GameComms

GameComms was the multiplayer library of the Nokia N-Gage SDK. Most N-Gage multiplayer games use it to connect up to four devices over Bluetooth. This project replaces it so that these games can play over Wi-Fi and the Internet, without changes to the games.

The N-Gage talks Bluetooth to a bridge: an ESP32 board or a computer with Bluetooth (Linux, for example a Raspberry Pi; Windows with limitations). The bridge connects to a server, which matches players of the same game and forwards their data.

Contents

• dll/ - replacement GAMECOMMS.DLL for all 11 original variants
• firmware/ - ESP32 bridge firmware
• pcbridge/ - PC bridge for Linux and Windows (gcbridge), same job as the ESP32
• server/ - endpoint server (gamecommsd)
• protocol/ - protocol library shared by all three parts
• tests/ - automated tests
• tools/ - variant identification and reverse engineering scripts
• legacy/ - the previous prototype, kept for reference

Documentation

• docs/BUILD.md - build, flash, deploy, configure, test
• docs/DESIGN.md - architecture
• docs/PROTOCOL.md - wire protocol
• docs/COMPATIBILITY.md - variants, games, exports
• docs/REVERSE_ENGINEERING.md - analysis of the original DLLs

Quick start

1. Server: build and run gamecommsd on a PC in your network (see docs/BUILD.md).
2. Bridge, one of:
   • Linux computer with Bluetooth, for example a Raspberry Pi: build and start gcbridge. One computer can serve several N-Gages.
   • Windows PC: gcbridge.exe works the same way, but depends on the Bluetooth adapter and may not work (see docs/BUILD.md).
   • ESP32: flash it with pio run -d firmware -t upload, connect to its GameCommsBridge-Setup Wi-Fi and enter your Wi-Fi settings. One ESP32 per N-Gage.
3. N-Gage: replace the game's gamecomms.dll with the matching build (see the list below), start a multiplayer game and select the bridge when asked.

Which DLL for which game

Replace the game's gamecomms.dll with the build from the "Use" column (build/dll/out/vN/gamecomms.dll). You can check the original with its md5sum, or with python tools/gc_identify.py dll gamecomms.dll.

Game	Use	md5sum of the original	Ordinals
Nokia N-Gage SDK 1.0 Beta	none (SDK only, same API as v1)	cb326c500bdb795494d55d30196b8711	33
Marcel Desailly Pro Soccer	v1	79c25cdd1972c287712475ee544c7bf3	33
MotoGP	v2	8863fdea897f1c63807ad69252a3566f	55
Pandemonium!	v2	8863fdea897f1c63807ad69252a3566f	55
Puyo Pop	v2	8863fdea897f1c63807ad69252a3566f	55
Puzzle Bobble VS	v2	8863fdea897f1c63807ad69252a3566f	55
Tomb Raider	v2	8863fdea897f1c63807ad69252a3566f	55
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater	v2	8863fdea897f1c63807ad69252a3566f	55
Asphalt Urban GT	v3	f6fbc3c745ae0ecf584b3ef7ec4371ef	56
FIFA Football 2004	v3	f6fbc3c745ae0ecf584b3ef7ec4371ef	56
NCAA Football 2004	v3	f6fbc3c745ae0ecf584b3ef7ec4371ef	56
Rayman 3	v3	f6fbc3c745ae0ecf584b3ef7ec4371ef	56
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Jungle Storm	v3	f6fbc3c745ae0ecf584b3ef7ec4371ef	56
The Sims Bustin' Out	v4	c2f184012cd0635f3065b7d5042702ce	56
Catan	v5	e8d317204a763d71215680d567eb71e0	57
Mile High Pinball	v5	e8d317204a763d71215680d567eb71e0	57
Pathway to Glory	v5	e8d317204a763d71215680d567eb71e0	57
Requiem of Hell	v5	e8d317204a763d71215680d567eb71e0	57
The King of Fighters Extreme	v5	e8d317204a763d71215680d567eb71e0	57
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory	v5	e8d317204a763d71215680d567eb71e0	57
Call of Duty	v6	bb02377c5361597f8d8503f5de584845	57
FIFA Football 2005	v6	bb02377c5361597f8d8503f5de584845	57
High Seize	v6	bb02377c5361597f8d8503f5de584845	57
Pathway to Glory: Ikusa Islands	v6	bb02377c5361597f8d8503f5de584845	57
SSX Out of Bounds	v6	bb02377c5361597f8d8503f5de584845	57
WWE Aftershock	v6	bb02377c5361597f8d8503f5de584845	57
Worms World Party	v6	bb02377c5361597f8d8503f5de584845	57
X-Men Legends	v6	bb02377c5361597f8d8503f5de584845	57
X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse	v6	bb02377c5361597f8d8503f5de584845	57
Xanadu Next	v6	bb02377c5361597f8d8503f5de584845	57
Snakes	v7	f07f48ee44cca60046f40ce41858a160	57
Ashen	v8	d4c10fcebfb6da8da6b757aa8392b6d7	57
Bomberman	v8	d4c10fcebfb6da8da6b757aa8392b6d7	57
Colin McRae Rally 2005	v8	d4c10fcebfb6da8da6b757aa8392b6d7	57
Crash Nitro Kart	v8	d4c10fcebfb6da8da6b757aa8392b6d7	57
Operation Shadow	v8	d4c10fcebfb6da8da6b757aa8392b6d7	57
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004	v9	6ac8b1a1e490b367a1d5e46bb720fe70	57
Glimmerati	v10	827df54717bc210daa96aef9e12de4a3	63
ONE	v10	827df54717bc210daa96aef9e12de4a3	63
Rifts: Promise of Power	v10	827df54717bc210daa96aef9e12de4a3	63
System Rush	v10	827df54717bc210daa96aef9e12de4a3	63
The Roots: Gates of Chaos	v10	827df54717bc210daa96aef9e12de4a3	63
Asphalt: Urban GT 2	v11	75536306ef48b1928b4562890d01c9c6	63
Habbo Islands	v11	75536306ef48b1928b4562890d01c9c6	63
Warhammer 40,000: Glory in Death	v11	75536306ef48b1928b4562890d01c9c6	63

Always use the matching version. v1 and v2 to v11 have different APIs and cannot be mixed. Other combinations are not tested.

Status

• Protocol, server, bridge and DLL logic: implemented and covered by automated tests.
• ESP32 firmware: implemented, built in CI.
• PC bridge: implemented and tested with simulated devices (Linux: against a simulated BlueZ). Linux still has to be tested with a real N-Gage. On Windows the first real test failed inside the Windows Bluetooth stack (see docs/BUILD.md, "Windows: known problem").
• Symbian DLLs: implemented. They need the Windows N-Gage toolchain to build and still have to be tested on real hardware.

License

MIT, see LICENSE.md. The files in dll/symbian/bt/ are based on Nokia's Bluetooth example code. The original DLLs in reference/ and the documents in sdk-docu/ belong to Nokia and are only included for analysis.