Hydro Thunder Hurricane Recompiled

A native PC build of the Xbox 360 game Hydro Thunder Hurricane, produced by static recompilation with the rexglue SDK. The game's PowerPC code is translated ahead of time into native x86-64, so this is a real port rather than an emulator running the original executable.

No game content is included, and none ever will be. You supply the files from your own legally obtained copy. See Game files.

---

What this build adds

Everything here is beyond what the Xbox 360 release could do:

Uncapped frame rate	The console was locked to 30. Run it as fast as your hardware allows, or cap it at any frame rate you like.
Any output resolution	1080p, 1440p, 4K. The game's own scene render target is a fixed size, so raising the output resolution costs essentially nothing - measured identical frame times from 1080p to 4K.
Higher internal resolution	A separate scale for the 3D scene itself, for when you do want to spend the GPU time.
16x anisotropic filtering	Sharpens the surface ahead of you. Nearly free on any modern GPU and the single best-looking change available.
Mods	Add new boats with your own handling and new skins, without replacing anything. See Mods.
Your own name	Set the name the game calls you by, instead of "User".
Field of view	Widen (or narrow) the race camera from the Game tab. The console was fixed at 100 degrees.
Tempest Pack DLC	The three extra tracks, installed from your own copy. See DLC.
In-game settings menu	Press F5. Display, Graphics, Audio, Input, Game, Mods and Fixes, with search and per-tab reset. No config editing.
Frame rate overlay	Press F6 for frame rate, frame time, a history graph and worst-frame tracking, and optionally GPU time per frame.
Mouse & keyboard support	Optional, alongside full controller support.
Modern display handling	V-Sync or tearing/VRR, letterboxing, safe-area cropping, output dithering, monitor selection.

Getting started

1. Extract the release.
2. Run the executable.
3. It asks for your copy of the game and unpacks it. This happens once.

Settings, saves and the shader cache are all kept next to the executable, so the whole install stays portable - move the folder and everything comes with it.

Game files

You must provide the game's files yourself, from a copy you own.

The first time you run it, the game walks you through this:

1. A message explains that no game content is included.
2. A file picker asks for your Hydro Thunder Hurricane package. Hydro Thunder Hurricane was a digital title, so this is a single file whose name is a long string of hex characters, with no file extension.
3. The package is unpacked into a game_data folder beside the executable. This takes a moment and only happens once.
4. You are asked whether you also have the DLC. This is optional - see DLC.

After that the game starts, and every later launch goes straight to the title screen.

DLC

The Tempest Pack DLC is supported from 2.0.0: three extra tracks (Bermuda Triangle, Castle Von Boom and Atlantis) with their events and music, two new boats (Whiplash and Psyclone), six "X" versions of the original boats, and new skins. Like the game, it is a single package file named with a long string of hex characters.

There are two ways to add it:

• During setup, answer yes when asked and pick the package. Installs that came from 1.0.0 are asked once, on the first launch after updating.
• At any time, put the package file in a folder called dlc next to the executable and start the game. It is installed on that launch, and you can leave the file there or delete it afterwards.

It is unpacked into user_data, so your saves are not touched. The new tracks then appear at the end of the track list and the new boats at the end of the boat list. As on the console, they unlock with credits like everything else.

About the game executable

The executable inside a retail package is encrypted and compressed, and the game cannot run it in that state - it would reach the title screen and then close as soon as you press Start.

This is handled for you. xextool.exe ships alongside the game, and the conversion happens automatically during setup - you will just see a short message saying it was done. The check runs on every launch, so a game_data folder you assembled by hand gets converted too.

If you ever need to do it yourself, the command is:

xextool -c u -e u -o default.xex default.xex

If you have a different kind of dump

The picker expects the packaged form. If your copy is already extracted into loose files, skip the prompts entirely by creating the folder yourself before first launch:

Hydro Thunder Hurricane Recompiled/
├─ hydrothunder.exe
├─ rexruntimerd.dll
└─ game_data/
   ├─ default.xex        <- required
   ├─ Base.apf
   ├─ Audio/
   ├─ Video/
   └─ ...

default.xex has to sit at the top level of game_data, with the rest of the game's files and folders beside it as they are laid out in your copy. When that folder is present the game boots straight into the title screen and never asks.

This project does not provide, and will not help you obtain, game files you do not already own.

Controls

Xbox controllers work out of the box. Mouse and keyboard can be enabled under Input in the settings menu.

Key
F5	Settings menu
F6	Frame rate overlay

The keyboard and mouse bindings are listed, and can be changed, under Input in the settings menu.

Settings worth knowing

• Resolution (Display) sets the output size and is effectively free. This is the one to raise.

• Internal resolution scale (Graphics) is the expensive one - it multiplies the cost of the 3D scene, and 2x measures roughly 8x the GPU time. Raise it one step at a time.

• Frame rate (Display) switches between uncapped and capped; the cap is typed in directly rather than dragged on a slider. On a handheld (ROG Ally, Steam Deck), cap it at a rate the game can always reach, such as 60 or 40: it stays steadier, and the power the CPU no longer spends goes to the GPU.

• Anisotropic filtering (Graphics) is the best value in the panel.

• Player name (Game) is the name the game calls you by, up to 15 characters. It takes effect the next time the game starts, and your save stays where it is.

• Field of view (Game) widens the race camera. 0 keeps the game's own 100 degrees; 110 to 120 suits a wide monitor. It takes effect when the next race starts. A wider view draws more of the track: 140 measured about 10% slower than the default.

• GPU timing: with ht_gpu_perf = true in hydrothunder.toml, F6 also shows the GPU's time per frame and how much of it goes to render target copies, resolves and texture loads. Include it when reporting performance.

Settings are written to hydrothunder.toml beside the executable when the panel closes. The file is merged rather than rewritten, so any comments and hand-edits you add to it survive.

Editing saves

The save is user_data/<profile>/5841096A/00000001/ht2save.dat/ht2save.dat. It is not encrypted, but it carries a checksum, and the game discards a save whose checksum does not match. tools/ht_save_edit.py (Python 3) edits it and fixes the checksum for you:

python tools/ht_save_edit.py <save>                            # list every value
python tools/ht_save_edit.py <save> --set TotalCredits=50000   # edit
python tools/ht_save_edit.py <save> --export save.json         # or edit as JSON...
python tools/ht_save_edit.py <save> --import save.json         # ...and write it back
python tools/ht_save_edit.py <save> --fix                      # after a hex edit

Every write backs the save up to ~/.ht_save_backups/ first. Close the game before editing.

Mods

Mods add new boats (an existing boat's model with your own handling) and new skins, for the game's boats or your own. They never replace anything, and removing one leaves your save working. Everything a mod adds is unlocked from the start.

Installing a mod

Put the mod's folder in mods/ next to the executable and start the game:

Hydro Thunder Hurricane Recompiled/
├─ hydrothunder.exe
└─ mods/
   └─ speedvector/
      └─ mod.toml

F5 > Mods lists what is installed, shows why a mod did not load, and turns mods on and off. Changes take effect the next time the game starts.

Tutorial: your first mod

This makes a faster Vector called Rocket, with a skin of your own.

1. Get a template to paint over. Start the game, press F5, open Mods and press Export skin templates. Each boat's skin is written to mods/_templates/ as a PNG, with its settings as JSON. Close the game.

2. Make the mod's folder. Create mods/rocket/, and a skins/ folder inside it.

3. Paint the skin. Copy mods/_templates/Vector.png to mods/rocket/skins/rocket.png and paint over it in any image editor. Keep it 1024x1024. The layout is Vector's own, so the paint lands where you expect on the boat.

4. Describe the mod. Create mods/rocket/mod.toml with this in it:

id = "rocket"
name = "Rocket"
version = "1.0"
author = "you"

[[boat]]
id = "Rocket"
base = "Vector"
name = "Rocket"
description = "A Vector with a far bigger engine."

[boat.tuning]
Engine = { "Max Forward Speed" = 200, "Max Thrust" = 180000 }
Stats = { TopSpeed = 9, Acceleration = 9 }

[[skin]]
id = "Red"
boats = ["Rocket", "Vector"]
name = "Rocket Red"
texture = "skins/rocket.png"

• id is the mod's name inside the game: lowercase letters and digits. Everything the mod adds is named after it, which is what keeps mods from ever overwriting anything.
• [[boat]] adds a boat. base is the boat it starts from, and [boat.tuning] lists only what you change. Vector's own values are 140 and 104000; mods/_templates/Vector.json has every setting there is. Stats are the 0-10 bars in the boat menu.
• [[skin]] adds a skin, here to both Rocket and the original Vector.

5. Play it. Start the game. Rocket is at the end of the boat list, wearing your skin, and Vector has your skin as an extra choice. If something is wrong, F5 > Mods says what, and the game runs without the mod until you fix it.

To share the mod, share the mods/rocket/ folder, which holds only your own files. MODDING.md is the full reference, and examples/mods/speedvector/ is another mod to start from.

Building from source

Requires CMake 3.25+, Ninja, and Clang - rexglue requires Clang, so MSVC is not supported. On Windows the toolchain that ships with Visual Studio's "C++ Clang tools for Windows" component works.

The rexglue SDK is not part of this repository. Put it in third_party/rexglue-sdk/ (or point REXSDK_DIR at it) and apply the changes described in SDK_PATCHES.md.

cmake --preset relwithdebinfo
cmake --build --preset relwithdebinfo -- -j3

The recompiled C++ is committed under generated/, so building does not need the game. Only running it does.

Keep the job count modest. The generated translation units are large and each one can take 1-2 GB in the compiler; an unbounded --parallel will exhaust memory on a 16 GB machine.

A build has no developer tools in it. To get the SDK's debug overlay (F3), log console (backtick) and raw settings dialog (F4) back while working on the port, configure with -DCMAKE_CXX_FLAGS=-DHT_DEV_TOOLS=1.

Known limitations

• DLC copied in by hand. If you placed DLC files under user_data yourself and moved or renamed anything inside Audio, the DLC tracks lose their music. The package's odd-looking layout (Audio/Xbox360Pack01Track01.fsb next to tiny Audio/Xbox360/Pack01Track01.fsb files) is what the game reads. Delete user_data/0000000000000000/5841096A/ and add the DLC again with one of the methods above.
• Mods add boats and skins only, for now. A mod boat uses an existing boat's model; new models, tracks and music are not supported yet.
• Mod changes need a restart. Mods are built when the game starts, so adding, changing or switching off a mod takes effect on the next launch.

Credits

• rexglue SDK - the recompilation SDK this project is built on.

• Xenia - whose Xbox 360 research underpins much of the tooling this ecosystem relies on.

• HydroThunderPORT - whose measurements showed where the GPU time went, and whose ideas - drawing the game's 4x MSAA clears at 1x, direct texture loads, direct resolves and resolving straight to textures - are reimplemented here for Direct3D 12. The implementations here are this project's own.

  Note that HydroThunderPORT is itself built on top of this project's 1.0 code: its own provenance.json lists this repository (github.com/visibou/htrecomp, commit ecae518) as the app it starts from. Its README does not credit this project anywhere. The recompilation, the game fixes and the features it inherited were done here first.

• XEXTool by xorloser - bundled with this release and used to convert the game executable during setup. All credit for that tool goes to its author; it is included unmodified.

Hydro Thunder Hurricane is the property of its respective owners. This project is an unofficial, non-commercial port and is not affiliated with or endorsed by them.