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Preservation + Godot remaster of Havoc (Reality Bytes, 1995): .FF asset extraction, format docs, and reverse-engineering toolkit.
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pyr0ball 534c41af73 docs: add full RE methodology for blog post 
Documents the process (not just the results) for each format cracked:
- Binary identification: why 32-bit PE not 16-bit, what actually broke
- .FF archive discovery: speculative parsing from file count heuristic
- MUSIC.FF playlists: big-endian payload in LE container, segment ID math
- INTRFACE.FF bitmaps: BitB/BitR/XPAL system, index-2 black patch discovery
Includes tools, dead ends, corrections (2D->3D), and what's next.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>
2026-06-29 00:29:50 -07:00
docs docs: add full RE methodology for blog post 2026-06-29 00:29:50 -07:00
tools Initial commit: Havoc preservation toolkit + format docs 2026-06-28 23:33:30 -07:00
.gitignore chore: gitignore local .claude/ and third-party reference screenshots 2026-06-28 23:38:01 -07:00
README.md Initial commit: Havoc preservation toolkit + format docs 2026-06-28 23:33:30 -07:00

README.md

Havoc — Preservation & Godot Remaster

Reverse-engineering, asset-extraction, and Godot remaster of Havoc (Reality Bytes, Inc., 1995) — a first-person vehicular-combat shooter for Windows 95/98.

Havoc renders a software-rasterized 3D world (textured terrain, low-poly enemy/pickup models, drivable and flyable vehicles, dithered 8-bit color) into a DirectDraw framebuffer, framed by an elaborate 2D cockpit HUD (mirrors, radar, gauges, weapon icons). Biomes include desert, snow/ice, lava, and ocean.

The original 32-bit executable (DirectDraw + DirectSound, no Direct3D — the 3D is all software) no longer runs reliably on modern Windows (legacy DirectDraw + a 16-bit installer/DirectX setup path). Rather than only emulate it, this project extracts the original data into open formats and rebuilds the game in Godot as a quality-of-life remaster.

Legal: Havoc is 30-year-old abandonware. This repository contains only original reverse-engineering code and documentation. It does not redistribute the game's executables, DLLs, or data files (see .gitignore). You must supply your own copy of the game data to run the tools.

Status

  • Identified binaries: HAVOC.EXE/LAUNCHER.EXE/SETUP.EXE are 32-bit PE (i386), DirectDraw + DirectSound, not 16-bit/DOS.
  • Cracked the .FF ("FlashFile") archive format — see docs/FORMATS.md.
  • Extracted MUSIC.FF: 97 WAV segments + 17 playlist-sequenced songs (verified correct).
  • FL Studio pack: per-song MIDI + sample mapping (tools/ff_extract.py --fl).
  • ogg/mp3 conversion (--convert, needs ffmpeg).
  • Crack graphics formats: GRAFIX*.DAT, LAND*.DAT, MAP*.MAP, STUF*.DAT.
  • Decompile HAVOC.EXE (Ghidra) to recover game logic.
  • Godot remaster project (widescreen, higher-res, rebindable input).

Tools

tools/ff_extract.py — extract any .FF archive.

python tools/ff_extract.py MUSIC.FF -o out_music --songs          # raw entries + assembled songs
python tools/ff_extract.py MUSIC.FF -o out_music --songs --convert ogg
python tools/ff_extract.py MUSIC.FF -o Havoc_MUSIC_FLStudio --fl  # FL Studio samples + MIDI

Layout

tools/        reverse-engineering & extraction scripts (tracked)
docs/         format documentation (tracked)
godot/        Godot remaster project (tracked, WIP)
<game files>  original data — supplied by you, gitignored