Alone in the Dark: Classic Reborn

Name: Alone in the Dark: Classic Reborn
Author: nayo186

Alone in the Dark: Classic Reborn is a source port of Alone in the Dark (1992) and Jack in the Dark for Windows, offering fixes and optional graphical enhancements.

Type: PC port
Game: Alone in the Dark, Alone in the Dark 2, Alone in the Dark 3
Runs on Windows
By nayo186
Latest release v1.0.0-beta.1, 2026-10-28
Source: https://github.com/nayo186/AloneInTheDarkClassicReborn

README

Alone in the Dark: Classic Reborn

Play the original Alone in the Dark (1992) and Jack in the Dark on modern PCs, with their original graphics and a set of careful fixes and options.

⬇ Download the latest version: unzip it, run Launcher.exe and choose your GOG or Steam copy of the game. Nothing else to install.

Classic Reborn is a C++17 reimplementation of the Infogrames engine. It is a fork of Alone in the Dark: Re-Haunted, itself based on FITD (Free in the Dark) by yaz0r. Its goal is the 1992 game as it was meant to be seen, without its defects: the remaster's HD mode was removed and every addition is optional.

The game data is not included. You need your own copy of Alone in the Dark (the GOG or Steam edition). Nothing of the original game is in this repository.

Screenshots

_{The GOG edition}	_{Classic Reborn with the HD pack}

_{The launcher}

How it was made

Classic Reborn is a source port: a hand-written reimplementation of the original engine in C++, not an automatic decompilation and not a static recompilation.

The engine comes from FITD, which reverse engineered the DOS executable by hand into readable C++ (renderer, animation, collisions, cameras, inventory, saves...). It is non-matching: it behaves like the original, but it does not rebuild the original executable byte for byte. The engine's French function names (AffObjet, LoadEtage...) come from that work.
The game's logic (doors, monsters, items, events) is not in the executable: it lives in the "Life" scripts of the game's own LISTLIFE.PAK, which the engine interprets as the original did. For study, the engine can translate those scripts into readable C++ (TatouSource/FitdLib/scripts/native/); the game always runs the original scripts.
Everything else (graphics through bgfx, audio, controls, menus, fixes) is new code. Jack in the Dark's music is written for the AdLib sound chip, which modern PCs no longer have, so it plays through an emulation of that chip.

Requirements

To play

Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit, and a graphics card with DirectX 11.
Your own copy of Alone in the Dark: the GOG or Steam edition (Jack in the Dark comes with it).
Nothing else to install: no .NET, no Visual C++ Redistributable, no DirectX setup. Unzip and run Launcher.exe.

To build the project

Visual Studio 2022 (the free Community edition works) with the Desktop development with C++ workload. It includes CMake.
Git to download the repository.
Optional: Python 3 for the scripts in tools/ (dictionary of methods, layer check).
Every library is included in the repository.

Supported games

Game	State
Alone in the Dark (1992, CD version)	Playable from start to end
Jack in the Dark (1993)	Playable
Alone in the Dark 2 and 3	Not yet (the engine code inherited from FITD is there; the launcher shows them greyed out)

What it adds

Fixes to the original: objects drawn in the wrong order, monsters stuck at windows, gaps in 3D models, lines at the edges of masks, game speed tied to the frame rate, and many more (see docs/baseline/BUGS.md).
Launcher to choose the game, its language (the five of the GOG and Steam editions: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish) and the data folder, with the same options as the in-game F1 window. The menus are translated into the same five languages.
Screen options: resolution, aspect ratio (4:3, 16:10, stretched), fullscreen, frame limit, VSync.
Optional effects: edge smoothing (FXAA) on the 3D models, bloom from the painted backgrounds, film grain, ambient occlusion (SSAO), smoother animations, sharper text.
Custom backgrounds: export every background and mask of the game, enlarge or repaint them, and the game uses yours. A ready-made HD pack for both games is available (see Custom backgrounds).
Controls: keyboard and game controller (Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch Pro and most other USB or Bluetooth controllers), every action can be changed, several inputs per action.
Separate volumes for music and for voices and effects.
Saves in the format of the GOG edition: saves made in the GOG game load here.
Menus that adapt to any window size and work with mouse, keyboard, controller and touch.

Getting started

Build the project (see Building) or get a release.
Run Launcher.exe (next to Tatou.exe).
Press Browse and choose your game folder:
- a GOG or Steam installation of Alone in the Dark (the folder with GAME.GOG, or its INDARK subfolder). Music and voices are read straight from the CD image; nothing is extracted or written there;
- or a copy of the game files (a folder with the .PAK files; Jack in the Dark in its JACK subfolder).
Choose the language of the game and press Play. The GOG and Steam editions include five languages (English, French, German, Italian and Spanish), all available from the launcher. Jack in the Dark has its own button when its files are found.

Controls

Every action can be changed in Controls (F1 window or launcher). Defaults:

Action	Keyboard	Controller
Move	Arrows or W A S D	D-pad or left stick
Run	Left Shift	L3 or right trigger
Action (use, fight, take)	Space	A
Confirm / inventory	Enter	Start
Cancel / pause menu	Esc	B
Options window (F1)	F1 or Home	Back
Fullscreen	F11 or Alt+Enter	—

Controllers. Any controller Windows and SDL3 recognise works, connected by USB or Bluetooth, also when connected while playing: Xbox (One, Series, 360), PlayStation (DualShock 4, DualSense), Nintendo Switch Pro and most generic controllers. The table uses the Xbox names; on other controllers the buttons are in the same place:

Xbox	PlayStation	Switch Pro
A	Cross (✕)	B
B	Circle (○)	A
Start	Options	+
Back	Share / Create	−
L3 (press the left stick)	L3	Left stick press
Right trigger	R2	ZR

The menus (launcher and F1) also work with the controller: left stick or D-pad to move, right stick to scroll, A to choose, B to go back. The mouse cursor hides while the controller is in use and comes back when the mouse moves.

Options

The launcher's Advanced options and the in-game F1 window share the same settings, saved in aitd_remaster.cfg:

Option	What it does
Frames per second, VSync	Smoothness; the game speed never depends on them
Aspect ratio, resolution, fullscreen	How the 4:3 scene is shown
Edge smoothing	FXAA on the 3D models
Bloom	A soft glow from the bright parts of the painted backgrounds
Film grain	A light grain over the picture
SSAO	Soft shadows where surfaces meet
Smooth animations	Poses blended between the original key frames
Enhanced text	The game's letters redrawn sharp at screen resolution
Custom backgrounds	Uses your pictures instead of the originals
Audio	Music volume, voices and effects volume
Controls	The inputs of every action

Folders

Nothing is ever written to the game folder. Everything the game writes goes to UserData, next to the executables:

UserData/
├── aitd_remaster.cfg      options (shared by both games)
├── AITD1/                 Alone in the Dark
│   ├── Saves/             saves (SAVE0.ITD ... and their pictures SAVE0.png ...)
│   ├── tatou.log          log of the last session (tatou.prev.log: the one before)
│   ├── Backgrounds/       your backgrounds and full-screen pictures
│   ├── Masks/             your masks
│   └── Exports/           what F1 exports (masks in masks/, with guides in masks_guides/)
└── JACK/                  Jack in the Dark (same layout)

launcher.cfg and launcher.log, next to Launcher.exe, keep the launcher's own settings.

Custom backgrounds

HD pack. HD backgrounds for Alone in the Dark and Jack in the Dark, ready to use: download from Google Drive (a .rar file: Windows 11 opens it, or use 7-Zip). Copy each game's pictures into UserData\AITD1\Backgrounds and UserData\JACK\Backgrounds, then switch on Custom backgrounds in F1 or in the launcher. The pack has backgrounds only: the game's own masks keep working with them.

To make your own:

In F1, export the backgrounds and the masks. They go to Exports/ as PNG files at the original 320×200, named after their place in the game files (CAMERA00_000.png, CAMERA00_000_mask_1_0.png...).
Enlarge or repaint them with any tool. Any size works:
- 16:10 like the original (320×200, 1280×800...) or 4:3: the whole picture is the play area;
- wider than 4:3 (16:9...): its 4:3 centre is the play area and the sides fill the black bars in fullscreen.
Save them with the same name in Backgrounds/ (masks in Masks/; white covers the characters). Switch on Custom backgrounds: pictures saved while playing appear at once.

Masks matter when your picture moves or redraws an object that stands in front of the characters.

Saves

Saves of Alone in the Dark use the layout of the GOG edition: saves made in the GOG game (cloud_saves\INDARK in its folder) can be copied to UserData\AITD1\Saves and loaded. The other way round works too, except that the lamp's oil does not run out in the GOG game with a save made here (known issue). The save list shows the date and time of each save.

Building

See Requirements. From the folder of the repository:

cmake -G "Visual Studio 17 2022" -A x64 -S TatouSource -B TatouSource\build\vs2022

Open TatouSource\build\vs2022\FITD.sln, choose RelWithDebInfo x64 and build. Launcher.exe and Tatou.exe end up together in TatouSource\build\vs2022\Fitd\RelWithDebInfo; Launcher is the start project.

Development tools. The CMake option CLASSIC_REBORN_DEV_TOOLS (on by default) builds two tools that only work in debug mode: F9 gives any item, F10 is the object editor used to make the visual fixes of 3D objects. For a build to share with players, turn it off:

cmake -S TatouSource -B TatouSource\build\vs2022 -DCLASSIC_REBORN_DEV_TOOLS=OFF

Debug mode is switched on by hand: debugMode = 1 in launcher.cfg. With a copy of the game files it also keeps every file the game writes inside that copy.

Releases. The zip of each release is built by GitHub Actions (.github/workflows/release.yml) with the same script: publishing a release with a tag like v1.0.0-beta.1 attaches ClassicReborn-1.0.0-beta.1-windows.zip to it. Locally: powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File tools\makeRelease.ps1 -Version 1.0.0-beta.1.

Linux and Android are planned; most of the libraries already support them.

Architecture

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Tatou.exe  (Fitd/fitd.cpp)        starts the engine, connects remaster  │
└────────────────────────────────────┬─────────────────────────────────────┘
                                     │
┌────────────────────────────────────▼─────────────────────────────────────┐
│  remaster/                   optional additions                          │
│  ┌──────────────┐ ┌────────────────────┐ ┌────────────┐ ┌──────────────┐ │
│  │  F1 window   │ │ custom backgrounds │ │ 3D object  │ │ F9 / F10     │ │
│  │ menu fonts   │ │ export / import    │ │ fixes      │ │ dev tools    │ │
│  └──────────────┘ └────────────────────┘ └────────────┘ └──────────────┘ │
└────────────────────────────────────┬─────────────────────────────────────┘
                     ▲ hooks         │ uses
┌────────────────────┴───────────────▼─────────────────────────────────────┐
│  core/ + scripts/            the 1992 game                               │
│  ┌──────────────┐ ┌──────────────┐ ┌──────────────┐ ┌──────────────────┐ │
│  │ rooms        │ │ objects      │ │ inventory    │ │ Life scripts     │ │
│  │ cameras      │ │ animation    │ │ books        │ │ (interpreter)    │ │
│  │ masks        │ │ collisions   │ │ saves        │ │ native C++ copy  │ │
│  └──────────────┘ └──────────────┘ └──────────────┘ └──────────────────┘ │
└────────────────────────────────────┬─────────────────────────────────────┘
                     ▲ hooks         │ uses
┌────────────────────┴───────────────▼─────────────────────────────────────┐
│  platform/                   the system                                  │
│  ┌──────────────┐ ┌──────────────┐ ┌──────────────┐ ┌──────────────────┐ │
│  │ window       │ │ renderer     │ │ audio        │ │ input, controls  │ │
│  │ ImGui        │ │ screen       │ │ CD tracks    │ │ settings         │ │
│  │              │ │ effects      │ │ AdLib, VOC   │ │ game folders     │ │
│  └──────────────┘ └──────────────┘ └──────────────┘ └──────────────────┘ │
└────────────────────────────────────┬─────────────────────────────────────┘
                                     │
┌────────────────────────────────────▼─────────────────────────────────────┐
│  util/        types · log file · PAK decompression · threads             │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

┌───────────────┐    ┌──────────────────────────────────┐
│ Launcher.exe  ├───►│ Shared/  menus, texts, controls  │◄── also used by the game
└───────────────┘    └──────────────────────────────────┘

Libraries: bgfx (graphics) · SDL3 (window, input) · SoLoud (audio) · Dear ImGui (menus) · zlib

The same structure as a graph: who uses whom (solid arrows) and where the hooks go up (dotted arrows).

flowchart TB
    App["<b>Tatou.exe</b><br/>Fitd/fitd.cpp"]
    Remaster["<b>remaster/</b><br/>F1 window · custom backgrounds · object fixes · F9 / F10 tools"]
    Core["<b>core/ + scripts/</b><br/>the 1992 game: rooms, cameras, objects, animation,<br/>inventory, saves · interpreter of the Life scripts"]
    Platform["<b>platform/</b><br/>window · bgfx renderer · screen effects · audio · input · settings · files"]
    Util["<b>util/</b><br/>types · log · decompression · threads"]
    Shared["<b>Shared/</b><br/>menus, texts, controls (header-only)"]
    Launcher["<b>Launcher.exe</b>"]
    Libs["bgfx · SDL3 · SoLoud · Dear ImGui · zlib"]

    App --> Remaster
    Remaster --> Core
    Core --> Platform
    Platform --> Util
    Core -. "coreHooks" .-> Remaster
    Platform -. "platformHooks" .-> Remaster
    Remaster --> Shared
    Launcher --> Shared
    Platform --> Libs
    Launcher --> Libs

Each layer only uses the layers below it. When a lower layer has something to announce (a camera background is ready, the menus can be drawn, a key was pressed...), it calls a hook: an empty function pointer that the remaster fills in when it starts. With no remaster connected, the engine behaves as the original game.

More detail:

docs/MAPA_CODIGO.md: every folder and file, the shaders and a glossary of the engine's French names.
docs/DICCIONARIO.md: every public function and what it does, generated from the headers by tools/makeDictionary.py.
docs/baseline/BUGS.md: the defects found and how each one was fixed.
docs/DESCARTADO.md: what was removed from the remaster and why.
CHANGELOG.md: the changes of this fork before it was published.
tools/checkLayers.py: lists any #include that goes against the layer order.

These documents are in Spanish for now.

Credits

This project exists thanks to the people who came before it. Re-Haunted brought the engine to modern systems and added many of the ideas this fork builds on; FITD made the engine readable in the first place. Some of their features were removed here only because this fork has a narrower goal (the 1992 game with its original graphics), not because of their quality; docs/DESCARTADO.md explains each removal.

FITD (Free in the Dark): the reverse-engineered engine, by yaz0r and contributors: https://github.com/yaz0r/FITD
Alone in the Dark: Re-Haunted: the remaster this fork comes from, by Spacefarer Retro Remasters (Jake Jackson): https://github.com/spacefarergames/AloneInTheDarkReHaunted
Alone in the Dark and Jack in the Dark were created by Infogrames. This project contains none of their data and is not affiliated with their rights holders.
Libraries: bgfx, SDL3, SoLoud, Dear ImGui, zlib, and the OPL2 (AdLib sound chip) emulator from MAME, which plays Jack in the Dark's music: it was written for that chip, which modern PCs no longer have.

License

GNU General Public License v2: see LICENSE. The libraries in TatouSource/ThirdParty keep their own licenses.