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fallout2-ce - RetroBIOS
Type standalone
Classification Game engines
Source https://github.com/alexbatalov/fallout2-ce
Upstream None
Version 1.2
Profiled 2026-10-04
Cores fallout2-ce
Systems fallout2
Checked by existence
Technical notes

Fallout 2 Community Edition is Alex Batalov's cross-platform rebuild of the Fallout 2 engine. Like Fallout 1 CE it reads master.dat (resources) and critter.dat (animations), plus optional patch000.dat..patch999.dat overlays and the high-resolution patch's f2_res.dat.

The engine resolves master_dat / critter_dat paths from fallout2.cfg via Settings (src/settings.h:12-14, src/game_config.cc:61-63). On startup, gameDbInit() in src/game.cc:1322 opens the master database (dbOpen call line 1343) and the critter database (line 1359). Either missing raises the "Could not find the master/critter datafile" message box (lines 1345, 1361) and the game exits.

patch%03d.dat (patch000.dat..patch999.dat) are opportunistic: the loop at src/game.cc:1372-1378 opens them with dbOpen if compat_access succeeds and silently continues otherwise. Sfall's patch_file setting can override the "patch%03d.dat" template (line 1367).

f2_res.dat is the High Resolution Patch data file. Loaded only if present (src/game.cc:1380-1382). Not required for the base game.

Music (ACM), movies (MVE) and sound effects live in sound/, movies/, and data/ overlays; the engine runs without them, so they are not tracked here.

3 files | 2 required, 1 optional | 1 in repo, 2 missing Categories: 3 game data

master.dat required missing game_data
Fallout 2 master game resource archive (retail/GOG)

critter.dat required missing game_data
Fallout 2 critter animations archive (retail/GOG)

f2_res.dat optional in repo game_data
High Resolution Patch resource archive, loaded when present

  • Path: fallout2-ce/f2_res.dat
  • System: fallout2
  • Source: src/game.cc:1380-1382, src/interface.cc:2488, src/interface.cc:2540-2543
  • Opened as one more database over master.dat, with no check of its content. The engine loads art\intrface\HR_IFACE_<width>.FRM, the widened interface bar, and HR_IFACELFT<n>.frm and HR_IFACERHT<n>.frm, the side panels, which this archive provides. Several builds circulate under the same name and the code cannot tell them apart. BGforgeNet f2_res v0.6 carries hr_iface_800.frm and both pairs of side panels.

Generated on 2026-10-10T11:26:01Z