# openblack/openblack

openblack is an open-source game engine that supports playing Black & White (2001).

Repository: https://github.com/openblack/openblack
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/openblack
Language: C++
License: GPL-3.0
License Family: copyleft
Topics: openblack, c-plus-plus, blackandwhite, contributions-welcome, reverse-engineering, game-development
Last push: 2026-08-05T04:03:37+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 66/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 96, release rhythm 8, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 3152, "days_push": 28, "days_rel": 728, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 1}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1556, forks 95 (observed 2026-08-28T04:05:03.226967+00:00)

## What it is
openblack is an open-source reimplementation of the Black & White (2001) game engine written in modern C++ with OpenGL and Vulkan rendering. It requires the original game's assets to run and provides pre-built binaries for Linux, macOS, and Windows.

## Use cases
- play black and white 2001 on modern systems
- open source reimplementation of black and white engine
- run black and white on linux or mac
- modern vulkan renderer for black and white
- reverse engineer the black and white game engine
- contribute to a classic game engine rewrite

## When to choose
- you own the original Black & White game and want to play it on modern hardware or operating systems
- you want a native cross-platform version of Black & White without compatibility shims
- you are interested in studying or contributing to a reverse-engineered game engine in modern C++

## When to avoid
- you do not own the original game, since openblack requires the original assets
- you expect a fully polished, feature-complete experience, as the project is still in development
- you want to play other games, since it only supports Black & White (2001)

## Facets
- artifact type: application
- maturity: active
- function: game-engine, graphics, reverse-engineering
- domain: gaming-tools, cross-platform
- platform: windows, cpp, cross-platform
- tags: black-and-white, game-reimplementation, opengl, vulkan, open-source-engine, game-development, linux, macos

## Member repositories
- openblack/openblack (main) score 66

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:05:03.226967+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 2026-08-30T04:29:59.593766+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/openblack/openblack (fetched 2026-08-28T04:05:03.226967+00:00, sha cbe6655ce095)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.