Descent 3 Open source usage instructions

Important note: This open source distribution of Descent 3 DOES NOT CONTAIN GAME ASSETS. Assets must be acquired separately from an official copy of the game, and copied as described in the next section.

This is the first release of the Descent 3 open source engine, that should be considered a beta version. If you find a bug that has not been reported before, please open a new ticket it on our online issue tracker.

Make sure that you have a copy of Descent 3. You can purchase a copy of Descent 3 from GOG or Steam.
Install Descent 3. Note for Steam users: If you own Descent 3 on Steam, then it’s recommended that you install the Windows version of the game even if you’re running macOS or Linux, otherwise movies will not work due to current lack of OGV support. You can use either Steam Play or SteamCMD to install the Windows version of the game on macOS or Linux.
If your version of Descent 3 is older than v1.4, then update it to v1.4.
Find the installation location of Descent 3. Using the Steam client, you can find it from the library page using the Manage > Browse local files context menu.
Create a new folder named D3-open-source.
Copy the following files from your installation of Descent 3 to D3-open-source:
- All .hog files
- The missions folder
- (Optional) All .pld files
- (Optional) The movies folder
Create the custom/ folder in D3-open-source
Obtain new Descent 3 engine files:
- If you want to use pre-built binaries, then download the latest release. For a more cutting-edge experience with the latest features, use the artifacts from the latest automated build. You can find the list of automated builds here.
- If you want to build the engine files yourself, the follow the instructions in BUILD.md. Once you build the engine files, they’ll be put in builds/<platform>/build/<build-type>/. For example, if you’re using Linux and you create a “Release” build, then the files will be located at builds/linux/build/Release.
Copy all the new engine files into D3-open-source and overwrite any conflicts.
Special notes:
- D3 Open Source compiles level scripts in their own hogfiles. Make sure you copy and overwrite d3-{platform}.hog.
Run the game:
- On Windows, run D3-open-source\Descent3.exe from a command-line or double-click on the Descent3 executable.
- On Linux, cd to D3-open-source and run ./Descent3. Wayland users may need to set environment variable SDL_VIDEODRIVER=wayland before launching the game.
- On macOS, open the terminal, cd to D3-open-source, and run ./Descent3.app/Contents/MacOS/Descent3.

Troubleshooting

Descent 3 Message(Error: Couldn't find the string table.)

This error means that game data could not be found. Make sure you copied all game files to the D3-open-source folder, and that you're running the game from this same folder.

Base directories

A base directory is a directory that Descent 3 expects game files to be in. When you run Descent 3, it will try to access many different files. Most of those files need to be stored in a base directory. There are two different types of files that are stored in base directories:

Read-write files are files that can change while you play Descent 3. Examples: <you name>.plt and files in the savegame/ directory.
Read-only files are files that do not change while you play Descent 3. Examples: d3.hog and files in the movies/ directory.

Descent 3 has two types of base directories:

The writable base directory can contain both read-write files and read-only files. There is only one writeable base directory. By default, the writable base directory gets set to the current working directory.
The read-only base directories can only contain read-only files. There can be any number of read-only base directories. By default, Descent 3 uses zero read-only base directories.

You can set the writable base directory and the list of read-only base directories using the -setdir, -useexedir and -additionaldir command-line options (see the next section). Descent 3 also has a list of default read-only base directories. Normally, the list of default read-only base directories is empty, but you can change it by using the DEFAULT_ADDITIONAL_DIRS CMake option when compiling Descent 3 (see BUILD.md’s Build Options section).

When Descent 3 tries to find a read-only file, then it will look through the list of base directories in this order:

the last read-only base directory that was specified on the command-line,
the second-to-last read-only base directory that was specified on the command-line,
the third-to-last read-only base directory that was specified on the command-line,
…
the first read-only base directory that was specified on the command-line,
all of the items on the DEFAULT_ADDITIONAL_DIRS list in reverse order, and, finally,
the writable base directory.

Files that are in base directories that are higher on that list will override files that are in base directories that are lower on that list. For example, lets say that the DEFAULT_ADDITIONAL_DIRS list is empty and that you run Descent 3 like this:

Descent3 -setdir /home/user/my-writable-base-directory -additionaldir /home/user/my-read-only-base-directory

Let’s also say that both my-writable-base-directory and my-read-only-base-directory contain a file named d3.hog. In this example, Descent 3 will load /home/user/my-read-only-base-directory/d3.hog because read-only directories have a higher precedence than the writable base directory. Descent 3 will ignore /home/user/my-writable-base-directory/d3.hog.

Command-Line Options

The following command-line options are available in Descent 3. You can set command-line options on the Misc. tab of the Setup section of the Descent 3 launcher or by creating a shortcut to Descent3.exe. Case is not significant in command-line options, and -, --, and + are all accepted.

Display Options

-aspect <value>

Type: floating-point number

Default: 1.3333333333333333

Platform: all

Description: Specifies the screen aspect ratio for non-standard displays, such as wide-screen TVs.
-display <number>

Type: integer

Default: 0

Platforms: all

Description: Run game on the selected display.
-fullscreen or -f

Type: boolean

Default: On

Platform: all

Description: Run game in fullscreen mode.
-height <height>

Type: integer

Default: 480 unless you select a different value in the options menu

Platform: all

Description: Sets the screen resolution to the specified height, if possible.
-himem

Type: boolean

Default: Off

Platform: all

Description: Forces normal operations even when low memory conditions are detected.
-lowmem

Type: boolean

Default: Off

Platform: all

Description: Uses scaled-down textures and lower quality (8-bit) sounds to conserve memory.
-NoRenderWindows

Type: boolean

Default: Off

Platform: all

Description: Causes all windows to be fully transparent. Use this option if your card does not correctly render partially-transparent windows.
-superlowmem

Type: boolean

Default: Off

Platform: all

Description: Uses the -lowmem settings and further scales down textures to conserve memory.
-vsync

Type: boolean

Default: Off

Platform: all

Description: Turns on Vertical Sync. The flag will be enabled in the registry so it will be on when the game is run again.
-width <width>

Type: integer

Default: 640 unless you select a different value in the options menu

Platform: all

Description: Sets the screen resolution to the specified width, if possible.
-windowed or -w

Type: boolean

Default: Off

Platform: all

Description: Runs the game in a window.

Audio Options

-nomusic

Type: boolean

Default: Off

Platform: all

Description: Disables music.
-nosound

Type: boolean

Default: Off

Platform: all

Description: Disables all sound, including music.

Input Options

-deadzone# <k>

Type: # is either the character 0 or the character 1. k is a floating-point number.

Default: 0.2

Platform: all

Description: Specifies the size of the deadzone for a joystick.
-mlooksens <scale>

Type: floating-point number

Default: 9.102

Platform: all

Description: Determines how much the player moves when the mouse is moved.
-mousesens <scale>

Type: floating-point number

Default: 1.0

Platform: all

Description: Adjusts the sensitivity of the mouse when not using mouselook mode.
-nomousegrab or -m

Type: boolean

Default: Off

Platform: all

Description: Disable mouse capture.

Performance Options

-fastdemo

Type: boolean

Default: Off

Platform: all

Description: Causes a demo to play back at the highest speed your computer is capable of.
-forcelightmaps

Type: boolean

Default: Off

Platform: all

Description: Forces the use of lightmaps, even the Default Detail Level is set to Low in the launcher setup.
-framecap <fps>

Type: integer

Default: 60

Platform: all

Description: Limits the framerate to the number of frames per second specified.
-nomotionblur

Type: boolean

Default: Off

Platform: all

Description: Disables motion blur on robots (Pentium III only).
-nosatomega

Type: boolean

Default: Off

Platform: all

Description: Disables alpha saturation on the omega cannon effect.
-nosparkles

Type: boolean

Default: Off

Platform: all

Description: Disables powerup sparkles (Pentium III only).

Multiplayer and Network Options

-audiotauntdelay <time>

Type: floating-point number

Default: 5.0

Platform: all

Description: Sets the time in seconds the a user must wait after sending an audio taunt before he or she is able to send another. This option is only active when starting a server.
-autoexec <file>

Type: path

Default: <writable-base-directory>/netgames/autoexec.dmfc

Platform: all

Description: Specifies the full path and file name of the multiplayer config file to be loaded and executed when a multiplayer game is initialized.
-dedicated <config file> or -d <config file>

Type: path

Default: None

Platform: all

Description: Starts a dedicated server.
-gamespyport <port>

Type: integer

Default: 20142

Platform: all

Description: Specifies a port for to listen for GameSpy requests.
-gspyfile <config file>

Type: path

Default: gamespy.cfg

Platform: all

Description: Specifies a GameSpy configuration file to use.
-httpproxy <addr> or -httpproxy <addr:port>

Type: string

Default: None

Platform: all

Description: Specifies an HTTP proxy server. Descent 3 uses HTTP to auto-download a mission; use this option if your ISP requires a proxy server for HTTP connections. If the first form is used, the port value defaults to 80.
-nooutragelogo

Type: boolean

Default: Off

Platform: all

Description: Disables the Outrage logo that is normally displayed for five seconds at the start of a multiplayer game.
-nomultibmp

Type: boolean

Default: Off

Platform: all

Description: Disables sending or receiving in-game custom bitmaps for ships.
-nonetwork

Type: boolean

Default: Off

Platform: all

Description: Disables all network multiplayer functionality.
-playermessages

Type: boolean

Default: Off

Platform: all

Description: Disables all weapon-related HUD messages in multiplayer games.
-pxoport <port>

Type: integer

Default: 20142

Platform: all

Description: Specifies the port that PXO will tell clients to use when contacting a server. The default is 2092.
-useip <IP>

Type: string

Default: All available network interfaces

Platform: all

Description: Binds Descent 3 to this IP address. Use this option to tell D3 which IP address to use if your computer has multiple IP addresses.
-useport <port>

Type: integer

Default: 2092

Platform: all

Description: Specifies the port that TCP/IP and IPX will use.
-usesmoothing

Type: boolean

Default: Off

Platform: all

Description: Enables code to smooth the interpolation for fast-moving objects. This will fix "skipping" problems with fast weapons, such as the Phoenix. This option applies to clients only; using it on the server has no effect.

Base Directory Options

-additionaldir <path>

Type: path

Default: None

Platform: all

Description: Adds a directory to the list of read-only base directories. This options can be used multiple times to add multiple directories to the list.
-setdir <path>

Type: path

Default: .

Platform: all

Description: Sets the writable base directory.
-useexedir

Type: boolean

Default: Off

Platform: all

Description: Tells Descent 3 to use the directory in which the executable is located as the writable base directory.

Other Options

-loadlevel

Type: int

Default: Off

Platform: all

Description: Load a specific level from the mission selected with -mission. Only has an effect when -mission is specified.
-logfile

Type: boolean

Default: Off

Platform: all

Description: Generates a logfile d3.log if using the Debug build. All mprintf statements output to the logfile.
-loglevel <LEVEL>

Type: string

Default: INFO (on Release), DEBUG (on Debug)

Platform: all

Description: Set log level (NONE, VERBOSE, DEBUG, INFO, WARNING, ERROR, FATAL)
-makemovie

Type: boolean

Default: Off

Platform: all

Description: Causes the demo system to save a screenshot of every frame during playback.
-mission <name>

Type: string

Default: None

Platform: all

Description: Loads the specified mission file at startup. Example: -mission d3 to load the main campaign. Combine this option with -loadlevel to load a specific level from the mission.
-pilot <name>

Type: string

Default: None

Platform: all

Description: Specifies the pilot to use, skipping the pilot selection dialog when the game starts.
-service

Type: boolean

Default: Off

Platform: all

Description: Run game in service mode.
-winconsole

Type: boolean

Default: Off

Platform: WIN

Description: Enable windows console (off by default).

16 KiB Raw Blame History Unescape Escape