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Case study

Driver Recompiled: a psxrecomp setup host that builds the game locally

Packages a psxrecomp static-recompilation project for Driver (PlayStation, USA) as a setup host: releases carry the recompiler, runtime and a recomp-ui launcher, and the player’s machine generates and compiles the game from the user’s own disc image. The repository holds configuration, Ghidra-derived function seeds and release automation rather than game code. Its documented status is thin: an operator-confirmed private build reaches gameplay, while package release gates remain open.

Requirements and limitations

  • The reviewed main branch (VERSION 0.3.6) targets only the USA release SLUS-00842 and pins Alexbeav’s psxrecomp fork at 08ec704a and recomp-ui at be8ac1d0. FEASIBILITY.md records the status bootstrap_verified: the operator confirmed that a private promoted build reaches gameplay. No mode or feature coverage is documented, and the README notes that public v0.3.0 can relaunch the wrong executable after its first build.
  • The player supplies an owned disc image of Driver (USA, SLUS-00842); game.toml records the expected data-track size and hashes. Release CI packages a setup host without game C, BIOS backends, disc images or a prebuilt playable executable. The workflow says users generate OpenBIOS, with a retail BIOS optional, while FEASIBILITY.md mentions the player supplying a BIOS; generated code and the executable stay on the user’s machine.
  • v0.3.6 publishes packages for Windows x64, Linux x64, macOS Apple Silicon and macOS Intel, but the documentation keeps each platform claim pending exact-package setup, startup and clean-exit gates; the README describes 0.3.0 as Windows x64 only. Local builds use the psxrecomp CLI, CMake, Ninja, Python and C/C++ toolchains, with Windows on the framework’s portable toolchain route.
  • Reported checks are setup executable-name and source-parity tests and YAML and release-workflow audits. The README also describes boot gates and A/B comparisons against Beetle and DuckStation across the author’s ports, but the reviewed tree publishes no comparison results for this title. These are project reports; this collection ran nothing.
  • Project-owned files are GPL-3.0-only; psxrecomp keeps PolyForm Noncommercial 1.0.0 and recomp-ui MIT, and the GPL does not cover retail content or generated retail code. The README says the ports are developed with substantial AI assistance, with AI writing most of the code; no REA use is stated.

About this entry

Type
Case study
Category
Independent reconstruction cases
Relationship
Independent reconstruction project
Targets
Game

Sources reviewed

The description was reviewed against primary sources. This does not establish runtime testing, security auditing or verified compatibility.

Primary sources

  1. README.md GitHub · alexbeavs-ps1-ports/driver-recomp · Revision 11e9a4a
  2. LICENSE GitHub · alexbeavs-ps1-ports/driver-recomp · Revision 11e9a4a
  3. docs/FEASIBILITY.md GitHub · alexbeavs-ps1-ports/driver-recomp · Revision 11e9a4a
  4. docs/DEVLOG.md GitHub · alexbeavs-ps1-ports/driver-recomp · Revision 11e9a4a
  5. docs/PSX_PORT_KNOWLEDGE_REPORT.md GitHub · alexbeavs-ps1-ports/driver-recomp · Revision 11e9a4a
  6. game.toml GitHub · alexbeavs-ps1-ports/driver-recomp · Revision 11e9a4a
  7. .gitmodules GitHub · alexbeavs-ps1-ports/driver-recomp · Revision 11e9a4a
  8. .github/workflows/release.yml GitHub · alexbeavs-ps1-ports/driver-recomp · Revision 11e9a4a
  9. README.md GitHub · Alexbeav/psxrecomp · Revision 08ec704