The Bigs 2 Recompiled 1.01

The Bigs 2 Recompiled 1.01

Adds a Windows build. A native port of The Bigs 2 (Xbox 360, 2K Sports, 2009), statically recompiled with ReXGlue. No game data is included: you need your own disc image (Title ID 54540830).

Downloads

File	For
TheBigs2-windows-x64.zip	Windows 10/11, x64 (new)
TheBigs2-x86_64.AppImage	Linux desktops
TheBigs2-SteamDeck-x86_64.AppImage	Steam Deck (same build, Deck defaults)

Requirements: an x86-64 CPU with SSE4.2 (x86-64-v2) and a Vulkan driver. On Linux, glibc 2.38+ (Ubuntu 24.04, Fedora 39, SteamOS 3.8 or newer).

What's new

• Windows: unzip it to its own folder and run thebigs2.exe. The setup screen asks for the disc image and lists your drive letters. Like the AppImage, it's portable: game/, config/, saves/, cache/ and logs/ live next to the exe (or under %APPDATA% if that folder isn't writable).
  • The zip includes Microsoft's Visual C++ runtime DLLs. Keep them next to the exe: an older system runtime makes matches run at 1–2 fps.
  • Rendering uses Vulkan. gpu_backend = "d3d12" in config/thebigs2.toml switches to Direct3D 12, which is untested and has a known depth bug with 4x MSAA.
• Linux and Deck: no gameplay changes. The settings file mentions the new gpu_backend setting only on Windows.

Getting started

1. Put the AppImage, or the unzipped Windows folder, in its own folder, ideally with your .iso next to it.
2. Run it. A setup screen asks for the disc image, checks it and extracts it once. Full Redump dumps and XISOs both work.
3. Play. To quit, press F10 or hold Back + Start for 2 seconds.

On a Steam Deck: add the AppImage as a Non-Steam Game and play in Game Mode. On the OLED, set the screen to 60 Hz.

Known issues

• Windows has only been tested under Wine (Wine 10, NVIDIA): 30 fps in matches and 60 in menus, the same as Linux. Reports from real Windows PCs are welcome. Under Wine, set WINEDLLOVERRIDES="msvcp140,msvcp140_atomic_wait,vcruntime140,vcruntime140_1=n" so the bundled runtime is used.
• The first minutes can stutter while shaders compile. They're cached after that.
• The emulated vblank isn't locked to the display, so a refresh rate slightly off 60/120 Hz causes an occasional hitch.
• present_effect = "fsr" may crash.
• frame_rate = 60 is still experimental.

The Bigs 2 Recompiled 1.0

The Bigs 2 Recompiled 1.0

A native Linux port of The Bigs 2 (Xbox 360, 2K Sports, 2009). The original executable is statically recompiled with ReXGlue. No game data is included: you need your own disc image (Title ID 54540830).

Downloads

File	For
TheBigs2-x86_64.AppImage	Linux desktops
TheBigs2-SteamDeck-x86_64.AppImage	Steam Deck (same build, Deck defaults)

Requirements: x86-64, glibc 2.38+ (Ubuntu 24.04, Fedora 39, SteamOS 3.8 or newer) and a Vulkan driver.

Getting started

1. Put the AppImage in its own folder, ideally with your .iso next to it.
2. Run it. A setup screen asks for the disc image, checks it and extracts it once. Full Redump dumps and XISOs both work.
3. Play. To quit, press F10 or hold Back + Start for 2 seconds.

It's portable: game/, config/, saves/, cache/ and logs/ all live next to the AppImage.

On a Steam Deck: add the AppImage as a Non-Steam Game and play in Game Mode. The setup screen works with the controls or the touchscreen, and you can pick an image from an SD card. On the OLED, set the screen to 60 Hz.

What works

• Full games, menus, saving and loading, achievements.
• Desktop: 2x internal resolution (1440p) by default, plus a keyboard mapped to player 1's controller (bindings can be changed).
• Steam Deck: native 1x, which fills the screen without scaling.
• Steady 30 fps in matches with even frame pacing, and low CPU use.
• frame_rate = 60 (experimental) unlocks 60 fps in matches. Gameplay speed stays correct. Use it at resolution_scale = 1; on the Deck it can slow down during transitions.

Settings are in config/thebigs2.toml, which is commented. Any setting also works for a single run as --name=value.

Known issues

• The first minutes can stutter while shaders compile. They're cached after that.
• The emulated vblank isn't locked to the display, so a refresh rate slightly off 60/120 Hz causes an occasional hitch.
• present_effect = "fsr" may crash.
• Windows: not built or tested in this release.
• Built on the ReXGlue SDK development branch (bd833a2) with local fixes for stability, an NVIDIA GPU hang at 2x, and performance.