https://github.com/aurel300/re-posel

Posel Smrti / The Black Mirror (2003), reverse engineered
https://github.com/aurel300/re-posel

game reverse-engineering

Last synced: 10 months ago
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Posel Smrti / The Black Mirror (2003), reverse engineered

• Host: GitHub
• URL: https://github.com/aurel300/re-posel
• Owner: Aurel300
• Created: 2024-12-16T22:53:09.000Z (over 1 year ago)
• Default Branch: master
• Last Pushed: 2024-12-22T22:19:49.000Z (over 1 year ago)
• Last Synced: 2025-04-09T05:41:30.684Z (12 months ago)
• Topics: game, reverse-engineering
• Language: Rust
• Homepage:
• Size: 55.7 KB
• Stars: 2
• Watchers: 1
• Forks: 0
• Open Issues: 0
• Metadata Files:
  • Readme: README.md

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README

          
# `re-posel`

**Reverse engineering Posel Smrti/The Black Mirror (2003)**

## About

This repository contains tools for reverse engineering and analysing the game [**The Black Mirror**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Black_Mirror_(video_game)), first released as **Posel Smrti** in Czechia in 2003. The bulk of the work was done by analysing the `agds.exe` binary in [Ghidra](https://github.com/NationalSecurityAgency/ghidra/) and by analysing the datafiles packaged with the game. The latter are in a bespoke format (with light XOR-based "encryption") and also contain bytecode.

## Features

The [`analyser`](./analyser) tool, implemented in Rust, can:

- extract assets from `*.grp` files: these are simply big archive formats with no compression;

- extract *objects* (strings, dialogue scripts, references to assets, screen regions, bytecode scripts) from `*.adb` files;

- analyse and visualise objects: references to objects and assets are resolved, bytecode is decompiled into readable script;

- patch `*.adb` files to fix or modify game behaviour.

The tool requires you to provide paths to the original data files.

## Patches

By default, the `patch` command will apply all of the following patches:

- `chapter_select`: allows the player to choose a starting chapter (I. - VI.) when starting a new game;

- `check_again`: removes dialogue paths where the same person has to be asked multiple times before the game progresses (currently only done for dialogue with Harry);

- `skip_intros`: skips intro logos and menu animation on launch, quits faster.

## Goals

The main reason I am doing this is because I enjoy reverse engineering, and this game is close to my heart.

Other than that, some goals I hope to achieve are:

- patch game to avoid wasting player's time

  - [x] skip game intros

  - [x] re-enable chapter selection

  - ask a person three times before plot is advanced:

    - [x] Harry, waiting for Mark

    - waiting for Frederick... (extra annoying because of horizontal scroll?)

    - ...?

  - [ ] avoid Sierra-style deaths and unwinnable game states

  - [ ] double click to instantly move, even across horizontal scroll screens

  - [ ] unskippable animations before dialogue is started

- find optimal routes in the game for speedrunning (look at that [thriving community](https://www.speedrun.com/black_mirror/resources))

  - create Autosplits https://github.com/LiveSplit/LiveSplit.AutoSplitters

- recreate game engine in Rust

  - run natively on more platforms

  - higher resolutions (scaling filter...?)

  - allow mixed language audio and subtitles

- make video content about the game

  - find cut content (e.g. VA instructions in dialogue scripts)

  - explain how game works

  - find differences between English and Czech versions