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I've used LLMs to decompile Civ 1 and put the reconstructed C source on GitHub, along with a technical book and story.
The reconstructed source builds with what i'm pretty sure is the original Microsoft C compiler and toolchain. It produces a byte-for-byte match with the original executable, aside from a four-byte correction for what appears to be a patch applied after linking. So it should be pretty close to how the original game was made; although it can't be said that this is the "original source code".
I've also used that source to create a modern build of the game, which you can download here. (Original assets required.)
Like most people, I'm in two minds about the benefits and downsides of LLMs. This work also builds on OpenCiv1, which probably deserves most of the credit - not only did I direct the LLM to use that work; but it was almost certainly in the training data.
Qualms aside - I couldn't resist having a look inside one of my all-time favourite games. I hope it doesn't ruin the fun of puzzling out the internals!
The reconstructed source builds with what i'm pretty sure is the original Microsoft C compiler and toolchain. It produces a byte-for-byte match with the original executable, aside from a four-byte correction for what appears to be a patch applied after linking. So it should be pretty close to how the original game was made; although it can't be said that this is the "original source code".
I've also used that source to create a modern build of the game, which you can download here. (Original assets required.)
Like most people, I'm in two minds about the benefits and downsides of LLMs. This work also builds on OpenCiv1, which probably deserves most of the credit - not only did I direct the LLM to use that work; but it was almost certainly in the training data.
Qualms aside - I couldn't resist having a look inside one of my all-time favourite games. I hope it doesn't ruin the fun of puzzling out the internals!