goldeneye-pc-port/.github/release-notes.md

GoldenEye 007 PC Port v0.4.0

The full single-player campaign runs at a steady 60 fps with audio (music + SFX) playing throughout, on Windows and Linux including Steam Deck, and it is completable end to end: the whole campaign has been playtested through all 20 missions (Agent difficulty), on both Windows and Steam Deck with a physical controller. This is a pre-1.0 release, not a finished product — expect rough edges and missing features until v1.0; see the README's Roadmap section for where this is headed. v0.4.0 ships the NTSC-U (US) region only — PAL and JP ROMs are on the post-release roadmap.

What's new since v0.3.0

• Water is fixed. The shimmer/cross-fade on IsWater levels (Dam, Frigate, Surface 2, …) now matches the N64 original — the moving seam between two patterns and the pattern "resetting" as you moved are gone. Verified against an era-correct 1994 reference (D245).
• A modern, regrouped options experience. Both options screens were reorganized into functional sections (video/graphics, sound, bond file) with per-section reset-to-defaults; a GE-style F10 in-game overlay covers video, input and the watch-backed settings; the front end gained a PC Options screen next to the file-select bar; and the confusing "save file" wording is now "profile". Options that only existed in the in-game watch (auto-aim, look-ahead and friends) are now editable from the PC options too — and they stick: the "auto-aim won't stay on" report is fixed (D330/D343/D350/D352–D356).
• Crosshair, your way (opt-in). On/off, colour, size and style rows were added to the options. All default to the untouched N64 crosshair — nothing changes unless you ask (D373/D379/D381/D382).
• In-game key rebinding. A two-slot key editor (PC layout + in-level layout) now lives in both options screens, alongside a GEPD-style preset layout that is the new default, and a crouch/reload binding set. INI-file bindings still work (D371/D383/D385).
• Controller support got a wave of fixes: crouch now uses the engine's real crouch input (D375), Xbox-variant controller parity (D394), and — new — the N64 Rumble Pak now drives real gamepad haptics on supported pads, with a Rumble strength slider (D401).
• Aim mode finally works on every input device. The "Aim style" toggle (N64: the crosshair deflects and the camera follows at the edge — vs Centred: the crosshair sits at screen center and your mouse or stick moves the camera directly) previously only functioned with a mouse; now it works with a controller too, with matched full-stick speed and new "Aim range"/sensitivity rows to dial it in (D404).
• All unlocked ships as a loudly-documented EXPERIMENTAL feature. It works for its intended purpose (skip to any mission), but enabling it on a brand-new install with no prior save can still corrupt audio state and aim behaviour: complete a level normally first, then toggle it on (D387). The in-game warning says the same.
• Renderer robustness (community contribution, PR #106). Setting MSAA above your driver's maximum no longer risks a black screen — the request is clamped to GL_MAX_SAMPLES — and two framebuffer-state bugs in the render/resolve paths were fixed. Affects both Windows and Linux builds (D405).
• Graphics fixes from the final playtest wave: the file-select background / gun-barrel comb rendering (D397), the train-intro soldier pose (D392), the extra erroneous muzzle-flash on some guns (D303), the occasional z-fighting (D308), the backwards-facing security-camera props (D307), and the front-end logo/copyright page (D403). Distant-geometry dropout on the biggest open levels (Streets, Egyptian) is substantially improved at default settings (D249).
• Steam Deck / Linux: the first clean SteamOS/glibc build, plus a first-launch preset (native 1280×800, 2× MSAA, vsync) for decks that don't have a config yet (D402/D283).
• Gunshot audio fixed: cadence now matches the N64 original's rate, and the intermittent silence under sustained fire near a looping sound is gone (D240/D241). Long-session audio degradation (reported on issue #87) got pool hardening plus an optional GE_D322=1 telemetry probe if it ever recurs.

Known issues

• All unlocked is highly experimental — do not enable it until you have at least one save written. Complete a level normally first (e.g. Dam on Agent), then turn the toggle on. Enabling it on a brand-new install with no prior save can cause silent audio and odd right-mouse-aim behaviour (D387).
• No native widescreen render: the automatic FOV scaling expands the field of view for 16:9+ displays, but the world geometry and HUD are still authored/laid out for 4:3 — this is not yet a true edge-to-edge 16:9 render.
• The front-end Rareware logo has a texture-filtering residual (D75); the Nintendo logo and copyright page render correctly.
• NTSC-U only: PAL and JP ROMs boot but do not run correctly; asset repair for those regions is on the post-release roadmap (D258).
• The Facility execution-scene watchdog from v0.3.0 remains enabled as a safeguard; the underlying animation-pinning cause it was guarding against is fixed in this release (D318/D329).

Downloads

File	Platform
goldeneye-pc-port-0.4.0-win64.zip	Windows x86-64
goldeneye-pc-port-0.4.0-linux-x86_64.tar.gz	Linux x86-64 (incl. Steam Deck)

Each contains the engine executable, a README, license texts, and the prepare-assets tool. No ROM, no game assets. The Windows bundle carries its runtime DLLs; the Linux bundle carries SDL2, so on both platforms nothing needs to be installed first.

Running it

You supply your own GoldenEye 007 N64 ROM (.z64, big-endian) that you legally own: the NTSC-U (US) release is the only region this build supports (PAL / JP are on the post-release roadmap). No Python, no toolchain, nothing to install.

1. Unpack the archive.
2. Make a data/ folder next to the executable and put the ROM in it, named ge007.ntsc-final.z64.
3. Run the executable from that folder. The first run takes a few extra seconds: it detects your ROM, generates the two derived asset folders (data/pcmodels-ntsc-final/, data/pccg-ntsc-final/) once, and saves them for every future run. (The generator is prepare-assets/ge007-convert inside the bundle; you can also run it manually; it prints what it's doing.)

Steam Deck: sideload the unpacked folder (USB or a file manager), do steps 2–3, then add the executable to Games → Add Game as a non-Steam game. The first launch in Game Mode picks up the Deck preset (native 1280×800, 2× MSAA, vsync) automatically if no config exists yet.

In-game settings on the Deck: the options overlay is fully gamepad-driven: it opens with Select, the D-pad or left stick (up/down) moves between options, A steps the selected option forward, B steps it back, and Start (or Select again) closes. No keyboard needed.

Full steps are in the bundled README.md.

Verify the download

sha256sum -c goldeneye-pc-port-0.4.0-win64.zip.sha256
sha256sum -c goldeneye-pc-port-0.4.0-linux-x86_64.tar.gz.sha256

Source & docs

https://github.com/jkdansereau/goldeneye-pc-port, built on the GoldenEye 007 decompilation, architecture after the Perfect Dark PC port. Non-commercial fan preservation/research project; not affiliated with any rights holder. AI disclosure: built through agentic AI coding (Claude Code + a local open-weight model), directed by one person in their spare time — as much a study of what agentic development gets wrong on a game-sized codebase as it is a port. See the README's Background section for the full account.