KillzoneRecomp

A native Windows PC port of Killzone (PlayStation 2, 2004), made by statically recompiling the game's PS2 code to C++ with PS2Recomp. PCSX2's hardware renderer, microVU, IPU and SPU2 are linked in as libraries.

No game code or data is in this repository. You need your own disc image of Killzone NTSC-U (SCUS-97402).

Developed with AI assistance (Claude Code). Findings, measurements and the reasoning behind each change are in docs/findings.md and patches/README.md.

Status

Test build. Boot, menus, profile creation and the first mission's gameplay are verified in automated runs; longer play-throughs and hands-on testing are ongoing.

• Frame rate: runs at the monitor's refresh rate. Measured in gameplay: about 117-120 fps at 120 Hz and about 130-140 fps at 144 Hz. The game's clock runs at real time at 120 Hz (the frame timer is rescaled, not sped up).
• Mouse and keyboard: mouse aim is an engine patch (raw counts go into the game's own look rate: no stick acceleration or dead zone), with fully rebindable keys. Controllers work through SDL3 with the original PS2 layout.
• Graphics: internal resolution up to 8x (supersampling), native 16:9, sharp scaling, anisotropic filtering, optional FXAA; D3D11, D3D12 or Vulkan.
• Launcher: display, graphics, controls and audio settings; checks the disc image is the supported version.
• Not included: Killzone Online (LOADER.ELF and the network modules); its servers are long gone.

Default controls

Mouse	aim
Left / right / middle mouse	fire / hold to aim / secondary fire
W A S D	move (menus: navigate)
Left Shift / C or Left Ctrl	sprint / crouch
R / G / Q or wheel	reload / grenade / switch weapon
E or F / X or Mouse4	use / special item
Escape / Tab	pause / objectives
Arrow keys, Enter	menus

The profile name can be typed directly on the game's on-screen keyboard. Bindings live in killzone.ini under [Bindings].

Building

Windows x64, Visual Studio 2022 or later (MSVC), CMake 3.21+, Ninja, Python 3, a CPU with AVX2.

1. Clone with submodules: git clone --recursive https://github.com/drakolordx7/KillzoneRecomp. ext/PS2Recomp is the killzone branch of drakolordx7/PS2Recomp.
2. Dependencies that are not committed:
   • PCSX2 source in ext/pcsx2 (verified against commit 646df006a4), unmodified.
   • pcsx2-windows-dependencies extracted to ext/kzgs/deps.
   • SDL3 3.4.16 (VC development package) in ext/sdl3.
3. Extract SCUS_974.02 from your disc image into game/.
4. Build the recompiler: tools\scripts\build_ps2recomp.bat.
5. Recompile the game: python tools\scripts\regen.py (writes generated/, about 20k C++ files).
6. Build: tools\scripts\build.bat RelWithDebInfo -> build\RelWithDebInfo\killzone.exe.
7. Optional: tools\scripts\package.ps1 makes a player folder in dist\Killzone.

killzone.exe --selftest runs the unit checks. tools\scripts\run_headless.ps1 runs the game without a window, with scripted input (KZ_INPUT_SCRIPT) and periodic screenshots, which is how everything here was verified.

Layout

• src/ - the port: game overrides and patches, input, mouse aim, timing, launcher, config, GS/VU/IPU/SPU2 glue.
• ext/kzgs, ext/kzvu, ext/kzipu, ext/kzspu2 - PCSX2's GS, microVU, IPU and SPU2 built as static libraries.
• ext/PS2Recomp - recompiler and runtime (fork, killzone branch).
• patches/ - the runtime changes as patches, with a description and measurements for each.
• config/killzone.toml - PS2Recomp configuration for SCUS-97402.
• tools/ - build, test, profiling and Ghidra helper scripts.
• docs/ - findings and performance research.

License

GPL-3.0 (see LICENSE). The port links PCSX2 (GPL-3.0-or-later) and PS2Recomp (GPL-3.0). Killzone is a trademark of Sony Interactive Entertainment; this project is not affiliated with Sony or Guerrilla Games.