Download and update
Windows: download The-Darkness-Recomp-v0.1.9-windows-x64.zip, extract the complete ZIP, add your own supported extracted Xbox 360 dump to Darkness, then run Launch.cmd. Use LaunchWithSettings.cmd to choose settings. Windows 10/11 x64, an SSSE3-capable CPU, and Direct3D 11 graphics are required; audio and Visual C++ runtimes are included.
Updating from v0.1.8 or earlier: close the game and manually extract the complete new Windows ZIP into your installation once. Preserve Darkness, saves, and DarkRecomp.settings.ini. Older automatic updaters do not recognize the newly added diagnostic file paths.
Steam Deck/Linux x86_64: download The-Darkness-Recomp-v0.1.9-steam-deck-x86_64.AppImage. In Desktop Mode, open its Properties > Permissions, enable executable permission, and run it. If FUSE is unavailable, use ./The-Darkness-Recomp-v0.1.9-steam-deck-x86_64.AppImage --appimage-extract-and-run. The installer needs Python 3.10+, KDialog or Zenity, and your own extracted game dump. See STEAM_DECK.md for Steam and Proton setup.
Changes since v0.1.8
- Reduced renderer CPU work: avoid the unused velocity pass when motion blur is off, combine eligible depth fog, skip unused Xbox draw submission, and reuse repeated draw state and display bindings. Includes resource-worker notification and draw-capture improvements. (#144, #153)
- Fixed stale textures in repeated draws and incorrect keyboard-prompt sizing when repeated geometry changes. (#155)
- Fixed blocky pause-menu lamp glow above 720p. (#154)
- Fixed Russian subtitle glyphs and sizing, and character/location names on narrow displays. (#139, #145)
- Added a draw-distance setting in LaunchWithSettings.cmd. Near (1500 units) is the new default and can hide distant props and physics objects. Select Original to preserve the game's authored ranges; characters, pickups, and moving engine paths retain their original ranges.
- Included LaunchFrameDrops.cmd and its analyzer in the Windows package. Frame capture works without Python; automatic analysis requires Python. The optional diagnostic-launchers ZIP provides additional stall and shadow tools.
- Includes translator optimizations and the latest merged performance changes. This release uses profile-guided optimization.
Validation and limits
Built from merged main 79a01e9, including PR #155. The new PGO profile was trained on isolated village, Chinatown, and Fulton recordings; all three reached gameplay and exited normally.
- 137 Windows automated tests passed: 136 unit/contracts plus the subagent-run renderer smoke test, using the refreshed PGO build.
- ZIP CRCs, all 50 Windows manifest hashes and 3 diagnostic manifest hashes, x64 PE headers, package allowlists, and credential-pattern checks passed.
- The AppImage's 52 Windows payload files match the Windows ZIP byte for byte. Installer metadata and source hashes, PNG icon, Linux desktop metadata, and
--appimage-extract-and-run --helppassed. - Linux checks passed: 31 AppImage tests, 44 setup tests, 10 installer process tests, and 38 release-package tests (8 platform-specific cases skipped).
The extracted Windows ZIP completed the on-foot Fulton recording with exit 0. Representative station, NPC, train, and cinematic captures were reviewed. No fatal error or nonzero audio-error counter was found in that run. Rendering still logs some rejected draw/resolve paths; full visual fidelity remains unverified. Training captures are not release FPS benchmarks.
This is a prerelease. Physical Steam Deck gameplay, controls, performance, and suspend/resume remain unverified. The release does not claim a complete playthrough or fixes for every reported crash or progression issue. One previously reported screen-fog water-reflection discrepancy remains under investigation. Performance depends on hardware, settings, and scene; the reduced draw-distance setting changes the visible workload, so it is not an equivalent-quality performance comparison.
No game dump, private saves, or personal settings are included. Implementation includes assistance from OpenAI Codex and Anthropic Claude. Package hashes are in SHA256SUMS.txt and the individual sidecars.