D2X-XL

Logo by MetalBeast

Version History

Introduction

D2X-XL is an improved and modernized version of the classic 3D shooters Descent 1 and Descent 2. It renders with Vulkan or DirectX 12 and offers many improvements over the original games, like reworked high resolution textures, lighting with baked lightmaps and hardware raytracing, effects like smoke, lightning and volumetric fog, 3D sound, smarter robots, and online multiplayer without entering addresses or ports.

D2X-XL allows you to play both Descent 1 and Descent 2 with a single program, using the appropriate game elements for each of the titles. All enhancements have been carefully crafted to make Descent look and sound like a modern game while still preserving the gameplay of the originals.

Due to its many enhancements, D2X-XL offers a greatly enhanced single player experience as well as improved and expanded multiplayer capabilities.

Click here to learn more.

Backwards Compatibility

D2X-XL 2 plays Descent 1 and Descent 2 missions as well as levels made for older versions of D2X-XL. In Descent 1 missions the robots have the strength they had in Descent 1. Pilot files and demos from older versions still load. Save games from older versions do not: D2X-XL 2 only reads its own save games.

KALI and IPX networking have been removed. D2X-XL 2 runs on Windows and Linux; Mac OS X is no longer supported.

What's new in version 2

D2X-XL 2 is a complete overhaul. Here is a quick overview:

• Engine: Vulkan 1.3 and SDL2, floating point math throughout, multithreading, shader caching, crash reports.
• Rendering: level geometry and robots drawn in batches, portal based visibility, displacement mapping, hardware tessellation, improved cartoon renderer.
• Lighting: GPU lightmap bake with indirect light, full per pixel dynamic lighting, light falling through open doors, object shadows, hardware raytracing.
• Textures and models: every texture upscaled, with normal, height and specular maps; hand made relief masks; reworked robot models.
• Effects: reworked explosions, smoke trails, lightning, shields and coronas; new spawn effect; improved fog, water, lava and skies.
• Audio: OpenAL with automatic reverb; sound travels through the mine and is damped by doors, walls and fog.
• Gameplay: robots have to see or hear you, and they talk to each other; new difficulty level Braindead; improved collisions; reworked homing weapons.
• Multiplayer: public matches via the game tracker without entering addresses or ports; LAN and internet players can mix; faster network protocol.
• Interface: new menu style and wallpapers, screen resolution menu, new target and lock indicators, new HUD icons.
• DLE level editor: 64 bit build with a modern renderer, new geometry tools, up to 65500 segments per level.

D2X-XL adds a plethora of new features to Descent 1 and Descent 2. Find a pretty complete list here.

D2X-XL Releases

• Full installationGame, data, textures, models and DLE in one archive.
• D2X-XL executable (Windows)8.6 MB · 2026-10-10For quick updates of an existing installation.
• D2X-XL for LinuxComplete archive with executable, libraries and data, ready to run.
• DLE 1.13.01.8 MB · 2026-10-09The level editor as a separate archive, for quick updates of an existing installation.
• Source codeD2X-XL and DLE source code on GitHub.