DM2 Technical Reference

Dungeon Master II: Skullkeep Technical Reference

Scope

DM2 V1 follows skproject. It is independent from the DM1/CSB compatibility path and requires original PC GRAPHICS.DAT plus DUNGEON.DAT by hash.

Boot and GDAT

An incomplete profile remains at the launcher and does not clear the viewport or paint generated floor/ceiling art. The boot receipt records source identity, typed GDAT sections, title/menu, HUD, dungeon, and no-fallback readiness.

The GDAT pipeline exposes dtPalIRGB, dtPalette16, dt07 interface/title records, Rect14 placement, map GRAPHICSSET values, and map-chip assets. The viewport resolves raw GDAT addresses before decode. Missing mandatory material is a no-draw receipt, never a substitute. Wall cache keys include graphics style to prevent material leakage between maps.

Runtime

M10 owns party, door, item, creature, projectile, actuator, and dungeon state. The viewport consumes typed plans. Outdoor routes pass the active source sky, ground, and weather state; indoor routes are clear. Rain, mist, and thunder do not create procedural pixels without a verified original overlay asset.

Verification

cmake --build build --target test_dm2_v1_boot_profile_smoke \
  test_dm2_v1_runtime_handoff_smoke test_dm2_v1_weather_no_synthetic_overlay \
  --parallel
./build/test_dm2_v1_boot_profile_smoke
./build/test_dm2_v1_runtime_handoff_smoke
./build/test_dm2_v1_weather_no_synthetic_overlay

For the GDAT record chain, interface tables, and host receipts, see DM2 GDAT Internals.