Introduction
OpenRF is a native reimplementation of Return Fire, the 1995 capture-the-flag action game by Silent Software (3DO), in its 1996 Windows 95 edition.
Instead of emulating Windows, OpenRF re-implements the game engine: every subsystem — rendering, vehicle physics, AI, weapons, sound, music and the front end — was reverse engineered from the original executable and rewritten in portable C. It reads all of its content (graphics, maps, movies, sounds, music) directly from the original CD, so it looks and plays like the original, but runs natively on modern computers.
What you need
- A Mac running macOS 11 or newer (Apple Silicon or Intel), a Linux (x86_64 or arm64) or Windows 10/11 (x86_64) PC for the gasm bundles, or a web browser (Play).
- Your own copy of Return Fire for Windows 95 (the CD, or a BIN/CUE or ISO image of it). OpenRF does not include any of the original game's files.
Status
| Area | State |
|---|---|
| Intro and victory movies, title screen | Done |
| Music director (the orchestral score) and sound effects | Done |
| Perspective renderer with 3D buildings and vehicles | Done |
| All four vehicles, bunker lift, fuel and ammo | Done |
| Weapons, explosions, damage, debris | Done |
| Turrets, drones, submarine, soldiers, gates, flag, mines | Done |
| Winning, losing, level progression, high scores | Done |
| Two-player split screen | Done |
| Network play | Planned |
Platforms
OpenRF is written in portable C11; all platform-specific code lives in one small layer, with two implementations: SDL3 (the native app) and gasm (a WebAssembly module, which also runs in the browser).
| Platform | State |
|---|---|
| macOS 11+ (universal: Apple Silicon and Intel) | Available: the native app (recommended) and Return Fire (gasm).app |
| Linux x86_64 and arm64 | Available as a gasm bundle (openrf.sh) |
| Windows 10/11 x86_64 | Available as a gasm bundle (OpenRF.cmd) |
| Web browser (Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari) | Available: Play |
Any gasm runner (openrf.wasm, gasm-run 0.3+) | Available, see Running on gasm |
| Native SDL builds for Linux and Windows | Planned |
The gasm bundles are the same openrf.wasm with the released gasm-run and a launcher; see Installing for the downloads.
Next: install OpenRF.