NFLBlitz2003-PC

NFL Blitz 2003 — PC port

A native Windows and Linux port of NFL Blitz 2003 (GameCube, USA, GO3E5D) by static recompilation: the game's PowerPC executable is translated to C++ from your own disc image and compiled for your PC. Graphics run on Aurora (WebGPU/Dawn), audio through a host implementation of the GameCube's audio DSP, input through SDL3.

This repository contains no game data and no game code. You need your own legally obtained copy of NFL Blitz 2003 for the Nintendo GameCube (USA). The game module built from your disc (blitz_game.dll / blitz_game.so) contains code translated from the game: do not share it. This project is not affiliated with or endorsed by Midway, Electronic Arts, the NFL or Nintendo.

Features

• Widescreen: native Hor+ 16:9 (or any aspect) gameplay; menus stretched to fill the screen (optional); players, crowd and stadium are no longer culled at the edges of the wider view
• Renders at your screen resolution, with optional supersampling up to 6x (2880p), MSAA and anisotropic filtering
• Locked 60 fps, D3D11 / D3D12 / Vulkan on Windows, Vulkan / OpenGL on Linux
• Settings menu (Esc; pauses the game), fully usable with a controller: settings, key rebinding, disc choice, updates from GitHub and cheats — the game's own codes (infinite turbo, big / huge / team big heads, fast passes, fast running, power-ups, super field goals, no punting, chrome ball and more) without entering them on the matchup screen
• Gamepads, GameCube controller adapters and keyboard; rumble
• Memory card saves (Dolphin-compatible GCI folder)
• Reaches the title screen in about 6 seconds (skips the logo movies and the intro; optional)
• Dolphin-format HD texture packs and texture dumping
• Reads ISO and compressed dumps (RVZ, WIA, CISO, GCZ)

Playing on Windows

1. Download NFLBlitz2003-windows-x64.zip from the Releases page and unzip it anywhere.
2. Install Python 3 and Visual Studio 2022 Build Tools with Desktop development with C++ and C++ Clang tools for Windows. They are needed once: on its first start the game compiles itself from your disc (about a minute).
3. Run NFLBlitz2003.exe and pick your NFL Blitz 2003 (USA) disc image when asked.

Playing on Linux

1. Download NFLBlitz2003-linux-x64.tar.xz from the Releases page and unpack it (tar xf NFLBlitz2003-linux-x64.tar.xz). It runs on x86-64 distributions from about 2022 on (glibc 2.35: SteamOS, Ubuntu 22.04, Linux Mint 21, Pop!_OS 22.04, Debian 12, Fedora, Arch, openSUSE Tumbleweed and newer) and needs a Vulkan driver (Mesa or NVIDIA's, standard on current distributions and the Steam Deck). The OpenGL ES fallback does not draw the game correctly yet.
2. Run NFLBlitz2003/NFLBlitz2003 and pick your disc image when asked (needs zenity or kdialog, which desktops including the Steam Deck have; otherwise start it with --disc "path/to/NFL Blitz 2003 (USA).iso"). The first start compiles the game code from your disc with the compiler the package carries (Zig): a window asks first and shows the progress (a minute or two on a desktop, about five on a Steam Deck; controller, keyboard or mouse). It needs python3, which SteamOS and desktop distributions include. The output is kept in ~/.local/share/NFL Blitz 2003/module_build/build.log.

Steam Deck: unpack it in Desktop Mode (e.g. into ~/Games), start NFLBlitz2003 once there to pick the disc and compile, then add it to Steam (Add a Non-Steam Game) to play in Game Mode. To start with a particular disc image, set the shortcut's Launch Options to --disc "/path/to/NFL Blitz 2003 (USA).iso".

Building from source

Windows

Requirements: Windows 10/11, Visual Studio 2022 (or its Build Tools) with C++ and Clang, Python 3, Git, and your disc image.

git clone --recursive https://github.com/8bitninja64/NFLBlitz2003-PC.git

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File tools/build.ps1 -Target blitz -Disc "path/to/NFL Blitz 2003 (USA).iso"

Then run build/windows-clang/NFLBlitz2003.exe. tools/package.ps1 -Zip makes the release zip (runtime only, ~17 MB).

Linux

Requirements: clang, cmake, ninja, Python 3 and the SDL3 build dependencies (X11, Wayland, GL, ALSA / PulseAudio, udev; the Ubuntu package list is in .github/workflows/build.yml).

tools/build_linux.sh "path/to/NFL Blitz 2003 (USA).iso"

Run build/linux-clang/NFLBlitz2003 --disc "path/to/NFL Blitz 2003 (USA).iso". tools/package_linux.sh makes the release archive (runtime only, ~6 MB).

Controls

Gamepads and GameCube adapters work out of the box. Keyboard (player 1):

Controller	Keyboard
Control stick	W A S D
D-pad	Arrow keys
A / B / X / Y	K / J / L / I
Z	Space
L / R	Q / E
Start	Enter
C-stick	Numpad 8 4 2 6

Menu: Esc, Z+Start on a GameCube pad, or Back/Select on a PC gamepad opens and closes it. In the menu: D-pad or stick to move, A to choose a section (the highlight moves into its options) or an option, B (Backspace) to go back to the section list, L / R to switch sections. Menu > Disc picks another disc image. Alt+Enter or F11: fullscreen.

Settings and saves

Windows: %APPDATA%\NFL Blitz 2003\ — Linux: ~/.local/share/NFL Blitz 2003/ (settings.ini, the memory card in USA/Card A, texture packs in Textures/GO3E5D).

Credits

• Aurora (MIT): GX on WebGPU, windowing, input, memory cards
• Dawn, SDL3, Dear ImGui, nod and the other libraries listed in licenses/ of the release
• AxioDL/musyx (CC0), used as the reference for the MusyX audio microcode, and the CC0 GameCube decompilation projects whose SDK knowledge helped identify functions
• Developer notes: CLAUDE.md, docs/

License

See LICENSE. This covers the port's own source code only; NFL Blitz 2003 and everything derived from it remain the property of their owners.