Downloads — Native 64-Bit Port and Graphical Setup Wizard (v1.0.0)

The Warlords III: Darklords Rising — Native 64-Bit Port (realmrun v1.0.0) is 100% complete and ready for download across Linux x86_64, Linux ARM64 (aarch64), macOS Apple Silicon, and handheld/couch-console hardware (MSI Claw, Steam Deck, and Khadas VIM1S) — with all 20 fixes from Warlords III Code Patch by trixy (W3CP) natively built in by default! Choose between our Interface-Only Windows-Style Graphical Setup Wizard (.run) for beginners (Next >, Browse..., Install, Finish — zero terminal commands needed), the Lightweight Online GUI Wizard, or the portable .tar.gz release archive:

Original Game Files Required (LEGAL.md Clean-Room Compliance): realmrun contains zero copyrighted art, sound, music, or campaign binaries. Purchase your own legal copy of Warlords III: Darklords Rising on GOG.com (setup_warlords_iii_darklords_rising_*.exe) — the Setup Wizard detects and unpacks it automatically!

Enjoying our free native ports? You can voluntarily support development via Hedgehog Studios on our Donate and Support Page — either with a one-time donation or our 4,99 € / month Supporter Membership (purely to support the project, with zero paywalls or exclusive advantages).

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Step-by-Step Beginner Guide (Windows-Style Graphical Setup Wizard)

You do not need any Linux or command-line experience. Both the .run Setup Wizard and the Online GUI Wizard open a point-and-click Windows-style Setup Wizard window (1. Welcome -> 2. GOG Game Files -> 3. Setup Options -> 4. Installing -> 5. Complete):

1. Save Your GOG Offline Installer into Downloads:

• Purchase Warlords III: Darklords Rising on GOG.com, download the Offline Backup Game Installer (setup_warlords_iii_darklords_rising_*.exe), and leave it in your Downloads folder.

1. Download and Launch the Graphical Setup Wizard:

• Standard PC, Laptop, Steam Deck, or MSI Claw: warlords3-native-port-1.0.0-linux-x86_64.run
• Khadas VIM1S, Raspberry Pi, or ARM64 Board: warlords3-native-port-1.0.0-linux-aarch64.run
• Right-click the downloaded .run file in your file manager -> Properties -> Permissions -> enable Allow executing file as program, then double-click it.

1. Click Through the 5 Wizard Steps:

• Step 1 (1. Welcome): Click Next > in the bottom-right corner.
• Step 2 (2. GOG Game Files): The wizard automatically detects your setup_warlords_iii_darklords_rising_*.exe in Downloads (highlighted in green). If stored elsewhere, click Browse GOG .exe... or Browse Game Folder..., then click Next >.
• Step 3 (3. Setup Options): Keep Enable 20 Built-In W3CP Fixes (by trixy), Start in Campaign, Scenario & 1-8P Hotseat Co-op Setup, and Create Desktop & Application Menu Shortcuts checked, then click Install.
• Step 4 (4. Installing): Watch the progress bar (0% – 100%) as it extracts clean game data (discarding legacy Win32 .exe/.dll binaries) and creates your desktop shortcut.
• Step 5 (5. Complete): Click Finish to launch Warlords III: Darklords Rising immediately!

SHA-256 Checksums

• warlords3-native-port-1.0.0-linux-x86_64.run: 471c1c180595d783bd86c876a818b0f3a6cace64ee2855b16c59629526c2461f
• warlords3-native-port-1.0.0-linux-aarch64.run: 2a5bf062227ce945d0f37e1305b171062207cbd7e50fa11921b134627bc39851
• warlords3-setup-wizard-linux-x86_64: c69ea22c233e60d361ca1925d2f1b3a225fc3538f6825d39bc88e7529905c7ae
• warlords3-setup-wizard-linux-aarch64: 05e52b5733c5d7c73edfdb49681bb5aa684b41fa0692f55f3014bb535a395063
• warlords3-native-port-1.0.0-linux-x86_64.tar.gz: decd4a1eef4b560c6c8817138f2d142b0cd8ecfacb18c06798144b529ae635fa
• warlords3-native-port-1.0.0-linux-aarch64.tar.gz: efcc893edee4c7288604cf596883c98694cd9d906a073d252df213e87cf6b0b0

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Screenshots — Pure In-Game Footage (640×480 Native 8-Bit Indexed Palette)

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Built-In Warlords III Code Patch (W3CP by trixy)

In the original 1998 Windows release, community developer trixy created the renowned Warlords III Code Patch by trixy (W3CP) as two Win32 DLLs (Darklord.exe runtime hooks) to fix long-standing combat, diplomacy, economy, hero, and AI bugs while refining game balance.

Because realmrun is a 100% native 64-bit Linux and ARM64 engine with zero Win32 or Wine layers, Win32 DLL injection cannot be used directly. With trixy's generous written permission, we reimplemented all 20 W3CP bug fixes and gameplay tweaks natively inside our clean-room C11 simulation core (codepatch_fixes = 1 by default, toggleable in the Setup Wizard and settings.cfg):

• Diplomacy, Disposition (ire 0) and Treaty Fixes: Aligns diplomatic report mood thresholds with the AI's true ire 0 alliance gate, fixes AI peace/treaty state transitions, bribe gold/refusal edge cases, and allied victory enforcement across 2–8 empires.
• Deterministic Multi-Round Combat and Bonus Caps: Applies W3CP's exact combat modifier fixes, leadership/morale/fortification clamping, and unit special-ability rules (combat_effects).
• Economy Upkeep Scaling, Hero Quests, Ruins and AI Turn Logic: Implements W3CP's city/army upkeep scaling, hero XP/item edge-case fixes, ruin guardian reward handling, mana regeneration rounding, and AI stack/production prioritization.
• Official W3CP Page for Windows Players: Visit Warlords III Code Patch by trixy on ModDB for original Windows Darklord.exe installations and trixy's technical bug write-ups.

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Smart Multi-Modal Controls (Handheld Touch, Gamepad D-Pad/Stick and Mouse)

Classic 1998 Warlords III relied exclusively on desktop mouse hover states (Cursors.pcx animated walking boots, wings, sword, pointing hand, magnifying glass, and stop sign) plus MVARROW.PCX route arrows. In realmrun v1.0.0, the input layer dynamically adapts to how you play — whether on an MSI Claw / Steam Deck touchscreen, a Khadas VIM1S living-room controller, or a desktop Mouse and Keyboard:

• Touchscreen (2-Tap Route Confirmation + Smooth Drag-Pan, Hidden Pointer):
• No cluttering mouse cursor is ever rendered when touching the screen (including automatic suppression of compositor-synthesized window-enter and post-touch mouse motion events).
• Tap 1 on any destination tile computes and displays the full MVARROW.PCX movement arrow line + X marker (Red = reachable this turn, Silver = multi-turn route).
• Tap 2 on the X destination marches your army or warship.PCX naval galley step-by-step along the plotted route.
• 1-Finger Drag smoothly pans the tactical viewport across the realm without moving your selected stack.
• Gamepad D-Pad and Face Buttons (Crisp Menu Focus + Direct Tactical Stepping, Hidden Pointer):
• Navigating Startup.pcx, DLG_MED.PCX scenario/campaign pickers, SetupScr.pcx, and tactical modals with the D-Pad and face buttons (A / B / X / Y / Start) uses gold focus frames and keeps the software pointer completely hidden.
• On the tactical map, pressing the D-Pad hides any active pointer immediately and steps the selected army directly across 8-directional terrain (or scrolls the map when out of movement points).
• Gamepad Analog Stick and Physical Mouse (Live Animated Cursors.pcx + Instant Path Preview):
• Deflecting the Left or Right Analog Stick (or moving a physical Mouse, with full Retina / Wayland fractional HiDPI coordinate scaling) dynamically reveals the authentic animated Cursors.pcx cursor (4-frame marching boots over passable land/sea, flapping wings for flyers, attack sword over enemy castles/stacks, stop hand on impassable peaks, and pointing hand over HUD shields).
• Hovering any reachable tile renders the live MVARROW.PCX curved/diagonal path preview in real time; clicking Left Mouse or pressing Controller A executes the march.

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Clean-Room Engine Architecture and 1–8 Player Co-op

realmrun is written from scratch in strict, portable C11 + SDL2 (GPL-3.0-or-later), verified by 79 automated unit and integration test suites (94 targets under AddressSanitizer + UndefinedBehaviorSanitizer) with zero Win32 dependencies: