by these projects. The same acknowledgements appear in the in-game Credits tab.

Thank you to stanuwu and the Sunrise contributors for the foundation, game services, package research, and original runtime that Dawn builds on.

Thank you to KyleThmpsn and the Sundial contributors for the character and inventory editor, full perk selection, item-artwork research, random loadouts, and armor-stat tools that informed Dawn's native loadout integration.

Dawn adapts Sundial's localized investment string and icon readers, class-restriction hash lists, subclass ability displays and attunement selection, five plug-selection scopes, the armor-stat allocation socket model, and the finished sandbox-perk catalog layout that supplies mod descriptions and perk liveness. Those adaptations are distributed under GPL-3.0-only. The pinned upstream revision, attribution, and license are included in NOTICE.md and the Sundial license.

Item names and artwork are read from the player's installed game packages. Dawn does not distribute Destiny artwork, textures, or a manifest database.