# NXE Dashboard Recompilation A static recompilation of the Xbox 360 NXE dashboard (2.0.9199.0) for native Windows, built on the [ReXGlue](https://github.com/) SDK. The dashboard's PowerPC code is translated to C++ ahead of time. The code in `src/` is the practical layer around it: kernel hooks, storage, profiles, the game library, title launching, and the pieces of the shell that have no PC equivalent. ## What this repository does not contain **No Microsoft code or data, and no game content.** To run this you supply your own files: - A 9199 system update dump (`$flash_dash.xex` and the packages beside it) - Your own Xbox 360 profile and content, if you want your gamertag and saves - Cover art and icons for your own games `generated/` contains the several hundred megabytes of C++ that ReXGlue produces from `$flash_dash.xex`. It is deliberately not committed because it is derived from Microsoft's executable. Anyone with their own dump can reproduce it with one command. ## Prerequisites - Windows, CMake 3.25+, Clang (LLVM), Ninja - The ReXGlue SDK, built and installed - A 9199 `$SystemUpdate` dump - The [Avatar Editor Recomp](https://github.com/panedivitasei/AvatarEditorRecomp), required to edit avatars ### SDK patches `patches/` holds changes this project needs in the SDK. Four are genuine runtime bugs found while building this, and the dashboard will not work correctly without them: | Patch | What it fixes | | --- | --- | | `xboxkrnl_io_cpp_trailingsep.patch` | `NtCreateFile` refusing a path with a trailing separator | | `entry_cpp_emptycomponent.patch` | `Entry::ResolvePath` failing on an empty component, so no mount root could ever resolve | | `virtual_file_system_cpp_mountroot.patch` | `OpenFile` asking a parent for a child that is itself a mount point | | `xex_module_cpp_retryalloc.patch` | The two-key XEX retry leaking the image reservation, so the second key was never really tried | | `xboxkrnl_memory_cpp_debugmemory.patch` | Devkit-memory asserts killing the process where the allocator only warns | | `xam_avatar_cpp_byxuid.patch` | Avatar asset pack selection | Apply them against the SDK checkout before building it: ``` cd git apply /patches/*.patch ``` ## Building Generate the recompiled sources from your dump, then build: ``` rexglue codegen nxe_dash_manifest.toml cmake -preset win-amd64-debug cmake -build out/build/win-amd64-debug -target nxe_dash ``` `nxe_dash_manifest.toml` points at the dump; edit its paths to match yours. ## Laying out the data Paths are resolved against the **installation root**, meaning the directory that contains the executable unless `nxe_root` says otherwise. A working installation looks like this: ``` NXE.exe gamedir/ staged game directory: default.xex, the .xzp packages, fonts gamedir/sharedres/ loose overrides for shared resources storage/ Content/, xconfig.bin - the console storage tree assets/covers/ cover art, named .png assets/icons/ game icons, named .png ``` Anything absolute in a config file or on the command line wins over these, so the data can live wherever you like: ``` NXE.exe -storage_root="D:/Xbox360Storage" -game_art_dir="D:/covers" ``` ### Optional settings | Setting | Purpose | | --- | --- | | `game_emulator` | Emulator run when a game is launched. Empty disables launching. | | `boot_video` | Video played over the loading dashboard. Empty disables it. | | `avatar_editor_exe` | The avatar editor recompilation, a separate project. | | `guide_enable` | Route the Guide into real recompiled XAM. Off: it corrupts the heap during start-up. | Editing avatars requires the separate Avatar Editor Recomp project. Get it from the [Avatar Editor Recomp GitHub repository](https://github.com/panedivitasei/AvatarEditorRecomp), build it, and point `avatar_editor_exe` at its executable. Note that `NXE.toml` is rewritten from cvar state when the dashboard exits, so hand-edited entries in it do not survive a run. Use the command line for anything you want to stick. ## First-run setup On a new install the dashboard reports missing paths instead of failing silently. The setup dialog can be opened during first run, and can be opened again with `F7` when paths or tools need to be changed. It covers the profile, themes, avatar data, staged games, artwork, and optional launch helpers. The Game Library can contain both Xbox 360 and PC games: - Put Xbox 360 game folders containing `default.xex` under `roms_dir`, then refresh the library. The title ID is read from the XEX execution metadata; the game is staged without copying its files. - Point `full_games_dir` at a folder of PC game directories or a Steam library. Steam manifests are read for names and app IDs; ordinary folders use a detected executable. PC titles launch directly, while Xbox 360 titles use `game_emulator`. ## Keybinds | Key | Action | | --- | --- | | `F3` | Opens the Debug Overlay. | | `F4` | Opens the Settings Menu. | | `F6` | Refreshes the Game Library. | | `F7` | Opens the Dashboard Setup. | | `F8` | Opens the Disc Drive and Profiles. | | `F9` | Opens Achievements. | ## Data tools The scripts in `tools/` import local profile data and retrieve optional Xbox Live, marketplace, achievement, social, cover, and video data. The combined workflow is: ``` python tools/xbl_auth.py python tools/sync_all.py python tools/import_profile.py python tools/import_gamerpics.py python tools/import_genre_cards.py ``` Run individual `fetch_*.py` scripts when only one data set is needed. The Xbox Live token is cached in `tools/.xbl_token.json`; the video importer can use a TMDB key in `tools/.tmdb_key`. Both files are ignored by Git and must never be committed. Review each script's `-help` output for source and destination overrides before importing data. ## Features - Real Friends Activity from Xbox - Working Xbox Marketplace - Updated movie and TV show catalog - Complete Xbox 360 game catalog in the Marketplace - Switchable DVD game with working cover art. Use `F8` to switch titles. - Real Xbox 360 channels - Working game metadata - NXE Game Marketplace category artwork - Working Xbox 360 NXE Spotlight - Preserved game and video Marketplace ## State of things Working: boot, themes, profile and gamercard, the game library with real sizes and artwork, achievements with icons, launching titles through an emulator and returning, the disc tile with cover art, Discord rich presence. Partial: the Guide. Pressing Messages opens a real dashboard scene rather than XAM's Guide. The authentic blades live in `huduiskin.xex`, which this runtime cannot decrypt. Running real XAM gets through start-up but corrupts the runtime's heap, so it remains behind `guide_enable` for now. ## Known issues The following issues are currently being worked on and will be fixed in future updates: - The Guide is entirely non-functional. Do not enable it in Debug because it will crash the application. - Do not enable `gamer_tile_decoded`. It disables profile features, including access to the Avatar Editor. - The Profile button in the Profile section is not functional. It was an attempt to open the Guide and now opens a screen that cannot be exited. Do not press Profile when opening the Profile section. - Exiting the Game Library can freeze the application. - The Video Library does not work yet. - The Music Library opens, but its functionality is not working yet. - The Picture Library opens, but its functionality is not working yet. - Windows Media Center works, but cannot connect because Xbox Live is not fully connected to that part of the dashboard yet. - Changing the display resolution in Settings currently has no effect. - Spotlight navigation is incomplete. Most items do not respond, and opening Demos redirects to the Game Library; backing out from there can freeze the application. ## Credits - [ReXGlue SDK](https://github.com/rexglue/rexglue-sdk) - [panedivitasei](https://github.com/panedivitasei), for creating the Avatar Editor Recomp and filling in the missing avatar assets needed for the dashboard to register avatars correctly - [XenosRecomp](https://github.com/hedge-dev/XenosRecomp) - NexilTV from Discord, for providing a real Xbox 360 profile that helped fix gamerscore recognition, the gamerscore icon, and recent game activity issues ## License This project is dedicated to the public domain under the terms of [CC0 1.0 Universal](LICENSE). It carries no Microsoft code and no game content, and nothing here distributes either.