# wheybags/freeablo

[ARCHIVED] Modern reimplementation of the Diablo 1 game engine

Repository: https://github.com/wheybags/freeablo
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/freeablo
Language: C++
License: GPL-3.0
License Family: copyleft
Last push: 2023-04-13T22:28:25+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 23/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 0, release rhythm 8, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 4804, "days_push": 1238, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 2171, forks 196 (observed 2026-08-28T04:06:21.770660+00:00)

## What it is
Freeablo is a free, cross-platform C++ reimplementation of the Diablo 1 game engine that requires the original game's data files (DIABDAT.MPQ, version 1.09) to run. It implements core gameplay such as town exploration, dungeon crawling, melee and limited ranged/magic combat, loot drops, and item trading, but the game is incomplete.

## Use cases
- play diablo 1 natively on linux or mac
- run the original diablo engine on modern operating systems
- open source reimplementation of the diablo 1 engine
- cross-platform diablo 1 clone
- play classic diablo with an open-source engine
- study how the diablo 1 game engine works

## When to choose
- You own Diablo 1 (patched to 1.09) and want to play it natively on Linux or macOS instead of via the original Windows executable
- You want an open-source, moddable C++ base for the Diablo 1 engine to study or extend
- You prefer a from-scratch engine reimplementation over source ports of the original code

## When to avoid
- You want the complete Diablo 1 experience - the reimplementation is unfinished with limited spells, ranged combat, and missing endgame content
- You do not own the original game data files, since the engine requires DIABDAT.MPQ and Diablo.exe from a real install
- You need active maintenance or bug fixes - the project is archived and no longer developed
- You want a general-purpose game engine for building new games rather than a Diablo-specific engine

## Facets
- artifact type: application
- maturity: abandoned
- function: game-engine, game
- domain: gaming-tools
- platform: cross-platform, windows, cpp
- tags: diablo, engine-reimplementation, retro-gaming, action-rpg, dungeon-crawler, requires-original-game-files, archived-project, open-source-engine, game-development, linux, macos

## Member repositories
- wheybags/freeablo (main) score 23

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:06:21.770660+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T02:49:18.676798+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/wheybags/freeablo (fetched 2026-08-28T04:06:21.770660+00:00, sha 984bf80bd0e1)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.