For those that are not familiar, TFE is a full reverse engineer of Dark Forces code with multiple improvements. It is a successor, of sorts, of the DarkXL project that was abandoned due to the engineering changes of the time. This new version is by far the best way to play the game in 2022.
Please post bugs in the #bugs section of the TFE Forum here TFE Forums
Feature List
Full Dark Forces support, including mods. Outlaws support is coming in version 2.0.
Mod Loader - simply place your mods in the Mods/ directory as zip files or directories.
High Resolution and Widescreen support - when using 320x200 you get the original software renderer. TFE also includes a floating-point software renderer which supports widescreen, including ultrawide, and much higher resolutions.
GPU Renderer with perspective correct pitch - play at much higher resolutions with improved performance.
Extended Limits - TFE, by default, will support much higher limits than the original game which removes most of the HOM (Hall of Mirrors) issues in advanced mods.
Full input binding, mouse sensitivity adjustment, and controller support. Note, however, that menus currently require the mouse.
Optional Quality of Life improvements, such as full mouselook, aiming reticle, improved Boba Fett AI, autorun, and more.
A new save system that works seamlessly with the existing checkpoint and lives system. You can ignore it entirely, use it just as an exit save so you don’t have to play long user levels in one sitting, or full save and load with quicksaves like Doom or Duke Nukem 3D.
Optional and quality of life features, even mouselook, can be disabled if you want the original experience. Play in 320x200, turn the mouse mode (Input menu) to Menus only or horizontal, and enable the Classic (software) renderer - and it will look and play just like DOS, but with a higher framerate and without needing to adjust cycles in DosBox.
Screenshots
At DF-21 we will work on embedding custom missions to work with TFE so one can load them instantly.
