An unofficial static recompilation of the Xbox 360 version of Need for Speed: Carbon (2006):
a native port, not an emulator.
Play your own copy on Steam Deck, Steam Machine and Steam Frame (SteamOS), Linux and Mac.

Download  ·  Quick start  ·  Website  ·  Report a bug  ·  SpeedBreaker for Most Wanted

_{The prologue: the M3 GTR at the edge of Palmont, rendered at 2560x1440.}

Nitrous at 143 mph: the light trails at the console's length.	Speedbreaker: slow motion past the neon chevrons, at 3840x2160.
The prologue's canyon road, from above.	16:10, the Steam Deck's shape: a Canyon Duel.
The finish at the neon chevrons.	First run: every file matched the known-good disc.

`. 5. **Check the screen settings.** - **Steam Deck OLED: set the refresh rate to 60 Hz** (Quick Access > Performance). At 90 Hz the game's frames can't be shown evenly, and a note says so, once. Turn on Steam's per-game profile there and it keeps 60 Hz for this game. On any Deck, leave the Framerate Limit off. - **Docked, or on a Steam Machine:** in the shortcut's Properties > General > Game Resolution, choose **Native**. - The picture fills the Deck's 16:10 screen, with a slightly taller view. For the console's 16:9 picture with thin bars above and below, set Settings > Display > Aspect Ratio to 16:9. **Controls:** the Deck's controls work through Steam Input (default Gamepad layout). **Settings:** hold **View** (two squares, left of the screen) and press **Menu** (three lines, right of the screen). **Uninstall:** delete `~/Games/SpeedBreaker-Carbon/`, `~/.local/share/speedbreaker-carbon/` (this deletes your saves too) and `~/.cache/speedbreaker-carbon/`, and remove the shortcut from Steam. SpeedBreaker for Most Wanted's folders are never touched. ### Steam Frame The Steam Frame has its own download. You set it up on the Frame's desktop: open the **Desktop** app in your Steam library. 1. **Download and unpack.** Download the Steam Frame build, [`SpeedBreaker-Carbon-steamos-arm64.tar.xz`][dl-steamos-arm64], into Downloads (not the x86-64 one: that is for the Steam Deck, Steam Machine and Linux PCs). The Frame's file manager can't unpack it, so open **Konsole** and run: ```sh mkdir -p ~/Games && tar -xf ~/Downloads/SpeedBreaker-Carbon-steamos-arm64.tar.xz -C ~/Games ``` This makes `~/Games/SpeedBreaker-Carbon`. Keep it on the Frame's internal storage, and don't use `:`, `;` or `$` in the folder names. 2. **Add it to Steam.** In the file manager, open `~/Games/SpeedBreaker-Carbon`, right-click `speedbreaker.sh` and choose *Add to Steam*. Or, in Konsole: `steamos-add-to-steam ~/Games/SpeedBreaker-Carbon/speedbreaker.sh`. Leave *Compatibility* (Proton) off: this is a native Linux game. 3. **Put your disc image in Downloads.** SpeedBreaker: Carbon also looks in your home folder, Desktop, Documents and Games. 4. **Install.** Start it from your Steam library. It highlights the image it found (*Ready to install*): press **A**, then **A** again on *Install*. Or install from Konsole: `~/Games/SpeedBreaker-Carbon/speedbreaker.sh --install ~/Downloads/your-image.iso` (with your image's name; add `--dest ` to put the game in a folder of your choice). It plays as a big flat screen in the headset. It is not a VR mode. - **Settings:** press **Menu + View** together. - **Frame rate:** if the picture isn't smooth in the headset, set **Display > Frame Rate** to **30 fps**. The VR compositor shares the graphics chip. - **Uninstall:** as on the [Steam Deck](#steam-deck-and-steam-machine). ### Linux There's no separate desktop-Linux package yet. Try the x86-64 SteamOS download, [`SpeedBreaker-Carbon-steamos-x86_64.tar.xz`][dl-steamos-x86_64], which brings its own runtime libraries and is tested here on SteamOS, or [build from source](#building-from-source). Unpack it, put your `.iso` in your home folder, Downloads, Desktop, Documents or Games (or on a USB drive), and run `speedbreaker.sh`: always start the game with it, since it picks the libraries the program in `lib/` needs (started on its own, the program fails on most systems with a message such as `GLIBC_2.44 not found`). The game starts in a window; Display > Fullscreen switches to full screen and decides how the game starts. The installer puts the game in `~/.local/share/speedbreaker-carbon/game`, or on a drive, or in any folder you pick with *Choose a folder...* (it needs a file chooser portal or zenity; without one, use `--dest`). On a laptop with two GPUs, SpeedBreaker: Carbon uses the dedicated graphics card; with NVIDIA's driver the launcher also turns on PRIME render offload. The log's `[video] Vulkan devices:` line says which GPU it chose and why. To pick another, start it with `NFSMW_GPU=`, e.g. `NFSMW_GPU=intel %command%` in Steam's launch options. ### Mac 1. **Download and install.** Download [`SpeedBreaker-Carbon-macos.dmg`][dl-macos], open it, and drag SpeedBreaker Carbon to your Applications folder. 2. **Open it.** The app isn't notarized by Apple, so the first time you open it, macOS refuses. Close that message (don't move the app to the Trash), then go to **System Settings > Privacy & Security**, scroll down to the message about SpeedBreaker Carbon, click **Open Anyway** and confirm. You only need to do this the first time you open a new download. On current macOS, Control-click > Open no longer skips this step. 3. **Put your disc image in a `Games` folder in your home folder** (`~/Games`). That's the only place it looks by itself, so macOS doesn't have to ask for access to your other folders. For an image anywhere else, use *Browse for image...*. 4. **Install.** The game goes to `~/Library/Application Support/SpeedBreaker Carbon/game`, or to an external drive or any other folder if you choose one (*Choose a folder...*, with the arrows on the *To* row). An empty folder is used as it is; a folder that already holds files gets a new `SpeedBreaker Carbon Game` folder inside it. For a folder in Desktop, Documents or Downloads, or on an external drive, macOS asks once whether SpeedBreaker Carbon may use it: choose **Allow**. iCloud Drive can't hold the game (nor Desktop and Documents, if your Mac keeps them in iCloud): macOS would upload it and can remove its files from the Mac to save space. **Settings:** **F1** or **Cmd+,**, or Back + Start on a controller. The game starts in a window; Display > Fullscreen switches to full screen and decides how the game starts from then on. The window's green button (or Ctrl+Cmd+F) switches only until you quit. While you play, the mouse pointer hides after two seconds without moving. SpeedBreaker: Carbon needs macOS 15 (Sequoia) or later. ### Windows (beta) The Windows version is a **beta**: so far it has been tested on one ThinkPad laptop with Intel integrated graphics (UHD Graphics) and a 60 Hz screen. It runs on the same engine as SpeedBreaker for Most Wanted, whose Windows testers report NVIDIA and AMD graphics running fine; Intel Arc graphics haven't been tested yet. Download `SpeedBreaker-Carbon-0.1.3-windows-x64-beta.zip` from its own pre-release on the [Releases page][all-releases], right-click it, choose **Extract All**, and double-click `SpeedBreaker-Carbon.exe` in the extracted folder (not inside the zip). SpeedBreaker: Carbon isn't signed, so Windows may say **"Windows protected your PC"**: click **More info**, then **Run anyway**. (Smart App Control, where it's on, offers no Run anyway.) The installer then works as on the other platforms: it looks for your `.iso` in your user folder, Downloads, Desktop, Documents and Games and on your other drives, or takes one (or an extracted disc folder) you browse for, and puts the game in `%LOCALAPPDATA%\SpeedBreaker Carbon`, where your saves, settings and logs go too (or on another drive, or in any folder with *Choose a folder...*, but not in OneDrive). `README.txt` in the zip has the details, portable mode included. **Check for Updates** isn't available on Windows yet: watch the Releases page. Please [report](#reporting-a-bug) how it runs, especially on NVIDIA, AMD and Intel Arc graphics and on 120 or 144 Hz monitors, with "Windows beta" in the issue's title. Windows builds made by others aren't supported here. ### iPhone and iPad SpeedBreaker: Carbon on iPhone and iPad is **experimental**, and it isn't on the App Store. It is its own app, **SpeedBreaker Carbon**, and installs beside SpeedBreaker for Most Wanted. There are two ways to get it onto your iPhone or iPad: - **Sideload the IPA (experimental).** The release has an IPA, `SpeedBreaker-Carbon-0.1.3-ios.ipa`, on the [release page][releases]. A sideloading tool such as AltStore signs it with your own Apple Account and installs it. The game asks iOS for more memory than most apps, and a free Apple Account can't give all of it, so with a free account it may not start, or iOS may close it in busy scenes. When iOS refuses the memory, the game says so on screen. The IPA itself hasn't been installed on a device yet (the tested iPhone ran the same app built and signed with Xcode): read [Sideloading the IPA](scripts/ios/README.md#sideloading-the-ipa-experimental) first, and please report how it goes, with your device and tool. - **Build it yourself** with Xcode on a Mac, signed with your own Apple developer account: [scripts/ios/README.md](scripts/ios/README.md) walks you through it. Once SpeedBreaker Carbon is on your device: 1. **Get your disc image onto it.** Copy the `.iso` into **Files > On My iPhone (or iPad) > SpeedBreaker Carbon**, where it is found by itself. Or tap **Browse** and pick it from anywhere the Files app reaches, such as iCloud Drive or a USB drive. A browsed image is read where it is, not copied first. 2. **Install.** The game goes into the app's own storage, and is left out of iCloud and computer backups (your saves are still backed up). Afterwards you can delete the disc image. 3. **Connect a controller or a keyboard.** The game itself doesn't use touch. Pair a Bluetooth controller, such as an Xbox or PlayStation one, or use a Backbone. So far, a Backbone Pro on the iPhone is the one tested. **Settings:** tap with **three fingers**, or press Back + Start on the controller (View + Menu on a Backbone). SpeedBreaker Carbon runs in landscape, full screen. If you switch away, the game freezes, and it resumes exactly where it stopped. **Heat:** phones get warm. On the tested iPhone 18 Pro Max, Carbon holds 60 fps until the phone reaches iOS's "serious" heat level, which took about eight minutes on battery; Frame Rate *Auto* (the default) then drops to a steady 30 and says so, and goes back to 60 once the phone has cooled. ## Portable mode On SteamOS and Linux, everything can live in the `SpeedBreaker-Carbon` folder (saves, settings, logs, shader caches and the installed game), so the whole folder can be moved or copied to another Steam Deck, Steam Machine or Linux PC. Make an empty file named `portable.txt` next to `speedbreaker.sh`. That starts fresh; to bring your current settings, saves and game along, run `~/Games/SpeedBreaker-Carbon/speedbreaker.sh --portable on` in Konsole instead, and `--portable off` to go back. Both copy and never delete. In portable mode the folder holds `data/` (with the game in `data/game`) and `cache/`. The folder's README says more. ## Controls SpeedBreaker: Carbon hands the game an Xbox 360 controller, so a race plays with the game's own Xbox 360 controls. Buttons are matched **by position**: on a PlayStation controller, Cross is A, Circle is B, Square is X and Triangle is Y. | Xbox 360 control | Controller | Keyboard | |---|---|---| | Left stick | Left stick | A / D or Left / Right steer; Up / Down push it up and down | | Right trigger | Right trigger | W | | Left trigger | Left trigger | S | | A / B / X / Y | Bottom / right / left / top face button | Space / Backspace / Left Shift / Left Ctrl | | LB / RB | Shoulder buttons | Q / E | | D-pad | D-pad | Arrow keys | | Start | Start / Menu / Options | Enter | | Back | Back / View / Create | Esc | | Right stick | Right stick | O / L up and down, K / ; left and right | | Stick clicks | Press a stick in | Z (left), C (right) | - One player, one controller: the first one connected is used, and you can plug one in at any time. The keyboard always works as well. - **Split screen** (Quick Race > Quick Race Options > Game Mode: Split Screen): the second controller joins at "PLAYER 2 Please press START on second controller." and drives the second half of the screen. If a player's controller disconnects, the game pauses and says so until it's back. It renders at most what Internal Resolution's Auto would for your screen; single player keeps your setting. - Because Back + Start opens the settings, the game sees Back a moment late: a tap arrives when you let go, a hold after a quarter of a second. - Every keyboard control can be reassigned: **Settings > Controls** (F1). Each control has two keys: choose a row, Left or Right for its first or second key, press A or Enter, then the key you want (Esc or B cancels). Y or Backspace clears a key, X or Delete puts the row's defaults back, and *Reset page* restores this whole table. There is no mouse control in game. **To open the settings:** | Device | Open or close the settings | |---|---| | Keyboard | **F1** (on a Mac also **Cmd+,**) | | Xbox-style controller | **Back + Start** (View + Menu) together | | Steam Deck | Hold **View**, press **Menu** | | Steam Frame | **Menu + View** together | | iPhone and iPad touchscreen | **Three-finger tap** | ## Settings The game pauses while the settings are open. The D-pad (or arrow keys) chooses and changes a row, LB and RB (or Q and E) turn pages, and B (or Esc) closes the menu. The mouse works too. Every change applies at once and is saved when you close the menu. The bottom row has *Reset page* (the page's defaults), *Close*, and *Quit Game*, which asks first, with *Cancel* chosen.

All settings and their defaults

**Display** | Option | Choices | Default | |---|---|---| | Fullscreen | On / Off | Off: a 1280x720 window you can resize. The game always starts as set here; on a Mac, the window's green button switches only until you quit. Always on in SteamOS Game Mode. Not shown on iPhone and iPad, which are always full screen. | | Screen Resolution | Full / 75% | Full. iPhone and iPad only: 75% is slightly softer and saves graphics work. | | V-Sync | On / Off | On. Off can tear, but shows frames sooner. | | Frame Rate | Auto / 60 fps / 30 fps | 60 fps. Auto runs at 60, or at a steady 30 while the device is hot or can't hold 60. On iPhone and iPad the default is Auto. | | Aspect Ratio | Fill Screen / 16:9 | Fill Screen: wider screens get a wider view; 16:10 and taller screens (the Steam Deck, many Macs) a taller one, rendered in the screen's own shape. 16:9 always shows the classic picture with bars. | | Brightness | -5 to +5 | 0, the picture as it is. Each step makes the shadows and mid-tones a little lighter or darker, like a TV's brightness; black and white stay put, and the menus never change. | | Xbox 360 Display Gamma | On / Off | On: the gamma ramp the game sets for a real Xbox 360's TV output. Off: the flatter picture, without the ramp. | | HDR Output | On / Off | Off. On an HDR display, the game's highlights (tail lights, street lights, lit windows, nitrous flames) go brighter than white; the rest of the picture stays as in standard range, and the settings menu, and the game seen through it, stay at standard brightness. Shown on a Mac, SteamOS, Linux and Windows; it takes effect where the display (or the system, in HDR mode) offers HDR. Large bright areas, such as tyre smoke and the sun's halo, are held to a soft glow, and a mostly white frame near white. Not on iPhone and iPad. | | HDR Format | Auto / Extended Linear / HDR10 (PQ) | Auto: Extended Linear (macOS's EDR) on a display that reports HDR. HDR10 sends the PQ signal with its metadata. Mac only; elsewhere HDR is always HDR10. | | HDR Strength | 2x / 3x / 4x | 2x: how far the brightest highlights go above white. | | HDR Paper White | Auto / 100 / 200 / 300 / 400 | Auto: how bright ordinary white is in HDR10, in nits, matching the system (100 on a Mac, 200 on Windows and Linux, 400 on SteamOS and the Steam Deck). Raise it if HDR looks dimmer than the game without it. | The game's own Brightness slider, in its Options > Video, works too while Xbox 360 Display Gamma is on. **Graphics** | Option | Choices | Default | |---|---|---| | Anti-Aliasing | On / Off | On | | Upscaling | Bicubic / Bilinear / FSR 1 | Bicubic. FSR 1 (AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution 1) keeps curves, wires and diagonals smooth when the picture is enlarged a lot; it costs a little more GPU time. Not on iPhone and iPad. | | Sharpening | 0.00 to 1.00 | 0.30 (0 turns it off). | | Anisotropic Filtering | Auto / Off / 2x / 4x / 8x / 16x / Original | Auto: 16x on dedicated graphics cards, 4x elsewhere. Original uses each texture's own setting, as on the 360. | | Mipmaps | On / Off | On, so distant textures don't shimmer | | Internal Resolution | Auto and fixed scales of the console's 720p | Auto: from the screen and the GPU. At 1440p that is 1.5x on an integrated GPU such as a Mac's and 2x on a dedicated one; a Steam Deck draws its own 1280x800. On iPhone and iPad, Auto always picks 1x. | **Audio:** Master Volume (100%), Mute (Off), and Mute in Background (Off), which silences the game while its window isn't in front. **Input:** Stick Deadzone (8%; raise it if the car steers by itself), Trigger Deadzone (2%), and Vibration (On). **Controls:** the keyboard keys for each Xbox 360 control, two per control, as in the table under [Controls](#controls). The keys are saved by name in `settings.toml`'s `[keys]` table. **Advanced:** Asynchronous Shaders (On: an object is skipped for a frame or two while its shader compiles, instead of the game stuttering), Performance Overlay (Off: fps, frame times, and CPU and GPU time per frame), **Save Bug Report**, and **Check for Updates** (the only thing that goes online, and only when you press it). The page also shows which build you're running.

## Tips for smooth play - **Run your display at 60 Hz.** On a Steam Deck OLED, set the refresh rate to 60 Hz and leave Steam's Framerate Limit off. - **Start with Auto.** If busy scenes drop below 60, set Internal Resolution one step lower, or let Frame Rate *Auto* fall back to a steady 30. - **On iPhone and iPad,** keep Internal Resolution at Auto (1x) and Frame Rate at Auto, which drops to 30 when the device gets warm. - **Docked Deck or Steam Machine:** set the shortcut's Game Resolution to Native. - **See what's happening:** Settings > Advanced > Performance Overlay. ## FAQ and troubleshooting **Does SpeedBreaker: Carbon include the game?** No. No game files are included or distributed. You install the game from your own backup of your own disc, and SpeedBreaker: Carbon checks it file by file. **Which version of the game do I need?** The Xbox 360 **USA Collector's Edition** (see [Which copy do I need?](#which-copy-do-i-need)). The installer checks your image and tells you if it's a different version. The standard edition and other regions aren't supported yet, Games on Demand packages aren't supported, and no title update is used. **Does it work with the PC version of the game?** No. It is built from the Xbox 360 version and installs only from the Xbox 360 disc. **Is this an emulator?** No. It's a static recompilation: the game's Xbox 360 code was translated ahead of time into a native app, so that code runs directly instead of being emulated. SpeedBreaker: Carbon supplies what the game expects from the Xbox 360: its system software, graphics, audio and controllers. **I already play SpeedBreaker (Most Wanted). Do they get in each other's way?** No. They are separate apps with separate folders, saves and settings, and either can be installed without the other. **Can I bring my Xbox 360 saves?** No. Xbox 360 saves can't be imported, so your career starts fresh. **The installer refused my image. Why?** It always says what to do. The usual causes: - *Another game, or an unsupported edition:* it isn't the USA Collector's Edition. - *Truncated image:* most often a copy cut off at 4 GB by a FAT32 drive. Copy it again from your own backup, onto a drive that can hold files over 4 GB. - *Not a disc image,* a Games on Demand package, or a video-only DVD image. - *Missing or corrupt files:* make a new backup from your disc. **My Mac says SpeedBreaker Carbon can't be opened.** Use **Open Anyway** in System Settings > Privacy & Security (see [Mac setup](#mac)), again after each update. It needs macOS 15 (Sequoia) or later on Apple silicon. **The game stutters on my Steam Deck OLED.** Set the screen to 60 Hz (see [Steam Deck setup](#steam-deck-and-steam-machine)); with Steam's per-game profile on, it stays at 60 Hz for this game. **The picture is small or stretched on my TV or monitor in Game Mode.** Set the shortcut's Properties > General > Game Resolution to Native. **Can I have the bars back on my Deck?** Yes. Set Settings > Display > Aspect Ratio to 16:9 for the console's picture with thin bars above and below. **Can I install the game somewhere other than the default folder?** Yes. On the installer's last page, choose where it goes on the *To* row: internal storage, a removable drive, or *Choose a folder...* for any folder (SteamOS: in Desktop Mode). Or install from a terminal with `--dest` (see [Command-line installer](#command-line-installer)). It remembers the place; if it's on a drive that isn't connected when the game starts, the installer says so: connect it and start the game again. **The car steers by itself.** Raise Settings > Input > Stick Deadzone. **How do I quit in fullscreen without a keyboard?** Open the settings and choose *Quit Game* on the bottom row; it asks first. **Where are my saves, settings and logs?** | | Linux and SteamOS | Mac | |---|---|---| | Saves, settings, logs | `~/.local/share/speedbreaker-carbon/` | `~/Library/Application Support/SpeedBreaker Carbon/` | | Installed game | `game/` in that folder, `speedbreaker-carbon/game` on a drive, or the folder you chose | `game/` in that folder, `SpeedBreaker Carbon/game` on a drive, or the folder you chose | | Shader caches (safe to delete) | `~/.cache/speedbreaker-carbon/` | `~/Library/Caches/SpeedBreaker Carbon/` | Deleting that folder deletes your saves. A game you installed in a folder of your own stays there until you delete that folder. In [portable mode](#portable-mode) (SteamOS and Linux) all of it is in the `SpeedBreaker-Carbon` folder instead. ### Reporting a bug 1. Open the settings, go to **Advanced**, and choose **Save Bug Report**. 2. A notice says where the zip file went: your **Desktop** (on SteamOS, pick it up in Desktop Mode, or in the Desktop app on a Steam Frame), or the data folder above when there is no Desktop. Its name says which version you were running, for example `speedbreaker-carbon-bug-report-v0.1.3-_.zip`. 3. Open an [issue][issues], attach the zip, and say what you were doing, what you expected, what happened, and roughly how long into the session it happened. The zip holds recent logs, any crash and hang reports, your settings, a summary of your system and a screenshot of the last game frame. Paths in your home folder show as `~`. If the game crashed, start it again and save a report: the crash report is included. **Never attach game files or disc images to an issue.** [CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md) says how bug reports and pull requests are handled. ## Known issues - **Not yet in SpeedBreaker: Carbon:** Smooth Motion and the language choice of SpeedBreaker for Most Wanted. The game plays in its disc's language. - **One edition:** only the USA Collector's Edition is supported so far (see [Which copy do I need?](#which-copy-do-i-need)). - **Mac: wired Xbox controllers don't rumble.** macOS drives an Xbox One or Series controller connected by USB through its own controller framework, which never runs the motors. Pair it over Bluetooth for rumble (a DualSense rumbles either way). The game says so once. - **Steering wheels** (experimental in SpeedBreaker for Most Wanted) haven't been tried with Carbon yet. ## What's next - **Windows:** in [beta](#windows-beta) now; a full release once it has run on more PCs. - More of what SpeedBreaker for Most Wanted has: Smooth Motion, more languages, more editions of the disc. There are no dates and no promises: it's ready when it's ready. ## For developers ### How it works SpeedBreaker: Carbon is a **static recompilation**. [XenonRecomp](https://github.com/hedge-dev/XenonRecomp) translates the game's PowerPC code into C++ ahead of time, and that C++ is compiled into a native program for x86-64 or arm64. SpeedBreaker's runtime stands in for the Xbox 360: its kernel and system software, its GPU, its XMA audio and its controllers. - **One engine, two games.** This repository is SpeedBreaker's whole tree: the runtime is shared with SpeedBreaker for Most Wanted, and each game's own fixes are hooks in its own folder (`runtime/game/carbon/` for Carbon). A build is for one game (`-DSB_GAME=carbon` or `mw`), and only that game's hooks are compiled in. - **Graphics:** a Vulkan renderer that translates the Xenos GPU's commands and shaders. On a Mac it runs on Metal through MoltenVK. - **Platform layer:** SDL3 for windows, input and audio. The installer, the settings menu and the overlay are drawn with Dear ImGui. - **Audio:** XMA decoding done the way the hardware does it, frame by frame, with a patched, decoder-only FFmpeg. - **Frame pacing:** the game's clock locks to the display's measured refresh, one game step per refresh at 60 Hz. The game's data (cars, city, audio, movies) comes from the player's disc. SpeedBreaker: Carbon contains no game data or assets. ### Command-line installer The installer also runs from a terminal. On SteamOS and Linux, run it through `speedbreaker.sh` (`~/Games/SpeedBreaker-Carbon/speedbreaker.sh --install ...`); on a Mac, the program is `SpeedBreaker Carbon.app/Contents/MacOS/SpeedBreaker`. ```sh SpeedBreaker --install [--dest ] # install (into exactly , if given) SpeedBreaker --verify # check every file without copying SpeedBreaker --find-images # list the disc images it can find SpeedBreaker --where # show where the game is installed speedbreaker.sh --portable on|off # SteamOS and Linux: portable mode (copies, never deletes) ``` Without `--dest` the game goes to the default folder, as from the installer screen. `--dest` installs into exactly that folder, which must be new, empty or hold a previous install; the game remembers it. ### Building from source The repository contains no game code: the build recompiles your own `default.xex`, from the USA Collector's Edition disc. The generated code (`ppc-carbon/`), the game files (`game-carbon/`) and the toolchain (`tools/`) are ignored by git. **Never commit or share them.** The supported executable is 4,866,048 bytes, with SHA-256 `922c7a1a2fc77405c43aac5159ad67fb0414c872084abc3335c68dbb4bec1815`. #### 1. Dependencies - **Mac:** Xcode's command-line tools, and from Homebrew: `brew install llvm lld cmake ninja molten-vk`. The libraries the app bundles (SDL3, the Vulkan loader, glslang, SPIRV-Tools and FFmpeg's XMA decoder) are built from their own source releases by `scripts/macos/build_deps.sh`, for macOS 15 like the release (step 3). - **SteamOS:** build inside an Arch Linux distrobox (podman and distrobox ship with SteamOS): ```sh distrobox create --yes --name nfsmw-build --image docker.io/library/archlinux:latest \ --additional-packages "clang lld cmake ninja git python sdl3 vulkan-headers \ vulkan-icd-loader vulkan-tools glslang spirv-tools mesa vulkan-radeon pkgconf \ make diffutils patch curl nasm libpulse pipewire pipewire-pulse alsa-lib libdecor" distrobox enter nfsmw-build ``` - **Other Linux distributions:** your distribution's equivalents of the package list above (Clang 18 or newer). The GPU needs Vulkan 1.2 and BC (DXT) texture support. - **Windows (beta):** the Visual Studio Build Tools (MSVC's libraries, the Windows SDK) with LLVM's `clang-cl` 19 or newer, CMake and Ninja, and SDL3, glslang and FFmpeg's XMA decoder built as static libraries with the static C runtime (`/MT`) into one folder. FFmpeg's configure options are `scripts/build_ffmpeg_xma.sh`'s, with FFmpeg's MSVC toolchain; the Windows third-party source archive on the beta's release page has the exact build script. Step 2 runs on a Mac or Linux; copy `ppc-carbon/` and `tools/XenonRecomp` to the Windows PC. - `gh`, logged in, is optional: it fetches Xenia's instruction tests. #### 2. Toolchain, your game files, recompilation From the repository root: ```sh scripts/setup_tools.sh # XenonRecomp + SpeedBreaker's patches, extract-xiso, FFmpeg's XMA decoder # Extract your own disc image into game-carbon/files and check the executable. mkdir -p game-carbon/files tools/extract-xiso/build/extract-xiso -d game-carbon/files -x /path/to/your-backup.iso shasum -a 256 game-carbon/files/default.xex # must print 922c7a1a2fc77405c43aac5159ad67fb0414c872084abc3335c68dbb4bec1815 # Translate the game's code into C++ (writes ppc-carbon/). mkdir -p ppc-carbon tools/XenonRecomp/build/XenonRecomp/XenonRecomp config/carbon/carbon.toml tools/XenonRecomp/XenonUtils/ppc_context.h ``` #### 3. Build ```sh # Linux and SteamOS (on SteamOS, inside the container) cmake -S . -B build/main -G Ninja -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -DSB_GAME=carbon \ -DCMAKE_C_COMPILER=clang -DCMAKE_CXX_COMPILER=clang++ # Mac (Homebrew's LLVM): the libraries for macOS 15, as the release (a few minutes; it downloads # their source archives and checks each one's SHA-256), then the game against them scripts/macos/build_deps.sh build/deps cmake -S . -B build/main -G Ninja -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -DSB_GAME=carbon \ -DCMAKE_C_COMPILER=/opt/homebrew/opt/llvm/bin/clang \ -DCMAKE_CXX_COMPILER=/opt/homebrew/opt/llvm/bin/clang++ \ -DCMAKE_PREFIX_PATH="$PWD/build/deps" -DFFMPEG_XMA="$PWD/build/deps/ffmpeg-xma" ninja -C build/main SpeedBreaker ``` On Windows (beta), from an x64 Visual Studio developer prompt with `clang-cl` on `PATH`: ```bat cmake -S . --preset windows-clang -DSB_GAME=carbon -DCMAKE_PREFIX_PATH= -DFFMPEG_XMA= ninja -C build\windows SpeedBreaker ``` That makes `build\windows\runtime\SpeedBreaker-Carbon.exe`. `--preset windows-clang-tester` instead links it without a console window and labels it, as the download is; `python scripts\windows\make_zip.py --public ...` (its header lists the options) packages it with the license notices, as `SpeedBreaker-Carbon--windows-x64-beta.zip`. Run `build/main/runtime/SpeedBreaker` from the repository root. With the whole disc extracted in `game-carbon/files`, it plays from there. Otherwise the first-run installer asks for your disc image. The same tree builds SpeedBreaker for Most Wanted: `-DSB_GAME=mw` (the default) in another build folder, from `ppc/`, which `config/nfsmw.toml` makes from Most Wanted's own `default.xex` in `game/files`. Its README is in the [SpeedBreaker repository](https://github.com/SpeedBreakerProject/speedbreaker). #### 4. Package it (optional) - **Mac app:** `python3 scripts/macos/make_app.py` makes `build/app/SpeedBreaker Carbon.app`, with its libraries, MoltenVK and the license notices inside; `python3 scripts/macos/check_app.py "build/app/SpeedBreaker Carbon.app"` runs the release's checks. Add `--dmg` for `build/app/SpeedBreaker-Carbon-macos.dmg` and its `.sha256`, laid out like the download on Releases. - **SteamOS bundle (x86-64):** inside the container, `scripts/steamos/make_bundle.sh` makes `build/bundle/SpeedBreaker-Carbon-steamos-x86_64.tar.xz` and its `.sha256` (plus a copy named by the version): `speedbreaker.sh` at the top, the program and its libraries in `lib/`. - **Steam Frame bundle (arm64):** built on a Frame, as for Most Wanted: the Frame's SteamOS ships clang, CMake, Ninja, glslang and the Vulkan headers. Build an SDL3 release into `~/deps/sdl3` (with `-DSDL_X11_XSCRNSAVER=OFF`), and do step 2 on the Frame. Then: ```sh cmake -S . -B build/main -G Ninja -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -DSB_GAME=carbon \ -DCMAKE_C_COMPILER=clang -DCMAKE_CXX_COMPILER=clang++ \ -DSDL3_DIR=$HOME/deps/sdl3/lib/cmake/SDL3 -DCMAKE_SKIP_BUILD_RPATH=ON ninja -C build/main scripts/steamos/make_bundle.sh build/main build/bundle ``` This makes `build/bundle/SpeedBreaker-Carbon-steamos-arm64.tar.xz` and its `.sha256`. #### Tests The unit tests build with `-DSB_TESTS=ON` added to the `cmake` line, and `ctest --test-dir build/main` runs them. `tests/run_instr_tests.sh` checks the instructions SpeedBreaker's patches add to XenonRecomp; it needs LLVM's `llvm-mc`, `llvm-objdump` and `ld.lld`. None of the tests needs game files; a few read the generated code. ## Credits SpeedBreaker: Carbon is made by **project(u)**, on the engine of [SpeedBreaker](https://github.com/SpeedBreakerProject/speedbreaker). It stands on the shoulders of a lot of open-source work. Thank you to the **hedge-dev** team, for XenonRecomp and for the approach Unleashed Recompiled pioneered that this project follows, and to the **Xenia** project, for a decade of Xbox 360 research. | Project | What SpeedBreaker uses it for | License | |---|---|---| | [XenonRecomp](https://github.com/hedge-dev/XenonRecomp) (hedge-dev and contributors) | The PowerPC-to-C++ recompiler. Its XenonUtils (XEX loading) is built into the runtime. | MIT | | [Unleashed Recompiled](https://github.com/hedge-dev/UnleashedRecomp) (hedge-dev and contributors) | The reference runtime. Parts of the kernel, XAM, memory and threading code are adapted from it. | GPL-3.0-or-later | | [Xenia](https://github.com/xenia-project/xenia) (Ben Vanik and Xenia contributors) | GPU register, microcode and Xenos headers are ported from it, and its kernel, XMA and GPU behaviour is the reference throughout. | BSD-3-Clause | | freedreno (Rob Clark) | Code inside the ported microcode header | MIT | | [FFmpeg](https://ffmpeg.org/) 7.1.1 | XMA decoding: a decoder-only static build with a SpeedBreaker patch | LGPL-2.1-or-later | | [SDL3](https://www.libsdl.org/) | Windows, input, audio, app lifecycle | zlib | | [Dear ImGui](https://github.com/ocornut/imgui) (Omar Cornut) | The installer and settings UI | MIT | | [Roboto](https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Roboto) (Google) | The UI font | Apache-2.0 | | [FidelityFX Super Resolution 1](https://github.com/GPUOpen-Effects/FidelityFX-FSR) (AMD) | The FSR 1 Upscaling choice | MIT | | [o1heap](https://github.com/pavel-kirienko/o1heap) (Pavel Kirienko) | The guest heap allocator | MIT | | [glslang](https://github.com/KhronosGroup/glslang) and [SPIRV-Tools](https://github.com/KhronosGroup/SPIRV-Tools) (Khronos) | Shader compilation at runtime | BSD-3-Clause and others; Apache-2.0 | | [MoltenVK](https://github.com/KhronosGroup/MoltenVK) and the [Vulkan Loader](https://github.com/KhronosGroup/Vulkan-Loader) (Khronos) | Vulkan on a Mac | Apache-2.0 | | [toml++](https://github.com/marzer/tomlplusplus) (Mark Gillard) | `settings.toml` | MIT | | [SIMDe](https://github.com/simd-everywhere/simde) (Evan Nemerson and contributors) | SIMD in the recompiled code | MIT | | [libmspack](https://github.com/kyz/libmspack) (Stuart Caie) | LZX decompression | LGPL-2.1 | | [tiny-AES-c](https://github.com/kokke/tiny-AES-c) | XEX decryption | Unlicense | | [TinySHA1](https://github.com/mohaps/TinySHA1) (Saurav Mohapatra) | SHA-1, via XenonUtils | ISC-style | | [extract-xiso](https://github.com/XboxDev/extract-xiso) | Developer tool for unpacking disc images (not shipped) | Its own license | The x86-64 SteamOS download also carries glibc and libstdc++ (LGPL-2.1+; GPL-3.0 with the GCC Runtime Library Exception); the Steam Frame download uses the system's. Full license texts are in [THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.md](THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.md) and [LICENSES/](LICENSES/), and every download carries them too: in `licenses/` in the SteamOS downloads, and in `SpeedBreaker Carbon.app/Contents/Resources/licenses` in the Mac app, with each bundled library's own license. The source code of the LGPL and GPL parts in the downloads (FFmpeg, libmspack, and the x86-64 download's glibc and GCC runtime) is published next to the downloads of each release, as `SpeedBreaker-Carbon--third-party-source.tar.xz`. More from project(u): [SpeedBreaker](https://github.com/SpeedBreakerProject/speedbreaker) for *Need for Speed: Most Wanted*, and [projectugarte.com](https://projectugarte.com/). ## License SpeedBreaker: Carbon is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the **GNU General Public License** as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version (GPL-3.0-or-later). See [COPYING](COPYING) and [NOTICE](NOTICE). Third-party components keep their own licenses, listed above. Copyright (C) 2026 project(u) and SpeedBreaker contributors. ## Legal notice SpeedBreaker: Carbon is an unofficial, fan-made project by project(u). It is **not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Electronic Arts Inc., the Need for Speed brand or Valve Corporation.** "Need for Speed", "Carbon" and "Most Wanted" are trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. Steam, Steam Deck, Steam Machine, Steam Frame, SteamOS and their logos and icons are trademarks of Valve Corporation. All other trademarks, including Xbox, Xbox 360, PlayStation, Apple, Mac, macOS, iPhone, iPad, iCloud, Xcode, Vulkan, Linux, Windows, NVIDIA, AMD and Intel, belong to their respective owners. They are used here only to describe what SpeedBreaker: Carbon works with. The game is named only to say which game SpeedBreaker: Carbon runs; no logos, box art or key art of the game are used. **No game files are included or distributed.** SpeedBreaker: Carbon contains no game data or assets: no textures, models, audio, movies or disc files. To play, you need your own legally obtained backup (a disc image) of your own Xbox 360 disc of *Need for Speed: Carbon* (2006), the USA Collector's Edition. The in-app installer verifies it and installs it. SpeedBreaker: Carbon is provided "as is", without warranty of any kind, as set out in the GNU General Public License. [releases]: https://github.com/SpeedBreakerProject/speedbreaker-carbon/releases/latest [dl-steamos-x86_64]: https://github.com/SpeedBreakerProject/speedbreaker-carbon/releases/latest/download/SpeedBreaker-Carbon-steamos-x86_64.tar.xz [dl-steamos-arm64]: https://github.com/SpeedBreakerProject/speedbreaker-carbon/releases/latest/download/SpeedBreaker-Carbon-steamos-arm64.tar.xz [dl-macos]: https://github.com/SpeedBreakerProject/speedbreaker-carbon/releases/latest/download/SpeedBreaker-Carbon-macos.dmg [all-releases]: https://github.com/SpeedBreakerProject/speedbreaker-carbon/releases [issues]: https://github.com/SpeedBreakerProject/speedbreaker-carbon/issues