vitaQuake II (libretro)

A libretro core for Quake II and its expansions, based on the vitaQuake II port by Rinnegatamante and running the original id Tech 2 engine (id Software, GPLv2). The core runs inside RetroArch and other libretro frontends on a wide range of desktop, mobile, console and embedded platforms.

One source tree builds four core variants, each with the corresponding game logic statically linked (no game DLLs required):

Core	Game	Data directory
vitaquake2_libretro	Quake II	baseq2
vitaquake2-xatrix_libretro	Quake II — The Reckoning	xatrix
vitaquake2-rogue_libretro	Quake II — Ground Zero	rogue
vitaquake2-zaero_libretro	Quake II — Zaero (unofficial expansion)	zaero

Loading content

Load a .pak file (e.g. pak0.pak) located inside the game data directory for the chosen core variant, for example:

quake2/baseq2/pak0.pak    ->  vitaquake2_libretro
quake2/xatrix/pak0.pak    ->  vitaquake2-xatrix_libretro

The expansion cores automatically launch with the correct game directory set, and validate that the expected game files are present. Shareware and registered data are both supported, and the original .cin full-motion cinematics play back with audio.

Renderer backends

OpenGL (hardware)

• Uses the frontend's OpenGL hardware context (desktop GL or OpenGL ES, including GLES builds for mobile/embedded targets), with XRGB8888 output.
• Internal resolutions from 320x240 up to 15360x8640 (the highest settings are OpenGL-only).
• Texture filtering: Nearest, Linear, plus HQ variants of both with improved mipmap handling to reduce shimmer on floors and ceilings.
• Adjustable environment brightness (gl_modulate, 1.0-5.0).
• Optional dynamic shadows cast by in-game objects.
• HUD / menu scaling, from pixel-perfect 1:1 up to sizes matching the original 320x240 presentation.
• X-flip mode: mirrors each level horizontally for an alternative playthrough of familiar maps.

Software

• The classic 8-bit palettized Quake II rasterizer with RGB565 output.
• Zero-copy presentation: renders directly into the frontend's framebuffer when the frontend supports it, skipping an intermediate copy.
• Colored lighting: uses the map's 24-bit RGB lightmaps to tint the paletted output via an inverse-palette lookup (the original software renderer collapsed lighting to monochrome intensity).
• Truecolor sky: composites a high-colour RGB565 sky overlay over the paletted frame when truecolor env/*.tga skybox textures are present.
• Optional dithered texture filtering to reduce pixelation.

Timing

• Selectable internal framerate from 30 to 600 fps, or Auto, which matches the refresh rate reported by the connected display/frontend.

Audio

• Sound is mixed directly at a selectable output rate — 32 / 44.1 / 48 / 96 kHz — or Auto, which queries the frontend's preferred rate and snaps to the nearest supported value (bypassing the frontend resampler for lower latency and less filtering).
• Float PCM output is negotiated with frontends that support it, with a transparent fallback to the standard 16-bit path.
• CD soundtrack replacement: OGG Vorbis rips placed in a music folder next to the pak files (named XX.ogg or trackXX.ogg) play as the level soundtrack. Decoding uses the fixed-point Tremor decoder for identical output on every platform and FPU. Music playback can be toggled via the "Play Music" core option.
• Optional forced 4:3 aspect ratio for cinematics (instead of stretching to fill the screen).

Input

Two selectable input device types:

• Analog Gamepad: dual-analog FPS controls (move on left stick, camera on right stick) with a full set of mapped actions.
• Keyboard + Mouse: mouse look with left-click fire, backquote/tilde console toggle, and seventeen fully remappable action keys (movement, jump, crouch, run, menu navigation, help computer, inventory management, weapon cycling) configurable through core options.

Additional input features:

• Adjustable camera sensitivity (applies to right stick and mouse).
• Configurable analog stick deadzone to eliminate controller drift.
• Invert Y axis option.
• Auto Run toggle.
• Rumble: force feedback on the strong motor when taking damage.
• Weapon position option: Right, Left, Center or Hidden.
• Selectable crosshair: White Cross, Red Dot or Red Angle.
• Accurate Aiming option: makes weapons hit the exact centre of the crosshair, removing the original game's intentional projectile drift.

Saves

• The native Quake II save/load system is fully supported; savegames are written to the frontend's save directory per game.
• Libretro savestates are not currently implemented.

Multiplayer

Networking in this port is loopback-only (the internal client/server architecture of the engine); online/LAN multiplayer is not available.

Platforms

Builds for Windows, Linux, macOS, iOS/tvOS, Android, Emscripten (web), PlayStation Vita, Nintendo Switch, Wii U, 3DS, PS3, GCW-Zero, webOS, QNX, Rockchip boards and other libretro targets. Hardware OpenGL support is enabled per-platform; software rendering is available everywhere.

Building

make                     # Quake II (baseq2) core
make basegame=xatrix     # The Reckoning core
make basegame=rogue      # Ground Zero core
make basegame=zaero      # Zaero core

Cross builds follow the usual libretro conventions, e.g. make platform=vita, make platform=libnx.

Credits and license

• Quake II is Copyright (C) 1997-2001 Id Software, Inc.
• The Reckoning game code by Xatrix Entertainment; Ground Zero game code by Rogue Entertainment; Zaero game code by Team Evolve.
• vitaQuake II port by Rinnegatamante.
• libretro core by the libretro team and contributors.

Released under the GNU General Public License, version 2; see LICENSE.