This is OpenCE, pfista/halo-og, a cross-platform Xbox-derived port. Preserve original
Xbox Halo: Combat Evolved NTSC gameplay and presentation while improving native
performance, portability and online play. Community maps are separate content
imports. Custom maps and explicitly selected competitive options serve serious
OG Halo players; they do not authorize adopting another engine's rules as the
original-game baseline. Keep optional host tools separate and off by default.
Stay current with useful core improvements from cybersecurity/halo-ce-universal
through selective integration. During upstream update work, fetch and review all
new commits since the last recorded review; inspect the actual diff and its
dependencies, not just the commit title. Do not merge upstream wholesale.
- Prioritize verified decompilation/matching accuracy, correctness, stability, performance, renderer correctness and platform compatibility fixes that preserve the original game's behavior and appearance.
- Consider netcode and matchmaking improvements case by case. Review their effects on simulation timing, input, fairness, session compatibility and service dependencies before adoption. Their category alone is not approval.
- Exclude renaming/rebranding (including OpenCE), replacement fonts or artwork, new overhead player labels, and changes to sounds, weapons, balance or game rules from the original-game baseline. Timers and other competitive modifications require separate explicit user direction.
- Split mixed commits or port the relevant fix when possible. Do not take an unwanted modification merely to obtain a performance or matching improvement; defer the change with a reason if it cannot be separated safely.
- Record each reviewed commit's hash, purpose, decision (adopt, partially adopt, exclude or defer), behavioral effect and relevant validation in the fidelity policy or a linked review record. Track the last reviewed revision separately from the last integrated baseline so excluded commits are not accidentally reintroduced during later updates.
- Run checks appropriate to the selected change. Assess performance with comparable settings and workloads; verify gameplay-sensitive changes against the chosen Xbox reference and record any remaining uncertainty.
Preserve the original 30 Hz simulation. High-refresh rendering (for example 120 FPS) can be appropriate without changing the game rules; review interpolation and camera/input latency separately. A 30 FPS reference preset is a comparison tool, not a requirement for normal play or a reason to reject performance work. Do not silently impose a rendering cap as part of a gameplay-fidelity change.
Matching decompilation progress refers to the original executable target and build configuration. Do not describe a native ARM Mac executable as byte-identical to an Xbox executable, or a successful smoke test as proof of full retail parity.
After each successful local macOS app build, install the built app into
/Applications/OpenCE.app. This is the user's default for this
project. Use the build script's --install option or its install_app helper
for an already-built app; the installer verifies the bundle and preserves the
previous copy. Verify the installed signature and Contents/Resources/BuildInfo.txt
before reporting completion. Preserve user game data, saves and configuration.
Read docs/xbox-fidelity.md for the recorded baseline, excluded upstream changes, current settings and validation limits, and docs/apple-build.md for build and contribution workflow.