libretro/emulators/devilutionx.yml

emulator: "DevilutionX"
type: standalone
core_classification: game_engine
source: "https://github.com/diasurgical/DevilutionX"
upstream: ~
profiled_date: "2026-11-09"
source_commit: "74ce5cdb15da44b28427ad6ee2b107bd6dcd6f61"
core_version: "1.6.0-dev"
version_basis:
  kind: file
  path: "VERSION"
  pattern: '^(\S+)$'
display_name: "Diablo (DevilutionX)"
cores: [devilutionx]
systems: [diablo]
verification: md5

notes: |
  DevilutionX is a reimplementation of the Diablo 1 engine built from
  the leaked Diablo source. It plays the original retail Diablo and the
  Hellfire expansion from their shipped MPQ archives, or the shareware
  Spawn edition. The code loads MPQs from the game folder (next to the
  executable) and from a few platform-specific locations (XDG data home,
  macOS Application Support, etc.) via GetMPQSearchPaths().

  Load order is defined in Source/engine/assets.cpp:
    LoadCoreArchives() (:513)   - devilutionx.mpq, fonts.mpq (optional)
    LoadLanguageArchive() (:529) - <language code>.mpq, skipped for "en"
    LoadGameArchives() (:538)   - diabdat.mpq or spawn.mpq (required)
                                  hfbard.mpq, hfbarb.mpq (always probed)
    LoadHellfireArchives() (:578) - hellfire.mpq + hfmonk/hfmusic/hfvoice
    LoadModArchives() (:724)    - mods/<name>.mpq for each active mod

  diabdat.mpq is matched uppercase first ("DIABDAT.MPQ", GOG/retail CD
  convention, line 546), then lowercase (line 550). If neither is found
  the loader falls back to spawn.mpq (line 552). Missing BOTH triggers
  the "diabdat.mpq or spawn.mpq" InsertCDDlg dialog and the game cannot
  start.

  Hellfire is optional: the engine advertises Diablo even when hellfire
  files are absent. If hellfire.mpq is loaded, hfmonk.mpq + hfmusic.mpq
  + hfvoice.mpq must also be present (line 596) or the game aborts.

  devilutionx.mpq is a build artefact packed from the repo's assets/
  directory with the smpq tool (CMake option BUILD_ASSETS_MPQ,
  CMakeLists.txt:192-205). CMake/Assets.cmake:46-239 lists the packed
  files (ASSETS_VERSION, arena, data, fonts, gendata, levels, lua,
  plrgfx, txtdata and ui_art, plus data/inv/objcurs-widths.txt and the
  ui_art PNGs outside SDL1 and Vita builds), and each Translations/<lang>.po
  is compiled with msgfmt to <lang>.gmo and appended
  (CMake/Assets.cmake:8-29, 269-273). The archive is written with
  "smpq -A -M 1 -C BZIP2 -c" from the staged assets directory
  (CMake/Assets.cmake:288-295). mods/hf.mpq is built the same way from
  the mods/hf file list under the BUILD_MOD_MPQS option
  (CMake/Mods.cmake:11-37, 52-62). The compiled
  binary expects devilutionx.mpq next to the executable on every
  platform except Android, Apple and 3DS/Switch (Source/engine/assets.cpp:517-524), where its
  contents are shipped loose. After loading the core archives the engine
  reads the asset ASSETS_VERSION and aborts with "Failed to load UI
  resources" unless its content is "1\n" (Source/init.cpp:54, 79-85,
  Source/diablo.cpp:1228-1242). The same test on fonts\VERSION applies
  to fonts.mpq when it is loaded (Source/init.cpp:98-114).

  fonts.mpq is the CJK + language assets add-on from the
  devilutionx-assets release. English installs do not need it.

files:
  - name: diabdat.mpq
    path: devilutionx/diabdat.mpq
    system: diablo
    category: game_data
    required: true
    description: "Diablo retail or GOG MPQ (contains all game data)"
    aliases: [DIABDAT.MPQ]
    note: "primary game archive, the GOG CD convention uses uppercase"
    source_ref: "Source/engine/assets.cpp:545-550"

  - name: spawn.mpq
    path: devilutionx/spawn.mpq
    system: diablo
    category: game_data
    required: false
    description: "Diablo shareware archive, used when diabdat.mpq is absent"
    note: "freely redistributable shareware, triggers gbIsSpawn mode"
    source_ref: "Source/engine/assets.cpp:552"

  - name: hellfire.mpq
    path: devilutionx/hellfire.mpq
    system: diablo
    category: game_data
    required: false
    description: "Hellfire expansion main archive"
    source_ref: "Source/engine/assets.cpp:581"

  - name: hfmonk.mpq
    path: devilutionx/hfmonk.mpq
    system: diablo
    category: game_data
    required: false
    description: "Hellfire monk class assets, mandatory when hellfire.mpq is present"
    source_ref: "Source/engine/assets.cpp:591"

  - name: hfmusic.mpq
    path: devilutionx/hfmusic.mpq
    system: diablo
    category: game_data
    required: false
    description: "Hellfire music, mandatory when hellfire.mpq is present"
    source_ref: "Source/engine/assets.cpp:592"

  - name: hfvoice.mpq
    path: devilutionx/hfvoice.mpq
    system: diablo
    category: game_data
    required: false
    description: "Hellfire voices, mandatory when hellfire.mpq is present"
    source_ref: "Source/engine/assets.cpp:593"

  - name: "hfbard.mpq"
    path: "devilutionx/hfbard.mpq"
    system: diablo
    category: game_data
    required: false
    description: "Hellfire bard class assets, loaded when present"
    source_ref: "Source/engine/assets.cpp:573"

  - name: "hfbarb.mpq"
    path: "devilutionx/hfbarb.mpq"
    system: diablo
    category: game_data
    required: false
    description: "Hellfire barbarian class assets, loaded when present"
    source_ref: "Source/engine/assets.cpp:574"

  - name: "devilutionx.mpq"
    path: "devilutionx/devilutionx.mpq"
    system: diablo
    category: game_data
    required: true
    bundled: true
    sha1: "f1ac6ba3a04f51f51e0e8bc2254742c70905f62b"
    md5: "5afe4d6624064b41e25a36ac55da29fa"
    description: "Engine assets (UI art, fonts, data tables, Lua scripts, compiled translations) packed from the repository's assets/ directory"
    note: "Loaded first on every platform except Android, Apple, 3DS and Switch. Its files are also found in an assets/ directory next to the binary when the build installs them loose. The engine aborts when the asset ASSETS_VERSION is absent or is not \"1\\n\". Built by CMake with smpq (MPQ version 1, BZIP2, no attributes) from the file list of CMake/Assets.cmake plus one <lang>.gmo per translation. Shipped beside the binary in the Windows zip and the Linux tarball, and loose under assets/ in the APK. The hashes are those of the 1.5.5 release."
    source_ref: "Source/engine/assets.cpp:517-524, 223-226, Source/init.cpp:54, 79-85, Source/diablo.cpp:1228-1242, CMake/Assets.cmake:46-225, 288-295"

  - name: "fonts.mpq"
    path: "devilutionx/fonts.mpq"
    system: diablo
    category: game_data
    required: false
    description: "CJK and extended-language font pack from devilutionx-assets release"
    source_ref: "Source/engine/assets.cpp:525"

  - name: "es.mpq"
    path: "devilutionx/es.mpq"
    system: diablo
    category: game_data
    required: false
    description: "Spanish voice pack"
    note: "The archive named after the selected language code is loaded. English loads none."
    source_ref: "Source/engine/assets.cpp:529-536"

  - name: "pl.mpq"
    path: "devilutionx/pl.mpq"
    system: diablo
    category: game_data
    required: false
    description: "Polish voice pack"
    note: "The archive named after the selected language code is loaded. English loads none."
    source_ref: "Source/engine/assets.cpp:529-536"

  - name: "ru.mpq"
    path: "devilutionx/ru.mpq"
    system: diablo
    category: game_data
    required: false
    description: "Russian voice pack"
    note: "The archive named after the selected language code is loaded. English loads none."
    source_ref: "Source/engine/assets.cpp:529-536"

  - name: "hf.mpq"
    path: "devilutionx/mods/hf.mpq"
    system: diablo
    category: game_data
    required: false
    description: "Hellfire mod archive packed from the repository's mods/hf directory"
    note: "mods/<name>.mpq is opened for each active mod, and hf is activated when hellfire.mpq is present. A mod with no archive and no loose directory is served from the core archives. Built by CMake with smpq (MPQ version 1, BZIP2, no attributes) from the hellfire_mod file list. The Windows and Linux packaging of this revision installs it under mods/ beside devilutionx.mpq. The Apple build packs it into Resources/mods, and the Android and Apple builds look for mods/<name>.mpq inside the application package after the search paths. No release carries it yet."
    source_ref: "Source/engine/assets.cpp:768-788, Source/engine/assets.cpp:413-428, Source/options.cpp:77-79, CMakeLists.txt:205, 641-646, 705-710, CMake/Mods.cmake:11-37, 52-71"