Project Gotham Racing - XBE Recomp

An unofficial native PC port of the original Xbox version of Project Gotham Racing, with extended graphics options and other enhancements. The game's own x86 code is statically recompiled into a Windows executable with the Xbox XBE Recomp tool; the Xbox's graphics, sound and system libraries are reimplemented for Windows (Direct3D 12 or 11, XAudio2, SDL). It is not an emulator.

[!NOTE] This project does not include any game assets. You must provide the files from your own legally acquired copy of the game to build and play.

Supported Version

Three Xbox releases of Project Gotham Racing (title id 4D530003). Each disc is its own compile of the game, so the build recompiles the one you give it:

Release	Disc image SHA-1	default.xbe SHA-1
Europe 1.1	4608350bc01c9544da8bd46860ecdfb16cc2d6eb	4878c3bdbd44663b64ce64986b313e8c6b7f8917
Europe and Australia 1.0	28bbf6c115f096eeb5785752e1bee34dc2cd7764	ba7763e6e946ab40aed6706f2c9bc1df3a990fa0
USA 1.0	c20a9d1d0ee04daf6e9723767b1b9d1a8007445d	0d55fff29ceb34ab4dfcfc4820e823d967ca1469
Asia	95b9788eca5390a6246280095fc7756658f137e4	c14b35767fddc5a7af4b3aa13b53e374be23fe57
Japan (World Street Racer)	fdca8086c5bcbf9542f218863d413b48ba77402a	4c38cf630f7dc92a845d2141020157e78e682e3d

The log (logs\pgr1.log) names the SHA-1 of the default.xbe it found. The Japan disc plays in English for now. To change disc, choose the other one in the launcher and build again.

Getting Started

There are two ways to get the game running. Both build the game's code on your own PC from your own disc: the game's code is never downloaded.

The launcher (recommended)

PGR1Launcher.exe does everything for you: no Visual Studio, no Git, no command line, nothing installed in Windows and no admin rights needed.

You need:

• Windows 10 or 11, 64 bit, and a GPU with Direct3D 12 or 11.
• Your own copy of the game (a supported release): an .iso image of your disc, or a folder with the disc's files.
• Room for the game's package (about 72 MB) and its build, plus your copy of the game, and an internet connection for the package.

Steps:

1. Download PGR1Launcher.exe from the latest release.
2. Put it in a folder of its own with a short path (for example C:\Games\PGR1) and run it. Everything it makes goes in a PGR1 folder beside it. Windows may warn about an unrecognised app: choose More info, then Run anyway.
3. Your game: choose your disc image or the folder with the disc's files. The launcher checks that it is a supported release.
4. Get the game ready: the launcher downloads your disc's package (every supported disc has one: the program and a compiler, no game code), then your PC builds the game's code from your disc (about 12 seconds on a fast 16 thread PC). You can stop at any time; it carries on where it left off.
5. Play: press Play. The first start formats the emulated hard disk and copies the game's cache (about 90 seconds of black screen and a short movie); later starts are quick.

When a new release is out, the launcher offers it at the top of its window: Update the launcher downloads it, checks it and restarts, then Update puts the new version in place, keeping your saves and settings. The new version is built beside the game and only replaces it once it is ready, so a failed or stopped update leaves the game as it was.

Coming from 1.3 or earlier: those versions built everything from source with about 1.4 GB of tools. The new launcher shows A faster way to play: press Update. Your game keeps playing until the new one is ready, and your saves and settings are kept. Afterwards, Manage > Remove the old build tools frees the old tools and source.

Files, all under the PGR1 folder beside the launcher:

• play\ the game: PGR1.exe, PGR1.dll (the game's code, built on your PC), pgr1.toml (settings), hdd\ (profiles, saves and caches), logs\pgr1.log (the game's log), achievements.toml, compiler\ (what builds the code)
• launcher.log the launcher's log (send it with any problem)

To remove everything, delete the launcher and its PGR1 folder (keep play\hdd if you want your saves).

Building from source (developers)

You need: Windows 10 or 11 (64 bit), Git, Visual Studio 2022 (Community is fine) with Desktop development with C++ (build.bat offers to add C++ Clang tools for Windows and C++ CMake tools for Windows), about 3 GB free plus room for your copy of the game, and your disc's files: default.xbe and its folders (Async, FMV, FrontEnd, Game, Images, media, Shaders, ...), or an .iso image of the disc.

1. Clone the repository with its SDK:

   git clone --recurse-submodules https://github.com/hk21x/pgr1-recomp.git
   cd pgr1-recomp
   

   Cloned without --recurse-submodules? Run git submodule update --init.
2. Put your game files in the assets folder: assets\default.xbe with the game's folders beside it. With an .iso, put the .iso in assets and also copy default.xbe out of it into assets (the build recompiles from that file).
3. Run build.bat from Explorer or a command prompt. The first build takes 30 to 90 minutes; later builds are quicker. Do not run xbe_symbols or edit config\game.toml: the committed configurations are the ones for the supported releases, and the build picks yours by its SHA-1.
4. Answer Y to "Play now?", or run out\build\release\PGR1.exe. It finds the assets folder beside itself or in any folder above it.

launcher.bat builds PGR1Launcher.exe itself. Files the game writes beside the exe: pgr1.toml (settings), hdd\ (saves and caches; delete it to start again from a first boot), logs\pgr1.log, achievements.toml, and CrashDumps\ if it crashes. WINDOWS.md has more.

Controls and Settings

Settings window: press F1, or Back + Start on a controller. Tabs: Display, Graphics, Game, Achievements, General, Wheel and Controls. Changes are saved at once.

Keyboard (plays as controller 1 while the window has the focus; remap in Controls, two keys per input):

Console input	Keys
Steer / menus (left stick)	Arrow keys, or A / D
Accelerate / brake	W / S
A / B / X / Y	Enter or Space / Backspace / Q / E
Black / White	R / F
Start / Back	Escape or P / Tab
D-pad	Numpad 8 / 2 / 4 / 6
Right stick, stick clicks	I J K L, C and V

Controllers: Xbox, PlayStation and Switch controllers, with hot plugging and rumble; any console input can be mapped to any controller input in Controls.

Graphics settings

In the settings window (F1); they apply at once. All of these are the same spot at 3440x1440.

<p align="center"> <img src="docs/images/pgr1-settings-wipe.webp" alt="A wipe between all settings off and render scale 200%, MSAA 4x and sharpening 50%" width="800"> <br> <i>All off vs. the recommended start for a capable PC: render scale 200%, MSAA 4x, sharpening 50%.</i> </p> <p align="center"> <img src="docs/images/pgr1-settings-car.webp" alt="Close-up of the car's roof, window and mirror with all off, MSAA 4x, FXAA and render scale 200%" width="800"> <br> <i>Edges around the car, enlarged three times.</i> </p> <p align="center"> <img src="docs/images/pgr1-settings-edges.webp" alt="Overhead wires crossing a clock tower with all off, MSAA 4x, FXAA and render scale 200%" width="800"> <br> <i>Fine detail, enlarged twice.</i> </p>

• MSAA smooths the edges of the 3D scene and keeps textures sharp. The more samples, the slower; 8x shows little over 4x here.
• FXAA smooths the finished frame, softens it a little, and can smudge thin lines such as these wires.
• Render scale draws the picture larger than the screen: the smoothest edges, and the slowest.

<p align="center"> <img src="docs/images/pgr1-settings-sharpness.webp" alt="A brick building with all off, sharpening 50%, sharpening 100% and all three settings together" width="800"> <br> <i>Sharpening, enlarged twice.</i> </p>

• Sharpening makes the picture crisper. Around 50% is a good start; 100% turns brickwork and window frames gritty.

Features

Display

• Display Modes - Fullscreen, borderless window or window, at any resolution the monitor offers, applied at once.
• RECOMP Menu - The PC settings inside the game: Options > RECOMP in the menus, and recomp in a race's pause menu. Sections for picture, performance, display, game, controls and wheel; bindings and more opens the F1 window. quit game leaves. Not offered in a pause during multiplayer or a replay.
• Widescreen and Ultrawide - The console game is 4:3 only. Here the 3D views widen to the screen's shape, 21:9 and wider included, at full sharpness. The race HUD is laid out at 16:9 (its panels out towards the sides, each at its true shape), the race intro's black bars fit the screen, and the menus stay 4:3 in the centre with the backdrop's leather filling the sides.
• Frame Pacing - Runs at the game's own rate, 60 frames a second in menus and races as on the console, with vsync and a frame rate cap.
• Monitor - Chooses which display the game uses.
• Steady Speed - The game keeps real time when the frame rate dips: on the console a late frame slowed the whole game.
• Language - English, French, German, Spanish or Italian on the Europe and Japan discs (recomp > game, or F1), at the next start. The USA and Asia discs have English only.
• Game Frame Rate - 60, 90, 120 or 144 (recomp > game, or F1): the game runs and draws every frame at that rate, at the right speed. Busy races are limited by the renderer, which draws on one CPU core (about 90 on a Ryzen 7 5800X3D).
• FPS Counter - Shows the frame rate in a corner.

Graphics

• Render Scale - Renders at a percentage of the screen, from 25% to 200%.
• Renderer - Direct3D 12 (default) or Direct3D 11, at the next start; 11 for GPUs or drivers where 12 runs badly. Without Direct3D 12 the game starts on 11 by itself.
• Anisotropic Filtering - Up to 16x.
• Antialiasing - MSAA 2x, 4x or 8x on the 3D scene and FXAA on the finished frame, separately or together; render scale above 100% supersamples.
• Field of View - Widens or narrows the race camera, 50% to 200% of the console's.
• Sharp Text and HUD - The menus', HUD's and text's textures are enlarged with sharp edges, so lettering and gauges stay crisp at high resolutions (on by default).

Controller

Supports Xbox, PlayStation and Switch controllers, with hot plugging and rumble. Any console input can be mapped to any controller input.

Steering wheels and rigs - any DirectInput wheel, pedal box, button box or shifter, also spread over several USB devices; each control bound in F1 > Wheel by moving or pressing it, and force feedback on the steering's device that follows the player's car.

Keyboard

Plays as controller 1, with two keys for each console input, remappable in the settings window.

General

• Launcher - PGR1Launcher.exe: choose your disc, Get the game ready, Play, Update; a package for your disc and your PC build the game, nothing installed.
• Settings Window - Press F1, or Back + Start on a controller, for display, graphics, game options, the wheel and controls. Changes are saved to pgr1.toml.
• Skip Intro - Skips the intro movie, the logos and the warning, straight to the title screen.
• Hide HUD - Clears the race HUD for screenshots.
• Radio Music Volume - The radio's music against the engine and effects (150% by default; 100% is the game's own balance).
• Pause On Focus Loss - The game and its sound stop while another window is in front.
• Saves - Profiles, options and Kudos Challenge progress are kept on an emulated hard disk beside the exe.
• Achievements - 31 achievements (every Kudos Challenge level, golds, Quick and Arcade Race, Kudos totals, cars, combos, clean and night wins, split screen) with pop-ups and a list in the settings window, written in RetroAchievements' condition format; the set is in ACHIEVEMENTS.md.

Miscellaneous

• Boot Splash - Place a splash.png (or .bmp) beside the exe to display a splash screen at launch.
• Diagnostics - Logs to logs\pgr1.log, and offers frame captures (F3). See WINDOWS.md.

Status

Boots, plays the movies and menus, saves, and races at 60 frames a second; widescreen and ultrawide, MSAA, wheels and the settings window in. Open: system link and split screen have not been tried, the recorded push buffers the game uses for some models are not replayed yet, and there is no draw distance setting. Progress is in PROGRESS.md, and technical findings in FINDINGS.md.

Community and Support

Join the Discord server for help getting the game running, to report problems, and to talk about the port with other players.

Troubleshooting

• Something wrong: the first lines of logs\pgr1.log list the settings, the GPU and any XBE_* or PGR1_* environment variables; leftover ones from experiments change how the game draws. WINDOWS.md lists the diagnostic switches (frame captures with F3, XBE_DSOUND_LOG for sound, XBE_PERF timings).
• The launcher's build failing: send PGR1\launcher.log (its Details section shows the same). Press Build again after a network problem: it carries on where it stopped.
• "Another release" in the log, or the game not starting: the default.xbe is not the release this build was made from.
• A first boot again (the cache, the intro movie): delete the hdd folder beside PGR1.exe (PGR1\play\hdd with the launcher, out\build\release\hdd when built from source).
• Still stuck: ask on the Discord server, with logs\pgr1.log.

Credits

• Xbox XBE Recomp, the recompiler and runtime this is built on.
• XenonRecomp for the overridable function layout and instruction hooks.
• Zydis for decoding x86 instructions, toml++ for the configs, Dear ImGui for the settings overlay and SDL for the window, input and controllers.

License

This project's code is released under the MIT License. The SDK in sdk/ keeps its own MIT license (sdk/LICENSE). Neither covers Project Gotham Racing itself: the game's code and assets belong to their owners and are not part of this repository.