Case study

Open Van Buren: reconstructing the Fallout 3 tech demo engine

Open Van Buren reconstructs the Fallout 3 Van Buren tech demo as a native C++17 Linux engine using the user's own game data. It parses archives, maps, models, animations, effects and Pawn/Small scripts, with documented format findings and a playable first pass of the tutorial content.

Targets: Game
Category: Independent reconstruction cases
Relationship: Independent reconstruction project
Sources reviewed: 2026-11-08
Evidence class: C1 partial scope or analysis entry

Stars: 2
Last commit: 2026-11-05
Language: C++
License (GitHub): MIT

GitHub data as of 2026-11-10

Copy as Markdown View JSON Cite

Evidence

Demo screenshot from the project's public documentation

Observed: Download and demo observed; the case covers part of the target software.
Scope: Partial
Checked: 2026-11-09

How evidence classes are assigned

Requirements & limits

Prerequisites: A copy of the Van Buren tech demo is required; game assets are not included.
Prerequisites: Building requires Linux, OpenGL 3.3 or newer, CMake 3.16 or newer, a C++17 compiler, SDL2, GLEW, FreeType and OpenAL Soft.
Limits: The project is a playable first pass with known gaps.
License: Licensed under MIT.

Cite

BibTeX

@misc{open-vanburen-case,
  title = {{Open Van Buren: reconstructing the Fallout 3 tech demo engine}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://github.com/sulkytroll/open-vanburen}},
  url = {https://github.com/sulkytroll/open-vanburen},
  urldate = {2026-11-08},
  note = {Awesome REA entry: \url{https://awesomerea.org/resources/open-vanburen-case/}}
}

Plain text

Open Van Buren: reconstructing the Fallout 3 tech demo engine. https://github.com/sulkytroll/open-vanburen (accessed 2026-11-08). Awesome REA entry: https://awesomerea.org/resources/open-vanburen-case/

Useful? Star Awesome REA on GitHub2.4k

About this entry

The description was reviewed against primary sources.

Report an outdated entry Suggest a translation fix

Primary sources

README.md GitHub · sulkytroll/open-vanburen · Revision c92fb95
docs/AMX_FORMAT_FINDINGS.md GitHub · sulkytroll/open-vanburen · Revision c92fb95
docs/G3D_FORMAT_FINDINGS.md GitHub · sulkytroll/open-vanburen · Revision c92fb95