ApeEscapeRecomp

This recompilation is a byproduct of developing psxrecomp — the games are the proving ground, the framework is the goal. These are in-development previews, not finished ports — expect rough edges, and depth will keep landing over months, not days. My time for any one title is limited, so I ask for your patience. Contributions are welcome — testing, issues, and PRs to the game or framework all help and will accelerate this game's polish. More on the why at: Recomp + AI: 5 Months Later »

Ape Escape (USA, SCUS-94423) statically recompiled to a native PC executable with PSXRecomp — the same framework behind TombaRecomp and MegaManX6Recomp.

Known issues live in ISSUES.md.

Releases precompile 47 archive overlays and two minigame executables directly from the original disc using the shared psxrecomp AOT pipeline. See AOT overlay evidence and limits and the shared method guide. Two unresolved archive members remain excluded; fallback stays enabled and complete static coverage is not claimed.

What This Is

This repository contains the game-specific configuration, seeds, tools, and build glue for running Ape Escape on the PSXRecomp framework. The game's MIPS code is machine-translated ("recompiled") ahead of time into native C, then compiled into a real Windows program that runs the game's own logic on a faithful simulation of the PS1 hardware (GPU, SPU, GTE, memory cards) plus the real, recompiled PS1 BIOS. Since v0.5.1 the framework's title timing scale keeps crowded areas at their original 30 FPS cadence while hardware-timed devices remain on the PlayStation clock; v0.5.2 applies it only during play.

It does not contain the Ape Escape disc image, a retail PS1 BIOS, generated game code, or any decompiled game C. Release builds include the MIT-licensed OpenBIOS from PCSX-Redux; game data and an optional retail BIOS come from your own legally obtained assets.

Important files:

• game.toml: runtime / recompiler / video / controller / widescreen config.
• mods/preloaded/: built-in, default-off mod packages shown by the launcher.
• seeds/: Ghidra-derived function starts and game-specific seed data.
• tools/regen.ps1: regenerates the recompiled C output.
• tools/package_release.ps1: builds the redistributable release zip.
• psxrecomp-v4/: framework submodule commit this project is known-good against.
• ISSUES.md: game-specific issue log.
• DISC.md: source-disc identity and verification hashes.

Status

Current release — v0.5.6. Ape Escape boots from the PS1 BIOS and plays — through the intro, the title, and into gameplay, with dual-analog controller input including L3/R3 stick clicks (added in v0.0.3), a controls fix so the analog stick no longer spins the camera (v0.0.5), and working memory-card save/load (fixed in v0.0.2). It has not yet been verified all the way to the end, so treat it as a very playable preview rather than a certified full playthrough.

Area	State
Boot (real PS1 BIOS)	✅ Boots to intro / title / gameplay
Rendering	✅ OpenGL (default) and Software backends
Controller	✅ DualShock analog (auto-bound; the net/movement scheme is dual-stick)
Memory cards	✅ Standard PS1 .mcd save/load
Save states / rewind	✅ Launcher-backed hotkeys and runtime state capture
FMV / audio	✅ MDEC video + XA/SPU audio (auto-skip FMV optional)
Mods	✅ Built-in catalog with Ape-specific and framework-owned enhancements
Widescreen 16:9 / 21:9 / Adaptive	✅ Opt-in 16:9, 21:9, and live-window adaptive modes
Geometry interpolation	Optional 60 FPS on OpenGL; display-rate support remains in development
Full playthrough	⚠️ Not yet verified end-to-end

Built-in mods

The launcher's Mods page includes these bundled enhancements:

• Ape Escape Widescreen moves the existing game-specific enhancement out of generic Video settings. Its picker offers 16:9, 21:9, and Adaptive (live window aspect from 4:3 through 21:9).
• Geometry Interpolation presents intermediate camera, model and terrain geometry at 60 FPS on OpenGL. It defaults off and keeps native presentation for unsupported scenes.
• PGXP adds subpixel geometry and perspective-correct textures. Internal resolution, texture filtering and FMV filtering remain configurable in Settings.
• Skip FMVs ends movies through the game's normal completion path.
• Quick Gadget Select, contributed by mthsk, recreates the later Ape Escape quick gadget switching flow for the face-button gadget menu.

The widescreen mod uses Ape Escape's stable GTE projection-and-stretch path for a wider 3D field of view. HUD/UI proportion correction is enabled for its front ordering-table layer; remaining draw-distance and scene-culling limits are tracked in ISSUES.md. With the mod disabled, 4:3 presentation is unchanged.

The launcher's Video page exposes Supersampling (1x-4x), Antialiasing, and Texture filtering. On OpenGL, supersampling is true ordered-grid SSAA: geometry and shading are rasterized at a higher internal resolution and resolved to the window, while native PSX VRAM remains the authoritative game-visible buffer. Antialiasing controls the linear SSAA resolve and final presentation filtering; it is not RT64-style MSAA. Try 2x first on a discrete GPU, keep texture filtering at Nearest for the authored PSX look, and return to 1x if a demanding scene misses full speed.

Playing

1. Run ApeEscapeRecomp.exe. A launcher window opens.
2. OpenBIOS is selected automatically. Optionally select your legally obtained SCPH1001.BIN in the BIOS row.
3. Set the game disc (a legally obtained Ape Escape (USA, SCUS-94423) image — .cue+.bin, pick the .cue). Do not convert to a 2048-byte "cooked" .iso; that discards the XA sectors used for FMV/audio.
4. Adjust display options and select any features on the Mods page, then press Launch.

Ape Escape is a dual-analog title — the right stick swings the catch net — so an analog controller is strongly recommended. Any plugged pad is auto-bound and presented to the game as a DualShock; a keyboard folds onto the analog stick. Save states and rewind are exposed through launcher hotkeys; by default F7 opens the save-state menu and F8 rewinds. The disc path, optional retail BIOS choice, and options are saved next to the exe. Clear the BIOS row to return to OpenBIOS.

Development Rules

• Use the real recompiled BIOS and real hardware simulation in PSXRecomp.
• No HLE BIOS shims, no stubs, no fake events, no hand-edited generated files.
• Framework changes go in mstan/psxrecomp, not here.
• Game binaries, generated code, memory cards, Ghidra databases, and build outputs stay local.
• See CLAUDE.md for project-specific rules.

License

For this project's code covered by the PolyForm Noncommercial License, PERMISSIONS.md grants standing permission for voluntary donations, sponsorships, and advertising revenue, including support for broader development initiatives. Payment must not buy access to the software, games built with it, or their updates, features, or game content, including early access.

Matthew Stanley has authority from the relevant copyright holders to grant these permissions for the project's PolyForm-covered code. Third-party components and code explicitly licensed under other terms retain those terms.

PolyForm Noncommercial 1.0.0. See LICENSE.

Ape Escape is copyright Sony Computer Entertainment / SIE. This repository contains none of the game's original binaries or assets. Release packages include PCSX-Redux OpenBIOS under the MIT notice in bios/OpenBIOS.LICENSE; they contain no retail BIOS, game assets, or disc data. The release executable contains a statically recompiled (machine-translated) build of the game's code.

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v0.4.0 rendering update

Adds internal-resolution presets, PGXP geometry/perspective correction and filtering options. Fixes the GPU foreground classification behind flickering black wall polygons. The memory-card menu uses its native layout in widescreen. Late beach-ball appearance remains under investigation.

v0.5.1 crowded-scene timing fix

Ape Escape uses the smallest guest-cycle adjustment that removed the measured 30 FPS misses in seven affected areas. VBlank, timers, CD, SPU, and DMA retain their original cadence. Windows and Linux now ship from the same published source build. See release notes for the A/B measurements, save/load checks, and coverage limits.

v0.5.2 gameplay-only timing scale

The v0.5.1 timing scale now applies only while a level is being played. Menus, the stage-select briefing and level intros run at their original pacing again.