Hexen II: 5 Open Source Clones Compared
Gauntlet of Thyrion is a fork of the Hammer of Thyrion (UHexen2 SDL2) port that deliberately drops Hexenworld and other multiplayer/server code to focus purely on a singleplayer macOS build. FTE QuakeWorld is a fundamentally different kind of project — a general-purpose engine supporting several idTech games beyond just Hexen II, rather than a dedicated Hexen II port. The Dreamcast port is the most constrained of the group: its software renderer doesn't work at all on the console because it relies on x86 assembly, leaving only the OpenGL renderer functional.
Comparison table
Availability
- Status
- Playable
- Platforms
- Windows, Linux
- Play in browser
- No
- Mobile
- No
Project health
- Development status
- Sporadic
- Last updated
- 3mo ago
- Stars
- 341
- Contributors
- 46
- License
- GPL-2.0
- Engine
- id Tech
Compatibility
- Requires original assets
- —
- Modding support
- YesSupports plugins (FFMPEG, Bullet/ODE physics) and includes FTEQCC, a fork of QuakeC for in-game scripting and modding.
- Multiplayer
- Online, Local split-screen
Availability
- Status
- Playable
- Platforms
- Windows
- Play in browser
- No
- Mobile
- No
Project health
- Development status
- Archived
- Last updated
- 14y ago
- Stars
- 48
- Contributors
- 1
- License
- —
- Engine
- —
Compatibility
- Requires original assets
- —
- Modding support
- —
- Multiplayer
- —
Availability
- Status
- Semi-playable
- Platforms
- Dreamcast
- Play in browser
- No
- Mobile
- No
Project health
- Development status
- Halted
- Last updated
- 5y ago
- Stars
- 1
- Contributors
- 1
- License
- GPL-2.0
- Engine
- —
Compatibility
- Requires original assets
- YesRequires Hexen II demo or commercial version data files (PAK files and glhexen directory).
- Modding support
- —
- Multiplayer
- —
Availability
- Status
- Playable
- Platforms
- OSX
- Play in browser
- No
- Mobile
- No
Project health
- Development status
- Halted
- Last updated
- 3y ago
- Stars
- 0
- Contributors
- 2
- License
- GPL-3.0
- Engine
- SDL2
Compatibility
- Requires original assets
- YesRequires Hexen 2 data files (data1, help, music, and splash directories).
- Modding support
- —
- Multiplayer
- —
Availability
- Status
- Playable
- Platforms
- Windows, Linux, DOS, OSX, Amiga
- Play in browser
- No
- Mobile
- No
Project health
- Development status
- Not tracked
- Last updated
- Not tracked
- Stars
- Not tracked
- Contributors
- Not tracked
- License
- Not tracked
- Engine
- Not tracked
Compatibility
- Requires original assets
- —
- Modding support
- —
- Multiplayer
- —
| Title | FTE QuakeWorld | Hexen 2 | Hexen II for Dreamcast | Gauntlet of Thyrion | Hammer of Thyrion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Status | Playable | Playable | Semi-playable | Playable | Playable |
| Platforms | Windows, Linux | Windows | Dreamcast | OSX | Windows, Linux, DOS, OSX, Amiga |
| Play in browser | No | No | No | No | No |
| Mobile | No | No | No | No | No |
| Project health | |||||
| Development status | Sporadic | Archived | Halted | Halted | Not tracked |
| Last updated | 3mo ago | 14y ago | 5y ago | 3y ago | Not tracked |
| Stars | 341 | 48 | 1 | 0 | Not tracked |
| Contributors | 46 | 1 | 1 | 2 | Not tracked |
| License | GPL-2.0 | — | GPL-2.0 | GPL-3.0 | Not tracked |
| Engine | id Tech | — | — | SDL2 | Not tracked |
| Compatibility | |||||
| Requires original assets | — | — | YesRequires Hexen II demo or commercial version data files (PAK files and glhexen directory). | YesRequires Hexen 2 data files (data1, help, music, and splash directories). | — |
| Modding support | YesSupports plugins (FFMPEG, Bullet/ODE physics) and includes FTEQCC, a fork of QuakeC for in-game scripting and modding. | — | — | — | — |
| Multiplayer | Online, Local split-screen | — | — | — | — |
| Preview | | | | |
Known limitations
- rendering: Working with glhexen2 only because hexen2 soft render uses x86 asm code.
- rendering: Transparency bug present.
- audio: CD-DA music is disabled.
- audio: No MIDI music support.
- multiplayer: No network support.
Frequently asked questions
Are the Hexen II clones on this page open source?
Yes — every clone catalogued here is an open-source project. Availability, license, and development-status details for each one are listed in the comparison table above.
What license do these Hexen II clones use?
FTE QuakeWorld and Hexen II for Dreamcast (GPL-2.0); Gauntlet of Thyrion (GPL-3.0).
Do I need to own the original Hexen II to play these clones?
Hexen II for Dreamcast and Gauntlet of Thyrion require original game assets to play.
See the full write-up for each clone, or go back to Hexen II.