Rise of the Triad: Dark War
3 ports
Rise of the Triad (rottexpr)
LTCHIPS/rottexpr
rottexpr: a source port of Rise of the Triad: Dark War based on the icculus.org port, which builds on the source code Apogee released. It runs on SDL2 and supports resolutions from 320×200 up to 3840×2160, with a repositioned, scalable HUD and bordered or borderless windows. It adds new gameplay options: Blitzguards can carry any missile or magic weapon, ammo can be picked up from missile weapons that enemies drop, auto-aim can be turned off and also works with missiles, and ZomROTT is a mode where enemies come back unless you gib them. At high resolutions you can see through walls when standing against them, which is fixed by raising the “Adjust focal width” setting. Multiplayer doesn’t work. It publishes Windows executables for the shareware, commercial, and site license versions (the one GOG and Steam sell); on Linux you build it. The latest release is v0.01 (January 19, 2021), and the last code change is from that same month.
You needThe files from your own copy of Rise of the Triad: Dark War (DARKWAR.WAD, DARKWAR.RTL, and DARKWAR.RTC), or those of the free shareware version, The HUNT Begins (HUNTBGIN), along with DEMO1_3.DMO to DEMO4_3.DMO and REMOTE1.RTS. Plus Windows, with SDL2 and SDL2_mixer, or Linux, building it yourself.
Rise of the Triad (Taradino)
fabiangreffrath/taradino
Taradino: an SDL2 port of Rise of the Triad, the 3D action game Apogee released in 1994, to current systems (Linux, Windows, and macOS). It duplicates the original game’s functionality and fixes what 64-bit and big-endian systems need. It’s maintained by Fabian Greffrath, and its first release under the taradino name is from August 15, 2025, with support for RottEX map files, a more consistent framerate, and many rendering fixes. The latest, 20251222 (December 22, 2025), also looks for the game files in GOG Galaxy install paths; 20251216 had added a search for all official level packs to pick in the New Game menu, separate mouse sensitivities for turning, moving, and looking, deleting key bindings with Del, soundfont lookup in common directories, and, at build time, optional music through OPL/AdLib synthesis with libADLMIDI. It builds with CMake, as a registered or a shareware version. Among its known issues, demos go out of sync and there is no netplay. The published downloads are 64-bit Windows zips (about 3 MB); on Linux and macOS you build it. The last code change is from March 20, 2026.
You needThe files from your own copy of Rise of the Triad (the registered version, such as GOG’s, or the shareware one, which requires building the shareware variant); the README doesn’t list the file names. Plus 64-bit Windows, or Linux or macOS if you build it, with SDL2 and SDL2_mixer.
Rise of the Triad (Barrett)
lunarmeadow/barrett
Barrett: a Rise of the Triad source port based on rottexpr, focused on quality of life for players and developers, with wider compatibility, new features, and better support for modern hardware. It uses SDL2 and SDL2_mixer and builds with CMake (GCC or Clang; on Windows, something like MinGW). Version 1.3-beta (June 14) overhauled the display: aspect ratio correction, which stretches the render by 1.2 to imitate VGA’s tall pixels, a resolution menu sorted and labeled by aspect ratio, resolution changes without a restart, a default resolution based on the monitor, and fixed HUD and save-preview scaling. On Linux, music uses a soundfont (userdata/barrett.sf2 or the system ones); on Windows, the system MIDI; the extended options menu can enable OPL emulation. There are builds for Windows, Linux, and macOS. Licensed under GPL-2.0, on top of Apogee’s code and the icculus.org port.
You needThe files from your own copy of Rise of the Triad: DEMO1_3.DMO to DEMO4_3.DMO and REMOTE1.RTS, plus DARKWAR.RTC, DARKWAR.RTL, and DARKWAR.WAD (registered version) or HUNTBGIN.RTC, HUNTBGIN.RTL, and HUNTBGIN.WAD (the shareware version), all in the executable’s folder. Plus SDL2 and SDL2_mixer; on Linux, a soundfont (FluidR3 as the fallback).
Questions
What projects are there for Rise of the Triad: Dark War?
The catalog has 3 ports for Rise of the Triad: Dark War, all on this page with their status.
What do I need to play it?
Your own copy of Rise of the Triad: Dark War (DOS). Recompendium only links projects that don’t distribute the game, and each entry says which version or region you need.
Which one is the most popular?
Rise of the Triad (rottexpr), with 110 stars on GitHub.