# strkexeu: Desert Strike and Jungle Strike DOS loader disassembly and unpacker

> strkexeu documents how the DOS releases of Desert Strike: Return to the Gulf and Jungle Strike keep their game executables packed inside DAT files behind a small loader EXE. It contains a Turbo Assembler disassembly of the original DESERT.EXE/JUNGLE.EXE loader, with macros for each game and an optional CD check, and a single-file C unpacker that extracts the game EXEs. A technical note specifies the RLE and Huffman-forest compression.

- Type: Case study
- Targets: Binary · Game
- Category: Independent reconstruction cases
- Relationship: Independent reconstruction project
- Sources reviewed: 2026-11-09
- Added to the catalog: 2026-11-10
- Original resource: <https://gitlab.com/NY00123/strkexeu>
- Primary source: <https://gitlab.com/NY00123/strkexeu/-/blob/0ff29f2f66deaa75be2a8acff93952fe7c1331a9/README.md>
- Catalog page: <https://awesomerea.org/resources/strkexeu-case/>
- Record JSON: <https://awesomerea.org/resources/strkexeu-case/record.json>
- Chinese version: [简体中文](https://awesomerea.org/zh/resources/strkexeu-case/index.md)

## Requirements & limits

- **Prerequisites:** Unpacking needs the DAT files from the DOS releases of Desert Strike or Jungle Strike.
- **Prerequisites:** strikeld.asm assembles with Turbo Assembler 3.0 and links with Turbo Linker 3.01, with exactly one of the DESERT and JUNGLE macros defined; strkexeu.c needs only a C compiler and the C standard library.
- **Limits:** The README expects rebuilt loader EXEs to be virtually identical to the originals, the main difference being the minimum allocation field at offset 0Ah of the DOS EXE header, which is 500h paragraphs smaller.
- **License:** strkexeu: 3-clause BSD licence.

## Primary sources

1. <https://gitlab.com/NY00123/strkexeu/-/blob/0ff29f2f66deaa75be2a8acff93952fe7c1331a9/README.md>
2. <https://gitlab.com/NY00123/strkexeu/-/blob/0ff29f2f66deaa75be2a8acff93952fe7c1331a9/doc.txt>
3. <https://gitlab.com/NY00123/strkexeu/-/blob/0ff29f2f66deaa75be2a8acff93952fe7c1331a9/strikeld.asm>
4. <https://gitlab.com/NY00123/strkexeu/-/blob/0ff29f2f66deaa75be2a8acff93952fe7c1331a9/strkexeu.c>

## More in Games

- [Summit: reconstructing a World of Warcraft 3.3.5a server](https://awesomerea.org/resources/summit-wow-server-case/index.md) · Case study
- [Super Mario Advance 2: a Game Boy Advance disassembly](https://awesomerea.org/resources/super-mario-advance-2-disassembly-case/index.md) · Case study
- [Super Mario Galaxy 2: selected gravity behavior and format reconstruction](https://awesomerea.org/resources/smg2-reverse-engineering-case/index.md) · Case study
- [Super Punch-Out!!: a USA SNES disassembly](https://awesomerea.org/resources/super-punch-out-disassembly-case/index.md) · Case study
- [Super Tennis Disassembly: matching Sega Master System assembly](https://awesomerea.org/resources/super-tennis-sms-case/index.md) · Case study
- [swemu: reconstructing a SoulWorker server from client packet readers](https://awesomerea.org/resources/swemu-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.