A Windows 11-focused modern-experience fork of OpenJKDF2 that makes Star Wars: Jedi Knight - Dark Forces II comfortable on a current PC: modern FPS controls by default, native-resolution Borderless Fullscreen, safer display switching, improved frame pacing, and observable OpenGL 3.3 rendering.
Download release 1.0 · Release notes · Licensing guide
Important
This download contains the enhanced engine only. It includes no game files. You need a legally owned installation of Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II from Steam or GOG.
Warning
The current 1.0 community binaries are not yet code-signed. Windows 11 Smart App Control may therefore report "An Application Control policy has blocked this file", even when the ZIP hash is correct. Smart App Control has no per-app exception: use a future release signed by a trusted certificate, or make an informed system-wide choice under Windows Security > App & browser control > Smart App Control. Turning it off is not required on systems where the package runs normally. See the Windows troubleshooting guide.
| Gameplay | Modern controls |
|---|---|
 |
 |
| Borderless at native resolution | Built-in diagnostics |
 |
 |
Screenshots use a locally owned game installation for technical demonstration; original game content is not included in this repository or its downloads.
- Modern FPS controls for new players, plus an in-game Modern/Classic switch.
- Borderless Fullscreen at the primary monitor's native resolution by default.
- Working monitor, mode, resolution, and refresh-behavior controls under Display Options, with confirmation and restoration safeguards.
- Standards-compliant OpenGL 3.3 fixes, shader/framebuffer diagnostics, renderer fallbacks, and hardware evidence from the tested Radeon RX 7900 XTX system.
- Configurable frame caps, VSync, frame-pacing telemetry, FOV, HUD scale, SSAA, bloom, SSAO, filtering, and optional user-owned enhancement packs.
- Read-only discovery of Steam/GOG game data, isolated per-user saves/settings, portable mode, crash diagnostics, and a Windows display watchdog.
AMD hardware is not required. The release is not vendor-locked: its rendering paths use standards-based capability checks and fallbacks, so it is intended for AMD, NVIDIA, and Intel GPUs that meet the OpenGL requirement. AMD/RDNA is the hardware family used for the recorded test evidence; other vendors remain unverified rather than unsupported.
- 64-bit Windows 11 (the supported and tested release target).
- A GPU and driver supporting an OpenGL 3.3 core profile.
- A legal Steam or GOG installation of Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II.
- Less than 20 MB extracted for the engine package, separate from the original game.
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Download the 1.0 ZIP from the 1.0 release. Create a new writable folder for the port, then extract the entire ZIP there. Keep the package layout intact. Do not merge these files into the original Jedi Knight folder.
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In the extracted folder, right-click
Install.ps1and choose Run with PowerShell. If Windows blocks scripts, open PowerShell in that folder and run:powershell.exe -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\Install.ps1
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Start OpenJKDF2 Modern from the new desktop shortcut. The launcher searches common Steam and GOG locations. If it cannot find the game, select the original installation folder containing
JK.EXE,Episode\JK1.GOB,Resource\Res1hi.gob, andResource\Res2.gobwhen prompted.
The engine reads the original installation in place; it does not copy or modify your game files.
- New player profiles use Modern controls automatically. Imported or customized profiles keep their existing bindings so the port does not overwrite them.
- If looking up and down is inverted, or right-click jumps, open Setup → Controls → Options → Control Style, choose Modern, then select Apply Control Style. This is saved to the active player profile.
- Run the portable launcher from the extracted package to keep
saves and settings in its local
UserDatafolder. - Run the installed
Uninstall.ps1to remove the app and shortcut. Original game files and normal saves under%LOCALAPPDATA%\OpenJKDF2 AMD Enhancedare never deleted by the uninstaller.
Modern is the default for new player profiles:
| Action | Default input |
|---|---|
| Move / look | WASD / mouse |
| Primary / secondary fire | Left mouse / right mouse |
| Jump / crouch | Space / Ctrl or C |
| Run / use | Shift / E |
| Weapons | Mouse wheel or number keys |
| Map / menu | Tab / Escape |
Switch at any time through Setup → Controls → Options → Control Style. Choose Modern or Classic, then select Apply Control Style. The choice is saved to the active player profile. Existing customized profiles are intentionally preserved and may need this one-time selection after upgrading.
Open Setup → Display → Display Options to choose:
- Borderless Fullscreen (Recommended): the default; uses the selected monitor's desktop pixel count and refresh behavior without a title bar or taskbar.
- Windowed: editable width and height for desktop use.
- Exclusive Fullscreen: shown only when the exact desktop-state restoration watchdog has completed its safety preflight.
Changes require confirmation and fall back to the last known-good display state if confirmation fails.
The release includes SHA256SUMS.txt. From the download folder, run:
Get-FileHash .\OpenJKDF2-AMD-Enhanced-windows-x64-1.0.zip -Algorithm SHA256
Get-Content .\SHA256SUMS.txtThe two SHA-256 values must match. Build provenance and a full package manifest are also included inside the ZIP.
- Game not found: run the launcher again and select the installation folder
containing
JK.EXE,Episode\JK1.GOB,Resource\Res1hi.gob, andResource\Res2.gob. - Inverted vertical look or legacy mouse buttons: apply the Modern control style from Setup → Controls → Options → Control Style. Imported or customized player profiles are not overwritten automatically.
- Application Control policy blocked the game: the 1.0 binaries are unsigned, and Windows 11 Smart App Control does not support a per-app exception. Verify the release SHA-256 first, then read the Smart App Control guidance before changing any system-wide security setting.
- Display changed unexpectedly: restart normally; the watchdog and recovery snapshot restore the last known-good desktop configuration.
- Settings or saves: normal mode uses
%LOCALAPPDATA%\OpenJKDF2 AMD Enhanced; portable mode usesUserDatabeside the package. - Renderer problem: open Setup → Display → Advanced → Diagnostics, then include the diagnostics files when filing an issue.
See TROUBLESHOOTING.md and COMPATIBILITY.md for detailed limitations and evidence.
Clone the exact release, including pinned submodules:
git clone --branch 1.0 --recurse-submodules https://github.com/gkaragioul/OpenJKDF2-Modern.git
cd OpenJKDF2-Modern
powershell.exe -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File scripts\build-windows.ps1 -Configuration Release -TestThe required Visual Studio 2022 Build Tools, CMake, Ninja, Python/cogapp setup, and Debug build command are documented in docs/building-windows.md.
This project is a downstream modernization fork of
OpenJKDF2, the original project
by the OpenJKDF2 contributors. Upstream OpenJKDF2 provides the cross-platform
engine foundation; this repository adds its Windows-focused experience,
packaging, diagnostics, and verification work. The original project and George
Karagioules's modifications are distributed under the custom
permission and warranty terms in LICENSE.md; third-party components
retain their own licenses. Read LICENSING.md,
THIRD-PARTY-NOTICES.md, and the
package's Licenses directory before redistributing binaries.
No Lucasfilm game files or game assets—including levels, textures, models, music, video, dialogue, scripts, or proprietary executables—are distributed. STAR WARS, Jedi Knight, LucasArts, Lucasfilm, and related marks belong to Lucasfilm Ltd. AMD and AMD Radeon are trademarks of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. This independent community fork is not affiliated with or endorsed by Lucasfilm, Disney, AMD, Valve, GOG, or the upstream OpenJKDF2 maintainers.