The Simpsons: Hit & Run - Modern Windows Port and Enhancements

This repository is an unofficial community porting and feature-enhancement project for The Simpsons: Hit & Run. The active target is native Windows x64, with modern dependencies, stability fixes, display and input improvements, experimental DXR path tracing, and native OpenXR gameplay.

The project is forked from Svxy/The-Simpsons-Hit-and-Run, a repository based on leaked original 2003 development source code. It is not an official source release.

Project Scope

• Preserve and modernize the original game and engine source for Windows x64.
• Keep the original OpenGL renderer as the default compatibility path.
• Replace legacy platform integrations with SDL2, OpenAL Soft, FFmpeg, vcpkg, and current Visual Studio tooling.
• Add optional rendering and VR features without requiring them for normal gameplay.
• Build against the user's own retail PC game data. No retail assets are included in this repository or its release packages.

UWP and the historical console targets are not active port targets.

Highlights

Desktop x64 port

• Native DebugWindows|x64 and ReleaseWindows|x64 builds.
• SDL2 window, display mode, mouse, and frame-pacing integration.
• Configurable fullscreen/windowed output and frame-rate targets.
• App-local runtime dependency deployment through vcpkg.
• Widescreen camera, culling, memory, asynchronous loading, and x64 stability fixes.

Audio and localization

• OpenAL positional audio and default-device recovery.
• RADP dialogue decoding and restored tutorial dialogue playback.
• English, French, German, and Spanish interface selection with English fallback for missing strings.
• OpenXR headset endpoint routing, HRTF, and listener tracking when supported.

Experimental DXR and OpenXR

• Optional hybrid DXR path-traced world renderer.
• Dynamic geometry, emissive and analytic lights, transparency, one diffuse bounce, and temporal accumulation.
• Runtime selection between Original, DXR, and OpenXR renderers.
• Stereo OpenXR output anchored to the animated player head.
• Native Meta Touch locomotion, contextual on-foot/vehicle controls, smooth turning, recentering, and haptics.
• Optional non-activating stereo XR debug mirror, toggled with F9.

The OpenGL renderer remains responsible for compatibility, menus, HUD, and effects that have not yet been integrated into DXR/OpenXR.

Requirements

Running a packaged build

• 64-bit Windows.
• A PC installation of The Simpsons: Hit & Run.
• For DXR: a DirectX Raytracing Tier 1.1 GPU and compatible driver.
• For OpenXR: an active runtime with XR_KHR_D3D12_enable; the headset runtime and DXR renderer must use the same GPU.

The Original renderer does not require DXR or a headset.

Building from source

• Current Visual Studio 2022 Build Tools with Desktop development with C++.
• Windows 11 SDK 10.0.26100.0, including the x64 DirectX Shader Compiler (dxc.exe).
• A vcpkg checkout; set VCPKG_ROOT or pass -VcpkgRoot.
• Retail PC data only when running or using -CheckOnly.

Dependencies are resolved from game/vcpkg.json: SDL2, OpenAL Soft, FFmpeg, libpng, glad, and the OpenXR loader.

Build

Set the tool and data locations for the current shell:

$env:VCPKG_ROOT = "C:\src\vcpkg"
$env:SHAR_DATA_ROOT = "D:\Games\The Simpsons HitnRun"

Check the complete local toolchain and retail data:

powershell -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\build.ps1 -CheckOnly

Build Release x64:

powershell -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\build.ps1 `
  -Configuration Release -Clean

Build and launch against the retail installation:

powershell -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\build.ps1 `
  -Configuration Release -Run

Build output is written to:

game/build/WINDOWS-bin-x64-ReleaseWindows

Running

There is no replacement data pack or installer. Copy the runtime package into your PC installation, or launch SRR2.exe with that installation as its working directory. Keep dxrpathtracer.dxil beside the executable.

Renderer mode, display settings, OpenXR, and the XR debug mirror are persisted in simpsons.ini. Renderer mode can be changed under Options > Display.

Automated Builds and Releases

windows-release.yml builds ReleaseWindows|x64 on GitHub Actions.

• Pushes to main, pull requests, and manual runs produce a downloadable runtime ZIP and a separate symbols artifact.
• Tags matching v* create or update a GitHub Release and attach the runtime ZIP.
• Runtime packages contain SRR2.exe, dxrpathtracer.dxil, required app-local DLLs, the matching VC143 runtime, and dependency notices.
• Static engine libraries and import libraries are not shipped because they are already linked or are build-time-only files.
• Retail art, audio, movies, scripts, archives, configuration, and game data are never included.

Documented Validation Baseline

The repository currently reports:

• Debug and Release x64 compile and link successfully.
• Release launches against retail PC data and passes the documented smoke test.
• Original, DXR, and OpenXR renderer switching works at runtime.
• Stereo OpenXR rendering, player-head tracking, headset audio, Meta Touch controls, haptics, and the stereo debug mirror have been validated on a Meta headset.

Longer gameplay and broader hardware testing are still welcome.

Documentation

• Windows port status, build details, and known risks
• DXR and OpenXR architecture, controls, and limitations
• Desktop source-tree notes
• Fork parent

Known Limitations

• Windows x64 is the only active target; TuneWindows|x64 is not validated.
• The DXR/OpenXR scene follows desktop-camera visibility rather than a complete unculled world.
• OpenXR currently submits the path-traced world without later OpenGL HUD, menus, particles, or billboard passes.
• Denoising, HDR, mip chains, normal mapping, full PBR materials, reflective scene mirrors, and split-screen DXR are incomplete or unavailable.
• Existing pointer-size, mixed CRT, and legacy project output warnings remain.

See PATH_TRACING.md and PORTING.md for the full current list.

Original Game Data and Notice

This repository and its automated releases do not include the retail game's art, audio, movies, scripts, archives, or other data files. Use only data from your own PC installation, and do not commit or redistribute retail game data.

This is an unofficial community project based on leaked original development source. It is not affiliated with, authorized by, sponsored by, or endorsed by the original developer, publishers, or any rights holder. The game, characters, assets, audio, branding, and trademarks remain the property of their respective rights holders.

License and copyright files in the source tree are inherited from upstream and third-party dependencies. Their presence does not grant rights to the original game content or establish authorization for the leaked source provenance.

No donations or profits are obtained from this work, only for fun and preservation.

Commercialization, monetization, paid distribution, and donation-funded distribution of this project or its builds are prohibited.