mchughalex/skate3recomp v2.0.0

on GitHub

v2.0.0 release of Skate 3 Recomp for Windows, Linux, and macOS (ARM / Experimental).

Skate 3 now renders natively. This release replaces the emulated Xbox 360 GPU with a new renderer built directly on Direct3D 12 and Vulkan: more than double the frame rate at around a quarter of the GPU power draw, and on macOS a jump from roughly 25 FPS to 250 FPS at 4K. The entire game renders natively at close visual parity with the console output, with a set of optional modern graphics enhancements that seek to go beyond it.

The new native renderer is early and is likely to have issues, I haven't tested the game all the way through.

Downloads

• Windows: Skate3Recomp-Windows.zip
• Linux: Skate3Recomp-Linux.zip
• macOS: Skate3Recomp-macOS.zip

Changes

Native renderer

• New native renderer on Direct3D 12 and Vulkan, enabled by default, replacing the emulated Xbox 360 GPU
• More than 2x the frame rate at about a quarter of the GPU power draw; macOS goes from ~25 FPS to ~250 FPS (at 4K render scaling, excluding the optional enhancements like PCSS shadows)
• The whole game renders natively: gameplay, menus, HUD, loading screens, videos etc.
• Exact runtime ports of the game's own material shading: world surfaces, characters, hair, NPCs, vehicles, glass, transparency, reflections, and water
• Switch renderers live via Settings > Video > Renderer or the F5 key; on any unrecoverable failure the game falls back to the emulated renderer with an on-screen indicator, and F5 retries
• One Windows build ships both graphics API backends: Settings > Video > Graphics API selects DirectX 12 or Vulkan; Linux uses Vulkan and macOS uses Vulkan through MoltenVK

Graphics enhancements (native renderer)

• Anti-aliasing up to 8x MSAA
• Enhanced Shadows: real-time sun shadows cast by buildings, trees, and props at up to 8192 resolution, with contact-hardening PCSS Soft Shadows
• Ambient occlusion
• HDR rendering pipeline with real bloom
• Volumetric lighting: sun shafts and directional haze
• Draw Distance up to 5x with extended World Streaming pre-load
• Render Scale up to 3x (2160p)
• True ultrawide 21:9 (experimental): the world renders at the display's full aspect ratio with a wider field of view while the HUD stays centered and undistorted

Settings and interface

• Fully redesigned in-game settings menu with Video, Controls, Audio, Profile, and System categories; most graphics options apply live
• Framerate Cap setting with an Auto option that removes display-beat judder
• Graphics Device picker, and the game now automatically prefers the discrete GPU (fixes poor performance when the integrated GPU was selected)
• Settings menu now fits low-resolution displays such as the Steam Deck
• Restyled installer and setup wizards; the title update download verifies its size and retries on unstable connections
• The intro movie can be skipped with A or Start
• FPS counter and renderer indicator toggles (both off by default)

Input

• Controller Backend setting on Windows: XInput (default) or SDL for native DualSense, Switch, and generic controller support; Linux and macOS always use SDL
• Attempted a fix for triggers sticking in Mouse & Keyboard mode when a mouse button was released outside the game window
• The controller shortcut for the settings menu is configurable (default RB + Start)

System and stability

• Portable saves: a saves folder next to the executable holds saved games, and a portable.txt file next to the executable keeps all user data beside it
• DLC packages load from a dlc folder next to the executable, in the game folder, or in the user data folder
• Settings saves are now atomic and recover from corrupted files (fixes lost settings and repeated sign-in prompts)
• Fixed video memory growth when repeatedly switching maps
• Further audio underrun fixes for crackling and robotic audio
• macOS: launches from Finder as a proper app, exits cleanly, Retina-sharp UI, and dialog text input works on Apple Silicon
• Emulated renderer: fixed the blurry horizontal seam across the middle of the screen at Render Scale 2

Known issues:

• Occasional texture and asset pop-in or brief flicker while streaming quickly around the map (also present in the emulated renderer)
• Issues with rendering skater customization options in the edit skater mode (skin, hair, clothing etc.)
• Hall of Meat currently not rendered properly (missing bone highlights etc.)
• Skate parks and park editing currently have some general visual parity / rendering issues

Notes

This project does not include Skate 3 retail game files. You must provide files from your own legally obtained Xbox 360 copy of Skate 3.