KIexster/god-of-war-recomp

• What is this?
• Current status
• Repository layout
• Requirements
• Building and running
• How it works
• Documentation
• Credits and license

Instead of emulating the PlayStation 2, this project translates the game's original executable (SCUS_973.99) into C++ with PS2Recomp and compiles it into a native Windows program. Since October 2026 the base is the runtime of Waffle565's native port, which replaces every piece of PS2 hardware with native code that produces the same result from the game's own data:

This repository contains everything specific to God of War:

Per-library and per-component breakdown: docs/estado/detalle.en.md. Regenerated from docs/estado/datos.toml by tools/estado/generar.py (and automatically on push to main).

Native Windows build on a Ryzen 7 5800XT with an RX 5700 XT (GS captures at 1024×894):

The game plays like Waffle565's port: it boots, loads its data from the extracted disc and reaches gameplay with keyboard or controller. Performance in heavy scenes does not reach 60 on this machine yet; the critical path of each frame is the VU1 and GS work (~11–13 ms). An intermittent hang of the window thread (the game keeps running) is being investigated. See docs/ESTADO.md for the measurements and their limits.

.
├── .github/workflows/            # CI: tests (pruebas.yml) and status map (estado.yml)
├── AGENTS.md                     # Project conventions for contributors and agents
├── config/
│   ├── funcmap.csv               # Function map (name, start, end, size)
│   └── recomp.template.toml      # PS2Recomp configuration (@ELF@, @MAP@, @OUT@)
├── docs/                         # Technical documentation
│   ├── capturas/                 # Screenshots for this page
│   └── estado/                   # Status map data and generated SVG/tables
├── game/                         # YOUR extracted disc goes here: SCUS_973.99, IRX, PAK, .disc_layout (git-ignored)
├── patches/
│   ├── ps2recomp-waffle-runtime.patch   # Waffle565's runtime on PS2Recomp @ c5a9d02
│   ├── ps2recomp-*.patch         # Our fixes on top, in scripts/compilar.ps1 order
│   └── anteriores/               # Patch stack from before the migration (reference, not applied)
├── scripts/
│   ├── 1_instalar_herramientas.cmd
│   ├── 2_compilar.cmd            # Full pipeline (GOW_IOP_MODULOS: native IOP)
│   ├── 2_recompilar_rapido.cmd   # Rebuilds only src/gow_overrides.cpp (~1 min)
│   ├── 3_ejecutar.cmd            # Runs for 60 s and saves logs (extracts the disc the first time)
│   ├── 3_ejecutar_manual.cmd     # Runs with no time limit
│   ├── probar_menu.ps1           # Menu test with GS captures
│   ├── probar_pad2.cmd           # Builds and runs the libpad2 packet test
│   └── *.ps1                     # Script logic
├── src/
│   ├── gow_overrides.cpp         # Game-specific overrides (from Waffle565)
│   └── *.h                       # Tested formats and helpers (libpad2 packet, GS replay…)
├── tests/                        # Game-independent tests and known suite failures
└── tools/
    ├── ci/                       # CI helpers (patch order, config, tests)
    ├── estado/generar.py         # Status map generator
    ├── iop/iopn_gen.py           # Compiles the game's IRX to C++ (native IOP)
    ├── vu1/vu1n_gen.py           # Compiles the VU1 microcode to C++ (native VU1)
    └── iso_extract.py            # Extracts the disc keeping its original sectors (--layout)

• Windows 10/11 x64
• Visual Studio 2022 Build Tools with the C++ workload (includes CMake and Ninja)
• Git
• Python 3 (disc extraction and the native VU1/IOP generators)
• ~20 GB of free space (the extracted disc takes ~8.5 GB); 16 GB of RAM recommended (the build uses every core)
• Your own copy of God of War (NTSC-U, SCUS-97399)

scripts\1_instalar_herramientas.cmd installs Git and the Build Tools with winget.

1. Extract the disc. As in Waffle565's port, the game reads its data from the extracted disc files, each at its original sector (the ISO is not read). With Python 3:

python tools\iso_extract.py "D:\God of War.iso" game --layout

This leaves the executable SCUS_973.99, the .IRX modules, PART1.PAK/PART2.PAK (both DVD layers) and the .disc_layout index in game\. If the ELF is somewhere else, point GOW_ELF at it; the disc files must sit next to it. scripts\ejecutar.ps1 extracts the disc by itself on first run if it finds God of War.iso in the folder above the ELF's, and GOW_ISO=<path> makes the runtime read the image directly.

2. Install the tools (first time only):

scripts\1_instalar_herramientas.cmd

3. Build (20–40 min the first time):

scripts\2_compilar.cmd

The script clones PS2Recomp into <drive>:\gowport (a short path to avoid the 260-character limit; configurable with GOW_WORK), pins commit c5a9d02, applies the patches in patches/, generates the C++ code and builds ps2EntryRunner.exe. The log is written to logs\2_compilar.log.

Release builds disable function and IOP RPC traces by default. For diagnostics, use scripts\2_compilar.cmd -Trazas. To measure game vid::Flip calls separately from window refreshes, run powershell -File scripts\probar_rendimiento.ps1; see the profiling notes.

4. Run:

scripts\3_ejecutar.cmd          :: 60 seconds, output in logs\
scripts\3_ejecutar_manual.cmd   :: no time limit

F2 shows an FPS meter (also with GOW_FPS=1); see docs/CONTROLES.md. The game starts in borderless fullscreen; F11 switches to a window and back (GOW_PANTALLA_COMPLETA=0 starts windowed). F1 opens the runtime debugger.

5. Native IOP (optional, as in Waffle565's port). Compiles the game's 8 IRX modules ahead of time and shortens loading (gameplay starts at ~21 s instead of ~34 s). One run dumps the modules and the next build uses them:

set PS2X_IOP_DUMP_MODULES=%CD%\logs\iop_modulos
scripts\3_ejecutar.cmd
set PS2X_IOP_DUMP_MODULES=
set GOW_IOP_MODULOS=%CD%\logs\iop_modulos
scripts\2_compilar.cmd

flowchart LR
    A[SCUS_973.99<br/>MIPS R5900 ELF] --> B[ps2_recomp]
    M[funcmap.csv] --> B
    C[recomp.template.toml] --> B
    B --> D[~6,400 C++ files]
    D --> E[MSVC + Ninja]
    O[gow_overrides.cpp] --> E
    P["PS2Recomp runtime<br/>+ patches/*.patch"] --> E
    E --> F[ps2EntryRunner.exe]
    I[Original IRX modules] --> G[IOP<br/>native IRX or interpreter]
    ISO["Extracted disc<br/>.disc_layout"] --> G
    F <--> G

More details in docs/ARQUITECTURA.md.

The technical documentation is currently written in Spanish:

• docs/ARQUITECTURA.md — pipeline, overrides, runtime patches and CI
• docs/CONTROLES.md — controls and menu/input tests
• docs/RENDERIZADO.md — optional CPU/threaded CPU/OpenGL renderers and comparisons
• docs/RENDIMIENTO.md — performance measurements, optional threads and VU1 optimizations
• AGENTS.md — project conventions for contributors and coding agents
• docs/ESTADO.md — current status, investigation log, known issues and next steps

• PS2Recomp by ran-j and contributors — recompiler and runtime (GPL-3.0).
• God-Of-War-Native-Port by Waffle565 — native runtime (GS, VU1, IOP, sound, DMA, disc), overrides and tools that are the base of the port since October 2026; their port in turn started from this repository.
• PCSX2 contributors — original GS used by the optional DX11 diagnostic module, and the EE interpreter and VU operations of the runtime (ee_ref/, vu_pcsx2/, brought in with Waffle565's runtime) (GPL-3.0+).
• Urban Reign recomp by thiagordsfx — shared GS integration reference; helped identify the VSync field convention in our diagnostic mirror (review and scope).
• SotC runtime fork by Taylor N. Albarnaz / LightVelox — OpenGL GS backend and command queue, and EE fixes (FPU, 64-bit branches, LQ/SQ, tail jumps, VU0 macro mode and long DMA chains) (GPL-3.0, ac9efa0).
• God of War © Sony Interactive Entertainment / Santa Monica Studio. This project is not affiliated with or endorsed by Sony. No game content is distributed.

The code in this repository is released under the GPL-3.0 license, consistent with PS2Recomp. See LICENSE.