Show HN: LLM-assisted Civ 1 decompilation rebuilds byte-perfect C source
crc32 · hn · 2026-10-20
A developer used LLMs to decompile Civilization 1, publishing reconstructed C source on GitHub alongside a technical book:
- The source builds with what's likely the original Microsoft C compiler and toolchain, producing a byte-for-byte match with the original executable (minus a four-byte post-link patch)
- A modern build is available in the reciv repo
- Credits OpenCiv1 for most of the groundwork, which was probably in the LLM's training data
The author says no prior Civ 1 reverse-engineering effort publicized the resulting source, calling it a hands-on meditation on LLMs' benefits and downsides.
More from Fun
- AI-generated movie poster 'The Chase' crams a wolf, a plane and muscle cars into one chase — Aggravating-Sir-115 · 2026-10-23
- Reporter Loops an AI Agent to Hoard Shopping Cart Holds for Hours — lfschiavo · 2026-10-23
- Dating app rejection comes back with only an 'InvalidDateException' error message — gregmushen · 2026-10-23
- AI circle joke: mathematicians should teach 'ethics of matrix multiplication' for Anthropic's ToS — kuza55 · 2026-10-23
- AI-Generated Short 'My Little Monster And Me' Charms Reddit — No_Personality535 · 2026-10-23
- Nous Research merch tee shows up: 'Rebellion to Tyrants is Obedience to God' — ChrisUniverse · 2026-10-23