Alienation - PC Port

Status

• v0.1.0 is the first public release.
• Windows is the primary tested platform. The Linux x86_64 AppImage and Steam Deck support are experimental: they are checked headlessly, but have not been tested on Steam Deck hardware.
• Vulkan is the only supported release renderer.
• Online 2-player gameplay has been tested by hand. 3 and 4-player online protocol and session paths are validated headlessly and have had less manual gameplay testing.
• Local co-op is available on CUSA00062 1.06 only.

Release notes, including known issues: docs/releases.

Features

• Native PC port: the game's own x86-64 code runs directly on the PC. It is not an emulator, and on Linux it needs no Wine or Proton
• Online co-op for 2 to 4 players through the game's own squad menus, with no PlayStation Network account. See Online Co-op
  • Public Lobby and public rooms, Friends, Friend Codes and friend requests, invites and Accept and play
  • Direct P2P gameplay with automatic relay fallback, and Windows / Linux cross-platform online play
• Local co-op for up to 4 players on CUSA00062 1.06. See Local Co-op
• Built-in Bug Report page with a previewed, filtered log. See Bug Report
• 4K internal render resolution (480p to 4K), separate from the window size
• True Ultrawide (experimental) with 21:9 and 32:9
• Presentation modes of 30 / 60 / 90 / 120 / 144 / 165 / 240 / Unlimited FPS. See Frame rate
• Vulkan, SMAA, FSR 1 with RCAS, anisotropic filtering and VSync. See Graphics and display
• Xbox prompts, PlayStation and Xbox controllers and keyboard
• Skip Intro, and Exit Game as the last row of the Options and Select Campaign menus, in the game's language
• Trophies, local and offline on this PC, on the launcher's Trophies page
• Portable saves: the game, saves, settings and logs stay beside the program
• Built-in updater that offers new releases from this repository and never touches the game, saves or settings
• TRG launcher that installs the game from your own .pkg, installs and removes the 1.06 update, and remembers its window position
• Asian Menu Buttons option (Circle confirms, Cross cancels) for CUSA04430 and CUSA00062 1.06, and a Portuguese voice-language text correction on ASIA/KR
• 18 text languages on the 1.06 and ASIA/KR builds. See Languages

Graphics and display

• Windowed and Borderless Fullscreen, switched with F11 while playing
• Monitor selection and graphics card selection (any Vulkan graphics card the renderer can use)
• VSync on or off
• Render resolution: 480p, 720p, Native 1080p, 1440p, 1800p and 4K, the game's internal render resolution rather than window scaling
• Aspect Ratio: 16:9, 16:10, 21:9, 32:9, 4:3 and 5:4
• True Ultrawide (experimental): 21:9 and 32:9 show more of the world at the sides instead of stretching the picture
• FSR 1 upscaling and RCAS sharpening
• SMAA anti-aliasing and anisotropic texture filtering
• FPS counter (F2), and frame rate and render resolution in the window title
• Vulkan is the only renderer

Frame rate

The Frame rate option (Gameplay page) offers 30, 60 (Original, default), 90, 120, 144, 165, 240 or Unlimited frames per second reaching the window.

60 is the original game rate and stays the simulation rate: the game makes 60 new frames a second at its original speed whatever the setting, so gameplay, online play and local co-op never change. 30 shows every second frame. Faster rates repeat the latest game frame until the next one: there is no interpolation, and the game does not simulate at 120 Hz or above. Repeats go up to the display's refresh with VSync on and up to 480 a second for Unlimited. The window title shows every presentation, with the game's new frames in brackets while frames are repeated: FPS: 144.00 (game 60.00).

Download and install

Download from the latest release; each file has a .sha256 beside it. No game files are included. Both platforms need a processor with AVX and LZCNT (Intel Haswell, AMD FX or newer) and a Vulkan 1.3 driver.

Windows 10 (1903) or 11, 64-bit: AlienationPC-v<version>-windows-x64.zip

1. Extract the ZIP into a folder you can write to (not Program Files).
2. Run alienation.exe. The launcher opens.
3. On the Play page press Install game... and select your .pkg. When it says Ready to play, press PLAY.

Linux x86_64 (experimental): AlienationPC-v<version>-x86_64.AppImage. See Linux and Steam Deck.

Steam Deck (experimental): the same AppImage, set up in Desktop Mode. See Linux and Steam Deck.

The built-in updater offers new releases from this repository and installs them without touching the game, saves or settings. How releases are built, checked and installed: docs/release.md.

Supported builds

Build	Title ID	Version	Packages	Content ID	eboot.bin SHA-256
CUSA00062 1.00 · EUR	CUSA00062	1.00	base	EP9000-CUSA00062_00-ALIENATIONGAMEEU	f5f41f870db752add56920c5538441bc3750b1442f69c1de3895ee282887d855
CUSA00062 1.06 · EUR	CUSA00062	1.06	base + official update, or the complete-package form	EP9000-CUSA00062_00-ALIENATIONGAMEEU	c65c18865691d7288055cae70af983aa86898d59936976ef12f5eb033eda7243
CUSA04430 1.00 · ASIA/KR	CUSA04430	1.00	base	HP9000-CUSA04430_00-ALIENATIONGAMEKR	11928457792fdba30aee3ceb9f5fb300bac720d0f3c1774825a8380a2dc9b72e

The USA release (CUSA04181) is not supported: no game data of it was available to verify.

The HP publisher prefix and KR suffix of CUSA04430's content ID identify an Asian (Korean) release, whatever name the package file has. Other builds are refused with a message saying what was found.

Each build is installed in its own folder (game\prepared\<TITLE_ID>-<version>); choosing the package of an installed build again makes it the active one. The launcher checks the package's metadata and the executable's hash before installing, so an unsupported build is refused. The complete-package form holds the base game and the 1.06 update in one package: same executable and game data, installed with Install game and run as CUSA00062 1.06. It is not a separate build.

Every build has the same port features, each on its own verified code. Menus confirm with Cross (A) and cancel with Circle (B) by default; Asian Menu Buttons (Controls page) switches CUSA00062 1.06 and CUSA04430 to Circle confirms and Cross cancels, the PS4 Asian convention, without changing gameplay buttons or prompt style. docs/GAME_BUILDS.md has the parity table, how each entry is verified and what is still untested in game.

Installing an update

Install the base game first (Install game...), then press Install update... on the Play page and select the update package. The launcher checks the package's metadata (title, update category, version), refuses a base package, another title's update or an older update before writing anything, lays the update over the installed base in a staging folder, checks it and builds its boot image, and only then switches to it. A failed or cancelled update leaves the installed game as it was. Saves and settings are never touched. Remove update returns to the base game.

A complete 1.06 package already holds the update: install it with Install game. Install update then refuses the official 1.06 update before changing anything ("This game already contains version 1.06"), and Remove update is not offered: there is no separate update layer.

Online Co-op

Alienation's own online co-op works over the Internet for 2 to 4 players, as on the PS4. No PlayStation Network account is needed.

The launcher's Online page provides:

• an Online play switch (with it Off the game runs fully offline) and your Online name
• your Friend Code, Friends and friend requests
• the public Lobby and public rooms, with Join
• Connection status and a Connection test
• invitations, with Accept and play

How it works:

• The port's online service (running on Cloudflare) handles your online identity, Friend Codes and friends, who is online, squads, invitations and finding squads. The game's own network code runs unchanged.
• Gameplay goes directly between the players' PCs (P2P). Only when two players cannot connect directly does the service relay that one connection, automatically.
• Windows and Linux players can play together.
• Only matching game builds meet: CUSA00062 1.00, CUSA00062 1.06 and CUSA04430 1.00 never meet each other, because the game needs the same executable on every PC.

Playing online

1. In the launcher, open Online and turn Online play On.
2. Choose your Online name; your Friend Code stays the same when you rename.
3. Run the Connection test once (PLAY waits for it while Online play is On). Connection status shows Lobby, Public, Direct, Router and Relay; Ready with the relay available still plays when a direct connection cannot.
4. Add friends with their Friend Code on the Friends tab; they accept your request.
5. In game, create a squad and use Invite friends, or join one. A friend's invitation appears in game (Join squad / Decline) and in the launcher (Accept and play). Join on a friend's squad or on a public room starts the game and enters that squad.

In game, the squad menus offer Create Squad, Join Squad, Friends only, Invite only and Invite friends.

Testing notes: online 2-player games have been played by hand. Squads of 3 and 4 players are verified headlessly (protocol, rooms, invitations, relay) and have had less manual gameplay testing. Leaderboards, weekly missions, leagues and the UNX Global Matrix features are unavailable. Technical details and known limits: docs/ONLINE.md.

Local Co-op

CUSA00062 1.06, installed from the official base + update or from a verified complete 1.06 package, has local co-op for up to four players: connect up to four controllers and press OPTIONS on another controller to join ("Join Local Co-op"). Each player gets their own class, gear and save. The first gamepad (or the keyboard) is player 1; further gamepads become players 2 to 4 in the order they connect.

Local co-op plays offline: the game itself leaves online play when a local player joins. CUSA00062 1.00 and CUSA04430 1.00 do not have it.

Bug Report

The launcher has a built-in Bug Report page.

• Nothing is sent automatically: a report goes out only when you press Send report.
• Open preview shows exactly what would be sent, including the log after the privacy filter, before you decide. Automatic filtering cannot promise to catch everything, so check the preview if you want to be sure.
• My reports shows the status of the reports you sent from this PC; that list exists only on this PC.

How reports work and what they contain: docs/ONLINE.md.

Languages

The game's own text languages are used as the build provides them.

CUSA00062 1.00 (15 text languages): English, Brazilian Portuguese, Danish, German, Spanish, Finnish, French, Italian, Latin American Spanish, Dutch, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese (Portugal), Russian and Swedish.

CUSA00062 1.06 and CUSA04430 1.00 additionally provide Traditional Chinese, Japanese and Korean, 18 text languages in total.

Xbox prompts work across every language and font each build supports. On ASIA/KR, the Portuguese Audio settings texts that cut a letter of "Inglês" are corrected.

Linux and Steam Deck

Experimental. The AppImage is a native x86_64 build with no Wine and no Proton, using Vulkan.

• Built on an Ubuntu 20.04 baseline: needs glibc 2.31 or newer
• If FUSE is unavailable, the AppImage automatically falls back to extract-and-run
• The game, saves, settings and logs are kept beside the AppImage, not inside the read-only image. Keep it in a folder of its own
• --launcher (or the desktop entry's Show launcher action) opens the launcher
• Gamescope (Steam Deck Gaming Mode) is detected; it paces presentation itself, so frame rates above the display's refresh may not show there
• The AppImage updates itself in place

chmod +x AlienationPC-v<version>-x86_64.AppImage
./AlienationPC-v<version>-x86_64.AppImage

Steam Deck (experimental): in Desktop Mode, download the AppImage into its own folder, make it executable (Properties, Permissions, Is executable), start it and install your package. Then add it to Steam with Add a Non-Steam Game. In Gaming Mode, put --launcher in its Launch Options when you need the launcher; L3 + R3 opens the Options menu in game. The Linux and Steam Deck build is checked headlessly but has not been tested on Steam Deck hardware yet. Details: docs/LINUX.md.

Screenshots

Project-owned launcher artwork. Gameplay screenshots will be added later.

Building (Windows)

Requires MSYS2 CLANG64 (C:\msys64 or MSYS2_ROOT). tools\setup.ps1 reports what is missing.

tools\build.ps1

The executable is build\cmake\clang64\bin\alienation.exe. Start it yourself; the launcher opens and installs the game from your package. Game logs go to build\logs\alienation_NNN.log, settings to user\alienation.ini. The build is incremental; -Clean rebuilds from scratch. Every build run writes one new, never overwritten log with the tool output, warnings, errors and the exit code: build\logs\build\build_NNN.log, or with -Run the session log build\logs\alienation_NNN.log, whose [build] section the game's [run] lines then continue.

Testing

tools\test.ps1 is the one focused validation command: it builds the test targets (incrementally) and runs every headless suite in sections (build and parity, core runtime, memory, graphics patches, controller and UI, game patches, save data, local multiplayer, online multiplayer, backend, packaging and install, final static checks), prints PASS or FAIL for each with the real output of a failing one, and ends with the totals; the exit code is non-zero if anything failed or a dependency is missing. It needs the project .venv (tools\setup.ps1 -InstallPython), Node.js 22.13 or later and the prepared games in game\prepared; -Packages <folder> also checks your real .pkg files (read only), -List lists the suites and -Detail shows passing output. No game, launcher window, controller, audio or production service is used; real gameplay is still tested by hand. -Release also checks the packaged artifacts in dist\.

Building (Linux) and packaging

tools/build.sh builds on Linux x86_64 with Clang, CMake and Ninja; tools/build.sh --test is the Linux test gate (every portable suite, the Python and lobby suites, the platform parity summary). tools\package.ps1 makes the Windows ZIP, tools/package-linux.sh the AppImage (built on Ubuntu 20.04), and tools\package-release.ps1 both in one run through WSL2. Nothing is published by these scripts. See docs/LINUX.md.

Layout

Path	Content
src/	Loader and PS4 runtime (libkernel, libc contracts, threads, memory, files, audio, pad, save data, services)
gpu/	Video core (shadPS4-derived GNM to Vulkan), in-game overlay and options menu, AvPlayer on FFmpeg
launcher/	Launcher, package extraction and installation, boot image builder, settings
scripts/	Development-only Python tools (package inspection, extraction, boot image, import names)
tools/	Build, test, package and inspection scripts
docs/	Game builds, online, Linux, release and release notes

Sponsoring

Alienation PC is maintained and developed in my free time. If you enjoy the project or find it useful, consider supporting its continued development.

Credits

• Alienation by Housemarque (2016), published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. This is an unofficial fan-made PC port. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by Housemarque or Sony Interactive Entertainment, and it contains none of their files.
• shadPS4 for the Vulkan renderer, shader recompiler and GPU command processing the video core is built on
• Dragon's Crown Pro PC, the architectural foundation of the loader, runtime, launcher and renderer
• TRG Launcher by TekRantGaming, the launcher interface
• AnyPS5 for the libSceJson2 code
• Dear ImGui, SDL3, FFmpeg and the other libraries the release includes; their licenses are in the licenses folder of each download and in packaging/licenses/THIRD-PARTY-LICENSES.txt

AI disclosure

AI tools were used to assist with code analysis, development, debugging and documentation. Changes were directed, tested and reviewed by the maintainer.

License

Original code in this project is licensed under the GNU General Public License v2.0 or later (GPL-2.0-or-later). See LICENSE. The libSceJson2 code ported from AnyPS5 is GPL-2.0-only where applicable.

Third-party components retain their respective licenses and notices. See packaging/licenses/THIRD-PARTY-LICENSES.txt.

No game files are included. Alienation and its assets are not covered by this project's license. This project is not affiliated with or endorsed by Housemarque or Sony Interactive Entertainment.