# HERCULAN Engine: reimplementing Earthsiege 2 from retail binaries

> HERCULAN Engine reimplements Earthsiege 2 in .NET from analysis of its retail executables and data formats. It reads original CD or ISO files, recreates gameplay and rendering on Windows and Linux, and includes HercWorks tools plus documentation of the game's archives, simulation, and shell behavior.

- Type: Case study
- Targets: Game
- Category: Independent reconstruction cases
- Relationship: Independent reconstruction project
- Sources reviewed: 2026-11-06
- Added to the catalog: 2026-11-09
- Original resource: <https://github.com/kevinfoley/Herculan>
- Primary source: <https://github.com/kevinfoley/Herculan/blob/6be5bb04b4974815a8ab571af4545ba0927575e7/README.MD>
- Catalog page: <https://awesomerea.org/resources/herculan-earthsiege-2-case/>
- Record JSON: <https://awesomerea.org/resources/herculan-earthsiege-2-case/record.json>
- Chinese version: [简体中文](https://awesomerea.org/zh/resources/herculan-earthsiege-2-case/index.md)

## Requirements & limits

- **Prerequisites:** A copy of the original Earthsiege 2 game files.
- **Prerequisites:** An x86-64 PC with OpenGL 3.3; Windows 10+ or Linux with glibc 2.34+.
- **Prerequisites:** The .NET 8 SDK is needed to build from source.
- **License:** MIT applies to the code; branding artwork has separate terms.

## Primary sources

1. <https://github.com/kevinfoley/Herculan/blob/6be5bb04b4974815a8ab571af4545ba0927575e7/README.MD>
2. <https://github.com/kevinfoley/Herculan/blob/6be5bb04b4974815a8ab571af4545ba0927575e7/tools/ghidra_scripts/README.md>
3. <https://github.com/kevinfoley/Herculan/blob/6be5bb04b4974815a8ab571af4545ba0927575e7/LICENSE.txt>

## More in Games

- [hercules-native: rebuilding Disney's Hercules Action Game on Apple silicon](https://awesomerea.org/resources/hercules-native-case/index.md) · Case study
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- [Hexwaste: reimplementing a slice of the Fallout 2 engine](https://awesomerea.org/resources/hexwaste-case/index.md) · Case study
- [hi-octane202x: reconstructing Hi-Octane and its level editor](https://awesomerea.org/resources/hi-octane202x-case/index.md) · Case study
- [HL2-RS: a partial Rust reconstruction of Half-Life 2](https://awesomerea.org/resources/hl2-rs-case/index.md) · Case study
- [HMC47: reconstructing Hitman: Codename 47](https://awesomerea.org/resources/hmc47-case/index.md) · Case study

## About this entry

The description was reviewed against primary sources.
Original editorial content: MIT. Linked projects, papers and assets retain their own rights and licenses.
