5DO Documentation¶

A modern, source-available C#/.NET 10 emulator for the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer.

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Current snapshot¶

2026-11-03, v1.2.1 release (GitHub Releases).

• 1,597 tests are present in the current test assembly.
• The first full-collection loadability sweep covered 594 disc images: 576 rendered, 13 black/blank, and 5 not loadable on the first pass.
• After triage: 593 loadable/rendered, 1 known no-video case (Crash 'n Burn Japan), and 0 not-loadable rows.
• Windows x64 is the validated target. Linux x64 full suite passed; GPU presentation is preview/best-effort. macOS and arm64 validation are post-1.0.
• v1.2.1 is published on GitHub Releases as one bundle per system and architecture (Windows/Linux/macOS, x64 and arm64), each with the CLI, desktop app, and SHA-256 checksums. The .NET 10 runtime is required on the host and is not bundled. M13.5/M13.6 visual/high-resolution review and M14 research are post-1.0. See What's new.

See Status and Known issues for the current position and the remaining work.

Documentation map¶

Using 5DO¶

• Installation — source builds, CI artifacts, platform notes, data folders.
• User guide — desktop shell, controls, filters, saves, library, audio, logs.
• FAQ — common questions and short answers.
• Compatibility browser — filterable per-game sweep results with screenshots and evidence.
• Compatibility notes — BIOS, disc, input, and game-fix compatibility.
• Game compatibility list — 241-title 4DO reference and 5DO status.
• Game compatibility results — per-disc sweep evidence.
• Known issues — current game, renderer, platform, and packaging limits.
• Troubleshooting — symptom-driven diagnosis.
• Glossary — hardware, emulator, renderer, audio, and release terms.

Reference¶

• CLI reference — commands, options, exit codes, JSON, and file formats.
• Configuration — settings.json, profiles, paths, input, NVRAM, environment.
• Save states — .tdos v3 layout, validation, slots, and diffing.
• Cheats — per-game code syntax, desktop manager, and CLI.
• TAS movies — .5domovie recording, replay, verification, branching, and editing.
• Audio — DSP clock, OpenAL output, WAV capture, tap, analysis, and pacing.
• Video — VDLP, frame assembly, OpenGL/GLES pipeline, filters, and probes.
• Vulkan — optional Vulkan backend, SPIR-V pipeline, measurements, and limits.
• Diagnostics — logs, traces, watchpoints, dumps, probes, and bundles.

Development and maintenance¶

• Architecture — dependency rules, runtime composition, and state ownership.
• Developer guide — source map, invariants, extension points, and conventions.
• Build and test — prerequisites, build/test/format, benchmarks, publish, CI.
• Test strategy — unit, integration, golden, differential, fuzz, and performance testing.
• Porting notes — C++ to C# rules and reference quirks.
• Reference strategy — Opera/libopera hierarchy and differential procedure.
• Differential harness — manifests, checkpoint hashes, reports, and allowlists.
• Trimming — trim-safe JSON, trimmed publishes, and NativeAOT notes.
• Documentation guide — build the site, preview locally, and publish the wiki.
• Status — current position, completion estimate, and next steps.
• Roadmap — concise milestone summary.
• Implementation plan — master maintainer checklist and progress log.
• Release checklist — v1.1 scope and gates.
• Release legal review — attribution and distribution decisions.
• OpenAL Soft notice — LGPL notice, source offer, and relinking rights.
• Test corpus — machine-specific BIOS/disc evidence commands (not committed assets).
• Documentation source guide — conventions for editing this documentation set.

Project links¶

• Repository
• Wiki
• Discussions
• Issues
• Contributing
• Code of conduct
• Security policy
• Changelog

5DO is donationware: non-commercial, source-available software distributed under the FreeDO modified GNU LGPL. "3DO" and "Panasonic" are trademarks of their respective owners. 5DO is not affiliated with or endorsed by them.