# TFX — reverse engineering

An investigation of Digital Image Design's **TFX: Tactical Fighter Experiment**,
published by Ocean. Our reference is the September 1994 CD release, **2.05**;
floppy releases, earlier CDs and a PC Plus playable demo supply comparisons.

**Start with [TFX Traced](https://lost-engines.github.io/tfx-traced/)** for the
illustrated account and public map/model explorers. The complete
[research archive](https://lostengines.com/tfx/) contains the reports, original-code
checks and inspection tools behind it.

## Browse the investigation

- [Maps and assembled scenery](analysis/maps/index.html): terrain, mission routes,
  briefings, placement and the original night lights.
- [Model browser](analysis/models/index.html): aircraft, scenery, weapons,
  animation states and effects.
- [Fonts and lettering](analysis/fonts/index.html): glyphs, character tables,
  native formats and TTF / WOFF2 conversions.
- [Viewer directory](analysis/index.html): cockpit artwork, presentations, sound,
  campaign logic, entities, weapons, code and resource comparisons.
- [Research guide](docs/overview.md): where to find a particular subject and how
  to interpret the evidence.

The local viewers open directly from `analysis/`; extraction data and original
media must be present for links to original resources. The published archive
renders Markdown into navigable reports and stages an explicit list of viewer
files and analysis records. Original media, installations, extracted archives,
manuals, full recordings and working scripts are not uploaded to the website.
References outside that scope point to their GitHub file pages, where repository
permissions control access. Links never cause additional files to be copied.

## Related projects

[TFX C++](https://github.com/Lost-Engines/tfx-cpp) reconstructs the original game
in C++26. [TFX Redux](https://github.com/Lost-Engines/tfx-redux) holds deliberate
enhancements. [did-unpack](https://github.com/Lost-Engines/did-unpack) is the
standalone archive reader. [QSound C++](https://github.com/Lost-Engines/qsound-cpp)
is the separate Creative ASP/CSP investigation; exact DSP output remains unverified.

## Publish the research archive

```sh
npm ci --prefix tools/publish
node tools/publish/build.mjs
```

This builds and checks `web-stage/` without deploying. To build and publish to
the TFX directory on lostengines.com, run `./publish.sh`. Use
`./publish.sh --dry-run` to build and inspect the proposed upload first.
See [publishing notes](tools/publish/README.md).

Original game content belongs to its respective creators. Research exports,
controlled native traces and viewer reconstructions retain separate scopes;
a successful subsystem comparison is not proof of a complete natural playthrough.