Halo: Combat Evolved · Apple Silicon

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/pkyanam/halo-ce-apple-silicon/main/setup.sh | bash -s -- "/path/to/your/Halo Xbox.iso"

Build Halo: Combat Evolved for Apple Silicon from your own Xbox disc image. Setup fetches pinned public sources, compiles a native ARM64 engine, bundles game data and libraries, and creates an ad-hoc signed Finder app. It never downloads Halo or launches the game during installation.

Install Apple Command Line Tools (xcode-select --install) and Homebrew first. Setup installs Python, CMake, pkgconf, SDL3, FFmpeg, LLVM and LLD. Allow space for the ISO, temporary extraction, bundled game data and build tools. Python is a build dependency; the finished app has a native launcher.

The result is ~/Applications/Halo Combat Evolved.app. All required maps, movies and libraries live inside the app. Move it freely: the ISO, extraction workspace and external asset folders are unnecessary afterward. Original images and existing saves/preferences are preserved; verified extraction staging is removed. An existing output stops installation; set HALO_APP_OUTPUT to retain another app.

F10 cycles 4:3 (640×480), 720p and 1080p, saving the choice; F11 toggles fullscreen; F12 releases mouse capture; Cmd-Q quits. Use Fn with function keys if your keyboard assigns media controls. Writable configuration, saves, logs and caches live in ~/Library/Application Support/Halo Native AOT. Edit save/config.toml while closed. Existing preferences are retained. A fresh starter bounds internal rendering; the native launcher activates an existing instance when opened twice.

Lighter opening scenes measured about 60 FPS; tutorials/transitions run slower and intro pacing can jitter. Two local engine instances joined and replicated manual movement with clean exits. Full campaign completion and cross-platform LAN remain unverified. Per-map runtime coverage is still being validated; consult the map validation matrix. See runtime coverage. This is an experimental port. HD texture research/tooling stays separate from the default build; no pack is installed.

To inspect tooling before running:

git clone https://github.com/pkyanam/halo-ce-apple-silicon.git
cd halo-ce-apple-silicon
./setup.sh "/path/to/your/Halo Xbox.iso" --jobs 4

HALO_WORK_DIR selects a fresh workspace outside this repository. pins.json fixes source/runtime commits and musl's SHA-256. Synthetic reader/manifest fixtures run with python3 -m unittest discover -s tests; native build fixtures exercise UI conditions and translated controller adapters. Asset, engine and ELF hashes, dependency deployment versions and signatures are checked before staging cleanup. Static checks establish package integrity; gameplay coverage is listed separately. See build/reproduction instructions.

The port builds on cybersecurity/halo-ce-universal and its documented bnunu/halo-1 lineage. Source references explain the retained protocol/cache baseline. Original tooling is MIT; third-party licenses remain separate in NOTICE.md. Halo and related artwork belong to their owners. This unofficial fan project is not endorsed by Microsoft, Bungie or Xbox.