Recognising an engine
A game built on an engine usually shows it in its files: archive formats, file extensions, DLL names, version strings, copyright notices and debug paths. Check these during inventory, before you decompile anything. tools/pe/peinfo.py prints imports, exports, the PDB path and engine fingerprints for Windows binaries; tools/dos/dosinfo.py does the same for DOS programs.
Ask your agent
Identify the engine. Copy this prompt into your coding agent:
text
In my GameFrame project, identify the engine and the libraries the game uses.
1. Read docs/engines/recognising.md and docs/engines/middleware.md.
2. Check the file extensions and magic numbers, the DLLs, the strings, the PDB path and the
RTTI names (tools/pe/peinfo.py or tools/dos/dosinfo.py).
3. Write the engine and each library into docs/FINDINGS.md with the evidence for each.
4. Label the library code in Ghidra with a prefix, so later tracing skips it.
5. If the engine's source was released, tell me its version and licence before reading it.Where to look
| Place | What to look for | How |
|---|---|---|
| File extensions and archive magic | .WAD with IWAD/PWAD, .PAK with PACK, .GRP with KenSilverman, .u packages | `xxd FILE |
| Strings in the executable | engine names, version strings, copyright notices, error messages, console commands | `strings -n 6 GAME.EXE |
| Libraries beside the executable | glide2x.dll, Engine.dll, mss32.dll, binkw32.dll, fmod.dll, smackw32.dll | ls; peinfo.py lists imports |
| The PDB path in a Windows binary | the studio's folder names, the engine's folder names | peinfo.py prints it |
| RTTI class names (MSVC C++) | .?AVUObject@@, .?AVNiNode@@, .?AVRwFrame@@ | peinfo.py; strings for .?AV |
| Configuration files | [Engine.Engine] sections, config.cfg with console variables | open them |
| The credits and the manual | "Uses Bink Video", "Build engine by Ken Silverman" | read them |
Signatures of common engines
| Engine | Typical games | Signatures |
|---|---|---|
| Wolfenstein 3D engine | Wolfenstein 3D, Spear of Destiny, Blake Stone | VSWAP, GAMEMAPS, MAPHEAD, AUDIOT files |
| id Tech 1 (Doom) | Doom, Doom II, Heretic, Hexen, Strife | .WAD starting IWAD or PWAD; lumps THINGS, LINEDEFS, SECTORS |
| Quake engine | Quake, Hexen II | .PAK starting PACK; progs.dat (QuakeC byte code); .BSP version 29 |
| Quake II engine | Quake II, Heretic II, Kingpin, SiN, Soldier of Fortune | gamex86.dll; .PAK; .BSP starting IBSP version 38; .wal textures |
| Quake III engine (id Tech 3) | Quake III Arena, Return to Castle Wolfenstein, Star Trek: Elite Force, Call of Duty | .pk3 (ZIP) files; .qvm modules; .BSP IBSP version 46 or 47 |
| GoldSrc | Half-Life, Counter-Strike, Team Fortress Classic | hl.exe, hw.dll, sw.dll, client.dll, hl.dll; .wad starting WAD3; .BSP version 30 |
| Build engine | Duke Nukem 3D, Shadow Warrior, Blood, Redneck Rampage | .GRP starting KenSilverman; .ART tiles; .MAP with version 7 |
| Jedi engine | Star Wars: Dark Forces, Outlaws | .GOB starting GOB\x0a (Dark Forces), .LAB archives (Outlaws); .LEV, .INF, .O files |
| Unreal Engine 1 and 2 | Unreal, Unreal Tournament, Deus Ex, Rune, Splinter Cell | Core.dll, Engine.dll; packages .u, .utx, .unr starting with C1 83 2A 9E |
| LithTech | Shogo, Blood II, No One Lives Forever, AvP 2 | .REZ archives; lithtech.exe; .dat worlds, .abc models |
| NetImmerse and Gamebryo | Morrowind, Oblivion, Civilization IV, Dark Age of Camelot | .nif files starting NetImmerse File Format or Gamebryo File Format |
| RenderWare | Grand Theft Auto III, Vice City, San Andreas, Burnout | .dff models, .txd texture dictionaries, .rws streams; RenderWare strings |
| Infinity Engine | Baldur's Gate, Planescape: Torment, Icewind Dale | chitin.key, .bif archives; .bcs compiled scripts; .are, .cre, .itm |
| Westwood engines | Dune II, Lands of Lore, Command & Conquer, Red Alert, Dune 2000 | .PAK archives (Dune II, Lands of Lore); .MIX archives (from Command & Conquer); .SHP, .VQA, .AUD |
| Blizzard engines | Diablo, StarCraft, Diablo II, Warcraft III | .MPQ archives starting MPQ\x1a; storm.dll |
| SCUMM | Monkey Island, Day of the Tentacle, Sam & Max | .LFL, .000, .LA0, .SOU files; resource blocks ROOM, SCRP, LECF |
| Sierra SCI | King's Quest IV to VII, Space Quest III to 6, Gabriel Knight | RESOURCE.MAP, RESOURCE.000; SCIV.EXE or SIERRA.EXE |
| AGS (Adventure Game Studio) | many independent adventures | acsetup.cfg; data appended to the executable, starting CLIB |
| Unity | from 2005 | UnityPlayer.dll, *_Data folder, globalgamemanagers (see re-inventory) |
| Unreal Engine 3 and later | from 2006 | .upk or .pak; UE3 or UE4 strings (see re-inventory) |
A game may also use a modified engine with new formats. When the signatures are close but do not match, compare the header layout with the engine's documented format. A changed version number or one extra field is common.
Libraries that are not the engine
The executable often contains code from libraries the game linked in. Ghidra cannot tell your game's functions from a library's. Find and label the library code first, so you do not trace it by mistake.
| Library code | How to spot it | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| The C runtime (MSVC, Watcom, Borland, DJGPP) | malloc, printf, qsort, _ftol, startup code before main; copyright strings | Apply function signatures for the compiler (Ghidra's Function ID, FLIRT-style signatures), or label by hand from the strings |
| The C++ standard library | std:: names in RTTI, basic_string | Label, do not trace |
| zlib | deflate 1.1.3 Copyright and similar strings; the CRC table 0x77073096 | Label; use zlib in the port |
| Middleware | see Middleware | Label; replace in the port |
| Compiler helpers | __allmul, __aullrem, _chkstk, Watcom's register-call helpers | Label; they implement plain arithmetic |
Once these are labelled, the remaining unlabelled code is the game and its engine.